Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Burning Desire Matter 12/27/1959

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar – "The Burning Desire Matter"

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode Air Date: December 27, 1959 (Original) / March 30, 2026 (Podcast Release)
Host: Choice Classic Radio
Detective: Johnny Dollar (voiced by Bob Bailey)

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Episode Overview

In this classic episode, freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is called to Los Angeles to investigate a rash of suspicious fires plaguing the city. With insurance companies quietly hemorrhaging money and signs pointing to coordinated arson, Johnny must navigate tough neighborhoods, old underworld contacts, and a web of misdirection to uncover the mastermind behind the crimes. The case is personal, as Dollar’s friend and ex-con Smokey Sullivan becomes a key informant and target.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Progression

1. Mysterious Call & Initial Lead

• [00:21-01:05]
  • Pat McCracken from Universal Adjustment Bureau calls Johnny Dollar with a cryptic message from a caller who only says “yeah.”
  • Johnny suspects only one person talks like that—Smokey Sullivan.
  • "[Pat], have any of your insurance companies been having to pay off on any big fires lately? I mean, out in Los Angeles..." – Johnny Dollar (01:05)

2. Pattern of Arson Uncovered

• [03:34-06:00]
  • Johnny links the odd call to a string of recent possible arsons in Los Angeles.
  • Pat McCracken realizes the fires slipped under the radar because each was insured by a different company.

3. Smokey Sullivan Appears

• [04:13-05:03]
  • Johnny calls the mysterious number—Smokey confirms he’s working a “legit job” in L.A.
  • Smokey suspects he can help Johnny: “You’re my friend, Johnny. You’ve done a lot for me. So when I got a chance to help you...” – Smokey Sullivan (04:38)
  • Smokey alerts Johnny to organized arson involving insurance.

4. Trouble at Smokey’s Lodging

• [06:53-08:28]
  • Johnny arrives at Smokey’s beat-up boarding house, where the landlady, Bertha Fletcher, describes an earlier visitor.
  • Johnny discovers Smokey badly beaten—likely by “the chimp,” a thug for racketeer Mickey Fortina.
  • “Smokey had really had it. Whoever beaten him up probably would have killed him if I hadn’t come along..." – Johnny Dollar (07:37)

5. Unraveling the Arson Ring

• [11:36-13:31]
  • After a doctor visit, Smokey explains:
    • Multiple fires, all big insurance jobs, each set by a different torch.
    • Mickey Fortina acts as the go-between, recruiting out-of-town arsonists to avoid local police detection.
  • “He makes the deal with whoever wants a fire... never set a fire himself.” – Smokey Sullivan (12:22)

6. Setup for the Sting

• [17:27-19:07]
  • Johnny devises a risky plan: pose as a desperate business owner seeking to hire Fortina for an arson insurance scam.
  • The cover story involves a heavily insured shoe store on North La Brea.

7. Showdown at Fortina's Office

• [19:07-22:02]
  • Johnny’s bluff meets suspicion—Fortina dances around the proposition, quizzing Johnny about Smokey Sullivan.
  • Betrayal! Fortina’s goons identify Johnny, linking him to Smokey and the undercover operation.
  • "All right, so maybe I do arrange another fire—with you in it, Dollar." – Mickey Fortina (21:42)
  • Police intervene before things escalate. A dramatic confrontation ensues; Johnny and the police prevail.

