He wouldn't be dumb enough to mess around in an active police investigation.
With the cops doing such a crackerjack job?
I'm gonna kill some john for his bankroll?
They're trying to make a motive out of your rap sheet.
It's illegal.
Rita, on my best day, I'm borderline.
The lady's facing a tough rap.
Who's gonna blame her if she's gonna lay it on someone else?
Not a sweetheart like you.
How could you spend $300,000?
Boy, you never give up.
ROCKFORD This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Hello, you the guy who lost the wallet in the Park Theater?
Well, I'm kind of like into leather,
so I'll be returning the money, but I'm gonna keep the wallet.
And I said, "Are you kidding?"
I put your car around back, Doctor.
It'll take a minute, but no dings.
Oh, forget it, okay? We're only going a couple blocks. We don't need a car.
I'd rather not come back for it. I'd rather have it with me.
Oh, come on. It's such a nice walk.
We got the weather, we got the feet. Okay? See you later, Harry.
See, what I've never been able to figure
is that back east, we got lousy weather, right?
We do nothing but walk. I mean everybody walks.
Jackie Onassis? She walks.
Listen, I thought we'd go right to your place.
To my place?
Oh, you said you wanted a piano player.
I was just making conversation.
Oh. But it doesn't really matter. I don't think I'll run into anyone.
They're all probably still back at the hotel.
This guy down here, he's really pretty good, you know.
He plays a lot of Cole Porter, show tunes, stuff like that.
Already it's going sour.
Looks good to me.
What are we supposed to do about the broad?
Whack her. You ever whacked a broad?
I don't like it. It's great.
Now wait a minute here. Shut up.
Come on. Now, both of you, in the car.
Look, I told you, I'm not without influence.
You're committing a crime here.
If you let us go now, you won't be in for a lot of trouble.
Stop yapping and get over there.
You know what I'm looking at, Rosendahl?
I'm looking at a dead man.
I just wanted you to know why.
Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I want to see it!
Hey, Jimbo, it's Dennis.
I got a couple of days off and I was thinking about driving down to Baja.
You want to come along? Give me a call.
Jim, it's Rita.
They got me down here at the station and they won't let me go.
I told them what happened and they're not even looking for the guys.
Could you get down here right away? It's kind of important.
They booked me for murder.
The answer is no. No visitors. Okay?
Now, come on. Now, watch that sign.
We got a permit, Curcio.
For outside you got a permit.
Salmaggi, get these people out of here.
Excuse me. Excuse me, ladies.
Could I get through? Excuse me, please.
Excuse me.
Quit shoving.
Look, you're the one shoving.
You've got 30 seconds to move this outside or you're busted, Ceil.
You got that? Busted.
Okay. Okay.
Grace, call the newspapers, call the TV.
Tell them to get one of those minicams down here.
Look, you can get David Brinkley down here,
it don't change things. Nobody sees Rita Capkovic.
Sergeant. I'll be right with you.
I'm here to see Rita Capkovic.
You understand the word "nobody"?
My name's James Rockford. I'm a private investigator.
Salmaggi.
She called me the night she was arrested.
You'll have it on your report.
She has the right to an attorney.
She has the right to counsel. I'm here to counsel.
All right. You in, and the rest of you out.
Tell her we're raising bail.
Yeah? How?
Oh, and hi from Mom.
Mom?
Excuse me.
Free Rita! Free Rita! Free Rita!
Hi.
It's been awhile, huh?
About six months.
Closer to eight, I think.
Yeah, I was taking that fashion design course.
I cooked Chinese.
You're looking pretty good. Lost a couple of pounds.
Rita, I just got your message.
Yeah, sure. Listen, I know you got other things to do.
Look, I'm fine. Honest. Nice of you to drop by.
Rita, I didn't drop by. I just got your message.
I've been out of town. Rocky and I went fishing.
You did? Yeah.
And you're not just fine.
I saw the newspaper.
Oh. You know what I thought?
I mean, it's not like you owe me.
What'd I ever do for you?
Give you a call every time I hit white water.
