"What the--?" "Help!" "Somebody help!" "Police!" "Thanks for showing me." "Well, according to your neighbour, Mrs. Allen, who said she saw it, it was an attempted molestation." " At least, that's what she phoned in." " Oh, Fay Allen." "Believe me, it was a burglar." "Is your boy all right?" "Oh, yes." "He's just fine." "Thank you, lieutenant." "Mike, can I show you something in the bedroom?" "Excuse me." "All right, this is exactly how the radio unit found the place." "Now, according to Mr. Reardon, he heard a noise, he came in here, and he found the guy going through the kid's drawer." "Why isn't it dumped out?" " It's not messed up." " That's right." "And, Mike, look at this." "He was in here too." " What for?" " I don't know." "Hey, what's this?" "What do you make of this wire?" "It's on a trip release here, so when the door opens the music box is activated." "Need any help?" "You can see nothing's been taken." "Sorry to waste your time." " Mrs. Reardon a good housekeeper?" " Oh, yeah." "Sure." "Can you describe the burglar?" "He was about 5'10", 6 feet." "Kind of husky." "He had on sort of an Army jacket." "I grabbed at him, and he barrelled out the window." "What do you think he was after?" "You got me." "That's your job." "What are burglars usually after?" "They're usually after cash, jewellery, drugs." "Things like that." "But they don't like to work hot houses." "I don't get you. "Hot houses"?" "Houses with people in them, Mr. Reardon." "Say, did your wife straighten up after you chased him out?" "Oh, no." "She scooped up Sean, and ran to our room and locked the door." "Well then, what about this?" "It's busted." "Oh yeah, it's been that way for months." "Well, if your wife is a good housekeeper, how come she didn't vacuum this up?" "It's part of the music box isn't it?" "Fellas, I'm..." "I'm sorry you were called out this late." "Was it a molestation attempt?" "I know people don't like to talk about it Mr. Reardon, but molestation is a very serious thing." " Did he take anything out of there?" " No." "It was a burglary and it fizzled." " Okay?" " Okay." "Okay." "You and your wife talk it over, and if you feel you forgot anything," " give me a call." " Sure." "Thanks, lieutenant." " Good night, Mr. Reardon." " Inspector." "Mike, I'm gonna change it from a 288 to a 414." "Or something from "Grimm's Fairy Tales"." " You don't go for it either." " No, I don't go for it." "Some guy breaks into the kid's window, stays in the kid's room, looks at the kid's clothes." " There's no valuables in there." " So?" "What's in a kid's room that would interest an intruder?" "A kid maybe." " Hi." " Pete?" "Yeah." "Open the door, will you?" " No." " Joan." " No." " Open the" "The Army called me." "You're AWOL for almost a month." " Where have you been, Pete?" " Nam." "I know that." "I mean, in the States, where have you been?" "Right here." " San Francisco?" " That's right." "For almost 30 days?" "Well, I had things to do." "Pete." " You have to go back." " No." "I gave them seven years." "That's enough." " I'll be staying here with you, Joan." " No!" "I'll give you time to get used to it." "You're not gonna be pushed, and you don't have to be scared." "Well, I am scared." "And besides, I have a life here now without you." "Jo, you got a job in an insurance company steno pool for a garbage salary." "You gotta work eight to ten hours a week overtime to send your mom money." "And you're dating a schlump of a guy named Harvey Taylor." "Who's gonna be an accountant in two years if he can cut night school that long." "Come on, Jo, we can make it this time." "Did you go to my office?" " Did you talk to Harvey?" "My mother?" " Harvey." "Oh, Pete." " Did you hurt him?" " I talked to him." " Pete, if you" " I told him you were my wife." "Then that's why he ha" "Did you tell him not to call me again?" "We're gonna see a lawyer, Jo." "I saw a lawyer years ago." "You got a copy of that decree." "Well, we're gonna get it set aside." "Now, I heard that's what you can do." "Set the divorce aside." "It's going to be the way it should