They're testing the Minerva out in the channel this morning.
We're still searching for the cockpit section.
His body should be in there.
Are you aware of the kind of work Chris was doing?
It's a confidential project for the oil business.
There are three oil companies who would kill to get a look at these plans.
Now, hold on now. I'm afraid you got the wrong idea.
Very folksy.
Here you are dressed like one of the Sons of the Pioneers. What's happening?
You know they plan to bring you back in a net?
They have you insured for one million bucks:
(RICHARD GROANS)
(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: : Hi, there:
If you're interested in selling your product
via computerized telephone sales,
(BEEPS) Stay on the line
and one of our representatives will speak with you:
(DOOR OPENING)
(PHONE BEEPING)
(BETH GASPS)
You can take anything you want.
Keep quiet!
I'm not gonna scream, I'm not gonna scream.
(GROANS)
Pretty strange times.
You know, Rocky's next-door neighbor was robbed twice in two months.
Jim, I only hope it was a robber.
But he didn't take anything.
Also, how come the phone was off the hook?
Even the police asked me that. You never can tell.
Maybe it was just a free call to the folks back in Staten Island.
But he'd been going through my legal papers.
I think he was looking for something.
I know what you're going to say, Beth.
And 2:00 in the morning is not even a good time to even think about it.
So if it makes you feel any better,
tomorrow I'll take a more high profile tack on our investigation.
Maybe I'll even bring in Jimmy Joe Meeker.
Jimmy Joe Meeker?
Oh, yeah, you'll love him.
He's smooth as oil on a blister.
Hey now, come on, you probably just had a robber.
No point in taking an attitude on this thing yet.
You have no proof to tie it to Minerva.
CHRIS: Minerva's arms will work very similar to the robot you are seeing here.
We want to modify the high velocity hydraulic thrusters
to maintain the horizontal excursion range,
even in your big tidal surges.
As you can see this is rough terrain,
and this is where the Mclntyre submersible vehicle went belly up.
Uh-huh.
But more importantly, we've increased the operating modes
of the manipulator arms.
But we still should be ready to test run this week.
Good, good.
Well, that should be something good to tell your investment group
when they ask you how come you've managed to spend $200,000
on an underwater toy.
Isn't that what they called it?
Yes. Yes, they did.
RICHARD: Well this is... It's very encouraging.
You can grasp the visibility problems down there.
So, we're converting the...
Chris, why do you always leave your chewing gum
on the side of the ashtray where it rolls off?
Better than walking on it.
As I was saying,
we're converting quartz lights to thallium iodide.
But the changeover's going to be expensive.
I'm not going to mention anything about expense to my group
until after we've tested Minerva.
And the oil companies are ordering these unmanned submersible tractors
by the dozen at a million and a half per.
I can fly up to San Francisco to pick up the thallium units.
And the sonar unit housing?
On back order in Oakland?
Oh, yeah.
We don't want the thing to go around banging into walls and stuff.
Chris, you did wire those people up there?
Oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure I did.
Want some chewing gum? No. No, thanks.
Chris, tell me,
you don't leave these blue prints lying around at night, do you?
I keep it all in a safe.
And the prototype is just a shell till we mount the hydraulics.
All right Susan, I'll see you tomorrow. Chris.
Look, Rich, when can we get together and talk about kelp harvesting?
Soon, soon. Real soon. How about over lunch?
Great. Good.
Ciao!
Kelp harvesting, pressure tests, thalium schmalium...
Anymore of this Captain Nemo chatter,
I'm going to go out of my mind.
I find it interesting.
Underwater pipeline tractors are about as compelling
as two weeks in Lapland.
Benish, what the hell are you doing here?
I couldn't get the bug in her phone last night.
And I had to knock her out.
Oh great. That's just great.
You're going to have to leave town.
I can't afford to have Beth seeing him around our offices.
Pay him off, Virgil.
I'm sorry. She came in early.
It's all right, it's all right.
I'll see you at your place later.
It's just another boring problem in a boring project.
She's putting a check on us. I can feel it.
I can sense it when I'm talking to her.
She's already drawn up the contracts, right?
Now why do we need Miss Davenport around?
At this juncture, we don't. This is a critical stage.
If you don't mind, why don't I just put her on a little sled
and give her a push.
The pressure must be building.
You mean this?
You only used to smoke during final exams at school.
I'm just happy to find an ashtray that doesn't stick to me.
