It was no accident. Somebody killed him.
Who'd want to kill Dave?
That's what I'm going to find out.
(Rocky) Then you need professional help.
Can she afford me?
I'm your father!
I'll give you a rate.
Don't you want to know the truth? I know the truth.
It was an accident.
I saw Wilson meet a couple of guys and they gave him an envelope.
It smelled like a payoff.
That P.I., Rockford, has been asking around about Banning and Wilson.
What do you think we ought to do? Take him off.
[Tires screeching]
[Telephone ringing]
(Rockford on answering machine) This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
(Shirley) This is Shirley from the bank.
The answers are: No, no, and yes.
No, we won't loan you money. No, we won't accept any co-signers.
And yes, your account's overdrawn.
I get off at 4:30.
(minister) "I am the resurrection and the life.
"He that believeth on me though he die yet shall he live.
"And whosoever liveth and believeth on me...
"shall never die."
Receive, oh Lord, the soul of thy faithful servant...
David Phillip Banning...
and grant him eternal rest.
Amen.
The two of us, we've had over 100 years.
Dave had 30.
As old as I am, I keep expecting life to be fair.
I'm always surprised when it isn't.
I wanted him to have a headstone.
They don't allow them, you know that? No.
A brass plaque, flush to the ground...
so it don't get in the way of the lawnmower.
They keep the place real neat.
I think graves ought to be a little untidy, the way lives are.
Mrs. Banning? Excuse me.
On behalf of the department...
We share your loss.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
If there's anything you need, anything we can do to be of help...
I'm just fine. Thank you, Lieutenant.
I wanted you to meet him.
Who is he?
Sergeant Wilson, Dave's partner.
You're coming back to the house, aren't you?
Sure, Kate, if you want me to. Sure.
You have got to accept this, Kate, because you're making it harder on both of us.
You look tired.
I want you to go home and get some rest.
I brought a bag. It's in the car.
I thought, maybe you could use some company tonight.
We're both going to have to learn to live without Dave.
Might as well start now.
I'm going to get that bag, anyway.
I don't know how many will be dropping by.
If it isn't enough, I can fix some more.
Rocky...
I'm getting old, and I've lost my only child.
But there's nothing wrong with my mind.
It was no accident.
Now, Kate...
I used to tell him he took better care of that car than he took of himself.
And that's a fact.
Just had a tune-up, just got it out of the shop.
There was nothing wrong with those brakes.
Dave was a rookie, but he's still a cop.
You know if the department thought there was anything wrong,
they'd be all over it.
They didn't know him like I did.
It's more than just the car.
For two weeks before it happened...
something was eating away at him.
He was worried and he was scared.
Dave didn't scare easy.
Somebody killed him.
But why, Kate? Who'd want to kill Dave?
That's what I'm going find out.
And I'm not going to rest till I do.
[Sighs]
Kate, is your mind dead set on digging into this?
It is.
Then you need professional help.
I don't have enough money to buy me any answers.
No, I was thinking more like...
someone who'd take care of things for you out of friendship.
You know, like on the house. Who?
Jimmy.
Your Jimmy?
But you told me he was driving your truck.
There's slack times in truck driving, just like all other business.
Jimmy, he's got himself sort of a sideline
for when he's not pushing his rig.
What's that?
Well, he...
He's sort of a...
[chuckles]
He's a private investigator.
It's only a sideline.
He'd help me? For no money?
He's my son. All I got to do is ask him.
Jimmy?
Come on in.
What are you doing here?
I'm trying to defrost my frost-free refrigerator.
Darn thing went out on you again? American ingenuity.
I don't know how they do it...
but the minute the warranty runs out...
whatever it is, it starts falling apart.
I'll just give you a hand.
No, not with your best suit on.
I don't want to get stuck with the cleaning bill.
I think I'm just going to give up on this thing and buy me a new one.
Are you working, Jimmy?
No, but I think I can swing the down payment on a refrigerator.
You've been over at Kate Banning's all this time?
Yeah, I didn't want to leave her alone at a time like this.
You never did get a chance to know Kate very well, did you?
