Pizza and Promises


[Fraser’s apartment]

Ray : Twenty-nine minutes.

Fraser : Wouldn’t it have been easier to order it from the place across the street?

Ray :  Fraser, there are hundreds of places that make pizza.  What I am looking for here is the perfect pizza at the perfect price.
Fraser: Which is?
Ray: Free. And that’s exactly what this’ll be in 34 seconds. There is no way he can get a pizza here from Michigan Avenue in under a half hour.
Fraser: You mean you’re using some promotional ploy in order to get something for nothing?
Ray: Welcome to the United States of America, Fraser.
Fraser: Well, it just doesn’t seem fair, Ray.
  I mean, if you don’t pay for them, somebody has to.
Ray: Again, welcome to my country.
[knock knock knock]

Ray : Drop the pizza, kid. You’re late.
Lenny: Oh, you’re one of those guys. Uh, listen, I couldn’t find the building, I am 10 seconds late, your pizza’s obviously ruined…
Ray: Don’t give me sarcasm.
  Just the pie.
Lenny: Look, I go back without thirteen-fifty, I get fired. I just got this job.
  I need this job. Come on, guys, cut me a break, will ya?
Fraser: Here’s for my half, Ray.
Ray: Your half? What are you doing? You believe this sob story?
Lenny: Come on. I’m blocking the alley.
Ray: Okay, fine.
  But next time, punk-- [loud noises from alley]
Lenny: Oh no! My car. They got my car!

Ray : Repo?
Lenny: I just bought it.
Fraser: Diefenbaker. Follow it. Excuse me.

[he jumps out the window, then runs across roofs until he jumps onto Lenny’s still-moving car]
Fraser: Please stop immediately! This is not your automobile!

[the car turns a corner & Fraser is tossed off the top]
Fraser: I’m okay. [Dief takes off after the speeding car]
  Dief. Dief! Diefenbaker! [takes off after the speeding wolf]
Lenny: Hey! Hey! That’s my car!
Fraser: Ray! Stop Diefenbaker! Stop him!
Ray: Hey! Stop! Halt!
Fraser: Stop him!
Ray: Unmush! Unmush!
Fraser: Where’s your car?

Ray : Lot B. You ought to get that dog a hearing aid!
Fraser: It’s my mistake. I never should have sent him.
Ray: He’ll come back.
Fraser: No, he won’t.
  He won’t stop until he catches it.
Ray: And if they don’t stop?
Fraser: He’ll die trying.

[Fraser’s apartment]
Ray: Got a stolen car, 221 East Racine, 1977 green Comet... Yeah. Robert-Charles-William-one-three-nine…Yeah, you do that.
Lenny: Look if I don’t find that car, I lose my job.
Ray: I called it in. [pays] There you go, kid.
Lenny: A lot of good this is gonna do me.
Ray: Hey, call your insurance broker. You do have insurance, don’t you?
Lenny: Oh yeah, I do. I spent the last of my inheritance on it.
Fraser: Well, the police have a description of the car, so the thieves couldn’t have gotten far.
Lenny: Right now, my car’s in some garage being torn up for parts. By morning it’ll be spread over six states and the frame will be rusting in Lake Michigan.
Ray: Earlier career choice, kid?
Lenny: They like to teach you a trade in juvie.
Ray: Let the punk go.
Fraser: He needs help, Ray.
Ray: Hey there’s still a few people in this neighborhood without a criminal record. Why don’t you try to help one of them? [goes to exit, then comes back for a slice of pizza]

[on street]
Fraser: Lenny!
Ray: He doesn’t want our help. Can’t you respect that?
Fraser: This is my neighborhood, Ray. It makes it my responsibility.
Ray: Yeah, well, it’s not my neighborhood.
Fraser: No. Quite right. It’s not. Lenny! Lenny, I will find your car.
Lenny: How?
Fraser: I have a friend on the case already.
Lenny: What, the wolf?
Fraser: It’s his neighborhood, too.
Lenny: Yeah. I’ll hold my breath. [stalks off]

[in Riv]
Fraser: That’s odd.
Ray: What’s that?
Fraser: Oh, it’s probably nothing.
Ray: Oh no, I am not getting involved in this one, Fraser. Unlike you I refuse to feel guilty about something beyond my control.
Fraser: No, I understand, Ray. I understand fully.
Ray: Good. I mean the kid should have got insurance. I’m not going to turn Chicago upside down just to justify your twisted sense of honor.
Fraser: Well, I don’t expect you to. Every individual must follow their own moral code.
Ray: What’s that supposed to mean?
Fraser: Just what I said, Ray. You’re right. You have no responsibility here. Look, why don’t you just let me off and you can go home.
Ray: Fine.
Fraser: Thanks.
Ray: I’m going!
Fraser: Goodnight, Ray.

