Stop a train with 300 people on it?
You're a cop, Dennis. You can stop the whole Ventura Freeway at rush hour.
You told me it wasn't even your case.
Now you already got guys shooting at you.
Are you a connoisseur of art?
I had a painted turtle when I was a kid.
Listen, you know, he looked a little kinky,
so before he could try something, I coldcocked him.
You coldcocked him?
(DOG BARKING) (STAMMERING) Nice dog.
It wouldn't be hard to convince the police
that I caught you breaking into my house and had to kill 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)
MAN.. Tomkins at Guarantee Insurance.
About your burglary claim?
Major loss, all right.
Funny, you remembered to file,
but you didn't remember to pay your premium.
NEJMAN: I had no idea you had this one.
This is still a cause clebre in Paris. Very clever thieves.
They came in through the museum skylight, I believe.
How'd you manage to get it out of the country?
I wanna sell all of these as soon as possible and at a good price.
(CHUCKLES) Unfortunately, not for what they're worth, Mr. Stabila.
I'm sure you're aware that the authorities have become much more severe
in prosecuting collectors of stolen art.
Save the fright stories for your Texas suckers, Nejman.
Bring me a good deaI or I get another dealer.
Why are you selling, if I may ask?
Perhaps other investments?
The Shang-Yin vase?
There've been rumors. The Shang-Yin was grabbed by clowns.
They killed a guard,
brought in all kinds of trouble I don't need.
It's so beautiful, Mr. Stabila.
Three thousand years old.
I'm just looking to make sixty.
Are you here for business or gossip?
Don't move, Rockford. End of the line.
All right now, easy. Hold it. Let's talk, pal.
You've made a mistake.
Wouldn't be my first one.
Brennan? Brennan!
In the flesh. And then some. How you been, Jimmy?
What are you doing here?
It's the Christmas trees. We want them back.
Oh, well, I think the statute of limitations ran out about 25 years ago.
Come on in. (LAUGHING) Okay.
(MAN CHATTERING)
Colonel Willoughby. Yeah.
''It behooves you men to remember
''that South Korea is a state of freedom
''and the 38th parallel is only a state of mind.'' Of mind. That's it.
Yeah, I remember him.
Oh, yeah.
I'm telling you,
when a guy realizes that the high point of his life
is going to war...
Oh, come on, now. It's not all that bad.
Oh, no, no. No, there's been some real good years in there.
For about eight years, I worked for a collection agency.
I was climbing right up the ladder
and the company went bankrupt.
So Brennan was on the streets.
Is that when you became an auctioneer?
No, no. There was...
five or six years in there that I was a freelance insurance company flunky.
(CHUCKLING) What happened to that one?
Couldn't pay my racetrack bets.
So they locked my door and...
I was on the streets again.
Well, you know what I think?
I think all you need is a little R and R.
You know, get a few days of sun,
get rid of that New York whitefish look.
Yeah.
Hey, I know what you can do. You can stay here.
I'm gonna be gone for a few days. You can use my place.
(STAMMERING) Well, where you going?
Oh, well, it's something I've been putting off too long.
My dad and I are going fishing,
camping up in the high country.
Hey, come on now. Hey, pal, I owe you one.
Boy, I admired your style.
I mean, any 20-year-old CorporaI
who will smuggle in a Christmas party
and disguise himself as an Intelligence Officer,
you can't bust a guy like that!
Hey, I'm gratefuI that you didn't. I really am, all right?
The guard house in SeouI would've really put a damper on my Christmas.
Oh, I'm telling you, Al. Hey, I've gotta get some sleep.
Really, I am bushed. Come on.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come on. That could be opportunity.
Al, hey, Al, don't.
Mr. Rockford?
He died in the big one, honey.
I'm Jim Rockford, miss.
MARCY: I need your help.
My sister, Linda. Something's happened to her.
It's awfully early in the morning.
Do you think you could come back just a little later this morning?
Never mind him, honey. Come on. Come on in.
Come on. You're just in time for the sunrise services.
She just went in the trailer.
Now you got the license number?
WOMAN ON PHONE.. Right, Mr. Aarons. PCE 178.
Right. Okay.
