Philip Marlowe and Johnny Dollar

Summary

Case Closed! Podcast Summary

Episode: Philip Marlowe and Johnny Dollar
Date: August 12, 2026
Podcast Host: RelicRadio.com

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Episode Overview

This installment of Case Closed! delivers two classic crime dramas from the golden age of radio: “The Adventures of Philip Marlowe: The Vital Statistic” (originally aired March 14, 1950) and “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Monticello Mystery Matter” (November 5, 1961). Both episodes plunge listeners into tales of intrigue involving deception, murder, and the relentless pursuit of the truth by two iconic radio detectives—Philip Marlowe and Johnny Dollar.

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Segment 1: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe – "The Vital Statistic"

(00:42 – ~29:24)

Main Theme

A routine case for private detective Philip Marlowe escalates into a web of murder, blackmail, and betrayal, all set in motion by an out-of-town accident and the disappearance of a mysterious woman in slacks.

Key Plot Points & Characters

• Philip Marlowe is approached by Mrs. Terry Lebar, a glamorous silk merchant being followed by a “woman in slacks,” fearing for her safety and reputation.
• Terry’s business partners, Joe Temple (her confidante and possible romantic interest) and Harlan Casey, are mentioned as critical players.
• Terry is in the midst of a bitter divorce from her husband, Vince Lebar—described as “a human leech.”
• The “woman in slacks,” later identified as Rose Fisetta, knocks Marlowe down some stairs and apparently has an agenda linked to the merchant’s correspondence.

Major Developments

• Terry hires Marlowe to identify the woman stalking her, refusing to involve the police due to her business reputation (04:05).
• After tailing the woman and searching for clues, Marlowe returns to Terry’s home only to be ambushed by Rose, who escapes after shoving him down the basement stairs (07:19).
• Marlowe discovers Terry murdered—strangled with a green silk sash (10:45).
• A twist arrives with news of Jess Freeman's death in Oregon, who is found with Terry’s business card (11:02). Connection remains murky.
• Letters from Joe Temple to Terry are stolen, potentially valuable as blackmail in her divorce case.
• Marlowe deduces the letters were indeed the motive, believing Vince orchestrated their theft with Rose’s help.
• After tracking Rose to her apartment, Marlowe confronts her and narrowly avoids more violence while relaying info to the police (18:28).
• The case comes to a head with Vince found dead in Joe Temple’s home—Temple claims self-defense (21:40).

Key Insights & Revelations

• Marlowe’s deductive powers shine as he pieces together that Rose did not murder Terry, but only knocked her out—the actual killer was Joe Temple, panicked over secrets held in the last letter implicating him in covering up Harlan Casey’s death, believed to have occurred in Oregon (24:52).
• Temple tried to fabricate a self-defense scenario with Vince’s death, but Marlowe’s knowledge of character psychology exposes the cracks in his story.

Memorable Quotes

• “Crime is a sucker's road. Those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison, or the grave.” – Philip Marlowe’s opening moral (00:42)
• “I don’t like being left out on a limb.” – Philip Marlowe, to Terry Lebar (02:34)
• “You’re not the brightest character in the world, in spite of what you and your friends think.” – Rose Fisetta to Marlowe (07:19)
• “If everything in life could be that way—no questions left unanswered.” – Philip Marlowe, closing narration (27:35)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• [02:00] – Terry Lebar pleads for help, afraid she’s being followed.
• [05:03] – Terry reveals her divorce situation and loathing for her husband.
• [10:45] – Marlowe finds Terry Lebar murdered.
• [15:05] – Marlowe escapes Vince’s deadly trap and alerts Joe Temple.
• [18:28] – Confrontation with Rose Fisetta at her apartment.
• [21:40] – Joe Temple kills Vince in an alleged act of self-defense.
• [24:52] – Marlowe outlines the true sequence of events and the real killer’s motive.

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Segment 2: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar – "The Monticello Mystery Matter"

(30:03 – 53:22)

Main Theme

A seemingly idyllic country visit for insurance investigator Johnny Dollar quickly turns into a tense missing person case (and murder investigation) amidst the wealthy elite, unraveling hidden motives and a fatal betrayal.

Key Plot Points & Characters

• Johnny Dollar is summoned by Henry Foreman, an insurance agent in Port Jarvis, NY, to see wealthy Rudolph “Rudy” Tickler and his wife, Nancy Tickler.
• Dollar arrives at the Ticklers’ splendid lakeside lodge, initially under the impression he’s there for a relaxing fishing trip at Nancy's invitation.
• Despite the idyllic hospitality, Dollar senses underlying tension between Rudy and Nancy, and feels he was invited for a reason beyond recreation (37:05).
• That night, there is talk of “drowning sorrows,” and Dollar becomes increasingly suspicious of Rudy’s behavior and heavy drinking.

Major Developments

• The next morning, Nancy is discovered missing, her bed slept in but only her robe, nightgown, and slippers gone (46:53).
• Rudy’s urgent distress and unconvincing explanations make Johnny probe deeper, leading him to notice Rudy had faked drinking bourbon the night before (50:28).
• Dollar deduces that not only was Nancy’s disappearance planned, but that Rudy is likely responsible.
• Following his hunch, Johnny investigates the property and, at the dam of the lake, threatens to lower the water to reveal Nancy's body—Rudy confesses (52:23).

Key Insights & Revelations

• Rudy Tickler faked drinking, hoping to divert suspicion from himself, and likely orchestrated Nancy’s murder to gain all her considerable wealth.
• Nancy’s reason for inviting Johnny Dollar may have been prompted by her own fears—she suspected, or knew, she was in danger.
• Dollar’s attention to psychological cues and minor inconsistencies leads him to crack the case.

Memorable Quotes

• “Spellbound. If you want the truth. I didn’t think a place like this ever really existed.” – Johnny Dollar upon arriving at the estate (35:34)
• “Maybe because of long years in this job of mine, I’m overly suspicious...” – Johnny Dollar, on his intuition (37:05)
• “It had really hit me. Two things. Several things.”—Realization of Rudy’s deception (50:28)
• “Want to give me a hand and help me pull another one of these planks until we see where you left her body after you killed her last night?” – Johnny Dollar, directly confronting Rudy Tickler (52:10)
• “We’ll both be rich, Johnny. You understand? You see what I mean?” – Rudy Tickler, in desperation (52:33)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• [35:34] – Johnny Dollar marvels at the Ticklers’ lodge and meets Rudy.
• [39:20] – Meets Nancy Tickler, learns the ostensible reason for the invitation.
• [43:46] – Fishing expedition is cut short by storm.
• [46:53] – Nancy’s disappearance discovered.
• [50:28] – Johnny uncovers Rudy’s ruse with the bourbon and deduces his motive.
• [52:10] – Confrontation at the dam; Rudy confesses.

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Episode Highlights & Golden Age Flavor

• Both stories display hallmarks of golden age detective fiction: hard-boiled narration, razor-sharp dialogue, psychological insight, and twist-laden plots.
• Each detective relies as much on instinct and character reading as on evidence, often letting suspicion and “hunches” open up the path to the truth.
• The “radio noir” atmosphere is rich—smoky bars, cynical wisecracks, femme fatales, and a dark undercurrent of betrayal.

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Unforgettable Moments

• Philip Marlowe: The scene where Marlowe gets shoved down a flight of stairs by Rose Fisetta while investigating Terry’s home (07:19) stands out for its peril and tension.
• Johnny Dollar: The quiet but chilling moment when Dollar makes it clear to Rudy that there’s no escape—he’ll find Nancy’s body in the lake, with or without his cooperation (52:10).

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Conclusion

This Case Closed! episode delivers two stand-out cases from the annals of radio detective drama. The first is a web of blackmail, betrayal, and murder solved by the laconic brilliance of Philip Marlowe; the second is an atmospheric country estate mystery, where Johnny Dollar’s sharp observation and intuition unmask a husband’s cruel plot for fortune. Both hero-investigators cut through treachery with wit and tenacity, leaving no questions unanswered—a promise that defines the best of golden age radio noir.

