Lou, don't let him get by you.
I don't want to sell the place.
No, you don't know what you're saying.
You know, there's something I can't abide in.
A man who doesn't control his woman.
I'm Beth Davenport.
A junior partner in the firm.
I don't deaI with junior partners.
(SIREN WAILING)
I need a respirator. She OD'd on reds.
BETH: ''If I told anyone, they'd kill you.''
Three birds in one clip and nobody can prove it wasn't an accident.
(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.. Hello.
Hello.
Hello?
Hello!
ROCKY.. T. T. Flowers used to say
that cities made men poor and women old
and everyone lonesome.
So he bought himself 10 acres way out in the country.
It was then in '35.
Him and his little bride, Lou Ella,
they built a reaI nice place there,
and they named it Freedom,
and then Lou Ella died
giving birth to their little girl.
I'd get out to Freedom every few weeks to visit with my friend.
I was there when they took T. T. Flowers away.
T.T.: Hey! Stop! This is my home!
Hey!
(GROANING)
Rocky!
How'd you let them do that to T.T.?
Come on, Cathy. We're running late.
It's really for his good.
The chlorpromazine is wearing off now.
We'll start with half a dose of lysergic acid today,
double it tomorrow,
then finish it off with E.C.T. on Thursday.
There ain't nothing crazy about him. He's just old.
Rocky's boy.
Dad, I don't know. He sounds like he's gone bananas.
He can't hold a thought long enough to complete a sentence!
Hey, what happened?
Well, someone wanted me to die laughing.
So something's wrong somewhere.
Oh, whoa. Whoa!
You all right?
Hey, what is that?
Well, that's T.T.'s old well.
Freedom's been sold. Now, get out!
You'll break T.T.'s heart.
Hey!
Who are you? My name is Jack Muellard.
The fellow that bought most of T.T.'s land here?
Built these apartments?
That's right. And I'm starting construction on the rest of it
the day after tomorrow.
I'll write a new will.
Leave Freedom to the Sierra Club. How about that?
It's no good, T.T. You've been declared incompetent.
A Beverly Hills psychiatrist,
an Encino stockbroker, a San Marino lawyer
and the biggest subdivider in the next county,
all got together to do an old man out of three acres
without the daughter's knowledge,
but with her consent and full cooperation?
I don't know if they all got together, Dennis,
but they're all doing it to him.
Prime hunk of land. A crazy old beekeeper owns it.
Muellard's been chipping away at him for years.
But I hear the old guy would rather let it go for taxes
than sell Muellard another inch.
Someone paid the taxes this morning.
...by a check drawn on the Muellard Escrow Corporation two hours before the deadline.
Have Steve and Arnie report to me,
then prep Flowers for electroshock.
But, he isn't scheduled... I'm rescheduling it for tonight!
Now do what I tell you. Stat.
You gotta do something.
No, I'm finished, Dad, and so is T.T.
I did everything I could except break him out of Horizons Crest.
Yeah?
Gelson Funeral Parlor. I'm here to pick up the Smith remains.
(HORN BLARING)
Come on, Arnie, let's go.
You're not gonna electrocute me, you barren queen!
Nurse, old man Jackson's not in his room.
The new patient in 28 heard him run into the storeroom.
Dr. Crist wants you to search every square inch of it, stat!
Hold it, Brubaker. Hold it. That's a $26,000 automobile.
Get on this. Yeah, I'm getting...
BRUBAKER: Well, now, who put that there?
Rockford.
We're in a lot of trouble now.
Jackson isn't in his room, sir.
It isn't Jackson I'm worried about. It's Flowers.
But Flowers is in his and Jackson isn't, sir, and you said...
Jackson's tranqed. He hasn't left his room in six months.
Get back on here and cover yourself up.
I'm gonna try to buy us some time.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
NURSE: Oh, don't worry, sir, the emergency equipment
switches automatically to the auxiliary power.
(SIREN WAILING)
Jackson's missing.
Jackson is missing.
He is not missing.