[Vecchio pulls off, then backs up]
Ray: Forty-seven thousand cars are stolen each year in the city. How are you going to find one?
Fraser: I don’t think you want to know, Ray.
Ray: You’re right. I don’t. Goodnight!
Fraser: Goodnight.

[Vecchio pulls off, then backs up]
Ray: Okay. How?
Fraser: When the Inuit go fishing, Ray, they don’t look for the fish.
Ray: I hate myself!
  [gets out & stands beside Fraser] So what do they look for?
Fraser: The blue heron.
Ray: You’re kidding me, right?
Fraser: No, I’m not, Ray.
Ray: And where might we find this legendary bird?
Fraser: We begin by asking the people who’d know.

[sidewalk, now on foot]
Ray: [muttering] One pizza. That’s all I wanted was one lousy Chicago-style deep dish pizza. [sigh] Excuse me, have you seen a 1977 green Comet followed by a white wolf?
Street Person: Today?
Ray: Yes, of course today!!
Street Person: Nope.
Ray: That’s it. That’s it. I’m done. I’m not asking any more bums for you.
Fraser: Thank you, ma’am. Ray, these are the people of the streets. This is their home.
  And you notice when things are out of place in your home. (sniff)
Ray: Oh yeah, they notice things. They notice green cars, white wolves and pink elephants. This is getting us nowhere.
Fraser: It got us here.
Ray: Oh, this is a place we want to be?
Fraser: I think I’m picking up his trail. (sniff) Good boy, Diefenbaker.
Ray: You can smell him?
Fraser: Well, not him exactly. [kneels & sniffs a tree trunk]
Ray: Oh no! You’re sniffing piddle!
Fraser: Each lupus has it’s own unique scent. That’s how they mark their territory.
Ray: Yeah, it stinks.
Fraser: Oh yes.
Ray: You mean to tell me he peed all the way from here to the Loop?
Fraser: Well, he isn’t relieving himself. He’s marking a trail.

[another street; Fraser is sniffing things]

Ray : First dirt-tasting, now piddle-sniffing. I don’t want to be around when you start listening to dung.
Street Person2: Fraser’s looking for his dog again.
Street Person3: Yep.

[the next block; Fraser sniffs, then quickly goes back the way they came]

Ray : Where are you going?
Fraser: Stupid rookie mistake.
Ray: What do you mean?
Fraser: These last two blocks, I’ve been tracking a Lhasa Apso.
Ray: You’ve been tracking a Lhasa Apso?
Fraser: I know. If word of this gets back to the Territories, I’ll never live it down.
Ray: Mounties can be so cruel.
Fraser: You can’t imagine. Evening, Jerome.

Ray : Hey, Jesse. (sniff) (sniff)  I don’t smell anything. (sniff)

<Doo Mah>

 

[morning; they crest a hill]

Fraser : Ray! (sniff)   This is it.
Ray: What?
Fraser: He’s here. (sniff)
Ray: Where?
Fraser: (sniff) (sniff) Right there.

[Dief is sitting beside a yellow Comet in a used car lot]
Ray: Markle’s Used Cars? This is where the kid bought the car! Your dumb animal tracked it backwards.
Fraser: Good dog. Good boy.
Ray: Yeah brilliant. Not only is he deaf, he’s colorblind.
Fraser: This is the car.
Ray: What do you mean this is the car? This car is bright yellow. The kids car was lime green. And his VIN number isn’t even close.
Fraser: No scratches on the lock. No sign of a break in. They must have used a key.
Ray: Of course they used a key. It’s their car.
Fraser: When I was on Lenny’s car, my button accidentally scratched the paint. Now I’ve just taken a second sample from the wheel well.
Ray: Oh yeah, very pretty.
Fraser: They are identical. Except that this one has a fresh coat of yellow paint.
Ray: You’re right. It’s still tacky. This is the car.
Fraser: Do you think we can get forensics down here?
Ray: No need. I’ll have this puppy impounded in less than an hour.