Yeah, I've met her once. Seemed like a nice lady.
Salt of the earth, she is.
You know, her husband Jack and me, we used to long-haul before you was born.
Yeah?
It's too bad you and Dave never was closer.
I met him once, too.
You know, Kate thinks that what happened to her son wasn't no accident.
She thinks that it was phonied-up to look like an accident...
but Dave was killed deliberate.
What do you think?
I don't know anything about it.
[Clears throat]
[Chuckles]
There's Dave Banning, a cop, and you, a private investigator...
sort of gives you two something in common, don't it?
Well, not really.
You know, I never did think much of this P.I. Business.
Is that a fact? No.
Then, this morning...
I started seeing things in a different light, a whole different light.
Now you take Dave Banning, he's practically family.
I told you, I only met him once.
Now, if you was to look into this situation...
it'd give you a chance to do something for somebody close to you...
for old times' sake.
Are you asking me to work for you?
I'm trying to get you to work for Kate Banning.
Can she afford me?
She don't have no money.
You're paying me?
I'm your father!
I'll give you a rate.
Don't you never think of nothing but money?
Now, Rocky, I'm in business just like you were.
Did you ever do any long-hauling for nothing?
That's different.
No, it isn't.
All right.
All right, I'll pay you.
$200 a day and expenses.
I was only trying to make a point.
You made it. I'll pay you.
No, you won't. I'm not going to take your money.
Yes, you are, because I just hired you.
It's 3:00, and as of now, you are working for me.
And, for once in your life, you're going to do what I tell you to.
(Ross) You recognize them?
The old man, he was at Banning's funeral.
How about the other one? No.
We got a new entry, huh?
No more for me. Thanks, Kate.
Sorry everything is so untidy.
You wouldn't think Dave could get so much into a bachelor's apartment.
Can I help you with some of this stuff?
No, I can handle it.
Funny, Jack and Rocky both wanted the same thing...
to have their sons follow in their footsteps.
Dave never was interested in trucking. But you took to it right off.
Not right off.
Dave liked discipline, order. Maybe, that was it.
Two hitches in the Marines, the Military Police, then he joined the force.
30 is a little old to be a rookie, but that's what he wanted.
What made you choose this investigating business as a sideline?
You know how it is. You can't depend on the crops coming in.
I like to keep busy.
I don't feel right, taking your time and not being able to pay.
Don't give it a thought, Kate.
Don't you give that a thought. Not a thought.
He's glad to do it.
[Engine starting]
All right, so maybe I did exaggerate a little.
About me pushing a rig?
All right, I lied.
Look at it my way, will you?
I tell folks that my son's in trucking...
and right away they know what I'm talking about.
But, I tell them my kid's in the private eye business...
they just don't understand.
Do you?
No.
Okay, goodbye, Rocky.
I'm going in with you. I work alone.
Not when I'm paying for your time.
If you're going to follow me around with a stopwatch...
we can forget the whole thing.
I'm not too hot on it, anyway.
$200 a day, and I got to take a bus home?
If you don't have the money, I'll advance it to you.
Just put it on the expense account.
I got it. Don't you put nothing on that expense account...
I don't see first.
Cop?
Maybe.
Got something to write on? Yeah.
(Ross) OKG 853.
We've been swamped all day. It's like the Golden Age of crime.
I know you're busy, Dennis.
4:30. This is lunch.
I got a half a cheese sandwich right about here.
I can't wash it down with the coffee...
'cause the coffee you don't believe.
And you come around with a dumb question like that.
What's dumb about it? All I want to know is...
Is there any chance, any at all...
that Dave Banning's death wasn't accidental?
Jim, the Police Department operates without fear or favor.
Theoretically. That's right. Theoretically.
As to "fear," half the time we work in a cold sweat.
As to "favor," every stiff gets the same consideration...
except a dead cop.
If there was anything wrong, anything...
every man on the force would be working double-duty.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
And if they weren't... Come here.
[Telephone ringing]
See that guy over there? Yeah.
That's Andy Wilson, Banning's partner.
If the accident smelled funny to him, do you think he'd drop it?
I guess not.