(SIRENS WAILING)
Okay, T.T., start moaning.
(MOANING)
Oh, I'm so glad you got here. It's awful.
I mean, we're gonna have a lot more like this one.
(MOANING)
Jackson's missing, but I had nothing to do with it, honest.
He isn't, Brubaker. He's tranqed.
I wouldn't mention this to Dr. Crist if I were you.
ROCKFORD: All right.
Right, go.
ROCKFORD: Your place will be as hot as mine by morning, Dad,
so just stay long enough to get T.T. some clothes
and then check into the Beal Motel on Third.
I want him close if we can get a judge to hear his story.
Okay. I'll see you at Beth's, huh?
Third Street? That's downtown Los Angeles.
What about Freedom?
Were you able to stop Muellard from tearing her down in the morning?
Well, no. And the odds are I can't, T.T.
But my lawyer and I are going down there first thing in the morning.
We're going downtown. We're going to put a few things right.
It's not that I don't appreciate all that you've done for me, 'cause I do,
but God help Freedom, if it's up to a lawyer.
She's a good one, T.T.,
and the first thing we're gonna do
is get you declared human again.
And then we're gonna sue their pants off.
Sue? For what? Money?
Enough to get you 50 acres anywhere you want, T.T.
It's gonna be all right.
(CHURCH ORGAN PLAYING)
ROCKY.. He said, ''There's more spiritual illumination
''in a hive of bees
''than you'd ever get from a man in a suit. ''
T. T. found his inspiration in the miracle of spring.
When he'd feel the first warm breezes start to push the frost north
he'd jump in that old truck of his
and load it up with beehives
and go chasing the blossoms,
leapfrogging his bees
to keep ahead of the flow of nectar.
Well, he told me
that they had been doing that in old Egypt in the days of the Pharaohs.
Not in trucks, of course,
but in big old barges floating slowly up the Nile.
I can't stomach any more of this slop.
I'll see you outside.
...just one step behind the grand opening of spring.
Well, now our friend
has joined those who brought honey to the Pharaohs.
Some say it was the city that killed T. T.
But I know of one time when the city was his friend.
And if he'd known it, T. T. 'd be alive today.
(PHONE RINGING)
BETH: Jim, could you get that for me?
All right.
Miss Davenport's residence.
ROCKY.. He's gone, Jim. T. T. is gone.
Yeah, okay, Rocky. Look, he's been cooped up.
Maybe he just went out for a walk.
In my truck?
Well, how long ago did he leave?
I don't know. I don't know.
I just woke up. He left a note, though.
''I built Freedom with my own hands.
''And if they didn't find the rifle
''I hid under the porch,
''they'll pay hell trying to tear it down.''
Okay, Rocky. I'll pick you up on my way.
T.T. is gonna wage war against a bulldozer.
That means SWAT.
Jim, I'm advising you not to got there.
He has no rights
and you're wanted on grand theft auto and kidnapping.
Besides, Freedom's gonna be
crawling with people who want you dead.
Yeah, and there's nothing they'd like better
than to see T.T. out on that porch with a rifle.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
(MAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
T.T.: Hey! I could've popped that one easy.
Now, I'm warning you.
I don't want to hurt nobody
but I'm not coming out until those machines are gone.
They got no right on my land. Neither do you.
GILLIS.. As long as you insist on using a gun to solve your problems,
we do have a right, sir.
T.T.: It ain't right!
I was here first!
Excuse me, Commander. I'm a friend of his.
I'd hate to see him get hurt.
So do I. But it's up to him.
Commander, that's Jim Rockford.
Have you contacted his daughter?
I think she ought to see what's happening here.
I called Cathy, she wasn't at home.
He's responsible for this mess.
Listen, Commander. This man is a fugitive.
Now, he stole one of my trucks, set it on fire,
then he kidnapped the old man right out of his bed.
That's what flipped the poor guy out.
He could trigger my father-in-law
into something rash just by being here.
Commander, this is about as rash as it gets.
