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Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Lake Mead Mystery Matter 03/22/1959
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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. When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot. And turn real time reporting into big time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today. 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 at ChoiceClassicRadio.com Johnny$pat McCracken Johnny@Universal Adjustment Bureau. Greetings, master. Now don't give me that, Johnny. I believe you spent a couple of weekends down in Sarasota, Florida earlier this month. Pat, you know darn well I have a chance to get in some fishing. You know darn well I didn't. That's why I've been sitting here dreaming about those lunker bass at the Lake Mojave Resort out in Arizona. What's the matter with Lake Mead, huh? You know the huge man made lake that's backed up by Hoover Dam. Yeah, I know. A few miles this side of Las Vegas, Nevada. A lot of big ones in that water, I understand. Okay, France. You got me all excited now. What's it all about? I told you. Fishing. Yeah, and that's all. Except. Yeah, except what? A slight case of murder. Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Yours truly, Johnny Doll. Here's actress Joan Bennett. It's terrible to try to act with a dreadful cold. To feel better quickly, I take four way cold tablets the fast way to relieve nasty cold distress. Yes, tests of four leading cold tablets proved four way fastest acting of all. Amazing four way starts in minutes to relieve aches, pains, headache, reduce fever, calm upset stomach. Also overcomes irregularity when you catch cold. Try my way. Take four way cold tablets the fast way to relieve cold distress. Four way 29 and 59 cents. Now a word about another fine product of Grove Laboratories. Had dandruff for years. Now get rid of it in three minutes with Fitch. Dandruff Remover Shampoo. Three minutes with Fitch regularly is guaranteed to keep unsightly dandruff away forever. Apply Fitch before wetting hair. Rub in one minute, add water, lather. One minute, then rinse. One minute, every trace of dandruff goes down the drain. Three minutes with Fitch. Embarrassing. Dandruff's gone. Fitch can also leave hair up to 35% brighter. Get Fitch Dandruff Remover Shampoo today. And now, act one of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to the Universal Adjustment Bureau, Home office, Hart, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Lake Mead mystery matter. All right. Now, Johnny, your contact will be Mr. Roscoe Trimmer. He's head of the local office of Greater Southwest Insurance and Liability right there in Las Vegas. You said murder. Can you give me any details? No, you'll have to get everything from Trimmer. All I know is there's a $20,000 policy involved and double indemnity. So the sooner you get out there, the better. Okay, Pat. I'll grab the first plane I can. Expense account. Item 1. Two bucks even for a fast taxi to the airport. Item two. 670, plane fare to New York. Item three. 14505. Another plane ticket and I barely made the 12 o' clock noon mainliner, which promptly took off and headed west to Las Vegas, Nevada. It was 9:45pm Pacific Time when we started the long glide down from a starlit sky to the landing strip at McCarran Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'll never cease to marvel at the nighttime view from the air of that fabulous city of chance. Sitting alone out there in the middle of the vast Mojave Desert, the sky filling glow from its millions of lights, it had put a rainbow to shame. Oasis in the desert. Yeah, and very beautiful. I knew that Roscoe Trimmer's office would be closed this time of night, so I looked for a place to rest my worry head. Item 4. A buck and a half for a cab into the Flamingo. And I just happened to remember that the Flamingo has an excellent casino. Now, I'm really not a gambling man in the usual sense of the word, but who can resist the lure of the dice and roulette tables, the blackjack, even the slot machines in a setting like this. Sure, the house always wins. And the sucker who forks out his hard earned money doesn't stand a chance. But you know something? After a few hours of play, I came out so far ahead that I won't even bother to list my food and hotel room on this expensive counter. I really cleaned up. How much? Well, if I told you, you'd probably want me to absorb the whole thing, so I won't. Then, early the next morning, I met Roscoe Tremor at the office of Greater southwest insurance and liability $. I'm glad you could make it. I don't like this one at all. How are you? Hi, Rosc. Sit down, will you? Yeah, sure, but not for long, huh? I've arranged a Drive it yourself car for you. And the sooner you can get over to Lake Mead, the better. Well, just where Roscoe? That's a pretty big lake. Overton. A little town 50, 60 miles north and east of here at the upper end of the lake. So what's happened up there, Johnny? A client of mine, Thomas Mayfield. Thomas came out here from Chicago last year, Retired here. I don't know much about him except that our Chicago office sent me his file when he came and asked me to look out for him. Uh huh. Go on. About a week ago, Thomas and a friend went fishing together out of Overton Landing. They went out with Hob Fulton on his charter