Chris is a nice enough guy, I guess,
but above the ears he's strictly oatmeal.
He's president of Minerva, Incorporated.
I know.
But only because he had a vague notion
for the modifications of the submersible vehicle,
and a good reputation as an offshore platform diver.
If I hadn't gone to work for him,
it would still be a bunch of drawings on a napkin.
Also, he's a man.
Anyway, I'm glad you're in on this, Beth.
I made some inquiries on that man
who's always with Richard.
Virgil?
Did you know he had a prison record?
What did you do, hire a private detective?
Mr. Harcourt does have $35,000 of his own money in this.
And Richard Lessing's investment group
has over $200,000 already spent.
If the Minerva tractor doesn't work, they get hurt.
I know, Susan, but it all seems so speculative.
So hush-hush and hurry-hurry.
Because it's a race.
Eighteen different companies are trying to come up with
a safe method to connect pipe to off-shore platforms.
And whoever rings the bell below 1,000 feet, opens up new oil fields.
And that's going to be you.
Look, let's order and forget business, okay?
I'll send you the Photostats on Virgil Cheski's record, okay?
ROCKFORD: You give me a herd of these little fellas
and I'll harvest you a ton of kelp, son.
I mean a ton.
There's a lot of money to be made in kelp, Mr. Meeker.
I keep telling them that but they won't listen.
You make that Jimmy Joe, will you? Okay.
Meeker was my daddy.
He was a range rat.
Died dead drunk under a dirt farm mortgage.
(LAUGHING) Right.
What?
Yeah, the thing that keeps wrapping me up in tin foil here
is why this Mr. Lessing,
he don't use your little invention here to harvest kelp.
I mean, there's a real market there.
The price of kelp has been jumping like a frog in shallow water
and with this new process for converting kelp into methane gas,
a fella could get hisself real healthy in short order.
That's exactly what I've been telling Mr. Lessing.
I developed this thing in the first place as a kelp harvester
and then Mr. Lessing and Susan and the others,
they got all turned on to using it to connect offshore drilling.
Yeah, well there's a lesson to be learned here, son.
You know, as my old daddy used to say...
He said "Jimmy Joe, if you get branded as a calf,
"it don't really matter much if you are a coyote.
"They're gonna run you right up that ramp
"and chop you up for table meat anyway."
Very folksy.
Who is he Chris?
Oh, no! What are you doing?
Susan, I'm...
This is Mr. Meeker. Jimmy Joe Meeker.
Sorry ma'am, but I get the idea... Get him out of here, Chris.
There are three oil companies who would kill to get a look at these plans.
Now, hold on now. I'm afraid you got the wrong idea.
Yeah, I'm through with my black gold hunting.
I guess everybody from Oklahoma
has spent some time hunting for oil,
but I got my fill of that just about the time I sunk my 15th dry hole.
I still dabble, but right now I'm looking for investments.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave.
I was under the impression that Mr. Jencks
was the president of this company.
We weren't talking about oil, Susan.
We were talking about kelp harvesting.
And after all, that's how this thing got started.
Chris, face it. It's been redesigned.
It's been made into something we can market.
I get the feeling that I'm causing some trouble here.
And I just hate to be any inconvenience.
Jimmy Joe, don't...
I'll be checking in to the Beverly Sherwin in the presidential suite.
And if you're looking for some fiscal help,
I got a real interest in the methane gas end of this thing.
And I got a wallet with quite a few checks in it.
And I got some tax problems just about driving me up the wall.
Do you have transportation home?
Or should we call you a squad car?
Now this one here, she...
She does race her motor some, don't she, son?
Ma'am.
Your car's running rough.
Before we swap back again,
you're going to have to get that thing tuned up.
Did they say anything about a Texas oil man driving a German car?
I just told them my Rolls and my Bentley
were out getting pinstriped.
Have a rough day?
So-so.
Miserable actually.
I blew up in a board meeting,
a fighting match with my bosses.
And then I had another go-around with Susan.
She's feisty but she's nice.
You know, she and Lessing are rushing into this project...
Nice?
Well, she's well-organized
and she's not unattractive.
Would you also say she was not unmagnetic? Unlovely?
What else did you find out?
I check some financial sources
and an old offshore buddy of mine
and I found nothing to worry about
except for the fact that Richard Lessing's credit history
is blank prior to five years ago.
Well that maybe something to worry about.
If you combine that with Virgil's record.
Maybe.