And he wouldn't be in there if they hadn't phoney'd up
a Diminished Capacity judgment against him.
Sane men don't barricade.
Now, are you the Rockford on the APB?
He is.
And he's voluntarily placing himself in your custody.
He's prepared to make a statement
which will implicate Royle and Muellard
in a conspiracy to defraud, deprive...
Hold it. Now, who are you?
I'm sorry, I'm Beth Davenport. I'm Mr. Rockford's attorney.
I also represent Mr. Flowers.
No, she doesn't.
Only the conservator can engage counsel.
And Tom Brockmeyer is...
Let's deal with the man with the gun first, please!
Commander, let me talk to him, huh?
Unless you can persuade him to come out of that house minus that cannon,
you're no use to me at all.
Well, I can try. Can I borrow that?
ROCKFORD.. T. T., this is Jim Rockford.
Only one way to go now, Jim.
And if it's north, so be it.
But I'm taking Sherm and Muellard with me.
T. T., you'll never beat them from in there. Come on out.
Maybe not. But they'll pay hell trying to pave me under.
Look, the old boy is trying to commit suicide.
You'd be surprised how many people use our services
'cause it saves them the responsibility
of making the decision on their own.
Well, he's been pushed to the wall.
Let me go and talk to him, will you?
Come on. What have you got to lose, huh?
Just blood. Some friends.
Besides, it's not good policy
to give a barricaded man a hostage.
Oh, it's a better policy to shoot one when maybe you don't have to?
Okay. Five minutes, and then I'm coming in after you.
Stay where you are!
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
It's a long way from Dunkirk, T.T.
If you've come to get me out, forget it.
No, I'm just trying to stall for time
till things cool down.
Well, make yourself at home.
Sorry I can't offer up a chair.
T.T., I'm trying to point the police in the right direction,
but the odds would be a lot better
if you were there to back me up.
Save your air, son. My mind is made up.
Yeah, I guess I've bought myself a whole lot of trouble.
Look.
What do you expect me to do?
Stand by and watch them plough Freedom under,
while they're sending for the van?
Well, you don't have to worry about the little green van.
You've bought yourself a trip to the county psycho ward.
Ain't got much of a choice, have I, son?
I'll talk to the doctors.
Beth'll talk to the D.A., maybe even a judge.
We'll have you back on the streets before dinner, huh?
Back on the streets is right.
'Cause there'll be nothing left of Freedom.
I ain't going nowhere.
Period.
All right, Rockford. One minute.
T.T., come on out there with me, huh?
Before it's too late.
Old Alexander's close to 60 feet tall, now.
Me and Lou Ella
used to listen to the evening breeze play music in its leaves.
T.T., there are other trees.
But I planted Alexander.
And all the rest.
Carried water to them when they were seedlings.
Staked them against the wind when they were saplings.
Told them to grow.
To reach.
To sing!
To share this ground, and to shade these good lives.
That was a long time ago.
T.T., you've got to get out of here or they'll kill you.
The orange grove was in full fruit
when Muellard ploughed it under.
I couldn't eat for a week.
I almost went north, I think.
My trees...
The ones that...
I hadn't sold for taxes, they knew.
Yes, sir, they knew.
Peach tree out back...
It dropped all of its fruit in five hours.
Figs just shriveled up,
wouldn't ripen.
I promised them
that I wouldn't let it happen again,
not as long as I was alive.
Not if old Alexander's the last thing these eyes...
Oh, God!
Ain't he beautifuI in this soft morning light.
Stand by with the tear gas.
He has a mask.
Terrific. How many weapons?
One, Springfield '03.
And more ammunition than he'll ever get a chance to use.
Well, we'll try for a leg.
But it's really up to him. It always is.
All right, Mr. Flowers, this is your last chance.
Come on out.
Not until that dozer's off my land!
All right, boys. Get hot.
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Let me through!
Commander, that's his daughter.
All right, Officers. Let her through.
Back on safety, men.
Deal with the adrenaline best you can.
