Big Story The 49-12-14 142 Three Golden Coins Nolan Bullock

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode Title: Big Story – The 49-12-14 142 Three Golden Coins (Nolan Bullock)
Release Date: October 17, 2025
Podcast Host: Harold's Old Time Radio

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Overview

This episode transports listeners to the golden age of radio drama with “The Big Story,” focusing on the true crime tale from the late 1940s: The Three Golden Coins, as reported by Nolan Bullock of the Tulsa Tribune. The story blends classic noir intrigue with gritty crime-reporting authenticity, drawing listeners into a web of bootlegging, murder, and a trail of mysterious Mexican coins. The narrative is told in rich, period-appropriate style, with vivid characterizations, sharp dialogue, and a suspenseful plotline that is both a murder mystery and an undercover crime expose.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Highlights

1. Discovery of the Crime: The Dead Man on Route 66

• Setting: Sunday morning on US Highway 66, Oklahoma.
• Mrs. Rose Penn and her son discover a man lying on a cot beside the road, only to realize he’s dead.
  • [01:03] “He’s sleeping, Ma. He’s sleeping. But he ain't never going to wake up.” – Nick Oliver

2. Introduction to Nolan Bullock: Reporter as Undercover Bootlegger

• Nolan Bullock operates undercover, posing as “Mr. Norton,” trying to infiltrate a bootleg liquor syndicate.
• Key Meeting: Dinner with Mr. Ritchie, a syndicate accountant, discussing bootleg business logistics and waiting for contact from the elusive Mr. Breeden.

3. Switching Focus: Murder on Route 66

• Special Investigator Nick Oliver calls in Bullock as a reporter on the murder case, linking his undercover work to the murder:
  • [04:58] “Dead man reported out on Route 66...Murder? Yeah, it looks like it.” – Nick Oliver

4. Early Clues: The Mexican Coins

• Bullock discovers Mexican coins at the murder scene.
  • [06:14] “Hey, what do you know? It's a coin. Here's another one.” – Nolan Bullock
• The coins become a central mystery linking the dead man to broader criminal activities.

5. Witness Testimony and the Name "Ace"

• A campfire preacher, Mr. Burns, recalls a fight involving three men and a station wagon on the night of the murder. One was called “Ace.”
  • [07:14] “That night, sir, I was preaching...There were three men, sir, and they were having, I must say, a most profane fight...I think one of the men...called the other Ace.” – Mr. Burns

6. Unscrambling Leads: License Plates & Fugitives

• Routine police inquiry reveals a stranded truck in California, belonging to Thomas Breeden.
• Breeden, wanted for entering the country illegally with $17,000 in Mexican coins, was last seen with Bronson and Ace Stiles—prime suspects.
• Shocking conclusion: The dead man is, in fact, Breeden.
  • [11:11] “Breeden is wanted...for entering the country illegally with close to $17,000 in Mexican coins.” – Nick Oliver

7. Following the Money: Syndicate Connections and Passing Counterfeits

• Bullock returns to Mr. Ritchie for information on the syndicate after Breeden’s demise.
• At the Will Rogers Hotel, he learns Mexican coins are being passed around—direct evidence of the murderers in town.

8. Trap is Set: The Confrontation

• Ritchie tips Bullock to a meeting with the new “boss,” Bronson, off Route 66.
• Bullock encounters Ace Stiles and Bronson, discovering incriminating evidence: Mexican coins (the "golden blondes"), blood stains, and a murder weapon (a wrench) in their car.
  • [18:39] “Mexican blondes. Quite a bunch of them.” – Nick Oliver
  • [18:50] “My guess is blood.” – Nick Oliver

9. Undercover Tactics & Tense Showdown

• Bullock tries to “fast talk” Stiles and Bronson into confessing, pretending to cut them a deal in exchange for business—playing on their greed and fear.
  • [20:20] “I happen to know that you and Bronson and my friend Breeden were driving in from California. I happen to know that you got into a fight with him. And I happen to know that you stole $17,000 in coins from him.” – Nolan Bullock
• Confrontation escalates, revealing internal tensions and confessions about Breeden’s murder.

