Do you look for missing persons?
Who do you want me to find? Me.
[Tires screeching]
There's been an accident on the other side.
You wanna drive over and see if you can help?
I'll run and get an ambulance.
[Tires screeching]
(man) Get that thing out of the way.
Two inches to the right and you'd be missing that eye.
But look at it this way.
Two inches to the left, he'd have missed me completely.
What kind of a man are you? Careful.
[Tires screeching]
Hold it right there.
[Telephone ringing]
(Rockford on answering machine) This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
[Beeps]
(woman) This is the blood bank. If you don't have Malaria...
Hepatitis or TB, we'd like to have a pint of your blood.
No. Wait a minute, Lindy.
Let me explain what happened.
I forgot to register the check in my checkbook...
so I thought I had money in my account and I didn't.
But there is something you can do about it.
That's the advantage of dealing with a small, friendly bank.
And a small, friendly bank teller.
The check I just wrote, the bad one...
ought to be coming in tomorrow morning.
[Grunts]
Lindy, would I ask you to do anything that's illegal?
I'm bonded. All I'm suggesting is you just drop it...
behind a computer for an hour or two and give me a chance to cover it.
If you bounce this thing, it's really going to mess up my credit rating.
Everybody has a credit rating!
[Knocking at door]
Come in.
Yeah.
3:00 tomorrow afternoon and that's a promise.
Thanks, Lindy. Thanks a lot.
Mr. Rockford? Yes.
My name is Florence Baker.
I saw your ad in the Yellow Pages.
Is it too late to discuss a business arrangement?
You're just in time.
Here. Have a seat. Please.
Thank you.
Now, what can I do for you?
Do you look for missing persons?
If it's a closed case and the police aren't involved.
No, they aren't.
Then I'll look for missing persons.
That is if my price doesn't scare you off.
I charge $200 a day, plus expenses.
$200?
All right. I'll pay it.
Who do you want me to find? Me.
I charge the same for practical jokes.
No, this is not a practical joke.
Here.
There's $600. You don't know who I am or where I live.
I know you're Florence Baker. No, that's not my real name.
I want to know if I can be found.
Who's looking for you?
I don't know that anybody is.
Is that what you want me to find out?
Mr. Rockford, I told you what I want.
I want you to try to find me.
Why? Either you're interested, or you're not.
Wait a minute.
You came in here rattling like a tambourine, with a fairly weird request.
I don't think few questions are out of line.
I need help and I'm willing to pay for it.
What more does it take to get on your client list?
Okay. You meet all the requirements.
Good.
Then I'll save you some time since your time is my money.
I'm not driving a car, so you can't check out my license through the DMV.
Trying to buy information from the cab driver who'll pick me up...
is just a waste of money.
I'm going to do a lot of walking.
May take some cabs.
May take some buses. You see, I don't want your job to be difficult.
I want it to be impossible.
In that case...
I think we both need a drink.
You can have this back. We got what we needed.
Thanks, Dennis. I owe you for this one.
Why? It's no big thing.
No forms to fill out. Nothing like that.
Do you know Wyzinski in Latent Prints? No.
Perfect set of prints.
Said we couldn't have done better if we'd booked her.
What else did Wyzinski have to say?
S-11-10. You know, technical stuff like that.
But while we were lifting the prints we started talking about the Lakers.
How do you think they're gonna make out tonight?
Oh, well, I don't know...
I haven't really been following them.
What I wouldn't give to have tickets for that game.
I bet you got tickets.
I don't suppose you'd care to join me.
That'd be really nice, Jim. But you probably made other plans.
Well, I did mention it to Rocky.
Rocky? You know how long it's been since I've seen your old man?
Both tickets?
Tell him I'll pick him up early.
We'll have dinner somewhere. It'll be on me.
Dennis, you wouldn't boost an apple off a pushcart.
How come you're always hustling me? You're a friend.
About your client.
She has no criminal record.
At least not in the County of LA. We got nothing on her.