have been a long time ago." "You, me, and Little Pete." "It can't be." "Pete, we're divorced." "There is no Little Pete." "I couldn't keep him." "I had to give him up." "I never even took him out of the hospital." "I know that." "It's okay, Jo." "It's gonna work." "I found him." "You can't do it." "The boy is almost 5 years old." "He doesn't know you or me." "Whatever else those people are, they're his parents now." "Look, I'm his dad and you're his mother." "Now, act like it." "A supermarket?" "Come on." " Mommy, look at the toys." " Oh, yes, look at all of them." "Now, darling, you stay here now." "Just one second." "Now, stay right there." "Jo." "They call him Sean." "That's the little boy that you gave away." " Hey, champ." " Hi." "You like toys?" "Yeah?" "Show me what toys you like here." " Airplanes." "You like airplanes, huh?" " And the car." "How about this truck?" "This camper truck?" " You ever been camping?" " No." "Sean?" "Sean." "Sean, come here." "Mommy, I was just looking at the camper truck." "Sean!" "Now go away." "Leave him alone." "Leave him alone." "Mrs. Reardon, what kind of military jacket?" "Pockets, it had four pockets." "And it was an Army colour." " Olive drab?" " Like that, yes." "Where is he Martha?" "Where's Sean?" "Lieutenant Stone had him go with a policeman for an ice cream." "Sit down, Mr. Reardon." "You should've called me." "I couldn't think." "I'm sorry." "No, she did the right thing." "Now, why don't you tell us what this is all about." "You see, it wasn't a burglary and the man had company with him at the market, so it was not a molester." "Well, now, what would they want with your little boy and why don't you wanna talk about it?" "Now, Mrs. Reardon here, she gave us a very good description of the couple." "The store manager told us that they drove off in a camper." "So, what do we do now, Mr. Reardon?" "Mrs. Reardon?" "Would either of you like a cup of coffee?" "Oh, no." "No, thank you." "Well..." "How are things at work, Mr. Reardon?" " At work?" " Yes." " Business pretty good?" " Fine." "Very good." "Mrs. Reardon here tells me that you work for Frandelli Brothers." " That's right." " I know the place." "Meat market." " You follow the 49ers?" " Sure." "What kind of a season do you think they'll have this year?" "Oh, I don't know." "Pretty good, I guess." "Oh, I think it'll be pretty hard to tell, don't you?" "Just like this whole bag of beans." "I was telling Steve that it looked to me like a case of attempted kidnapping but it just doesn't make any sense." "Not for people like you and me." "We don't get paid that much." "Not unless Frandelli is paying you much more than I'm pulling from the city." "No." "Not much." "I didn't think so." "No, just a bum idea I have." "And I-- Believe me, I have plenty of them." "What do you make it out to be, Mr. Reardon?" "We think that..." "Do you know anything about diabetics, lieutenant?" "No, not much." "Well, why don't you tell us about it?" "Martha's a brittle diabetic." ""Brittle"?" "I think that's an unstable tolerance for insulin." "Isn't it?" "And carbohydrates." "In some cases, a diabetic can collapse." "I haven't, not for almost seven years now." "We're not allowed to adopt." "So your little boy's adopted." " Yeah." " And the adoption is illegal." "Or questionable." "And you think that the guy and woman are his natural parents." "Do you have a name, Mrs. Reardon?" "No." "We've never seen them." "That was part of the understanding." "They're not supposed to even know who we are." "Well, they apparently do." "What do you think they found out?" "We've had Sean since he was a week old." "We're the only parents he knows." "He wouldn't know what was happening if they made us give him back." "Mrs. Reardon, who could have given them your name?" " The doctor, I suppose." " He arranged it." "We paid him for it." "He signed the health papers for Martha." "He knew about her health?" "It was five years ago, lieutenant." "Babies were available then." "There were baby mills." "So you bought a son." "It sounds..." "Sounds awful, but