And then maybe Lessing is just one of those vanishing Americans
who doesn't like to owe money and gives ex-cons a break.
Did you say that he had $200,000 upfront on this Minerva project?
That's right.
He does stand to lose the most if Minerva goes under.
Then what are you worried about, Beth?
Well, Lessing has made Chris Jencks president
of what could become a multi-million dollar operation.
Now you've met Chris.
Would you call that presidential material?
Susan is vice-president which bugs her,
and rightly so, maybe.
Although, economics did give her a migraine at Wellesley.
Here it comes.
What?
The late-breaking bulletin.
Susan Kenniston, ancient rival
of promising attorney, Beth Davenport,
is caught bringing business to latter's firm
to prove how high she's scoring in the achievement race.
You really think that's all it is, Jim?
Well, she's a good engineer, you admitted that.
I think she's doing a pretty good job.
What happened in that meeting today?
I suggested to Mr. Harcourt
that we bring in a business consultant
before we put another cent into Minerva.
What did he say to that?
There was a brief discussion and then the meeting was adjourned.
The partners met later, without me.
And I ended up in Siberia.
Mr. Harcourt asked me to draw up some corporation papers
for some hamburger stands in the Valley.
I think they're letting me go.
After six years.
Oh, I doubt that very much.
You're a good lawyer, Beth.
Harcourt and Lowe need you.
I sometimes wonder if you need them.
Good night.
WOMAN ON RADIO: : May be related to a string of six other
out-of-town investors being questioned by the LA vice squad
about a series of...
(TIRES SCREECHING)
WOMAN: Miss Davenport's in Room 1211. ROCKFORD: Thank you.
How you doing? Sorry about your car.
Oh, don't worry about it.
But I do.
That car is the closest thing you have to a mistress.
You like it?
Yeah, yeah. Brings out the royal highness in you.
Thanks.
Is the truck driver in custody? Well, not yet.
Now the witnesses only got half a number.
The plates were partially covered with mud.
Both plates? In the middle of a drought?
Becker thinks he'll have something in a few days.
What with the partial number and the make of the truck.
Jim, this whole Minerva project smelled funny from the beginning.
Now, it reeks.
Yeah, I know, it strikes me as curious too.
But if I'm going to scratch any deeper,
I'm going to have to get close to the man in charge.
I'm gonna have to get into the Normandy Investment Group.
Well?
The only way I know to do that is to keep coming on
as Jimmy Joe Meeker from Tulsa, who wants to buy in.
Okay.
Well, they're going to want to check my assets.
Call my bank and make sure I have a few hundred thousand.
Oh brother, you really did come on strong.
That's just for references.
I'm going to have to actually check into the Beverly Sherwin.
Buy myself some kangaroo-skin boots,
get some phony ID.
Well, my father has holdings in Oklahoma.
I guess we could set up an account there.
Good. I think we ought to do it,
and I think we ought to do it quick.
You know, as long as I've known you
you've talked about owning a pair of kangaroo-skin boots.
I have?
I don't ever remember saying anything about it.
Of course, they are neat.
You ever see any of them? They're really slick.
This is the place I've made an offer on.
It's in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat.
It's a real castle, Virgil.
The sixth Duke d'Artois was born right in that room.
I'm going to be able to sit right on that terrace
and never have to think of diving bells again.
Howdy.
Somebody should have taught you how to knock, Tex.
Jimmy Joe Meeker.
Unless you got one helatious punch, son,
I wouldn't go smarting off to somebody who's bigger than you are
and grew up in the oil fields collecting bets.
Virgil...
Meeker? Meeker.
Are you that big Texas kelp harvester Chris was babbling on about?
Oklahoma, Dick, Oklahoma. Excuse me, boy.
Yeah, I want to apologize to you
for getting that boy into a lather, you know.
But he came to me. He was bleating some
about how you got his invention turned around
into deep water drilling.
It's funny sometimes how people get invited to a picnic
and they never eat no chicken.
I've never been to a picnic.
Now, there's a door over there and I suggest you go through it
before Virgil here helps you off with your hat.
Now, I understand that kind of talk, I do.
My daddy used to say,
"When you're looking a man right in the eye, hard to get your hand in his wallet."
How insightful. Throw this sodbuster out, Virgil.
I'm talking about a lawsuit, Mr. Lessing.
I'm talking about Howard Mclntyre's underwater caterpillar.
And if this clown in the Sunday suit lays one hand on me,
I'm gonna turn your little tea room into a pile of junk.