What do you mean, nothing? What it sounds like.
Nothing.
But I have a friend in Sacramento. I called him, gave him the classification.
And he ran it through their files.
And?
She's got no criminal record in the State of California.
Give me back the tickets.
However, my friend did check the thumb print files.
And your client has a California driver's license.
Name, address, physical description, birth date.
Don't ever do that again.
Don't ever call me and say "meet me," and then hang up.
You wait for a yes or a no.
That's $367.
$200 for one day and the expenses are itemized.
You're not quitting?
Your name is Barbara Kelbaker.
You were born in Pacific Grove, California.
August 13, 1949.
Your most recent address is...
1034 Ocean View Drive, Pacific Grove.
How did you do that? That's right.
And that's all. Unless you're ready to tell me what's going on.
I can't tell you. That's the whole point.
It wouldn't work if I told you.
And I won't work if you don't.
When I have a client who's scared, I want to know why.
I want to know if I ought to be scared, too.
What kind of a man are you? Careful.
There's close to $400 here.
I said I'm not working for you unless you tell me what's going on.
Here's another $600. That's almost $1,000.
You agreed to this job and I'm holding you to it.
You found out who I am, but you haven't found me yet.
That's what I hired you to do. I'm sorry.
Please help me. I haven't anybody else I can trust.
I don't know what to do.
You can try telling me the truth.
All right.
I am scared but I can't tell you why.
If you walk away from me now, I'm dead.
I'm not asking for anything that you could call confidential.
All I want to know is if you ever had her on the books as a missing person.
Barbara? Barbara Kelbaker.
That's right. You know her? Sure.
Went to Fillmore High together. Had a couple of classes together.
Got herself in some kind of trouble, huh? I didn't say that.
You don't have to. You're a PI.
Anything I might say about Barbara Kelbaker...
it's just between the two of us, all right?
You want it confidential, it's confidential.
She is in trouble.
I could've told her that a year ago. Did you?
What for?
So she could tell me to stuff it?
She wasn't looking for good advice.
She couldn't wait to get herself messed up with him.
You're being a little hard on him, aren't you, not knowing the full story?
Yeah? Tell me what a sweetheart he is.
All right, he's a sweetheart.
Rockford, officially I've got nothing against him.
Barbara's over 21. She's the one that followed him to Denver.
Personally, I think he's got too much money and it's got a bad smell to it.
I can't keep him out of that pro-am golf tourney up in Monterey...
but I can sure make it uncomfortable...
if he ever decides to come back to Pacific Grove.
You give him that message, okay?
What are you talking about? Denver?
Denver, Colorado. I know where it is...
but what's it got to do with Mr. Yacanelli?
Who's Mr. Yacanelli? My client.
You don't work for Ralph Correll? Ralph Correll?
Never heard of him.
[Tires screeching]
Howdy. I'd like to see Ralph Correll, please.
Your name, sir? Rockford. Jim Rockford. Ponca City.
That's Oklahoma. Don't tell him that. That's liable to throw him.
We met at a pro-am down in Monterey last year.
I'm sorry, Mr. Rockford, you don't have an appointment.
Ain't you supposed to look that up in some kind of little book?
I don't have to, sir. I'm quite familiar...
with Mr. Correll's appointment schedule.
All right, so I don't have an appointment.
Old Ralph told me if I ever found myself in Denver be sure and look him up.
I'm just taking the man at his word.
What's your name?
Wyatt.
Let me put it to you this way, Mr. Wyatt.
If Ralph Correll's behind that big, old door there...
I don't think he's gonna take it too kindly...
to me cooling my heels out here and him not knowing one thing about it.
I'll tell him you're here, mister... Rockford.
Mr. Correll didn't meet you in Monterey. He doesn't know who you are.
Would he like to find out? No.
Vinnie.
Would you show Mr. Rockford to the door, please?
[Chuckles]
Penthouse? This is building security. Mr. Gantry speaking.
I don't want to alarm you but we've had a report of a gas leak.