we love him more than life." "You know, Mike, we have either attempted kidnapping or child-stealing or nothing." "Well, apparently, he doesn't know about the phoney health certificates or he wouldn't be breaking into their house at 3 a.m." "He'd be in court." "Unless he's a crazy." "Or he isn't the real father." "Mr. Reardon, where can we find this doctor?" "I think you better talk to my lawyer." "I don't need a lawyer, doctor." "You want one, fine." "Either way..." "You just tell me who you gave Barney Reardon's name to." "I'm sorry, I can't help you." "Doctor, what I know is, that there's a 5-year-old child who's a target." "Someone's taken two cracks at him already." "And I also know that there's a name in that filing cabinet that matches a guy wearing a GI jacket who drives a camper." "Either Inspector Keller goes downtown for a court order to open that cabinet, or you tell us now." "Dr. Kemp, did you have an accident, or did someone work you over?" " I fell." " You were pushed by a guy about 5'10", maybe 6 feet tall, husky, wearing a GI jacket with pockets." " No." " Come on!" "A man came in here wanting Barney Reardon's name and address." "You wouldn't give it to him, so he leaned on you." " No." " You talked about something." "Now, what name did he give you?" "What was the baby's name?" "No, it's not true." "I fell." "Doctor, take a look at yourself." "You're a grown man." "You can handle yourself." "Can you imagine what he'd do to a 5-year-old child?" "What was the baby's name, doctor?" "Genetti." " The mother's name was Genetti." " Throw in the first name." "Joan." "We'd like to see the file." "It was five years ago." "A lot of infants to be placed." "I was only trying to find a good home for the child." "Norm." "Hi, it's Keller." "Look, I need all the information you can give me on a Joan Genetti." "G-E-N-E-T-T-I, at 440 East Glendon." "Maybe an old address." "It's on the Reardon matter." "I'll hold, yeah." "It was in the nature of a favour to Mrs. Genetti." "And the Reardons." "Tell me:" "What did a small, healthy human being bring on the open market, doctor?" "Okay, here we go." " Naptime for you." " Yeah, sweetie." "Okay, let me take your sweater." " Barney." " Yeah?" "Mommy, what happened to my clothes?" "Oh, I don't know." "Somewhere around Banff, Lake Louise." "Anywhere in Canada." "Pete." "Pete, there's a gun in here." "It's a carbine." "There's ammo, shelter halves, ration cans, anything we might need up there." "They know, Pete." "Those people know what you're gonna do now." "That's right." "It's not right, Pete." "That little boy won't understand it." "He doesn't even know who you are." "That little boy is my son, Jo, and yours." "Now, he'll get to know us." "The clothes, the toys, all these things will help." "He needs us." "And we need him." "Why now, Pete?" "Why all of a sudden now?" "I got four letters from you." "From the time we were married until the time I wrote to tell you that we were gonna have a baby." "And then nothing." "What was I supposed to do?" "I don't know." "Understand, I guess." "Just understand." "Understand what?" "That I was married to a war lover?" "A soldier who reenlisted when I was two-months pregnant?" "And didn't even ask for re-up leave to tell me why." "There were reasons, Jo." "Well, I would like to hear them." "I wrote to you that I was going to Nevada." "I told you that I couldn't cut it alone." "That I wanted a divorce." "Nothing, Pete." "No letter, no telegram." "I was in a firebase, Jo." "We're getting hit 60 times a day." "We're getting supply drops once every two weeks." "Tough, sergeant." "I was 19 and pregnant." "And alone." "You had a choice." "I didn't." "I was wrong." "I made a mistake, Jo." "That's all." "I just made a mistake." "You know, before I went to Nam, there wasn't one soul on this earth that needed me." "And in Nam, I found out a whole platoon needed me." "Now, I thought that they were my responsibility, Jo." "Okay, I was wrong." "I woke up and they were all gone." "All of them." "And I was in the base hospital." "I didn't know