← Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Hollywood Mystery Matter 01/04/1959
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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 from Hollywood, it's time now for Johnny Dollar. Mr. Dollar, my name is Parley Baron. I'm calling from Hollywood. Hollywood? What insurance company, Mr. Baron? None. You handle all investigations for Eastern Liability and Trust? Yeah, I guess I do. Well, I am sure that they'll be calling you in shortly. What about, sir? A little matter of embezzlement. Oh, nearly $10,000 that's been stolen from the Berkeley Furniture Manufacturing Company there in Hartford. You're connected with Berkeley Furniture? No, no, actually I am not. Then what's your connection with this embezzlement? I suggest you check with Berkeley and of course the insurance company. Of course. When you have learned the facts from them, I am sure you will find it of the utmost importance to contact me. You sent in Hollywood? Yes. Goodbye, Mr. Dollar. Yeah, but where in Holly? Hello? Hello. Oh, he's a lot of Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action backed expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Dollar. And now act one of yours truly, Johnny Dol. Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Eastern Liability and Trust Company home office, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Hollywood mystery matter. Expense account item 110 cents for a phone call to Hal Spidel, who's my regular contact at Eastern Liability and Trust. Well, hi Johnny. Nice to talk to you again. Yeah, nice to talk to you, Hal. Listen, have you received a report of loss from the Berkeley Furniture Manufacturing Company? Well, they're a client of ours, but no. What makes you ask a thing like that? A phone call I just got. They called you direct? Well, somebody did. A man by the name of Polly Ber. Wait a second. Yes, Ms. Turner. Who? Hold everything, Johnny. I'm holding. What did you say? When we'll find out how much? Johnny? Yeah. You've got an assignment, boy. And it's Berkeley Furniture Manufacturing Company. Embezzlement? Yes. 10,000. How you found out about it? Listen, they just found out about it themselves, so get on over there and see what goes, will you, Hal? Will do. Yeah, My informant, the man who'd called me, had really known something. But how to locate him? Item 2, $1.45 Taxi to the Berkeley plant on the northwest edge of town. It's a small company, but an old one. When I flashed my credentials to the receptionist, I was immediately shown into the office of the high and mighty himself. Well, I must say, your insurance company acts very promptly, Mr. Dollar. Sit down, sir. Thanks, Mr. Berkeley. I'll get straight to the point, sir. We've suffered a considerable loss. Yes, so I understand from Hal Spindler at Easton liability and trust. $10,000, wasn't it? Oh, yes. Nearly $10,000. But I don't recall mentioning the amount to Mr. Spidel. In any event, Mr. Dollar, what I want is that money back. I don't care what you do with the deed. All right. Have you any idea who took it, Mr. Brickley? I certainly have, Young Grape. Who, sir? One of our bookkeepers. A gentleman who has been with the company over 30 years. Hey, what are you smiling about, Mr. Dollar? Well, he's stolen this money from you, but you still call him a gentleman. Because I always thought he was. Did his job, never complain. That's your measure of a gentleman, huh? Eh, what's that? How much money did he earn, Mr. Berkeley? 60, $65 a week? What difference does it make? Just wanted an old man living alone was plenty for him. Unless, of course, he was gambling, something like that. Gambling? Him? Of course not. Never had enough money. Trouble at home, maybe. Is he married? No. Never be able to support a wife after 30 years with your company? I paid him as much as I thought he was worth. Yeah, or as little as you thought you could get away with. That is really no concern of yours. Return of the money is all right. Where does he live, Mr. Berkeley? In a small apartment on the north side of town. And when did you last see him? Yesterday. Yesterday morning. Said he had to see his doctor in the afternoon. Yes, it's against my usual practice, but I let him off. But, of course, you decided to dock his pay. Naturally. I have to keep discipline in a place like this. Oh, sure. In this morning, when I opened the safe, I discovered that the money was missing. 9984, 75. The case that we had on hand for emergencies. I also discovered that he hadn't come to the office. So I phoned his apartment, and I learned that our respected gentleman bookkeeper left town yesterday Afternoon bag and baggage. That doesn't necessarily mean that he took the money. I'd like to know why not. Was he the only one who had access to the safe? Of course not all of the bookkeepers have. How many of them? Others, I mean. 3. But you think for one minute they dare take that money and then come back here and face me? Maybe you got a point there. What? Have you notified the police of this loss? No, I prefer that the whole thing be kept as quiet as possible for the sake of my company's reputation. Please remember that, sir. Whatever you say, Mr. Berkeley. That's why I have no desire to prosecute him. Why, I'll refuse to even file charges as long as I get the money back. Yeah. Now, what's his address? 