ROCKFORD: Your sister's very attractive.
It's the only recent one I've got. Taken about four months ago.
Yeah. Well, look, Marcy, why don't you give it a couple of days, huh?
Your sister'll probably show up.
Maybe she just ducked away with a boyfriend.
Linda have a boyfriend? John Stabila.
You must know him. Main man type, big and rich.
When I talked to her last, she'd found out he was doing something illegal.
Like what? I don't know.
But I do know I haven't heard from her since.
And Linda's a real phone freak. She calls me every day.
This guy, Stabila. You think he killed her?
(STAMMERING) Brennan's seen too many movies.
Have you been to Stabila's house and asked where your sister is?
I was afraid to.
I figured it would be bad for him to know somebody was looking.
You did the right thing. Yeah.
Oh, listen, don't worry now. You're among friends here.
Marcy, you know, most missing persons
are people who don't wanna be found.
That's why I don't ordinarily take on this kind of work.
But there are a lot of good investigators who do.
My partner won't take the case, I will.
Well, I don't know. I didn't realize you had a partner.
We work together all the time.
Brennan, could I talk to you for a minute, huh?
Would you excuse us, Marcy?
Brennan, this lady came here with some bad dreams. She's not just another score.
I know that.
You also know as much about PI work as I know about open heart surgery.
So lay off. Is that an order, CorporaI?
Now listen, don't start feeling sorry for me, pal.
It's something, Jim. I need something.
I've looked through a lot of keyholes in my time.
I mean, what's the difference? Back in Brooklyn...
In this city, you need a license.
How'd you come by yours?
We all got to start someplace, don't we?
Listen, I'm just gonna talk to her.
Maybe I can help her.
Rockford? Yeah?
IRS, huh?
BRENNAN: Yeah. Well, yeah. It takes time, you know.
I can't get too close or he takes my picture. That'd blow everything.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR) Yeah. Yeah, I gotta go.
I'm gonna work it out. Trust me.
Okay.
I've been trying to get in touch with you for two hours.
Oh, I had a lot of phone calls to make.
Yeah. Like to the IRS, huh?
Checking on John Stabila using my name and my PI license number.
They came back on you, huh?
Oh, you might say that, yeah. They threatened to audit me for the past seven years.
Ooh! You're clean, aren't you, Jim?
Brennan, nobody is clean.
If the auditor doesn't find anything, they take his pencils away.
But that's not really the point. I'm very sorry, Jimmy.
But that girl needs help. Yeah. Well, so do you.
I'm not particularly interested in standing around in the stable
while you go to the FBI and the CIA, saying,
''Hi, I'm Jim Rockford.''
Has that girI paid you anything yet? Yes.
$1,000 in advance plus fringe benefits.
Yeah. Well, you're giving it back to her.
I can't. I lost it. On the horses.
Oh, Brennan, you are a sweetheart.
You get on your little white charger, you grab her purse,
and then you head for the $100 window.
Oh, now hold it, now. Come on. It's not exactly like that.
It was an old debt to my bookie.
I had to give him something. He would've had me on crutches.
I'm going to earn it.
You know, I'm not exactly what you would call a total greenie
when it comes to investigatory experience. Oh?
I'll find Linda. How?
Well, uh, the direct approach, maybe.
I'll stake out Stabila's house and I'll move in for a little night reconnaissance.
In peacetime, they call that breaking and entering.
Not to mention the fact that's exactly
what your client asked you not to do.
Well, what're you gonna do now?
I'm gonna get you out of this, and quickly. Like the good buddy I am.
In 48 hours from now, I plan to be sitting by a campfire,
not in the slammer.
I'm gonna wrap this whole thing up once and for all.
County Courthouse.
Yeah, the Title Certificate Transfer Department, please.
You know, you're only doing this because you feel like you owe me.
I don't like that. You don't have to like it.
Just stay out from under my feet. Sure. Sure.
But you know, I'm really gonna try to learn everything I can.
MARKELL: ''KLEU TV.'' I'm sorry, Mr. Rockton,
but our customers' records are confidential.
Mr. Markell, John Stabila is under investigation
by the SEC, the FTC,
FHA, SBA, and every other letter in the alphabet including KLEU TV.
