Would you look at that?
Did you tell me that? No.
Did you say, "Sandra, I'm back on the case"?
No, I didn't. Okay, that's it.
Take it easy. Relax.
You're gonna be just fine.
What are you doing?
Watch out!
[Telephone ringing]
(Rockford on answering machine) This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
[Beeps] I'll get back to you.
(Lori) It's Lori at the trailer park. A space opened up.
Do you want me to save it, or are the cops gonna let you stay?
(Morry) I got to be drunk, right?
(Matty) Yeah.
Otherwise, how would I let this guy talk me into this?
Yeah.
Will you just shut up and keep digging?
(Morry) How much deeper?
Maybe another foot. Just keep digging.
You know, this here, is just more than against the law.
You know that? This is a crime against nature.
It's called... Grave robbing.
Keep digging.
Hey, I hit something. Keep it down.
Here, tie this on it.
(Morry) Look at this.
He's got a fold-up winch.
You do this a lot?
(Rockford) Here, hook that onto there.
Okay, come on. Get out. Move it.
(man) All right, hold it, right there.
(Morry) Oh, no.
[Gun firing]
(doctor) Give me a workup and put this guy on IV. Stat.
(nurse) Yes, Doctor.
(Rockford) Charlotte.
What did he say? He keeps saying "Charlotte."
Move it. We got to pump this guy full of plasma or he won't last.
Yes, Doctor.
Call Dr. Freeman.
We may need a head cutter. He may be hemorrhaging in there.
Charlotte. Take it easy, fella.
Move him to Emergency 3 and get an EKG in there on the double.
Charlotte.
Charlotte?
Charlotte who? (Sandra) Charlotte Duskey.
Her full name is Charlotte Anne Duskey.
She disappeared yesterday.
Cleared out her apartment and left.
Listen, I got to get this story down to Makeup before lunch.
We can talk then. There's a little restaurant across the street.
Order me a tuna salad on white,
a tossed green with the vinegar dressing and coffee, black.
How about a dill?
Don't mind me, I'm a little pushy.
I mean, I'm a real turnoff at first,
but you'll get to like me eventually. I'll grow on you.
Heavy mayonnaise, no dill.
Sorry I took so long. But I have an unorthodox journalistic style.
I don't pyramid. Drives the editor crazy.
Pyramid? Yeah. It's a copywriting term.
In a news article, you're supposed to put the important stuff
at the top and the less important stuff at the bottom.
I know, it's depressing, isn't it?
I don't do it that way. Just drives them crazy.
Look, Miss Turkell. Sandra.
It's Jim, isn't it? Yes.
I think we should start by talking about my fee.
I can't talk to you without your meter running or something?
I just think that we should start by
making a professional arrangement.
How much?
$200 a day, plus expenses.
Do you have a rate card?
What was that?
People who sell a legitimate service should have rate cards.
You see, that makes the prospective client feel that the fees are fixed
and that they don't fluctuate with the market.
Makes them feel like they're not being hustled.
Yes, but I like to size up prospective clients
and then try and gouge them.
You're getting mad.
Mad, me? Whatever for?
Really, I think we're gonna get along pretty good.
One thing I ought to tell you, though.
I plan to run this operation.
I mean, I know a great deal about police procedures and detective work.
So what I need you for is to kind of go along with me,
in case there are some really dangerous types,
and you can take care of them for me.
Take care of them? Yeah.
Charlotte Duskey is missing and in trouble.
I'm gonna find her and help her.
But it could get dangerous, so I need...
a whatchamacallit? A gorilla?
Do you have a gun? No, I don't.
As a matter of fact, I'm scared to death of them.
I also don't like gorillas for the same reason.
And I don't work for people who try to tell me how to do my business.
Maybe you don't know everything.
Maybe you could stand to listen.
You don't pyramid, you know all about police work,
you drive your editor nuts,
and you're looking for a gunslinger to help you shoot people
while you're looking for your best friend, Charlotte Duskey.