What kind of a lawsuit?
Well, that's another thing my daddy always said.
"Smart folks always eat off the same plate.
"But them greedy ones, they almost always spill their dinner."
I'm beginning to tire of your daddy.
Yeah, well, he used to put me off some, too, you know.
But it seems to me what you're getting into here is pretty much the same thing
that Howard Mclntyre developed here a couple of months back.
Give or take one or two hydraulic variations.
Patent infringement?
You think anybody's going to take a project
as confidential as submersible craft into court?
I think you're bluffing.
Well, it's funny. It really is, how some people get
when they think they're stuck, you know.
Well, I knew a farmer once and he had this cottontail
who kept eating up his cornfield.
You know, he plum burned down that cornfield
just trying to catch that rabbit.
Let me put a run on this guy, Dick.
No, no, Virgil, Virgil. I don't believe you, Meeker.
I don't believe you got any kind of a good look at our plans.
Well why don't you just check me out, Dick.
But I don't have too much time.
Now what I'm proposing is that you let me have part of this company,
maybe half.
In return, I'll pick up some of
the high interest financing and then we can write off
most of the losses against my share. You see, I got tax problems.
Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not.
I'm gonna be your new partner, Dick.
Now, Chris tells me that
y'all going to make a test run tomorrow.
I'm gonna be there, son.
What was all that?
I have no idea.
I want him checked out. I want to know all about him.
Everything else goes off on schedule.
We'll have to forget the test run.
Any kind of overload is gonna blow the electrical connectors.
That should be clear by now.
When are you gonna get these thallium lights or whatever they are?
Well, the manufacturer didn't have them on hand.
I forgot to wire them. SECRETARY: Sir, you can't go in there.
So I'll have to fly up to Oregon and pick up some others.
ROCKFORD: No big deal. Hi.
Looks like we're going to have an aborted test run today, Joe Jimmy.
Jimmy Joe. Yes, yes.
I'd like you to take a look at this. It'll give you a...
It'll give you a picture of our other interests
and their glowing prospects.
You were so anxious to invest.
By the way, I took your suggestion and had you checked out.
You have a very impressive portfolio down in Oklahoma.
Perhaps we can do some business.
Not on this project, of course. This is closed.
Yeah, but that's the critter I want a piece of.
Hey, Rich, you got a minute? I've got some drawings back in the shop.
Have some drawings? Modifications.
Kelp. Right. Come on.
He's gonna bend Richard's ear.
Was that my fault? Well, I'm sorry.
What is this preoccupation with kelp?
Well, I'd like to explain the whole thing to you,
but I get seasick in this office here.
How about I do that over dinner?
Tonight?
Well now, you don't like to put things off too far, do you?
I like that.
Thank you.
Suggestion. Just one?
Before I have to get too agreeable,
let's talk about Chris Jencks.
And why he's working on a project
he's not particularly interested in.
I happen to think Chris is a very nice guy.
But this kelp thing has been a fantasy of his
since he was 13 years old and read about it in Boy's Life:
It's still not practical. So don't make things worse. Please.
Well all right, I'll come clean.
I ain't all that fired up about kelp.
It's coral I'm talking about.
The black and gold variety you get over in Hawaii.
It's way down deep and it's bringing the price of diamonds.
I figure it's a real good game for one of them robot tractors.
I was going to talk to Dick Lessing about it,
but is he a trustworthy fella, you think?
(CLANKING)
Deplorable! Outrageous! Nasty!
Trouble, sir?
Are you serious?
Some trouble is you're serving Evelyn Martin Van Sauter III
silverfish in his salad.
In fact, there's something else moving in here, too.
Oh, wonderful. Marvelous.
You mean to tell me it's part of the recipe right there?
You mean to tell me that this is
la salade silverfish au gratin?
We are extremely sorry about this, sir.
Please accept our apologies and a dinner with our compliments.
And please accept a bottle of our wine. You've got it.
I'd like something light and dry. And not under $20.
Excuse me.
Hey, Jimmy. Hey. It was the Super Bowl, right?
The Super Bowl, that's where.
I've been wanting to talk to you about that game ever since.
Would you excuse us a minute, honey?
I want to talk to him.
Jimmy, did you see me work that deal?
Deal? Angel, you're not doing the old
fly-in-the-soup routine at Toussaint's?
Want to use a silverfish?
I was going to go with the cockroaches, but they're too big.