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Additional Information

• Find more episodes or support the show: RelicRadio.com
• Next up on Case Closed!: More classic radio mysteries every Wednesday.

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Transcript

[Johnny Dollar]

Foreign.

[Podcast Host]

This is Case Closed crime stories from the golden age of radio. Welcome back to Case Closed, your weekly hour of mystery from the golden age of radio. Every Wednesday@ RelicRadio.com we'll begin with the adventures of Philip Marlow this week and hear his story from March 14, 1950, titled the Vital Statistic. After that it's yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Monticello mystery matter from November 5, 1961.

[Philip Marlowe]

Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road. Those who travel it wind up in the gut of the prison of the grave. This time, a car hop knocked me down a flight of stairs. An honest woman was strangled by a green silk Sasha. And a simpering dandy was shot to death. All because of a run of the mill accident 500 miles away. It happened like this.

[Narrator]

From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction, comes his most famous character in the Adventures of Philip Marlow. Now with Gerald Moore starred as Philip Marlow, we bring you tonight's exciting, exciting story, the Vital Statistic.

[Philip Marlowe]

Hey, boy, give me a paper, will you? Paper, missy.

[Terry Lebar]

Yes, sir.

[Nancy Tickler]

What do you like?

[Joe Temple]

Reese's coming.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Some class. Pipe.

[Philip Marlowe]

How about some news star?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Here you are.

[Joe Temple]

Thank you.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Paper.

[Rose Fisetta]

Get out of my way.

[Philip Marlowe]

Hey, take it easy.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Drive away from here fast.

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What is this?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

You got to help me. I'm being followed.

[Philip Marlowe]

Just a minute, sister.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

I think that's a light screen driveway. You'll hurry, please.

[Philip Marlowe]

Okay, okay. She was streamlined from close cropped hair the color of a smoky sunset. The low heeled slippers brocaded in bronze, and in between, a dress that conformed as close and smooth as lacquer on a Chinese vase. I made four turns in four blocks and pulled into the curb and stopped. She stabbed a look at me with a pair of sharp jade green eyes that said life had always been nothing but a calculated risk. And she stepped out of the car and smiled.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

You were a big help, brother. Thanks. Goodbye.

[Philip Marlowe]

Not just like that, baby. Come here. I don't like being left out on a limb.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Now look, you did me a favor, okay? But we drop it right here. It's trouble. You wouldn't like it.

[Philip Marlowe]

On the contrary, it's business. Like keeping my own nose clean. I'm a private detective, but I didn't issue any invitation for you to jump into my car.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

A private detective?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah. Who's chasing you, baby? The law? You can tell me out here on the street or inside over a drink?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

I'll take the drink. I need it. Maybe I Need you too. This might be a break. I'm Mrs. Terry Lebar, and you're?

[Philip Marlowe]

Marlow. Phillip Marlow. Who you running from, Mrs. Lebar?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

A woman in slacks. I don't know who she is or why she's following me, but every time I look back, she's there. This is the second day,

[Rose Fisetta]

booth.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, sure. Say, look, why haven't you talked it over with your local policeman?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Are you working for me? Private detective?

[Philip Marlowe]

It all depends.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

All right. I'm a merchant. Chinese silks. Not a little shop with 6% profit, but wholesale quick, with cash at 40%.

[Philip Marlowe]

Uh huh. So what's the point?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

No police. All it takes is a rumor of police and I'll have doors closed on me from Seattle to Mexico.

[Joe Temple]

Good evening.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

May I get you something?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

A martini, please.

[Philip Marlowe]

Make it to winner.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Right away.

[Philip Marlowe]

This gets us back to the woman in slacks, huh?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Yeah. Here, Marlow. Fifty and fifty. I want you to locate that woman, find out who she is and why she's after me, will you?

[Philip Marlowe]

Not without a few more facts. For instance, could she have some connection with your business?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

No. I have two men working with me. A strong one named Harlan Casey, who sees that my cash gets safely to where it's going, and a smart one named Joe Temple, who knows what to buy with it. She doesn't belong to either of them.

[Philip Marlowe]

Are you sure?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Positive. Casey hates all women. Even me, I think. And Joe Temple? Well, Joe's a wonderful guy.

[Philip Marlowe]

You hint like a woman falling in love with a fellow named Joe Temple. Care to talk about it further?

[Rose Fisetta]

Why not?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Temple and Casey have been in San Francisco all week on a deal.

[Rose Fisetta]

A big deal.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

It'll make or break it. Every cent I have is tied up in it.

[Philip Marlowe]

What about you and Joe Temple?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Yeah, well, perhaps this will explain. I planned to go away this weekend, but I changed my mind because I didn't want to miss his letters. I know it sounds funny, but it's true.

[Philip Marlowe]

Those must be some letters.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

They are like the one I got this morning. It's half business, all right. Complete account of how hard he and Casey worked for me yesterday in San Francisco. But the rest of it is to me personally.

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't want to sound old fashioned, Mrs. Lebar, but what about my husband?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Yeah, yeah, that was a mistake. I couldn't live with. One thing I can't stand. Marlow is being lied to. It leaves me vindictive. I'm suing for divorce right now. Vince lebar is a human leech. As cold and spineless and parasitic is the Real thing.

[Philip Marlowe]

Okay. But why would your hating your husband put a woman in slacks on your trail?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

I don't know.

[Philip Marlowe]

All right, Terry. I'll worry about that, too. Any idea where I can start?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

Just one. I pulled a switch on her yesterday. Marlow? For about an hour. I traveled to the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega, then lost her in traffic. There are several dancing schools around there. Is that worth anything?

[Philip Marlowe]

Maybe. What kind of car was she driving?

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

We were both walking. She's tall and brunette. And I've seen toads with nicer eyes.

[Philip Marlowe]

Not enough. Can't guarantee anything.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

I'll keep my fingers crossed. Marlo. Here. Take the hundred. Do what you can and report to me at my place. 204 Beechwood Circle. Okay.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Pardon, sir.

[Rudy Tickler]

Your drinks.

[Philip Marlowe]

Two martinis. Oh, thanks. Here you are. Thank you, sir.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

To your success, private detective.

[Philip Marlowe]

To your health. Silk merchant. Drink, hottie. Slugging it down was no way to treat a good dry martini. But I figured it was time I was on my way. I drove out to Wilshire in La Cienega and slowed down enough to look at all four corners. There was a drugstore with a special on garbage cans, a drive in called Scotty's, a branch of the bank of Los Angeles, and a flying red horse over a mobile gas station. I drove on again when I spotted a pair of black slacks going into a dancing studio a half block down. It looked like a lead. After two hours of staring at knobby knees and shorts and bulging hips and bloomers all knocking themselves out for a mythical clee glided future, I was finally convinced that it was a dead end. Now I got back into my car and headed up into the hills for Beechwood Circle in the slim hope that Terry could give me something more to go on. Her house at 204 was low and dainty and half hidden behind the tough, slender grace of a bamboo grove. The walk was guarded by a white marble line of Korea. And the front door, when I finally found it, turned out to be a sliding panel in a wall of oriental lattice work. As the door slid open, I was looking down the barrel of a snub nosed pistol held very steady in the hands of a hard eyed brunette in a pair of black slacks.

[Rose Fisetta]

You've been looking high and low for me, haven't you, peeper? Ever since you left that Dane.

[Philip Marlowe]

I might have been.

[Rose Fisetta]

You're not the brightest character in the world, in spite of what you and your friends think. I spotted your car when she got in. It wasn't too tough to tag where's Terry? Sleeping off a hangover from better days.

[Philip Marlowe]

Skip the chatter. Where is she?

[Rose Fisetta]

Come on in and look. And that's no suggestion, sailor. It's an order. Move over there to the top of the stairs.

[Philip Marlowe]

Sure, sure.

[Rose Fisetta]

That's a good, smart boy. You're late, you know. I got what I came for, and now I'm in a hurry. Turn around.

[Philip Marlowe]

Look, sister.

[Rudy Tickler]

Shut up.

[Rose Fisetta]

A happy landing.

[Terry Lebar]

Oh.