It hasn't been confirmed yet.
We get these reports on the phone from time to time...
nine times out of ten there's nothing to them.
But in keeping with the building security...
we'll have to ask you to evacuate the building.
No, sir, as I said, it hasn't been confirmed...
but the evacuation is a routine safety precaution.
I'll be sending somebody up the elevator.
I'd appreciate it if you get your people out of the building...
just as soon as possible. Thank you.
I want that car for 2:00 and make sure they wash it.
Give this to Pat. Let him take care of it, okay?
(Rockford) Next car, please. What the...
[grunts]
[Panting]
What do you think you're doing?
It would have been more comfortable talking to you in your office...
but you didn't want to see me there.
I don't want to see you here. Get this thing moving.
What I wanted to talk to you about was Barbara Kelbaker.
Let me out of here. She's disappeared.
You're in way over your head.
You can't set this thing down in Cuba. You got nowhere to land but the lobby.
Her mother hired me to find her. She's worried.
[Scoffs]
Want me to tell you what kind of trouble you're in?
You don't seem worried. You don't even seem surprised.
You have something to do with her disappearance?
I'm gonna give you exactly 30 seconds to let me out of here.
Thirty seconds from now.
And if I don't? I'm filing charges against you.
For impersonating a maintenance man? For unlawful detention...
harassment and assault with intent to do bodily harm.
You left a hall full of witnesses upstairs.
That news about Barbara really shook you.
You two must have had a beautiful relationship.
I'm gonna remember you. Count on it.
[Telephone ringing]
Hello.
It's Barbara.
This is the fourth time I've called. Where have you been?
Denver.
Don't you want to know who I saw?
I saw Ralph and I saw Mr. Wyatt...
and a bunch of hired muscle with an IQ of about 14:
I thought you said the police weren't involved.
They're not.
If Ralph Correll's involved, the police are involved.
And I asked some questions before I left Denver.
The answers seemed to range anywhere...
from noncommittal to, "Get out of town."
He puts up a nice, legitimate front...
but he's family.
I didn't know that when I met him.
You knew it when you met me.
I've done everything you asked me to do, haven't I?
You knew what kind of information I was gonna pick up in Pacific Grove.
You knew it was going to lead me straight to Ralph Correll.
I don't like being used that way.
Particularly when I seem to be the only one...
who doesn't know what's going on.
I'm sorry, Jim. I'd explain it to you if I could but I just can't.
I never liked that answer and I really don't like it now.
Don't hang up!
Have you got any money left?
I haven't figured out my expenses yet.
Just give me an address and I'll mail you a check.
I don't want a check.
You don't have to do anything else, you don't have to talk to anyone else.
But as long as that money lasts, you're working for me.
Wanna bet?
Barbara.
[Dial tone]
(Howard) Mr. Rockford?
You are James Rockford. Yeah.
FBI, Inspector Howard.
I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but we'll have to ask you a few questions.
Let me take a wild guess. It's about Barbara Kelbaker, right?
It's about Barbara Kelbaker, yes.
I wonder, could we talk inside?
Sure.
Could you hold these? The door's locked.
Don't drop that. That's my dinner.
[Groans]
[Grunts]
Get the car.
Does that talk, or just hit?
Mr. Rockford's not ready to listen yet.
I'm ready.
I haven't dropped a hammer on anyone for a long time, Mr. Rockford.
For you I may make an exception.
I may do this one myself.
Just because I jumped your friends?
I didn't know they were with you.
I just know that feds still wear narrow ties.
[Shushing]
I got some questions. Keep your answers short and right.
You said you're working for Mrs. Kelbaker. You're not.
I'm not. But you are looking for Barbara.
Not anymore. I quit.
Who hired you?
That's where we run into a little problem area.
I'm gonna tell you.
But you're not going to believe me. Try me.
Barbara Kelbaker hired me.
Mr. Correll, if I could come up with a...
half-way reasonable lie, I'd use it. Wouldn't I?