It's like overkill. Silverfish are perfect
'cause they're small and... How do you say... Like...
Subtle. Yeah, exactly.
Let me ask you something. Who's the ice goddess
with the stiff upper lip and the car salesman's smile?
Just a friend, just a friend.
And it's strictly social, Angel.
Now, James, don't kid old Angel.
I mean, here you are in this garlic palace,
dressed like one of the Sons of the Pioneers. What's happening?
Okay, Angel. Okay.
Just don't blow my cover.
It's a jewel recovery thing and we're getting close.
So, don't you step on my routine, I won't step on yours.
I wouldn't. Fair enough.
Excuse me, Mr. Meeker. Are you a friend of the bearded gentleman?
Well, we might... Could you have a word with the manager, sir?
Well, I am...
Only the manager is considering calling the police
on the matter concerning your acquaintance.
Hi there. I'm a friend of Jim's.
I noticed.
I don't want to seem like I'm being unfriendly to Jimmy, you know.
But I looked over here and saw you and admired you and thought,
"What's Jimmy doing with such a nice-Iooking lady?"
Then I thought, why is he all dressed up
like some west Texas sunrise?
He's from Oklahoma.
He's in tie oil business. He buys and sells it.
(WHISPERING) He buys oil at the gas station just like everybody else.
Why don't you come to the point. Thank you.
This becomes the difficult part, ma'am.
You see, my momma is sick.
One of the only pleasures I have in life is Momma.
Momma.
She needs an operation.
How much?
Fifty.
Cheap operation. Mmm-hmm.
Who is he?
Jim Rockford.
What's his game?
Well, I said to the doctor,
"How does a plumber's assistant..."
That's what I do when the union's not on strike.
"How does a plumber's assistant afford all the doctor bills
"and the rehabilitation, you know, the Seeing Eye dog?"
The oxygen tent. It's a good year.
Plastic surgery, maybe.
Yeah, his brother-in-law is a publisher,
if you'd like to phone him.
Now, Angel, the bearded gentleman,
he does some investigative reporting.
Consumer protection. That sort of thing.
I see. I see.
Well, thank you very much, Mr. Meeker.
Thank you. Yes.
Well, I sure hope you can read the menu.
About the only thing I can order in French is onion rings.
Why don't you have seaweed? You're always touting it.
I never tout, honey. I just rustle.
If I was one of our 18 competitors
and I'd heard of the effectiveness of Minerva,
I might hire a private investigator too,
just to satisfy my own curiosity.
I'm worried Rockford may have learned something.
How close has he been to the equipment?
I'm not sure. He only saw the plans once.
Certainly not long enough to copy anything.
But he's cultivating Chris.
Oh.
Well, let's just keep him away from Chris.
Let him play out his little act. Go along with him.
If he's only a spy,
well maybe we can feed him some information that may be of benefit to us.
Turn it to good use, so to speak.
You never mentioned Virgil has a prison record.
Had. No, no. I never do.
It only bothers people when they find out.
His parole officer will be able to tell you why it shouldn't bother you.
What would Rockford be if he's not a spy?
Well, I hate to think, but one of our competitors
may not be above a little industrial sabotage.
Our design may be close to theirs, only better.
Oh. Don't worry.
Virgil will keep an eye on him.
Hey, you know which of these belongs to Chris Jencks?
The blue and yellow single engine down there.
Thank you.
Hey, Jimmy Joe. Jimmy Joe.
You got a plane out here too?
No, Chris. Your secretary called and said
you wanted to talk to me about that seaweed slicer.
Yeah?
Well, I did,
but I don't recall telling her to have you meet me here.
I got to get up to Oregon. Sorry, if I fouled you up.
Yeah.
Hey, why don't you just climb aboard
and we'll talk about it on the way up?
Well, no. I got some telephone calls to make.
Why don't we do it when you get back? We'll have lunch, all right?
Okay, good buddy. All right, Chris.
Oh, Chris... Yeah?
Oh, thanks.
CHRIS: Come on, now. Come on.
(ENGINE SPUTTERING)
Mr. Lessing.
Kurt Rundstedt, New Haven Insurance Company.
That's the FAA over there.
I see.
What about Chris?
We're still searching for the cockpit section.
His body should be in there.
So what the hell happened?
Pilot error, most probably.
How do you know that?
There were no other planes in the vicinity.
The air controller said Mr. Jencks was a flat-hatter.
Liked aerobatics and often flew low to chase whales.