Well, this is a real estate company.
We have nothing to do with that. We just sold him a house.
And next you tell me you unload a $750,000 palace
without ever checking the client's every dime and penny, right?
His financial statement. That's all we want.
Oh, I can't do that, Mr. Rockton.
And if you want, I'll be glad
to call your superior and tell him the same thing.
You do that.
As a matter of fact, let me. Do you mind?
I tell you, these assignment editors,
they stay awake at night keeping you busy.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hi, Marge.
You sound a little testy this morning.
Yeah, well, burn the memo and let me talk to the Gargoyle, will you?
Yeah, well, that's what he says.
Yeah, he can't give us anything. You wanna talk to him?
ROCKFORD ON ANSWERING MACHINE.. This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and...
Yeah. Oh, hey...
Les, give me a break, will you?
How many stories do you want out of one day, huh?
Yeah. All right. What do I care?
Right. Okay. Right.
Go load up your camera, Brennan. Huh?
Yeah. And tell Tony to spool up his little sound box and bring it in.
This is just a job. I hope you understand that.
Come on. Move it, Brennan! Move it! You bet.
Spool and everything. Yeah. That's what you want.
We have our quotas just like you do, I'm sure.
While I'm here, Les wants me to ask a few questions.
About what?
Oh, in general, the real estate business.
In specific, that...
redevelopment project you're into over on the east side.
That's a city project. Yeah.
But it's all those cost overruns.
Oh, that's good stuff for the 1 1 :00.
I won't allow an interview.
Well, you just suit yourself.
We'll do the story, anyway. And then we'll end the whole thing
with ''Mr. Markell had no comment.''
I'll call your editor myself. What's his name?
Oh, Les Carter. It's the same number as on the card there.
Mr. Markell, if I could give you a little advice.
Do not come on righteous.
He is a bear with a nose for beehives.
If I give you the Stabila file,
will you promise me confidentiality?
I'll try. Oh, no, you'll have to do better than try.
You'll have to promise me that you won't mention me or this company by name.
You got it.
You'll be termed a reliable source.
(SIGHS)
Barbara? Yes, Mr. Markell.
Bring in the John Stabila file, please. Right away, sir.
I still can't get over it. It was beautiful. Beautiful.
Well, try, will you?
I'm due in the Sierras tomorrow night.
Now, all this bouquet tossing is nice,
but it's starting to eat into my time.
Now, the Bureau of Records and Vital Statistics is on the third floor,
just give my name to Teddy. And give him at least fifty.
He's got pride.
Yeah. Okay. But you know, I wish you'd give me
something more challenging to do than just gather papers on Stabila.
Al, what do you think private investigating is, huh?
Ninety percent of it is papers,
libraries, government offices. It is?
Yeah. Now you just earn your paper gathering merit badge,
then we'll talk about challenges.
Now I'll meet you tonight at the Paddock Club Restaurant at 9:00
and bring Marcy, huh? Okay. Where you gonna be?
Well...
we know that Stabila has a 50 foot boat. Right?
A girl like Linda,
she might get lost on there. Somewhere.
This John Stabila's boat?
Is he around?
Permission to come aboard. MAN: Skipper!
Hey, no visitors, mister! Off the boat!
Jim Telford. Neptune Insurance.
Pleasure to meet you, Captain...
Hulette. Ah.
What's your business here? I'm an appraiser.
Mr. Stabila has applied for additional coverage on the boat.
Never said anything to me about it.
This a 48 foot Pace, huh?
It's the best craft they ever made.
That's correct.
Yeah. Hey, I like the modification of the bridge up here.
Very nice. Yes, sir.
Days like this make my job worthwhile.
They're all too rare. Thank you.
They got twin Cummins down below? Yeah.
It's a beautiful power plant. Yeah.
Oh, well, some people prefer the Vincent, but... No comparison.
None. Not in a big blow. No, sir.
Well, what do you have to look at?
Oh, the general conditions of the quarters,
your log for the past year to determine usage,
and whatever trips you may be planning so we'll have some input to the possibles.
Well, step this way.