boat. Incidentally, if you ask me, Hob's the best guide on the whole lake. Good, I'll remember that. Only you're here on a case, remember? Oh, sure, but Go on. Well, the fishing must have been pretty good because they stayed on at the Overton Motel. Then the next morning they went down to the Landing, rented a little Arkansas Traveler and a ten horse Johnson, and went out fishing on their own Rosk. I may try that very thing myself. But about the middle of the afternoon, a big east wind came up. You know what that means? I know that when a big Easter hits one of those desert lakes, there's only one thing you do get off it quick. Well, they didn't, Johnny. At least not quick enough. The following morning, when the blow had died down, Hob Fulton went out to look for him. And he found the boat all right. Beached on a point down near goat Island. And Mr. Thomas's friend. What about Thomas? His friend says that Thomas went overboard when the squall hit him. Well, it's certainly possible. Yes, it is possible. The chop on a lake like that can build up waves 8 and 10ft high enough to throw a man off any kind of abode. Yes, I know, but you don't think that's the way it happened? I didn't say that, Johnny. It's just that. Well, okay, Rosc. What was this fishing pal's name? Charlie Wentworth. Does that mean anything to you? No. Well, I'm afraid I don't know very much about him either. Except that he too came here from Chicago, arrived in town about two weeks ago. I take it that's where he knew Thomas, back in Chicago? Yeah, apparently. Well, what about him? What does this Charlie Wentworth do? Apparently, nothing but hang around the gambling joints. Oh, he does a little dealing and shilling for some of them now and then. There's talk he's been making illegal book on the races, but nobody's pinned it on him. So in your book, he's an undesirable character. That's right. But is that reason to suspect he took Mr. Thomas out on that lake and murdered him? Now, Johnny, there's been a lot of worry around this town about some of the people who've come out here recently from Chicago. You know, ever since those investigations began back east. So what does that mean? Everybody who comes from there is a killing? No, of course not. But a man who doesn't really work for a living, you know, just spends all his time around the gambling tables, has no visible regular means of support. Thomas was retired. Maybe Charlie Wentworth is, too. Oh, Johnny. Besides, who knows? Maybe Thomas will show up. Maybe he swam to shore and is plotting his way back through the desert now. You know the odds against a city man surviving out there. Well, does anybody really look for him? Everybody. The police, the national park boys, everybody. Not only in boats on foot, but they even used planes and a helicopter. They found no trace. Well, that still doesn't prove anything. Tell me this, are the police holding Charlie Wentworth? No, they're not. Which means they don't feel they have any reason to 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. But you still think I ought to investigate? Yes, I do, Roscoe. So do I. Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar in a moment. Hey, dad, did you check your car filters today? No, son, I didn't. Why? Because it might pay you a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars for a car filter? That's right, folks. You may have a filter under the hood of your car worth $1,000 and not even know it. A fram filter worth 1,000 silver dollars. A regular filter change is important to today's cars. So important that FRAM Corporation is is paying $60,000 to get you to check your filters. Now, last year, in preparation for Fram's silver anniversary, 10,000 secretly numbered Fram filter cartridges were distributed all over the United States and installed in cars during regular servicing. These filters are worth from $1 to $1,000. You may have one in your car right now and not even know it. Check your oil filter and air filter. Now, if there's a specially numbered FRAM filter in your car, you will win up to 1000 silver dollars and your dealer will win the same amount. Get in on fram's big silver treasure hunt. Check your car filters now. And now, act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Lake Mead mystery matter. Neither the police nor anybody else in Las Vegas seem to think Thomas Thomas was murdered out on Lake Mead. But what Roscoe Trimmer told me made me suspicious. Yeah? Of Thomas's fishing pal, a man named Charlie Wentworth. Expense account item 5, 6, 4 0. I telephoned to my old friend Ken Bugby, reporter on the Chicago Citizen News. Thomas Thomas? Yeah, that's right, Ken. What can you tell me about him? Well, not everybody knew it, Johnny, but he was a mouthpiece for the old Moretti mob. That was some years ago. Oh, when they started the big cleanup. Well, either Thomas couldn't or just plain wouldn't get him off the hook. Let them all go to jail. Then he settled down, retired in his home out in Elmhurst. Well, he's certainly not there now, Ken. No, about a year ago, he suddenly sold his place, packed up, moved out west somewhere. Why, do you know? Change of climate, I guess. What about him, Johnny? Ever hear of Charlie Wentworth? Are you kidding? He was one of Moretti's trigger men. Casual Charlie, they called him. You know where he is now? Oh, they sent him up to Joliet Prison along with the rest of the mob. Those