 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents, This Is Your FBI. This Is Your FBI, the official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Presented transcribed as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. In a recent talk, Thomas I. Parkinson, President of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, remarked, self-reliant citizens living in their own mortgage-free homes are the cornerstone of a free country. That is why, of all the manifold services rendered by the Equitable Society to its four million members, one which I rank near the top in importance, is the Equitable Assured Home Ownership Plan. In about 14 minutes, I'll be back to tell you homeowners about the Equitable Society's famous Assured Home Ownership Plan that President Parkinson considers so important. Tonight, FBI file number 300. It's subject, a manhunt. It's title, The Helpful Corpse. Tonight's case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerns one of the most ancient of crimes, one which plagued the people of biblical times and which has remained throughout the years as one of the most serious crimes on the statute books, murder. This file is brought to you because the problem of murder affects you, no matter how far removed from it you regard yourself as being. Approximately 10,000 criminal homicides were committed in the United States last year, with the great majority of victims' honest, decent, law-abiding people. That kind of slaughter must be stopped, and you, the people, can help stop it. Before a problem can be attacked, however, it must be clearly understood. That is the specific reason for the dramatization which follows, so that you may learn the nature of the enemy, so that you may hear the case history of a killer. Tonight's file opens at the morgue in a large eastern city. As the elderly custodian makes his rounds late at night, he hears someone open the basement door and enter. Who's there? It's okay, Harry. Oh, hello, Mr. Tipton. Hi. Can you get my letter? Yeah. Where is he? Down this way. I hope he's okay. He's just what you ordered. What? I knew you wouldn't take him if he wasn't right. He, uh, in here? Uh-huh. Get the sheet off him. What do you think? You said about 5'10", around 180 pounds. Yeah. Yeah, but that's the wrong color here. Mouth and nose ain't exactly right. Want me to try and find somebody else? No, no. I want to hurry. What's his name? I got his papers on me simply. Uh, here. Here they are. William Smith. Smith. That's good. He came in with a driver's license, a social security card, and this thing. Mmm. Restaurant workers union. Uh-huh. Uh, what's the dope on him? We don't know. We'll look at the report. Uh, uh, uh, single, next of kin, unknown, approximate age, 35. He lived alone in a furnished room, bank accounts, none, and friends, unknown. Uh, got any pictures? Snapshots from his room, and one we took the night he was brought in. How much for the pictures and the papers? $200. You just made a deal. I wake you, Doris? Naturally. I got some news about your boyfriend. What'd he do, make trustee? He bussed out. Huh? Last week. Why didn't he call me? Well, he's afraid maybe the cops moved in on the switchboard downstairs. Well, you could have let me know. I do what I'm told. Eddie said not to tell you. When's he coming back? A couple of weeks, I guess. Why so long? He's pinned down. Every cop in the state knows what he looks like. Oh, I'll go outside and call him. He's got no form. He just wants you to stay packed the minute he's ready, he'll send for you. You seen him yet? No, but I'm going up there today. Where's there? Hunting Cabin near Pineville. Tell him to send for me quick. I want to see him. When you do, you may not recognize him. What do you mean? There's his picture. Whose? Eddie's. I don't get it. Eddie asked me to get the papers and pictures of an unclaimed stiff at the morgue. I finally swung it last night. So? So he's having a plastic job done, and this will be what comes out. Late that afternoon at the local FBI field office, Agent and Charge Butler greets Special Agent Jim Taylor. Have a chair, Taylor. Thank you, sir. Joe Horton's been taken sick, so everybody will have to carry one of his cases. Oh, I swung a jaw. Nothing serious. You familiar with the Eddie Lane file? No, sir, I'm not. Lane's a fugitive we had a detainer on. He was at Whitestone Prison for murder. During a riot, he stabbed a guard and was being transferred to Hawthorne. He escaped from the train. Oh, well. While it was coming across the river, he went out the window and dove off the bridge. When was this, sir? A week ago. This happened at night. He started to drag the river the next morning, but no sign of him has been found. Any leads in the case? A tip came in this morning. That's what I want you to check. All right, what was the tip? Lane's hideout is supposed to be a hunting cabin near Pineville. Pineville? There's no train out there till morning. You'd better get a car and drive. All right, sir. Oh, have the Pineville police been alerted? Yes, they've already started to search, but it's only a two-man force, so get there as quickly as you can. Good to see you. What's going behind that chair? I just wanted to be sure it was you. Go on in. Well, thanks. You stay out there all the time? Just want a car's coming. I can hear them start up the hill. Oh, you look great, Eddie. I feel good. Doris is fine. She just can't wait to sit. Hey, you bring that stuff I asked for? Oh, oh, yeah. Got it right here. Let's take a look. There's the