Look, Officer, you better get down here
before this guy kills somebody.
My banking representatives will be by at 5:00
to cancel out the debt.
I guess they travel in pairs
'cause that way they have 20 fingers and 20 toes.
Mind if I drive your car?
No, no. Of course not, Mr. Rockford.
Hey, Jim or Jimbo, like I told you.
I'm not the kind of guy you can blow away with a threat.
Do you understand that? Well, I am.
Both you guys are dead. I'm getting my gun.
I'm gonna finish both of 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)
(TRAFFIC RUMBLING) Jimmy, this is Angel.
Listen, I got this new pad right over by the Hollywood Freeway
and some friends are coming.
I borrowed your record player.
(CAR DOOR SHUTTING)
(CAR ENGINE RUMBLING)
Phil, I don't know...
That ain't an answer, Manny.
Maybe we got some trouble with the PI that we hired.
He left about two pounds of rubber
on the pavement on his way out of here.
He could've been on the extension in the garage.
When your cousin Floyd hired this Rockford guy,
you said you could get rid of him.
I don't have to tell you I got 200 grand
tied up in taxis in this town.
Your cousin don't want to sign the affiliate's contract.
He breaks away, all the other little companies will follow.
They're gonna stampede me right out of business.
If that happens, Manny, you're going to end up eating the cookie.
Come on, Phil. Don't worry. I'll take care of it.
Do it so it don't ricochet back and hit my house.
Otherwise we're gonna fast-fry more than a couple of taxi cabs.
(DIAL TONE BUZZING)
It's a tan Firebird, license number 856 OKG.
Look, Officer, you better get down here
before this guy kills somebody.
I mean, you better get down here.
Mr. Rockford?
BEAMER: Who is it?
Monica Steel.
I got the report you sent and I looked at the photographs
and it still doesn't look like Ralph.
The exposures aren't very good.
Okay. Just wait a second there, will you?
(CAT MEOWING)
Hi. What's your name?
Your cat?
Cats. Listen, about those transparencies,
I was working with fast film in what we call our available light
and sometimes it gives you that there muddy look
but all the rest of the stuff,
the timetables and the actuarial chart...
You said you were going to meet me
at the Sand Pebble and I went there.
When you didn't show, I finally decided to come here.
Look, you see, we can't really talk here.
There's too many distractions.
The phone keeps ringing off the hook.
How about if we took a ride in...
In your car?
You gonna leave your cat locked up inside?
He stays in the closet. He likes to sleep in my shoes.
He's a crazy cat. Bogey had cats. Did you know that?
No. Mind if I drive your car?
No, no. Of course not, Mr. Rockford.
Hey, Jim or Jimbo, like I told you.
ROCKFORD: Well, it's always nice to take a vacation.
Better to get home again, Dad.
ROCKY: You had me worried there for a while, sonny.
I figured something might have happened to you,
cutting your trip short 10 days.
Well, I guess those Caribbean resorts is mighty expensive, huh?
Yeah, well, how's everything going?
Did you look after everything for me?
Oh yeah, fine. I dropped in on your place couple of times.
Fed old Valentino.
You know, it just can't help feeling funny to me
that a fellow could go through $1,500
in just a week and a half.
I thought you figured the expenses a lot closer than that.
Hot as blazes in San Juan. Thanks for asking.
I'm sorry.
Doggone, I just can't see how you could've run out.
How did we figure it out? There was 50 bucks a day
for your hotel room and expenses on the American Plan,
and then there was the 10 days' fishing boat and that was...
$200.
Yeah, $200.
And that's counting the fishing lessons
which we figured you didn't need.
Hey, Rocky.
How did it get like this?
I picked it up Tuesday at Tony's just like you told me.
I brought it here and parked it.
Oh, sonny, look at this side.
It's all bunged up over here, too.
No note or nothing. Just...
Somebody hit it and drove off.
Damn.
Angel. He knew where the key was.
He's probably been living here.
He probably wrecked my car.
Well, I thought you told me Angel was going visiting.
I thought you said he was gonna spend 30 days on somebody's farm.
Yeah, that's right.
He doesn't get out for three more days.
You know, it's funny how wrong you can be about a guy.
Now, you take old Angel. Who would ever have figured him
for going down on a farm,
riding horses, milking the cows, feeding chickens...
Dad, it's not that kind of farm.
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE) Mr. Rockford, this is Monica Steel.
I would appreciate it if you would call me to discuss these rates.
They seem awfully high.