boys will be in the clink the rest of their natural. Oh, wait a minute. Yeah, Casual Charlie and Snooty Wilson were released. Yeah, and hey, that was just about the same time that Thomas moved away from here, if that means anything. Maybe. I got a hunch that means everything. Oh, like what, Johnny? Thanks a lot, Ken. Next stop was the public library. The old newspaper files. Getting some info on the almost forgotten Moretti Mar was a lead pipe cinch. Especially about the time when the gang was Broken up. And apparently when lawyer Thomas saw that jig was up for his boys having made his pile and to keep himself out of trouble, he left him flat. He'd let him get sent to the pen without raising a finger in their defense. So don't tell me that a mobster wouldn't want to get even with a guy who'd let him down. Sure Charlie had killed Thomas. I was sure of it without even seeing him. But to prove it, without the corpus delicti, I spent item six $32 even on some equipment at a sporting goods store. Then I Dr. I drove north on Highway 91 to the quiet little town of Overton. There I learned that for once Hob Fulton, the fishing guide had a free day on his hands. That he was down at the lake some 12 miles east of the town. I met him at the dock and within a few minutes we were on board as Higgins run about and heading south. Lake Mead is a tremendous thing. Something like a 550 mile shoreline. The biggest man made body of water in the world, I believe. Just thinking about the record breaking largemouth bass that have come out of that lake barely made my mouth water. I carefully checked out the equipment I brought along. So you spent a lot of good money renting that stuff from Shelby Sporting Goods down in Vegas, huh? Yep. Where's the spear, Hob? I don't think I'm gonna need a spear. I don't think you can need any of that stuff, you ask me. $, if you want to catch fish, borrow one of those rigs I brought along. Hob, I just want you to take me to the same spot you took Mr. Thomas. And Charlie went feel bad about that Mr. Thomas. I got him a lot of nice bass though. You know, fishing all of the real deep holes. That's where they are this time of year, that'. But I figured if only they'd had sense enough to come back in that next day when the wind started to blow. They seemed to get along all right. Hob. I told the police about that Mr. Dollar, but I guess didn't mean anything. Told them about what? Well, you asked me Mr. Thomas wasn't any too happy fishing with Charlie Wentworth. But Charlie kept saying let bygones be bygones and let's enjoy the fishing. So when you. When you found Charlie in the boat the next morning, was there? Have you ever seen this lake when there's a big blow from the east? Mr. Dog, I've seen Lake Mojave when it's been that way. But you haven't answered my question. No, sir. Your tackle boxes got thrown overboard along with everything else. Even that big one at Charlie's. Charlie? He had enough stuff in that thing to sink the Queen Mary. He did, huh? Like what, Hub? Well, I didn't poke around in it when I hystered on board. Oh, look, here's the glory hole. Hole. First place to stop for them. So if that's what you want, that's where it'll start. How deep is it? Oh, I'd say about a tree and a half. A tree and a half? Well, you know how high a fair sized tree is. Quarry hole's about a tree and a half. Oh, I see. Johnny, if you're gonna use that rig you brought along, I'll just pull up to the same spot you showed them where to fish. By the end of two hours, I'd tried at least half a dozen of the holes where Hob attached. No luck. Then we went four or five miles further down the lake and pulled up just below Goat island, just below the big rock slide. Deepest hole in this part of the lake. Dollar must be near to five trees. Lot of ledges down there on the sides of it. So you better go kinda easy. I covered every inch of that hole with the aid of a powerful waterproof headlamp I brought along. Then finally I came back up to the surface. That's right, I said came back up to the surface. Here, John, let me give you a hand back in the boat. No, thanks. I'll rest you in the water for a minute. That's a pretty deep hole. Yeah, but how you ever expect to catch bass in that skin diving rig without even a spear? Hand me a long rope, Hob. I found it down there, huh? Yeah, on a ledge about 50ft down lashed onto that heavy tackle box you were talking about. That's what made it sink. What are you talking about, Johnny? The body of Thomas. Thomas what? Yeah, and there's a bullet hole right between the eyes. Act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar in a moment. Be sociable, look smarter, keep up to date with Pepsi. Drink light, refreshing patty. Stay young and fair and debonair. Be sociable, have a Pepsi. When friends drop in, let your hospitality show you're sociable in the 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. I took the body of Thomas. Thomas back to headquarters in Las Vegas and hung around long enough to hear Dr. Richard Fallon say the bullet hole was definitely made by a.38 and at close range to hear Police Captain Willis say there'd be no action taken until the bullet could be removed for study. But I knew he'd change his mind when he had time to think about it. So I left headquarters and started making the rounds of the gambling casinos. Luck was with me. At the second place, I stopped one of the public