picture. Pretty good, huh? He was your height but your weight, almost same build. How about his papers? Oh, yeah. Social security, driver's license, union dues, card. His name was William Smith. He was a waiter. Where'd he work? Well, I didn't find out. How did he dress? Well, I don't know. Did he talk much? Look, Eddie. Did he smoke? Did he drink? Eddie, I didn't meet this guy until he was cool. Well, then call Doris. When we leave here, have her find out everything she can about him. What for? When I have the operation done, he'll be alive again. Oh. Uh, do you find anybody to do the cutting? Mm-hmm. Who? You wouldn't know him. He used to be a doctor near here but he blew his license. Well, can you trust him? I know more about him than he does about me. I mean his work. Only do it right. If he starts making any mistakes, I'll set him straight. Every one of those books there is about plastic surgery. I've read them all. What's the operation? Tomorrow night. He needs 24 hours to get me ready. As soon as it gets dark, we'll get started. Can I see you for a minute, Mr. Butler? Yes, Taylor. What is it? We just missed Lane at that cabin last night. He was there with a friend. How'd you find that out? Well, there were muddy footprints inside the place. So fresh, they were still damp. I found two drinking glasses, cigarette butts and clean tire impressions in the driveway. Get any prints? Yes, sir. A good set off each glass. Mm-hmm. Better send them to I-Dent. All right, sir. For the bad news, we may be losing our biggest asset. What's that? That moon-shaped scar on Eddie Lane's face. I found some books in the cabin about plastic surgery. I checked plastic surgeons in that area, but none of them have been approached yet. Did Lane leave anything valuable he might come back for? No, sir. But the Pineville Place keeping a surveillance for us just in case. You got a copy of Lane's record? Yes, sir. On my desk. Check everybody he's ever been arrested with. Chances are his visitor was an old friend. We find that friend. We could find Lane. Come in. Somebody to see, Eddie. Frank, my name is William Smith. Oh, yeah, I forgot. Now, what do you want? Doris just got here. Well, send her in. All right. Don't be too long. The doc's ready to start. Tell him to hold it a couple of minutes. Okay, Doris. Frank, hello, honey. Hi, Darle. Stand back a minute. Huh? Let me look at you. I still make the grade? Well, the dress is a little flashy. Never mind the dress. How about what's in it? What did you find out? Find out? About Smith. Can't that wait? Too important. Not more important than this. Now ask questions. What did you find out? Oh, let's see. He was a loner. He lived in that furnished room three years. Nobody ever visited him. Fine. He never had any mail. He smoked a little, drank a little, and he saved stamps. Where'd you get all this? His landlady. Anything else? Mm-hmm. He sat home every night playing long hair records. And that's the story on Mr. Smith. Now, honey, when do you get your face fixed? In a couple of minutes. But the bandages don't come off for two weeks. What happens till then? We stay here. Why? When I hit town, it'll be with the new face. That way, only the two of us will know me. Three of us, baby. You're forgetting Frank. I'm not forgetting Frank. Before we leave here, I kill him. We will return in just a minute to tonight's exciting case from the official file which shows how your FBI helps promote America's security. Now a special message to homeowners who are interested in mortgages. Do you know the difference between an old-fashioned mortgage and a truly modern mortgage? A modern mortgage plan must give you a method of paying off the mortgage years ahead of time. It must include honest-to-goodness protection for you and your family against foreclosure and disaster. You get both those features in the Equitable Society's famous Assured Home Ownership Plan. Not every homeowner can qualify for this equitable plan. Its four benefits are offered only to a select group. First benefit, this plan provides a painless way to pay off the mortgage years ahead of schedule. Let me explain just how this works out. In this plan, a low-cost first mortgage is teamed up with life insurance protection. The insurance element creates a cash loan fund which increases steadily. Each year, the mortgage grows smaller and the cash loan fund bigger. After about 14 years, I made a happy discovery. My cash loan fund had grown big enough to pay off my 20-year mortgage. Second benefit, the cash loan fund is a friend in need when sickness or unemployment threaten home security. One year, I was laid up for a couple of months. I don't know what I'd have done without my cash loan fund. Third benefit, if the owner dies, his widow doesn't inherit the mortgage. She inherits her home free and clear. What's more, the Equitable Society not only cancels the mortgage, but also returns to the widow every cent her husband had paid to reduce the principal. Lastly, the mortgage draws interest, not at six, not at five, but at 4%, and closing costs are low. Naturally, a plan like this can't be offered to everyone. Your Equitable Society representative will tell you whether you can qualify for this money-saving, home-saving, assured home ownership plan. Or write care of the station to the Equitable Society. That's E-Q-U-I-T-A-B-L-E, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. And now back to the FBI file, The Helpful Corpse. Here are several ways you can help reduce the number of murders. You can do business