An operation like this costs money.
$100,000. Now you can't be serious.
The price on infidelity is going through the roof.
She's a complete mystery.
She knows the predicament I'm in, and she's not coming forward to save me.
Why'd you run for it, Charlie? I mean, you know the law.
If you continue this investigation...
I will call some people that I know in Europe...
and they will fly over here one night...
and they will put a bullet in your head.
So what do we do now? Go to bed.
You're kidding.
[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) Hey, Jim, it's me. Suzy Lewis from the Laundromat.
You said you were gonna call and it's been two weeks.
What's wrong, you lose my number?
[Police radio chattering]
Sgt. Garvey's car.
[Camera clicks]
Lieutenant.
Well, she went fast and easy.
It was pretty clumsy action, very sloppy.
Gabe, this is Mr. Brannigan.
Dr. Gabriel.
Mr. Brannigan.
Where's Sgt. Garvey and his partner...
Det. Wilson.
Wilson and Garvey are hitting the nearest neighbors.
What've we got, Gabe?
Cause of death: Multiple blows to the cervical area.
The hardest blow was the last.
Direct hit on the occipital bone.
Looked like it'd been dropped on her, Lieutenant. I had to lift it out.
Where is it? Over here.
(Lieutenant) What is it?
(Haines) I don't know. Some kind of sculpture.
Finished? Yes, sir.
I'll get the report to you right away.
Thanks, Gabe.
Lieutenant, Mr. Brannigan.
All I know is that the victim's name was Pauline Harris.
Yeah. Well, she remarried about two years ago.
Charlie Harris. Occupation unknown.
Word is he's a playboy in the social set and he married her for her money.
Who found her?
Ambulance people got a call from an anonymous male at 9:45.
I received the phone call a few minutes before 10:00.
The prints on the statue are same as on the telephone.
Same prints are on all the male toilet articles in the master bedroom.
Charlie Harris drives a loud yellow sports car.
And when he hits the street he always leaves rubber.
Now he was seen and heard by the chauffeur across the street.
Around 9:45. Yes, sir.
Is that him? Yes, sir.
(Garvey) Now, Harris is eight years younger than his wife.
Find him.
[Phone ringing]
Whoever you are, let me wake up. Hold on a minute.
[Exhales]
Hello?
Hello. Yeah, this is Bunky.
Charlie, where are you?
I'm at 4800 Pacific Coast Highway.
A casual friend of mine went to South America to visit a government collapse.
So I told him I'd keep my eye on his place.
It's okay, only Pauline and I...
I mean, I'm the only one that knows about it, Bunky, it's safe.
For how long? Are you crazy?
Every cop who can use the overtime's been looking for you for three days.
(Rockford) And that's every cop in town.
I know. I've been running.
In my mind.
(Charlie) I'm cooped up and scared. I need your help.
Charlie, I can't.
You can help. Who else can?
Don't hang up.
You owe me, Bunky.
And I'm afraid that right now has to be the time to call you on it.
[Sighs]
[Knocking on door]
Charlie.
You're the first person I've seen or talked to in three days.
Well, I'm only here because you're Charming Charlie Harris.
Thanks.
This is a real nice hideout.
I should've known you'd go first class even as a fugitive.
It's not bad.
Except that most of the books are on South American history.
In Spanish.
Care for anything?
I just got up, Charlie.
Then forgive me, I haven't been down yet.
I didn't kill her.
I never thought you did.
I gotta let it hang out, Bunky.
It's tangled.
You were there at the house? You called the ambulance?
Right. But she was dead when I came home.
I started to lift the statue.
Then I ran straight to the telephone. I was panicked.
Pauline...
Well, her body was pretty stiff when I arrived.
She'd been dead for an hour, half-hour at the very least.
Why'd you make a run for it, Charlie?
I mean, you know the law, you never make a run for it...
and you never plead guilty.
I wasn't panicked after I'd called the ambulance.
