"800." "900. $9,000." "And how would you like your traveler's checks, Mr. Wheaton?" "500-dollar denominations, please." "All right then." "Why don't you start signing these while I fill out a receipt?" " Uh, do you need a pen?" " No." "I've got one." "Thanks." "If you'd like, you can use the desk over there, Mr. Van Adams." "Signing $9,000 in traveler's checks is going to take a little time." "All right." "I don't think I've ever sold $9,000 in traveler's checks before." "Did you know that if someone buys 10,000 dollars' worth in cash... we have to fill out a special form for the I.R.S.?" "Really?" "I wasn't aware of that." " Bureaucracy." " Ah!" "Well, that does it." "Thank you." " Have a nice trip, Mr. Blackthorn." " Thank you." " Ah." "Good morning, Mildred." " Oh, morning, boss." "Oh, Mr. Steele." " Yeah?" " Uh, you have a client." " Martha Ryan." "My husband is in" " Say no more, Mrs. Ryan." "Why don't you go through to my office, and we'll talk about the whole thing in there." "Straight through." "Here we go." "Make yourself comfy." "Okay." "Where's Miss Holt?" "Redondo Beach, putting the finishing touches on that security contract." "Oh, she is, is she?" "Hmm." "So good with paperwork." "Hold all my calls, will you, Mildred?" "Ah." "Mrs. Ryan, please, uh, do sit down." "There we go." "Ah." "Now, Mrs. Ryan... what seems to be the problem?" "My husband, James, just retired, Mr. Steele." "He was an executive in an aerospace firm." "For the past 35 years, we have been building up a nice little nest egg... which he is now throwing away on some harebrained investment scheme." "And what is he investing in?" "Uh, stocks?" "Real estate?" "This." "Forgive my ignorance, Mrs. Ryan, but what exactly is this?" " A Courtney Doll." " Ah, yes." "Of course it is." "Our granddaughter's name is Courtney, Mr. Steele." "My husband has met someone who has convinced him... that she would make a terrific model for a new doll." "And he's put all his money into manufacturing this doll." "That jerk." "Now, the way I see it, Mr. Steele... under the community property statutes in this state... half of that money belongs to me... and my husband is flushing it down the toilet!" "Excuse me." "How much money are we talking about here?" "Approximately half a million dollars." " Half a million?" " My husband is being bilked, Mr. Steele." "He has been pouring money into the Courtney Doll Company for six months now... and all we have to show for it are prototypes?" "My husband's not going to do anything about it because he trusts his business partners." "It's up to me to make sure we're not being swindled." "Now, he won't even tell me the names of his partners... but I swiped this stationery." "It has the company address on it." "All right, uh, Mrs. Ryan." "Uh" "I assure you." "If there's any fraud going on here... the Remington Steele Agency will expose it, okay?" "I'm counting on it." " Mrs. Ryan, you forgot your doll." " Keep it!" " Excuse me." "Uh, excuse me." " ¿Qué?" "Uh, I'm looking for whomever's in charge." " ¿Qué?" " ¿Uh, por favor, uh... dónde está el "boss man"?" "Ah." "El jefe." "Ah." "Gracias." "Hello." "Hello." "Anybody there?" "George Edward Mulch." "Remington Steele, right?" "The detective?" "Well, how are ya?" "Long time." "Busy for lunch?" "I thought I recognized that rapidly retreating bulk." "That was you at the factory?" "Who'd you think it was?" " Him." " Hello, George." "Uh, sorry, mate." "Uh, Mr. Mulch is otherwise occupied." "You're damn right he's occupied." "With me." "I want my money, George!" "You understand, George?" "I want my money!" "Aaah.!" "Russ.!" "Russ, stop.!" "Now you're occupied with me." "We'll continue our talk when it ain't so crowded, George." "And I'll catch up with you later, pally." " Who was that, George?" " Him?" "Oh, him?" "Oh, just a- a business associate." "Uh, he" " He's got this, uh, idea he wants me to get behind." "You know, uh, I'm not really interested, but he's so enthusiastic." "So, um... what, uh, brings you to the neighborhood?" " Why didn't you wait for me?" " Ouch!" " Sorry." " You were busy." "I was only gonna investigate a doll company." "I didn't anticipate Blood Alley." " Terrific" " Ooh, boy." " I