that." "So they wanted to rotate me back out there to the rice paddies." "And I couldn't go." "I couldn't hack looking after a bunch of new scrubs." "I just couldn't help them, and I knew it." "You see, nobody can look after anyone but their own." "Now, I can only look after you, and me, and Little Pete." "And, Jo, that's where it is." "It won't work." "They'll stop you." "The parents, the Army, the police." "No one's gonna stop me." "It'll work because it has to work." "That's all there is, Jo." "Pete." "Pete, listen." "I told you that I wouldn't push you." "I'm gonna get him now." "And when we get back, I want you waiting for us." "Come on." "We can put it back together." "I know it." "I need you, Jo." "I need both of you." "Barney." "Barney." "No, put it away, please." "Lieutenant Stone will be here any minute." "When Stone comes I'll put it away." "Meantime, that guy shows up here, he's gonna get two barrels of double aught." " Hello." " Mr. Reardon?" "This is Mr. Coleman of the Bureau of Adoptions." ""Bureau of Adoptions"?" "Yes, sir." "There seems to be some irregularity in yours and Mrs. Reardon's adoption procedure." "What irregularity, Mr. Coleman?" "Well, sir, there seems to be a question as to the legality of Joan Genetti's divorce." "Technically, you see, her husband may still be entitled to custody." "As you know, he never signed the adoption papers." "You mean, we'd have to reopen?" "Exactly, Mr. Reardon." "My supervisor has asked me to drop by and discuss it with you." "Shall we say half an hour?" "But I" "Sure." "Half an hour." "Mr. Reardon, try not to worry." "During the investigation, we'll have a very, very nice foster family look after your little boy." "Bye, Mr. Reardon." "Get your things together, Martha." "And Sean's." "I want you out of here in five minutes." " Barney" " Pack." "Get yourself a motel room someplace for a few days." "I'll talk to Mr. Frandelli, see if I can get some time off." "We have to get Sean away from here." "That man on the phone." "You said "Bureau of Adoptions"?" "Stone." "Stone must've told them the whole thing." "Forrest, Sergeant Peter James." "Now, you're sure?" "Well then, what name does he have on the dependency allotment?" "Joan Genetti Forrest." "Yeah, it ties." "Thank you, colonel." "Forrest." "Yeah, here it is:" ""Joan Genetti Forrest." "1552 Greenwich, Apartment 4."" " I'll get on it." " Good." "Check the street and the garage." "Oh, and listen." "If that camper is anywhere in the vicinity," " you call back." "You understand?" " Yeah." "This guy is AWOL." "He's got more combat kills than Bonnie and Clyde." "Let me have Reardon's number." "Call me at the market, okay?" "I can't keep him in the motel room all the time, Barney." "Okay." "Okay." "Check in somewhere and then you can take him out for an hour or so." "Take your sister along." "Keep your eyes on him." "I'll talk to Mr. Frandelli." "The whole world's coming down on us." " Are you Joan Forrest?" " Yes." "My name's Inspector Keller." "Come on in." "Is Sergeant Forrest here?" "No." "Has he been here, ma'am?" "Where is he, Mrs. Forrest?" "I've been sitting over that phone for 20 minutes" "That's how long Pete's been gone." "trying to decide whether to call the police or the Reardons." "Well, why didn't you?" "Because there would've been shooting." "Anybody who gets in Pete's way now is gonna have to kill him to stop him." "Maybe his way, no one will get killed." "What is his way?" "He's on his way now to pick up the boy and then he's bringing him here." " He left about 20 minutes ago?" " Yes." " He's driving the camper, right?" " Yes." "Lieutenant Stone, please." "I'll need that license number, Mrs. Forrest." "Lee." "Lee, is Mike there?" "All right, listen." "Lay on an APB for a Peter J. Forrest." " What's the model of the camper?" " I don't know." " What year is it?" " 1971, I think." " '71." "License number?" " I don't know." " California plates?" " I don't" " Yes." "Yes." "I think so." "Probable California plates." "License number unknown." " Colour?" " Green and white." "Green and white." "It's