Jack Halford quotes from New Tricks

Jack Halford

It was just as we'd imagined. What did you call them, God's Waiting Room? [laughs] It was that all right. A mausoleum to the living dead. People with all life crushed out of them. No... this is better. This is where I belong.

Sandra Pullman

UCOS. Unsolved Crime and Open Case Initiative.

Jack Halford

[looking through the files] What did somebody call it? Don Bevan's love child. The Unsolved Crime and Waste of Time Initiative?

Sandra Pullman

No, that would be UCAWOT. I know it's tricky the thought of working for someone you used to boss but if there's one thing I learned from you it was to respect people's abilities, not their rank. Plus they're all retired detectives and I don't know any of these people.

Jack Halford

Ian Derby.

Sandra Pullman

You know him?

Jack Halford

Yeah. Dead.

Sandra Pullman

Alan Evans.

Jack Halford

Dead.

Sandra Pullman

Er... DI John Farrelly. Oh, I know John. He works-

Jack Halford

-Dead.

Sandra Pullman

But he only left last December.

Jack Halford

Heart attack in the sea off Malaga. Serves him right. The place is full of villians. 65% of CID officers are dead within five years of leaving the job. [continues to rummage through the profiles] Dead. Dead. Good as. Alive but he bores for England. Retired but currently under investigation by the CPS. Ditto, the DTI. Dead. Alive but don't leave him alone with your kids. Retired sick. Well, insane, really. Dead, dead... Would be if I got hold of him. Nope. I think you'd better advertise.

Jack Halford

Ex-DI Brian Lane, Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman.

Brian Lane

Pullman? Sussex University. Accelerated entry, 1987. Bramshill, '92. DI, Murder Squad, '92 - '95. DCI, Armed Robbery Squad, '95 - '98.

Jack Halford

So how's it been going Brian - retirement?

Brian Lane

Oh, fantastic. Love it. Best thing I ever did. Get do what I want, when I want. Grandchildren, gardening, football, swimming, day trips... gardening, car, pets, dogs, the wife. Did I mention gardening?

Sandra Pullman

Your days sound pretty full. I wouldn't have thought you'd want to come back.

Brian Lane

I don't. Not as a cop. But as an investigative officer, technically a civilian, full access to files... when do we start?

Gerry Standing

Ah! An ahstray!

Jack Halford

Uh, we'd rather you didn't.

Gerry Standing

But there's–

Sandra Pullman

The squad will initially be quite small. Concentrating on murder cases, and then, depending on the success of the operation, expanding to encompass other–

Gerry Standing

It's her innit? Woof, woof, bang, bang.

Sandra Pullman

No, you may have worked with him [Brian Lane] but it's out of the question.

Jack Halford

He's a first-class detective.

Sandra Pullman

It's not possible, I know what happened to him.

Jack Halford

No, no, you don't, trust me.

Sandra Pullman

[looking at the other file] "Gerry Standing"?!

Jack Halford

He's a thief-taker.

Sandra Pullman

No! I only met him because I'd heard so much about him. I didn't think you were serious.

Jack Halford

Do you want to do the job properly or do you just want to look nice?

Am I the only one here who knows how a police officer is meant to behave? Good God, this is not the 1970s - it's not even the 1980s! You can't verbal a suspect like you used to and expect to get away with it!

Jack Halford

With all due respect, Don, it was working.

With no due respect, it wasn't. After you went round to his house the first time, Lombard was on high alert. He knew you were as much in the dark as the original team and moments before opening the door to you this evening, he phoned his solicitor on his mobile. He left the line open for the next hour and a half. His solicitor recorded the whole thing and he's itching to use it in an action against you for unlawful arrest, harassment, you name it!

[screaming] LET ME OUT!

They can't hear you, Mr Lombard, you could scream your head off in here for, oh, 42 days...

You thought the evaluation was a way of closing down the unit, but it wasn't. The evaluation was a routing assessment of your current status and you passed! Just! Now, if someone's looking for a reason to close down UCOS, you've handed them one on a plate! [to Sandra Pullman] And as for SO10, I think we can safely kiss that one goodbye.

Sandra Pullman

Sir?!

Brian Lane

SO10?

I expressly told you to drop this case.

Sandra Pullman

It went against all my instincts as a police officer.

Yeah, well, once again your instincts have made you look very foolish, Sandra, and what's worse is that it made me look like a complete idiot for backing you as far as I have.

Gerry Standing

[to Sandra] You were getting promoted to SO10?

Now I'm going to have to spend the rest of tonight working out a way to persuade Lombard's solicitor to forget this and I'm going to spend all day tomorrow deciding what to do with you lot. Now, get out!

Sandra Pullman

So, Jack... you knew my dad? You investigated him and then he killed himself. So, all those years ago when you have me my break in the Murder Squad that's because you believed in equal opportunities was it? Cos you really rated me as a detective regardless of what everyone else thought.

Jack Halford

Yes-

Sandra Pullman

[angry] Bollocks!

Gerry Standing

Guv'nor, shall we just calm down?

Sandra Pullman

All those years, you never said one word. You lied to me.

Jack Halford

I never lied.

Sandra Pullman

[shouting] You lied by omission! Just because you didn't speak his name doesn't mean you weren't lying!

Gerry Standing

Sandra!

Sandra Pullman

No! You lied to me and then you drove-

Jack Halford

Your father killed a man. He killed a small-time pimp called Ian Randle in Canning Town. And he covered it up. I never told you and I never told your mother. There you are. Now you know. Your father was a good detective, very good. But he made a mistake, it might even have been accidental. But the cover-up wasn't. Anyhow, shortly before I was due to arrest him, I let him know that I knew. Because I thought he deserved that much. That was my mistake. And I'm sorry.

Sandra Pullman

I don't believe you. I don't believe he was capable of that, because I knew him and I knew what he was like. He didn't do that?

Brian Lane

When did you find out?

Jack Halford

A few weeks ago. It [the cancer] is in the liver. Nothing they can do.

Brian Lane

But we're your friends!

Jack Halford

I don't want any fuss.

Brian Lane

BUT WE'RE YOUR FRIENDS!

Jack Halford

Yes, you are. And I want you to remember me as I am. I want to go away to a place that's special to Mary [his wife] and me. Just me there, with her, and our memories.

Brian Lane

When are you going?

Jack Halford

ASAP. Will you do something for me, Brian? Don't tell anyone, not until after. And I don't want anyone to try and stop me or anyone coming after me or anyone trying to get in touch with me - it's just me and Mary, understand?

Brian Lane

[he nods] Yeah.

Jack Halford

Now get into that pub and put on a brave face.

Brian Lane

I'm so sorry, Jack.

Jack Halford

Brave face, Brian! And, mine's a large scotch!

Sandra Pullman

I can't leave.

Well, you can't stay here for ever.

Sandra Pullman

I belong here, Jack.

You're afraid to leave, that's your problem. You're comfortable, Sandra. Never get comfortable.

Sandra Pullman

What we do here is important, you said that.

Of course it's important. And it'll be important long after you're gong. But you built the ship, you don't have to go on steering it for ever. What's the alternative? You going to stay here till you get your pension? Then what? Take up gardening? Maybe you're going to move to the other side of that window and become another one of those boring old bastards out there. You're going to take the job, Sandra, we both know that. Let's not kid ourselves.

Sandra Pullman

I miss you, Jack.

Are you going to sit there moping all day, or are you come for a drink?

Sandra Pullman

I'll be right there, Jack.