We ought to sell this to the comics.
If you can't keep up, you just say so.
What're you talking about? You just give me time to go home
and get my gun and grease the axle on my wheelchair.
(Sandra) Wait!
I need help.
If there were time to find somebody else I would, but there isn't any time.
Maybe she doesn't want to be found.
There's been a man hanging around her house.
She's been acting strange, scared and jumpy.
About a week ago, she started phoning in sick,
then she wouldn't leave the house.
Then two days ago, she asked two guys from the linotype room
to help her load up her station wagon and she left, in the middle of the night.
[Stuttering]
My father and I owe Charlotte a lot.
Your father?
He owns the paper.
Your father's the editor?
No, Mr. Rockford, the owner is generally referred to as the publisher.
My Uncle Ted is the editor. He's the one I'm driving nuts.
Look, in two days, the trail could be pretty cold.
I know which way she was heading when she left town.
I found that out by circle searching the gas stations.
What's that? A police term.
I called all the gas stations within a certain circumference of the center of this town.
And there is a self-service station on Highway 10 that remembers her.
She asked an attendant for a road map to Elmira. She must've gone there.
That's about 150 miles south of here.
Circle search, huh? Yeah.
See, Mr. Rockford, I told you I'm a dynamite detective.
Charlotte's gonna be very easy to trace if the trail doesn't get too cold.
Why?
She's driving a red station wagon and she is a beautiful girl.
I mean, strikingly, breathtakingly beautiful.
And she is 6 feet tall. Believe me, people remember her.
Getting interested, huh?
Sandra, all the men in the world don't subscribe to Playboy.
Do you? No.
I borrow my father's copy when he's through with it.
How about it? You gonna help me?
You're coming along? That's part of the deal?
Into each life a little rain must fall.
Don't worry. You'll get to like me eventually.
(man) Charlotte Duskey?
Yeah, I think that was her name.
Real tall, right? About 6 foot? Yeah.
Had a red station wagon, all loaded up with stuff.
That's her.
Yeah, she was here, all right.
Yeah, caused quite a stir. Charlotte Duskey.
That was her name. Where is she?
She's dead.
She was having dinner right here in the dining room
and keeled over dead.
Doctors said she had a bad heart.
Congenital heart disease, he called it.
There was nothing wrong with Charlotte's heart.
She was as strong as a horse.
The way the doctor explained it,
big people have to be careful of their hearts.
Can't take all that size.
I heard that about Great Danes and St. Bernards, but never people.
Who is this doctor? The local vet or what?
Listen, mister, Charlotte Duskey is dead. Heart attack.
She was pronounced officially dead and left town in a pine box.
No offense, miss.
Thank you very much. Sure. Not at all.
I don't believe it.
Can I get you some water?
No, I mean, I really don't believe it.
People like Charlotte just don't die of heart attacks.
She used to jog at the high school track every day.
She once told me,
she had a heart rate of 60.
I don't know what's going on here, but he's lying.
She's not dead.
I don't think that guy's lying.
What's this for? It's water.
Is that supposed to make me all better or something?
What, did you see that on television?
Bring the fainting woman a cup of water?
I don't want it.
You're right. It doesn't help.
Now that you mention it,
Dr. Kenilworth was right here when the woman collapsed.
He was having dinner at the Inn.
Did Dr. Kenilworth... Is Dr. Kenilworth married?
Of course.
But he was having dinner alone? Well, yes.
Where can we find him?
He has a clinic on C Street. Where is that?
Between B and D Street.
North end of town. Thank you.
Look, Sandra, if you want to talk to these people, that's fine.
I'll just wait in the car.
But only one person should do the talking, otherwise, there's no coordination.
You weren't gonna ask that question and it's important.
If he'd been here for dinner, he'd have been with his family.
But he was alone.
He was in on the scheme to make it look like Charlotte died.