a 288:" "Crime Against a Child." "Approach with caution." "Alert all vehicles South San Francisco." "The vicinity of 491 Clark." "I'll be at 555-2870." "Right." "Are you gonna wait?" "Yes, ma'am." "He'll have the boy with him, you know that." "I know, Mrs. Forrest." "I know." "I gotta tell you, Stone." "Whatever it is you want with Barney," "I'm behind him 110 percent." "The best cutter in the business." "He said ten minutes, he'll be here in ten minutes." "You're sure he's on the way?" "I was just by his house." "The bus." "You know what the bus schedule is these days." "Martha takes the car, Barney hops a bus." "The wife has the car?" " What about the little boy?" " Ask Barney, here he is." "Sal, I gotta talk to you." " Mr. Reardon" " You, I don't need." "You and the Bureau of Adoptions." "I got the call." "What call?" "What bureau?" "We levelled with this guy and he blew the whistle on us." "What are you talking about?" "I didn't call a bureau." "Then how'd they find out?" "How'd they come up with this "irregularity" business?" "When?" "What did they say?" "He said that they were reopening the adoption." "That Sean would have to be sent off to a foster home" "Baloney." "That was no agency." "Now, where's your wife and child?" " I sent them off someplace." " Frandelli, get off the phone." " Mrs. Liebowitz, call you right back." " Mr. Reardon, now, I asked you a question." "Where are your wife and child now?" "I don't know." "Oh, Alma, my head's splitting." "All the excitement, the phone call." "Here, you want an aspirin?" "Oh, thank you." "I left everything at the hotel." "There's a fountain over there." "Sean won't get out of my sight." "All right, I'll get him another ticket." "I got him three more tickets." "Alma?" "I think I've lost him." "You should've stayed with him." "Now, I think we know which way he's headed." "Mr. and Mrs. Reardon, come with me." "Have your sister drive your car home for you." "All right." "Eight-one, headquarters." " Go ahead, 8-1." " Alert Keller at Forrest's apartment." "Company's coming." "Hello?" "Inspector." "Yeah?" "Thank you, Lee." "He has the boy." "Up in Canada, they got trees," " they got lakes, mountains" " Mountain lions." "Does Canada have mountain lions?" "Yeah, they got mountain lions too." "Thousands of them." "And they got moose up there too." "By the way, Joan is her name." "You're really gonna like her." "Okay." "All right, he's here." "Now, Mrs. Forrest, I'd like you to go in the other room." "Please." "Please, don't shoot him." "Look, I don't wanna shoot him and I don't want him to hurt that little boy." " Isn't he coming in?" " I don't know." "It never occurred to me that he wouldn't." "Well, what do you know, little buddy, we've been mousetrapped." "Charlie set us up." "Who's Charlie?" "Charlie..." "He sets tripwires on the trails and mines the villages." "Charlie's the enemy." "He's going." "Come on, get in." "This is 8-1." "Keller to headquarters." "Subject's vehicle proceeding west on Greenwich." "Ten-four." "All units, Code 33 now in effect." "Clear all channels." "Inspectors 8-1 now in pursuit of subject vehicle." "A white '71 camper." "California license number 658DOU." "Vehicle is under surveillance." "Do not approach." "Do not intercept." "So in our army, yours and mine, we have sergeants and we have privates." "Now, you're a private and I'm a sergeant, okay?" "Does our army have guns?" "No, the sergeants do." "And the privates do what the sergeants say." "The sergeants are the daddies." "Yeah, that's right." "They're like daddies." "Camper now on Fort Funston Road." "Ten-four." "Well, what do you know?" "Charlie outflanked us." " What do you say we go to ground?" " Okay." "Move it!" "It's like a roller coaster, isn't it?" "That man knows where he's going." "I'll call in some backup units." "Just to cut off the exit, sure." "But we're not gonna get that young fella with firepower." "Can't use tear gas with a kid in there." "What do you wanna do, Mike?" "Let me have a flashlight." "All right." "Mr. Reardon," "I'm sure your wife would be much