with crime if approached with a seemingly foolproof but illegal, get-rich-quick scheme reported to the police. Don't investigate crime on your own. If you have any suspicions, tell the police. Don't resist armed robbery. Merely commit the robber's exact description to memory. When he leaves, give that description to the police. Don't display expensive jewelry or a well-stuffed wallet in public. There are 300,000 potential killers roaming at large in the United States. And their prime motive is profit. When you see police and FBI wanted notices, take a minute to study them. It might save someone's life. Maybe even your own. Tonight's file continues two weeks later at the FBI field office as Special Agent Taylor approaches the desk of the agent in charge. Mr. Butler, I didn't just report it. That's right, sir. One son of the prince of the cabin was his, the other turned out to be Frank Tipton's. Tipton? An old friend of Lane's. You better question him. I tried, sir. He's been missing from his hangouts for two weeks, and no one knows where he went. Any of Lane's other friends absent? Yes, his girlfriend. She disappeared the day after Tipton. Any lead on her? No, sir, none yet. Well, if Lane's had that operation, he must be pretty well over it by now. Well, the medical association queried every plastic surgeon in the state. Maybe those books you found belonged in the cabin. Oh, they couldn't have, sir. Two years. One of the books we just published. Oh. Well, Taylor, you'll have to admit nobody as methodical as Lane would have studied those books for nothing. Yeah, that's true. So if we're to assume he had a plastic job done, it must have been performed by some unlicensed quack. And that operation would cancel our description on Lane. Have you been able to get anything at all on his girl? Well, before she left, she told somebody that when she came back, it'd be with Lane. What's her name? Um, Doris Nelson. She lives at a hotel on 12th Street. She got a record? Yes, two pages or so. Well, have pictures made of her and Tipton. Anybody following us? No. Why do you keep looking in the mirror? To get used to the new face. Oh. The doc did a good job. Mm-hmm. Doris. Hmm? One thing you really got straightened out on. Once we hit town, you're on your own. Without you? Mm-hmm. What's the deal? When we get back, I start finding a furnished room, a phonograph, records, a stamp collection, and a waiter's job. And how long does this go on? Till a cop start looking for somebody else. What do I do till then? Take trips. Go find a restaurant I can buy. What do you want with a restaurant? I'm a waiter. It would be a good front. Hmm, I suppose. How about stopping along here? No cars coming. Okay. I'll pull onto that tree. Got the key to the trunk? Right here. Need any help? I don't think so. Easier getting something into these trunks than out. Hmm. There we are. Throw it over here in the gully. No. Let's see. About here it'd be right. Let the air out of that back left tire and walk to town. What for? People get hit every day fixing tires in the road. The minute they see Frank's body lying there, they'll think it happened again. Butler speaking. This is Taylor. I've got some bad news on the Eddie Lane case. Frank Tipton was found dead an hour ago. Where? In the middle of Route 9, about 7 feet from his car. Cars left rear tire was flat. Somebody killed him and wanted it to look like a hit-and-run accident. When was he killed? Tonight. There's no evidence of any fighter near the car, sir, so I'd guess he was brought there and dumped. Sounds like an Eddie Lane job. Hmm. You examined the car? Yes, sir, inside now without finding a single print, but Tipton had a letter in his pocket that could be important. A letter from Lane? No, somebody named Harry Fleming wrote this. It's on the stationery of the County Moorg and there's a line about finally finding the right man. You checked on Fleming? Yes, sir, he's the night watchman there. Go see him. Let me know what you get. More bodies, they'll have to go upstairs. Every slab's full down here. Oh, I came about something else. I'm a special agent of the FBI. They're my credentials. Oh. What can I do for you? I'd like some information about a letter you wrote. Me? I'm not much for writing. Your name is Harry Fleming. Yeah? This letter was written to a Frank Tipton. Frank Tipton? I don't know that name. He was killed tonight. Huh? His body was found less than two hours ago out on Route 9. Oh. That should indicate to you that this is a rather serious matter. Now, you'll save us both a lot of time if you'll admit that you know him. I... I do. In this letter that you wrote to him, you say you found the right man for Tipton. What does that mean? Well, it means he wanted to meet a friend of mine. Who was this friend? Someone he wanted to see about betting on a horse. Frank Tipton needed you to introduce him to a bookmaker. Well, he... Look, Mr. Fleming, Tipton has been mixed up with a fugitive named Eddie Lane. Aiding a federal fugitive is a prison offense. If you gave Tipton anything to be used for Lane, you could be sent to jail. Now, you can tell me what you know or keep quiet. Let me find out for myself, which will it be? I... I'll tell you. Go ahead. Frank came to see me about three weeks ago. He wanted a favor. Oh, what kind? He said to let him know when they brought in a body about 5 feet 10, 180 pounds, a good build, and around 35, 40 years old. Also, he had to be unclaimed. Tipton wanted the body? Just the papers. Oh, and a picture. The picture was