Yeah, well, it doesn't look like there's any trouble here, Captain. No, sir.
Beautiful vessel. Everything looks ship-shape.
Take a right up here on the next corner.
You said Allied Insurance Tower. It's the other way.
Who's paying this fare?
We got a tail on us...
I didn't notice nobody.
Pal, back where I come from,
they'd take your horn away and give you 10 years to South Bronx.
Don't worry, I can lose him.
I can't afford the gas.
Hey, pull up at this building right here.
Okay, pal.
You got exactly twelve stories to tell me yours.
Why was this guy following you? He wouldn't say.
I couldn't get anything out of him.
Listen, you know, he looked a little kinky,
so before he could try something, I coldcocked him.
You coldcocked him? Yeah.
What about his ID?
He didn't have anything on him.
Anyway, that's the reason I'm late. I'm sorry, Jim.
It was Stabila.
He tumbled on to the fact that you're after him.
(STUTTERING) No, no. Believe me, it wasn't him.
What's this about Stabila's boat heading for Mexico on Saturday?
Oh, the captain's log shows it's just another fishing trip.
But what makes you so sure that it wasn't Stabila on your taiI?
Look at the picture. On the license here.
All that stuff I got from your friend, Teddy at City Hall.
Did you give him the fifty?
(HESITATING) Yeah.
There's nothing here more than what Markell gave us.
Other than the fact that maybe Stabila's a lot richer than we thought he was.
Who's Markell? He's a guy who owns a real estate company.
Sold Stabila a house for three quarters of a million dollars cash,
50o/o down. And the collateraI was a boat
that's worth $250,000 and some kind of art collection.
How did you find all that out?
It's part of the business.
Excuse me. I'll just freshen up.
I'm glad I was lucky to find you both. For Linda's sake.
She is a nice lady.
Does she sound like Switzerland to you?
Hmm?
Well, before you got here, she was telling me
how she and Linda went to Switzerland for schooling.
So? Maybe it doesn't mean anything, but...
I don't know. A girl who went to Switzerland,
she comes on with a lot of terms
like ''tumbling'' and ''main man type.''
You want her to yodel?
I mean, come on, Jim. You know, I mean, it's a new world out there.
These rich kids today, they want to sound like street folks.
Hey, here's something new.
Stabila's a citizen of Canada.
You want my opinion? No.
Okay. That's it.
I've had it. What's the matter with you?
You give me nothing but busy work to do.
You send me down to the courthouse to get the papers from Teddy.
You say, ''Wait at the motel.'' You say, ''Meet me at the Paddock Club Restaurant!''
You may be a pro, buddy, but I am no klutz! Al, will you sit down, huh?
Just sit down.
Okay, okay, maybe I'm nowhere, professionally speaking.
You got a program?
I think it's time we hit Stabila with a patrol.
I'll handle it.
Right idea, wrong man. I know you, Al.
You'll start lobbing grenades just to stir things up.
Now, I'm not exactly tossing you into a featherbed.
I want you to check out what Marcy said.
Linda, Switzerland, their whole background.
Maybe it'll give us some clues on Linda's behavior, huh?
Yeah, I could sink my teeth into that.
MAN ON SPEAKER.. Yo, Stabila, there's a guy just sitting out front in his car.
Fair, but not good.
The Picasso, the Matisse, I expect much more.
The market, Mr. Stabila, as I told you...
Find a better market.
For the Shang-Yin, I could get at least three million.
Sell what you've got. Okay.
That man out in the car watching the house?
His name's Rockford. He's a private investigator.
Bring him out to the workshop.
Mr. Stabila would like to see you. Who?
Don't try and be funny, Mr. Rockford.
Believe me, I'm not laughing.
All right. All right. Nice dog.
(DOG BARKING) (STAMMERING) Nice dog.
No, Tristan! No!
He won't hurt you, Mr. Rockford,
as long as you don't move suddenly.
Well, you're looking at a rock.
You make those decoys? It's nice work.
Why are you spying on my house?
Oh, well, I was trying to explain that to your pal here.
I was just parked on a public street.
(GRUNTS)
Stay, Tristan.
You're Jim Rockford, private investigator with a prison record.