Wouldn't you, under the circumstances?
It doesn't make any sense, but it's the truth.
It makes sense.
She figured if you could find her, I could find her.
She was checking her cover.
Were you trying to find her?
I'm still trying to find her. She stole $50,000 off of me.
[Sighs]
Where is she? I don't know.
Where?
Wait a minute.
I told you that Barbara hired me to find her. I haven't found her.
We gotta do the whole number on you, Rockford?
I can't give you information I don't have.
You don't know where she is, do you? No.
I'm through with him.
That's just a figure of speech.
Open up, Rocky. It's me.
Did you see any spare ribs around here?
See them? They were all over the place.
You didn't eat them?
I just threw them out.
Damn, Rocky. That's $4.25.
And don't say it, Rocky. This is not as bad as it looks.
I like what I'm doing.
Maybe not at the moment, but generally.
And I don't want to start pushing a rig or anything else.
I mean it, Rocky, and I don't want to talk about it.
Don't start waving any want ads at me.
You remember Pete Craddock? What?
Craddock. Guy I used to long-haul with about 20 years ago.
I got a letter from old Pete today.
He's retired like me. Don't like it much. He likes to stay active.
He's come up with this business proposition he wants me in.
Hardware store. What do you think?
Rocky, how does that look, is it deep?
Maybe a stitch or so.
Hell, I like to stay active, too, but...
Hardware. I just don't know.
Is it still bleeding, Rock?
No. It quit.
Well, I can see you're all tied up here, Son...
so I'll drop in tomorrow.
[Chuckles]
Old Pete don't need his answer right this minute, anyway.
Besides, I'd kind of like to think it over.
Maybe talk about it with you.
What's the matter with you, Rocky?
Two gorillas beat me into the ground and all you can talk about is hardware.
Because I am tired of talking to you.
You don't listen to nothing I say anyway.
Look at your face. Look at that eye.
Two inches to the right and you'd be missing that eye.
But look at it this way.
Two inches to the left, he'd have missed me completely.
[Telephone ringing]
Hello? Hold it. Don't say anything.
You got a pencil?
All right. Take down this number.
347-1347.
You got it?
All right. Call me there in a couple of minutes.
[Telephone ringing]
It's for me. I got it. Thanks.
Hello. What was that all about?
My phone may be bugged. Ralph's a very busy man.
Ralph?
You've seen him again?
Yeah, he's in LA. We had quite a little talk.
Not right away, of course. He had to get my attention first.
Would you like to know how he did that, Barbara?
I'm sorry, Jim. I didn't mean for you to get hurt.
I hadn't been planning on it myself.
Ralph knows you're hiding from him. That works two ways.
Now I know he's looking for me. That's all I had to find out.
Look, whatever money's left, it's yours.
It won't make up for what happened to you, but I want you to have it.
That sounds final. It is. You won't be seeing me again.
Wait a minute. You're not gonna do that to me.
I'm still the only one who doesn't know what this is all about.
There are two sides to everything.
Ralph says you're hiding because you stole $50,000 from him.
[Exclaims]
I didn't steal anything. I just...
reclaimed myself.
Jim, I'm sorry you're hurt.
I'm sorry about a lot of things.
You're not someone I want to say goodbye to.
[Dial tone]
[Sobs]
[Telephone ringing]
Hello.
Barbara.
No. Don't say anything.
You still have that phone number I gave you the other night?
Good. You call me there.
[People chattering]
[Ringing]
Hello. Jim.
I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but I am.
Will you help me? Where are you?
About 17 miles from the Mexican border.
I got this far but I just can't keep running.
I've got to see you.
Barbara... I'll reserve a room for you.
At the Tamarisk Motel outside San Diego.
Not under your real name. You'll be Mr. Macklin.
Go directly to your room and wait for my call.
I'll expect you in about three hours.
Barbara... And whatever you do...
make sure you're not followed. If you are...
forget the whole thing.
Whatever you do, don't lead them to me.
[Dial tone] Barbara!