think we should have you examined for a concussion." "Mm-mmm." "Nonsense." "Just a little dizziness." "Mildred, send in Mr. Mulch, will you, please?" "You're up, Mulch." "Mildred, hold Mr. Mulch." "You're down, Mulch." "I don't care how innocent it appeared." "You don't pursue cases without me." "Really, Laura." "You're making far too much of this." "Mildred, send in Mr. Mulch." "Thank you." "Mildred, hold Mr. Mulch." "One of the advantages of working as a team is that we back each other up." "Look at you." "You run off with yourself, and you come back with a cracked skull." " Am I getting through to you?" " I'm not sure which is worse:" "the ringing in my head or the rasping in my ears." " Just as long as we understand each other for the future." " Uh-huh." "Mildred, send in Mr. Mulch." "It's about time." "I'm a very busy executive." "Get in there." "Sit down, Mulch." "What did I do?" "Guilt by association, I'm afraid." "When last we met... you were trying to market a line of household products based on Hollywood stars." "Virginia Mayo Mayonnaise." "The Marilyn Monroe Modern Slicer." "Remember?" "Yeah." "Great idea, but just a little ahead of its time." "Now, why don't you tell us how you became involved with the Courtney Doll Company?" "Ah." "Well, now... one day I'm walking down Hollywood Boulevard- my senses open, the antenna are out." "A man on the brink of inspiration, right, when- bam!" " You got hit by a bus." " No." "No, no, no." "It comes to me." "The idea." "A new doll that both children and parents will love." " Are you ready for this?" " Uh, I've got goose bumps already." "I know what you mean." "I get chills when I think about it.!" "Look." "You're a parent, right?" "Your little Sally or Susie wants a doll." "You love the kid." "You buy it a doll." "The kid is happy, right?" "For five minutes." "Then she wants more clothes for the doll." "She wants a stroller for the doll." "She wants the dolly's friends, Skippy and Cricket... not to mention Bruce and all of their accessories." "All of a sudden what started out as an innocent bribe for your child's affections... has turned into a- a conglomerate of extortion." "It does remind me of my niece." "Now" " I wish I had a doll here to show ya." "It's your lucky day, George." "Oh." "Ri" " Hey." "Where did you get- Never mind." "Never mind." "Okay." "The Courtney Doll." "Cute, right?" "Simple, right?" "What does it do?" "Nothing." "What comes with it?" "Nothing." "But the kid wants the doll's stroller." "There is no stroller." "The kid wants the doll's friends." "She don't have no friends." "This is it." "What you see is what you get." "You buy this doll, you come away clean." "Parents will be dancing in the streets!" "I'm gonna make a million!" " George." " Wait a minute." "Wait." "You gotta hear the sales pitch." "You're gonna love the sales pitch." "Simple but eloquent." "The Courtney Doll." "All she needs is your love and imagination." "Mrs. Ryan thinks you're cheating her husband out of his money." " What?" " James Ryan sunk half a million dollars into your company." "Now, when I visited the factory, it was hardly working at capacity." "Where's the money going?" "Hey, look." "I handle the creative end." "The dollars and cents I leave to my junior partner, Pete Gillespie." " Well, where is he now?" " Well, he's probably out lining' up business." "You see, let me explain." "About six months ago..." "I told Gillespie my doll idea, which he flipped over." "So, about three weeks later, he calls me up." "He says he found a backer:" "James Ryan." "They used to be friends or something." "So, I make Gillespie a junior partner..." "I name the doll after Ryan's granddaughter... and the rest, as they say, is gonna be history." "George, we'll need to see the books." "Hey." "The sooner the better." "I have nothing to hide." "George, my dolly." " Thank you." " I'll handle this, Mr. Steele." "You rest." " Really, Miss Holt." " Stay." "How do you like the wheels, Miss Holt?" "I'm surprised you can afford them." "Hey." "I put my own money into this baby." "After all, a successful businessman has to present an image, right?" "What about an unsuccessful businessman?" "You