It wouldn't be hard to convince the police
that I caught you breaking into my house and had to kill you.
How'd you get to know me so personally?
This estate is rigged with video cameras. Very sophisticated.
A zoom-in to the license, then a check with certain agencies.
I'm a fair man. I answered your question to demonstrate that.
Now what are you after?
I might as well level with you. Linda Brownell.
That's a very stupid answer.
Well, I sure hope not, it's the only one I got.
Linda's sister, Marcy, hired me.
Linda doesn't have a sister.
Oh, I'm afraid you're wrong there. I've met her.
All right. How much are they paying you?
Oh, the usual. $200 a day, plus expenses.
(CHUCKLING) I don't believe that for a minute.
Hey, look, I'm going on vacation, huh?
You know, hunting, fishing, all those good things.
I'm looking to wrap this thing up as fast as I can.
Now Linda's missing and her whole family is worried.
Linda's sister, Marcy, hired me to find her.
Well, Linda worked for you. I figured this would be a good place to get started.
It's not.
But I hope you do find her. And ask her for my tape deck while you're at it.
That girI was a disappointment.
She worked for me for four months
and two weeks ago, she ups and disappears,
bag and baggage and tape deck.
(SIGHS) Without giving notice, I might add.
You know where she went? And I don't care.
I'll say goodbye only once, Mr. Rockford.
Lindsey will show you out.
I appreciate that. It's a nice dog.
LINDSEY: Next time, Rockford, I won't miss!
WOMAN ON PHONE.. Mr. Aarons, will you check in, please?
ROCKFORD: Now you see? See the focus is different. Linda's face is a lot sharper.
I think it's a composite.
You told me it wasn't even your case.
Now you already got guys shooting at you.
Yeah. Well, they missed, didn't they?
That's because they were aiming to miss.
I think there's something a little funny about that, don't you?
Well, now, I never thought I'd raise a son
that figured people should be able to hit him.
Rocky, they were just trying to scare me away from that place.
I'd like to know why.
I wanna know everything AI's got me into before the whole thing falls on me.
Oh, Barney's not in the shop. He's probably at the track.
Now who is Barney? Where you going?
Barney's an old friend. He's a photographer. He knows his business.
Well, I never saw a man so anxious to find a weigh station.
Well, I'll tell you something.
Come 6:00 in the morning, I am packed. Rifle, rod and reel.
Rocky, if you leave here without me,
your truck is gonna blow up in your face about two miles out.
Now, Leonard, you know how I feel about you. But I'm busy tonight.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
My bath's running, honey, I gotta go.
Sure. It's my favorite hotel. I'll meet you there tomorrow.
Room 516. Right. Bye.
Hi, Marcy. Hey, I've got some important news about your sister, Linda.
What is it? Is she in trouble?
Oh, no, she's doing great, actually.
She doesn't have you as a sister.
What?
I don't understand what you mean.
Oh, now, you stop batting your eyes like that.
You're gonna get a muscle spasm.
Come on now. Who hired you to set me up?
Hired me?
Well, the doorman tells me that men hire you all the time.
I am just assuming that this acting job is a whole career move for you.
Where the hell do you come off talking to me like that?
Oh, hey, that's what I wanna hear.
I wanna hear some more of that Swiss schooling.
Just... Just get out of here.
You suckered me and you suckered my pal, Brennan, too.
Now, I found out that the photo
you gave me of you and your sister was a phony.
And I managed to locate Linda Brownell's parents in Mill Valley.
Mommy and Daddy never heard of you.
MARCY: I should have never let you talk me into this job.
Give me my money, Brennan. I want out!
Yes, Mr. Brennan has done some work for us,
but he's not on salary.
Strictly freelance. Finder's fee, you might say.
Ten percent, you might say?
But the corporation has no legal liability for his actions.
Yeah. What's the prize?
Mr. Rockford, I can appreciate your concern,
but in a personal matter between you and Mr. Brennan...
It's a personal matter for all of us, wouldn't you say?
Marcy Brownell? Wasn't that personaI?
Marcy Brownell?
Oh, well, that's right. I keep forgetting. She has another last name.
But you remember her. She was a friend of Brennan's?