10. Resolution: The Arrest

• Nick Oliver intervenes just as things become dangerous, arresting Bronson and Stiles before further violence occurs.
  • [22:53] “That's right, both of you. Now, let's go.” – Nick Oliver

11. Finale: The Newspaper Report

• The closing telegram-style report (classic for “The Big Story”) reveals Bronson and Stiles pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
  • [23:22] “Both men in tonight's big story pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter. Admitted killing Breeden after he attacked them. Both were sentenced to 10 years of hard labor at the State Penitentiary MacAlister, Oklahoma.” – Nolan Bullock

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Atmosphere and Noir Wit:
  • [02:10] “You, Nolan Bullock of the Tulsa Tribune, are a reporter with a flattened nose. And you got it by sticking it consistently into other people's business.”
• Reporter-Investigator Banter:
  • [10:39] “Well, you want me to strangle you?” – Nolan Bullock
• Period Scene-Setting:
  • [04:30] “And so you, Nolan Bullock, undercover agent and reporter, watch the pleasant accountant leave and you make your call.”
• Classic Denouement:
  • [22:58] “Give you a tip? Sure. Don't try to move into bootlegging. Not in your line...You stick with the papers.” – Nick Oliver
  • [23:08] “Thanks, Nick. Don’t think I won’t.” – Nolan Bullock

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:38 – Opening narration, discovery of the dead man
• 02:10 – Introduction to Nolan Bullock’s undercover work
• 04:46 – First key phone call, murder investigation begins
• 06:14 – Discovery of Mexican coins at crime scene
• 07:14 – Campfire preacher’s testimony introduces “Ace”
• 09:00 – Police teletype sheds light on Breeden’s fate
• 11:11 – Federal charges and the $17,000 in coins revealed
• 14:00 – Mexican coins circulating locally; new suspects emerge
• 16:24 – Bullock’s drive to the showdown; suspense on the dirt road
• 18:39 – Finding physical evidence in the wagon
• 20:20 – Bullock’s risky confrontation and near-confession
• 22:53 – Nick Oliver’s interruption and arrest
• 23:22 – Case wrap-up and case sentencing

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Tone and Style

• The storytelling is brisk and dialogue-driven, mixing hard-boiled wit with matter-of-fact crime reporting.
• Characters are sharply drawn, with archetypal roles: weary but tenacious reporter, gruff honest cop, slippery crooks, and desperate side players.
• The language and pacing evoke a 1940s newsreel and noir radio drama: direct, colorful, and dramatic.

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Conclusion

This Big Story episode, dramatized from real-life reporting, is a quintessential slice of Golden Age radio: layered with suspense, memorable personalities, and the atmospheric crackle of a time when drama and journalism were partners in storytelling. Through sharp plotting and period banter, listeners are drawn into the desperate world of bootlegging, betrayal, and murder—solved, as always, by pluck, persistence, and a nose for news.

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Transcript

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[Narrator]

The big story.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

It was Sunday morning along US Highway 66 heading west from Tulsa toward Clinton, Oklahoma. Mrs. Rose Penn and her son were driving to church.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Jim.

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

Jim, stop the car.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

What's the matter, Ma?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

I told you, stop the car. Don't you see it? Over there on the side of the road, a cot. There's a man sleeping on that cot.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

That's no business of our eyes, is it, Ma? The fellow's got a right to sleep.

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

You get on out of this car and find out why he's sleeping there on the cot beside the road, weather like this. Now, go on. Well, well, what are you standing there for? Is he all right? Is he sleeping?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

He's sleeping, Ma. He's sleeping. But he ain't never going to wake up. Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[Narrator]

The story of a reporter who found three golden coins that spelled death.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[Narrator]

The story as it actually happened. Reporter Nolan Bullock's story as he lived it.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

You, Nolan Bullock of the Tulsa Tribune, are a reporter with a flattened nose. And you got it by sticking it consistently into other people's business. Like now. You sit in the fashionable Will Rogers Hotel in Claremore near Tulsa, and take part in a business conference. The business being, since Oklahoma is a dry state, bootlegging. And your job, that of undercover agent for the state. Cross your name for today, Nolan Bullock. Is Mr. Norton.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Mighty good meal they serve here, Mr. Norton.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Mighty good cigar, Mr. Ritchie.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Okay, perfect. Thank you kindly.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I have been sitting quiet all through the meal, Mr. Ritchie. Do we talk business now?