All right, you were wrong.
Well, I'm here, aren't I? So why don't you fill me in?
I glanced at the newspaper, but I didn't take time to read it.
Well, according to the cops, I killed Dr. Rosendahl.
Me and some muscle I'm supposed to be in with. We're like a gang.
Well, how'd you get tied in with this Rosendahl?
The doorman at the hotel. He saw us leaving together.
See, there's this medical convention, and I been working out of the Hospitality Suite
sort of like, uh,
an unofficial hostess.
This fashion design thing, it just didn't work for me.
It's a question of taste, you know?
Anyway, Harry, that's the doorman,
he says that he heard me setting up Rosendahl.
That I wouldn't let him take the car. That I made him walk.
Did you?
You know, only in California is this a crime.
I like to walk.
Anyway, this bar that I touted Rosendahl on,
it's closed on Sundays.
I didn't know that.
And now the cops are trying to make some big giant plot.
I'm gonna kill some john for his bankroll?
How can they say that? I got a record. They know me.
They're trying to make a motive out of your rap sheet.
Yeah, well, they better read it again.
It don't say nothing about killing. Not even a cockroach.
And listen, you know I called them?
While it was going down, I was running like a scalded cat.
But when I stopped running, I called them.
I told them where to find the body. It's on the record.
Under "Anonymous tip"?
All right, let's start with a lawyer. Have you got one?
Yeah. They got me some bozo from the public defender's office.
That ought to be good for about 20 years.
You don't need a PD. You can afford the best.
There's the money Maggie left you.
Isn't there?
That's a long story, Jim.
But I got enough to pay you.
Rita.
I just got to get out of here first, Jim.
I'll tell you what the guys looked like,
you'll find them, everything will be fine.
I just got to get out of here.
She ain't doing me no good in the slam. Get her out.
We're working on it, Mr. G.
Doing what?
Well, right now, we're sort of waiting. See how things go, you know?
Leo and me was thinking.
We was thinking maybe we leave her where she is.
Cops think they got her dead bang.
I mean, she ain't walking away from this, in a matter of speaking.
That's what you thought, huh?
Well, obviously, this is a very dumb broad.
Otherwise, she's in Cincinnati, right?
Everybody at the hotel knows her. What does she do?
She goes home, waits for the cops to pick her up.
What happens when I go to court?
I thought Sid was working on a postponement.
The government thinks I had too many postponements.
They ain't buying no more.
That tax beef comes up in a couple of weeks.
I go into court, my picture hits the papers, what do you think happens?
I'll tell you what happens.
The bimbo sees it and says, "Hey, that's the guy I saw in the limo."
Who they got dead bang then?
There's this bunch of hookers.
They're trying to raise bail for her.
Well, make a donation. Make sure she gets kicked loose.
When she's out, you whack her.
One thing. I bought a little information.
She's hired a PI.
He'll probably be sticking pretty close. This could be a problem.
Leo, we all got our problems.
That one's yours. Now you handle it.
There she is!
Could we have a statement, Miss Capkovic?
No way, honey.
All right! All right!
She's back!
Everybody has turned up.
Not everybody. Not by a long shot.
There's a lot that wanted to, but you know how it is. This and that.
But they all chipped in on the bail.
Miss Capkovic...
Oh, Ceil, I don't know where I'm gonna get the 10 grand, but I'll see you get it back.
Who said it's a loan?
It could have been any one of us in there.
Put that in your paper, ace.
Rita wasn't rousted because she iced some john.
She was rousted because she's a professional hostess.
Shut her up, will you? As your attorney...
Anyone else went through what she went through,
you'd have a whole different story here.
That's the truth.
Referring to the late Dr. Rosendahl as a john
isn't going to make you any friends.
Dr. Rosendahl was a prominent member of our community.
What the hell do you think this is all about?
She's a member of this community. I'm a member of this community.
Ceil, Rita's had a pretty rough day.
Okay, look, I'll give you a statement.
Okay, guys, you split.
Terrific.
God knows what that woman's going to say to the press.