had to bring her, right?" "Mildred is our financial expert." "Before she joined Remington Steele Investigations... she was a crack investigator for the I.R.S. fraud squad." "Are you, uh, comfortable back there, Miss Krebs?" "This is it." " Tommy's Diner?" " Yeah." "My brother-in-law runs the joint." "He's the math whiz in the family, so I" "I put him on the payroll to keep the books." " Looks like a first-class operation, Mulch." " Yeah." "It's Gillespie." "He left the detective agency with two women... and they're at his brother-in-law's diner right now." "Well, yeah." "I'm a little nervous, okay?" "Okay." "I'll wait to hear from you." "Right." " You're kidding, right?" " What?" "These documents haven't been posted?" "Ledgers." "Double entry bookkeeping." "Does any of this ring a bell, gentlemen?" "Those, uh, black books with the red corners and the lined pages and all?" "The egghead in the family." "I was gonna get some of those next week." "Don't worry, Miss Holt." "I have seen worse cases." " Believe it or not." " I don't." "I should have a profit and loss and a balance sheet for you in a day or two." "My car!" "My car!" "Are you crazy, lady?" "You could get killed doing that." "We both could get killed." "You should've thought of that before you tried to steal this car." " Oh, man." " Oh." "You're in trouble plenty, compadre." "You have any idea what grand theft auto brings in this state?" "I don't believe this." "Blatant prejudice in the 1980s." "You assume because I'm Hispanic I'm stealing the car." "Next thing you know, you'll be asking me for my green card." "This is not your car, mister." "I know that." "Permiso." "When was the last time you saw a car thief wearing a three-piece suit?" "Check it out." "Florsheim." "You stole those too?" "I'm a businessman." "Juan Esteban Castro." ""Repo man to the stars." "No job too hot." "No lead too cold. "" " And he actually took the car?" " He had the right papers." "George was considerably behind in his payments." "I wasn't behind." "I hadn't started 'em yet." " I guess the banks never read my letters explaining." " Ah." "Uh-huh." " Here's the, uh, background check on Pete Gillespie." " Thanks, Mildred." "George, this gentleman that I met at your office, um, uh, Russ Buckner" "He wouldn't happen to be a loan shark, would he?" "A, uh, uh, financial, uh, services broker." "Um, but he doesn't have anything to do with the Courtney Dolls." "How much are you into him for?" "Well, uh, allowing for, uh, fluctuations in the prime rate and, uh" "Uh, Buckner's interest is 55 points above that... compounded daily." "Like, uh, five grand." "George, you soaked James Ryan for half a million dollars." "How can you be in debt?" "I haven't drawn a penny in salary yet." "You see, Gillespie explained to me that our start-up costs... are a little above what was projected." "Remington Steele Investigations." "Mr. Steele, I think it's time we drop in on Pete Gillespie." "Ah, we'll go together." "I'm feeling much better now." "Thank you very much." "It's James Ryan." "He wants to see you." "So, when my wife informed me of your investigation, I felt I had to call." "You see, Martha's very, uh, nervous about financial matters." "She doesn't understand it takes money to make money." "Well, look who's here." " Hi, Grandpa." " Hello, princess." "This is Courtney, my granddaughter." "Hello, Courtney." "My, you are a living doll." "Mommy and Daddy are on the phone." "Oh." "Well, then, would you please excuse us?" "Please." "Go ahead." "Courtney's parents are on vacation." " Hi." " They haven't been away together since she was born... and like all parents, they have to call home every few hours..." " to make sure that everything's all right." " Yes." "All right then." "Enjoy yourselves." " I want to say good-bye." " Hello." "Ye-Yes." "Hold on a second." "Somebody here wants to say good-bye." "Bye, Mommy and Daddy." "Ah, she hasn't quite got the hang of that yet." "Anyway, what I wanted to say is that, uh..." "I'd be very happy to pay you for your time up to now... and there really isn't any point in continuing." " I'm sure everything is gonna be just fine." " Mm-hmm." "How well do you know Pete