Hey, gumshoe, this is Manny Arturis. Remember me?
Or do you just cash the checks and put the phone on answer?
You were supposed to meet me at the cab company.
If you know what's good for you, you'll call me, Rockford.
Who are all these people?
James Rockford, this is Sergeant David Applegate
with the Traffic Division of the Police Department.
We've had a complaint on your driving
in the Bell Meadows parking lot from several citizens.
Would you please get in touch with this office as soon as possible?
The next one will probably be an old murder warrant.
Mr. Rockford, this is Pedro E. Ramirez.
I'm Mr. Delgado's representative in Los Angeles.
He told me that you left San Juan
owing the Hotel Casino over $600.
I understand he's given you two weeks on this debt,
but I wanted to set up a time and come and speak with you.
Looks to me like we forgot to put roulette on the old tally sheet.
Don't you start in on me, Dad. Okay?
Well, you were supposed to be down there fishing,
not throwing away your hard-earned money on them spinning wheels.
I was down there to relax. I will pay them back.
You bet you will, or Mr. Pedro E-for-Executioner Ramirez
is gonna roll the turf over you
and plant a stone on your head.
Dad, they don't do that anymore.
They gun you down from slow-moving Chevys.
(CAT MEOWING)
Valentino, what are you doing in here?
Come here.
You been a good cat?
RECEPTIONIST: And who should I say is calling?
ROCKFORD: Jim Rockford.
Mr. Arturis, there's a man claiming
to be Mr. Rockford out here to see you.
Oh, yeah? You tell that bum the next time I see him,
it's gonna be in Small Claims Court.
What's going on here?
Oh, wait a minute. You can't go in.
Hey, who are you?
Jim Rockford.
What are you guys, a comedy act?
I'd like to know why
you keep leaving threatening messages on my answering machine
and just why you think you and I are going to Small Claims Court.
Hey, I don't know who you are, mister,
but as far as this Rockford stiff is concerned,
there ain't no ''think'' about it.
And if he don't pay me back my $400 in cash by the 15th,
I'm gonna start lugging away his TV, his refrigerator,
and anything else I can get my hands on.
What $400?
What am I talking to you for? Go on, get out of here.
Hey, hey, my name's Jim Rockford. Here. Here.
He had lD, too. Get lost.
But my name is Rockford.
I been out of town. I just got back.
I don't owe you any 400 bucks,
and if you try to take my TV and my refrigerator,
I'll give you a whole new outlook on the taxi business.
Floyd, I got it. It's a con game.
These guys are running a con game.
Yeah, Mr. A comes in here with your lD. Right?
I hire him, he skins me for a cube of hundreds, then he takes a powder.
Then along you come. Mr. B.
You say, ''I'm the real guy.
''I've been away on vacation.
''This Mr. A, he's been using my name. But I'm innocent.''
What am I supposed to say?
''It's okay. I mean, mistakes happen.''
Is that what I'm supposed to say?
Even though my insurance man is out there foaming at the mouth
over a couple of medium-rare cabs. No, it's okay.
I'm just going to eat the 400 'cause I been playing jacks
with a square ball all my life.
I don't know from last Tuesday.
Look, buster, I don't owe you any 400 bucks,
and I'm not about to spend time arguing with you about it
in Small Claims Court.
Let me tell you something.
Either you or the other guy's going to pay,
'cause Floyd here hired the Rockford Agency
to do investigative work on some fire-bombed cabs.
Now, I knew that was a dumb move
and I called Rockford to cancel the deal, but he don't call back.
He don't even report back.
No phone call, no nothing.
All I got is another cooked taxi.
Either you pay up, you pay here now, or you get out of here,
or I'll put this thing right between your ears.
You're a very hostile guy, Mr. Arturis.
Yeah. You catch on quick. Come on.
Come over here. You want it?
Well, I don't know, Rocky.
Who'd want to take over my operation, anyway?
I mean, you strip the whole thing down
and all you've got is 15 finance contracts
snarling at a $200 checking account.
Well, maybe this guy doesn't know
the kind of money bind you're in.
Or maybe he doesn't care.
Well, who is he? I mean, he drives my car, he wears my clothes.
I mean, what's in it for him?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
You Jim Rockford? Yeah, come in.
Boy, I hope I don't have to come down here again.
I almost didn't get my truck under that limb on the access road.
I got your stuff from Scotland Yard Products.
Got my what?
I don't know. There's a whole list here.
The Electronic Carpet Sensor.
I think that's the one I got in two parts.