Thanks, Ceil. Everybody. You're beautiful!
Don't say things like that. They'll quote you.
Those women are a liability.
Your profession is a liability.
We're going to have to downplay that as much as possible
if I'm going to prepare any kind of a defense.
Hey, what about you telling them I'm not guilty, huh?
Or is that too simple?
What is that?
I'd watch my tone of voice if I were you, Miss Capkovic.
You need all the friends you can get.
Friends?
Hey, you been treating me like I'm something you stepped in.
I didn't ask for this case. I was forced to take it.
It's not doing any good for my reputation or my bank account.
But I will give it my best effort. Okay?
Okay.
As a matter of fact, I find it extremely unsavory.
She said okay.
They have a very strong case, not to mention public opinion.
Every filthy detail of this mess has made front-page news for the past week.
Now I'm going to try for a charge of second degree,
but if they press for murder one, believe me, they'll make it stick.
Yeah, with you handling the case, they probably will.
That guy's got Virgo rising, you wanna bet?
Take it easy, Rita.
I was going to take you into the coffee room, but it gets too much traffic.
Well, who are we hiding from? Chapman?
We're not hiding from anybody.
Look, he comes nosing around,
I'll tell him I just dropped by to say thanks for the pizza.
What pizza?
Save the chitchat and make it look like department business, huh?
See, when Den got back from Baja, he heard what happened
and he sent me over the most terrific pizza
with mushrooms and sausage and mozzarella and anchovies even.
Just hearing about it ought to give Chapman heartburn.
Billings? Yes, sir.
Bring the books in here.
Now, Rita, take as much time as you need, only try to make it quick.
We're not asking for a favor, Dennis,
she has the right to see the mug books.
Only it's six other guys ought to be showing them to her.
It doesn't happen to be my case.
Well, she's talked to the cops on her case.
She's talked to everybody but the graduating class at the police academy.
You see, Den, they think I'm guilty.
They think that asking to go through the mug shots is just another stall.
Every time I brought it up with them, they said,
"Yeah, sure, you can look at the mug shots."
And then it's back with the same questions.
She's an eyewitness.
They're so busy with their dragon lady theories
they're not even looking for the guys who really killed Rosendahl.
Here you go, Sarge. I thought you could start with the A's.
Well, that's radical, Billings, but why not?
You're bringing them in one by one?
What are you looking for, overtime?
Here. Sit down here.
You look at these and don't you let anybody hurry you.
I'll be back in a few hours. Where you going?
Oh, you know how it is. He's got to pick up the laundry, feed the cat.
Like I read old Jimbo pretty good.
Like I know he wouldn't be dumb enough to mess around
in an active police investigation.
With the cops doing such a crackerjack job?
Pizza, huh?
I always thought you were a red roses type guy.
We should have stuck with the dame.
How?
With the cops saying, "What do you want?
"How come we're hanging around the station?"
Besides, we know where to find her.
He's the one's got me worried.
First the hospital where Rosendahl was on the staff, now here.
This is Dr. Nevitt's club.
Mr. Taggart? Yes.
They told us you were here. I'm Edie Nevitt.
My husband's concession to courtesy.
He had to finish the set.
Oh, Jack. What are you drinking?
Nothing for me, thanks. Couple of martinis, Jack.
According to my husband's secretary,
you're out for all the down and dirty you can get on Neil Rosendahl.
That is thirsty work.
Well, I am compiling all the facts on Dr. Rosendahl's death.
We felt that Dr. Nevitt might help
since he worked so closely with Dr. Rosendahl.
We'll put all the good right in there along with the bad.
First you'll have to find it.
I take it you weren't exactly a fan of Dr. Rosendahl's?
I sit about three miles north of the cheering section.
He was pompous and rude.
He had an ego the size of the Coliseum.
He was an all-around rat.
Mmm. Oh, and he cheated on Betty.
You going to eat that olive? No.
I... I heard he had the reputation of being an excellent surgeon.
He was a grandstander.
Edie.
No matter what you felt about Neil,
at least have some consideration for Betty's position in this.