Sherm, what is happening?
Dad's flipped out completely.
Well, let's get him some help right away.
Yeah, let's give him another hit of acid.
Oh! I still don't believe you.
I've heard enough of that nonsense!
Sure, Cathy. He's in there for his own good.
I decided to go visit him today
just to prove to myself that you were lying.
And I found out that you were the one who helped him escape.
Look, folks! Let's concentrate on the man with the gun, all right?
Mr. Flowers,
your daughter is here.
Would you like to talk to her?
I ain't got a daughter.
Cathy.
Okay, it's up to you.
Either you call it, or let this man do his job.
Oh, this is all wrong.
I don't want to see my father killed.
Cathy, let the professionals handle it.
No!
You don't have any choice.
Oh, yes, I do. I won't sell Freedom.
It's already been sold.
Title doesn't transfer until the close of the business day.
Sherm, we can work this out. We always do.
But not like this.
And until we do, I don't want to sell the place.
No, you don't know what you're saying.
He's right, Mrs. Royle. Why don't you let the men handle the business?
Who is he? I'm Jack Muellard.
Let me tell you something, lady.
You back out of this deal, I'll sue you for everything you own.
You've already got everything they own.
Let me tell you the way I see it.
Mr. Muellard,
your equipment is in the middle of a family squabble.
Now, get it off the property.
Keep it off until you can produce clear title.
Now, that's it!
All right, men. Relax.
You, too, Mr. Flowers.
The bulldozer is leaving.
(BULLDOZER ENGINE STARTING)
Mr. Flowers, put the gun down.
Move it.
All right, come on. Unload them.
CATHY: What's gonna happen to him now?
Well, I'm going to the funny farm. Are you happy?
No, Mr. Flowers,
you'll be booked for discharging a firearm
in the city limits, fined and released.
I'm glad that you kept your head, sir,
and I sure hope you can work out your family problems. Thank you.
All right, boys. It's all over.
I know how you must be feeling right now.
But I'm still responsible for you.
And I think you'll be better off in a place you can be cared for.
Okay, not Horizons Crest.
But something we can find together.
Why don't you go inside and take a last look at your mama's picture?
Then get off my place.
Cathy.
Cathy, I think you'd better spend the night with a girlfriend.
You've made Sherm and a few other people very unhappy.
You could get hurt.
Sherm may not be the man I thought I knew,
but he's not violent.
I'm gonna see him through this.
If we're gonna prevent that title from transferring, Mrs. Royle,
you and I better get moving.
What about Jim?
Oh, I'll be in the comfortable protection of a cell downtown.
I'm under arrest.
I forgot to tell you. While you were inside,
all the charges were dropped against you.
Hey, Rockford.
Just one of those days, huh?
You just can't even get yourself arrested.
Tomorrow morning, they'll probably have her talked
into getting the Diminished Capacity judgment reversed.
What if she divorces you, huh?
You know, there's something I can't abide in.
A man who doesn't control his woman.
Cathy wouldn't leave me.
What if she does though, huh? What if she does?
You're out in the cold. And I'm out $1 20,000
I already paid you for this place.
Plus, a few million profit after grease which I already laid out, too.
I got to hauI this old man's junk
out of here and pay his taxes.
I'm sorry about that, Jack. You're sorry?
But, listen. Even if we have to wait for the old man to die, how long would it be?
Not long, Sherm.
Lou,
the old man's gonna have a fatal accident.
Tomorrow.
Hey, Jack. I don't want any part of a murder.
Listen, you're gonna have the biggest part,
if you don't sit on your old lady.
I mean, no reversals, no divorce,
no more waves, nothing!
You make me sick to my guts.
Let's go, Lou.
(GOATS BLEATING)
Hey, Rocky. ROCKY: Hi.
Hey, Rock.
Hey, T.T.
Well, the deed's still in your name.
(LAUGHING) Oh...
I want to thank you for all you've done for me, son.
Thank me? Thank the lawyer.