The motor comes separate. But I got that, too.
Electronic what?
And you got your battery-operated
portable sand sifter and fiber tester.
I think that's the big box. Kind of light.
Electronic olive? What the helI's that?
Well, that's a misprint. Look, I'll get this stuff inside
except for that Naguchi Console thing. l think that's too big.
Naguchi XL 1500 Forensic Medicine Console and Chemistry Shelf?
That's it.
Hey, hey, look, I don't want all that.
I didn't order that. Now, take it back.
To who? It's yours. It's been paid for.
I mean, I can keep it on the truck,
but I can't guarantee my dispatcher won't charge you for storage.
If you want your money back,
I suggest you take it up with Scotland Yard.
Is that supposed to be some kind of crack?
ROCKFORD: Would you look at this? There's boxes on top of boxes.
Here's one.
A police artist's sketch book and magic pen.
What do you suppose all this stuff cost, anyway?
Plenty.
Especially the old Forensic Medicine Console and Chemistry Shelf
that's just sitting outside waiting for me to enlarge the door
so I can bring it in.
Okay,
so he found my charge cards, which was in the desk,
and he put me in debt
to the Scotland Yard Products Company of...
Oh, this is cute. London, Illinois.
London, Illinois?
I wonder if that's near Dublin, Michigan?
That's very funny, Rocky. You ought to do it in an act
so you can do it for me while I'm up in Sing Sing.
Oh, now, don't you worry, sonny.
They'll take all of this stuff back.
I hope so. In the meantime, we're gonna need radar
just to get in the kitchen.
Son of a gun.
They do have an olive in here.
Look.
Who'd want an olive with a microphone in it?
Yes? My name is Jim Rockford.
You left a message on my answering machine.
You can't be. This is ridiculous.
If you're Jim Rockford, who's this guy?
I don't know. I was on vacation.
I come back, my car was wrecked,
somebody's been living in my trailer.
On Cove Road? That's right.
But I've told him things.
I've confided in things about me and about Ralph.
How? Oh, no.
Get out of here, please.
He's already so jealous about the two times last week.
What two times? What are you talking about?
Please.
Look, Mrs. Steel, I've got to find this guy.
I've got to get to the bottom of this.
I mean, he's running around charging things on my charge cards.
You don't know how Ralph is. He's got a gun.
All right, this guy who's claiming to be me,
what did he look like? Where does he hang out?
Look...
Average. Unattractive.
His clothes never seemed to fit.
He spends most of his evenings after 9:00
in a bar-restaurant called the Sand Pebble. They know him there.
I would like to know the nature of the case. Please.
Well, I was having an affair about six months ago with...
Oh, dear God, is this really necessary?
Please.
With Dave Morgan,
the assistant basketball coach at my stepson's school.
Ralph found out last week, got angry
and put the guy in the hospital.
Then he started fooling around
and things have just sort of been going downhill.
I was hoping that Mr...
That man claiming to be you could get some evidence.
I'm just looking for a way out of this soap opera.
Hi, there.
You looking for something, pal?
Yeah. I'm Dave Morgan's attorney.
I'm just asking a few questions.
You were talking to this guy? Monica, what's the matter with you?
Now get inside. Get inside!
Look, he swung at me, I swung back.
He wants to go to court, I'm ready for him.
Well, you had more provocation than that, Mr. Steel.
Apparently you thought your wife
was having an affair with my client.
If I ever catch her with that coach
or with the private detective she hired or even you, Clarence,
I'm coming out swinging. Now get out of here.
I was just leaving.
Jim.
Tony.
Didn't I just send this back to you?
Tone, I went on vacation, I came back,
and it was like that.
Have you tried that out on the friendly folks at Pen Mutual?
No, I'm paying for this one myself.
Maybe we could work it out on an installment like last Christmas.
If it works that way, Jim, I'm gonna have some collateral.
I went into bankruptcy last year, remember?
I got a bank reviewer going over my books.
I need to hold onto something that floats.
How about an electronic olive?
Make out an estimate. We can work out something, Tony.
Hey, you want a ride back to your place?
Hey, yeah, please.
Beamer! Beamer!
Hey, Beamer. Hey, Beamer.
Yeah, Tone?
TONY: You got a shuttle. Move it.
Hey, Jim, did you ever read
that magazine, Detective Digest?
No, I don't think so. Sure, you have.
It's that one about those real-life detective cases.
It keeps you up on what CCI is doing. All the latest stuff.