[Tires screeching]
There's been an accident on the other side.
You wanna drive over and see if you can help?
I'll run and get an ambulance.
[Tires screeching]
(man) Get that thing out of the way.
[Tires screeching]
[Birds chirping]
Thank you very much.
I lived with Ralph Correll until a couple of weeks ago.
I suppose you know that.
I wanted to tell you about this before, Jim, but I just couldn't.
Tell me about what?
I saw Ralph kill a man named Sol Mantee.
One night Ralph and Sol had a violent argument.
It was about 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.
It woke me up. I went downstairs to see what the trouble was.
They were in the library, but the door was about half open.
As I looked in, Ralph picked something up off his desk...
and he hit him.
The man just dropped.
I don't know what happened after that.
I got back to my room as fast as I could.
The house was dark. So I knew that Ralph couldn't have seen me.
But I knew it was just a question of time before he began wondering...
if I'd overheard anything.
I didn't know how to get away. How did you?
I started talking about marriage, issuing ultimatums.
We argued.
That gave me the excuse I needed to leave.
Are you sure Mantee was dead? Maybe he was just hurt.
No. About three days after it happened there was something in the paper.
It said his body had been found on the outskirts of Denver.
There was no indication of who killed him or how he got there.
You don't know who he was, do you? Mantee? No.
Aren't you supposed to know about things like that?
Like what?
Who's who in crime. That sort of thing.
I go down to the post office every few days or so...
and catch up on the Wanted posters.
[Chuckles]
He operated out of Chicago.
He opened a branch in Denver? No, but he tried.
And Denver belongs to Ralph.
You left Ralph a couple of weeks ago?
Barbara, do you know what you did when you hired me?
You told Ralph that he had something to worry about.
You had me deliver the message. I feel like a paid assassin.
But I had to find out if he was looking for me.
Oh, he's looking for you. And he's not going to stop till he finds you.
You never had any option in this.
You're gonna have to do what you should have done from the start.
Tell your story to the D.A. In Denver.
He'll put you under protective custody.
Ralph's not dumb enough to make a move against you...
after you've made a statement.
I know. But how are we gonna get back there without getting killed?
We?
Jim, you... I have to help you.
You need me. I'm the only one you can trust.
[Sighs]
Did you tell Mr. Tallman that I wanted to see him about a murder?
I told him.
Did you tell him it was about Sol Mantee?
I told him. No reaction?
He'll see you as soon as he's free.
This really bores you, doesn't it?
I came in here two-and-a-half hours ago...
with information about the murder of one of...
the top racketeers in the country...
I'll wait.
Sorry you had to stay so late, Betty.
Where do they all come from? This one came from San Diego.
Jim Rockford?
Mr. Rockford. I'm afraid you've had quite a wait.
But it's been that kind of a day.
And you didn't have an appointment.
Betty said you wanted to talk to me. It was about...
Sol Mantee.
That's right, Sol Mantee. Was there something in particular?
Could we talk in your office?
I'd like to get out of here. I've been here since 7:30 this morning.
You can speak freely in front of Betty.
I know who killed Sol Mantee. So do I.
You do? So does everybody in Denver.
His arrest made all the front pages here a couple of mornings ago.
Who did you arrest? Small-time hood, Boyd Freeman.
You have the wrong man. What are you talking about?
I'm a private investigator.
My client came to Denver specifically to see you.
I have her hidden away until we can arrange police protection.
She was an eye witness to Sol Mantee's murder...
and nobody named Boyd Freeman had anything to do with it.
You have a witness? That's right.
I have a signed confession.
Barbara, it's me. Jim.
Barbara.
(Correll) I don't want any conversation, Wyatt.
I'm not paying for a conversation.
Throw me a piece.
I couldn't wait to put on a price tag, so I bought him.
I want what I paid for. It's that simple.
[Humming]
[Sighing]
[Exclaims]
All right. Don't make a sound.
And don't try yelling for one of your gorillas.