8. Resolution & Reflections

• [22:36-23:52]
  • With Fortina and his “torches” arrested, Johnny reflects on the tenacity and stupidity of professional arsonists.
  • The police now have grounds to chase down other arsonists across states, thanks to the confessions obtained.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Arson Patterns:

  • “The only reason that nobody smelled a rat is because a different insurance company was stuck with each of those fires…” – Pat McCracken (05:22)

• On Mickey Fortina’s Modus Operandi:

  • “He makes the deal … never set a fire himself.” – Smokey Sullivan (12:22)

• On Johnny’s Undercover Bluff:

  • “If that place was to burn up some night, the whole works, I’d collect a lot of money on it, all the insurance.” – Johnny Dollar (as ‘Morris’, 19:59)

• Showdown Threat:

  • “All right, so maybe I do arrange another fire—with you in it, Dollar.” – Mickey Fortina (21:42)

• On the Human Cost:

  • “These stupid jerks never seem to learn.” – Johnny Dollar (23:41)

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• 00:21 – 01:21: Opening call, arson theory introduced
• 04:13 – 05:03: Smokey Sullivan’s tip
• 06:53 – 08:28: Discovery of Smokey’s assault
• 11:36 – 13:31: Smokey details the arson setup and suspects
• 17:27 – 19:07: Johnny's plan to trap Fortina
• 19:07 – 22:02: Confrontation with Fortina and goons
• 22:36 – 23:52: Police wrap-up and Johnny’s closing thoughts

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Language and Tone

The tone is brisk, wisecracking, and tense—classic hard-boiled detective style. Johnny Dollar lays on the sarcasm and wit, balancing camaraderie with Smokey and the tough love approach to suspects and bureaucrats alike.

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Summary for New Listeners

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: “The Burning Desire Matter” is a fast-paced, dialogue-driven insurance mystery where Johnny Dollar, aided by loyal ex-con Smokey Sullivan, tears through the smoky underworld of Los Angeles. With seven suspicious fires and a mastermind too smart to get his hands dirty, Johnny’s blend of deduction, guts, and street contacts turns a tangled insurance fraud into an open-and-shut case—proving once again why he’s America’s “fabulous freelance insurance investigator.”

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End of summary.

Transcript

[Johnny Dollar]

Welcome to Choice Classic Radio where we bring to you the greatest old time radio shows like us on Facebook. Subscribe to us on YouTube and thank you for [e-mail]. Johnny Teller.

[Pat McCracken]

Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

What?

[Pat McCracken]

I said yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

What's that supposed to mean? And who are you?

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, Johnny, this is Pat McCracken at Universal Adjustment Bureau.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, hi, Pat. But what's with the crazy dialogue?

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, that word, that.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah.

[Pat McCracken]

Was most of the conversation I got from some crazy character who just called in.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'm afraid I don't dig you.

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, he called about five minutes ago. Said he'd been trying to reach you, but he got no answer.

[Johnny Dollar]

I was out picking up a morning paper. Who was he, Pat?

[Pat McCracken]

He wouldn't say. He just gave his phone number.

[Johnny Dollar]

Wait a minute. There's only one man in the world talks like that.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah. Was the call from San Francisco?

[Pat McCracken]

No, no. Oh, Los Angeles.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, then maybe I was. Oh. Because the man I was thinking of. Wait a minute.

[Pat McCracken]

Yes, yes, I'm waiting, John.

[Johnny Dollar]

Tell me just one thing, Pat. Well, have any of your insurance companies been having to pay off on any big fires lately? I mean, out in Los Angeles on any fires. You'd better start checking with those companies out there.

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, wait a minute.

[Johnny Dollar]

Do it, Pat, and I'll lay odds that you get a handful of arson reports.

[Pat McCracken]

Arse.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, Johnny.

[Pat McCracken]

Just because some silly guy calls up and all he says is yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

Hey, let me have that phone number he gave you.

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, Johnny, come on.

[Johnny Dollar]

Come on, Pat. What is it?

[Pat McCracken]

Hollywood 83142.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, now you go ahead and check with your west coast insurance company, Johnny. And get ready to pay my expense account to Los Angeles.

[Pat McCracken]

Are you kidding? Are you trying to tell me that the way some jerk says yeah means arson on the West Coast? Now, don't be silly.

[Johnny Dollar]

You want to bet?

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, John.

[Johnny Dollar]

Pat, I'll call you back.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

CBS radio brings you Bob. Bob Bailey. In the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Duller.

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[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

And now, act one of yours truly, Johnny Doll.

