← Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Fatal Filet Matter 05/10/1959
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Your message amplified. Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with Podbean. Podbean. Podbean. Podbean. Podbean. The AI powered all in one podcast platform. Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts. Launch your podcast on Podbean today. My school uses Podbean. My church too. I love it. I really do. 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 donating@ChoiceClassicRadio.com Johnny Duller Johnny, this. This is Ray Connolly. Oh yeah, over at Continental Insurance Company. That's right, yeah. Over. What's the problem, Ray? Problem? No problem at all, actually. Are you busy tonight, Johnny? No, no plans at all. Well, you see, my wife's out of town for a few days and. Johnny, well, I wonder if you'd have dinner with me tonight. Can you do that? Why sure. Why not? Good, good. Just name the time and place and I'll meet you there. Well, I happen to have a nice thick filet of prime beef in my refrigerator at home. And if you like steak. Sure. Do you? Well, why don't you run over to my place at say 6, 6:30? I'll pour you a couple of cocktails and we'll tackle that steak. Okay, Johnny? Ray? Yeah? You're sure there isn't something that's bothering you? 6:30, Johnny? Yeah, okay, but now listen. Good. Good. I'll see you then. Well, why don't you. Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed exp America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Each weekday on CBS Radio, there's a bright package of lively entertainment that goes by the modest title Just Entertainment. It's where to find Pat Butram, his cohorts and his warm humor. Mr. Butram is ably aided by lovely Marian Morgan and that singing foursome called the Halloran Quartet. Just for Entertainment. Sample Just Entertainment with Pat Butram tomorrow on CBS Radio. Also on the recommended list, a fascinating fact filled 10 minutes each weeknight with Ron Cochran. Recently he's given the answer please treatment to listener queries on such topics as the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster War, the Irish sweepstakes, Spring Fever and Undersea's exploration of the Arctic. Be listening tomorrow night. Discover how you can ask Ron Cochran to give your question or the answer, please. Just entertainment and answer please. One for facts, one for fun. Leave your dial set right where it is now to enjoy both these Entertaining programs each Monday through Friday on CBS Radio. And now act one of yours truly, Johnny Doll. Expense accounts submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Continental Insurance Company home office, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the fatal filet matter. There was something very funny about Ray Connolly's sudden invitation to have dinner with him, much less cocktails. I'd been at his office far too many times, had seen the bottles of pills that he kept on his desk, watched his secretary bring him a glass of milk at precisely 10, at exactly 3:15pm had listened to the dull details of his ulcer free diet more times than I can remember. So when Ray said cocktails. Ah, come on now, $, stop trying to build up a case out of nothing. And yet, for reasons that will be made clear later in this report, everything goes on. Expense account item $1.40 for a cab to Ray's apartment. It was 6:30 on the nose when I pushed the doorbell. Items. Oh, and I decided that if he did have something bothering him, I'd let him get around to it in his own sweet time. I wished later that I hadn't. Johnny. Johnny, I'm glad to see you. Come in, come in. Yeah. How are you, Ray? Well, you know how it is, huh? Those ulcers been kicking up on you again? Yeah, a little. Sit down, Johnny, Sit down. Sure, thanks. Now, what would you like? Martini, Manhattan. Got a plain old scotch and soda lying around? I certainly have. Have it for you in a second. Never touch it myself anymore, of course. You mean you're not drinking with me? Maybe I'll have a glass of milk and let's see. Yeah, it's time for me to take one of my pills. There you are, Johnny. Mm, thanks. But did it ever occur to you, Ray, that if you'd stop worrying so much about that gut of yours, you might not have so much trouble with it? Johnny, it's easy to see. You never had an ulcer. No, sir. And I don't ever intend to. Well, if you were in my end of the business. There's something just happened that I want to tell you about. Oh, yeah, Later. Incidentally, the steak we're having is the most beautiful thing you ever saw. Well, come on, I'll show it to you while I get a glass of milk. Okay, I guess my wife ordered some groceries sent over from Morris Bain's Market before she left. I told you she's away. Yes, she did. Yeah, left yesterday. Well, this steak was delivered last night along with some other things there. How about that? Mmm. Looks like you could cut that with a fork. Prime beef. Excuse me, I'll get my glass of milk. Sure. Hey, how do you like your steak, by the way? Only one way. Blood rare. Of course, I'll have to have mine rather well done, so I'll just cut the filet in half and it'll be no problem at all. Ray, what about this thing that happened in the office you were gonna tell me about? Later, Johnny. Later again. Looking back, I wished that I'd pressed the point, but I didn't. Instead, I had another drink, watched him sip his glass of milk, listen to him complain some more about his pet ulcer, and then finally, we sat down to dinner. There