more comfortable farther back." "Sure." "Come on, honey." "Mike." "We're gonna talk." " Pete Forrest and I are gonna talk." " About what?" "We'll think of something." " It's dark in here." " Yeah." "It is dark, isn't it?" "But privates don't get scared." "They just take the sergeant's hand and plow ahead." "Just like marching through Dixie." "Sergeant." "Sergeant Forrest." "This is Lieutenant Stone." "San Francisco Police Department." "I'm unarmed." "I'd like to talk to you." "All right, cover all the exits." "All right?" "And no shooting." "I played in here once." "A long time ago when I was a little kid." "They used to have big guns in here." "What for?" "Oh, protect the bay." "People thought that maybe big ships might sail in here and shoot at the city." "Charlie?" "Is that who?" "You got it pal." "Charlie." "Sergeant." "I think I wanna go." "I'd like to go home now." "This is it for now, private." "This is home." "No." "I don't think I like it." "Here." "Here, I got a light for you." "You hold onto that." "My daddy has one of those." "Yeah, sure." "Sergeant." "Listen, sergeant." "Let's stop and talk." "I'm gonna go out on recon for just a little while, and I want you to be in charge, okay?" " I don't think" " How old are you?" " Five." " Five years old." "That's old enough." "Here." "See the second hand?" "The big one going round real fast." "Okay, I want you to keep your eye on that." "And when it goes around one, two times, I'll be back." "Okay?" "Okay." "Sergeant." "These bunkers go on and on forever." "Why don't we stop and ta--?" "Drop the light." "Drop it." "Pushup position." "Okay, duck squat." "Hands behind your neck." "Mike Stone, San Francisco Police." "Pete Forrest, unattached." "Your buddies outside?" " But we won't need them, you and me." " Good." "Because I'm gonna tell you something." "You're gonna hear it anyway." "Sean's adoption was based on a falsified document." " What does that mean?" " It means..." "It means I'm gonna get up." " Stay there." " No." "Nope, nope." "If I were as young as you I'd do it for you, but these bones just don't mind anymore." "Thanks." "That's better." "Dr. Kemp phonied Mrs. Reardon's health certificate." "The adoption may or may not hold up in court." "Well, are you saying that we can get our boy back?" "I'm not gonna lie to you, sergeant." "You've got an AWOL to clear up." "Yeah, but Joan, she could go to court." "Yes, if she wanted to." " Why wouldn't she?" " Sergeant, that little boy doesn't know anybody but the Reardons." "They've been his parents all his life." "You wanna take that away from him?" "Sergeant?" "What is it?" "The big hand's been around and around." "Can I go home now?" "Maybe my daddy misses me." "Well, what about Canada?" "And all the lakes and fishing we were talking about, remember?" "My mommy and daddy need me." "I'm supposed to go." "Well, I need you too, pal." " Yes, sir, but" " Listen to me." "I wanna tell you something." "I want you to pay attention." " Five years ago" " Forrest, don't do that." "You wanna push this thing, do it in court." "Do it legally." "Now, that's your decision." "But not here." "Not to a 5-year-old child." "Why, don't you know that when you're 5 you're looking for an anchor." "Something solid." "Something to hold on to?" "Well, he's got that now." "Son, I wanna ask you a question." "Whose little boy are you?" "My daddy's and mommy's." "And who's your daddy and mommy?" "Mr. and Mrs. Barney Reardon." "They live" "What is he gonna say?" "What else does he know?" "Of course." "Leave him that, will you, Pete?" "Otherwise, he may never know who he is." "Sean, you go get that man's flashlight?" " Thank you, son." " You're welcome." "Maybe you ought to write this report yourself." "It's beginning to look like a set of references for Peter J. Forrest." "Yeah." "Well, that's great." " What?" " That." "I think that's very nice." ""Think"?" "You're a cop, buddy boy." "You're not paid to think." "Corvin, do me a favour, will you?" "Make sure that this gets to motor pool, huh?" "Thanks." "Come on, move it." "Let's go."