[Johnny Dollar]

Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Universal Adjustment Bureau home office, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses Incurred during my investigation of the Burning Desire matter. Yeah. As I told Pat McCracken, There was only one person I knew whose conversation might consist mostly of that one word. So. Expense account item 250 for a phone call to Hollywood 83142.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

Hello?

[Johnny Dollar]

Hello?

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I thought so. Yeah, Smokey Sullivan. Well, Smokey, this is Johnny Dollar.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

Hey, you tried to call me here in Hartford. I was out. You called Universal Adjustment Bureau? I got the message. Here I am.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah, Johnny only.

[Johnny Dollar]

What are you doing in la? Last time I saw you was in San Francisco.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Got a job here, Johnny. Legit.

[Johnny Dollar]

Hey, that's the stuff. Pays off too, doesn't it? Yeah.

[Smokey Sullivan]

You're my friend, Johnny. You've done a lot for me. So when I got a chance to help you.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, there's something doing out there, Smokey, that I ought to know about.

[Smokey Sullivan]

A bunch of fires, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Arson, huh?

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

Is there insurance involved?

[Smokey Sullivan]

Why else? Anybody use a torch?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, you got a point there. But do you have any lead on whoever is behind the fires?

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah, so you better come out here, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, the first plane I can get. Where'll I find you?

[Smokey Sullivan]

322 South Equity Avenue.

[Johnny Dollar]

South Equity. Okay, Smokey, I'll be there.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

Aha. Now I'll call to Pat McCracken, pack my bag and Johnny Dollar.

[Pat McCracken]

Oh, Johnny, thank goodness.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Pat.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, I just about to pack up.

[Pat McCracken]

And why did you ever get off that phone of yours?

[Johnny Dollar]

I was talking to the guy who tele.

[Pat McCracken]

Listen to me, Johnny, you were right. Only reason that nobody smelled a rat is because a different insurance company was stuck with each of those fires out there. So until I called him to give me a report. Oh, and listen.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'm listening, Brad.

[Pat McCracken]

According to the LA police, every one of them could have been arson.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, I'll grab the first seven of

[Pat McCracken]

them in a row. Johnny, that we know about so far. I mean, I haven't got the reports in yet from all the companies. And I'm also waiting for another report from the police. Now, Johnny. Johnny, Your best contact officer.

[Johnny Dollar]

That I've already got.

[Pat McCracken]

What?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah.

[Pat McCracken]

You mean that character who called us up?

[Mickey Fortina]

Yeah.

[Pat McCracken]

Look, will you please tell me who is he?

[Johnny Dollar]

What does he know about this Universal Adjustment? Putting the old expense account on this. Yes, of course. Then I'll give it all to you in the usual report. See you. Sorry, Pat, I gotta catch a plane. Expense Account, Item 2. $162.85 Plane Ticket from Hartford to Los Angeles. Thanks to the time differential, it was only shortly after dark when the big mainliner sat down at the LA International Airport. Item 3, 750 for a cab to Smokey's address. It was hardly Beverly Hills or Bel air, believe me. 322South Equity was in a beat up part of a downtown industrial section. A weather beaten three story house with a sign out front that said Borders by the week of month.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Yeah? Who are you?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, my name is just.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

What's a fancy dresser like you want around a place like this, huh?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, I'm looking for a man by the name of Smokey Sullivan. I understand he lives here.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

That's right. Are you. Are you the man he said he was expecting?

[Johnny Dollar]

That's right. My name is Johnny Duller.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Well, he didn't tell me what the name was, but if you're sure he was expect.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'm sure. Now where is his room?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Now I don't know.

[Johnny Dollar]

Where is his room, please?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Well, it's up on the second floor. It's just to the right after you get up the stairs.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, thank you very much.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Well, now maybe you better watch.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, I'll find it. Thanks a lot.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

No, what I mean is I thought you'd already come on me. What I mean is.