Well, I do thank you, ma'am.
You have no idea what this means to me.
Well, you're certainly welcome, Mr. Flowers,
but I couldn't have done it without Cathy's help.
Cathy is what got me into this mess.
Cathy knows she made a big mistake
and she's having the judgment reversed.
We have an appointment at 9:00 with the judge who issued it.
When you wrap up here, I want you to take T.T. to a motel in LA.
And this time, keep the keys in your pocket, will you?
Motel? What for?
Well, this thing's a long way from over.
We hope the judge will ask the D.A. to look into the whole mess,
but until he does, I want you stashed someplace.
Well, I can't be sitting in a motel
when I got bees going belly up in Ojai.
Ojai?
Apricots was poisoned right after pollination
and the fog is coming in and I got 80 hives sitting right in the middle of it.
They're all set to spray the day after tomorrow, Jim.
The owners don't give a rat's rump about my bees.
So if anybody's going to move them, it's got to be me.
He ain't about to change his mind, you know that.
Yeah, I know.
All right, all right, you go on up and get your bees tomorrow.
At least you'll be out of town.
But Rocky does the driving.
And you will stay in a motel tonight.
Tonight.
She should be leaving anytime.
Yeah, if she's planning on keeping the appointment.
(SIREN WAILING)
I'll give her five minutes and then I'll go knock on the door.
Hey, what do you got? A lady fell down some stairs.
WOMAN: She's in the first room on your right.
Right up there.
She must have fallen right after Mr. Royle left with those real estate people.
And I was having my breakfast the whole time
and I didn't even know it until I went up to vacuum.
She was on the bed, all covered with so much blood.
Was she conscious?
I don't know. I couldn't stand to look that close.
I just called the ambulance.
What did the real estate people look like?
I don't know. I didn't see them.
Well, then how do you know they were real estate people? I don't...
Yeah, I overheard one of them mention something about
helping Mr. Royle's father-in-law buy a farm today.
So I just... Yeah. Okay.
Buy a farm. That means they're going to kill him.
They're going after T.T. and Rocky's with him.
I just hope they haven't left the motel yet.
Have the two older men in room 20 checked out yet?
Well, would you check, please? This is an emergency.
Need a respirator. She OD'd on reds,
and that was no fall, either.
Someone worked her over pretty bad.
How long ago?
Okay, thank you.
We missed them by 10 minutes.
They're already on their way out to T.T.'s place
to pick up the flatbed truck.
There's no telephone out at Freedom.
There's no way to reach them
unless I can get the San Kerven Police Department to...
Hello. The Division Commander, please.
Yes, I am familiar with the incident, Mr. Rockford.
My SWAT Commander may lose his badge because of the, uh,
disrespectful way in which he handled it.
He was fantastic. That's just politics. Muellard's pulling strings.
Everybody threatens to have our badges,
but very few can make it stick.
No, no, no, no.
Unfortunately, we always find out who they are the hard way.
I doubt if a man in my division
would confront Mr. Muellard at this point.
There's no need to confront him.
Just send a patrol out there to keep their eye
on T.T. and my dad until I can get out there.
I'll take T. T. and hide him in LA County
until this thing comes to a head.
I'm sorry. I really am,
but we're changing the watch right now
and I just don't have a unit to spare.
Thanks.
Maybe Muellard won't go to Freedom.
He knows T.T. isn't there.
It's all here. She wrote it to T.T. after she took the pills.
That's a big maybe to count on.
If Muellard knows that he's not there,
he also knows that the animals are already back
and somebody's going to be there to feed them.
If he isn't waiting, he's got someone watching.
What happened?
Cathy and Sherm had a big fight last night.
She told him she was going to get the DCJ reversed.
That set him off?
No, no, no, he didn't touch her.
Listen to what she wrote, Jim.
''Two men showed up looking for you, Dad.
''I told them you were at Freedom where you belonged,
''and they said you weren't, and that I was lying.
''They started beating me.
''Sherm just stood there and watched.