[Dief grumbles]

[27th precinct]
Welsh: Different plates, different color, different vehicle identification number. Am I getting the picture?
Ray: Uh, yes, sir, but--
Welsh: And all of them are legit.
Ray: Apparently so, yes sir--
Fraser: Detective Vecchio also has a source that corroborates his theories.
Welsh: And that would be?
Ray: His wolf, sir?
Welsh: Ah. Unfortunately wolves are such notoriously bad witnesses. In my experience, they tend to fold under cross-examination. Gentlemen. The State’s Attorney has just enough man power to prosecute a small fraction of the cases we bring to them. You can understand how I would hate to ask them to prosecute a case in which we have no evidence at all.
Fraser: Leftenant, Lenny Milano is a decent young man. He’s on parole and he’s trying to turn his life around. I’m afraid if I told him there’s nothing you can do for him--
Welsh: Is he a friend of yours?
Fraser: No, sir.
Welsh: He’s a relative.
Fraser: No. He delivered a pizza to my apartment at Detective Vecchio’s request.
Welsh: Oh, you ordered the pizza.
Ray: It did not seem like a mistake at the time, sir.
Welsh: Right. Just like bringing this case to me probably didn’t seem like a mistake at the time.
Ray: Yes, sir.

[Welsh gives them a look… Vecchio & Fraser leave]
Ray: My theory.
Fraser: Well, I was just trying to give you credit, Ray.
Ray: Okay. I did my good deed. I embarrassed myself to the fullest extent of the law for you.
  Now can I go back to work?
Fraser: Well, of course. You did all you could. Thank you, Ray. [exits]
Ray: Damn, he’s as bad as his dog!

[juvenile detention yard; basketball game]
Fitz: Hey, Milano! What’s with the Mountie? Steal some maple syrup? We missed you, Lenny! Aw, did we hurt your feelings? Ya know, you gotta toughen up, boy. You don’t know what personal hardships you’ll run into the next time I get my hands on you.
Lenny: Anytime, Fitz. Anytime.
Fits: Looking forward to seeing you, Lenny.
Fraser: Is that young man expecting to be released soon?
Lenny: No, he’s expecting me to come back here. Everybody comes back.
Fraser: Not everybody, Lenny.
Lenny: Yeah.

[PO’s office]

Parole Officer : So, a Mountie. What you do Lenny, steal some maple syrup? [laughs]
Lenny: No, sir.
Fraser: I came to vouch for the boy, sir.
Parole Officer: And what does he need vouching for?
Lenny: My car got stolen.
Parole Officer: No problem.
Lenny: I might be out of a job for a while.
Parole Officer: Problem.

Lenny : Sir--

Parole Officer : Condition 12B of your early release. You maintain employment.
Fraser: Well, I’m sure he’ll be able to find alternative employment in no time.
Parole Officer: It says maintain not re-obtain. Milano has to stick with the job he already has.
Fraser: Well he can’t deliver pizzas without a car, sir.
Parole Officer: Sorry. Them’s the rules. Lose your job, lose your freedom.

[27th precinct]
Ray: You wanna go undercover.
Fraser: Well I admit, I’m not as familiar with the art of subterfuge as you are, Ray. But it appears to be an inside job, and I can’t see any other way to gather sufficient evidence.
Ray: Okay, so what would your cover be?
Fraser: Ah. my cover. Well. I thought I’d present myself as a chance passerby. Naturally I’d start by removing my hat and any identifying symbols from the uniform.
Ray: Well, that would be good, because your hat just might give you away.
Fraser: Exactly. That’s exactly what I felt. And then what I thought I would do, is I would stroll onto the lot, and I would introduce myself to the employees, and I would ask a few informal questions.
Ray: Such as?
Fraser: [consults a paper]
  Does anyone here know the whereabouts of a stolen lime green Comet?
[Vecchio nods]
Fraser: Anyone seen a stolen car?
[Vecchio nods]
Fraser: Any stolen cars around here?
[Vecchio chuckles]
Fraser: Oh! If you’ve seen a stolen car, please raise your hand!
Ray: Okay!
  Let’s go.
Fraser: Oh, did I say something wrong?
Ray: No, no, no, no, not at all, Benny.

Fraser : No, I said something wrong.

Ray : No, no, no!  Just follow me.

Fraser : Okay.
Elaine: You’re very good.
Fraser: [puts on hat, looking smug] Thank you.
[they exit]

[across the street from Tex Markle’s Used Cars]
Fraser: How do I look?
Ray: Button.
  [Fraser unbuttons his red sport jacket]  Rule number one of undercover work. If you don’t believe it, they don’t believe it. We’re not  pretending to be used car salesmen, we are used car salesmen
Fraser: I understand.

[passerby throws paper on the ground]

Fraser : Excuse me, uh-- [gives up & throws the waste away himself]
Ray: Fraser, you’re a car salesman!
Fraser: Well, I understand that, Ray.
  I’ve done this before, you know.
Ray: Oh, really?
Fraser: Yes. When I was a young scout working on my ecology badge, I insinuated myself into a hunting party in order to catch a baby seal killer.
Ray: So what happened?
Fraser: Well, I was clubbed repeatedly, Ray.