I was reading this story the other day
about this PI out in South Philly
working on this simple accident investigation on a hit-and-run...
You're gonna turn right up here at the next corner.
Yeah, okay, I will.
Now, anyway, so he's checking out this gig for a couple of days
and all of a sudden these two outfit guys show up,
try and blow him away. No kidding?
Yeah. PI, you know, he's going nuts,
can't figure out why they would want to whack him
on this sleazy accident thing, know what I mean?
Two more days go by, two shooters out of Tampa show up, wacko,
they try it again.
You know, if you go down to Vermont, you take the freeway.
Yeah, I know. That's what I'll do.
So, you know, it turns out the PI is fooling around
with one of those lD changes, you know.
The guy in the accident
turned out to be a federal plant who's working in the mob
who are trying to take down this bank in Connecticut.
Only the mob doesn't realize this PI's about to blow the whole gig
because of this stupid accident.
How do you like that story?
It sounds like a good one.
Good one? Are you kidding?
The PI ends up in court testifying against the mob.
Two days later he's having dinner,
ends up eating a six-pack of lead,
does a swan dive in a plate of pasta.
Beats working in the auto repair business, doesn't it?
You know, Jim, you really ought to get this magazine.
You get to read the stories tell them to broads, you know.
Hey, you better get over to the left, you're gonna miss it.
Okay.
Let me guess. Mr. Ramirez.
I thought I'd come by and set up a timetable.
Would you mind getting off my Naguchi 1500 before you bust it?
For a man who owes money,
you seem to be having a lot of new things delivered.
I was just looking through your window.
Why don't you come back in two weeks, huh?
I'll have $600 for you then.
I was thinking more like 5:30 this afternoon.
Mr. Delgado gave me two more weeks on the debt.
You can call him and check it.
That'll be fine, except that I bought
the paper from Del two days ago for $500.
That leaves him out of it.
You have to deal with me.
The way I see it, two weeks is just plain out of the question.
Well, the way I see it, the debt is owed
to the Occidental Hotel in Puerto Rico.
And you're just a guy with a long story and great taste in clothes.
My banking representatives will be by at 5:00
to cancel out the debt.
Have the money.
Representatives, plural?
That's right.
I guess they travel in pairs
'cause that way they have 20 fingers and 20 toes.
I don't ask them how they do the addition.
What counts is that it comes out all right in the end.
Mr. Rockford, it's been nice dealing with you.
We also do loan work.
When you get current,
you may want to remember us for a loan sometime.
20% per week?
It's a tough business. People just don't understand our side of it.
Rockford. Hey, Rockford, you got a call.
How are you, sweetheart? It's been a long time.
I'll talk to you later, all right? Hi, Dave, how are you?
Guy or broad?
It's a guy.
Give me another deck of Luckys, will you, Dallas, old buddy?
Rockford here.
Hey, Richie, partner, how are you?
Sure, put her on.
Hey, this broad here is dynamite.
Hey, sweetheart, how you doing?
Yeah, yeah, sure.
Listen, I'm sorry, I can't make it.
I'll be out of town for about a week.
Yeah. I'm working on a little jewel recovery case
down south with el cuerpo de policia.
No, no. Rio. Yeah.
Hey, of course I love you.
Look, will you take it easy?
When I get back in town, I'll give you a call and work something out.
All right, sweetheart? All right, take it easy.
I'll get back to you. Bye-bye.
Thanks for the cigarettes.
Sit down.
What's the matter with you?
Hey, Jim, what are you doing here?
What am I doing here? You got to be kidding.
Would you excuse us, ma'am?
What's the matter, Jim?
What kind of ditzel are you? Using my name, using my car,
ordering carpet fiber testers,
electronic olives, chemistry sets?
Who's going to pay for that? I don't use that kind of stuff.
I know, but...
Nobody uses that kind of stuff.
Did that stuff get here?
I been waiting a week for that stuff.
This guy giving you some trouble, Jimbo?
Hey, why don't you go make a martini and stay out of this, huh?
Hey, Rockford, you want me to put this guy down?
He's not Rockford. I'm Rockford,
and I'm taking him out of here with me.
Hey, come on, now. Come on, what is this?
He's our friend. He's one of us.
He's got a gun. You think I'd let him
handle me like this if he wasn't healed?
Hey, wait!
BEAMER: See you, Dallas! Thanks a lot!
ROCKFORD: I'm not armed!
All right. All right. Hold it.
Hold it. Just let go, pal.
Nice place you got here.
Somebody call the cops.