[Philip Marlowe]

There were 10 stairs down to the basement, and with her shove reinforced by the.45, I hit all but the first three. By the time I worked all the kinks out and was back upstairs again, she was gone. I started through the house, then slowly from one room to another, turning on lights as I. I went looking for what I knew was gonna be a very sick client. When I got as far as the study, where somebody had gone through the desk drawers with what must have been a snow plow, and I still hadn't found Terry, I got that numb feeling in my stomach. I started out a side door that opened into the patio, but then I heard a whistle from the front walk. I cut back through the house instead and waited near the door. Terry. Hey, Terry. Can I come in?

[Narrator]

It's Little Joe, the Frisco kid.

[Joe Temple]

What happened to your weekend trip? Honey?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

I.

[Joe Temple]

Who are you? What do you want?

[Philip Marlowe]

Hiya, Temple.

[Joe Temple]

How do you know me?

[Philip Marlowe]

Mrs. Lebar hired me today. Just after she canceled the weekend. She gave me a rundown.

[Joe Temple]

She hired you? What do you mean?

[Philip Marlowe]

I'm a private detective named Marlow.

[Joe Temple]

Why would she hire you?

[Philip Marlowe]

Because she was being followed by a brunette in Slack. She didn't like it. And that's all the information you're gonna get, so relax.

[Joe Temple]

You say Terry isn't here, isn't home?

[Philip Marlowe]

Not so far, no. Come on back here to the study, Temple. I want you to look at something. Somebody's gone through the desk in an awful hurry.

[Joe Temple]

Yeah, yeah, I see what you mean.

[Philip Marlowe]

Maybe you know something about what's missing, huh? You and Mrs. Lebar were fairly close, from what I'm told.

[Joe Temple]

The letters. The letters are gone. Terry kept my letters in this bottom drawer.

[Philip Marlowe]

Ah. By the way, Temple, where's your sidekick, Harlan Casey?

[Joe Temple]

I don't know. We. We both left San Francisco yesterday. He hates to fly, so I assume he took a train. He ought to be here in la. Now, you don't think Casey's mixed up in this, do you?

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't know. It could be Vince.

[Narrator]

LA Bar.

[Joe Temple]

That's who it was that got those letters. It was Vince Labar. They were really Love letters. The business part was nothing. And LA Bar is the dog in the manger. Kind of guy who wants everyone to be unhappy if he.

[Philip Marlowe]

That fits. That fits, Temple. With a smart lawyer, your letters to Terry becomes grade A material for a counter suit for divorce. Sure, he could make it stick. And also get a fat settlement out of community property laws. Now, listen, here's what you.

[Announcer]

Marlow.

[Joe Temple]

Marlow.

[Terry Lebar]

It's.

[Joe Temple]

It's Terry.

[Philip Marlowe]

Terry Temple. Wait,

[Terry Lebar]

Terry.

[Joe Temple]

Look at her, Marlo.

[Philip Marlowe]

Look at her.

[Joe Temple]

She. She's dead.

[Philip Marlowe]

Marlowe Matthews is a dead one. Out here, a woman. Got a pencil?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Always. Go ahead, Marlowe.

[Philip Marlowe]

I'm at 204 Beechwood Circle. Woman was a client. She was strangled with a green silk sash and my loungey pajamas. Matthew, sometime within the last, I'd say, hour, her name was Terry Labar.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Hey, wait.

[Henry Foreman]

Whoa.

[Narrator]

Terry lebar.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Wait a minute, Marlon. Listen, we got a teletype here from a sheriff in Empire, Oregon. Coming five minutes ago.

[Philip Marlowe]

So?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Oh, wait a minute. Yeah. Says some guy named Jess Freeman from LA was killed there this morning in a traffic accident. Was loaded with big dough, but doesn't look the type. The only other identification on him was a business card from one Terry Lavar. Yeah, you got a helpful answer for that?

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Temple, do you know anything about a man named Jess Freeman? He was killed in Oregon today in a traffic accident and had one of Terry's cards on him.

[Joe Temple]

Freeman?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Joe Temple]

No, no, I don't remember him.

[Philip Marlowe]

No dice. Matthews.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Who you talking to?

[Philip Marlowe]

Joe Temple, one of Terry Labar's associates. He's here. Never heard of Jess Freeman.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah. Okay. They sent his prince to Washington. A tattoo says he was in the Navy once. They'll pin him down. Now, about out there, any idea who killed him?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, maybe a brunette and slacks. I think I know where to find her.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Well, that's dandy. Sit on until we get there while I'll be right out.

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute, Lieutenant. Look, right now, it's only a hunch, but if I move fast and quiet, I might be able to develop it into something worthwhile. Okay, okay.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

But keep in touch. Phil.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah.

[Joe Temple]

I still can't believe it. About Terry Marlow.

[Philip Marlowe]

Now, look, look, why don't you just go home and take it easy? I'll tell Lieutenant Matthews where he can find her, huh?

[Joe Temple]

Thanks. 1310 Marlborough Drive.

[Philip Marlowe]

Right. Now, tell me you know where Vince Lebar lives.

[Joe Temple]

Yeah, yeah. The Laverne Apartments on Rossmore. He's got a suite on the top floor, 7A.

[Philip Marlowe]

7A.

[Joe Temple]

And if it's any help, he drives a new green Nash sedan. But I thought you said that it was that brunette.

[Philip Marlowe]

I did, I did. And if Vince lebar can't lead me to the lady in long pants, I'll eat my shirt. What's more, Matthews, we'll see to it personally.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes?

[Terry Lebar]

What do you want?

[Philip Marlowe]

Some quiet conversation with Vince Labar. I'm Philip Marlow, private detective.

[Terry Lebar]

How exciting. Had I known you were coming out to bake the cake.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, you're breaking me up. I was hired by your wife. Tonight your wife is dead, lebar. She was murdered.

[Terry Lebar]

Death, Terry, Murdered?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah. Now, if you don't mind, I'll come in, huh? She was killed because of a packet of letters, lebar.

[Terry Lebar]

Oh, no.

[Philip Marlowe]

Kind that are a cinch to cause a big stir in anybody's divorce court. Stir big enough to swing a countersuit in your favor.

[Terry Lebar]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Philip Marlowe]

Letters, letters, letters. Joe Temple's letters to Terry. The ones you arranged to have stolen tonight.

[Terry Lebar]

Oh, you must be crazy.

[Philip Marlowe]

Her death wasn't part of the plan, LeBlanc. That was one of those bum deals. A robbery that got out of hand, wound up as a murder.

[Terry Lebar]

Oh, no, wait.

[Philip Marlowe]

Now, where is she, LeBlanc? Who's the brunette and slacks? And where do I find her?

[Terry Lebar]

You get out of here. I'll have the police help.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, shut up. Not only steal letters, but ashtrays too, huh? Like this coy little number here. A doghouse. Scotty's Drive in Wilshire and La Cieniga. Okay, Levar, that's all. Oh, now, a gun, huh? They say you're yellow, lebar, but you're not. You're just stupid.

[Terry Lebar]

There's a terrace outside those doors, Milo. Those with the iron grill, go on out there. Go on. I don't think Terry's dead. And I don't think she hired you. I think you're working for that lousy louse, Joe Temple. And if so, he'll need a battalion of private detectives before I'm through.

[Philip Marlowe]

You're through right now, LeBoy. You're too dumb to see it.

[Terry Lebar]

Go on. Clear over the rail. Keep your back to me. It's seven floors down, Marlow, to a concrete driveway. Just in case you get too jump.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

In.

[Narrator]

Just a moment. The second act of Philip Marlowe. But first, most people like to know what to expect. But on at least one CBS show, a great part of the fun is in what turns up on the spur of the moment. That show is Groucho Marx. Great quiz. You bet your life. Heard every Wednesday night on most of these same CBS stations. Now with our star Gerald Moore, we return to the second act of Philip Marlo. And tonight's story, the vital statistic.