[lot]
Tex: Gentleman! Welcome to Tex Markle’s Preowned Automobiles. I’m Tex Markles. What can I do for you?
Ray: It’s what we can do for you. Roy Vinner. I’d like you to meet my partner, Billy Bob Fraser. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Billy Bob sold more cars than anyone in the state of Texas last year!
Tex: No kidding. Is that true, son?
Fraser: No.
Tex. Huh. That’s what I like. An honest man. Most people come here give me a line of bull trying to convince me they’re something they’re not. But I’ll tell you, I’m a little short-handed right now. You see that old lady over there?
Fraser: I can honestly say that I do.
Tex: Good. Well you sell her that piece of junk and you’ve got yourselves a job. Both of you. Now anything over four hundred dollars you can keep it. Deal?
Ray: Deal.
Tex: Okay.

[they shake]
Ray: [to lady] Well, well, well, you have a keen eye for quality, young lady.
Lady: Thank you.
Ray: Would you like to start her up?
Lady: Yes. [she does]
Ray: Sounds great, huh?
Lady: Yes, it does sound great.
Fraser: And I don’t think that valve problem will give you any trouble for a few hundred miles.
Ray: Excuse me a moment, ma’am.
  [they walk away]   Fraser, when people are trying to buy a car they really don’t need to hear about engine problems. It makes ‘em think they’re not worth anything.
Fraser: You don’t expect me to lie to people, do you?
Ray: Who’s asking you to lie? Okay, I am. But if we don’t lie, we don’t sell a car. If we don’t get a job, we can’t hang around here to solve the case. And if we don’t solve the case, Lenny goes to jail. So if you can’t say something untrue, please, don’t say anything at all.
Fraser: All right.
  [puts on shades and they go back to the lady]  You’ve picked a fine automobile, ma’am.
Lady: Did you ever drive this car?
Fraser: Yes, yes I did. In a rally race. From Whitehorse to Africa.
Lady: Do you mean you drove this car to Africa?
Fraser: Yes. I did. Except for the Atlantic Ocean, where-where I had to... row.
Lady: Are you telling me the truth?
Fraser: No.
Ray: How much do you want to spend?
Lady: One hundred dollars.
Ray: Deal. I’ll meet you in the office.
Fraser: [whispers] (Tex wanted four hundred.)
Ray: (I know. Cough up the other three.)
Fraser: (Three?)
Ray: (Yeah. American hundred dollar bills. Now.) We did it, Tex! We sold her the car!

[showroom]
Gary: Good morning, people! I’ve got a couple of announcements of importance for everyone so take a minute to listen up, all righty? Uh, item one. Try selling cars? Mr. and Mrs. Markles have made it clear this is something we should be doing. All righty? Item two. We have two new salesmen joining us today. Roy Vinner and Billy Bob Fraser, which means less commissions for the rest of us.
Fraser: Hi. Nice to meet you.
Gary: Finally Tex’s specials for the day. The list is coming around. Read it. These are the cars Tex would like us to push. [Mrs. Markle enters and licks her lips at Fraser; he acknowledges her and takes out his handkerchief, wiping his own lips]
  Nice mark-ups which translates into more profits for Tex. Which means a few more crumbs fall on your plates. One hundred dollar bonus for each one sold. That’s it people. Oh and hey, be careful out there.

[Vecchio clears throat, and looks at Fraser’s jacket; he unbuttons it; they exit]

[lot]
Ray: I’m telling you this car is a veritable chick magnet. Best car on the lot. Zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds, and the paint job goes great with blondes, brunettes, and redheads. [he’s pitching to an elderly man with a walker]
[Fraser is taking paint samples from various cars]
Ray: [voice] Okay, come look at this Camaro. Hey, let me give you a hand with that oxygen tank.

Man : [weakly]   Thank you.
Tex: Whatcha doing, Billy Bob? Billy Bob!
Fraser: Oh yes, that’s me.
Tex: Let me take a shot in the dark here. Billy Bob’s not your real name is it?
Fraser: No, sir. It’s Benton.
Tex: Well that’s a shame. I can see why you’d change it. What the hell were you doing down there?
Fraser: Well, I’d rather not say, sir.
Tex: Why not?
Fraser: Roy would get mad.
Tex: Well, stop messing around under them cars and go and sell me some.
Fraser: Well, I’d love to do that, sir, but I’m not really a car salesman.
Female customer: Excuse me, I’d like to take a test drive.
Tex: Yes, ma’am. Right this way.
Customer: Uh, no. With him.
Fraser: Oh, certainly. Uh, which car?
Customer: All of them.
Tex: [to self] Not a car salesman, huh?