Dynamite Detective, where did you learn about police work anyway?
On the paper. I cover the crime beat in Longview.
Lot of big crime in Longview.
Yeah, we get our share. It can get pretty hairy.
The way I hear it, there's a lot of terrible stuff going on down there.
Gum machines get ripped off right and left.
You're just mad because you missed the point.
Did you notice anything else that was strange?
No. What do you mean?
We're being followed.
There's a guy in a gray sedan.
Where is he? Behind us?
Yeah. He's average looking, button-down type
with a grim expression on his face.
(Rockford) You ever seen him before?
(Sandra) I wonder if he's the one who's been hanging around Charlotte.
I wonder if he's the one who scared her off.
Let's lose him.
Let's not. He's a lead.
Who knows, maybe later, I'll want to put on my gorilla suit
and go bounce him around.
Will you stop making fun of me?
(Kenilworth) I really can't discuss my cases
with anyone other than family.
So, if you'll excuse me...
Doctor, I'm with Lexington General Life.
We're looking for verification of death so we can pay off the beneficiaries.
I'll need verification of that. Of course.
I'll give you my business card.
There, that's my business card, State Registration Card.
This is my membership card in the Insurance Investigators Health Plan.
Yes, it all seems to be in order. Could I see the file, please?
Charlotte Duskey's file, please.
Practiced here long, Doctor?
About five years.
Where did you practice before this?
Madam, who are you?
I am a representative of the Longview News.
Thank you.
Charlotte Duskey owned a sizable percentage of the newspaper.
You didn't say where you'd practiced before.
I really don't see that's any of your business.
Neither do I.
Doctor, it says...
It says here that she wasn't pronounced dead
until two hours after she arrived at your clinic.
The very good reason for that is that she didn't die
until two hours after she arrived at my clinic.
Was she conscious? Yes.
She asked that her cousin, Susan Duskey, be contacted.
I called the cousin,
but by the time she arrived, Charlotte was dead.
The cousin claimed the body
and made arrangements to have it put aboard the 7:05.
705? That's a train.
Charlotte's cousin, what did she look like?
Extremely tall, almost as tall as the dead woman.
She was very pretty.
Brown hair. The deceased had red hair.
Could I have a copy of the file, please?
Yes, fine.
And then you must excuse me. I have to get back to work.
It's important to know where he practiced before.
It's gonna help us find out if Charlotte knew him.
He practiced in Chicago.
How do you know that?
I missed that. Really?
Kenilworth is a little too studied.
I get the feeling that he practices that sincere look in front of the mirror.
I don't like him.
Neither do I.
It's true, isn't it?
What?
Charlotte does own a piece of the newspaper.
You weren't just laying that on old Dr. Kenilworth.
It's true.
What are you thinking?
I'm just adding it up without the equation.
And? It alters things a little.
I mean, it makes me a little suspicious of your motives
and it also makes me wonder why you didn't bother to tell me.
Because it's not important. I mean, that is a completely unrelated fact.
Charlotte arrived in town six months ago.
She worked on the paper as a copy editor.
The paper was in bad financial trouble, she lent my father $100,000.
She bailed us out. We gave her stock in return for the cash.
That little detail of the investigation slipped your mind?
You didn't think it was important enough to tell me?
That is just not something you go around telling strangers.
Sandra, a private investigator
is like an attorney or a doctor.
You confide in him and what you tell him is privileged.
That's not true.
PI's can be forced to reveal anything in court.
And most of them would spill their guts for a $10 bill.
[Train horn blowing]
Well, what now? Wait a minute.
Ace. No.
Aaron Brothers, with two "A's."
What are you talking about?
Would you reach in the glove compartment
and get those two little white boxes out of there?
Thank you.
What are we doing?
You can waste a lot of time on people if you don't have the right props.
Would you get the ink and the knife out of the glove compartment, please?
And one of these cards.
The whole secret of a good confidence game is having the right props.