[Johnny Dollar]

Smokey. Hey, smokey. It's johnny dollar. Huh? What was that? Smokey. Now what's all the re. Oh no. Smokey, can you hear me? Who did this? Are you? Good lord. Smokey had really had it. Whoever beaten him up probably would have killed him if I hadn't come along and scared him away. I looked out of the broken window, but of course was too late to see who'd done this. Meantime, the landlady appeared and I had to get me some towels in a basin of cold water.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Here you are, mister.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, good. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Somebody sure lays into him, I'll say that. You ask me to wonder if he stays alive.

[Johnny Dollar]

He'll be all right. He'd better be.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

You're lucky you come along to see him is all I got to say.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, you better give me a couple more towels and maybe another basin of water.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

No, wait.

[Johnny Dollar]

What?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

You won't need him, mister. I got a much better idea if I can find it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Hey, Smokey,

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

to find that bottle. Well, here it is. Yes, sir. This here will fix him up.

[Johnny Dollar]

Smokey, can you hear me?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Chim up quicker than the wing.

[Johnny Dollar]

It's Johnny. Johnny Dollar.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Here. Now mister, you just pour a slug of this down his gullet and see if it don't bring him to, huh?

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh yeah, good idea. Let me have that.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Oh, he's here. Real genuine California cognac. It is.

[Johnny Dollar]

And soak up another towel for me, would you, please?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Sure will, mister.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right. Here now, Smokey. Here. See if you can get down some of this. Easy now.

[Smokey Sullivan]

That's it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Atta boy.

[Mickey Fortina]

Really. Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

A little more of this. Here.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Here. You know, before you come up here. Mistress, I tried to tell you.

[Johnny Dollar]

Easy now, Smoky.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Yeah? I tried to tell you. I thought that other man that come up here to see him was the one he was expecting. Here, now, here's his fresh towel.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Thanks.

[Johnny Dollar]

Did you say other man?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

That's right. Come in just before you.

[Johnny Dollar]

Did you know him? Who?

[Smokey Sullivan]

He was the chimp. What?

[Johnny Dollar]

What's Mohi?

[Smokey Sullivan]

The chimp. That's who it was. The chimp. Yeah. Strong arm for Mickey Fortina.

[Johnny Dollar]

Who's Mickey Fortina?

[Mickey Fortina]

He.

[Smokey Sullivan]

He's the one.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, now, look. Look, Smokey, maybe you'd better wait until you feel better.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

You and I should get a doctor.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Oh, now, listen, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah?

[Smokey Sullivan]

Unless you stop, there's gonna be a lot more fires around here.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Fires? That's what he said.

[Johnny Dollar]

Just don't Worry about it, Mrs. Miss.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Fletcher. Bertha Fletcher. That's my Johnny.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Johnny, listen.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, Mrs. Fletcher.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

You.

[Johnny Dollar]

You go along. I'll take care of him.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Oh, well, now, I. I don't know. You sure I hadn't better get a doctor?

[Johnny Dollar]

No, no, no. I'll take him to a hotel.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

In his condition. I'll look after him.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now, you go downstairs and get me a cab.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

I don't know why.

[Johnny Dollar]

Here's a 10 spot for your trouble and this bottle of brandy.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Oh. Oh, well, thanks. You're a gem.

[Johnny Dollar]

Go ahead, please.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Oh, yes, sir. Anything you say.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Charlie.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah?

[Smokey Sullivan]

You gotta listen to me.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Smokey Sullivan]

You had come up the stairs, scared him off. The chip might have killed me.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, he won't get to you again. I'm gonna take you out of this place.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Somebody must have tipped off Mickey Fortita. Must have known I put in that call to you. So listen, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Later, Smokey. After I get you out of here. Item 4, the 10 bucks to Ms. Fletcher. Item 5, a buck and a half for a cab to the Statler Hotel, where I had to show my credentials to the room clerk to get a bed for the somewhat mangled smokey Sullivan. Item 6. $15 to the doctor who came up to the room. And I must admit, got him back in a pretty good shape. Then when the doctor had left us.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah, Johnny, all those fires, big insurance, all of them set.