[Philip Marlowe]

The moment Vince Laar and the courage caliber 32 he held in his right hand made it out of the Apopin and on the run to the elevator. I kicked through the plate glass door and I spent the next two minutes ultimately swearing, straining and nicking myself while I played contortionate in and out of the fancy snake grill work and my wrought iron cage, until finally I reached the inside handle. I was free, out and over to the telephone in a big hurry, because for my money, the icing on lebar's voice left Joe Temple someplace on the short side. What the life insurance people call good risk.

[Henry Foreman]

Hello?

[Philip Marlowe]

Marlow? Temple, listen hard. Your life's in danger.

[Joe Temple]

What?

[Terry Lebar]

LA bar?

[Philip Marlowe]

You had him tagged in the first. He's after those letters. All right, but what about the girl in sweats? Well, I think she might have a connection with a drive in on Wilshire in Los Anga. Place called Scotty's Inn. I'm gonna check it now. Tell me, any word from Terry's muscle man yet?

[Joe Temple]

Harlow and Casey?

[Rudy Tickler]

Yeah.

[Joe Temple]

No, nothing, Marlo, but look, can I

[Rudy Tickler]

meet you and talk to.

[Philip Marlowe]

No, no. Vince Labar had a gun and a short Temple when he left here. I'll make his work any easier. Just stay away from open windows. Temple. I'll call you. Scotty Zinn was eating on the run in the finest California tradition. A mammoth circle of steel under glass painted a dazzling yellow and blue, surrounded by a half a dozen cars containing teenaged couples with smudged lipstick and the giggles. The second after I pulled in and parked something in slacks with false eyelashes, a waist you could span with a handcuff and a fixed frontline. Chorus girl smile. Flipped the card marked Ginger against my windshield, handed me a menu that still had the froth from an earlier customer's milkshake in one corner.

[Ginger]

Well, it be Mr. Just Coffee, Ginger Cream.

[Philip Marlowe]

Uh, information.

[Ginger]

Oh, it's you again, huh? Look, baby, what I told you on the phone 10 minutes ago still goes, huh?

[Philip Marlowe]

About what?

[Ginger]

About Rose Fisetta, the girl you described. Long black hair, a nice shape. You're infatuated, but you don't know the name and address, so I was nice. I gave the name, told you to look the address up in the phone book, period. Don't be so lazy, baby.

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute, Ginger. I didn't call you before, but that dime cup of coffee will bring you a ten buck tip if you tell me who did.

[Ginger]

Hey, you want the guy you called? I don't know any names. But you're not him. He didn't talk up like you do. But what's all the fuss, baby? Rose Fassetta's got a guy. He's spoken for. Besides a handsome fellow.

[Philip Marlowe]

Sweetheart, sweetheart, this is business, strictly, believe me. What's the address? Come on.

[Ginger]

2428 Havenhurst Drive, bottom floor.

[Philip Marlowe]

Thanks. Here. Here's a 10. I promise you.

[Ginger]

No, never mind. The name was free to him, so why should I charge you? Besides.

[Philip Marlowe]

Beside what?

[Ginger]

I like the way you said sweetheart. Come on back sometime, will you, baby? When you want more coffee, okay?

[Philip Marlowe]

When I want more than coffee and less than murder, I will stay out of it. Ginger was definite double talk, but the effect was what I wanted. Ginger with mouth wide open and staring after me like my ears were on backwards. That way she might be scared out of making a simple curiosity spike telephone call at the popular Rose Vasetta which would trumpet my arrival loud, clear and prematurely. Ten minutes later, I was parked away from number 2824 Havenhurst. As I got out of my car and started toward the place, I found Vince lebar's green sedan on the opposite side of the street and carefully tucked into the shadows of a pair of long haired pepper trees. It was a good time for me to be careful. So when I knocked on the front door, which showed yellow light at the threshold and was the starting point for something not too close to music, I did it with the butt end of my.38.

[Rose Fisetta]

Yeah? Who is it?

[Philip Marlowe]

Ziggy. Friend of Ginger's. She asked me to deliver you a message, Rose.

[Rose Fisetta]

Oh, all right. What's the message?

[Philip Marlowe]

Why, you try it, sunshine. There's no law against shooting ladies or knock you downstairs. Now back off. Come on, move. But not too far. The moment I want you in between me and Vince Le Barre, who? Look, angel, it's all real plain. Those suitcases behind you there are packed. His car's outside. He's after the letters. Oh, no.

[Rose Fisetta]

There goes Vince now, Buster. Well, Peeper, your opener stinks.

[Philip Marlowe]

Get inside, fast.

[Rose Fisetta]

Sure, sure. Any place in particular, sailor?

[Philip Marlowe]

That chair near the desk. Keep your hands in your lap.

[Rose Fisetta]

Okay. If It'll please you, Mr. Detective, I'll be very glad to. After all, you're my guest and I should be nice to you.

[Philip Marlowe]

Now we talk like a little lady, huh? Rose, Vince lebar picked up the letters from you as scheduled, and you're getting ready to run because you killed Terry and you'd rather not be around for the question and answer period, right?

[Rose Fisetta]

I didn't kill her. I just knocked her down.

[Philip Marlowe]

No, you didn't kill her. You just slowed down her breathing somewhat. With a pajama sash.

[Rose Fisetta]

You're wrong, copper.

[Woman in Slacks (Mrs. Terry Lebar)]

I don't skip it.

[Philip Marlowe]

Doesn't that any other way. I want answer.

[Rose Fisetta]

Who is it?

[Rudy Tickler]

Mr. Shirley.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

What's going on in there? Mr. Fetter?

[Philip Marlowe]

Fine line?

[Rose Fisetta]

No, the jerk who lives in the top half of this place. Along with a few thousand.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

If you don't open this door, I'm going to call the police. I distinctly heard a noise and I.

[Philip Marlowe]

Come on in, Mr. Shirley.

[Rose Fisetta]

Well, what?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Well, what's going on in here? Who are you?

[Philip Marlowe]

Never mind that now. Get on the phone, call the police.

[Narrator]

Oh, oh, yes, of course.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes, certainly.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Operate. Oh, operator, I want police. 28, 24.

[Rose Fisetta]

Haven't heard. Look, Hiro, you're a little mixed up about some things.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, and you're just the kid to straighten me out. Those letters you got at Terry's place were written by Joe Temple. Was your boyfriend Vince heading for Temple when he left here?

[Rose Fisetta]

I can't.

[Philip Marlowe]

Try hard, sister.

[Nancy Tickler]

All right, all right.

[Rose Fisetta]

Maybe he was. Now leave me alone.

[Philip Marlowe]

Not quite. Hey, you. Mr. Shirley?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yes?

[Philip Marlowe]

That desk next to you, there's a gun. Keep it on until the law arrives. Ladies want it for murder.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Well, yes, but what if she should?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, then shoot Shirley fast. Because if you don't, she'll kill you. Hella cops. I'll fill in the blanks later.

[Terry Lebar]

Now wait.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Why must you leave? Why don't we both watch?

[Philip Marlowe]

Because a guy named Joe Temple needs my help a lot more than you do. The home address Temple had given me turned out to be lights in a quiet house on a quiet street named Marlborough. I was there, out of my car and running for the front door when they came. I chucked my gun out of the holster, got close into the building and moved up until I was on a line with a pair of half open patio doors. And I saw something I hadn't expected. On the floor that was littered with a broken lamp, pieces of vase and overturned furniture was Vince LeBaron, doubled up dead. And standing over him, his face the color of soft cement at 32, dangling in his limp right hand was Joe Temple. When he saw me, he tried to talk, but the words jammed in his throat. When I stepped into the room, he began to tremble.

[Joe Temple]

Marlo. I shot him. I couldn't help it.

[Philip Marlowe]

He was gonna sit down. Temple, get a hold of yourself. Got any brandy around?

[Joe Temple]

Over on that table near the phone. Oh, he was out of his mind, Marlow. An absolute maniac. He said he was gonna kill me.

[Philip Marlowe]

So you lunged for him. There was a fight. And you came up with a gun, huh?

[Terry Lebar]

Yeah.

[Joe Temple]

And when he started for me again, I pulled the trigger. And then I did it again and a third time.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Drink this.