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Yes, sure thing, Mr. Norton. But to tell you the truth, I don't think we can make a deal.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

You've had a week to check my credit.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

No, no, it's not the credit.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, what is it then? I've been without merchandise three and a half weeks now.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Look, I explained to you last time. A change as big as mine. That takes time, Mr. Norton. When Mr. Vesey was alive, the man in charge before, Mr. Breeden. I told him, you've got to prepare for eventualities like this. But he didn't listen to me. Nobody listens to an accountant.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Look, all I know is that I've got to have 21 cases of stock delivered.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Oh, loud, please, Mr. Norton.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

And I need two dozen barrels weekly, regularly. Now, when am I going to get a definite answer? You know there are other firms to deal with.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Oh, now, you wouldn't want to do that, Mr. Norton. When Mr. Breedon comes in and takes over, that's the man you'll want to deal with, and the only one in this state. I worked for Mr. Breedon years ago, and I tell you frankly, I'm looking forward to his return. Things never were the same in all the years he was away. He's a fine man, Mr. Breton. Strictly business, but the best terms you could get, believe me.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Look, I know about Mr. Breedon. All I am asking you now is when does he get here? When can we make our final arrangements?

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

To tell you the truth, Mr. Norton, he ought to have been here yesterday. He left California. Oh, must have been three days ago, I believe. I'll wire him and find out if there was any change in his plans.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I've got 121 establishments waiting on Mr. Breeden. Those customers want beer, they want wine, they want whiskey, and they want it now. They are not interested in any of my business difficulties.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

And so you, Nolan Bullock, undercover agent and reporter, watch the pleasant accountant leave and you make your call. Capital 2000. State Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Let me have Mr. Oliver, please. Yes, this is Nolan Bullock.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Oh, I'm sorry, I can't talk to you, Nolan.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, I have just left Richie. He expects breeding in a few days.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Pete's sake. I can't talk to you. I've got to run.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Where have you got to run?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

If you must know, dead man reported out on Route 66. Now, look, I'm supposed to be out there. I can't sit here talking to you. Murder? Yeah, it looks like it.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, you don't have to talk to me on the phone. I'll meet you there. Where is it?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Oh, no. I'm not ready to give anything out on this.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Now, look, Nick, if you don't tell me where to meet you on that killing, I'll get off this Breeding case fast.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

That's blackmail.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Call it what you like.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Where is it? About two miles outside of Clinton on Route 66. Big gas station that side of the road. You can't miss it. I won't.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

And so you, Nolan Bullock, drop the story about the bootleg syndicate and hop on the bigger story. The story of murder and now, you stand with Special Investigator Nick Oliver. Both of you shaking your head at the dead man lying on the cot. Just off Route 66 near Clinton.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

No possible way of identification, Nick?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Nothing. I'll get Haynes to the Fingerprint Bureau in. See if his prints tell us anything. I don't think even a mother would recognize his face. Hey, how you doing?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Just looking around.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

I wish that ambulance would get here. What are you looking for?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Just something in the grass, Nick. Hey, what do you know? It's a coin. Here's another one.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Let me see.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Those are Mexican coins, right?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

That's what they are.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, what are they doing here?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

How do I know? Well, we've got something anyhow. It's not much more than nothing, but it's something.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Finally, the ambulance.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Yes, there you okay? Send him in. Somebody thinks he's got something on the murder, Nolan.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

And somebody's got something more than we have, Nick.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Reverend Burns.

[Narrator]

Not reverend, sir. Mr. Burns. You see, Lieutenant, I'm not an ordained minister. Merely an evangelical preacher who tries to bring a little understanding.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Now, Lieutenant, it's not Lieutenant, just mister.

[Narrator]

I beg your pardon, sir?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Like you said, not Lieutenant, just mister.

[Narrator]

Quite right, sir. Now, last Saturday, sir, I was holding my regular campfire meeting. We hold campfire meetings every Saturday evening, all the way up and down Highway 6 to 6. That night, sir, I was preaching on the 7th.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

I thought you said you knew something about the murder.

[Narrator]

I was coming to that directly, sir. It was toward the end of my sermon. The disturbance came from a campfire not too far distance. But you see, sir, the men were shouting and the wind, you see, was blowing.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Please, Mr. Burns.

[Narrator]

I see their voices were waft in my direction. There were three men, sir, and they were having, I must say, a most profane fight. You can imagine the language.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

And that's all, sir.

[Narrator]

I knew something dreadful was going to happen. And I thought for a moment I would intervene. But then I thought better of it and I didn't. And that's all that happened.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Did you see any of them? Their faces?