[sales office]
Ray: Wow! I see you’ve made salesman of the month eight times in a row.
Gary: Yeah, well…You know, being nominated was honor enough.
Ray: Yeah.
Gary: Don’t touch it.
Ray: Uh, Markles must be a pretty good employer, huh?
Gary: The best, yeah. As long as you do two things for him.
Ray: Oh yeah? What’s that?
Gary: Sell plenty of cars.
Ray: And?
Gary: And don’t ask too many stupid questions.

 

[lot]
Ray: (Billy Bob! Billy Bob! I figured it out.)
Fraser: (The specials have all been stolen.)
Ray: (Exactly.)
Fraser: (They’ve been stripped of everything but the serial numbers including the tires.)
Ray: (Exactly.)
Fraser: (And judging from the numbers of coats of paint I’d say each one has been sold and stolen several times over.)
Ray: (You’re with me.) [to customer] It’s a beauty, isn’t it?

Lady : Yeah.
Fraser: (The only thing I don’t understand is how they can continually to come up with new vehicle identification numbers.)
Ray: (I do.)
Fraser: (You do?)
Ray: Yeah, and if you hadn’t been out test-driving all the cars on the lot you’d know, too.
Fraser: You know, I’m beginning to suspect that that young woman wasn’t interested in buying a car.
Ray: [sigh] Dashboards.
Fraser: Dashboards?
Ray: Yeah. I found half a dozen out back in the dumpster. All missing VIN plates.
Fraser: And at the rate they’re exchanging them, then, they must have quite a number secreted somewhere on the premises.
Ray: Mm-hmm.
  Follow me.
Fraser: You know where they are?
Ray: I do, but I’m going to need some help getting in there.
Fraser: You need me to create a distraction?
Ray: No, Billy Bob, I need you to be a distraction.
Fraser: Oh. Ho-How do you mean?

[Tammy’s office]
Tammy: Well, hi there, Billy Bob.
Fraser: Please. Call me Fraser, Mrs. Markles.
Tammy: And you can call me Tammy.
Fraser: Good. Good.
Tammy: So, what can I do for you?
Fraser: Well, uh, what I, um, what I think I…what I think... I, um uh, I don’t know.
Tammy: Really?

[meanwhile Vecchio picks a lock on an office door]

Tammy : Well, you know, I’ve been thinking that you got the right stuff to be employee of the week.
Fraser: Well, that’s-that’s-that’s very flattering, but I haven’t sold any cars.
Tammy: Well now, employee of the week isn’t just about selling cars.
Fraser: Of course not. No. No. I would imagine it’s about loyalty and, uh, dedication and, uh, trustworthiness…

[she’s advancing as he retreats]
Tammy: You’re trustworthy, aren’t you, Billy Bob?

Fraser : I’m-I’m trying not to be.
Tammy: You know what? If we’re gonna dance, we might as well hold onto each other. [she puts his arms around her and flips on the radio]
 

[meanwhile Vecchio is snooping around]

Tammy : My husband only has time for his work. He really doesn’t understand me, Billy Bob. But you do, don’t ya?
Fraser: Uh no, actually, I don’t think I do.
Tammy: Oh, I think you do. [grabs his butt]
Fraser: Oh yes, now, uh, now I do.
[meanwhile Vecchio finds something]

Tammy : Now, you keep your eyes closed!

[she’s undressing as Fraser covers his eyes]
Fraser: Yes, I’d prefer that.
Tammy: Now you can look.
Fraser: No, I really can’t
Tex: [from outside] Stop him! Stop him now!
Fraser: Oh, an emergency. I’m sorry!
  What a shame.

[he rushes out still shielding his eyes]

[lot; Lenny is driving the yellow car wildly]
Tex: Somebody call the police! That kid’s stealing a car! Go stop him!

 

[office; Vecchio finds a stash of VIN plates behind a baseboard… Tammy enters]

Tammy : Something I can help you with?!
Ray: I was looking for the keys to the Skylark. [she throws them at him]
    Thank you.

[lot; Fraser gives chase by running over the hoods of the cars]

Tex : Don’t scratch the paint!  [to Gary, assisting a couple]   Will you help him?!

Gary : What? [sees what’s happening]  Stop, stop!  [the car sails past] Okay… [nonchalantly, to couple]  This-this is the car you want.
[Fraser jumps in front of Lenny’s speeding car]
Lenny: Get out of my way, you stupid Mountie!
[Fraser doesn’t budge, and Lenny is forced to slam on the brakes]

Tex : [to Fraser] Great work Billy Bob. [to cop] Arrest that man, officers.
Lenny: But it’s my car!
Fraser: I know.
[the cops take Lenny into custody]

Tex : What an employee! That’s what I need – more salesman who’ll throw themselves in front of a car for me! Gary, give him one of your plaques.