11231 North Maple Street 112 31. But as I told you, he isn't there. He's left town. Yeah, you told me. How old a man is he? He's 60. What difference does that make? Oh, and Mr. Dollar. Yeah? Just how did you happen to know about this so soon? I mean, the amount that was stolen? From somebody who called me on the phone. Somebody who apparently knew a good deal about it. If I can locate him, get in touch with him, he can probably be a lot of help in running down this. This. Come to think of it, you haven't told me what his name is. The bookkeeper. Liam Basler. Yeah. Baron, sir. What? Yes. Parley Baron. Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. In a moment, 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. And now, act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Hollywood Mystery Matter. So the embezzler of the $10,000 was Parley Baron. The same man who'd called me on the phone apparently called me before, even knew the money was missing. And he'd had the audacity to inform me that I should contact him. Yeah, somewhere in Hollywood. Which is like saying the needle is somewhere in the haystack. Item 3, 250 for a taxi to the little apartment house on North Maple Street. I paid off the driver, then walked into the open foyer and looked for the usual bank of mailboxes to find out which apartment was Parley Barron's. Hey, you want me to wait for you, mister? No, that's all right, driver. You go ahead if you want him. Now, let's see. Nelson Davis Paris. Oops. Excuse me, sir. It's all right. Spalding Pierce Robeson. Patsy. Wait a minute. Oh, here we are. Baron, apartment 103. Just a minute, young man. Are you a salesman? No, I was just looking up the apartment number of Mr. Parley. Baron. Well, he ain't here, mister. You're sure, mister? No, sir. He left your bag and baggage yesterday afternoon. Have you any idea where he went? No. Who are you, cops or something? Here, my credentials. Johnny Dollar. Insurance, if you do. That's right. Now, look, I want you to let me into his apartment. Yes, sir. Right this way. Something wrong, Mr. Dollar? Just a routine investigation. No. Well, I was sure he'd done nothing wrong. Why do you say that? Nice, quiet old man like him. Why should he? Only excitement he ever has is when his niece comes to visit with him. His niece? Yes, sir. Name's Virginia. Ginny Lockhart. Wonderful girl. Sort of drops in here to look after him once in a while, cook him a good meal. Now, here we are. Well, it sure looks like he left in a hurry. Closet's open, doors pulled out. Where can I find this niece you mentioned? Why, didn't you see her when you just came in? That girl who bumped into me down in the lobby, that was Jenny Lockhart. Well, it must have been. Guess she dropped in for a visit with her uncle, found him gone and then lit out again. And I didn't have sense enough to get a good look at it. Well, now, here's a picture of her. Mr. Sent it to him from her vacation last winter. Vacation, huh? Blue sky and palm trees down in Hollywood, I understand. Is that where she's headed for now? Well, now, you got me there. Wait a minute. Yes? What's that you picked up, mister? It's a note, I guess. Yeah, it's addressed to her. Ginny, my dear, the doctor you had me see has finally told me the truth. Is this his handwriting? Yeah. She's all right. It's fine. They told me the truth. I have less than a week to live. And so for the first time in my life, except for some happy moments with you, I'm going to really live. Make up for some of the things I've had to miss all these years. Well, say now. Yes, you may have some idea where I've gone, but please, please, dear. Don't try to follow me. Are loving Hollywood. Yeah, like I said, that's what. And she ran off with a taxi I had. Oh, you want me to call you a taxi, mister? I sure do, brother, and fast. Item 4, 750 for a trip to the airport that should have got the cabbie locked up for life. We ran every stoplight along the way. So what happened? I got there just in time to see a plane taking off and the man at the ticket counter politely informed me that Virginia Lockhart was among the passengers headed for New York. And where would she go from there? Hollywood. I bet my last nickel on it. Yeah, and she could lead me to the man I was after. I checked the schedules of all the airlines leaving New York. If I took the next plane out of Hartford, I could barely make a flight out of New York to the West Coast. In other words, Hollywood. Item 516280 for a through ticket. When we arrived in New York, where I had only seconds to change planes, I was the first one off. And then I saw her. She was boarding a plane from another ramp. By breaking a couple of records for the hundred yard dash and bulling my way through the gate, I managed to climb aboard just as the doors were being closed. A quick flash at my credentials kept the stewardess from throwing me off and in a couple of minutes we were airborne. Now, I guess we'd better make some arrangement about your tickets, sir. Huh? Tickets? Yes, sir. Oh, no, here, I already have it. Hey. Oh, thanks. Thank you. I'll just. Mr. Dollar. Yeah? I'm sorry, but this ticket is for Los Angeles. Sure, sure, that's where I'm going. Well, not on this plane, I'm afraid. This is a non stop flight to Miami. What? Yes, sir. Miami, Florida. Act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. Now, act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Hollywood Mystery Matter. Wait a minute. This plane is headed for Florida? Yes, sir. Non stop flight to Miami. But I thought this was. Look, I gotta get to Los Angeles, to Hollywood. I'm sorry, Mr. Dollar. Oh, not half as sorry as I am. So what do I do now? I'm afraid there isn't much you can do. So why don't you go up in the cabin where there's one extra seat and, well, just, just relax and enjoy it. Okay, miss. Great. I'd been so sure it