She'll get the money, Russ.
The insurance company has to pay off no matter what kind of a stinker he was.
Are you going to drink that?
No, ma'am.
I'm Jim Taggart. Boston Fire and Casualty.
Yes, I know. I agreed to meet you because I heard the settlement might be held up.
Well, yes, sir, working on the premise that Dr. Rosendahl's death
was not attempted robbery, but an execution-type slaying.
That's nonsense.
And even if it were true, how would that change things with the insurance company?
Well, if Boston Fire and Casualty can prove that Dr. Rosendahl's death
was the result of an association with known criminal elements,
such as Boston vs. Guellow...
You know, you people are incredible.
This man was an orthopedic surgeon.
Telephone, Dr. Nevitt. Who is it?
He wouldn't give a name, sir.
Excuse me.
This is Dr. Nevitt.
Yes.
All right. No, I did not.
Of course not.
Listen, I think we better sit down calmly and discuss this...
That's right. Before you do anything further.
Fine.
I'll meet you there.
What was that all about?
Just some property I was interested in.
Time for another set of tennis. I'm not due at the hospital until 7:00.
Dr. Nevitt...
We've nothing more to discuss, Mr. Taggart.
Such a busy man.
That's why he forgot we're taking the Barberas to dinner tonight.
And why he forgot that he has surgery
or whatever it is that he has at the hospital.
At least Betty's out of all that.
Well, she may have murder and burglary, but she...
Burglary?
Yeah. Last night. At their house.
Well, they didn't get anything, not really. Just a TV set, tapes, hi-fi.
I'm surprised you didn't know about that.
Or is Boston Casualty only into life and death?
No. We're full service. That just isn't my department.
Mmm. Would you like another martini?
No, thanks.
One's my limit.
Who's there?
Public Defender's office.
What?
The Public Defender's office.
Wait a minute.
Yes? I'm from the Public Defender's office.
Take a walk.
Miss Capkovic, I have to talk to you.
I'm here to help.
Would you let me in, please?
Okay. But let's make it quick, huh?
lt'll just take a minute.
Hey!
Hey, just a minute.
Hey, fella. Hey, come here.
Rita! Rita!
Rita, are you in there?
Rita!
What'd you do that for?
I like the sound of my shoulder breaking. Where were you?
Oh, you rang, you knocked, you busted in.
Who had time to answer the door? What's going on here?
That guy who was just leaving, who is he?
Oh, yeah. Creepy little guy.
He said he was from the Public Defender's office.
No, I don't think so. Me neither.
He was asking a whole lot of stuff I already told them.
So I said adios, bub.
Hey, you want a danish?
Put it in the microwave oven 10 seconds, you can't pick it up it's so hot.
Rita, you should have waited for me at the station.
Billings said you gave up halfway through the F's.
I didn't give up. I got tired.
Den got called away on some kind of deal,
left me sitting there all by myself.
I looked at a lot of pictures, Jim.
There's more of them than us.
Yeah, well, there's only three of them I'm worried about right now.
Get your shoes on. I want you out of here.
I just got home. Just get them on, huh?
See if I can fix your door.
It was them, Jim.
It was the same two guys.
You're the only one that ties them up to the murder, Rita.
They had to make a move and they're going to keep on making it.
Here you are. With cream and sugar, just the way you like it.
She likes it black, Rocky.
Well, she wouldn't if she had somebody looking after her.
Now look at that. She's barely picking at her food.
You're not eating enough to keep a canary alive.
I read somewhere birds eat 40 times their weight every day.
Something like that.
No kidding.
Well, all right, so she ain't eating like no canary.
She ain't eating nothing at all.
Besides, I ain't so sure I believe that.
It's just something I read.
Maybe that's why birds are always...
Oh, you live near a park, it kind of makes you wonder.
Yeah, well, what I wonder is who is Mr. Peepers?
He was at the courthouse and the jail.
You know, the first day I came to see you at the jail?
He was hanging around.
What does he want?
Well, he was asking a lot of stuff about what happened.
What they say, what they look like.