Here, I'm going to get my wallet.
My name is Jim Rockford. I'm a private detective.
The guy's been running all over town using my name.
He's been using my credit cards and he wrecked my car.
Oh, come on. No, you come on.
I came in here to straighten this thing out, they grabbed me
and you came down on me with a shotgun.
Well, if you're Rockford, then who's he?
His name is Freddie Beamer. He's a mechanic's assistant.
He works at Tony's Auto Body Shop, or did.
My guess is he just hit the street, came down laying rubber,
and that's the last we're going to see of him
and I'm gonna get stuck with the bills.
The hell you say. The hell you say.
I want my wallet back, and now.
Who's going to pay his tab here?
I don't care. Get it from Chuckles the Clown.
I'm sitting on a 50-buck bar bill.
Hey, Brenda, baby, find a charge card, make Mr. Rockford up a slip.
Hey, come on, now. I am through paying for Beamer's party.
I want my wallet and I want it now.
You make a move
and you're going to get the pellet concession right in your guts.
All right, all right. We wait for the cops.
And suppose my story checks out?
What happens then, Wyatt?
You get to take a fall for aggravated assault, assault and battery,
attempted homicide, extortion and illegal detention.
And if I don't get my wallet back right now,
you get to take half of the extortion, Brenda, baby.
(FINGERS SNAPPING)
Good night, Wyatt.
(GUN FIRING)
(CAR HONKING)
Jimbo.
Hey, Fred, Freddie.
Hey, Jimbo, it didn't come.
All right, you just lay still. Don't say anything.
Be quiet now.
I'm telling you, it didn't come.
Yeah, this is an emergency. I need an ambulance at 29, Cove Road.
A man's been shot.
The bulletproof vest didn't come.
ROCKFORD: I've got to know what and who he's dealing with.
BECKER: Come on, Jim. I been questioning him for 20 minutes.
He won't talk.
Hey, listen, I'm sorry, Jim. I know you must be bugged.
Hey, Freddie, what's done is done.
Right now, though, is a good time
to get everything out on the table, you know?
I called the editor of Detective Digest magazine.
He's flying a guy out here to talk to me. How do you like that?
And listen, about the stuff, I'm going to take it off your hands.
It may take me a while to get the money end worked out,
but I really figure I'm going to be needing it because, Jim,
I'm staying in the business.
Fred Beamer, PI. How do you like that, huh?
Well, I think the important thing right now, Freddie,
is to find out who shot you. You know?
I wouldn't worry about that too much, Jim.
I got some pretty hot leads myself already.
Well, good. That's what I was hoping for.
What Dennis and I want to know is your client list.
I know about Mrs. Steel and the Quick and Ready Cab Company,
but I don't know all the details.
You see, those people are a little upset
over the way you handled things,
so if there's anything important, you know, any other case?
Jim, have you ever heard of client confidentiality?
Well, yeah, Freddie. But what's a little shop talk between
a couple of guys who've been using the same name? Mine?
Let's just suppose I started yammering away here, Jim.
How much respect would you have for me?
Well, I'd have lots, Freddie.
After all, you'd be helping out a colleague.
Jim, it's not the point.
When that guy from Detective Digest magazine gets here,
I want to be able to talk to him
with a totally clear conscience.
Freddie, let me put it to you another way, huh?
Kind of PI to PI.
Maybe I'm having a little trouble of my own.
Maybe the guys who shot you were trying to get me
and got you by mistake.
What kind of trouble do you have, Jim?
It's an old debt that I'm seriously in arrears.
I mean, those guys were waiting for me there, you know.
If you give them a bad time, who knows, maybe they shot you.
But it still remains, Jim, we got the same code.
Now, I can't understand why you can't see that.
We got the same code, Freddie.
And we got the same name and the same car, the same clothes.
The only thing wrong with all that
is they all belonged to me first.
Now, can you get that through your head?
Do you understand that, Freddie?
Jim, if you're gonna get angry,
I'm just going to have to ask you to leave.
Let's go, Jim.
No, no.
Okay, Freddie, I've got a little surprise for you.
Yeah? What? Six months to a year in the county clanger.
Come on, Jim.
It is against the law
to break into people's homes and steal their lD, use their credit cards.
I got a market list of charges against you and I'm pressing them.
Maybe I can keep you off the streets
so I can find out what's going on.
It may interest you to know that
Sidney Pearlman happens to be my attorney.
Now, how do you like that?
That doesn't interest me, Freddie.
It amuses me.