You guess right.
Who hired you? Banning's mother?
No, my father.
Rocky? Yeah, he's an old friend of the family.
Rocky hired you? What kind of deal?
No deal. He's paying, just like any other client.
Rocky? Will you stop saying Rocky?
I got to be there when you try to collect.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
You got to promise me that you'll let me know, so I can be there.
Are you trying to say Rocky's cheap?
Yeah.
That's exactly what I'm trying to say.
You were engaged to Dave Banning.
Don't you want to know the truth?
I know the truth. It was an accident.
Now, it was tragic and it was terrible...
but it was just that, an accident.
Kate seems to think... I know what Kate thinks.
And I know why.
I loved him...
I still love him...
but he's dead.
I've accepted that. Kate hasn't.
When you bury somebody, you have to let go.
You have to turn around and walk away and say...
"Okay. This is the way my life is going to be."
Look, what I'm doing may make it a little easier...
for Kate, if I can...
go to her and honestly say that I checked all the bases...
and that it was an accident...
Yeah, maybe.
All right, what can I do to help?
Kate says that Dave was upset, very upset, for two weeks before the accident.
Yes, he was.
He was jumpy, he was short-tempered, he just wasn't himself.
I never told him this, but I went to see the police psychologist.
He said it wasn't unusual.
Dave was new on patrol.
Lots of young officers undergo temporary personality changes...
before they get used to police work.
Yeah, but Dave was a Military M.P.
The adjustment shouldn't be that difficult.
When did you last see him?
A couple of days before the accident.
He came to dinner before going on duty.
We quarreled.
About what?
It was my fault.
You see, we never had any secrets from each other.
Then he got this phone call.
For the first time, he took it in the other room.
I listened at the door.
Do you know who it was on the phone?
No, but Dave was very upset...
and he seemed frightened.
He told whoever it was that he'd meet them at the usual place...
at the Greek Theatre.
It's closed for the season.
I'm just telling you what I heard. It was section C and D...
the right aisle.
[Exclaims]
About time.
You ate my steak.
It was in the freezer you defrosted. It was going to spoil.
Not before dinner.
It didn't have no sign on it.
Next time I'll have them all monogrammed.
[Laughing]
We got the same initial.
[Chuckles]
What are you doing?
I'm earning my $200 a day.
That there's a cartridge. You shouldn't be monkeying around with that.
I'm being careful.
Now what are you going do?
The police in Los Angeles, they use what they call a light load.
A .22 bullet that will travel about a mile...
and go through an inch of wood.
A .38 caliber has more stopping power than that.
If a cop fires, he doesn't want that bullet traveling for two miles...
and taking off somebody that he wasn't aiming at.
And this is a light load.
Cops are the only ones that use them.
Where'd you find it?
A little out-of-the-way place. Laura told me about it.
Dave Banning had a meeting there.
Something he didn't want to talk about...
something that made him nervous.
So he was nervous, so he dropped a cartridge. What does that mean?
I don't know. But why would he pick a place like that to meet someone...
unless he didn't want to be seen?
Undercover work, maybe.
He was a rookie, on routine patrol.
Are you trying to tell me Dave Banning was crooked?
No.
'Cause if that's what you're trying to tell me...
that ain't what I'm paying you to hear.
Rocky, I'm just thinking out loud and you're jumping to conclusions.
Investigating isn't like driving a truck...
where you know that Lancaster is 10 miles straight down the road.
I don't know what's down the road.
He wasn't crooked.
Okay, I hope you're right.
What's that for?
"What's that for?" "What are you doing?"
You know, some people hire me, Rocky...
and then just sit back and wait for the final report.
Some people ain't your pa. Now what's that for?
I'm going to stake out the meeting place and see if anybody shows.
No stakeout.
I sent you to camp when you were a kid, that's enough.
I could be paying you straight time till the year 2000...
and then no one would show up.
It's the only lead we've got.
I'll stake it out myself.
Dave Banning is dead. I found a live cartridge up there.
We don't know what is going down.
You think I'm going to let you walk into a thing like that?
I can handle myself. I'll stake it out. That's final.