[Joe Temple]

He brought the letters back, Marlow. They're inside on the floor where he threw them. He said they didn't mean anything anymore, that he and that girl in the slacks had taken care of Terry.

[Philip Marlowe]

Take it easy, Temple. Easy?

[Joe Temple]

He seemed to go crazy. He said I was a wife stealer, the cause of his trouble, and that I deserved death. Well, that's when I jumped at him. It was terrible, Marlow.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, well, between the two of us, we've just about got all the answers. Which is usually a good time to call the police, huh?

[Joe Temple]

What do you mean, just about got all the answers, Marlow? What else is there?

[Philip Marlowe]

Jess Freeman. The guy Lieutenant Matthews told us about when we were over at Terry's place, remember?

[Joe Temple]

Oh, yes, that traffic crash in Empire, Oregon. But why should that figure in this, Marlow?

[Philip Marlowe]

It shouldn't. But I think it does.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

I'm inside. Detective Lieutenant Mattress.

[Philip Marlowe]

Marlo Matthews. Another dead one on the Terry Labara case. Yeah. Vince Labara, her husband. He was shot.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Who did it? Marlo?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah. Guy named Joe Temple. It was self defense. We're coming in, Matthews. I'll take that gun, Temple. You get the letters. Let's go. And we got into my car and started downtown. Temple was more relaxed and he talked easily until we passed Vince Lebar's sparkling green sedan parked a block away, once again close into the shadows and once again empty. Real empty. The sight of it closed him up tight for the rest of the trip. When we walked into police headquarters and through the quarter of a mile of glossy corridor leading to the door marked Homicide, he didn't open up any. But it didn't matter, really, because it's police rule never to talk to two men about the same thing at the same time. I was first. Matthew said hello without shaking hands, waved me into an uncomfortable seat, and then lit his pipe while I brought him up to date. And it was his turn.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

So Rose Fazetta killed Terry Labar so that she could get the letters Joe Temple had written, huh?

[Announcer]

Mm.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Did this so that her boyfriend, Vince lebar, could raise a lot of fuss in divorce court with the letters. File a count or suit, that kind of stuff.

[Philip Marlowe]

That's the whole deal?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah, with Temple making it a double header by shooting Vince when Vince came to kill him.

[Philip Marlowe]

That's it, Matthews. If you believe Temple, huh? And if Temple hadn't slipped.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

All right, now what are you getting at, Phil?

[Philip Marlowe]

That when I was on the phone with you earlier at night, you asked me if Temple or I knew anything about a Jess Freeman who was killed in a traffic accident in Empire, Oregon.

[Terry Lebar]

Right?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Right. But you didn't.

[Philip Marlowe]

No, no, nor did I mention the town of Empire at the Temple. Yet a half hour ago, just before I called you, Temple came up with that name.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Oh, then Molly. Oh, hold my calls, Mooney. Molly.

[Philip Marlowe]

I mean, the Joe Temple killed Terry lebar Rose just knocked her out and got the letters Temple Strangler while she was still unconscious.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah, but why?

[Philip Marlowe]

Because a guy identified as Jess Freeman got himself killed in a traffic accident.

[Rudy Tickler]

So?

[Philip Marlowe]

A guy who I think was actually Harlan Casey, Terry's two fisted assistant, who together with Joe Temple was crossing the boss lady. And that left Temple in a very hot spot to save himself. He had a kill.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Can you prove all this, Marlon?

[Philip Marlowe]

No, not a word of it. It's conjecture, but conjecture that fits. Matthews, when Temple found Terry unconscious in the garden, that was his chance. He took it.

[Rudy Tickler]

Now look, Phil.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Phil, you're guessing at night.

[Philip Marlowe]

Sure, sure, I'm guessing, but not in the dark. I know how these guys think and act. I've done too many cases not to know. Now listen for a minute, will you, Matthews?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

All right.

[Philip Marlowe]

Okay. Now look, Temple had to get those letters back, right? Yeah, the last one in particular. Because in the last one, this is the way it's got a figure. He had lied to Terry about being in San Francisco with Casey yesterday, when actually Casey was in Empire, Oregon.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah, when Casey was killed up there, the fact was bound to come out. Yeah, it's.

[Philip Marlowe]

It's a good reason. Matthews, will you let me finish, please?

[Lieutenant Matthews]

All right, finish.

[Philip Marlowe]

Temple knew Terry would find out. He knew that she couldn't stand a liar and a partner who double cross her. Temple knew that she'd get him and ruin him if it took her the

[Narrator]

rest of her life.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

So he came back to get the letter before she could read it. But she hadn't left Tana's plan, ironically

[Philip Marlowe]

enough, because she didn't want to miss one of his letters.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah, but look, I'm a policeman, Phil. I gotta have.

[Philip Marlowe]

All right, all right. Show the policeman you got labs and technicians, you'll get the facts. And I'll bet you it figures just like I say.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Okay, Phil, Okay.

[Philip Marlowe]

And another thing, Matthews. What? When you talk to Temple, who's holding the packet of letters now like a real good boy.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah.

[Philip Marlowe]

You'll find the last one missing. It'll be in his pocket, I'll bet you on that. Well, that ought to do it, Lieutenant.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Yeah, with one exception, Phil. How did Temple maneuver all this? Getting the letters from Rose Petta, then setting up that self defense deal?

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't know. But my guess is that Vince got the lettuce from Rose just before I arrived at her place. But when he got into his car.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Temple was waiting, slugged him, drove back to his own house, dropped the body in the living room, shot him when he heard you coming?

[Philip Marlowe]

Something like that. Matthews, see if you can't get it out that way.

[Rudy Tickler]

Don't worry, Phil.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

If it's true, we'll get it out.

[Philip Marlowe]

It'll be true.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Oh, now, would you ask Mr. Temple to come in, please, Mr. Marlow?

[Philip Marlowe]

I'll be glad to, Lieutenant. Say, Temple, Lieutenant like to see you.

[Joe Temple]

All right, Marlow. I think I can speak coherently now.

[Philip Marlowe]

Good, good. They like to get the facts straight in there. Go ahead.

[Joe Temple]

Yes, of course. Good night, Marlow, and thanks for your help.

[Lieutenant Matthews]

Oh, good evening, Mr. Temple. Sit down and start talking.

[Philip Marlowe]

When I got into my car, the new day was starting to push the black out of the sky and the early morning air smelled fresh and cool and clean. The whole night had been confused and complicated, but I knew that by the time Matthews had finished with Temple, there'd be no questions left unanswered. That would be great, wouldn't it? If everything could be that way. No questions left unanswered.

[Narrator]

The adventures of Philip Marlowe Bringing you Raymond Chandler's most famous character. Star Gerald Moore are produced and directed by Norman McDonnell and are written for radio by Robert Mitchell and Gene Levitt. Gerald Moore may currently be seen starring in Republic's the Blonde Bandit. Featured in the cast were Charlotte Lawrence, Elliot Reed, Dora Singleton, Georgia Ellis, Bill Lally and Hugh Thomas. Detective Lieutenant Matthews is played by Larry Dubkin. The special music is composed and conducted by Richard Arant. Be sure and be with us again next week when Philip Marlowe says, this

[Philip Marlowe]

time a bride to be, a corpse in a plush bungalow and a Southern troll behind a gun all had one thing in common. They moved through the same deep shadow.

[Narrator]

Remember, you'll find George Burns and Gracie Allen and their good friend Bill Goodwin here on most of these same CBS stations every Wednesday night in the half hour following the Bing Crosby Show. This is Roy Rowan speaking. Now stay tuned for Pursuit, which follows immediately. This is cbs, where Burns and Allen are heard every Wednesday night. The Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Johnny Dollar]

Johnny Dollar.

[Henry Foreman]

Mr. Dollar, this is Henry Foreman down here in Fort Jarvis, New York.

[Johnny Dollar]

Fort Jarvis?

[Henry Foreman]

That's right.

[Johnny Dollar]

Lucky man.

[Henry Foreman]

I beg your pardon?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, the Delaware river on one side and the Never Sink on the other and that Never Sink just happens to be one of my favorite trout streams.