''Then he said if I told anyone, they'd kill you.
''I've been wrong for so long
''that there's only one right thing left to do.
''Forgive me, Daddy, if you ever can. Cathy.''
Okay, Beth, come on. You go along with her
and get Dennis in on it.
I'll be along as soon as I can.
If there's just some way I could warn T.T...
I got it. I got it. Go on. You go with her.
Nope. No jazzy pickup, just that junky old truck.
What's this all about?
Well, when they get there, just tell him that, uh...
Well, tell him his daughter is in very serious condition
and not to go to Ojai.
Tell them to go in the house and lock the doors.
And I'll explain when I get there. You got that, Homer?
You sound as crazy as that old man, mister.
Besides, we're not on very good terms.
He threw a rock at me once and...
Homer, just do it, will you?
Okay. Thanks.
Hi, Mr. Royle.
Say, you being Flowers' son-in-law and all, maybe you should give him the message.
I'm not about to have him throw rocks at me again. What message?
Well, it's a funny thing.
A guy named Rockford just called up
and it's about his daughter, you know, your wife...
That's them.
All right, go.
(DUCKS QUACKING)
(DOG BARKING)
You missed them, old stick,
but don't worry.
Mr. Muellard and the Boomer went after them
to deliver your message.
Boomer?
Lou McCracken.
He once blew a train off a trestle
for the fun of watching it fall. Oh, yeah?
Yeah, and you hit women for the same reason.
Hey, that's funny, old stick.
I bet you'd get a big laugh if you saw what he had in mind for them old men in the truck.
Boomer, he enjoys his work. So do we.
Me and Mort.
We get to put you in a box where you belong.
Hey, who are you kidding, paI?
There's apartments all over this place.
There's a lot of witnesses.
Don't worry about it.
Now, you can draw this out as long as you want,
but it's going to end up one way anyhow.
Now drop the flyswatter.
Okay, you turkeys.
I've had about all I'm gonna take.
Just come on. Come on and get it.
(COUGHING)
You're right. It was only gonna turn out one way.
It's always felt nice to get another hill between me and the city,
but this morning...
Well, Rocky, I'm just glad that there is a ''this morning.''
I need a day to get back to my sources.
LOU: It has a one-mile range.
You're just going to blow them up?
You said it was going to look like an accident.
It will.
It's attached to the master cylinder line.
It's all wrapped up in an oily rag.
It'll only sound like a backfire when it blows the brakes.
(HORN HONKING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
Lou, don't let him get by you.
Blow it, Royle. Blow it.
I can't.
I can't do it.
(HORNS BLARING)
What was that?
I don't know.
What... What's wrong?
It's a good thing we're in low gear.
That's Jim behind us.
No way, Rocky. No way.
Go on, jump.
That's beautiful, Lou.
Three birds in one clip and nobody can prove it wasn't an accident.
Well, let's get out of here.
(MOANING)
Jim!
Jimmy!
ROCKY.. Those of us who loved him lost a valuable friend
when T. T. Flowers went north with the nectar,
and the world lost another keeper of the bees.
And a good one.
Spring isn't going to be the same without him.
Like the funeral notice said,
there's an announcement to be made here
regarding T. T. Flowers' will.
A new one has been found and for anyone interested,
it'll be read in the law offices of Harcourt and Lowe,
right after the services.
Now, let us pray for T. T. Flowers.
No. No dice.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, well, look, you just be there when we get there.
And have it with you, Brockmeyer.
Don't worry, Jack. It's impossible.
You know, I am worrying, Royle.
It's funny.
I never knew the meaning of the word ''worry,'' until I met you.
But Jack, even if he did draw up a new will before he and Rockford died,
it's not valid unless the Diminished Capacity judgment was reversed.
And no one could've done that but Cathy and she didn't.
Right, love?
Yeah, well, we'll all go to the reading together, huh?
Get in.
Do I have anything to worry about? Absolutely not, Jack.
That worries me, Mr. Brockmeyer.