we are. Isn't that the most beautiful steak you ever saw? Oh, no, Ray, didn't you hear me? What? Oh, dear, oh, dear. I'm terribly embarrassed. Well, brother, you ought to be. That looks like a piece of shoe leather. You said blood rare, and I forgot all about it. Ray, you are a dog. You're sure you can't eat it this way? I'd rather chew up an old boot. Hey, listen, now something's bugging you. Now, what is it? Nothing, Johnny. Look, I'll go out and buy another one for you, huh? And let yours sit here and get cold. No, no. Oh, Johnny, I'm terribly sorry. That's okay. Go ahead, Ray, tear into it. I'll go out in the kitchen and see if I can find the makings of a sandwich. I could have killed him overcooking a perfectly good steak that way. But instead I made myself a sandwich and stuck around because I knew that sooner or later he'd tell me his real purpose in having me come over. And later he did. At least, he started to. We had washed the dishes, then gone back into the living room. I had settled down with a third cup of coffee and a cigarette and he was sipping in another glass of milk. It's just that I don't like being threatened, Johnny. Threatened? Heaven knows I have enough trouble keeping this ulcer under control with just the daily run of problems I have to face at the office. Well, what do you mean by. You know. You know, people demanding more from their insurance than they deserve. People filing claims when they aren't entitled to any insurance at all, and then trying to. Oh. What? Nothing, Johnny. I just. I'll be all right. You forget to take one of your pills, Ray? No, but maybe I better take another. Yes, me. You're taking too many of them. But what was this talk about being threatened? Well, Johnny, this fella by the name of. Oh. Oh, no. Ray. Johnny. Ray, what's the matter? This paint in my stomach, it's killing me. Easy. Here, let me get you on the sofa. Medicine, quick, please. There you are. Now what Medicine? Anything. Anything to stop the Johnny. I grabbed the telephone and called Dr. Ramsey, but because of a traffic tire, it was nearly half an hour before he got there. Meantime, Ray lay on the sofa getting paler and paler until he was white as a sheet. The doctor, completely familiar with Ray's ulcer problem, did what he could, but after 40, 45 minutes, realized things were getting beyond his control. So he called an ambulance. Another half hour and yeah, by the time they got him to the hospital, in spite of injections and oxygen along the way, Ray Connolly was dead. Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. In a moment, Tibet in the news, who's an expert on Tibetan affairs, who was the personal guest of the Dalai Lama in happier times, at the top of the world, while Lowell Thomas, of course, ask us another part of the world, and there's every chance the answer again would be Lowell Thomas. The roving raconteur has been just about everywhere, seen just about everything. So when a story breaks, he has that extra edge of intimate first hand experience to give extra dimension to his reporting. One of the most colorful men in the industry. One of the most striking different sounds on the CBS radio network is Lowell Thomas. Heard every Monday through Friday evening with his fascinating reporting. Only a network could bring you a Lowell Thomas. Only the CBS Radio network does. Remember the keen mind and formidable experience of this noted world traveler, lecturer, raconteur and CBS newsman is an exclusive with the affiliated stations of CBS Radio Monday through Friday evenings. Don't miss Lowell Thomas. And now, act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the fatal Filet matter. Yes, Mr. Dollar? I knew that Connolly's ulcer condition was serious. I've been treating him for a couple of years. But I certainly never believed this could happen. What it means is that he bled to death. Is that it, Doctor? Yes, Internal hemorrhage, but of such intensity. I don't understand it. And yet. Well, let's face it, Donna. This sort of thing has happened before. Has happened before? Yes, Doctor, you may be right about that. Well, of course I am, but not in the way you think. I went back to Ray's apartment, let myself in with a key I'd filched out of his pocket, then went over every inch of the place and I came up with nothing. Nothing, that is, until I went into the kitchen. There I Saw for the second time the bag of groceries that his wife had had delivered from Baines Market, from which Ray had taken only one thing so far as I knew. The steak he'd eaten that night. Yeah, and he had eaten every bit of it. I dumped them out on the table, made a list of them. Then I noticed something else on the table. It was a cheap gold plated cufflink with the initials XD on it. Hmm. Early the next morning, I talked with Morris Bain, proprietor of the Food Market. Insurance investigator. That's right, Mr. Bain. No, Joe, just call me Morris. That's what my customers do. Okay, Morris. Well, of course I'll be glad to cooperate, Mr. Dollar, every which way I possibly can. Good. Shelf on the left, Julius. Right over the salad dressing I gotta keep. Canned snails, I gotta keep. For some of my special customers. But how people can eat those, I don't. Oh, good morning, Mrs. Beckham. It's a lovely morning, isn't it? Now, Morris? Oh, yeah. You wanted information? Yes. Oh, Mrs. Van der Sloot. How are you, huh? How's your nice little doggy? This fight? No, no, no. Get him out of here before he does. No. Get outside. Out. Out. Oh, what's your problem with dogs in the