You can't yell with a busted windpipe, you just kind of whistle.
Okay?
[Panting]
I'm gonna turn you loose now.
But I think you ought to know...
if I have to shoot you in the back...
it's not gonna bother me one bit.
[Gasping]
You remember Broder?
He likes to break things.
I'm gonna watch him break you.
Broder's not here. There's just you and me and your gun.
Where's Barbara?
Where is she?
You're not gonna shoot.
Bluffing only works when you got the other player scared.
One shot from you, you got six guys up here...
making chopped liver out of you.
One shot.
You don't have to work so hard. I've been looking for a reason...
to pump one into you.
I'll handle your goons later.
You'd do it, wouldn't you? You bet.
[Laughs]
What if I tell you that Barbara's all right?
I don't want you to tell me anything. I want you to show me.
We leaving the way you came in?
That'd be the hard way.
We're just gonna walk down the stairs and out the front door.
How do I explain you to my friends? I didn't think we'd have to.
We just sit up here till it gets nice and quiet downstairs.
Then we can go out without any explanations to anybody.
You mind if I sit?
You can stand right there.
[Car engine starting]
It's Correll. Open up.
I'll take the gun. Butt first.
He's got a gun in my back. Do like the man says.
All right. Inside.
Right there.
Okay, go ahead.
Over there.
Barbara, you all right?
I told you not to touch her.
Why not, Correll? You want her to look good for the funeral?
You got it all wrapped up, huh? It looks that way.
Not from where I'm standing, buddy.
You remember Howard?
He's right above you.
And he's got a gun, too.
Only don't be worried, it's not pointing at you.
It's pointed at Barbara. Knock it off, Correll.
(Howard) No, you knock it off.
[Clicking]
What are we gonna do, stand around and shoot each other?
Or you could give us our guns back. I don't like that idea.
You don't have much choice. Sure I do.
What we've got here is a stand-off.
I'm willing to play it out.
So am I.
I didn't get where I am by backing off of challenges.
You can pump one into me if you want.
Only before you do...
you better say goodbye to Barbara.
I know what a disappointment this must be.
Do you always cover yourself?
Always.
[Sighing]
What am I gonna do with you?
You're going to kill her. I'm surprised you haven't done it already.
They wanted me to tell them where you were.
It's okay. Now they know.
Shut up!
You were gonna go to the cops. I didn't want to.
I was afraid.
You should've told me about it.
We could've worked something out.
How do you work out a little thing like murder?
I'm gonna take care of you myself.
And I'm really going to enjoy it.
Who's gonna take care of Barbara?
All right.
Outside.
Outside!
Where's your car? I parked it around the side.
Get it.
I'm sorry, babe.
It's not the way I wanted it.
You know that.
Why didn't you keep running?
You could've gone a long way on $50,000.
(policeman) Freeze. Police.
[Tires screeching]
You keep yourself covered, too.
Nice.
Where did they come from?
When I got to your motel room and I found you gone...
I got in touch with the D.A. Again.
I thought it'd be a good idea if the cops put a tail on me.
What will they do to him?
Do you care?
I care.
Want another taco? No.
All I want is lots of fresh air...
and lots of people, no more hiding.
It feels good.
Barbara, how did you ever get mixed up with a guy like Ralph Correll?
I don't know. Just fell in love with him.
He was exciting, fun. A warm, gentle...
Killer.
I don't want to talk about Ralph. Okay? Okay.
[Seagulls cawing]
Here.
What's that? That's the tab.
The tacos are on me, this is for our field trip to Denver.
It's all itemized.
That much?
It's itemized.
No, I'm sure it's all in order, it's just that...
money is kind of a problem.
Barbara...
you couldn't have gone through $50,000 in two weeks.
No, I didn't. But I'm going to return it.
Why?
It doesn't belong to me. I only took it because I was desperate.
I mean, I had to get away from Ralph.
But you're an honest man. You wouldn't want that kind of money.
Jim, would you?
Yeah. I would.