I thought hard for a minute and I came up with one fact.
If I let the cops grab me...
and I go for trial, I'm finished.
If the coroner's report says she'd been killed earlier...
then you had to be somewhere else.
Charming Charlie's alibi, right?
I waited 72 hours for my alibi to come forward.
Then I called you.
You've got to find her, Bunky.
Who is she?
[Chuckles]
I don't know.
Is that it?
She said her name was Cassandra.
I never believed her.
A mystery woman.
Did I ever tell you that I married Pauline because I was in love with her...
as much as the money?
Where did you meet Cassandra?
Walking alone on the beach. Where else?
How long have you known her? Six weeks.
We met six times. Six times?
Did you always meet on the same day?
No.
She'd tell me where and when.
The picture is this: I met a woman...
a fantastic work of art. She's a complete mystery.
She knows about my predicament and she's not going to save me.
How did you meet her after the first time when you met her on the beach?
She came and went in cabs.
I tried to follow her once, but she did a triple cab and a turn-back...
so I lost her.
After that I quit caring who she was.
I just met her on the beach.
You're in a hell of a spot, Charlie.
And you're going to help me out of it.
If the police walked in here right now through that door...
buddy, we'd both be finished.
I don't think you know how hot this thing really is.
I'll help you if you turn yourself in.
Now this is Beth Davenport.
She's a standup lawyer and you can trust her.
She'll make all the arrangements.
I'm not going to do it.
You've got to find Cassandra. I can't.
Now I've given you my advice after hearing your story.
I can't give you anything else.
Charlie.
Come on, Charlie, take my advice.
[Door closes]
[Knocking on door]
All right. Stop knocking, I hear you.
What time is it?
Sgt. Garvey. This is my assistant, Det. Wilson.
And it's 9:30.
Are you James Rockford?
Occupation: Licensed Private Investigator?
Yeah, that's me. May we come in, Mr. Rockford?
What for?
I'd like your cooperation, Mr. Rockford.
Would you like to see a search warrant?
Have you got one? No, I don't.
Frankly, I didn't expect such an uncooperative attitude.
I can get a search warrant easily.
Or you could cooperate, like any honest citizen.
Yeah, why not? Look, I'm sorry, come on in, Sergeant.
Thank you. I was sound asleep.
Guess you kind of caught me cold.
Yeah, well I can understand that. Sorry I had to wake you up.
Yeah, what's it all about?
Charles Harris. Charlie.
I figured the cops'd get around to me sooner or later.
I want to know where he is, Mr. Rockford.
If I knew where he was, I'd report it to the police, like any honest citizen.
Your past record seems to indicate otherwise.
Well, I've got nothing to hide.
I spent five years in San Quentin.
For two of those years, my cellmate was Charlie Harris.
He's a high society hustler...
and he took a fall because he didn't pay Paul after robbing Peter.
And an old flame blew the whistle.
I like the guy.
Yeah, it would seem so.
You were best man at his wedding and you saw him often.
Yeah, until about a year ago.
We kind of drifted apart.
He travels in a world richer than mine. It happens, you know.
I have implications and probabilities...
and you explain it away with that golly-gee-whiz act.
Well, I've told you the truth.
And you no longer have permission to be on my property.
I'm gonna get Charlie Harris.
And I think you're gonna go in with him.
If you have anything more to say, you'd better get your warrant.
Or you can take me in right now.
You're in much deeper than I thought.
Good morning, Mr. Rockford. Good morning.
Jason's quest.
Fleece.
$1.40.
Give me the coroner's office, please. Dr. Gabriel.
(Rockford) Hey, Gabe, this is Jim.
Anything new on the Harris case?
Come on, Gabe. I thought we were friends.
You know I can't afford to bribe you.
Thanks, Gabe.
It was $1.40. Hey, good news.
Charlie's wife was dead approximately four hours before he got home.
Hi. Beth Davenport.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Any news? No.
Do you really expect him to call me?