store? Yeah, I'm sure, but. Now, do you have a customer by the Name of Connolly? Mrs. Connolly? Sure. Lovely woman. She was in here only the other. Oh, how do you do, Ms. Keena? How's my little sweetheart today, huh? We got a special on those fancy tan chestnuts. Listen to me. Mrs. Connolly was in here. When? The day before yesterday. Well, how's her husband, Mr. Dollar? Is he still suffering from those terrible ulcers? No, not anymore. Oh, it's a miracle, Hartley. The point is, she ordered some stuff from you. Yeah, that's right. We delivered it, too, day before yesterday. What? What did she order? Well, right here in the office, Mr. Dollar. I'll tell you exactly what went over there, but exactly good. You wanted breakfast cereals, madam? Right there in the second aisle. Yeah, you're welcome. Now, right here in this pile of bills is the one for whatever the. Ah, Here we are. Mrs. Ray Connolly. Good. Let me compare with the list I have. Sure. Julius. Julius, take care of Mrs. Freeband. There by the cheese. Such a time I have, with the help and such an exclusive clientele, you have no idea. Well, did you find what you're looking for? Yeah, everything checks except for one thing. The steak you delivered Steak? That's right. A prime filet. But it's not on the list. We don't Sell meat? What? No, of course not. Sadie, Sadie, double check the Hathaway order. Somebody made a mistake last week. Wait a minute. That's a good. You're sure your delivery boy didn't take a steak to the Conley's? How could he? Oh, no, we. Thanks anyway, Mars. Not a pleasure. Anytime. Great seeing you. Yes, sure. Xavier, did you deliver the room to your daughter? Xavier? So now I try a different tech. Item two or three, whatever it is. A dime for phone call to Dr. Ransom. I suggested he take whatever steps were necessary to make a complete examination of the stomach of the now deceased Ray Connolly. Item 4, 85 cents for a cab to the office of Continental Insurance. Ray's secretary had obviously been crying. I just can't believe it. Mr. Dolan. Yeah, I know, Gracie. Now, listen, did any of the people who've come here to see him ever threaten him? Threaten him? That's right. Well, lots of people have threatened lots of things when they didn't feel their claims were met properly. But he was the fairest, the most honest man. Podbean, your message amplified. Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with Podbean. Podbean, the AI powered all in one podcast platform. Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts. Use Podbean to record your podcast. Use PodBean AI to optimize your podcast. Use PodBean AI to turn your blog into a podcast. Use Podbean to distribute your podcast everywhere. Launch your podcast on podbean today. When? Mr. Dollar? Somebody in here yesterday, maybe? Yes, there was a man in here yesterday who was very angry about something. I could hear him pounding the desk in there and swearing. Who was he? I don't know. He must have come back with Mr. Connolly after lunch and I didn't see him leave. But look, he lost a cufflink. XD What? Gracie, this is the man I'm looking for. Can you find me a policy with this man's name on it, just from these initials with all the policies on file? Probably a beneficiary whose claim was settled or refused. You say the man, Mr. Dollar? Yeah, Gracie. The man who murdered your boss. Act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. In a moment. Be sociable, look smart, keep up to date with Pepsi. Drink light, refreshing Pepsi. Stay young and fair and debonair. Be sociable, have a Pepsi. When friends drop in, let your hospitality show you're sociable in a modern manner. Pepsi, you know, is the favorite of the smart and young at heart. Be sociable, look smart, keep up to date with Pepsi. Drink light, refreshing Pepsi. Stay young and fair and debonair. Be sociable. Have a Pepsi. Have you tried a Pepsi lately? And now, act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, expense account item. Another dime for another call to Dr. Ransom. Yes, the autopsy had been made, and, yes, they had found enough ground glass in the stomach of Ray Connolly to kill three men. That's why Ray, with his ulcer condition, had gone so fast while he was with you. Johnny, the police would like very much to talk to you. Well, certainly they don't think I did it. Of course not. At least. Yeah. Well. Well, after all, you were with him at the time when he ate that filet. Okay, okay, Doc, I'll get in touch with him. Adam 6. 10 cents for another call to raise. Secretary at Continental insurance. Yes, yes, Mr. Dollar, I have. Nice going, Grace. What's his name? Xavier Donato. The folder was still at Mr. Connolly's desk. Donato. And the address? 13425 Sunset. Sunset. Got it. And listen, the reason he was angry with Mr. Connolly. Yeah? He was named as beneficiary of his father's life insurance policy. Yeah, but his father just committed suicide. You see what I mean? Yeah. Donato couldn't collect. Yes. I mean, no, he couldn't. So, Gracie, you're a doll. Item seven. Two bucks and a half for a taxi to the address far out on Sunset Avenue. It turned out to be an old, ramshackle, roaming house in a pretty lousy neighborhood. Sure, look for yourself. But I tell you, he ain't here anymore. When did he leave? Yesterday morning, bag and baggage. There you are. See for yourself. Now, don't tell me he's still living here. Well, I can't say that I blame him. What's that? Have you any idea where he might have gone? If I did, I'd send the cops to get the rent he owes me. The cops