Looks great in pajamas?
We had some business meetings.
Of course you did.
Mr. Thomas, I'm a licensed private investigator.
There's no reason why I can't have a shot at the same goods as Brennan.
Well...
Well, we've given severaI investigators shots.
In addition to Brennan, who seems to be a bit erratic,
there's another freelancer named Aarons supposed to be working on it.
I can never get in touch with Brennan.
Aarons, I was supposed to meet for breakfast this morning. No show.
And now his secretary tells me that she hasn't heard from him in over 18 hours.
I can't believe the way you people operate.
Well, Marcy seems punctuaI and well-organized.
I'm more like her.
Mr. Rockford, are you a connoisseur of art?
I had a painted turtle when I was a kid.
Have you ever heard of the Shang-Yin vase?
ROCKFORD: Go on. How much do you think? Take a guess.
Well, it's a vase. It's not a vase, it's the Shang-Yin vase.
Three thousand years old, worth three million dollars.
Well, it's insured for that much, anyway.
I'll tell you, sonny, you can talk to me in the millions
and it don't mean nothing to me. But $55 a day,
that's what that cabin costs us. That does.
Now I'm gonna use every penny of it.
I'm leaving tonight at 6:00. And I thought you was, too.
Dad, if I pull this thing off, 10o/o of three million is three hundred thousand.
And I'll buy you your own lake and your own fish hatchery.
What about them guys who are already looking for it?
They got a big leg up on you.
You're the one who's always telling me I should have more ambition.
And it's not just the money either.
I want Brennan. I want him more than 10o/o worth.
All right. This is Stabila's street right here.
You're gonna have to park around the corner, or you'll become a TV star.
If I don't come out of here in a half hour, call the cops. Okay?
(FIRE ENGINE HORN BLARING)
What about the Fire Department?
(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)
POLICEMAN: Put him in the car.
According to his people, Stabila was in the workshop by himself.
Nobody saw the flames until the whole place was French fries.
It's hard to say what happened, Dennis.
We'll know more when we sift it out, find the source.
Ben, I'm not asking you to check a minefield with your toes,
just an opinion.
BEN: Straight case of spontaneous combustion, I'd say.
A roomfuI of sawdust like that, no ventilation,
Stabila hits a jigsaw switch,
and whoosh, it all goes up like the 4th of July.
He wouldn't have a chance.
Did you get a positive ID?
Stabila's ring, a locket, and the dog's collar.
Have your men fine-comb the whole place. But I don't think it's there.
The Shang-Yin?
Jim Rockford.
Lieutenant Hayes, New York Police, Burglary.
Jim's a local PI.
Working for Allied Insurance? Well, not by choice, no.
This guy's name is Nejman, right?
What do you got on him?
You know him? Well, only through his license plate.
Nejman's scared. Swears he hasn't got the vase.
I'm having some of your people search his place anyway.
You mind checking with me before you order my people around?
Time is crucial. I'll want them to search these grounds, too.
Anything else we could do for you? How about a sedan chair?
We're talking about a three million dollar burglary, Sergeant.
Then go find your own vase. This is my town. We're doing you a favor.
Hey, you're right, Dennis. We're all looking for the same thing.
Unfortunately, our prime A-1 suspect just went up in flames.
Say, Hayes, what else you got on this guy?
As a private citizen, it doesn't concern you, Mr. Rockford.
The Shang-Yin vase was stolen from the New York Museum about two months ago.
Hayes and his people knew it was going underground,
that's the only market for something that special.
Nejman here is a dealer, more like a mole when it comes to hot stuff.
Anyway, a five and dimer. He may be a candidate.
Nejman's in trouble and he knows it.
If he had the Shang-Yin, he'd have told us.
Now what about Al Brennan? Did you check him out? Who's that?
I know him. He's with the FBI.
He's a Cub Scout. Where'd you meet him?
He was here, earlier. He went down to the gallery with me and Nejman.
Then where? Where'd he go? I don't know.
He seemed upset when we didn't find the vase, but...
Bet he did. Come on, Dennis.
Shake it. We gotta go stop a boat.
A what? A boat.