There can only be one will, Jack, and I have it.
Probate opens in the morning and I'm right on top of it.
Well, that's fine. You just get right on top of this new will thing, huh?
Take Royle and the little lady with you.
I'll be waiting right here for the good news.
(PHONE RINGING)
Nice to see you again, Mr. Royle, Mrs. Royle.
And you must be Tom Brockmeyer.
I've heard a great deaI about you.
I'm Beth Davenport.
A junior partner in the firm.
I don't deaI with junior partners.
Tell Harcourt or Lowe that we're here.
They're both in court. I'm handling this.
Very well.
I don't know what ''this'' is,
but must we put this woman through any more?
As you can see, she's most despondent
over her poor father's tragic demise.
I understand completely and I'll try to be as brief as possible.
Won't you step into the boardroom?
Cheer up, Sherm.
It can only get worse.
What is it, Royle? Who are they?
ROCKFORD: I'm Jim Rockford.
T.T.: And I'm just another carcass you ran through your mill.
The name is T.T. Flowers.
But...
I mean, the papers...
Mr. Royle, I'd defer comment
until this development can be analyzed.
BETH: Good advice.
Why don't you sit down? We still have a little time.
ROCKFORD: The D.A. needed a little time to check out our story,
so my dad became the only survivor and told the press
it was an accident.
Old truck and all. You know, unavoidable.
Kind of crawls your nape, don't it, Sherm?
What got the D.A. really cooking
was the deposition you took from Cathy in the hospital, Sherm.
Cathy? How could you?
How could you, Sherman?
On the basis of her deposition,
the judge rescinded the Diminished Capacity judgment,
freeing Mr. Flowers to testify before the Grand Jury.
And I wore their ears out.
The State bar took a quiet look into your operation, Mr. Brockmeyer.
And the AMA took a little look into Dr. Crist's.
They found out it was all one operation.
(PHONE BUZZING) You charge hungry relatives fat fees
to railroad their old people into your rest homes.
All of which are built and financed
by your silent partner, Jack Muellard.
And Dr. Crist's pharmacy supplied all the medicine, at twice retail.
Then Dr. Fellows,
he double-bills the whole thing to Medicare.
I don't have to listen to another one of these outrageous insults.
You're right. It's time for you to go.
The D.A.'s here.
Sure has you on a short string, doesn't it, Sherm?
I don't have many choices left, do I?
Sure, you do.
Sure, you can agree to turn state's evidence against Muellard,
or you can just walk out the door and tell Muellard that T.T.'s still alive.
Of course, it doesn't make much difference to the D.A. which one you choose.
If your testimony doesn't convict him,
then the undercover boys will be photographing your death in living color.
Then they got him on murder one.
Out!
I hope they make you spend the rest of your life
waiting for bingo and shuffleboard
and taking naps in one of your own places!
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON POLICE RADIO)
MAN ON TV.. And today, when so many of our mentaI and convalescent hospitals
have become scandaI-ridden,
one elderly man, Thomas Tyler Flowers,
had the courage to stand up for his rights.
None of that would be happening without your performance.
That took a lot of guts.
...for those who really are in need.
How many of these go under, unnoticed, everyday?
Next up, LA County's own property tax situation takes a turn for the worse,
after this word.
Well, worked out real fine.
Of course, it took a little persuading at first, T.T.,
but I knew as soon as we got Jim here on the case,
he'd wrap it up just as easy as pie.
As easy as pie?
You almost got yourself killed
and your car ain't worth a spit.
I'm real sorry about that, Jimmy.
Don't worry about the car. The insurance will take care of that.
Of course, my premiums did go up a little.
Oh, I'm sorry about that, too.
But at least this is all over. Finally.
We're not going to have any more trouble.
No more conflicts.
Old Poison Thumbs is at it again.
There you go again!
Always trying to belly-up my bees!
My business along with them.
When you gonna stop using that blasted chlordane?
The day you start teaching your stupid bees to eat aphids.
(GLASS SHATTERING)