(Rockford) I think she left on the 7:05 yesterday.
What seems to be the problem, Mr. Rockford?
Well, it's a mix-up.
It's a little embarrassing for us.
Of course, but how does the shipment of this casket yesterday affect all this?
Miss Susan Duskey paid for our executive box,
that's the 30756 model,
and she was given the 30756-A, which is a cheaper model.
It doesn't have the fluted scrolled handles
or the double-lined satin headrest.
Actually, it's my fault.
I usually handle all these purchase orders myself
but this particular one was handled by Miss Turkell.
She made the mistake.
I don't know how I can help you.
If you could just give us the destination of the casket
and then we'd ship the right one to that location
and the deceased could be changed
into the proper slumber chamber for burial, you see.
I'm afraid I can't help you there.
All of these lading records are handled by the conductors on the individual trains.
Then they're filed with the gross receipts at the end of the line.
Who is the conductor? Maybe I could talk to him.
Let's see, that'd be...
Yes, Steve McWilliams.
And where would I find him?
Come down here at 7:05 this evening.
That same train will be coming through here then.
Thank you very much.
Boy, you are really too much.
Aaron Brothers Funeral Supplies.
What a disgusting performance.
Don't knock it. It worked, didn't it?
Yeah, but... I suppose you'd rather I beat it out of him.
Maybe show him a gun, give him a coronary?
(Sandra) Forget it.
I'm getting tired of him.
I'm getting damn tired of him.
[Tires screeching]
What are you doing?
Watch out!
[Moaning]
Okay, buddy. Just who are you, huh?
Now, come on, let's have it. I haven't got all day.
Harry Stoner,
US Treasury Department, IRS.
I keep meaning to get that gear shift fixed.
It drops into reverse.
You can bet that thing's going in the shop today.
I hope you'll accept my sincerest apologies, Agent Stoner.
Don't you worry, my insurance company is gonna cover all this.
Here, let me see that.
It's just a scratch. You're gonna be fine.
You are right on the tender edge of getting thrown in Leavenworth.
You should do yourself a big favor
and think about what you say to me before you say it.
Because I'm a man with absolutely no sense of humor.
Smart mouths turn me off.
And I'm beginning to suspect you have a smart mouth.
You're right, I do. But I'm working on changing that.
Good.
Where's my gun? It's right over there.
Here, let me get it for you. I know right where I threw it.
That's quite a story.
So you don't think Miss Duskey is dead, is that it?
Not necessarily. She may be dead, I don't know.
But there's a good chance she's not.
I agree with you.
But I think for much better reasons.
I don't think neither one of you really know who she is.
I've known Charlotte Duskey for... For six months.
Miss Turkell, we've been watching her ever since she left Arizona.
Arizona? She told me she came from Minneapolis.
Charlotte Duskey was born and raised in Chicago.
She left there at the age of 20.
Took up with a famous gangster by the name of Joe Baron.
Miss Duskey was his lady friend. No, that isn't possible.
Joe Baron died sometime last year.
That's right. And after he died
Charlotte went through his safe and cleaned it out.
That's a theft. What's the Treasury Department doing in it?
There's some question as to whether she came into that money legally
and we want our cut.
Baron's son, Joe Jr., gave us the estimated value.
$1,200,000 in bills and negotiable paper.
The inheritance tax due the Federal Government
is in the neighborhood of... $300,000.
A little more than that. $340,000 and some change.
Why were you following us?
Why didn't you just knock on the front door?
Look, Rockford, I've been in this business for awhile.
I know people tend to clam up when they're talking to a Fed.
When I found out you two were looking for Charlotte,
I decided to follow you and see where it took me.
By the way, how did you get to that station manager?
Those train guys are murder to get anything out of.
He has a little printing press and he makes up phony business cards.
It's disgusting. I beg your pardon?
It's nothing. Forget it.
Look, Sandra, I'm not afraid of him,
I just don't work on open cases.