He might.
What's so good about Charlie's wife being killed for four hours?
Well, it proves that she was dead when he got home.
How do you know that?
Charlie wouldn't kill his wife...
and then sit around for hours trying to think up an alibi.
And he also...
wouldn't leave bloody fingerprints all over the place...
and then decide to call an ambulance for a dead person...
and make a run for it.
Okay.
Assuming that Charlie didn't do it...
then you seriously believe this story about the mysterious woman?
Of course I do.
Only a jerk would expect anyone to believe that.
I know Charlie. He's not a jerk, not really.
You owe me a $1.20.
Thought we were going Dutch. We were.
But you just ate my hot dog, and all I have is the coffee.
Here. Here's a $1 and...
a quarter. You owe me a nickel.
I don't have a nickel.
I'll take the quarter. I owe you twenty cents. Come on, let's go.
So what do we do now?
Go to bed. You're kidding.
No, I'm not. Here.
Hey look, I'm beat.
But if you hear anything, don't feel bad about waking me up.
Everybody's doing it.
Here, I don't want to spill this.
[Phone ringing]
Hello.
You're still asleep?
Forget about that, just listen to this.
No, you listen.
Now I told you where I have to stand, and now I really can't move.
The cops are onto me.
(Rockford) And I told you to call the lawyer. She's been...
Bunky, hold it right there, I've got it.
Good. What've you got?
I've found Cassandra.
(Rockford) She's beautiful. Who is she?
Mrs. Alfred Bannister.
Sure can pick them, can't I?
Alfred Bannister. This guy plays International Monopoly.
There's your alibi, Charlie. That's it.
First, we find her...
and then we... Now wait a minute.
What's this 'we' business? We means us...
and us means me. I told you I can't touch this.
You're putting me on top of your bomb.
Right.
Now who else am I supposed to ask? Should I call the cops?
I wanna be squeaky-clean from this mess.
And you owe me one, Bunky.
I came here last night. I heard your story. I gave you my advice.
We're even now.
I'll pay you.
How? Pauline's estate.
She has no living relatives.
I was with her lawyer when we signed joint wills.
When I'm cleared I'm going to be a very rich man.
Yeah, if you're cleared.
How much will you pay me to clear you?
You name it. Throw me an offer.
$10,000. $10,000.
Well, if I get caught, I'll get 10 years.
That's $1,000 a year. I can do better selling pencils, Charlie.
$20,000. $50,000.
$25,000. $35,000.
$30,000. Deal.
[Birds chirping]
Nice camera.
You can tell Tom Addison it's the last time I deal with his agency.
Right. Tom Addison.
You think it's funny, huh? Okay.
Okay, Barbara, you're the right type...
but I don't like waiting so you go on my "don't use" list...
along with your crummy agent. Just tell Tom to forget it.
I'll get my Somerset Sweet Pickle Girl someplace else.
You know, you're gonna feel awfully stupid when I tell you something.
I'm not Barbara, I don't know Tom Addison...
and I wouldn't be a sweet pickle girl if you gave me a year's supply.
I've been rehearsing that little tirade for about 40 minutes.
When you're right, you're right. I feel stupid.
So what does a sweet pickle girl do, anyway?
Well, she stands on her tippy-toes...
in a bikini...
bent forward slightly at the waist...
holding a sweet pickle that she's just taken a bite out of...
and her expression must say: "It's a sweet, yummy treat."
"Sweet, yummy treat"?
Yeah. Ain't that a hoot? It's the ad agency's slogan.
I tasted one of them once.
They taste like they've been cured in battery acid.
Why did you take on the account if you don't believe in the product?
I took the account because I'm trying to get my three-inch zoom lens...
away from Mr. Saperstein.
Who is? A pawnbroker.
It was nice talking to you. Hey, do me a favor, would you?
Stay away from Somerset Sweet Pickles.
You're kind of funny. Oh, you think so?