Gillespie, Mr. Ryan?" "He was a, uh, bartender at the club we both belong to." "Uh, I always found him a very bright, amiable young man." "Why?" "Are you aware that he was dismissed as part of that bridge scandal a few years ago?" "Yes, but I" " I thought the case against Pete was, uh, very, very shoddy." "In fact, I tried to get him reinstated." "I think it might be prudent not to drop the case, Mr. Ryan... especially when there's so much at stake." "Well, you're the experts." "I, uh- I think you're wrong, but, uh, go ahead." "You won't regret it, Mr. Ryan." "I hope not." " Yeah." " Now, don't panic, Pete... but you better disappear for a few days." " Look, you said you'd handle everything." " And I will." "I just need a little time to straighten things out." "But it wasn't supposed to be like this." "Well, if my wife hadn't hired those private detectives, it wouldn't be... but we-we can adjust." "Now, pack a bag, find a motel and call me." "I hear something." "Hmm." "Have a look at this." "It appears our Mr. Gillespie left in a bit of a hurry." "Innocent men don't run." "Sounds like a Raymond Chandler novel." "Oh!" "Hey, pally." "Tell that fat friend of yours I'll be expecting his payment- tomorrow." "Well, forgetting about the bellicose Mr. Buckner for the moment... it would appear that Pete Gillespie is the man we're after." "I mean, he putJames Ryan's money and George Mulch's idea together." "It would appear that he was the only one to make a profit from the whole arrangement." "Just a little tighter, Laura." "Oh!" "Oh!" "You are truly an angel of mercy, Laura." "I've been getting a lot of practice lately." "Oh." "Well, perhaps we should increase our medical coverage." "That's right." "Joke about it." "Well, I'm sorry... if my various bruises and abrasions annoy you." "The next time, I'll go to the emergency ward." "Buckner's men could have just as easily killed you." " True." " Is that all you have to say about the subject? "True"?" "Uh, Laura... this, uh, Remington Steele you invented" "I mean, he isn't a plumber." "Look." "I mean, if I'm to continue playing the part..." "I run the risk of running into people like Buckner." "Sporadically, I hope." "I just don't like seeing you get hurt." "I just don't like seeing you get hurt." "Well, in that area, I agree." "It's, uh" "It's better to, uh, give than to receive." "I want to put my arms around you, hold you, comfort you" "Uh, sounds a lot better than a bandage." "But I can't." "Oh?" "Why?" "What's stopping you?" "Me." "You." "Us." "Ah, yes." "The south of France." "That wonderful agreement we made about not mixing business with pleasure." "I know it was my idea, but I'm" "I'm having a hard time living with it." "We've just-We've become so distant lately." "So" " So" " Professional?" " Yes, damn it." "Well, uh, look, Laura." "Um..." "I realize I've been a bit standoffish lately, but, uh..." "I mean, I thought that's the way you wanted things." "I mean, ever since we came back from France, I've tried to respect your wishes." "I mean, granted, I've" " I've overstepped the mark at times... but then again, uh, you know, I'm" " I'm only human." "Thank God for that." "Our little agreement hasn't really solved anything, has it?" "It's just, uh, made things more confusing." "We don't go forward, and we can't go back... so we just sort of stand here frozen in place." "Beginnings of a thaw?" "Of course... you really should think about getting an answering service." "Hello?" "Oh, hello, Mildred." "Mm-hmm." "Oh." "All right." "We'll be right there." "That was Mildred." "She just finished the work on Mulch's financial record." " Says it's very important." " Mmm." "Sometimes that woman's efficiency can be highly exasperating." "Mmm." "For once..." "I have to agree with you, Mr. Steele." "Over the last six months, the Courtney Doll Company took in $496,000 from James Ryan." "In that period, the Courtney Doll Company... has paid out $496,000 in start-up costs." "Well, hey, look." "We have to bring the foam stuffing all the way from Taiwan." "And- get this-we are trying to sign ABBA to sing the Courtney jingle." "Do you have any idea what it costs to call Stockholm?" "Moving on to the balance