And if the Federal Government is involved, it's an open case.
So I'm off it. Why? That doesn't make any sense.
Because guys like Stoner get very exercised
when private citizens start messing around in open cases.
They warn you first, and then they take your picture,
and then they ink up your hands,
and then they throw you in jail.
I'm just not all that hooked on you or Charlotte.
How gallant.
All arranged. I got my ticket.
You better get in touch with your insurance company about the accident.
Let them know they'll be getting a call.
I want that all cleared up before I leave.
Right. That's a good idea.
I'd like a listing for Joe Baron, Jr. In Phoenix, Arizona, please.
Thank you.
[Telephone ringing]
Hello.
That's right.
Joe, some guy, long distance. Says he knows something about Charlotte.
Record it.
Yeah, what is it? Is this Joe Baron, Jr?
Yeah. Only it's not Jr. When my father died, I dropped the Jr.
Yeah. Mr. Baron, after your father died
did a woman by the name of Charlotte Duskey
disappear with the contents from your father's safe?
Who is this? The tooth fairy.
That's funny. That's very funny.
You better tell me who you are, buddy,
or this conversation ends right now.
We might get around to who I am
but you got to answer some questions first.
That is if you're interested in finding Charlotte Duskey.
You there? Yeah, let's hear the question.
Are there any estate taxes pending on that cash?
Why?
Is the Federal Government interested in finding Charlotte Duskey?
Why?
We're not doing too well, are we?
Look, who are you, sport?
Mr. Baron, I might be able to help you find her,
but I got to find out where the out of bounds markers are first.
All right, I'll tell you what. You find Charlotte Duskey
I'll give you $20,000. How's that?
That's not bad. Not bad. What about the Feds?
Well, that depends.
Is there anyone in particular you want to discuss?
Yeah. As a matter of fact, I have.
(announcer) Amtrak Eastbound, 7:05 Vistaliner to Acerton,
Ash View and South...
Say, you there?
Yeah.
This guy says his name is Harry Stoner.
I'd say he's about 6 foot tall,
he has no sense of humor, wears Brooks Brothers suit,
and he has a scar on his right cheek.
Yeah, he's not a Fed. Stoner used to work for my father.
He quit when my father died.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Baron. That's $20,000 for a recovery.
I'll be in touch.
(announcer on tape) Amtrak Eastbound, 7:05 Vistaliner to Acerton,
Ash View and South...
Find out what train that is and get a couple of the boys on it.
Tell them to look for Harry Stoner.
And tell them to watch out for that other guy.
He sounds like a yo-yo. (man) Right.
[Horn blowing]
It's all arranged. My insurance man will be expecting a call.
Good.
Well, goodbye. Goodbye.
Is that it?
He says goodbye and we go away just because he's a Federal agent?
He's not a Fed.
He's not? No, he isn't.
How did you figure that out? The old cop hunch?
The old lucky guess. What are we gonna do?
When you were a little girl, did you ever play doctor?
Huh?
[Train horn blaring]
(man) Yes, Doctor, what can I do for you?
This is Nurse Turkell.
Tell me, did you run across a man a few cars up,
who claimed to be a Federal Officer?
Agent Stoner?
What do you think, Doctor?
Well, at least he's aboard. That much is in our favor.
What are you talking about?
Tell me, what is he saying?
I mean, are his remarks precise, or was he rambling?
I'm sorry. What?
Mr. Stoner is an outpatient from Fairview.
He's suffering from a peltomas symptom with milagrea sympaticus.
Delusions of grandeur. The old Napoleon complex.
Mr. Stoner thinks he's a G-man.
Why, he had a suppressed childhood
and he developed fantasy images.
Well, is he
is he all right? I mean, is he dangerous?
Have you had a coffin on this train lately?
As a matter of fact, we shipped one to Ash Brook yesterday.
And did he show an obsessive interest in this coffin?