(BOAT ENGINE STARTING)
(POLICE SIREN BLARING)
Hey, come on, hurry up with those lines.
Hey, you up there! Hold it! LAPD!
What's the meaning of this? BECKER: LAPD. We wanna search the vessel.
I've got orders to sail immediately.
Now what grounds have you got for a search?
Here's the warrant. We'll talk about the grounds later.
Let's get to work.
Who's this guy?
He misrepresented himself to me as a maritime insurance appraiser.
Me?
You know very well you did.
Hey, that's ridiculous, Dennis.
What do I know about boats, huh?
You start up at the bow,
or the front, or the pointy part, you know.
Nothing. Nobody. Even checked the bilges. Let's go.
As I said, we were just going on a cruise.
Well, what's the big rush? You know your boss is dead.
Why are you so anxious to get to Mexico?
My orders were to take this boat out with or without Mr. Stabila.
Who gave you the orders? Lindsey.
Mr. Stabila's personal secretary.
Now doesn't that strike you as a little odd, Dennis?
I'll tell you, I would tear this thing apart top to bottom.
That vase is on here somewhere. No!
No, there is nothing here.
Now, Sergeant, I've cooperated to the limit. But no more.
Now if I'm not allowed to cast off immediately, I'm gonna report this
to your superiors and to the United States Coast Guard.
Thank you, Captain Hulette. We appreciate your help.
Dennis, Dennis, if you let him skip...
I got enough explaining to do.
When I wanna walk the plank, I'll walk it on my own time.
ROCKFORD: Captain?
Hey, I don't know what you're getting out of this, but it's not enough.
Now you turn over the Shang-Yin vase,
the insurance company will give you half the reward.
That's $100,000.
I'm gonna give you the same thing I gave your partner.
Brennan? Yeah.
When did you see him?
About an hour before you got here.
Well, he's not my partner, and you can't trust him.
What kind of deaI did you make with him?
Same one I'm gonna make with you. Permission to go ashore.
Where is Lindsey, Captain? Do you know?
Get off. Just answer a simple question!
He's taking care of Stabila's body and personaI effects as I understand it.
Now... Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
Get off. Get off.
I believe that you have John Stabila here?
His remains were shipped to Canada.
Would you tell me the nature of your inquiry?
(STAMMERING) Well, I'm John's brother.
I'm very sorry.
Yes. Well, I flew in for the services
and I was hoping to take that long, last journey home.
I understand. The remains were sent by train.
We felt that there was a certain...
Well, there were a lot of personal effects
of John's that he was very fond of.
Were those shipped, too? I believe so, yes.
And the train's leaving from Union Station?
Yes. The Sunset Special.
But I'm afraid you're too late if you're thinking of catching it.
It was scheduled to leave a half an hour ago.
Oh.
Oh, come on. Stop a train with 300 people on it?
You're a cop, Dennis.
You can stop the whole Ventura Freeway at rush hour if you want to.
I've seen it happen.
BECKER ON PHONE.. It's a big move, Jimbo. And I'm gonna pass on that.
Down here at the station, you have a great big credibility crisis going on.
I'm already on the griddle for calling that Code Three on the boat!
ROCKFORD.. It's the only way it fits, Dennis.
The vase wasn't at the house, it wasn't on the boat, and Nejman didn't have it.
Where else could it be?
I got something on Nejman.
Apparently, Stabila was rumored to have hidden stashes
behind the walls in various parts of the house.
I got crews out there right now ripping into them.
Dennis, times like these that make me proud to be a taxpayer.
(BECKER SIGHS)
You got the schedule? Yeah. Right here.
And where's my gun? It's on the seat of the car.
Oh, now, sonny, you don't need to... Rocky, just get in.
You're gonna have to drive my car back.
Look, if you wanna go around shooting,
why don't you come hunting with me
like we said we was gonna do? Rocky, Rocky, not now. Okay?
(TRAIN HORN BLARING)
ROCKY: Well, the next stop is Thousand Oaks, 4:10.
We can't make that one, either. What's next?
Well, that'd be Oxnard, 4:50.
That's possible. Not alive, it ain't.
How come you're doing this anyway, Jim?
You don't even know if the vase is on the train.