sheet, as far as I can see... the Courtney Doll Company has inventory worth approximately $800." "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is its total asset." " What about the factory?" " Yeah." "What about that?" "Rented." "Let me get this straight." "The Courtney Doll factory spends $496,000... and only has 800 dollars' worth of goods to show for it?" " You got it." " Where-Where did the money go?" "Ah." "Now that's interesting." "All of the money was paid out to only three firms:" "the Wheaton Company, a manufacturer;" "the Blackthorn Corporation, a sales group;" "and the Van Adams Enterprises, a distributor." "Great work, Mildred." "Tomorrow you and I will check out those companies." "I'll bet they'll lead us straight to Gillespie." "My guess is he's been getting some hefty kickbacks for arranging fraudulent billing." " You mean I'm gonna get to do some real gumshoeing?" " Absolutely." " You've been chained to that desk long enough." " Yeah." "Oh." "I" " I guess you have more important things to do, huh, boss?" "Apparently." "Well, the street is no place for the boss." "He'll be right here, supervising the entire operation... collecting data, assembling facts, formulating theories." "You're a born leader, Steele." "It's awful nice of you to put me up tonight, Steele." "Yes." "Well, we can't have a man like Buckner... getting his hands on an enterprising entrepreneur like you, George." "After all, you're a dying breed." "I guess I am at that." "You know, you probably won't believe this, because I know I come off as so unflappable... but- but I-I'm gettin' a little perturbed about the way things are goin' lately." "Yes, well, that's a good sign, George." "Shows you haven't lost your sense of reality." "Yeah." "You know, I really thought this one was it." "It felt so real this time." "You know, Tommy, my brother-in-law- He's got that diner." "He always wants me to come in with him, you know... but I said, "Tommy, I gotta be true to myself." "I gotta follow my star, you know. "" "I don't know." "Maybe I should- go in the diner, you know." "Yes, well, I'm sure the whole thing will look a lot different in the morning, huh?" "Yeah." "You know, my old man used to say..." ""You win some, and you lose some, and some days you get rained out... but you dress for every game. "" "Someday you'll have to explain that to me, George." " For now, get some sleep, okay?" " Uh, Steele." " Yes." " You know, you're, uh... something that I haven't seen very much of in my life:" "a square shooter." "Good night, George." " Watch for traffic, Mildred." " You're covered." "This is the headquarters of a company... that's been taking in a couple hundred thousand dollars?" "Looks like a dummy corporation if ever I've seen one." "Somebody's had a nice little bonfire here." " What is it, Miss Holt?" " Traveler's check." "Nicaragua." "I could go there." "I'll bet you Buckner don't have no contacts in Nicaragua." "I hear the climate is very nice too." "A few internal difficulties maybe, but nothin'" "The instructions, George." "Uh, "Once the modem is engaged"" "I've done that." ""punch in your access number. "" "Yes." "I've done all that, but the blasted machine won't give!" "These bloody computers." "They're the most useless bit of hardware I've ever encountered." "I've always said" "You didn't press "Enter. "" "You didn't press "Enter. "" "All right, Einstein." "Let's see what you can cough up on the- the Wheaton Corporation... the Blackthorn Corporation..." "Van Adams Enterprises." "The Falkland Islands." "Now there is an out-of-the-way place." "Hardly anybody goes there anymore." "I wonder if you could get a direct flight from L.A." " Yeah?" " It's Ryan." "Getting kind of jumpy, Pete?" " They're onto us, aren't they?" " Relax." "And put that thing down." "There's an easy way out of this thing." "Only Steele and his assistant suspect anything is wrong." "There are no police involved at this point." "And Mulch is a perfect patsy." "So, if we can just remove those two detectives from the picture, all our problems will be solved." "You're talking about murder, Ryan." "The companies that took in all of Ryan's money-They're dummies." "Just rented