Are you aware of the kind of work Chris was doing?
Yes. A confidential project for the oil business.
That's why I've asked the FAA to examine the wreckage.
Do you have any information that would suggest foul play?
No, no. No, I don't.
But the more I'm involved with the oil business,
the less surprised I am.
What do you think?
95% of all your crashes are pilot error.
But at this stage I don't do any thinking,
I just wait for the FAA report.
That poor guy.
I hope it all happened quickly.
Let us know if you find out anything.
Okay. Thanks.
Finally got a make on those muddy plates.
The truck that hit Beth is owned by a carpenter.
He parked it at a site at a job that day.
Someone could have stolen it, bashed into Beth
and then got it back before quitting time.
Possibly.
What's that? Prospectus.
It has latent prints of Richard Lessing.
I'm thinking that when they're run,
they might pick up something. Maybe under a different name.
I note the tricky construction of the sentence "when they're run,"
sliding over who might do the running.
I have to leave something to the imagination.
I don't want you to get bored.
Anything else while I'm running the prints?
Manicure? A shine?
Now, come on, Dennis.
We have no ongoing investigation of Richard Lessing.
But you will run into an insurance snoop by the name of Kurt Rundstedt.
He's checking out the possibility of a homicide in that plane crash.
Well he should.
Why isn't anybody from this office assigned to the case?
Lt. Chapman wants to hear what the FAA has to say
before we begin neglecting our other cases.
Those lab boys know what they're doing.
As opposed to Lieutenant Chapman.
RICHARD: I wish I had better news for you.
But I'm sorry my group feels that Chris was the creator of the Minerva Project
and without him the lending establishment
may be reluctant to advance
the kinds of money we'll need
when Minerva proves out. If it proves out.
You know, Chris had a good idea.
But I really did design it, from some very rough sketches.
But I know I can make it work.
I believe you, Susan.
But my group already has $200,000 invested in this,
and if there's anymore development costs, I just don't...
But you did have the standard key man insurance on Chris Jencks?
Yes, of course. It covers the initial investment money. Yes.
Including my $35,000.
Don't worry, Mr. Harcourt.
No one will bleed.
Except Chris.
I'm sorry, of course.
Richard, take a positive attitude.
Susan, as passionately involved as I am
in underwater technology,
I really feel we should call a halt to this particular project.
No, Richard. I think you show your investors some confidence, and...
My secretary caught wind of this meeting
and though perhaps I might want to attend
being I was the initial contact
between our firm and the Minerva Project.
Well, Beth, we would've informed you of the meeting, of course,
but with your medical condition, we just didn't think...
Oh, very thoughtful of you, Mr. Harcourt,
but don't let me interrupt.
Susan was about to make a point, I believe.
Yes, I was.
As I was saying,
I think we should use the insurance money
to get Minerva out of development and into production.
The insurance check may be a while in coming, Susan.
When will Minerva be ready, Susan?
Two or three days. We don't have a man to dive.
We're gonna need one the first time out. You know that.
I know and I could do it.
I'm certainly familiar enough with Minerva.
Wait a minute. I might be able to come up with
a few thousand more for interim financing and then we could...
Excuse me, but I really don't see the need to rush.
I really don't.
How about competition?
How about Mclntyre or CRT one of the others?
A week? Two weeks?
Is the ocean floor going to be crawling
with somebody else's tractors in that time?
Let's wait until the FAA makes a determination on Chris' death.
Let's wait... "Wait. Don't. But."
That's all anybody has been hearing from you lately.
I was hired six years ago by Harcourt and Lowe to give advice
and that's exactly what I intend to do.
This is a trouble project as far as I'm concerned.
Yes, yes, we've heard, Beth.
Don't think we don't appreciate your concern,
your diligence, but it's just that...
I don't. Because I think I know what's causing this obstructionism.
The idea of me bringing you business,
the idea that I have something of my own to bring.
As that old saying goes,
"It's not enough that I succeed, all my friends must fail."
I resent that very much, Susan.
Ladies, ladies, let's not have a catfight.
A catfight?
Now she's going to get semantic.
Look, whoever dives,
I say we run the test.
That would be my vote.
Then it's settled.
I'm not sure we're gonna do any good here, Beth.
When Susan called me, she said she was willing to listen.
Well, I declare.
How y'all doing, Jimmy Joe?
Well, now, you said she wouldn't have her hackles up.