As a matter of fact, he asked a lot of questions about it.
I think the best thing to do would be to lure him
into an empty compartment and then give him a sedative.
Do you have one we could use?
[Stuttering] Compartment C in the next car is empty.
Good. Now, will you go back and tell Mr. Stoner
that you were talking to the porter and the porter said that
he had some more information about Miss Duskey.
And the porter will meet him in Compartment C of the next car.
He seemed so authentic.
Yes, I know. He's very convincing.
It's one of the characteristics of milagrea sympaticus.
It really works. It's fascinating.
[Knocking on door]
Come in.
How's it going, Harry? Found that coffin yet?
I'm having you put off at the next stop, and held in custody
until this official investigation is over.
Now put your hands up, you're under arrest.
You're about as official as a cub scout at a rodeo.
It's against the law to impersonate a Federal Officer.
You ever heard about that, Harry?
You're the one that could end up in Leavenworth.
You're dead, Rockford.
I don't think so.
No, I think that you and I should share any information we may have.
I'd be interested in knowing if that money that we're chasing is hot.
I'd kill you for $1.20.
I ain't about to mess around when the stakes are this high.
You're not gonna kill me.
You're gonna trip and fall off the end of the train.
Business is business.
Come on, now, Harry. Let us not let this get out of hand.
You should have stayed in Elmira. Big mistake.
Where's the girl?
I don't know. She's around the train somewhere.
Open that door. She goes, too.
This one?
[Rockford grunting]
A little shock therapy ought to help Mr. Stoner.
I hope he can breathe in there. Sure he can.
(Darrow) I can't imagine why the Federal Government
is interested in the deceased, Agent Stoner.
It's money, Mr. Darrow. Isn't it always?
Charlotte Duskey owes the Federal Government
a considerable sum of money.
And we think she's staging this burial
to get out from under $1 million in back taxes.
It's a good thing we haven't buried the casket yet.
Since there was no ceremony to be performed,
and no relatives present,
we just put it off.
So you're in luck.
If you hadn't, we'd have just got an exhumation order from the court.
No problem.
You know, Agent Stoner, technically speaking,
I shouldn't open that casket.
It is sealed, and we do have instructions
from the cousin of the deceased.
Maybe it might be better if you did get a court order.
If you'd feel better with a court order...
How about $50? Would that make you feel better?
Oh, what...
what Miss Turkell meant was
her cousin Charlotte was quite dear to her.
I know what she meant, Agent Stoner.
Yes, $50 would be just fine.
Well, why not? We can put it on the expense account.
(Darrow) Would you look at that?
I don't believe it.
Do you have an address for Miss Duskey?
Yes, it's back at the office.
An address in Minneapolis, I think. I'll want it.
What do I do with the coffin?
We don't want Miss Duskey to know that we're onto her, so bury it.
And you keep your mouth shut.
Bury it? But it's empty.
How about that?
Call an ambulance.
When I tell it, it all sounds so melodramatic.
Running away from hoodlums with a suitcase full of money and bonds.
And then trying to throw them off by arranging my own funeral.
Like Tom Sawyer or somebody. Huck Finn.
That's who I meant.
[Sighing]
The money was mine. Joe promised it to me.
I only took what was mine.
And now it's all for nothing.
Those men took every single penny.
You were lucky you weren't hurt any worse than you were.
[Chuckling] I have a hard head.
I guess I'm right back where I started 10 years ago when I left Chicago.
No, you aren't.
You have an interest in Dad's paper. And it's doing very well.
And you are going to come back to Longview with me and help us run it.
So you're gonna be my kid sister whether I like it or not.
Is that it? Yeah.
I'm not exactly Venus de Milo and you're pretty spectacular.
So, I figure that you'll bring all the eligible bachelors within range,
so that I can have a better shot at picking out a nice one.
What's wrong with him?
Nothing. There's nothing wrong with him.
Are you eligible?
For everything but marriage.