[juvenile detention]
Lenny: Looks like I’ll be here for a while.
Fraser: I’m sorry you have to stay here.
Lenny: I’ve been in worse places. Looks like I’m going back to one. I blew it, huh?
Fraser: Dispositional hearing isn’t until Friday.
  It’s not over yet.
Lenny: Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate your help or anything, but yeah, it is over. Looks like Fitz was right. Things always come back around and around and around.
Fraser: You know, Lenny, I’m a man who believes in destiny. But it’s a destiny of your own choosing. Just because a trail leads one way doesn’t mean you can’t cut your own path.
Lenny: Looks like mine leads right over a cliff.
Fraser: Cliffs are for climbing, Lenny. That’s why God gave us grappling hooks.

[in Riv; watching Markle’s lot]
Ray: First you want to go undercover, now you talk me into this thing?
Fraser: Well, we have to catch them in the act, Ray.
Ray: You see, here’s the tricky thing about sting operations. They require money, resources and a lot more manpower than you, me, and a wolf.
Fraser: That’s why we have our third man.
[Frannie is walking through the lot, dolled up; she’s wearing a wire]
Francesca: Can you read me?
Fraser: Loud and clear. Oh, um, once again, I’m terribly sorry about the confusion.
I-I thought that you understood my intention.
Francesca: Don’t worry, really. I’ve forgotten all about it. [to woman] Let me ask you something.
  If a guy asks if you’re busy tonight, he’s asking you out, right?
Woman: Yeah, I’d think so.
Francesca: Yeah, so would I. You seen a salesman?
Ray: Four hundred women in my black book, and you had to call my sister.
Fraser: Well, I’m sorry, but it was the only current number.
Ray: Okay, can we go over this drill one more time? No departmental approval means we’re on our own, and being on our own means?
Francesca: No back up.
Ray: No. We’re using my money, and using my money means we’re buying a cheap car. You find Tex. You ask him what the specials are, and you buy the cheapest car on the lot.
Francesca:
  You know, you’ve told me this a hundred times already. I think I picked up on most of the subtleties of the plan.
Ray: Yeah, just buy the kid’s Comet.
Francesca: Stop treating me like a child, okay? I know what I’m doing.
Fraser: Here he comes.
Tex: Hello, little lady. Welcome to Tex Markle’s Fine Pre-Owned Automobiles. I’m Tex Markles, and how can I help you?
Ray: I’m lookin’ for a car! I’m lookin’ for a car!
Francesca: I’m looking for a car!
Tex: Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place. You have anything specific in mind?
Ray: Something cheap!
Francesca: Ohhhh, I don’t know.
Ray: What do you mean you don’t know?! Buy the Comet! Buy the Comet!
Francesca: A corvette?
Ray: Comet! C-O-M-- [hits the walkie-talkie] Is this thing working?
Francesca: One of the really expensive ones.
Ray: You keep this up, and I’m gonna let Fraser read your diary.
Francesca: Oh! Look at that Comet. That’s adorable!
Tex: Comet is a great car. Solid, dependable automobile. Yeah, as a matter of fact, uh, we-we got this little baby marked right down. [takes off the $400 tag]
  We can, uh, let you have it for about, uh, six hundred dollars?
Ray: Three hundred, tell him three! Tell him three!
Francesca: Six it is.
Ray: What is the matter with you? Did we not go over this plan? [to Fraser]
  Did we not sit in a room and go over this plan?

[street; Vecchio & Fraser in the Riv are following Frannie in the yellow Comet]
Ray: That was supposed to be a flash roll.
Francesca: Yeah, well consider it a payback.
Ray: For what?
Francesca: You killed my hamster.
Ray: Yeah, twenty years ago.
Fraser: You killed her hamster, Ray?
Ray: How was I suppose to know they couldn’t swim?
Fraser: Ray, we got company. Black sedan at six o’clock.
Ray: All right, pull over and I’ll set the homing device.
Francesca: Oh! It was premeditated murder. Just admit it.
Ray: Okay, I admit it.
  Now pull over!
Francesca: I’m over.

[into a car wash that is washing]
Ray: Ready?
Fraser: Ready. [they get out]
Ray: Gimme the keys, gimme the keys! Okay now, I’m gonna be riding in the trunk.
Fraser: What about the homing device?
Ray: There’s no time. Watch this. [gets a rope & attaches it to the latch, so it won’t lock]
Fraser: No, no, no, Ray, I don’t know about this. Ray, you’re going to be inside the trunk pulling down.
Francesca: Will you just get in the trunk already?!
Ray: Trust me, this contraption has saved me hundreds of dollars at the drive-in movies. [gets in]
Fraser: [over walkie-talkie] You all right?
Ray: I think I got ripped off. The trunk leaks. Yeow! Jeez this stuff’s hot!