[Johnny Dollar]

Seven of them in a row. So that means by one fireball. This Mickey Fortina you mentioned, huh?

[Smokey Sullivan]

No, Johnny. Mickey's too smart for that.

[Johnny Dollar]

What?

[Smokey Sullivan]

All set by different guys. I don't know who they are, but I see no remains. And the police ain't sure, but I know there was arson.

[Johnny Dollar]

Who's Mickey Fortina?

[Smokey Sullivan]

He's a go between. I seen this happen before. Yeah, Frisco, Seattle, in Denver, a lot of places. He brings in a lot of boys of his own. Everyone got a different way of setting

[Johnny Dollar]

the blade so the cops can't tie it up with any local boy whose methods they know. Yeah, 14 is a go between.

[Smokey Sullivan]

He makes the deal with whoever wants

[Johnny Dollar]

a fire and the police aren't onto him.

[Smokey Sullivan]

What for? He never set a fire himself.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, I know, but he's the guy

[Smokey Sullivan]

that at that time the arson squad is in. The guy who done it is far away. So there's no witness can prove 14 has set up the deal.

[Johnny Dollar]

And the police have never been able to put the squeeze on whoever made

[Smokey Sullivan]

the deal for a fire and get sent up for it for being accessory or whatever you call it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, yeah, I see what you mean.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Yeah, Fortina sent from me when he found out I was here in la. I. I used to know him.

[Johnny Dollar]

Johnny wanted you to be a torch for him, huh?

[Smokey Sullivan]

He just asked if I wanted to work for him. And he knew that I knew what he meant.

[Johnny Dollar]

But if you knew that Fortina was operating here, Smokey, how could I prove it?

[Smokey Sullivan]

How can I prove it now?

[Johnny Dollar]

Maybe I can.

[Smokey Sullivan]

But if he finds out I sent

[Johnny Dollar]

for you, Johnny, it looks to me like he already has.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Oh, yeah?

[Johnny Dollar]

All right then. If somebody who wants a fire can get to Mickey Fortina, there must be some way I can at his office. His what?

[Smokey Sullivan]

At his office, every night. 1025 South Spring.

[Johnny Dollar]

He has an office for a racket like this.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Why, you'd never know it. You'll see.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I think I'd better see. Hey, Smokey.

[Mickey Fortina]

You.

[Johnny Dollar]

Who's that?

[Smokey Sullivan]

You got a gun, Johnny?

[Johnny Dollar]

Right here and ready. Open up in there.

[Smokey Sullivan]

This is the police.

[Johnny Dollar]

Police, huh?

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[Johnny Dollar]

Wow. Surprise. It is. The police room clerk reported a man was brought in here. Johnny. Pat. Pat Nichols.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

Sergeant Nichols.

[Mickey Fortina]

Now, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Good, good. How are you, boy? Now wait, wait a minute. Is this the man you brought in here? Smokey Sullivan?

[Smokey Sullivan]

Listen, Officer, I. Johnny, you think maybe

[Johnny Dollar]

Smokey is tied in with this string of fires out here?

[Smokey Sullivan]

No, no. Tell him, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, no, no, you. You tell him, Smokey. Anything you want. Well, no, no, no.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Look, you know I'm. I'm no good at talking to a cop.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, give it a try. And Pat, be sure you stick around to keep an eye on him. What? Smokey may need a bodyguard. You, huh? Yeah, until after I made a little business call.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now look, if you're out here because of those fires. Did I say I was? I didn't tell him anything like that, did I, Smokey?

[Smokey Sullivan]

No, Johnny, and I see what you mean.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now listen, just stick around, Pat. I'll see you later. If I had told Pat where I was going, he might have wanted to come along. And a man in the uniform would hardly have helped in the plan I had for trapping Mickey Fortina. But you know something? Going over to see him alone was a big mistake. One I almost didn't live to regret.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

We'll bring you act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar in exactly one minute.