I wonder.
(Sandra) Charlotte, come home.
Dad and I both want that.
[Chuckles]
Okay.
That's really a crummy thing to do.
You mean I got to pay for the whole thing?
You pulled off the case at the station in Elmira.
I'll pay you for your time and expenses up to that point.
After that, you were working on your own.
I went back on the case after I talked to Joe Baron.
Did you tell me that? No.
Did you come and say, "Sandra, I'm back on the case"?
No, I didn't. Okay, that's it.
All right, I think Charlotte's lying.
I mean, those injuries aren't that bad.
It's mostly just a nosebleed.
I used to give myself a nosebleed in prison
every time I wanted to get out of something.
I think Charlotte still has the money.
I'll give you a percentage of the recovery.
If you think that I'm gonna fall for one of your crazy cons, you're crazy.
All right, but just don't forget. I offered it.
(man) All right, hold it, right there.
(Morry) Oh, no.
[Gun firing]
(Rockford) Charlotte.
500 cc's of adrenalin. Stat.
Charlotte.
Where's Charlotte? Take it easy, fellow.
You've got a bad concussion.
[Gasping]
Charlotte.
Take it easy. Relax.
You're gonna be just fine.
We'll have you out of here in a couple of weeks.
Afternoon, Rockford. Feeling better?
Stoner, how've you been? Rotten.
Yeah, me, too.
For a while there, I thought you was gonna croak.
Two weeks is a long time to be in intensive care.
Well, I was intensively injured.
I see you're still playing with guns. What do you want?
The money.
You just never did really get plugged into this thing right, did you?
You can say that again.
I don't have the money.
And I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but I don't want it either.
Don't get funny with me, Rockford.
Because I'll put a pill in you just to balance the books on that train ride.
You don't mind if I head for home, do you?
I'm not supposed to be out too long.
The doctor told me to go straight home, go to bed, and no excitement.
And I'm just not gonna let you qualify as excitement
because I don't want to go back in there and get fed through a tube.
It was in the coffin. You opened the coffin.
By the time I got away from Baron's muscle, you were in the hospital.
It was Baron's muscle that put me there.
They got it? No.
Who?
You want to talk a deal, Stoner?
Depends.
What kind of deal? Fee?
Contract? Percentage? Percentage.
You give me 20% of the recovery
and I'll tell you who's got the money.
You got to give me your word that you're not gonna double back on me
because I'm gonna trust you to cut me in.
I don't have enough energy to go along on this one.
Okay. You got my word of honor.
Who's got it?
Mr. Darrow, the mortician.
You're kidding.
I made a few calls while I was in the hospital.
He sold the cemetery and blew town.
How'd he find out? I don't know.
Maybe he figured it out.
Maybe I tipped my hand.
I hate to admit it, but
I don't make as good a Treasury Agent as you do.
Okay, 20%.
Stop the car.
Don't forget to write.
You look awful.
Yeah, I know.
I want to hire you again. I know.
Charlotte's disappeared again.
I know. You know, I think you're right.
Nobody beat up Charlotte.
She did that to herself to throw people off the track.
Those men are still after her, I think.
I don't think so.
Then why did she leave Longview?
She went back to dig up her grave and get the money,
but it isn't there.
Who has it? Joe Baron has it.
He figured it out and he sent his men back there to dig it up
and they ripped open the casket and found it hidden in the headlining.
And don't you go chasing after Charlotte. She's a fortune hunter.
Believe me, I know the type.
I should leave it alone, huh?
Why not? I am. I'm supposed to get lots of rest,
drinks lots of liquids, and avoid excitement.
Do you want me to make you some chicken soup or something?
No, thank you.
No, I'll just make a few phone calls and go to sleep.
You go back to Longview and cover the crime beat.
I'll call you tomorrow when I'm feeling better.
It happened, didn't it?
What? I grew on you.
Yeah, you did.
I wonder where the hell that money really is.