You only got one problem, Rocky.
What?
You don't know where it is.
[Footsteps approaching]
[Camera clicking]
[Inaudible]
[Clicking]
Angel, you sure you want to eat here? It's the best chili in town!
I can get a table here any time I want to. They know me.
[Chuckles]
My cousin's getting married.
You're going to use yours? Yeah.
What do you want? Give me a cup of coffee.
No. Scotch...
I don't want anything.
Let me have a bottle of beer, bowl of chili, lot of onions...
and something to eat it with.
[Chuckles]
They know you here.
Don't give him no tip.
Angel, I called you because I need a little help.
How little? $50 worth.
What do I got to do?
All you have to do is hit the street and ask a few questions.
We will split the beat between us.
What beat? Their beat.
Sergeant Wilson and a rookie cop named Dave Banning.
Banning's dead, but Wilson's still around. I think he's dirty.
I saw Wilson meet a couple of guys and they gave him an envelope.
I don't know what was in the envelope, but it smelled like a payoff.
What's the matter, Angel? I'm on parole.
What's that got to do with anything?
I don't even talk to clean cops.
You know what'd happen to me if they find me sticking my nose in that stuff?
How are they going to find out about it?
The people you're going to be talking to, they don't talk to cops.
It's an easy gig, Angel. Now how about it?
No chance.
[Inaudible]
[Ringing]
Yeah? (Ross) Morrie? Ross.
That P.I., Rockford, has been asking around about Banning and Wilson.
I thought you ought to know.
Is he the one you saw coming out of the Banning house...
with the old man?
That's right. What's he asking?
He's asking stuff like "Was Banning on the pad?" "What's Wilson into?"
What do you think we ought to do?
Take him off.
I won't be no witness.
You won't have to. All we have is hearsay evidence.
You know, those two were into everything.
I mean, Wilson must have half a dozen scams going right now.
[Sniffs]
Some of them ain't too bad.
Well, they ain't.
You know what I'd do if I were you, Jimmy?
Forget it.
Burning cops, even dirty ones, isn't what you'd call a paying proposition.
[Sighs]
Hang a left at the light.
You've never seen my place, have you, Jimmy?
I got it fixed up real nice.
[Tires screeching]
What are you doing? This ain't the way. I think we picked up a tail.
[Crashing]
[Tires screeching]
Why do you live up here? I don't.
[Tires screeching]
Hey, what's going on up there?
That's all right, fella, forget it. You all right?
"Easy gig?"
I was wrong.
I wonder what that did to my undercarriage?
You want to know what it did to mine?
Where are you going? Thought you were going to help me.
I came this close to getting my neck broke.
You're not hurt.
Two guys, I don't know who they are, they're trying to kill me.
You want me to wait till they come back? They're not coming back.
Neither am I.
You want onions in this thing?
Do you want onions?
You can't make out who that is.
I told you who it is. It's Sergeant Wilson.
Doing what?
Taking a payoff. At least, that's the way it adds up.
I asked around, and the word is that Sergeant Wilson...
has been on the take for a long time.
That don't mean Dave Banning was.
According to my information, it does.
Now look, Rocky, you're the one who put me on to this.
Now all I've got is a photograph and a lot of second-hand street talk.
If I go to the cops, I'm saying that Dave Banning was crooked.
I don't think that's what you want for Kate.
I want the truth. So does she.
Are you sure?
The only way I'm going any further with this thing...
is after we tell her what I've found.
Now you can either do that, or you can bury it right here.
It's your decision. Mine? Why?
You're the boss.
You want onions?
[Sighs]
We'll talk to Kate.
No onions.
Sergeant Wilson.
Not a very good likeness.
But good enough to recognize.
What happens next?
You take that and your suspicions to the police?
Not necessarily.
If Sergeant Wilson is on the pad, Internal Affairs will catch up with him...
sooner or later.
You don't get very high marks for good citizenship.
No, but I make up for it in survival technique.
Now if I start yelling "dirty cop," I'm going to open a big can of worms.
Trying to save yourself some trouble?
I'm a realist. No.