[Johnny Dollar]

Here's Hollywood star Mona Freeman, who feels

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

like acting with a miserable cold. I relieved cold distress the fast way with four way cold tablets.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, tests of all the leading cold tablets proved four way fastest acting amazing. Four way starts in minutes to relieve muscular pains and headache, reduce fever, calm upset stomach. Also overcomes irregularity when a cold strikes.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Do what I do. Take four way cold tablets. It's the fast way to relieve nasty cold distress and feel better quickly.

[Johnny Dollar]

Four way only 29 cents.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

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[Johnny Dollar]

My plan for trapping Mickey Fortino was a very simple one. I'd make like a property owner who was anxious to collect some fire insurance. Who was willing to pay in advance to make sure my property went up in flames. Easy. Or so I thought. Item 7, 85 cents per cab to the office building at 1025 South Springs. The only lights on were in suite B on the second floor. According to the directory in the lobby, that was the office of the Fortina Friendly Loan Company. Loan office, huh?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Yes, sir. Can I help you?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I'd like to see Mr. Fortina.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

You got an appointment?

[Johnny Dollar]

No, but I'd like to make a little deal with him.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Can I have your name, mister?

[Johnny Dollar]

It's Morris. Theodore Morris.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Just a minute, huh? Excuse me.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, sure.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Man says his name is Morris. Wants to see you, Mick.

[Mickey Fortina]

Oh, hey, listen, has a chimp come back yet?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

No. And he said he was going to send Husky over there.

[Mickey Fortina]

Husky?

[Johnny Dollar]

Why?

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

What chimp? Said he was afraid if he showed up at that hotel.

[Mickey Fortina]

Careful. Careful what you say. Close the door.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Sure.

[Johnny Dollar]

The chimpanzee. And somebody was going over to the hotel. That can mean only for one thing. To get Smokey Sullivan. I carefully edged over closer to the door of Mickey's office, hoping I could hear more.

[Smokey Sullivan]

It was too thick.

[Johnny Dollar]

And it suddenly dawned on me. If they knew I was the one who put Smokey in that hotel, they probably also knew why I'd come here. There was only one way to make sure. I'd have to go through, or at least try to go through with a bluff I planned.

[Mickey Fortina]

Oh, sorry to kept you waiting, Mr. Morris, is it?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, that's right, Mr. Fortina. Ted Morris.

[Mickey Fortina]

Oh, Mary, when the. When he gets you, send him in.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Sure, Vic.

[Mickey Fortina]

Come in. Please. Sit down.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, surely. Thanks a lot.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

All right.

[Johnny Dollar]

I'll get right to the point, Mr. Fortina.

[Mickey Fortina]

Oh, by all means do, Mr. Morris.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, I own a big shoe store over on North La Brea. Well, business has been pretty bad lately. I've been losing a lot of money, too. Too much stock on hand, big inventory. And hardest.

[Mickey Fortina]

Well, if it's good merchandise, I see no reason why we can't arrange A loan for you.

[Johnny Dollar]

A loan?

[Mickey Fortina]

Of course. What else?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, listen, I carry a lot of insurance on not only the stock, but the building too.

[Mickey Fortina]

Oh, how much, Mr. Morris?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, it adds up to over 185,000.

[Mickey Fortina]

I see. It's very commendable. But why do you tell me about this insurance?

[Johnny Dollar]

I said I'd get to the point. Now, listen, if that place was to burn up some night, the whole works. I'd collect a lot of money on it, all the insurance.

[Mickey Fortina]

And, of course, be in a position to repay whatever loan I advance to you.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, stop beating around the bush. 14. I want that place burned out. Can you fix it?

[Mickey Fortina]

Mr. Morris, if you want a loan, possibly even a size.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, you know what I want. Come on, how about it?