office space with a name, an address and nothing more." "Great." "What does that mean?" "Well, it looks like Gillespie set up these companies for himself." "In other words, using George's company as his cover..." "Gillespie was taking money from Ryan and paying it to himself." "Right." "We found the remains of some burned traveler's checks in one of the offices." "Why would somebody burn traveler's checks?" "We haven't figured that out yet." "The checks were signed in three names:" "Arthur Wheaton, Harold Blackthorn and Roger Van Adams." "Those are the guys who supposedly run these dummy corporations." " This is unbelievable." " What is?" "Yes, well, we got the computer to render some background information..." " on those three corporations." " You did, boss?" "Yes." "It was very simple, Mildred." "Just a little bit of patience and, uh" "Anyway, uh- we found out something very intriguing about those three gentlemen." " Yeah?" " They've all been dead for over 20 years." " I don't get it." " Welcome to the club." "The heads of all three dummy corporations are dead men." "Ah!" "The Day of theJackal.!" "Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale." "Universal, 1973." " Yeah!" " What do you mean, "Yeah"?" "Edward Fox plays this assassin who creates false passports... by getting the birth certificates of dead men who were born the same year he was." "Good Lord." "Another movie buff?" " Oh, Georgie!" "I knew we were kindred spirits, mate!" " Yeah." "Uh, well, in my business it pays to see a lot of movies... because you never know when an idea will leap off the screen at ya." "But what does this Jackal have to do with Pete Gillespie?" "Gillespie set up the false identities... so he could skip the country without leavin' tracks." "The traveler's checks we found would support that theory." " They would?" " Sure." "Gillespie could withdraw all of his money from the three companies in cash... and then buy traveler's checks." " Why traveler's checks?" " Because you can destroy them and have them refunded later." "If Gillespie flies the coop with the money from the checking account... he leaves a paper trail." "On the other hand, trying to travel with $500,000 in cash creates quite a suspicious bulk." "But with traveler's checks, he can carry that amount... in his coat pocket in the form of receipts." "He could go anywhere in the world, turn in his receipts for refunds... and slowly reconstitute his fortune without anyone being able to trace it." "Mildred, call the Ryans and tell them we're about to wrap this up." " You got it." " What a brilliant, wonderful, ingenious little plan!" " Just think of it, Georgie." "If a man had a pile of money, he" " Mr. Steele..." "I think you should go home and rest those ribs of yours." "Perhaps I'll come by later with some Ben-Gay." "Oh." "Oh, yes." "Uh, I think they might need a little bit of, uh- massaging and everything like that." "Hey." "What about me?" "I mean, Buckner's still after me." "I mean, what about my physical well-being?" "Oh, Georgie, I'm sure we'll be able to arrange your accommodation with Mr. Buckner." " It's busy." " Well, try again later." "Oh." "Brilliant day's deduction, everybody." "Brilliant." "Come along, Georgie." "Stop worrying, George, will you?" "I have a plan that will wipe out your debt." "What are we doing here?" "That's Buckner's house." "Of course it is." "Where else do you think he keeps his car?" " Why are we interested in his car?" " We're gonna steal it." "Are you crazy?" "Buckner's car is a Porsche." "928 "S."" "I say I know about... half a dozen dealers, shall we say, who could get it out of the state... and into the hands of a new owner in a matter of hours." "And at a handsome profit for us." "In cash." "Are you crazy?" "That's a $10,000 paint job." "Remington Steele Investigations." "Uh, Mr. Steele isn't in right now." "Can I take a message?" "It's Pete Gillespie." " This is Laura Holt." " Where's Steele?" "You're in a great deal of trouble, Mr. Gillespie." "Why do you think I called?" "I suggest you find yourself the nearest police station and turn yourself in." " What if I make restitution?" " You mean give back the money?" " Will you and Steele