[Announcer]

Oh, I see.

[Johnny Dollar]

Many's the time I've wet a line in that piece of water. Foreman, did you say?

[Henry Foreman]

Yes, I'm the local representative for Inter Allied Life Insurance Company.

[Johnny Dollar]

What can I do for you, Mr. Foreman?

[Henry Foreman]

Not for me, Mr. Dollar, but for one of my clients. I. I should say the husband of one of our clients. One of our rather important clients, yes. His name is Techler, Rudolph Heckler, and he lives a few miles north here, the other side of Monticello.

[Johnny Dollar]

I see.

[Henry Foreman]

Lovely place. Two or three hundred acres of beautiful woodland, a private lake and so on.

[Johnny Dollar]

Sounds very nice.

[Henry Foreman]

Usually though, this time of year they're back in New York. Their big apartment, one of those luxurious duplex fairs on East River.

[Johnny Dollar]

Also sounds like they're really loaded loading.

[Henry Foreman]

Oh, yes. Oh, you mean. Yes, Mr. Dollar there, they're quite wealthy.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, now, what's his problem?

[Henry Foreman]

I haven't the least idea. All I know is that he called me a few minutes ago and he asked. Well, as a matter of fact, he insisted that you come and see him if, that is, you have some free time. And by that he meant anything from a few days to a few weeks.

[Johnny Dollar]

Funny. Must have something to do with his insurance.

[Henry Foreman]

I don't know, Sir.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, look, Mr. Foreman, he did make

[Henry Foreman]

it very plain that it's most important. Important to you, that is, to you personally.

[Johnny Dollar]

To me?

[Henry Foreman]

Yes, he implied, as if there were any question about your expenses, so on. Why, he'd be more than glad to pay your expense account himself.

[Johnny Dollar]

Ah, yes.

[Henry Foreman]

In other words, Mr. Dollar.

[Johnny Dollar]

In other words, maybe I can be a little free with the old expense account for a change.

[Henry Foreman]

Well, now, that isn't quite what I was thinking.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, let's pretend it was though. Well, now look, now just relax, Mr. Foreman. I'll grab a plane or a train or something and be down there to see you. I'll see you.

[Rudy Tickler]

Foreign.

[Announcer]

The CBS Radio Network brings you Mandel Kramer in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Doll.

[Johnny Dollar]

Expense accounts submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Inter Allied Life Insurance Company office in Port Jarvis, New York. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Monticello mystery. Expense account, item one, $9.10, Planeville to New York. Item two, 50 bucks deposit on a rental car. I picked up Route 46, then 23 and some 70 odd miles later pulled into Port Jarvis at the point where Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York all come together. It's a nice little city there on the Delaware. Quite a railroad center and even better known for its glass companies. Henry Foreman's office was on Main Street. And after the usual how to dos, I again asked the question.

[Announcer]

Believe me, Mr. Dollar, I don't know anything more about it than I told you on the phone.

[Johnny Dollar]

But in view of this company's policy

[Announcer]

of service to its client's service of any kind, well, I felt we must succeed to his request that you be brought down here.

[Johnny Dollar]

I see. And after all, when you consider the

[Announcer]

size of Mrs. Techler's life policy alone, the annual premiums we collect on it. And remember this too, sir.

[Johnny Dollar]

She was a client of the company's

[Announcer]

long before she married Techler.

[Johnny Dollar]

He's the widow of the late Horace Rathbun Mellinger. Well, you know the big steel and oil fortune. Yeah, well, it's no wonder then the ts are loaded.

[Henry Foreman]

Precisely.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, just give me their address and I'll see what I can do about inaugurating a share the wealth program. I drove north on 42 for some 25 miles to Monticello. Especially at this time of the year, this foot of the Catskills country is mighty beautiful. Then west for a few miles to the little town of Bethel, then north on a narrow, twisting little road to a spot somewhere between Kenoza Lake and Swan Lake. There was a tall steel wire fence about the place, but the heavy gate was unlocked, so I went on through. And there it was. About as isolated and beautiful a place as I've ever seen. It might as well have been a hundred miles away from the dozens of resorts and vacation spots that dot that area. The main building, the lodge I guess you'd call it, was a kind of a large two story log cabin affair with a high peaked roof that would shed the winter snow. Was surrounded on three sides by tremendous trees and they framed the lodge perfectly. It was a picture spot of the sort you. You seem to a movie. And on the fourth side, out in front of the lodge and not more than a hundred yards away, one look at that blue placid lake and there must have been at least 20 acres of it. Made me wish that I brought along every bit of fishing tackle I'd ever owned. As I stood there by the side of my car, taking it all in, a pair of lunker smallmouth bass jumped clear of the water, scattering it like the proverbial pearls in the sunshine.

[Rudy Tickler]

So you like it, huh?

[Johnny Dollar]

Like it. Oh, brother, what a fisherman's heaven this is.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes, it really is. And you must be Johnny Dollar and I'm Rudy Tackler. And how are you?

[Johnny Dollar]

Spellbound. If you want the truth. I didn't think a place like this ever really existed. Look at that. Did you see him?

[Rudy Tickler]

I saw him.

[Johnny Dollar]

Son of a gun, Mr. Tickler. That bass just broke water out there. Must be over three pounds. You're a fisherman, too?

[Rudy Tickler]

I certainly am.

[Johnny Dollar]

What are we doing just standing here?

[Rudy Tickler]

I thought you might just possibly feel that way. Sure.

[Johnny Dollar]

Why aren't we out there and. Oh, it is slightly out of season, isn't it?

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, what's the difference? Private lake on private property. If the game warden comes around, I just chew him away.

[Johnny Dollar]

I also forgot that I'm supposed to be up here on business.

[Rudy Tickler]

Oh, are you?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, aren't I?

[Rudy Tickler]

Not so far as I know.

[Johnny Dollar]

You're kidding.

[Rudy Tickler]

Not a bit.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, you sent for me, didn't you?

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes, that's right. My wife and I sent for you, but not on business.

[Johnny Dollar]

I don't get it. Not on business.

[Rudy Tickler]

Not a bit of it. Why, then, Johnny, suppose you pawn into the house.

[Johnny Dollar]

Here, I'll help you with your bag. Well, now, wait, mister.

[Rudy Tickler]

Oh, now, come, come, Mr. Tekla. A fine fishing pad you're going to make to you.

[Johnny Dollar]

It's Rudy. Okay, okay, Rudy, fine. Now, what was that crack about a fishing pad?

[Rudy Tickler]

Come along into the house. Meet Nancy, my wife. Come on.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, but if you're implying that you sent to me just to fish

[Announcer]

this beautiful lake of yours, why not?

[Johnny Dollar]

I'm afraid it's a little hard to believe. I don't see why. Well, let's just say I've been around, Mr. Rudy.

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, then maybe if Nancy tells you the same thing.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, much as I'd like to, I still won't believe it.

[Rudy Tickler]

Come along and we'll see.

[Johnny Dollar]

Maybe. Maybe because of long years in this job of mine, I'm overly suspicious. But it all seemed just a little too good to be true. Now, I ask you, what would you think of a couple of complete strangers casually handed you the sort of chance and situation you've only dared dream about all your life? Yes, and when I met Mrs. Tetler there in a lodge, that silly little bell in the back of my head. That saved my job and even my life. On occasion. That warning, if you like, suddenly began to ring out loud and clear.

[Announcer]

Have you ever stopped to realize how lucky we are? When people behind the Iron Curtain turn on their radios, they hear only what their leaders want them to hear. In this country, you can click a switch day or night and get a true complete report of what's happening everywhere. You get the news first, fastest, most accurately and most completely. When your dial is set to this CBS radio network station. Because the network is serviced by the far flung fact gathering facilities of expanded CBS News. Experienced CBS newsmen stationed in strategic places the world over are on top of a story the moment it breaks. For news about local, state, national and international affairs, even the news from out of this world. Count on the frequent broadcasts of expanded CBS News. Hear CBS News every hour, army hour, every weekday. Wherever you are, Keep in touch with the world through world spanning CBS News. In this land where the news is free and reliable, Let CBS News satisfy your need to know.

