Robert Urich: Spenser

Quotes 

• Spenser : Got a make on the hitters. Both from Jersey, Phil Masack and Sunny Cardoza.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : You burned 'em?

  Spenser : Hawk.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : Hawk? You hired Hawk as backup?

  Spenser : Hawk's the best.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : Where is he?

  Spenser : Don't know.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : What? Where's the woman?

  Spenser : With Hawk.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : Well, how do you know that if you don't know where Hawk is?

  Spenser : I know Hawk.

• Spenser : [returning Hawk's impounded new car]  I'll cover that as soon as I can.

  Hawk : Damn straight.

  Spenser : Might take me a little longer to come up with what I owe you for your help.

  Hawk : Hope you're through working for the cops for good this time.

  Spenser : "Experience is the fruit of the tree of errors."

  Hawk : Yeah, well, one mistake's enough for this fool.

• Spenser : "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests. The son of man hath not where to lay his head." I couldn't remember if it was from Luke or John, but it looked like I'd just joined a very exclusive club. It was Matthew, and reading the rest of the chapter before I fell asleep helped me get over the feeling I had when I watched almost everything I own go up in smoke. I tried to drown the rest of my thoughts in beer; that never really works. And the alcohol in my blood didn't make an August night in Boston any cooler.

• Spenser : Part of my work is solving mysteries, but I didn't have a clue as to what I could do for Marty Quirk on a Sunday morning that he couldn't do for himself.

• Spenser : You said you didn't know what my ambitions are. They're very simple. A 40-foot sloop off the coast of Bora Bora. Enough cash to, uh, keep me in shorts and sun tan oil for a year or two. I could be sending postcards back to the first female governor of the Commonwealth.

  Tom Shanley : We don't even know you've found the woman.

  Spenser : I'll bring her to you. But I won't pull the trigger. He's gotta do that. It's either that or I turn her over to Quirk. To march her into that hearing tomorrow.

  Meghan Farrell : What about your friend?

  Spenser : Hawk? He's a professional. He'll be reasonable. It's Marty Quirk you can't buy. And if Marty gets hurt... you're gonna find out just how good a department you're running. Marty's got a lot of friends.

• Spenser : You already have a deposition. All the connections, names, numbers you want the public to have. You don't want Angela Zemeckis in that grand jury session.

  Meghan Farrell : And why is that?

  Spenser : Because if she goes in... the defense can tear down what you wanna build up. You want the statehouse. You want City Hall. You run on law and order. Point the finger at people in power, scare tactics. Backed up with a dead woman's deposition. You present the perfect evidence. Evidence that people can deny but can't disprove because they can't cross-examine. You get elected. You run on her coattails. Everybody remembers how tough you were in going after organized crime. Nobody remembers about an unsolved hit on a witness. Or the death of an ex-cop you tag as irresponsible. So you tell Marty Quirk that somebody wants to kill her, and you contract for a murder.

  Meghan Farrell : You have a vivid imagination, Mr. Spenser. What about hard evidence?

  Spenser : I've got Angela Zemeckis. Imagine her telling the people of Massachusetts you were the only ones who knew where she was supposed to be.

  Tom Shanley : That doesn't prove anything.

  Spenser : I'm just taking a leaf out of Ms. Farrell's book. You don't have to prove anything. You just point your finger and bring in the press. Oh, you might not fall. But you both can forget about climbing any higher.

• Spenser : You said protect her. I didn't know it had to be from you.

  Tom Shanley : You're out of line, Spenser.

  Spenser : That's why I never fit into your department, remember?

  Tom Shanley : I'll have your tail for kidnapping.

  Spenser : I'll watch you sweat attempted murder.

  Tom Shanley : With what for evidence?

  Spenser : You have a prosecutor in the room. Why don't I try my case on her?

• Sgt. Frank Belson : Can you believe this heat? Hey, I went by your apartment; it, uh... got a little hot there last night, too, I guess, huh?

  Spenser : Why don't you come on in, sergeant?

  Sgt. Frank Belson : [feeling Spenser's small fan]  Air conditioning. This is new.

  Spenser : Well, with first-class clients, you gotta keep up a first-class front.

  Sgt. Frank Belson : Yeah, yeah, it's really looking like the Ritz. Hey, you know, maybe if you're lucky, Spenser, you can get the guy who torched your apartment to come by and burn this place down, too.

  Spenser : Can I get you something to drink, Frank? A warm tap water, maybe a splash of baking soda?

• Lt. Martin Quirk : You smell smoke?

  Spenser : It's me. My building burned down last night.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : Hey, we got an extra place, you know. You need a place, Kate won't mind...

  Spenser : No, no, it's okay. Tell me about this job.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : Well, I've been asked to go on a line, Spenser, and provide private security that I can vouch for personally.

  Spenser : And I'm the first guy you thought of, huh?

  Lt. Martin Quirk : Only one.

  Spenser : [sarcastic]  Gee willikers, Marty, that's touching. What's the catch?

  Lt. Martin Quirk : There is a contract out on our witness.

  Spenser : Ah, that makes it easier. I said I'd never work for the department again.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : And Shanley said he'd never let ya.

  Spenser : What'd he say when you brought up my name?

  Lt. Martin Quirk : I didn't bring it up. No, he did. He asked me what I thought, I said we couldn't do any better.

  Spenser : Shanley wants me on it, it's gotta be a suicide run.

  Lt. Martin Quirk : You know your job, he respects that.

• Meghan Farrell : My witness is the wife of a prominent member of the organization. She's given me names and figures that can expose certain public officials as being under the influence of the organization.

  Spenser : Somebody would rather see her dead than walk into that grand jury session tomorrow.

  Meghan Farrell : Apparently.

  Spenser : You said you already have your testimony.

  Meghan Farrell : I have a deposition. She still has to appear before the grand jury. I'm depending on you to protect her. With your own life, if necessary.

  Spenser : Well, I value my life a great deal, Ms. Farrell.

  Meghan Farrell : Would $5,000 be appropriate?

  Spenser : For my life? No. For one day of it, I'd say you were getting royally ripped off.