When I get lied to, I get about as angry as a hive of bees
under an Amarillo front porch.
Which don't mean nothing, but it sure sounds like it does.
See?
Rural wisdom don't take no special talent at all.
I thought you said we could talk, Susan.
Who's going on the trial run with Minerva?
Prying is not my idea of talking.
But then that's the whole reason you hired him.
Jim Rockford?
I'm Sergeant Jacobsen, Police Department.
Is this the man you saw near Mr. Jenck's airplane?
Yes, sir. Right.
Miss Kenniston, by what name do you know this man?
Jimmy Joe Meeker.
"It is my duty to inform you you have the right to remain silent.
"If you give up the right to remain silent
"anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
And I thought you enjoyed the dinner?
"You have the right to speak with an attorney
"and to have the attorney present during questioning."
I tell you, one meal in there and you're ready to go straight.
How come you had to post bond?
Well, Lessing's frame didn't hold
and the DA dropped the murder charge.
But he may push a charge of fraud
for your imitation of an oil man.
I didn't defraud anyone.
Somebody told him I sponsored it.
Then the crunch could be on you.
Judge might turn it in to the State Bar Association for review. Ethics.
You mean you could get disbarred?
Well, probably not, but most likely fired.
Oh, I talked to Dennis.
Those fingerprint reports came back from Washington.
Lessing actually has another name:
Paul T. Grishman.
We've got work to do. Where?
Library.
Car's over there.
(BETH SCOFFS)
BETH: No wonder Paul T. Grishman changed his name.
Out of the four companies he's started,
two were sold at a loss and two went bankrupt.
A realty office, a boating company.
The last one was a marine engineering firm in Miami.
Making what?
An underwater metal detector.
Was the inventor of the detector also the president?
Yes. Until five years ago.
I've been looking at these insurance journals.
There's something about key man insurance
that appeals to my sense of greed.
That policy on Chris Jencks was routine assurance for investors.
Well, how about that.
What?
Grisham's metal detector corporation went under all right.
The president drowned while testing the device.
Key Man insurance paid $600,000 to Paul T. Grisham,
a.k.a. Richard Lessing.
How much insurance was on Chris?
That was handled by Lessing's office.
I guess that's where I'm going to have to go.
You think he's going to tell you?
He might, if he isn't there.
ANGEL: So how much does this printer friend of yours
think we can make on this original Picasso lithograph?
On something like this, it's whatever the market will bear, you know?
Don't I know it. I once did my own Andy Warhols.
I got a couple of cans of soup
and then went and used the photocopying machine down at the library.
$1.20 investment, I did 40 clams.
Hey, Jimmy, the printer friend of yours from San Quentin,
he's got offices in a building like this?
Not exactly, no.
I wondered why you were cutting me in on this.
Now look, I got you here because you're going to perform a service.
You see, I might not even be here
if you hadn't sold out to Susan Kenniston at the restaurant.
Now you're going to stay here and you're gonna watch the elevators
while I go up to the sixth floor. Why?
Because if a couple of mod executive types come through there,
the sharp dressers, one looks like the others shadow,
you're going to call me at this number
and you're going to warn me.
You can't make me do this.
Oh, you're going do it.
Because if you don't, I'm going to have a chat
with the maitre d' at Toussaint's.
Then we're gonna put some of your silverfish
up on the stand and let them testify.
You'd snitch on me?
Oh, you can bet on it.
Lessing mad me his patsy
and I've got to get some evidence on him.
Okay, okay.
You're a hard man, Jimmy.
Hard.
(RINGING)
Yeah?
WOMAN ON PHONE: : Stand by for an urgent message:
The alarm has been activated at office 1402
in the 3550 building:
Do you work here? Yeah. No. But I did.
It's my last day. I quit. No future.
(LAUGHING)
Virgil, why do you bother with that?
I check everybody, Dick. Everybody.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
(CAR HONKING)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
You trying to kill me?
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
One million dollars of insurance.
Payable to Normandy Investment Incorporated.
That's pretty good return on $200,000.
Which one are you reading? Chris'.
Read on. The other policy.
Susan.
Read the effective date. The 21st.
That's today.
Why would the insurance company go along with it?
This thing is starting to drive me crazy.
Why would the insurance company go along with it?
It's a different company.
But they share information... Oh no, not anymore.
Not with the new right of privacy laws.
Of course.
Well, Lessing must be convinced
that the Minerva project is going to fall.