You're a nice boy, and you don't want to see me hurt.
You think Dave was dirty. He didn't say that, Kate.
He didn't have to.
If I didn't know Dave the way I do...
did...
I'd think the same thing.
You take what you got to the police.
I don't think you're thinking this thing through.
Dave and Wilson were partners. You tar one of them, you tar the other.
You think I'm worried about Dave's memory?
How folks are going to talk about him, how they'll remember him?
You think I care about that?
He's dead, Rocky.
I loved him, and I'm going to go on loving him no matter what he did.
You say he's dirty. Well, maybe he was.
But if he was, wouldn't that give someone a good reason for killing him?
To cover up. Wouldn't it?
Yes, it would.
Then you find who killed him.
Dave's memory will take care of itself.
Dennis, I don't want to talk to Lt. Diel. I want to talk to you.
We live in a structured society.
There's a right way of doing things and a wrong way.
Mine's the wrong way? Every time.
I can't handle what you've got.
Diel is Wilson's superior and you talk to him.
I don't like Diel.
He's not too crazy about you either.
(Lt. Diel) Come in.
Don't bother to sit down. We don't have all that much to talk about.
Becker told me why you're here.
Did he tell you that I think Wilson's on the take?
He did.
And without proof, that's defamation of character.
How about with proof?
Okay.
What's it supposed to be?
Just what it looks like.
Sergeant Wilson taking a payoff.
And which one is Wilson?
That one. The one in uniform.
I see.
Do you have any other evidence?
Yeah, I got a .38 cartridge, light load. I don't have it with me but I got it at home.
How do you know it's a light load?
I took it apart and weighed the powder.
Then if you've tampered with the cartridge...
it doesn't qualify as evidence, does it?
Any more than your attempt at photography.
Look, Lieutenant...
I can handle hostile a whole lot better
than I can handle condescending.
All right, let's try hostile.
You're a two-bit P.I. Who likes to take...
two-bit shots at this department...
and I've had it with you.
You don't like my evidence, I'll take it to the Commissioner.
You'll take it nowhere.
I witnessed that payoff.
I know the place, I've been there before. Dave Banning used it.
I don't believe you.
You're saying that Banning is crooked, too?
I don't know. But I think he was murdered.
We investigated his accident thoroughly. It was just that. An accident.
You're not only casting doubt on the reputation of a man...
who has been with this department for over 20 years...
you're also defaming a man who is not alive to defend himself.
I will not allow that.
Lieutenant, you haven't got anything to say about it.
Yes, I have.
If I find out you go anywhere near the Commissioner...
if I find out you go anywhere near Wilson...
if I find out you're messing around with this in any way...
and I'm putting this out at roll call, I'll take steps to see that you're stopped...
whatever it takes. Stopped cold.
What'd they say? What are they going to do?
Not a thing.
Did you show them the picture? Yeah.
Well?
I don't like being leaned on, Rocky.
(Drexel) Mr. Rockford? Yeah.
James Rockford?
That's me. What can I do for you?
May we talk with you?
Sure.
Lieutenant Diel and I already had our little talk.
Yes, sir.
Officer Curson and I were deeply distressed when we heard about it.
You heard about it pretty fast.
You didn't like what I had to say, either?
No, sir, we didn't.
Defaming a brother officer is not something...
the department takes very lightly.
You're a P.I. In this town. Is that right, sir?
That's right.
You want to stay a P. I?
I had kind of planned on it, yeah.
Then you really should try to have a better relationship with the department.
Meaning I should forget about Banning and Wilson?
Yes, sir, that's what we mean.
If I don't?
Officer Drexel and I personally will see that your ticket is jerked.
We'll get you on something. It's not that hard.
Is that all? That's all, sir.
Drive carefully on your way home.
What'd they want?
They want me to forget about Wilson and Banning.
You aren't going to forget it, though, are you?
You're damn right I'm not going to forget about it.
[Engine starting]
[Crickets chirruping]
[Car approaching]
[Car engine starting]
[Engine starting]
[Cars honking]
(Ross) Move over.
Who are you guys? What do you want?
I want you to move over.