Oh, and he asked a lot of questions about the guy in the limo.
Did he have a tan, did he walk with a limp,
did he look like a basset hound?
You know, like maybe he knew who he was.
Maybe he does.
Maybe he's a salesman.
No. A salesman? No.
Well, he was wearing a ruby ring.
You don't think I can spot a salesman?
Well, I didn't say that. But we're dealing with a very weird equation here, Rita,
and a salesman just doesn't fit.
Well, I've been on very good terms with hundreds of salesmen.
That ought to make me some kind of expert.
Hundreds?
Yeah. He's got a double-knit suit and a vinyl belt. White shoes.
And, while we're talking,
he makes out like he's gonna take notes,
opens his briefcase and clunk, this thing falls out on the floor.
What thing? I don't know.
He said it was physical evidence from some other case.
But he sure tried to get rid of it in a hurry.
It's sort of metal, sort of straight and sort of round.
It looks like it fell out of a car.
He's a car salesman.
I don't know. The whole thing just doesn't make any sense to me.
Where you going?
I'm not doing any good here.
Thought I'd go stakeout Dr. Nevitt's.
What's he got to do with it?
Beats me.
Okay. I'll go with you.
You hate stakeouts.
I know. But you're doing this for me.
Fair's fair. See you, Rock.
Oh, I got pie.
Oh, what a pussycat.
Rita, would you settle down?
I think my circulation stopped.
All of it.
Look, is there some kind of rule we got to stay in the car?
No.
Of course, if Nevitt comes through those gates,
I'll have to take off and leave you behind.
Rita, when we were in jail, I asked you about the money.
Yeah.
Well?
I spent it.
You couldn't have.
Maggie left you $300,000.
Yeah, well, it seems like a long time ago.
It was a year ago.
Nobody can spend $300,000 in one year.
Hey, I didn't say I spent it smart. I just said I spent it.
I got to stretch. Oh, Rita...
Rita, it is none of my business, but that money was your security.
Jim, what's a person like me gonna do with security?
You could buy a little house.
I don't want a little house.
And why are we watching this Dr. Nevitt? I never even heard of him.
He worked with Dr. Rosendahl and now he doesn't want to talk about him.
That's it?
No.
He lied about having scheduled surgery at the hospital tonight.
I got that from his secretary.
Then he lied about a phone call he got at the tennis club.
It had nothing to do with buying property.
And whatever he was talking about scared him.
Now will you get back in the car?
How could you spend $300,000?
Boy, you never give up, you know that?
You think I don't know where the money went?
I know where the money went.
Where?
All right, the new apartment...
Yeah.
...the furniture, the microwave. Yeah.
I think I told you about my friend Monica's teeth.
I mean, somebody had to do something about her teeth.
What did you do, have them gold plated and set with her birthstone?
Caps, that's all.
And I got new threads. Skin out.
And the hospital bill.
When were you sick?
Not me. Ceil's mother. Stones.
All right, but what happened to the principal, huh?
Everything you've mentioned, including Ceil's mother's gallstones...
Kidney.
All right, she could have had them both. You could afford them.
The point is, everything you have mentioned
could have been paid right out of the interest on $300,000.
What happened to the principal?
That's him.
Jim. Yeah. I see.
The glove compartment. I got some binoculars.
Jim! Jim, it's him.
It's the guy in the limo.
The one that ordered the hit on Rosendahl.
Will you give me those?
What's he doing with Dr. Nevitt?
Rita, do you know who that is?
I just told you.
Listen, we need a pencil or something. Get his license.
We don't need it. That's Phil Gabriel.
Phil Gabriel?
No. You must have seen some old pictures of him.
I mean, he looks like him a little bit, but, uh...
Phil Gabriel?
I know it doesn't make any sense, but that's who it is.
I can see us trying to sell that combo to the cops.
A noted Beverly Hills surgeon
and the dean of organized crime.
You think they laughed when you wanted to see the mug shots.
But why would Dr. Nevitt get hooked up with some gangster?
We can ask Nevitt.
Better yet, he could tell us.