Well, I don't think Lessing could care one way or the other.
But they'll have him up for murder. It's so obvious.
Well, not without evidence.
And when you have a mechanic as careful as Virgil Cheski,
it comes up accident.
We better call Susan. I already done it. No answer.
At 4:00 a. M?
Oh, that's right. She was sleeping on the boat tonight
for an early... start.
They're testing the Minerva out in the channel this morning
as soon as it's light enough.
Not used to getting up this early in the morning. It's kind of chilly.
Did Rudy bring the air tanks and diving gear onboard yet?
No, he forgot your tanks in the shed. I'll get them for you.
Okay.
Okay, gang, last chance for some decent coffee.
We shove off in ten minutes. Want some coffee?
No.
Morning.
Hi.
Excited?
Yeah.
I couldn't sleep a wink last night. I'll catch you later.
What do you want?
It's not want I want, it's what they want.
You know they plan to bring you back in a net?
They have you insured for one million bucks.
SUSAN: So? That's standard.
That's right.
Now, you're the key person in the project. And so was Chris. You get it?
Are you saying Dick killed Chris?
Come ashore with me for a minute and read some papers.
Just put off the project for one hour
so you can read these insurance policies and journals.
You're more tiresome than your daddy. You know that, Jimmy Joe?
Well, well, Dick. You know,
we never have gotten along, have we?
To say I don't respect certain things about you would be
way off base, you know? I mean, there are certain personality conflicts that...
Well, they go much deeper than the surface appearances.
(GUNSHOT)
The cops were supposed to be here. We've got to stall for time.
You go in the cabin, I'll go around the bow.
You're finished, Rockford!
You and the girl won't get off this boat alive!
Go up the ladder.
Get over there.
Cops better get here in a hurry.
We're running out of places to hide.
Come on!
Freeze. I said, freeze!
Come on.
Mr. Harcourt was falling all over himself to apologize.
Did you accept it?
Sure. He offered me a month's vacation every year,
my name on the letterhead, and the very office vacated by Eugene Lowe
when he died last year.
Sounds great.
That, I didn't accept.
I keep getting the feeling there's a big announcement in the offing.
Am I going to have to pry it out of you or what?
It's not really a big announcement. It's more like a little announcement.
I made it this morning. It came in two paragraphs.
Paragraph 1, "I quit." Paragraph 2, "Stuff it."
Big office and everything.
No sub sections?
Well, there were a few, but I was getting hysterical and I lost my temper
so I think maybe I won't repeat them.
Hey, wait a minute.
You're opening up your own office?
Hey, that's the greatest news I've heard yet. It's marvelous.
All the best. And really, if there's anything I can do to help...
Well, actually, Susan, there is something.
I don't want to raid Harcourt and Lowe's client list when I leave,
but I am worried about clients.
Where are they going to come from?
They'll come, they'll come. And you know you've always got me.
Thanks, Jim. I was talking about paying clients though.
I know what you're going to ask.
The legal hassles in resolving who retains control of Minerva.
The answer is, I wouldn't want anyone but you handling it.
Thank you, Susan. Thank you very much.
Are you kidding? Thank you.
But we will pursue the case according to my game plan, right?
Oh, sure. I always try to work with my clients,
but how much do you know about the law, Susan? No offense intended.
I don't think legal technicalities are as important
in this kind of litigation
as common sense and a knowledge of the engineering factors.
I have no lack of common sense.
Beth Davenport, Attorney at Law.
That really sounds great.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come in, come in.
Jimmy, I need your help. Howdy. Howdy, girls.
I'm really into it this time. I got busted last night.
Angel, you're still on probation on the cockfighting charge.
What'd they nail you for?
Holding.
Holding? What were you holding?
Numbers slips?
Silverfish.
I was stuffing them into the Foo Yung down at the Peking Palace
and I had it going good.
I had them in that little bottle I showed you,
with one of those childproof caps on the top of it.
I couldn't get the thing out of there.
So, while I'm yelling at the guy, here comes one of my silverfish
out of my pocket and into my beard.
Oh, Lord!
Yeah, tell me about it, lady. Well, everything went terrible after that.
I mean, the guy starts yelling at me in Chinese.
Two guys come out of the kitchen, they pat me down,
they find the whole stash.
Then by the time the police are taking me out a minute,
there's some guy in the kitchen comes out.
He wants a piece of me, you know. He's trying to hit me with one of those woks.
And you're wondering where your clients are going to come from?