[Narrator]

It was rather a dark night, if it's of any value, though I don't see how it possibly can be. They had a station wagon parked next to the fire. And I think one of the men, amidst the profanity, called the other ace.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Thank you very much, Mr. Burns.

[Narrator]

Not at all, sir. I shall be holding a meeting on Saturday as usual. Just two miles out of Tulsa on Route 66. If you should want me.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Thank you. Mind closing the door?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, that's a great help. Somebody name Of Ace. And there was a station wagon maybe.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Don't forget. It was a dark night, but the wind was blowing.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

A week goes by. A week of feverish activity by Nick Oliver on the murder story and by you, Nolan Bullock, on the murder case and on the bootleg syndicate. And when you add it all up, it's less than the faint sound of the name Ace on the night air. You keep spending time at headquarters waiting.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Hoping, and mostly dozing.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

And then a routine message comes through on the police Teletype request.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Owner, Oklahoma License 71391. Trucks stranded here answer soonest. Police chief, Indio, California.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

And Nick Oliver puts through the routine request in the routine way.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

License 71391. Name?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Hey, Nolan, wake up.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Huh? What? What's the matter? Wake up.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What did you say?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Guess whose truck is stranded out in California.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What are you talking about?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

That request we got from Indio.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Oh, oh, yeah, sure. What about it?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

The owner of that car in California was named Thomas Breeden.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Breeden? Well, that's my man. Get California on the phone.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Eddie, you put me through to the police chief in Indio. Who'd you think I was calling, Nolan? My bootlegger. Yes, that's right, Chief. Fella's name was Thomas Breeden. And we're interested in him, too. Tell me everything you've got. Oh, you jailed him?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

That's why I didn't meet me in the coupe in California.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Uh huh. El Paso, huh? What do you know?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What about El Paso? Hey, Nick, what about El Paso?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

You check with the FBI, huh? Fine, fine.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What is this FBI? El Paso, Nick.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Chief, you've been very helpful. Is there any time you're in Tulsa? Yes, Chief, I'll do that. Say, how's the weather out there, Nick? 92 degrees, huh? Well, you don't say. We got blizzard weather here. It's so long, Chief.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, you want me to strangle you?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

It seems your friend Tom Breeden was picked up about a week ago by the police chief in Indio. He was driving a truck, went through a red light and hit somebody. Wasn't serious. They put him in the coop for five days, took his prints and all that. Chief said he acted like a man going to be sentenced to the chair. Nervous. So he checked on him in Washington?

[Narrator]

Oh, I don't know.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

There was some delay, I guess, on the chief's end in checking the prints with Washington. And he didn't get the answer on Breeden until after he was let out.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Look, Nick, get to the point.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Okay. When the report came through, it seems Breeden is wanted by the federal authorities at El Paso for entering the country illegally with close to $17,000 in Mexican coins.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Mexican coins?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

That's what the man said when he last left California. He was seen driving in a station wagon with two men. One named Bronson, one named Stiles. The first name of the fellow called Stiles was Ace.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What about Breeden?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Well, you see, Nolan, the reason you never met Breeden is because his prints are the same as those of the man we saw on the cut off US 66.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Awful.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Dead.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

What started out for you, Nolan Bullock, reporter for the Tulsa Tribune as an undercover job as a bootlegger, is now a murder story involving the FBI. Two indistinct figures named Ace and Somebody. Bronson. And $17,000 in Mexican coins. You and Nick Oliver know you aren't much nearer a solution than you were the time you stood and looked at the battered head of Thomas Breeden. And so you decide to go back to the Will Rogers Hotel in Claremore. Maybe the contact man of the syndicate, the accountant, knows something.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Look, Mr. Ritchie, you said in a few days I'd get an answer.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Yes, I know, I know. But something has happened to Mr. Breton. Could you use a good man in your organization? I'm a fine accountant. I'm honest and I am accurate. I was with Mr. Breedon for 13 years. I tell you, I know the bootleg business.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I'd like to help you, Mr. Ritchie, and maybe I can if you put me in touch with whoever is taking over now.