Let's get out of here, Dennis.
Hey, you got a good set of earplugs, pal.
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)
Okay, Dennis, file. Just file charges.
What are you going to do? Are you kidding?
We have our code of ethics, you know.
Where'd he get a name like Sidney Pearlman?
Detective Digest, ''Strange Cases From My Files.''
It's a weekly feature.
Here, here. ''Harrowing legal experiences
''by America's premiere defense attorney.'' He reads that stuff, Dennis.
He is 100% chucklehead.
BEAMER.. Stake out on Quick and Ready, May 16, '77.
Observed suspect in brown hardtop convertible entering cab company.
8:30. Two cabs been fire-bombed last night.
9:15, same suspect exits cab company
and drives away in a brown car.
Get the license number, dummy.
Update on brown hardtop convertible.
Good boy.
It has a light landau top.
Manny Arturis and his cousin Floyd
exit cab company and head to their car.
It is 10:00 p.m.
It's cold out here and black as the back of the moon.
As I sit watching these men, two men who I've come to admire,
standing up against a huge cab company, trying to make a go of it,
I'm reminded of...
Of the grit, the lousy toughness of this beat,
of how a guy has to... Strike that.
Well, I'm glad you called.
I've only been leaving messages all over town.
What have you got?
Bad news. Your friend Beamer,
he does more than read about Sidney Pearlman.
Pearlman gets his car fixed the same place you do.
They know each other.
He's out? How long ago?
Two hours. He bailed out on Little Sam. A $300 bond.
Where'd he get $300...
Oh, no.
You got all your cards back, didn't you?
Yeah, I think so.
So relax. So what else is new?
Well, I got some of Beamer's stakeout tapes.
Anything on them? I don't know yet.
It's about two-thirds Lux Radio Theater.
But there must be something there.
I'll take time and plow through them.
I also got a call from Tom Shaffer in Arson.
He's been working on the fire bombings of those cabs.
Apparently Phil Moreno and Manny Arturis
have some kind of a connection.
Phil ''Golf Bag'' Moreno?
The same.
Yeah, well, thanks a lot, Dennis.
You're welcome.
Hold on. Wait a minute. Will you hold it?
Please, what are you doing here?
I'm still on the case, Miss Steel. I've got some new info for...
You lied to me. Leave me alone. Go away!
Monica! I'll handle it.
Damn it, Monica... Great. Now you've done it.
Mr. Steel, I think it's about time we had a little talk.
It's not bad enough you gotta go sneaking off with this guy,
but you gotta hold your meetings right out here in the front yard
so all our neighbors can see.
Please. It's not what you think. Oh, yeah?
She's right, Mr. Steel.
Hold on. Wait a minute.
I told you to stay away from my wife.
I'm gonna kill you, you little cretin. Mr. Steel...
Whoever you are, you're not gonna be able to walk.
Get your hands off me!
MONlCA: Both of you! Both of you, stop!
Would you please keep it down?
Hold it. Just hold it.
You are dead. Both you guys are dead. I'm getting my gun.
I'm gonna finish both of you.
Come on, Freddie. Let's go.
Listen, mister, I've been shot at before. I'm not the kind of guy
you can blow away with a threat. Do you understand that?
Well, I am. Excuse the intrusion.
ROCKFORD: We'll be on our way. No harm done.
Hey! Let's go, Freddie.
BEAMER: I had the situation totally under control.
I don't know what you came here for.
I don't know what you pulled me off that guy for.
I can handle a guy like that any day of the week.
ROCKFORD: Freddie, let me tell you something.
A guy like that could go get a gun
and shoot you, me or both of us.
Yeah, well, sometimes a private detectives gotta take risks.
Well, not me. I make a habit of avoiding risks.
That's why I still got a full set of teeth.
How'd you make bail anyway?
I used me card. I used my credit card.
What credit card? Let me see your wallet.
Why?
What are you doing?
You nuts?
What are you doing?
Just get out, Freddie. Now, I'm not kidding. Now come here.
Now give me your wallet. Just give it here.
Why? I want to see that card.
I have a crazy feeling that I left one in my old checkered coat.
Look, Jimmy... Give it to me, Freddie.
Take it. I'm through with it.
Freddie, what did I ever do to you?
Nothing, Jim. I like you.
But you have no idea what it's like to spend your life under a car.
Tony's a nice guy and all that,
but every time some joker overflows the toilet, it's, ''Hey, Beamer.''