[outside Vecchio home]
Fraser: Ray.
Ray: Code names! We’re on an open frequency here.
Fraser: [sigh] Penguin to Stallion, come in, Stallion.
Ray: Stallion here.
Fraser: All right, the ferrets have gone around twice. Here they come again.
Ray: Who?
Fraser: The car thieves.

Ray : Oh, right.
Francesca: I’m ready. Let’s go. [gets into Riv]
Fraser: Uh, Ray, we’ve got trouble, there’s a fox in the cave.
Ray: What?
Fraser: Your sister is in the car.
Ray: Get her outta here!
Fraser: Uh, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave. This could become dangerous.
Francesca: [opening up picnic basket] You have a corkscrew? Oh, that’s all right, it’s a twist off.
Fraser: I, uh, I don’t mean to sound ingracious and it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer.
Ray: Hot hors d’oeuvre? I’m suffocating and you’re serving him a buffet?
Francesca: You stay out of this, Gelding.
Ray: Stallion!
Francesca: Yeah, in your dreams.
Fraser: Uh, Stallion, the ferret is in the forest.
Ray: What?
Francesca: The car thief is coming your way. Escargot?

[the sedan stops; a guy gets into the Comet; both cars drive away, closely followed by Frannie driving the Riv]

Fraser : We’re right behind you, Stallion.
Ray: Now don’t get too close!
  We don’t want to scare these guys off.
Fraser: We don’t want to lose you.
Francesca: Oh, he’ll be fine. Would you mind peeling me a shrimp?
Fraser: You just turned again. Which way did you turn?
Ray: What am I, a Mountie? Right, left, I’m in the trunk for crying out loud!
Fraser: Just tell me what you hear.
Ray: I hear my head smashing against the side of the trunk. Damn! There’s another one!
Fraser: Speedbumps. Turn right.
Francesca: Can you sorta take the wheel for a moment? I’ve got my hands full.

Ray : Will you step on it?

Francesca : I can’t really serve and drive, now can I? Gespacho?
Fraser: Uh, he’s breaking up. Might I suggest we increase our speed?
Francesca: Oh.
Ray: Will you floor it, Francesca?
Francesca: All right! You want garlic butter on your upholstery?
Fraser: Ray. I think he’s out of range. Ray!
Ray: Shh!
  (The car is stopped…They shut off the engine…I can hear voices…All right, I can’t wait for you guys, I’m coming out…3-2-1. [the trunk won’t open]   Damn. Stupid Mounties….)
Gary: (Vinner! I knew there wasn’t something right about that guy.)
Tammy: Get rid of him.

[Gary pushes the car towards the lake]
Ray: (False alarm. We’re moving again.)
Fraser: Ray, the driver never got back in.
Ray: (Uh-oh.)
[the Comet rolls into the lake]

Ray : (I think they’re getting the car washed again…I don’t think they use fresh water at this place…) And they sure are using a lot…Too much. Way too much. Fraser!

[lakeside]

Francesca : We’ve got the wrong place.

Fraser : No, we don’t. Get the keys to the Comet. Get the escargot.
Francesca: You think he’ll be hungry?
Fraser: Where are they? Where are the keys?

[she starts searching for the keys; Fraser puts the flashlight in the escargot’s plastic bag]
Francesca: They’re in my wallet.
Fraser: I need the keys!

Francesca : They’re in my wallet, they’re in my wallet…they’re not in my wallet….

[impatiently he retrieves a crowbar from the Riv’s trunk]
Francesca: Picnic basket! In the other pocket. Okay, I know where it is.

[Fraser jumps into the water]

Francesca : There is no pocket…Oh, my blue purse….They’re in this pocket….
[meanwhile Fraser rescues Vecchio… he walks out of the lake with Vecchio draped over his shoulder]
Francesca: I can’t find the, uh, the keys.

Ray : Ugh! Ugh!
Fraser: Ray? Ray? Ray!
Ray: Fraser, Fraser. I don’t think that was a car wash.
Fraser: No, Ray. [to Frannie]
  We need a blanket.
Francesca: Well, I only have my good one.
Ray: Get the blanket!
Fraser: You okay?
Ray: Yeah.
Francesca: Okay, so where we going?
Ray: You’re going home. Did you see who it was?
Fraser: No, they took off before we got there.
Ray: I say we go to the dealership and arrest the whole damn bunch.
Fraser: That would be an injustice, Ray.
Ray: You want to see an injustice, take a look at my suit.
Francesca: Look at my blanket.
Ray: Shut up.