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[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

I'll be glad to as soon as I know anything. And you can use a good man in your organization.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Well, we'll see.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Right now I'd better pay the check and get going.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Yes, well, I'll run on ahead and see what I can find out for you. You've no idea how upset I am.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Is this where I pay the check?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

That's right. Oh, just a moment. I'm sorry I nearly gave you that phony coin. I didn't mean to put aside.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Wait a Minute, Wait a minute. Let me see that. Lady. That's a Mexican coin. Where did you get it?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

Someone's been passing them. The girl at the cigar counter got one and I got this.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

When was this?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

This morning sometime.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Who gave it to you?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

I didn't really notice. Some man, by the time I saw it wasn't a real coin, had already gone out. Ran out to the front steps and I saw him drive off. He and another man was with him.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Did you happen to know what they drove off in?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

No, just a car.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Was it a station wagon?

[Narrator]

You mean one of those?

[Mrs. Rose Penn]

Say, now that you mention it, it's just what it was. You know I have to make that up out of my own pocket.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

No you don't, sister. Here's a dollar to take its place. Let me have that little Mexican phony. Nick, guess what happened.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Come on. If you've got something, give.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Remember that Mexican who showed up? Those three Mexicans?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

The blondes?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Mm, the golden blondes. Well, I found a friend of theirs at the Cashiers and the restaurant in the Will Rogers Hotel.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Meet you there in an hour. Make it half an hour.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

9:07 is my room, Nick. 907.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Hello, Mr. Norton. This is Mr. Ritchie. I've got something you'll find very exciting. You can meet the new boss.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

How?

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

You know the road off U.S. 66? Yes. Well, go past the gas station at Ember Street. It's a little dirt road. A little left off 66. A left turn. You can't miss it. It runs down through the Verdigris Valley. There's a big white house, green shutters. That's two and a half miles down the road.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

All right. Thanks, Richie.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Now please don't say I told you to go there, Mr. Norton. The boss might not like it. His name is Bronson.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Okay, Rich. And I won't forget. When I get a set up, I'll find a place in it for you.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

Oh, thank you, Mr. Norton. Thank you very much.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Now what to do? Nick Oliver is on his way. Can't be reached. And you know how to find a new boss. It takes only a moment to make up your mind. You turn left at the gas station off 66. Take the road toward Verdigris Valley. You keep her in second as you go down the incline. And the road is wide enough now for just one car. Now coming at you is another dusty car. And there isn't room for both of you to pass. You stop and then you see a station wagon.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Not much room, huh? That's right, bud.

[Narrator]

Looks like one of us is gonna have to back up.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Say, is your name Ace?

[Narrator]

Which is it gonna be, Mac, you or us? Who backs up?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, I was supposed to meet a fellow.

[Narrator]

I think it better be you, bud. And we're in a hurry.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

So you back her up. Trying to get a look at the license plates at the man in the car. There's too much dust on the road. And then finally, when you reach a point where you can back up off the road and let them pass, something inside tells you, bullock, old fellow, you.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Better keep your head down as they go by.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

You duck and wait for it. But it doesn't come. There's no shot. And then you see them hitting 40, 50 pulling away from you before you can swing your car back on the road and follow them. And it takes you an hour and a half, it seems to reach the next just a quarter of a mile away before you can call Nick Oliver.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Nick. Well, I saw them. At least I think I saw them. I mean, Stiles and Bronson in a station wagon out on a dirt road off 66.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

No, no, no.

[Mr. Ritchie (Accountant)]

I checked that.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

There's a little gas station. That's where I'm calling from. No station wagon came out from the canyon. They must have turned off one of the side roads. There aren't many of them, I'm sure. Yes, four or five men can do the job. All right. I'll wait here. Shut it off, Nick.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Over there.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

You see it? That's the wagon.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Very convenient. Nice place for a headquarters. The house in the valley and the car. Only let's go slow. Sure. This is the wagon.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Chair on the shore. Let's see what's in it.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Hey. Huh?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Put your light over here.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

What have you got?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

There's a gash in the back seat. It's a big bow. You see it?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Yes, I see it.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Mexican blondes. Quite a bunch of them.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Very nice. Look at this. What do you think this is here?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Right here.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Is it rust?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

My guess is blood.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

And this is a wrench. Might be what they did it with.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

It's heavy enough, and it's got the same kind of rust on it.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, let's take them.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Not so fast, Nolan. Suppose they say they never met your friend Breeden? Know nothing about him.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

We need proof. Just what do you have in mind?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

You know those guys pretty well. Know their business lingo, the way they operate. Can't you think of some way of going in there, doing a little fast talk?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, if I do, it's not a bad story.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

No, not bad at all. Good luck.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Good evening, Mr. Stiles. It is Mr. Stiles.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Who are you?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Where is Bronson?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Downstairs.