Well, I am having one of my hilariously funny afternoons.
I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that you were out here freezing, waiting for Barbara.
I'll tell you what, why don't you let me buy you a nice, hot cup of coffee?
Why don't we have lunch? Good idea.
My name is Jim. What's yours?
I'll go ahead and be Barbara.
"Somerset Pickles are a sweet, yummy treat."
Not bad. Where would you like to eat, Barbara?
Wherever you like.
My place? Sure.
Very nice. Yeah, it's not too bad.
Would you care for a drink?
Whatever you're having.
To your husband.
I'm glad you told me you were married.
At least I know we're being honest with each other.
Putting it in that light, I'll drink to it.
Why not? I did.
Reunions are fun, aren't they?
Charlie, I... You're stuck for an answer.
That's okay.
It's a flaky situation. How do you like my friend Jim?
Not much. We did time together.
He's getting me out from under this.
I don't think you're gonna believe this, but I did try to find you.
I put an ad in the personal column with a number.
Mrs. Bannister, why didn't you go to the cops?
Why didn't you tell them we were together?
Ten minutes, you could have taken me off the griddle.
Well, Mrs. Bannister has a lot at stake.
There's old Alfred to worry about.
If she told the cops about your affair...
he might cloud up and rain all over her variable annuities...
and tax-free inheritance bonds.
A girl has to be careful.
Now who are you, anyway?
Do you come equipped with smart remarks or are you just showing off?
Little of both.
Charlie...
when I heard you were a suspect in your wife's murder...
I was just about to go to the police...
and I began thinking about the night of the murder.
Now, we were supposed to meet at 8:00.
You kept me waiting one hour.
(Linda) Now, the police can only approximate the time of death.
I began thinking. What if he really did kill her?
I mean, what if I go to the police and ruin my marriage...
and he really killed her? You could have done it, you know.
I told you why I was late that night, I got hung up in traffic.
I had a stopwatch.
(Linda) I got into my car, and I went past your house...
and out to the motel on the highway.
You could have done it.
What's she talking about, Charlie?
Listen, Bunky, would I kill my wife and then write my name on the wall?
(Charlie) Come on.
Is she an alibi or not?
She's an alibi in a court case. She can establish reasonable doubt.
If I'm willing to take a gamble, what do you care?
He cares because he's an accessory after the fact and you've been lying to him.
If I could have killed her, so could you.
Who knows how many minutes ahead of me you arrived?
Me? What motive would I have?
My wife found out about us and was going to tell your husband.
You killed her to keep her from tearing your marriage apart.
You're gonna try to sell that to the jury?
Who knows whether I can sell it to a jury? But I can sell it to the cops.
At least long enough to blow up the candy store.
Look, nobody even knows we had an affair.
I have an old friend...
she'll just say that I was with her.
It's your word against mine.
And mine.
Okay. I'll go this far.
You turn yourself in and don't tell them about me.
And if you get convicted, then I'll come forward.
And it's only because...
you did mean something to me.
[Laughing]
That's great.
You'll keep me out of the gas chamber for old times' sake.
That's a bad deal, Charlie.
She waits that long, she'll be impugned as a witness.
Mister, you are really beginning to get on my nerves.
I'm sorry, I don't get out much.
Well, that's my best offer.
I'll be waiting for you in the car.
I've been in some pretty tough card games...
and we got ourselves one hell of a pot limit on this hand.
You've got to stick with me, Bunky.
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
You got to make her come across.
She's my only chance.
It's either that or I catch a freight to Bolivia.
Okay, Charlie, you stay put. I'll see what I can work out.
Thank you.
You're not out of it yet, Mrs. Bannister.
Your opinions don't concern me.
Why, sure they do.
If I get Charlie to South America, that'd be the end of it.
Whose side are you on?
Well, I stay on my side.
For a fee, I clean the laundry. Like your situation.
Goodbye.
Think it over, Mrs. Bannister.