[Markle’s Used Cars, Tammy’s office; Tammy is stuffing cash into a bag]

Tex : Hey, Tammy, where’s the keys to the Mustang?  Tammy?
Tammy: Get ‘em yourself.
Tex: Put that back. What are you doing?
Tammy: What does it look like I’m doing? I’m taking everything you own and I’m leaving you, you jerk!
Tex: Why?
Tammy: Well, because I’ve been selling stolen cars, that’s why.
Tex: Don’t lie to me. There’s another man, isn’t there?
Tammy: Good God, There’ve been dozens of ‘em. Where’ve you been?.
Tex: Well, forget it. You can break my heart, but you can’t steal my money!
  [retrieves a gun & points it at her]

Tammy : You haven’t got the guts.
[Vecchio & Fraser burst in]

Ray : Okay, drop it!
Tammy: Thank God you’re here! He’s gone crazy! He’s going to kill me!
Ray: Drop the gun, Tex, you’re under arrest!
Tex: But she’s stealing my money!
Ray: I said drop it!
Fraser: He didn’t do it, Ray.
Ray: He’s the one with the gun.
Fraser: But she’s the one with the algae on her shoes.
Ray: Okay, freeze.
Fraser: She couldn’t have done it alone.
Gary: Freeze. [holds gun on Vecchio]

Ray : Gary?
Fraser: Gary.
Gary: Put your hands in the air.
Tammy: Gary, darlin’. Shoot ‘em. Shoot ‘em all!
Tex: I can’t believe this. You’re leaving me for a-a salesman?
Tammy: Shoot him first.
Gary: No, Tammy.
  We’re not going to shoot anybody. We’re just gonna tie ‘em up and get on a plane and get out of here, like we planned.
Tammy: Oh good God, you’re as big a coward as he is. Well, never mind. I’ll just give your ticket to someone else.

[she pulls out her own gun & starts firing, then escapes with the bag of money]
Gary: Chipped my plaque.
Fraser: It’s a superficial wound. [to Tex] Can you watch him ‘til the police come?
Tex: Sure.

Fraser : Thank you. [exits]
Gary: [holding wounded plaque]
  It’s chipped…

 

[Tammy drives off; Vecchio gets into a nearby car & gives chase]

[Fraser jumps in front of the oncoming Tammy]

Tammy : You’re testin’ the wrong person, Billy Bob.

[she gets closer and closer…Vecchio smashes into her car from the side; Vecchio & Fraser rush over]

Ray : Dead?
Tammy: [stunned] I hate men.
Fraser: No. Just disappointed.
Ray: What is wrong with you?
Fraser: Pardon me?
Ray: What the hell is wrong with you? She almost killed you in there. Didn’t you think she would flatten you here?
Fraser: Oh, I knew she was prepared to kill me.
Ray: Well, then why did you stand there?
Fraser: Well, I heard you coming. I had to keep her attention fixed on me long enough so that you would be able to intervene.
Ray: But what if I didn’t?
Fraser: Well, I knew that you would take the car parked next to hers, and the Plymouth accelerates two seconds faster over the quarter mile than the Cadillac.
Ray: I took the Chevy.
[pause]

Fraser : Oh. Oh well. You know, you really should tell me next time.
Ray: Tell you what?
Fraser: Well, I mean if you’re going to change a plan like that. I was standing in front of a car, Ray.
Ray: Plan? Plan? What plan? You mean to tell me-- There were two cars to choose from, all right? Are you telling me I took the wrong car?
Fraser: No apologies necessary. It’s already forgotten.
Ray: Do we gotta pay for these cars?
Fraser: I would imagine so. Yes.
Ray: Welsh is gonna have my butt.


[in Riv]
Fraser: Twenty-nine minutes, Ray.
Ray: Okay, okay. I don’t need a countdown
Lenny: Okay, this is the twelve hundred block. It’s got to be around here someplace.
Ray: Do you believe these skinflints? They couldn’t have just ordered from across the street?
Fraser: Maybe they wanted the perfect pizza at the perfect price.
Ray: Sixteen bucks? I’m not paying. Your job, kid. You pay.
Lenny: Why should I pay? You’re driving.
Fraser: And I’m afraid I left my wallet in the lake, Ray.
Ray: What about him?

[Dief woofs]

Fraser : Well, I don’t like to touch his savings account.
Lenny: Just tell ‘em you couldn’t find the building.
Ray: Oh yeah, that’ll work.

Lenny : Worked on you.

 

End

 

 

Main Index

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

FitH