[Mickey Fortina]

As I said, possibly we can advance it to you.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now, look, I didn't come up here

[Mickey Fortina]

today as evidence of your good faith. Your, shall we say, good intentions. Are you prepared to make a down payment on such a loan? Say, $10,000 cash in advance?

[Johnny Dollar]

What are you talking about? Set the fire, burn the place up so I can collect the insurance and I'll give you 15,000.

[Mickey Fortina]

Now, just a minute. Who said anything about setting a fire?

[Johnny Dollar]

I did. Well,

[Mickey Fortina]

who sent you here? If you said it was a former client, I won't believe.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, look, does it make any difference?

[Mickey Fortina]

Do you by any chance know a man by the name of Smokey Sullivan?

[Johnny Dollar]

Sullivan?

[Pat McCracken]

He knows him all right, Mick.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, the chimp.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Shut up.

[Johnny Dollar]

Sure. Mick, this is the guy I told you about. I come to see Smokey at his rooming house.

[Mickey Fortina]

What I left of him. Very interesting.

[Johnny Dollar]

After I ducked out, I hung around there. I seen him take Smokey in a cab. I followed him to that hotel.

[Mickey Fortina]

You send Husky over to take care of him?

[Johnny Dollar]

Sure. And listen. Yeah? I don't know what name this guy gives you, but when he knocks on Smokey's door, He says it's Johnny.

[Mickey Fortina]

$$ insurance stick.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, that's right, Mickey.

[Mickey Fortina]

All right, so maybe I do arrange another fire with you in it. Darla.

[Bertha Fletcher / Landlady]

Mickey, there's a police car just pulled up in front.

[Johnny Dollar]

Go ahead, Jim. Yeah. Don't kill this dirty app. All right, now, Fourteener, your turn.

[Mickey Fortina]

Don't move. Dollar Reach for a gun and I pull this trigger.

[Johnny Dollar]

I see. Yeah. How are your eyes, Mickey? Can you see in the dark? What, without this lamp in here? Wow. I guess Smokey was right at that. Johnny. Hi, Pat.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

You seem to think you wouldn't need

[Johnny Dollar]

any help around here.

[Smokey Sullivan]

You're right, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

When that strong arm that Husky Castellini came up to the hotel room after him.

[Smokey Sullivan]

Well, I had to tell him, Johnny. I had to tell him what it was all about.

[Johnny Dollar]

It's okay, Smokey. It's okay. So we threw Husky and the clink and came over here. Well, I got an admission out of him, Pat. But unless you can get these goons of his to talk, I don't know what you're gonna hold him on after what just happened in here. Johnny will hold him and his goons just as long as we need to.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

And unless they want to take the

[Johnny Dollar]

whole rap for him, I think they'll talk. Yeah, they talked, all right. And as a result, the police and a couple of nearby states should have no trouble at all in picking up some of the other of Fortina's boys, his hired torches. Funny, isn't it? These stupid jerks just never seem to learn. Expense account total, including hotel bill, plane ticket back to Hartford, and the sizable bit of folding money for Smokey Sullivan. 8, 7, 4, 2, 0. Yours truly, Johnny Dunham. Now, here's a word from our star

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

about the Casey handles on next week's program.

[Johnny Dollar]

Thank you, Daniel. It's called the Hapless Ham Matter. And, yeah, you guessed it, the ham turns out to be an actor, a really bad one, with one of the cleverest methods of committing murder I've ever known. There's a lot of action suspense in the story, and I think you'll like it. Who knows? Maybe if you listen closely, you'll be able to figure out his method even before I do. So join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.

[Narrator / Announcer (possibly Dan Coverley)]

Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey. Originates in Hollywood and is written, produced, produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Heard in our cast were Virginia Gregg, Gene Tatum, Lawrence Dobkin, Vic Perrin, Paul Duboff, Don diamond and Frank Gerstel. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Dan Coverley speaking. Intrigue breeds terror as suspense. This brings a shady moonlight sail. Next on the CBS Radio Network.