[Narrator]

Who are you?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Well, my name is Norton. Didn't you hear about me? I was supposed to make arrangements with Mr. Breeden for the delivery of 21 cases of stock a week and a half.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Little Richie told me about you.

[Narrator]

Hey, ain't you the fella?

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Yeah.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

We met you on the road.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Vertigree Valley.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I was sorry about that. We had to change our headquarters.

[Narrator]

How'd you find it?

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Look, I've got a lot of money invested in my business. Little tracking down if somebody never bothered me.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Okay, Sit down.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What do you get for a case of domestic stock?

[Narrator]

Run you about $170.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I'll take 12 cases a week, give you $20 a case.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

All right.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Who are you kidding? $20? No, no, I'm quite serious. You see, I happen to know that I can get it at $20 a case. Go on, peddle your papers somewhere else. The price is $170. See, I happen to know that you and Bronson and my friend Breeden were driving in from California. I happen to know that you got into a fight with him. And I happen to know that you stole $17,000 in coins from him. And there are stains in the car right out in the back. And a wrench with stains on it. And I don't think they're rough stains.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

No.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Take it easy, will you? Look, we can do business. Say, I've got another idea. Why does it have to be Norton and Stiles and Bronson? Why can't it just be Norton and Stiles? What do you mean, just you and me? Come on, now, who did it, Gabriden? I mean, was it you or maybe your friend downstairs? You know, if we come to a deal, cutting something three ways is less than cutting something in two. Yeah, that's just how it happened. He did it. Bronson.

[Narrator]

I didn't want to kill him.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I just wanted to make a deal. But that Bronson, he's got a temper like a wild man. You mean it? You and me? Why not? The cops are looking for a fall guy. You testify, I testify. And it's Norton and Stiles. I should have met you before.

[Narrator]

Norton and Stiles. Now, ain't that pretty? And the cops need a fall guy. Now, wait a second, Brunson.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I was just.

[Narrator]

Yeah, Maybe instead of a fall guy, the cops will get a corpse. Maybe two corpses.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Mr. Bronson?

[Narrator]

Yeah, that's right. Mr. Bronson. Who do you think you are, coming in here making deals.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Just a guy anxious like you are.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

To make a buck.

[Narrator]

Now, look, you. Shut up. Two red cents, I'd knock you right through the floor where you're standing, Norton and stiles.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Now, look, Mr. Bronson, you can't do business that way. It can't be done. Corpses. Two corpses, knocking people through the floor. All I want is the best possible deal I can get.

[Narrator]

Where did you dig this thing up from? You think you can talk your way out of this? I heard what you said. I was standing behind the door. Now, I don't know who you think you are or what makes you so cocky.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

What makes me so cocky, as you put it, is what's out in the back.

[Narrator]

What's supposed to be out in the.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Back in the car. 17,000 in Mexican coins, like the ones found near breeding. Stains on the floor of the car. And a wrench out there. Stains on that, too.

[Narrator]

Nobody saw? No. $17,000. There's no stains, no wrench. All I see is a wise guy who talks too much for my money. I smell cop. Amateur cop. Now turn around.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Bronson, I think maybe we ought to make a deal.

[Narrator]

You already done enough thinking. Maybe you ought to turn around, too. I said turn around.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

All right.

[Narrator]

All right.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

I was only.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

He was only looking for me. Let's stand where we are. Right where we are.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Hello, Nick.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Oh, I knew it.

[Narrator]

Maybe we ought to make a deal. Bronson, shut up.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

That's right, both of you. Now, let's go.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Oh, Nolan.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Give you a tip? Sure. Don't try to move into bootlegging. Not in your line. That's your style. You sick with the papers.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Thanks, Nick. Don't think I won't.

[Narrator]

Now. We read you that telegram from Nolan.

[Nolan Bullock (Reporter)]

Bullock of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Tribune. Both men in tonight's big story pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter. Admitted killing Breeden after he attacked them. Both were sentenced to 10 years of hard labor at the State Penitentiary MacAlister, Oklahoma.

[Narrator]

And so ends another big story. In order to protect the names of people actually involved in tonight's authentic big story, the names of all characters in the dramatization were changed. With the exception of the newspaper reporter.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Sam.

[Narrator]

This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of information and education.

[Nick Oliver (Special Investigator)]

Sam SA La.