It's got to be on this floor somewhere.
Listen, what if Dr. Nevitt walks in on us?
Maybe he forgot something.
Maybe he's got to come back to the hospital.
Rita, I told you, he lied about having surgery tonight.
We followed him home. He has no reason to come back here.
An emergency.
You never heard of a doctor who had an emergency?
Oh, listen.
Do you know what could happen if the cops find that lockpick on you?
It's illegal.
Rita, on my best day, I'm borderline.
Okay, let's start looking.
For what?
If I knew, we wouldn't have to look.
I thought people stopped hiding things under blotters.
What is it?
It's some kind of a record of an operation on a man named Gage.
It was three and a half months ago.
Well, he probably forgot he put it there.
No, no. He wanted it hidden, but handy.
Get this, Dr. Rosendahl was the other surgeon on the case.
Yeah. You said they worked together.
He has the operating team listed here.
Besides Nevitt and Rosendahl, there are two other doctors,
a Bewley and Weinberg.
Probably be the anesthesiologist and a resident.
And two nurses, Gilda Stern and Carol Elzer.
What's arthroplasty?
You're asking me?
"June 6, 1975. Total knee replacement. Rolnick."
Boy, he sure has a funny way of filing.
What?
Well, these tapes of his operations are all a mess.
I wonder what he keeps them for.
What do you think?
To train new doctors maybe?
You'd think a doctor would have a scientific system.
You know, all the knees together or by the dates or by the alphabet.
They're all in here any old way.
Tapes.
That's one of the things that was stolen from Rosendahl's house.
Is there one there for Gage?
Give me a couple of hours, maybe I can tell you. Why?
Well, Phil Gage could be Phil Gabriel.
That makes sense.
Not to me.
Oh, will you look at this.
Hey, Jim, you remember that guy that came to see me at my apartment?
Yeah.
That thing that fell out of his briefcase was not out of a car.
It was out of a hip. That thing there.
Arthroplasty is hip replacement.
You think Gabriel had an operation?
Let's say that he did.
And let's say something went wrong.
He's not exactly the type that'll write a letter of protest to the AMA.
He wouldn't kill Rosendahl for that.
And Nevitt's sweating pretty good. He was part of the operation, too.
Yeah, but wait a minute. What about that salesman or whatever he is?
No, no, no. I think you're right about him.
I think he is a salesman. And he's sweating.
Which means he knows what's going on.
Now if we can just find him.
Well, how? We don't even know what he does.
Rita, he's carrying a hip joint around in his briefcase.
There's got to be distributors,
manufacturer's reps for prosthetic devices.
How many of those can there be in LA?
You want me to tell you?
We'll get to the classifieds. We'll start first thing in the morning.
What are you watching?
Oh, I didn't turn no sound on. I didn't know you was up, Mr. G.
It's that real good movie with Gregory Peck. Moby Dick, you know?
It's where he plays the sea captain and him and this whale, they mix it up.
I suppose you think that's funny.
Hey, no, Mr. G.
He's stumping around and that makes you laugh, huh?
No. It's the whale I was interested in. See, it's about this whale.
I know what it's about. I know all about it.
Gregory Peck has got a tent peg where his leg ought to be.
I swear, Mr. G., I never even noticed.
Those creeps turned me into a teacart. You noticed that?
What do you want me to do, Mr. G.?
You say the word, I'll take them all out, today. Now.
What about the tape? That Dr. Nevitt said
anything happens to him, it goes to the cops.
I don't care anymore. They got to pay.
They will, Mr. Gabriel.
If we're just a little careful how we move on this.
I'm tired of waiting. Get the tape.
I don't care how. Bring the tape and bring me Nevitt.
Him, I'm gonna do myself.
You take care of anyone who gets in the way.
All right.
You never even noticed, huh?
Hi, Rocky. Yeah, is Rita there?
Found him, sonny?
Yeah, I did. I did.
Rita, it's for you.
It's Jimmy. He found that salesman.
Oh.
Hello, you got him, Jim? What'd he say?