I was just thinking about taking a trip to Arrowhead for the weekend.
You should've left sooner.
Why not now? Now it's too late.
You mind if I ask why? Yeah, we mind.
Keep an eye out for Wilson.
Get him out of here. Sure, Morrie.
Morrie, you the guy in charge here?
(Tenner) Are you going to just keep quiet,
or you want some help?
He's coming.
Morrie. Sergeant.
You got some hash for me? Yeah.
Ross!
Yeah, we got a four pound brick.
You're not going to count it?
Should I?
We've always been straight with each other.
Yeah, but I thought... What?
Nothing. It's not important.
It's important. We're in business together. No secrets.
That's the way it is, isn't it, Wilson?
Yeah, sure.
Can I have the stuff?
[Exclaiming]
You're right. He was wired.
Get him out of here.
Lieutenant, Wilson's stopped sending.
When'd you lose him? A few minutes ago.
Let's move in.
(Matson) Let's go, guys.
[Engine starting]
(Tenner) What do we do, Morrie? We'll get out of here.
Check the streets. I'll check the back.
What about these guys? I waste them?
They're the hostages.
You should have kept out of this.
Is that what you said to Dave Banning?
I didn't know anything about that until after it happened.
Sure. I said I didn't know any thing about that...
until after it happened!
Shut up, Wilson.
I got no reason to lie.
It's one thing being on the arm...
getting your partner smoked, that's something else.
[Sirens wailing]
Cops. The place is crawling with them.
We're going out back. Get them out here.
Come on, get up. Move it.
Move!
(officer) They're getting out the back.
(Morrie) Move, damn it, move!
[Tires screeching]
[Sirens wailing]
All right, Wilson, I've got him. Hold it right there.
(Rockford) Let's get out of here. Open the door. Get out.
Come on, on the hood.
Come on out.
Move them out.
Seventeen and twenty-three is...
Where's the car rental? That's a business expense.
That belongs on there. No, that's my obligation.
I wouldn't have had to rent a car if mine hadn't been in the shop.
It isn't your obligation.
Your car got run off the road by them two thugs...
and that's why you had to put it in the garage.
Rocky, I ought to know what belongs on the expense account.
Look...
whatever it takes to fix your car, plus the rental...
I want them both put on there.
Well, I won't do it! You're being pigheaded, you know that?
A deal is a deal. That's right.
I shouldn't even be talking to you.
You waltzed me around pretty good downtown.
You were making them very nervous, Jimbo.
Internal Affairs threw a blanket over the whole thing.
Dave was the one who found out that Wilson was transporting narcotics...
in the black-and-white.
He reported it to the I.A.
Dave was working undercover.
Undercover.
Morrie and his two gorillas found out about it...
they arranged the accident.
So, the I.A. Pressured Wilson into working for them.
That's it.
(Rocky) Not quite.
We still got to square up.
You never told me one word about money, Rocky.
I pay my own debts. Give me the bill.
Kate, this has got nothing to do with you.
It certainly has.
I'll take the bill. Don't you do it.
Jimmy, you give me that bill.
If you let your father pay one cent I'll never speak to you again.
If you let her pay one cent, I'll never speak to you again.
Why don't you split the bill?
Of course. Now, why didn't I think of that?
What do you say, Rocky? Right down the middle.
Keep peace in the family.
If it's okay with Jimmy, it's okay with me.
Then it's settled. You sure you won't be joining us for dinner?
No, you go ahead and you have a nice time.
You know, I didn't think you were going to get two cents out of Rocky.
That's what you get for hanging around with that criminal element.
(Kate) I'll just be a minute. I forgot my purse.
[Door opening]
It'll be a little while. I'm a little short on cash.
You understand?
Perfectly all right, Kate. Don't worry about it, please.
Thank you, Jimmy. Bye-bye.
Well, I never wanted to take any of her money in the first place.
(Rocky) Kate, I'll be right back.
I left the keys to the truck in the trailer.
[Door opening]
Jim...
I must have spent a little more
on that fishing trip than I figured.
Could you put my half of the bill in Accounts Receivable?
[Laughing]