go to bat for me with Ryan?" " We might." "I'll need more than that." "So will we." "I've got most of it stashed at the factory." "I just need Steele's word that Ryan won't press charges." "Mr. Steele will be in a much better position to give you that... once he has his hands on the money." " I'll be waiting for both of you." " We'll be there." "They're comin'." "You're not gonna meet that bum, are you?" "He wants to make a deal." "The money for his freedom." " I'll get my coat." " You stay right here." " This is just a precaution." " Shouldn't you call Mr. Steele?" "I think he's had enough excitement for one day." "Well, can't you put more men on it?" "Well, what do we pay our taxes for, Lieutenant?" "I want my car." "Police." "You know, I'll tell ya something." "If I had that kind of man" "Well, well." "Hey." "Cisco and Pancho, huh?" "You got my money, George?" " Or am I gonna have to play taps on your head again?" " Oh, no, no, no." "Uh" "Here you are, sir." "What's the extra grand for, pally?" "This." "Now we're even, pally." "Come on, George." "I was behind ya all the way." "A great comfort, George." "A great comfort." "What do you mean she went there alone?" "There was nothing I could do to stop her." "I've been trying to reach you for over an hour." "All right." "Thank you, Mildred." "The Courtney Doll factory, Fred." "And let's not linger a lot at the lights." "Gillespie?" "Laura!" "So Gillespie called Ryan too, huh?" "Natch." "He was gonna eliminate anyone who could finger him." "He didn't call me." "Remington Steele Investigations." "What's wrong?" " Still in a bit of shock?" " No." "It's not that." "Something's nagging me." "Ah, yes." "Well, I've learned to respect your nags." "If Gillespie had all of Ryan's money, why didn't he just leave town?" "Why kill us off if he could escape without a trace?" "There's another thing." "You know those three dead men whose names appeared on the traveler's checks?" " Mmm." " They were born 55 years ago." "Gillespie was 32 years old." " Why would he choose to impersonate older men?" " Mm-hmm." "All right." "We'll get back to you." "That was Mrs. Ryan." "She's got another job for you." "She wants you to locate any hidden assets Mr. Ryan might have." " Why?" " He just filed for divorce." "You know, in a way, Ryan really got a break in all this." " What do you mean, Mildred?" " Well, it's a strange way of looking at it... but because he lost everything... he doesn't have to pay his wife one penny in a divorce settlement." "I just said something incisive, didn't I?" "That's what this was all about from the start, wasn't it, Mr. Ryan?" "A way to divorce your wife without splitting your hard-earned money." "Ah." "But it soured when she hired us." "But you found a way out:" "kill Gillespie." "That way you'd end up a hero and tie up your own loose ends." "Even if I could accept your little fantasy... where's your proof, hmm?" "Travelers checks in the names of dead men" "That's hardly conclusive evidence." "You told the police that Gillespie called you to come to the factory." "About what time was that?" " 4:00." " You sure?" "I looked at my watch." "You're wrong, Mr. Ryan." "Dead wrong." "The phone was off the hook all afternoon." "Courtney left it that way." "Her parents tried to reach us since 1:00." "I didn't notice the phone was out of order until... after 6:00." "We couldn't reach you either, Mr. Ryan." "That's why we checked with your wife before we came here." "I love you, Grandpa." "I, uh" " I didn't want to mention this until now, Laura... but, uh, when you ran off to that doll factory alone..." "I was, uh, deeply troubled... not to mention a little disappointed." "Disappointed?" "Yes." "Well, you know how seriously I take your instructions, and yet... there you were, alone, working in complete violation of your own rule that we work as a team." "Yes, well, as with any rule, there are extenuating circumstances... extraordinary conditions under which" "I got it.!" "My next project.!" "Steele, I know what we can do with the extra cash." " What extra cash?" " The extra cash we got for selling Buckner's car." "Is there something that you haven't told me?" "Ah." "Dinner's served."