I'm the only one in a position to help Charlie.
An operation like this costs money.
I get Charlie to South America, your problems are over.
You want to talk it over, I'm in the book.
[Knocking on door]
[Knocking continues]
Good morning. May I come in?
You actually live here?
Well, don't let it put you off, Mrs. Bannister.
It's very nice.
You've decided to do business?
You said that you could get Charlie out of the country.
Yeah, for a price.
Well, I don't have much.
I've checked you out, Mrs. Bannister.
Well, I've got some securities, some bonds, some jewelry of course.
$100,000.
That's ridiculous.
In two installments. $50,000 up front...
and $50,000 when Charlie's safely in South America.
Now don't push me too hard.
I might decide to let the police know you're harboring a fugitive.
With your rather undistinguished history with the law...
you'd probably get a 10-year sentence.
And you'd lose your inheritance.
Let's stop waving our fists at each other...
and try to make this thing work.
$100,000, now you can't be serious.
Well, we're in an inflationary period.
The price on infidelity is going through the roof.
When?
Charlie's pretty hot.
Today'd be about right.
Ridiculous.
Okay, tomorrow. No later.
I don't know. I'll see what I can do. Can I reach you here?
Yeah.
What rock did you crawl out from under?
I didn't crawl out from under, Mrs. Bannister.
You rolled the rock off me all by yourself. Tough break, huh?
[Typewriter clacking]
The list on Harris' known associates.
Thanks, Dennis.
[Phone rings]
Sgt. Garvey.
Yes, sir, he's right here.
It's for you. Becker here.
Yeah, this is Jim.
Yes, I...
(Rockford) You can't talk, right?
Yes, that's right. Good.
Then just listen, I'm onto something, but I can't tell you about it.
It's big. And I'm gonna make you the hero.
Well, that sounds fine.
From now until tomorrow night, I want to be able to get to you.
I don't want you to go anywhere without leaving word where you are.
I'm gonna get you some evidence, Dennis.
$50,000 in small bills.
What? What are you doing?
I can't tell you, Dennis. You'll be hearing from me.
[Waves crashing]
Mr. Rockford? Yeah.
My name is Mr. Stanley.
This is my associate, Mr. John.
Yeah, what's up?
Mr. Alfred Bannister wants you to join him for lunch.
That's the address of his club. 1:00.
[Clock ticking]
The food is excellent here, Mr. Rockford.
Please.
I have an ulcer, but I enjoy watching other people eat.
I'm going to speak frankly.
I do not waste my time.
Fine, we'll just talk straight and down-home.
What was my wife doing at your place of business at 7:00 this morning?
Well, your wife is involved in my client's private affairs.
Answer the question, please.
She came because my client's in bad trouble.
What is the nature of the trouble?
(Rockford) Murder.
And how is my wife involved in this trouble?
She's my client's alibi.
And she failed to come forward to free an innocent man.
How is the chicken? A little greasy.
That should appeal to you.
I don't offend easily, Mr. Bannister.
If you're trying to provoke me, you'll have to do better than that.
I'm not trying to provoke you. I'm trying to understand you.
I see. Okay.
Mr. Rockford, there is nothing about my wife's activities...
that I do not know.
She's young, she's beautiful and...
Indiscreet? On the contrary.
My wife is an adulteress, but a discreet one.
I do not wish to be embarrassed by scandals.
So, as long as she is discreet, I'm satisfied.
I suppose that makes it palatable.
Are you making a moral judgment?
Why not?
It doesn't cost anything.
And you want my wife to come forward and clear your client?
That's right. And she's refused to do so?
Right again.
All right, Mr. Rockford...
it is going to get very expensive for you, this adventure.
I don't see how that could happen.
I've cased the deck pretty well and I know what trump is.
(Bannister) You do, huh?
Well, try this out.
If you continue this investigation or try in any way...
to involve my wife...
I will call some people that I know in Europe...
and they will fly over here one night and they will locate you...
and they will put a bullet in your head and they'll be gone within the hour.