joints on Fremont street and Nevaeh. Have you seen him around here today? Yes. Charlie Wentworth. They just come in the door, mister. Thanks. All right, ladies and gentlemen, excuse me, please. Pardon me, will you? May I get through here, please? Thank you. Excuse me. Charlie. Charlie Wentworth? Yeah. Buster. Johnny Dollar, insurance investigator. Here's my credentials. Oh, yeah, I guess you want to talk about my pal Tommy Thomas. Got drowned over in Lake Mead last week. Said it. Yeah, something like that. Buster, that was an awful thing, him going like that. He was an old buddy of mine. Was he? Sure was an old buddy. Hey, why don't we talk over in my room, huh? Too much noise around here. Okay by you? Sure, why not? Are you kidding? I'm not kidding. No. Listen, $. I haven't packed the rod since the old days of the Moretti Ma Beckinshire. I'll bet that's a fact. It's a truth. You think I want to get in trouble again? Well, you're wrong, see? Maybe. Look, I did my stretch and it learned me a lesson. I'm all through that kind of stuff. I'm all through with it. Oh, sure, It's a fact. It's the truth. I'm strictly legit now, you understand. What about making book around town without a license? Who said that? Well, you can't prove it. You and nobody else. And what's that got to do with Tommy Thomas and the poor guy getting drowned? Tell me that, huh? What is this Dollar? Anyhow? You really hated his guts, didn't you? Sure. Wouldn't you if. Well, sure, because when the chips were down, he didn't give you a hand. He let you and the rest of the mob take the wrap. Kept his own skirts clean at your expense. Listen, what are you trying to do, get me excited? Say something I shouldn't say. I mean, I don't mean. Keep talking, Charlie. Sure, I hate it. And I could have killed him at first. That is, only at first. Anybody would have felt that way. But, you know, after a few years in the clink, you learn better what good does it do you? Those things don't matter. You've learned your lesson. I know I did. Oh, you became a paragon of virtue, I suppose. I don't know what you're talking about. But that's all over, you hear me? When I just happened to find him living here in Vegas. That was all over. Let bygones be bygones. I mean it. We was pals, Charlie. There's about as much truth in that. That's a fact. That's the truth. Then why did you kill him? That's a lie. You can't prove it. That's where you're wrong. I have absolute proof. Oh, yeah? Yeah. I found it on his body. His. His body. I fished it out of Lake Mead this morning. Now listen. You had Hob Fulton show you all the deepest holes when you went out fishing with him. Then the next day you took Thomas out there alone, you killed him, tied that weighted tackle box to his body and let him sink down in the deepest hole of all down below the rock slide that. That windstone. Yeah. Yeah. Gave you the greatest excuse in the world for coming back alone, didn't it? You couldn't have had it better if you'd planned that storm yourself. But it didn't excuse the bullet hole in Tommy Thomas's head from your gun. From my gun. Yeah. No longer packing a rod, huh? Dollar maybe I sort of. Kind of. Well, maybe I forgot about this trigger man, huh? You're a lousy shot and pretty slow draw. Thank heaven. You know something? Now I think I have got proof. Yeah? This gun of yours down at headquarters, the ballistics team took less than an hour. Yep. The bullet they'd found in Thomas Thomas body came from the same gun Charlie had tried to kill me with. So it's back to prison for him for a long, long time. Oh, and the company will not have to pay double indemnity for accidental death. Expense account total, including a couple of days of excellent fishing with Hob Fulton and the trip Back to Hartford. $196.45. Yours truly, Johnny Doll. Our star will return in just a moment. I'm used to medium priced cars, but most of them raise prices way up for 59. Now what do I do? Come test our best. The Ambassador V8 by Rambler. The luxury car that did not raise prices. I've always bought medium priced cars. But now they're just too long to handle, too hard to park, too big for my garage. Come test our best. The luxurious Ambassador. So compact it out turns out handles and out economizes other medium priced cars. Just what is the Ambassador? It's the compact luxury car, finest product of American Motors. Ambassador has generous shoulder room, hat room and leg room and no awkward hump in the middle of the floor. Ambassador offers personalized luxury individual front seats that adjust to each person's exact legroom. Adjustable headrests, 270V8 horsepower. Best power to weight ratio in the medium priced field air coil ride. It's the finest car ever priced so close to the lowest. Come test our best the luxurious Ambassador V8 at Rambler Dealers. Now here is our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week, a little boy in a small New England town leads me to tangle with a killer. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Doll. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey. Originates in Hollywood and is written, produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Heard in our cast were Larry Dobkin, Bartlett Robinson, Frank Nelson, Harry Bartel and Gil Stratton Jr. Be sure to join us next week same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dol. 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