Does he know enough to clear me with the cops?
He hasn't said anything yet.
This is just an update on the news.
I found out that he works for a company named MediPro.
I followed him from his office to a restaurant.
His name is D. Pilmer. I don't know what the "D" stands for.
I knew a guy named Digby once.
Digby is a long shot.
Look, I'm going to go over and talk to him now.
What if he won't bluff?
I think you've seen his rabbit act. He's scared.
Look, I'll be quick. I'll call you back as soon as I can.
...and minimal friction.
Mr. Gabriel sends his regards.
You'll, uh...
I've taken the liberty of bringing a copy of this report.
Perhaps you'd like to have a go through this yourself.
If you have any questions, I'll be right back.
Look, I don't know what kind of a game you're trying to play,
but you're hired by that hooker.
You don't have anything to do with Mr. Gabriel.
Whoever he is.
Well, he's a man who's very interested in you.
He's been interested in you for almost four months.
Ever since the operation.
How did you find out?
Oh, does it really matter?
Let's just say that Mr. Gabriel and I both know what happened.
He also knows about Rosendahl and Nevitt
and Bewley, Weinberg and Gilda Stern.
It wasn't deliberate.
There wasn't anything malicious in what happened.
Nobody wanted him crippled.
He's mad, Pilmer. Now, if there was, oh, something tangible,
say a videocassette of the operation, we could take that to the cops
and get Gabriel off your case and kick my client loose at the same time.
There was a cassette.
He's got it.
He won't admit it, of course.
He's got it hidden away somewhere to protect his professional standing.
How about that?
He doesn't care about the rest of us, only himself. The rest of us can go hang.
It's kind of like your decision to let them charge
Rita Capkovic with a murder you know she didn't commit.
Well, no. I mean...
Why don't we go have a talk with Dr. Nevitt?
He won't give you the tape.
He'll deny it even exists.
Well, I can be very persuasive.
I resent your allegations.
I resent your invasion of my privacy.
Now, you have an option.
You're going to leave me alone or I'm going to call the police.
That's right. He knows what happened. There isn't any secret anymore.
Mr. Pilmer's been under some sort of strain lately.
I've recommended a good headman to him.
Look, if you don't want to go to the police with us, that's fine.
Just give us the tape.
There's no tape.
Oh, come on. You videocassette all your operations.
Somehow, Dr. Rosendahl ended up with the Gabriel tape
and that's why you burglarized his house.
That tape is your insurance policy. Am I right?
I tell you what, Doctor, you go on doing what you were doing.
Mr. Pilmer here will tell the cops the whole story
and then they can bring in Bewley and Weinberg and the nurse to confirm it.
No.
You mustn't do that.
That would ruin me. That would ruin us all.
But especially you.
That's right. I suppose I have the most at stake.
We have exactly the same thing at stake. Gabriel killed Gilda Stern.
He killed her because she was stupid.
He wouldn't have known there was anything wrong
with the operation if she hadn't said anything.
She was Florence Nightingale telling him he had a malpractice suit.
He's going to kill us all.
You don't have anything to worry about.
I already spoke to Gabriel. I told him about the tape.
He'll be afraid to make a move against any of us.
Yeah, but what about Dr. Rosendahl?
Is ruining our lives going to bring him back? Why don't you leave it alone?
I've got everything covered.
Oh, not everything.
Now, wait a minute.
How's it going to look if you go to the police without me?
lt'll look like I have something to hide. It'll look like a cover-up.
Come on, let's get the tapes.
Sergeant, I have strong objections to this entire charade.
Hey, this is an invitational screening.
Mr. Gabriel doesn't want to look at the picture, that's fine.
We thought since he's one of the stars...
And since he's going around killing people because of it...
You're looking at a lawsuit, honey.
What lawsuit?
Hey, I was there when he gave it to Rosendahl.
I'm an eyewitness.
That's an irresponsible charge. I insist my...
Shut up, Sid.
Let's have a little understanding, okay?
The lady's facing a tough rap.
Who's gonna blame her if she's gonna lay it on someone else?