[Johnny Dollar]

Misses Rudolph Tickler, beneficiary of the vast Horace Rathbone Melinger fortune, was short, sweet, pert and pretty, about 5ft 2 or 3, with a trim, almost wiry figure. She had a pale, flawless complexion. Sparkling dark blue eyes that contrasted with her light colored hair. And she gave the impression of being very active, very alert. In spite of the fact that she must have been almost 60 years of age.

[Nancy Tickler]

Then you do like our little country place, Mr. Dolly?

[Johnny Dollar]

Like it? I love it, Mrs. Settler.

[Nancy Tickler]

Oh, I knew you would. We do too, don't we, darling?

[Rudy Tickler]

You know the answer to that as

[Nancy Tickler]

well as I do, Nan and Johnny. You must call me Nancy, even if only to flatter me and make me feel young again.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, you are young, Nancy.

[Nancy Tickler]

Well, thank you. In spite of the fact I had to ask for it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Not at all.

[Nancy Tickler]

You see, Johnny, this was Horace's. He was my first husband. Horace's hunting lodge. We used to come up here during the deer season and we'd have all sorts of people around shooting off guns and playing poker all night and eating their heads off and making a general nuisance of themselves. But Horace liked it, so I put up with it. Spite of all the work it meant for me.

[Rudy Tickler]

It certainly did and it still does. And I think we ought to bring a couple of the servants up here.

[Nancy Tickler]

Oh, now, darling.

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, you work much too hard all the time we're here.

[Nancy Tickler]

Yes, but I like getting away from the servants for change and all their problems. Well, I know, Nan, and it's no hardship for me. Does me good.

[Ginger]

Keeps me healthy.

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, just the same, Nancy, next year when we come up here.

[Nancy Tickler]

Next year, well, we'll see. But if I'm feeling as well as I do now. Well, anyway, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes?

[Nancy Tickler]

After Horace died, well, Woody's never liked hunting, have you, dear?

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, Johnny, I'm no sissy, but I just don't like killing, that's all. I mean, poor dumb animals. Fishing, though, that's something else again.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'm with you.

[Nancy Tickler]

So after Rudy and I got married, that was in 58. Well, that's when he put in the lake, stocked it with nice big bass and some pickerel and sunfish and bluegills and things.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, you have me fairly drooling, you know that?

[Nancy Tickler]

Well, I'm glad, because that's the reason I thought of having you up here. And when I suggested it to Rudy.

[Rudy Tickler]

Ah, no, honey.

[Nancy Tickler]

Well, at first he thought I was silly. But then when he had a chance to think it over, he was just as enthusiastic about having you here as

[Johnny Dollar]

I was just to go fishing.

[Nancy Tickler]

Well, Johnny, I'll make a true confession. I'm an old fan of yours. I never miss those weekly radio reports you make on the cases you solve.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, maybe I'm lucky you don't know about the ones I don't solve.

[Nancy Tickler]

I think the work you do is wonderful and I've wanted to meet you for years.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, I thank you, ma'. Am.

[Nancy Tickler]

Well, but never having any insurance problems, well, I just couldn't think of a logical excuse. And I knew you'd only be bored to death at any of the constant round of big dull parties with we have to give all winter long down in New York.

[Rudy Tickler]

And believe me, Johnny, they are dull. But they're expected in this circle that we're obliged to travel in.

[Nancy Tickler]

You know, Johnny, old friends of Horace's. So what can we do? Anyway, one Sunday night, listening to one of your radio reports, I suddenly realized you constantly talk about things. So here you are. And please stay as long as you like.

[Johnny Dollar]

Nancy, I love you dearly.

[Nancy Tickler]

Good. And by way of celebration, darling, why don't you pour us all a drink?

[Johnny Dollar]

Good idea.

[Nancy Tickler]

And then while I'm fixing dinner, there'll still be about an hour of daylight. Why don't you two go out on the lake?

[Johnny Dollar]

A very good idea.

[Nancy Tickler]

And Johnny Dollar, if you don't bring back at least a couple of five

[Johnny Dollar]

pounders, I promise, Nancy. Honest engine. Short, sweet, pert and pretty. I said I should have added one more adjective. Smart. And that's why, in spite of her excuse for having me around. I wondered what her real reason was, but they didn't give me much time for wondering or anything else. Within half an hour, Rudy and I were out on the lake, that beautiful hunk of water so loaded with fighting bass that who could miss coming in with a limit? But we did, for no sooner had we got started at the crossed toward the far side. But there was plenty of the reeds and lily pads. The big ones like to hide under

[Rudy Tickler]

Johnny, it looks to me.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I see the place, Rudy. And if there aren't some lunkers over there, I'll eat my shirt.

[Rudy Tickler]

No, no, no. What I was thinking.

[Johnny Dollar]

I still think we could have got a sack full right off the dot.

[Rudy Tickler]

But not the big ones. No, what I was thinking of is that mass of black clouds moving in on us there.

[Johnny Dollar]

Ah, you're right. Look, there's a little shop building up in the water.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes, I'm afraid we're in for a second sudden blow and a lot of rain. You know what that does to the fishing.

[Announcer]

Oh, darn it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Especially in a shallow lake like this one.

[Rudy Tickler]

But I tell you, it's not as shallow as it looks. No, this was a kind of canyon up here in these mountains before we dammed it up. And some of the spots are nearly 20ft deep.

[Johnny Dollar]

Maybe we better figure.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yeah, here it comes.

[Johnny Dollar]

Boy, don't you mean here it is?

[Narrator]

Wow.

[Rudy Tickler]

Regular clouders. Certainly can't fish in this. Can't even see where we are.

[Johnny Dollar]

I pray you're right, Rudy. Well, don't you worry.

[Rudy Tickler]

We'll have plenty of time in the days ahead for all the fishing you can take.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, that may be a bigger order than you think.

[Rudy Tickler]

Of course, if this blows up, we can come out tonight again. Sometimes the night fishing is great.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'll try anything, but as long as

[Rudy Tickler]

it keeps up like this. Oh, well, I'm sorry. So we'll go on back to the dock, if I can find it. Then back to the house, build a big fire. We can sit in front of it and drown our sorrows. Huh?

[Johnny Dollar]

You mean if we don't get ourselves drowned first?

[Rudy Tickler]

Right.

[Johnny Dollar]

After cocktails, and plenty of them. During the delicious dinner Nancy had cooked for us, although we talked about nothing but fishing, I began to wonder again, Because I suddenly became aware of something between these two that hadn't shown before. But I couldn't quite put my finger on. A sort of tension that they both very obviously tried to hide. This very young man and the older, wealthy woman he'd married later in the Living room as we sat in front of a roaring fire. And Rudy became a bit too generous with the highballs, especially his own. I wanted some more because several times when he glanced over at her once he was talking to me. There was a very strange look in his eyes. Fear. Could it have been fear? But of what? I decided I'd better get him alone and talk to him. But by the time Nancy went up to a room to bed, the drinks had had their effect on him and he didn't make very much sense.

[Rudy Tickler]

Ah, just one more little one, huh, Johnny? I mean, for a sort of nightcap.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, thank you. I've had enough. You always drink this much?

[Announcer]

Oh, no.

[Rudy Tickler]

I said this afternoon. Drown your sorrows. I said, drown your sorrows. Yeah, Johnny, it's a very good idea. Okay, bounds up.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, Rudy, are you worried about something?

[Rudy Tickler]

What, me? But lots of money, I never have to do a lick of work. Nice little wife, couple of nice places to live. Not me, Johnny. Not a thing in the world. Not as long as I can drown my sorrows. Hey, let's have just one more.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now, look, if the weather stays clear the way it is right now, and we're going to do any fishing tomorrow morning, maybe we better hit the sack, huh?

[Rudy Tickler]

Yeah, sure. Okay. You find your way up to your room all right?

[Johnny Dollar]

I think I can. The point is, can you?

[Rudy Tickler]

Me? Oh, sure. Right next to Nancy's room. You're on the other side. Oh, h. Well, shall we?