You go with what you got, Rocky.
And even more than the vase, I'm just hoping that Brennan's on that train.
I'd go a long way to see an old buddy like him.
(TRAIN HORN BLARING)
Hi, Al.
(SIGHS)
I'm really sorry, Al, but I couldn't make it to the funeral.
I had a bad headache.
There were reasons, Jimmy.
Yeah. I know, I know. Three million of them.
The Shang-Yin vase. Or, vah-se.
We're gonna be partners, buddy, fifty-fifty.
Did you find it? Not yet.
There's only a couple of crates left here.
It's here.
I sure hope so, Al. I'm looking forward to doing to you what you did to me.
I figure Allied Insurance is gonna pay me about three hundred thousand,
you're gonna get a pogo stick.
Okay. All right. Then you just do your own digging.
You see, the only reason that I ever came to you...
I know, Al. You were on hard times.
You knew the territory. All I had was a New York crumb
that said that Stabila made the deal. I needed your contacts.
You didn't wanna split the profits.
From now on, we're gonna play square.
From now on, you don't play at all, Brennan.
Get up. Come over here.
Come on, Jim.
Come on.
You're a genius!
Don't let your admiration overwhelm you.
Jim, I still think we should split the profits from this deal.
I mean, it's only fair.
Al... Drop the crowbar.
Turn around.
All right. Drop the gun.
Get away from the crate.
I don't understand. Oh, Al, you really do need help.
See, I have a hunch that the inhabitant of this vase
is a freelancer like yourself named Aarons.
The guy I suckered into the elevator?
Yeah, and the one Mr. Stabila suckered into an urn.
The man trespassed into my property and entered my workshop.
It was an accident.
I think I would take a creative writing course
before I gave my statement to the police.
(GROANING)
ROCKFORD: Forget it, Brennan. We've been walking all morning.
Now this here's the place. No. No.
Right here. Brennan, there was a pond.
(STUTTERING) You see that warehouse?
Now I remember seeing it... Will you stop saying that?
That's the 25th building we've seen in the last five miles, Brennan.
Hold it! Will you hold it? I mean, this one's different.
You see, the garbage cans? I remember seeing those garbage cans
right before you knocked the vase out of my hand. You dropped the vase.
And if you hadn't been playing it cute at the time,
that never would have happened.
Okay, you don't wanna look, do you?
Then go on home then. I'll do it by myself.
Okay, go on out there.
Just wander around and keep looking.
It's right down there.
Brennan, you're never gonna find it.
You're looking on the wrong side.
I can't. I just can't look anymore, Jimmy.
If I look anymore, they're gonna have to fit me with a rubber hat.
I told you, Al.
If the police can't find that crate with a whole team of men and a helicopter,
you and I have no chance at all.
It's gotta be somewhere in this 10 or 1 2 mile section here.
We were very near San Luis...
Obispo.
Well, don't worry. Someone'll find it.
Some laborer. And the shnook's wife will stuff it with flowers.
I put a lot of work in on this thing.
We almost grabbed it though, didn't we, Jimmy?
The brass ring.
We worked like gangbusters together.
Oh, sure. Hey, listen, we had some problems, sure.
But out of conflict comes strength.
Hey, say, listen, have you ever thought about taking on a partner in your business?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Well, I've been thinking it over. I'm willing.
Well, thanks. Thanks.
I think I'll buy a dog.
Come on. After what we've been through together?
Remember the time at Panmunjom, huh?
When we borrowed the tank?
(CHUCKLING) To bring back the grain alcohol for the Korean kid's bar mitzvah.
Boy, that was a beautifuI touch on your part. Any excuse for a party.
Yeah, I remember, Al.
And we were surrounded by the Red Chinese regulars.
We are in a Patton Tank and it is full of booze
and we are pinned down for 1 2 hours! Al, Al,
your string as an insurance investigator has run out.
You know that.
And you're not gonna be my partner.
Okay, now, whatever happened this week,
it's nothing when you put it up against what we had going on the 38th Parallel.
I will never forget the story that we cooked up
when we called on the radio for help. You said...
Yeah. Al, be a good old soldier.
Don't die, just fade away.