Now that's a trump I presume you probably did not figure on.
It also lacks finesse.
Well, I've found in my business dealings...
that the higher you make the risk...
out of proportion to the gain...
the more people are likely to sit out the hand.
How about you and me, Rockford?
Are you gonna ante up or get out?
I think I'll get out.
I'll speak to the chef about the chicken.
[Waves crashing]
Hello again.
Hi, Sergeant. You got a big problem.
I can imagine.
Well?
You mean what am I doing here?
Yeah.
After you visited me, I started thinking, if I were Charlie Harris...
where would I go? Where would I hang out?
And then I remembered that we had these mutual friends...
who owned this house down here and they were out of the country...
so I just came down to see if Charlie might be here.
Just trying to help you out, Sergeant.
Yeah, well he ain't here. He was but he's gone.
And look who turns up, but you.
You make an interesting door prize.
If I were you, I'd call an attorney.
Why? What for? I'm taking you in.
Obstructing justice, harboring a fugitive...
and just being a cluck in general.
Well I think I can beat that last one.
We'll see.
Where've you been?
[Tv playing]
With the police.
All this time?
Yeah, well Beth finally got to me.
They were moving me around from station to station.
I bet it was about old Charlie, wasn't it?
How did you know about that?
Well, I figured he'd be getting ahold of you.
So did everybody else. How is he?
I don't know. He's missing.
He'll be getting in touch.
He started running again.
I don't know if he's dead or alive.
[Knocking on door]
You're early.
Are you ready, Mr. Rockford?
Well, I just woke up. I don't want to be late.
What are you doing?
My answering service. I'll have to check in. It'll only take a minute.
Put that phone down.
[Phone clicks]
Where're we going?
Let's go, Mr. Rockford.
You drive. Be careful.
I'll tell you where we're going as we go.
Yes, ma'am.
I'd drive a lot better without that gun pointing at me.
I don't intend arguing the point. Get in.
Pull it over here.
Stay in the car.
Aren't you going to count it?
I trust you. Thank you.
What about this car?
Well, it was rented by a friend. You can leave it anywhere you want.
[Tires screeching]
[Horn honking]
All right. Take it easy, Mr. Bannister.
It had to be either you or your wife.
Pauline found out that Charlie was having an affair with your wife...
and was going to take him to court.
You worry too much about what people think. It happens all the time.
It's not worth killing for.
I had to do it. I had to.
Let me see.
[Knocking on door]
[Knocking continues]
[Pounding on door]
[Sighs]
All right. I'm up.
All right, already. Who is it?
Let me in. Hey, Charlie.
I been calling and calling. Your phone's out of order.
It's busy.
You wouldn't believe how many cops there are until you're trying to hide from one.
You still hiding out? Yeah, of course, why?
What is it, Bunky? What's going down?
Charlie, we have a deal, remember?
$30,000, sure.
You were gonna pay me $30,000. That's the deal, right?
Sure. What is it? What's going down?
(Charlie) You did it.
(Rockford) Sure I did.
I almost ended up in a brass urn but...
Well, you know how it is.
You got a checkbook? I'll take a check.
No.
No, that's why I came over. I was out of scratch. I was hoping you'd fade me.
Now you can just run to the bank and pick up the $30,000.
Right.
Charlie?
Right, look...
Jimmy, I'm having inheritance problems...
and some of this stuff is tied up pretty tight in trusts.
Now, I'm gonna be a little low on cash for a while.
Well, how much you need, Charlie?
You got $50?
I mean, just until I get to the bank?
Sure, here.
There you are. Thanks, Bunky.
One more thing you should know.
Pauline rewrote her will just before she was killed.
Now, wait a minute...
I don't mean that she disinherited me.
I mean, we just won't know for a while.
Charlie, do you know what you are?
Yeah. I don't like it any more than you do.
Thanks for the $50, Bunky.