[Johnny Dollar]

I think we'd better. I helped him up to his room, put him to bed, and he promptly went out like a life. What he'd said about the clean, cool mountain air was certainly true. I slept like a log, Almost as though I'd been drugged. And not because of the after dinner drinks. I'd watch that pretty carefully. Then shortly after sunup, came the rude awakening. Yeah. Yes.

[Nancy Tickler]

Yes.

[Johnny Dollar]

What's the matter, Rudy? What is it?

[Rudy Tickler]

Nancy. Something's happened to her. Come on. Quickly, quickly.

[Announcer]

Where can you find such entertainers as Buster Davenport and his talking minor bird? Where can you find Lucille in her magic ocarina? Or little Billy and his 14 piece jug band? Frankly, we don't know where you can find them. But one sure thing. Here on the CBS video network, you find the top names in show business. Arthur Godfrey, Art Link letter, Gary Moore, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. And you find them here every weekday morning, guaranteed entertainment Monday through Friday, right here at the stars address.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right. What is it, Rudy? What's happened?

[Announcer]

She's gone.

[Rudy Tickler]

You. Nancy's gone. Something's happened to her. Look. Look at this. Her bed's been slept in, but she isn't here.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, now just take it easy. Maybe she just got up early to fix breakfast for us before we go out on the lake.

[Rudy Tickler]

No, no, Johnny, she isn't anywhere. I mean, not anywhere in the house. I've looked all over.

[Johnny Dollar]

Out for an early walk, maybe?

[Rudy Tickler]

What, without getting dressed?

[Johnny Dollar]

How do you know that?

[Rudy Tickler]

Look, the only things that are missing are the nightgown she wore and her robe and a pair of slippers.

[Johnny Dollar]

Wait a minute. You mean you've checked every other article of clothes?

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, no, no, no, of course not, but those things are missing.

[Johnny Dollar]

Did you look around the ground?

[Rudy Tickler]

Oh, yes, all over. Except in the woods, of course, which

[Johnny Dollar]

just happens to cover most of this place of yours.

[Rudy Tickler]

Johnny, the point is, she's gone. Without letting me know. I say something's happened to her.

[Johnny Dollar]

How many cars do you keep here?

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, just the one, but it's still in the garage. Besides, Nancy doesn't drive.

[Johnny Dollar]

Did you look for any footprints when you were outside? Yes, in the mud from that rain we had.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yeah. Yes, Johnny, there were none.

[Johnny Dollar]

How about tracks down at the gate?

[Rudy Tickler]

The road is paved down to the gate, even out to the highway.

[Johnny Dollar]

Is there any way off the property except through that gate?

[Rudy Tickler]

No, no, there's no other way out. What could have happened to her?

[Johnny Dollar]

Just calm down, Rudy. Let me get some clothes on and we'll look around.

[Rudy Tickler]

I, I, I hope she's all right.

[Johnny Dollar]

Any reason why she shouldn't be?

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, no, of course not. And yet.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes? Well,

[Rudy Tickler]

there was something last night, Johnny. There in front of her place. Yeah, but didn't you get the feeling, too, that she was worried about something?

[Johnny Dollar]

Now that you mentioned it, yes. But what?

[Rudy Tickler]

I wish I knew. Then maybe I'd know what's happened to her.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, you go downstairs and make some coffee while I get into my clothes. Then we'll have a look around. I still didn't understand all his alarm until we had to look around that place. And I mean all of it. There was no sign of her anywhere. No clue as to why or where she'd gone. And to leave by that front gate and only a nightgown and a robe. I really must have been wrong about that.

[Rudy Tickler]

But even if she did change, why aren't those things still here? And why did she leave? And without letting me know? Johnny, it isn't like her.

[Johnny Dollar]

Rudy. Any problems between you two?

[Rudy Tickler]

Oh, good heavens, no. Nothing, sir.

[Johnny Dollar]

Serious, in spite of all her money. And let's Face it, your comparative union.

[Rudy Tickler]

Wait, now, wait a minute now. I resent that, Johnny. I mean, whatever implication you're trying to make.

[Johnny Dollar]

What about your drinking?

[Rudy Tickler]

What do you say? That just because I happened to have a few too many last night. Oh, no, now that's ridiculous. And she would have told me if she'd really objected to it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Speaking of which, I think I can use one.

[Rudy Tickler]

Yes, yes, so can.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, I'll get a couple.

[Rudy Tickler]

No, no, no. I'll get them. The stuff is still on the bar from last night.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'll get him. Rudy. You just sit tight and keep an eye out this front window in case.

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, but I. All right. Bourbon, you know.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, I know. It had really hit me. Two things. Several things. Like the complete lack of a hangover. Though I'd had to help him up to bed only a few hours before. Nancy and I've been drinking scotch. He'd taken all of his from a bottle of bourbon, so I checked that bottle. Bourbon, nothing but weak tea. So he'd been putting on an act last night. Why? And why the insistence on keeping my glass filled? More things that crack about drowning his sorrow. For instance, was Nancy his sorrow because she got wise to the fact that he'd married her only for money? And was she the one who was really afraid? Is that why she'd sent for me? Of course, he hadn't wanted me around at first. Until he realized what a wonderful cover up I'd be for him. But then, where was the body? There was one place. A very obvious place. Maybe so obvious I wasn't expected to think of it. It's the obvious we most often overlook. Or was all this just wild speculation on my part? I had to find out.

[Rudy Tickler]

You, you say? A hunch, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, Rudy. And by some miracle they usually pay off for me.

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, what kind of a hunch?

[Johnny Dollar]

There's one place on this property we didn't think of. Where you just sit tight and finish your drink while I have a look.

[Rudy Tickler]

Well, all right, John. Johnny, you wait here.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'll be back in a few minutes. The little dam there at one end of the lake was a simple affair. Two concrete abutments with a wall of 12 inch planks between them, one on top of the other. To raise the water level, you added a plank. And to lower it, of course, it was a bit of a struggle. Pry away the top one. But I managed it. And the water started pouring out into a sort of canyon below. And then, as I fully expected.

[Rudy Tickler]

Johnny. Johnny, are you doing. Are you out of Your mind?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, I know, Rudy. I hate the spoils.

[Rudy Tickler]

The whole lake will go down.

[Johnny Dollar]

Want to give me a hand and help me pull another one of these planks until we get the water low enough to see where you left her body after you killed her last night. Well, Rudy.

[Rudy Tickler]

Johnny, look, it won't be necessary, you see. I'll show you the spot. But listen. Listen to me.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'm listening.

[Rudy Tickler]

Not only the insurance, but all of her estate.

[Johnny Dollar]

It'll mine.

[Rudy Tickler]

And without her to dole it out to me like she would to a child. And there's plenty, you see? There's plenty for both of us, Rudy. We'll both be rich, Johnny. You understand? You see what I mean? It'll be so easy, Rudy.

[Johnny Dollar]

I hate to sound corny. Yes, but why don't you try telling that to a judge? Any comments? Why bother? I hate this kind of case. But it does happen. Expense account total, including mileage on the rental car and the trip Back to Hartford. 7170. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.

[Announcer]

Now here is our star to tell you about next week's story.

[Johnny Dollar]

Next week, the Everglades of Florida. And believe me, there are spots in there that can be pretty dangerous. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.

[Announcer]

Yours truly, Johnny Dollar is written by Jack Johnstone, produced and directed by Bruno Zarato, Jr. Music supervision by Ethel Huber. Johnny Dollar is played by Mandel Kramer. Also featured in our cast were William Redfield as Rudy, Adele Ronson as Nancy, and Randall Osborne as Henry Foreman. Be sure to join us next week, same time, same station, for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Art Hannah speaking.

[Podcast Host]

There's more from Marlo$, case closed, and all of the podcasts at the website relicradio.com you can donate through that website. If you'd like to help support this and all the shows, click on that support link in the show notes or visit donate relicradio.com for more information on that. Thank you. As always, to those who have helped out, and thanks for joining me this week. I'll be back next Wednesday with another hour of mystery on Case Closed.