Not a sweetheart like you.
Everyone gets to work their mouth. That's the American way.
Proving it, ah, that's something else.
Ready, Sarge.
Okay. Now, I got the entire operation on tape,
and I've taken the liberty of running it down to the last few crucial minutes.
You staying, Mr. Gabriel?
I always like a good flick.
What happened to the cement?
It shouldn't have hardened that fast.
I can get it in. It's just a little...
Here we go.
Perhaps if you rotate it.
Wait, not so hard, Russ.
You're going to crack his femur like a breadstick.
I'm watching it.
Well, it's too much pressure.
You can't force it like that.
Pilmer, get over here.
The rotation ought to do it. Come here. Take a look.
Sometimes it gets a bit tricky.
A salesman. That's what she said.
A salesman put it in. A lousy salesman.
Dr. Rosendahl, Dr. Rosendahl... You got it?
... there's something I think you ought to know.
The patient, he's not Mr. Gage.
I recognize him.
That's Phil Gabriel.
What do you mean, the underworld man?
The killer?
Why are you telling me that?
I mean... Well, I just thought you ought to know.
But why, Doctor? What are you telling me?
Are you telling me that I sew this man up minus his hip?
Is that what you're telling me?
No, of course not. It's just that, well, if anything should happen here...
I've got it.
All right.
So,
shall we, gentlemen?
A salesman. That's what she said.
Mr. Gabriel, please.
A lousy salesman. A salesman put my hip in.
Mr. Pilmer is a skilled technician. An engineer.
He knows as much about the procedure as a surgeon.
Did I hire him?
His help was invaluable.
A sales technician would not be allowed in an operating room
if it wasn't in the best interests of the patient.
Now, if you'd look at this thing with less emotion and...
Shut up with your less emotion. Mr. Gabriel, please...
Lies I got out of you. Nothing but lies.
"It's not a physical problem, it's an attitude problem.
"You're not trying in therapy, Mr. Gabriel."
The fact is, there is no need for you to be in a wheelchair. There is no need at all!
You could be on crutches.
Of course with crutches, there would be a certain discomfort.
Pain! Not discomfort. Pain!
I ought to kill you where you stand. I ought to kill you slow.
Not like Rosendahl. It was too good for him.
Then you did kill Dr. Rosendahl and Gilda Stern?
I ought to kill you where you stand.
Take him down to Interrogation Room 3.
Read him his rights.
You don't have to wrap them, Rita.
We're just going to open them up anyway.
Hey, it's not a present unless it's wrapped.
Now it's nothing much, you understand. It's nothing big.
What is it with you and gifts, Rita? You remember the last time?
You remember the difficulty I had getting you to take that car back?
Well, this you will keep. I made sure.
It's got initials.
Okay, open it up.
Oh!
Oh, my!
It's a necklace.
Hey, Rita, that's nice.
Did you make that in your jewelry class?
Yeah. Here, let me help you get it on.
Oh, Rita. The... The shirt, it don't go with it. Better not.
It'll look great with your shirt. It's what you call basic.
It goes good with everything. Put it on.
You really like it, Den?
Are you kidding? It's terrific.
Good. You got one, too.
That is terrific.
I'm gonna keep mine in the box
'cause I'm, you know, I'm kind of, sort of, in uniform.
Dennis, it goes with everything.
Go on. Put it on. Yeah.
Jim, that's for you.
Yeah, well, it's not a necklace. What is it? Earrings?
Oh, don't be a clown. Open it up.
Oh, did that wire cut you?
Oh, I'm sorry. I made it special. I didn't have time to fix it.
Rita, that's really nice.
It's a money clip.
You'll have something to put in it when I pay you.
Yeah, well, speaking of money, Rita,
you never did really explain to me
what happened to the money that Maggie left you.
Oh, yeah.
Well, you're not going to say that I should know better, right?
And you're not going to give me any static? No.
And I'm not gonna have to hear about it from you for the rest of my life?
There was this guy...
Rita...
Oh, yeah, but, Jim, I had such a good time spending it.