was Virginia Lockhart I'd seen climb aboard this plane that she'd lead me to her uncle in Hollywood, to wherever he was in Hollywood. So what happened? I was stuck aboard A plane to Miami. All right. I took the advice of the stewardess and walked forward into the cabin to find a seat. And for once, luck was with me. The one vacant seat in that whole plane was right next to. Yeah, you guessed it. To Jenny Lockhart. But why Miami? Could she possibly know that I was on the trail of parley Baron? Was this a trick to leave me off his trail? I decided there was only one thing to do. Play it like I hadn't the least idea in the world who she was and at the same time see if I could learn anything from her. As as long as we're seatmates on this trip, we may as well know each other. My name's Johnny. Johnny Dollar, Miss. How do you do, Mr. Dollar? Be kind of nice to get on down south and away from all the snow and cold, won't it? Would. Would you like some champagne? I. I understand. All I have to do is flag down the stewardess and she'll be. How about it? No, thank you. Well, excuse me for saying so, but you look wor. I'm sure it wouldn't interest you. No, no, maybe not. But, you know, sometimes it does a lot of good to cry on somebody's shoulder. And since we'll probably never see each other again after this trip and, well, I have a good broad shoulder. Thank you, but it's not necessary. Oh, sorry. I didn't mean it. Going down to Florida for a vacation? No, I'm going to Florida to try to save somebody's life. Oh. But I'd rather not talk about it. And she didn't. Or did she talk about anything else during the rest of the flight? As we came into Miami, I decided the only thing I could do was transfer to a plane for Los Angeles and hope for the best. But she was my only real lead to parley Baron. And if I left her here and went on to Hollywood. So I changed my mind. I decided to stay with her. Item 6 $9 even for a taxi that followed hers out of Miami Airport, then headed north. And where do we end up? Hollywood. Hollywood, Florida. Hollywood by the Sea and the Diplomat Hotel. I watched her make inquiries at the desk, heard the clerk tell her room 7:16. I managed to get an elevator before she did. By the time she reached the door of 7:16 and raised her hand a knock. I was standing right beside her. Mr. Johnny Dollar. What are you doing here? I've been following you, Jenny. Why? To find your Uncle Parley Barron, who stole $10,000 from the company he was working for. He what? Yeah, and unless I'm all wet, this is the door to his suite you say he stole. I found the note he'd written to you, Jenny, back at his apartment in Hartford. Mr. Dollar. Johnny. Yeah, and it all ties up, including his phone call to me. It was to make me think he was headed for Hollywood, California, to throw me off. Give him time. Please listen to me. He said that for once in his life, for the few remaining days of it, he was really going to live it up. So he came here to the Hollywood that you told him about. Came here for one last, desperate, glorious fling. Listen, that's what he thought. But don't you see? The more I've thought about it. Thought about that crummy penny pinching outfit that he worked for for 30 miserable years. The more I hated this assignment. Hated the thought of having to deprive that poor old man of this one last chance to get some fun out of life. Because all I know about him is that he's a decent sort who's been taken advantage of. He's a wonderful man and he's been a good man all his life. Jenny, don't you see? Unless I get him, return the $10,000 to his firm. Johnny, listen. He can't have spent $10,000 and I'll make up the rest. Sorry, Jenny, you're not the police, you're not the law. I have a job to do. Does that dirty old company want the money or does it want him? Johnny, for the sake of my company's reputation. That's why I have no desire to prosecute him. Why I refuse to even file charges as long as I get the money back. Johnny, if I give you enough to take the $10,000 back to them. Okay. Okay, Jenny, it's a deal. Oh, thank you. I'm awfully glad. And because of something else, Johnny. The reason why I was looking for him. What do you mean? The new doctor I'd had him go to a couple of weeks ago. My doctor. He gave him a lot of tests. Then uncle went back to see him yesterday afternoon. Yes, I understand. It was to find out the result of the tests. And the doctor told him wrong. The lab reports had got mixed up. You mean that he isn't going to die? No. And the doctor tried to call him but couldn't reach him. So he called me. That's why I went to his apartment, but he'd left. So I came down here to try to find him. I tried to tell you, Johnny, because don't you see, he's gonna be all Right. Well, then, Jenny, I guess that leaves only one more thing to be done. What? Johnny, tell him the good news. Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a good looking girl. And maybe this makes me an accessory to the crime. But you know something, and you can blame it on the holiday season. Anything you like. I don't care. Expense account total, including the trip back to Hartford. Well, a happy New Year to you too. Yours truly, Johnny Doll. Our star will return in just a moment because of another adventure in Hollywood, Florida. But that one you'll have to read about in the February issue of Harper's Bazaar. It's just out, so grab a copy, will 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 gre, Gene Tatum, Harley Bear, Boris Lewis, Junius Matthews 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. Gun smoke rises today on the CBS Radio Network.