Every time an engine gets fouled
and somebody doesn't want to swallow a ton of sludge,
it's, ''Hey, Beamer.'' Let me tell you something.
My life's been going down the drain
like a crankshaft full of old oil.
I had to make a move and I did and look what happened.
Oh, yeah. Pretty terrific, isn't it?
You betcha.
I got an honest-to-God bullet wound here.
I got clients who need me. They might be mad at me, but they need me.
Better than that,
the editor of Detective Digest is coming out here
to ask me questions about one of my cases. Now, how do you like that?
Which one? That's what I'd like to know.
Come on, Freddie. I mean, you'd tell him. Why won't you tell me?
Because I really don't know.
I must have turned up something, but I don't know what it is.
What about the guy who visited Manny Arturis on May the 16th?
That's when you were staked out at the cab company.
I can't remember dates. I staked that place out for a long time.
The 16th. At night?
Yeah. The night of the 16th. You remember?
It was dark as the back of the moon.
Oh yeah, yeah, sure.
What did the guy look like?
Was he medium height, black hair, sharp, pointed nose?
That's the guy. You know that guy?
Yeah, I think I just might know that guy.
Yeah, that could be Phil Moreno. He's a local mobster.
A shooter, huh? Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Freddie,
I'll tell you what.
I got an idea.
Why don't you and I hook up on this one, huh?
Jim, that's what I always wanted.
All right, I got a job for you.
Now, it involves going out of town. It's not exactly Rio...
That's all right.
...but it's important if we're going to crack this case.
That is fantastic. Let's get moving, Jimbo.
All right.
Hey, Jimbo, when the job's tough, we're the men, right?
WOMAN ON PA.. Your attention, please.
Calways Limited Special to Stockton, San Francisco and Sacramento
is now ready for boarding at gate number four.
Why Eureka?
Hey, you don't want to go up there, Freddie, it's all right with me.
But that's it on the partnership.
I don't work with guys who don't cooperate.
Jim, are you sure the mob hangs out in Eureka?
I thought it was a little small farming town or something.
Do you know who owns all those olive groves up there?
You heard of Big Jack Christiani,
the artichoke king of Northern California?
Where you been, Freddie?
I thought you knew everything that was going on in this state.
Yeah, yeah, sure, I've heard about that stuff.
Phil Moreno came out of that valley.
The mobsters own most of it.
I'm sure you've heard of Tombstone Tommy Ricco.
Yeah, Torpedo, right?
No, Freddie. The fed.
Oh.
He was in charge of the organized crime strike force
up in Redlands, '73.
He broke up the Manetti-Russo drug ring.
He sent almost 20 mobsters back to college.
Oh, yeah. That guy.
Now, look, when you get up to Eureka,
I want you to go to the Texaco and ask for Bill.
Bill will put you in touch with Tombstone Tommy.
I want to know if Moreno's been up there in the last two weeks,
if he's been involved in anything like buying used cars.
Anything that would tie him to the taxi business in LA.
What we're trying to do is get a line on the connection
between Moreno and Quick and Ready, right?
Hey, you got it, partner. And one other thing.
Yeah? Be careful.
Now, that little town up there looks like it's sleepy,
but right underneath the surface, you know what's buried.
Stiffs, right?
No, no, Freddie, organized crime.
Now, be careful. These guys are tough.
Hey, Jim, I can handle this.
You get yourself in a motel and then you call me. You leave a message.
But whatever you do, you stay up there.
I'll be up there in a flash, and Tombstone Tommy, you and I,
we'll throw a net on these guys.
Who knows? We might even get the cover of Detective Digest.
Hey, Jim, I'm not just in this for the press, you know.
I know that. Hey, you be careful. Have a good trip.
(WHISTLING SOFTLY)
How you doing?
MANNY.. Yeah, who is it?
Mr. Arturis? This is Jim Rockford.
Look, mister, I don't want to talk to you or the other guy.
I just wanted to tell you that Freddie Beamer's out of the hospital
and he may be around to talk to you again, so...
Look, I can control him.
If he shows up, please don't hurt him.
Hurt him?
Why would I want to hurt him?
Somebody already took a shot at him.
He's filing charges with the DA.
You tell that guy that if he comes around here,
I'm going to introduce him to a lug wrench.
You tell him that, okay?
I'm a PI. I'm working on this mob thing out in Eureka.
May sound strange to you.
I don't guess you never heard of the artichoke king of Northern California.
You probably still think that those olive groves up there
still belong to Del Monte, right?
I really don't want to talk about it now.