will want him for a lot more than your rent, lady. Yeah? What's more than that? Murder. I made another phone call to police headquarters. I talked with Sergeant Jimmy Maxwell on Homicide, Only I listened more than I talked. Coplings, huh? With the initials XD on him. That's right. I want. That's the idea. Not telling us before. As if you didn't know it. That's withholding evidence. And in a murder case. Hey, look, that's another thing, $. If you suspected murder, why didn't you call us in instead of having that doctor order the autopsy? You trying to hide something? Are you kidding? Who are you, anyway? We've been Combing the city for you. As if you didn't know. You got a little explaining to do down here. And listen, who do those initials XD stand for? Well, if you let me get a word in edgewise, I might tell you. Well, the D stands for Donato, the X for Xavier. Xavier? What kind of a name is that? Xavier? If you want to say it that way. Oh, boy, that's a rare one. You got his address? He just left the place where he was living, so he's probably a thousand miles away. But Xavier, huh? Of course. And right under my nose. What, Johnny? Maybe I should have told him more everything I knew, but I didn't want to have to wait for the police or anybody else. Ray had been a friend of mine, and to bring his killer to justice was all I cared about. As for that name, Xavier, of course, I'd heard it only a few hours before. And for some stupid reason, it had never occurred to me that it began with the letter X. Item 9. A Buck and a half for another taxi, this time to the. Yeah, you guessed it. Excuse me, please. Pardon me, will you, please, Ma'? Am. You packed the vegetables on top. Morris, come over here. Back so soon? Or not? Listen, when I left you early this morning, just as I was leaving, I heard you call somebody by the name of Xavier. Yeah? Yeah. You mean that slow poker? That dumb stupid. All right, is he still here? What's his last name? His last name? Yeah. What is it? Well, his last name, it's Sadie. How many times I gotta tell you when a customer has got a complaint? Well, this one has. Why? Savior, Mr. Dollar. Savior. Xavier Donato. You looking for me, mister? You're Xavier Donato? Yeah. What do you want? I just want to show you a couple of cufflinks. Here. Are these yours? Yeah, mine. And don't try to pull a gun. Me? I got no gun, mister. I found one of these in Ray Connolly's office. Sure, I got mad. I slam bang on the desk at him. I found the other one at his apartment. Where you delivered that steak to him. That steak full of ground glass. Where'd you get that steak? Wilson's Prime Market. Along the way to his place. Then you put in the glass and took it up to him. Yeah. That was pretty good, huh? Say, you from the cops? You're expecting the cops? I don't know. But you didn't run, you didn't leave town. Sure. Cause I'm smart. You leave town, they know you done it. They chase you, they catch you. Honest, I didn't know it was going to kill him. You know it now. But I had to get even, you know, because he wouldn't give me that insurance. Because my old man killed himself. So did my grandpap and his old man. Just because they didn't get something they want. You mean they all committed suicide? Sure. Because it was all, you know, off in the head. But not me, you understand? Because I'm smart. Somebody does something against me like that insurance, I get even with them, you understand? I don't go kill myself. I get even with them. And you think they're gonna find out? No. You think they're ever gonna catch me? What do you think? Oh, you did, didn't you? Yeah. Gee, I guess you're even smarter than I am, mister. Yeah. Come on, Sam. Prison? I doubt it. Not with a family history like that. But there are institutions for his kind. I'm sure he'll spend the rest of his life in one of them. And maybe by studying his case, the doctors, the psychologists can learn more about helping such people before they go off the deep end. Expense account. Forget it. Ray Conley was my friend. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Our star will return in just a moment. A good college education has a lot to do with your future. Whether you're a student, a parent, a college alumnus, a prospective employer or just an average citizen, you have a stake in the future health of our colleges. The future security and well being of our nation depends on them. Now is the time to help by contributing to the college of your choice. Just as our elementary and high schools have become overcrowded, so now our colleges are threatened by the increased school population. Funds must be forthcoming now to expand college facilities and hire more professors. Otherwise, our colleges will be unable to handle the millions of future students seeking entrance. If we are to keep pace with the Russians in scientific developments. If we're to improve our standard of living and maintain our free way of life, we must have greater college facilities and have them now. For more information, write for a free explanatory booklet to Higher Education, Box 36, Times Square Station, N.Y. 36. Now, here is our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week, a pair of twins. And believe me, they bring me a double dose of trouble. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is written, produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Heard in our cast were Virginia Gregg, D.J. thompson, Jack Edwards, Marvin Miller, Larry Dobkin, Harry Bartel and Frank Gerstel. This is Dan Cubberley speaking. Sam.