 Elderly Gus Fields is assaulted when he asks for his money back from swindler Paul Gayle. The assault causes Fields to suffer a fatal heart attack, and Gayle s accomplice Mattie worries that they will face a murder charge. Her worries intensify when handyman Mike Purdum tells her of his determination to find Fields  killer. Dan Mathews and Sergeant Williams subsequently visit Mattie s roadside diner and question her at length about Fields  death. She believes that Gayle has abandoned her, but he subsequently returns to the diner and attempts to use her as a hostage. Dan Mathews and Sergeant Williams know that they have only a brief opportunity to break the tense standoff and prevent Gayle s escape.