It's big, you know.
I don't want to talk about it right now.
Yeah, well, I can control him.
So if he shows up, you just call me.
You said somebody tried to kill him?
That's right. He saw the guy.
But I guess that's between him and the DA.
Yeah. Now, the guy's real name is Beamer, huh?
That's right. Fred Beamer.
I'll see you, Mr. Steel.
You just make sure you're not seeing Monica.
See, Tombstone Tommy Ricco blew their cover in '73.
Sent about 20 of those mob smart-heads back to college.
What's college? The pen. Prison.
Hey, Pedro, come on.
When I arrived, I saw that blue Cad just sailing out of there.
I don't need a program to figure out why.
And I don't need a program to tell you
from some bumbler named... Whatever.
Beamer. I'm just looking to get paid.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Well, let's hope Beamer doesn't finger you
or your banking representatives in some police mug book.
Look, get off my phone, Rockford. I've got business.
Yeah.
Like I told this guy,
there's not a mobster alive I wouldn't take to the mat.
There's something you gotta understand about these guys.
They're scum.
You confront them, nine out of 10 back down.
What about the 10th guy?
(MlMlCS GUN FIRING)
Do I carry a gun? Yeah, I carry a gun.
Sometimes it takes more than a gun in this game.
My stuff. I forgot my stuff.
Listen, it was nice talking to you. I gotta get out of here.
Hey, stop the bus, will you? Stop the bus.
Hey, Dennis, we're in business.
Did you get a plate?
Yeah. It's a dark brown sedan, a landau top.
347 MNI.
Looks like he's going around the block. He's cruising.
Isn't that the car Beamer spotted?
Right. Phil Moreno.
That makes it the cab company.
Why would they want to kill Beamer?
Manny promised Phil Moreno
that his cousin Floyd would sign the unified cab contract,
only Floyd wouldn't do it,
so Manny obviously agreed with Phil to fire-bomb his own cabs.
Beamer must have ended up in the middle somehow,
now they're trying to kill him.
Oh, no, you won't believe this.
What? What's wrong?
Beamer just showed. He's about to get it.
All right, stay quiet. Let them light on something.
Meanwhile, I'll get some help over here.
Right.
Get in the car. Get in the car! What are you talking about?
Come on, get in there. Come on!
They got him, Dennis.
They're coming your way.
(CAR HONKING)
Southbound on Denton.
Suspect's vehicle is being pursued by a red and gray truck.
CB Channel 14, closing out.
Get that shotgun out of the bag and use it.
(SlREN WAILING)
(GUN FIRING)
Freeze. Okay, out.
POLlCEMAN: Hands on top of the car.
Come on, buddy, move it.
All right, come on, Beamer.
You just couldn't stay up in Eureka, huh, Freddie?
You had to come back and eat a bullet.
What's going on here, Jim?
I'll fill you in later.
Don't forget to fill me in before that guy
from Detective Digest magazine gets here. Okay, old buddy?
Oh, yeah, right, old buddy.
Yeah, it's all here, except for the vest.
If I had that vest, it would have been a totally different story.
Yeah, why don't you go get your car, pull it up,
and we'll start loading these goodies, all right, Beamer?
You sure them guys from Scotland Yard
ain't going to be coming back at you for all this stuff?
Beamer called and took me off the hook.
Well, I don't like you hanging around with that guy, sonny.
You'll get yourself into more trouble.
Don't worry, he's okay.
You just have to know how to handle him.
Once you get the hang of it, you can stay out of range.
Here for the appliances.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, Herb, start with the TV.
And maybe Jim here will give you a hand with some of the other things.
Are you kidding? I'm not trucking my own stuff out of here.
Oh, Jim, you're taking this awfully hard. Look at me.
I'm probably going to just about break even on this deal,
and you don't stay in this business long
if all you do is just break even.
Hey, who pulled that U-Haul in out there? I can't get my car in.
Now, you just wait your turn.
We'll be through here in just one minute.
Who is this guy, Jim?
You going to let him take your TV set like that?
Yeah. Wait a minute.
Is this that guy Ramirez you were telling me about?
I thought you said you were going to flatten his arches.
Beamer, lay off.
Can I help you with that, pal?
Hey, Jim,
guys like us don't have to stand for this kind of thing, you know.
Look, Beamer... I told you.
I know all about you, you know, gaucho.
You bleed people, right?
Every time you make an appearance,
a hundred toilets flush all over town, right?
Herb, ice this guy.
No, I'm Rockford!