important. And you gave them to him? Yeah. What's the dead man's name? I don't know. I see him. Smith. Yeah, that was at Smith. Oh. First name? William. William Smith. Smith. Those papers you gave to Tipton. What were they? Well, let's see. One was from a union, a restaurant union. I remember that. Can you give me Smith's picture? We only take one. Frank got it and the negative. Yeah, we can take another. Where's the body? It's been cremated. You want to see me, Taylor? Yes, Mr. Butler. I've been down on the morgue. I got the story on that letter. Well? The night watchman sold Tipton the personal papers and a picture of an unclaimed body, approximately Eddie Lane's weight, height, and age. Lane could have had his face changed to resemble the dead man's and be using the identity, too. Corpse's name was William Smith. The body's been cremated, so we've got no idea what Smith looked like. That makes Lane's girl her only possible lead. Well, we've had a constant surveillance on her since she got back to town, sir. If she's in touch with Lane, it's not by phone, mail, telegram, or messenger. What did this William Smith do for a living? He was a waiter. Knowing how methodical and thorough Lane is, it wouldn't be too surprising if he went all the way and became a waiter himself. I checked the restaurant employee's union. What'd they say? Well, they have no way of knowing where a member's working, sir. Waiters are supposed to call in if they switch jobs, but, well, they don't have to as long as they pay their dues. Let's see. There must be almost 2,000 restaurants in this town. Yeah, I'd say so. Start checking all of them. Well, Mr. Butler would be easier to question Lane's girl. She's the only one who even knows what he looks like now. Yes, I know, but Lane's got to think he's getting away with this. Mr. Butler, may I use your phone? To call all those restaurants? No, sir, but there may be a quicker way. Try it. I'm calling Lane's girl. Why? Well, I think that I could... Hello? Oh, this is Doris Nelson? Yes. I'm calling for Bill Smith. He asked me to tell you that he, uh... Monroe Spief, hold the gravy. Huh? Are you all right? What are you doing here? The accident. They said you were hurt. Sit down and act like a customer. Would you like to see a menu? Yes, please. Now talk. Eddie, I was scared. About what? Your friend called me. I got no friend. He said you had an accident. When? 10 minutes ago, he said you wanted to see me. Huh? He didn't tell me his name. It was a trap. The cops? It's got to be. They got the bait. I didn't know. Now listen to me. Okay. See the door next to the counter? Uh-huh. It leads into the kitchen. Follow me. We're going out the back way. All right. Just a minute, Lane. My name's Bill Smith. That's all right. Well, let's all get on the headquarters anyway. Why? Because of that glass of water you served at the next table. It's got Eddie Lane's fingerprints on it. Eddie Lane and Doris Nelson were tried and convicted in state court on a charge of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Because he was sure Eddie Lane's girlfriend would know where Lane was working, Special Agent Taylor called her to report the fictitious accident. He then waited outside her hotel till she came down and got a taxi, a taxi he followed to the right restaurant. And so your FBI was able to close another file, to close the career of a man whose freedom was a threat to everyone near him. In tonight's case, you saw the agent in charge of an FBI field office with one of his men. Some of their conferences took place early in the morning, some late at night. That is not an unusual situation. For the Federal Bureau of Investigation works 24 hours a day. He's on the job around the clock, seeing to it that nobody gets away with anything, especially murder. Now one last thought for homeowners. Is one of your most cherished ambitions to be able to say, no more mortgage on my house, I own it free and clear. Why not realize that ambition while you're still young enough to look forward to long years of rent-free living in your home? Ask your equitable representative to explain the painless way of paying off the mortgage years ahead of time, provided by the Assured Home Ownership Plan. Or send a postcard, care of the station, to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Next week we will dramatize another case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. File number 301. It's subject. Jewel theft. It's title. The Criminal Caravan. The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious. And any similarity thereof to the names of places or persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. The author was Jerry D. Lewis. Your narrator was William Woodson, and special agent Taylor was played by Stacey Harris. Others in the cast were Harley Bear, Anthony Barrett, Herb Butterfield, and Diamond and Richard Reeves. This is Your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. This is Larry Keating speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. And inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time when the Equitable Life Assurance Society will bring you another thrilling transcribed story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Criminal Caravan on This is Your FBI. Stay tuned for the adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. There's fun for the whole family when Ozzie and Harriet come your way next. And remember for the best in radio every way, it's ABC Every Day. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.