 From Hollywood, it's time now for Johnny dollar Poor man here poor man. Oh, sorry, Mr. Poorman, but the answer is no I'm sorry, but it'll have to wait I'm gonna get as far away from this New England winter as I can Look, I've had a rough year of it I'm tired and I'm cold unless I can get down to where the warm balmy breezes waft in My office is down here. No, sir. I'm sorry. You see I just can't do it. Mr. Poorman, I've already made a plane reservation for Sarasota, Florida, and this is one time I'm going to Where did you say your branch offices? Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator is truly Johnny dollar Expense account submitted by a special investigator Johnny dollar to the tri-state life and casualty insurance company home office Hartford, Connecticut Following as an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the burning car matter Expense account item one, which I thought I was gonna have to absorb myself $129 transportation and incidentals to Sarasota, Florida It was nearly 5 p.m. When I got there so instead of checking into a hotel I taxied that's item two a dollar even I taxied to Earl poorman's office in the Conroy building He turned out to be a tall lanky easy-going fellow with clear blue eyes and already smiled Sit in an office and talk business this time of day here in Florida now Johnny Well, I thought from your call. This was a pretty urgent matter. Mr. Poorman. It is arson. You said yeah I probably but here's no reason. We can't go out to my little shack on the key and be Contrable while we talk about it besides Michael Wancher for dinner Mike my wife Gertrude Come on my Jalopy's right out at the curb. Come on Johnny Poor man was a misnomer for this man because his Jalopy turned out to be a spanking new Cadillac complete with air conditioning and all the Fixings and the shack anything but it was on St. Armand's key across Sarasota Bay from the mainland a beautiful two-story concrete and stucco job The big yard backed on a quiet bayou and there tied up at a private dock was a 24 foot lap straight speedboat Ideal for fishing the Gulf of Mexico after all as long as you're down here on expensive. Yeah, but it's charged to your company remember Hey, there she is at the door, huh the big fat overbearing broad I'm married to This was another switch for Earl's wife standing in the doorway was the cutest little trick. I'd seen in a long time Petite pretty and blonde and with eyes that you notice right away because they were almost green Eyes that suddenly narrowed as she looked at me and I wondered why Johnny Dollar did you say that's right insurance investigator down here to look into those fires? Oh? Any objections? No? No, of course not Just set your bags here in the hall Johnny. All right. Thanks, and wouldn't you like a drink after your long trip? Yeah, and you can get me one too scotch Johnny Martin's EVO. Oh great was soda please Thanks, I Take it Mike isn't too interested in the insurance business, huh? You know she used to be a singer dancer. Oh, well, this is a little different, but now tell me all well Actually, I guess we ought to wait until Arnold Carr gets back our car brothers Lumber enterprises Arnold runs the business and his brother Edward Well Ed just shares the profits real black sheep of the family from what I've been able to learn. Oh Anyway, they have yards all over the state There's one here in Sarasota one up the coast of ways at Fort Pierce and still another at Arcadia That's about 40 miles in and just east of here and there was one up in Orlando was Completely destroyed by fire a couple of weeks ago and a hundred and twenty thousand dollar claim has been filed a hundred Wow, that's where Arnold Carr's them in Orlando trying to clear things up Here's your drink. Oh, thanks. You're all yeah Well to the gods and goddesses and us Shouldn't I be up in Orlando then Arnold's on his way back here now? He lives here He just went up there to arrange for clearing off and selling the property you mean He's planning to just pocket the money if tri-state pays off. I mean looks like it, but I take it you suspect arson Yes, Earl suspects Arson Johnny and so does Arnold Carr at least he says he does but they have no reason no How about the other fires or attempted fires? Oh where at Arcadia for one But they got it out in time at least that's the way Arnold Carr reported it the way he let me tell it Mike There was another at the yard here in Sarasota Arnold himself discovered it one night when he was just driving around But nothing to indicate it was attempted arson. Well, the authorities up in Orlando found no indication of it there Mike, you know as well as I do that a lumberyard fire will obliterate signs of arson better than any other kind of fire in the world But she has a point the world unless there's some evidence of arson, of course Yeah, why sent for me well mostly because actually because Arnold Carr But he's given you no real reason none at all. I think he has a real reason, but he just won't tell us What do you see? He's gonna call when he gets in we'll run over to his place on Longboat key What about this brother Edward did you say I've never met him he's always stayed in Orlando I was wondering if he might tell things that Arnold is holding back. I had Edward Carr wouldn't know anything. You can never be too sure. I didn't look. Why can't you agree with me if I? Must be Arnie now. Excuse me Hello Oh, hi, Arnie Johnny dollar arrived, so we'll be well here. I'll let you talk to him here No, okay. No, I'll listen what before it was arson It was arson again tonight tonight. What's that? Arcadia just went up in flames the whole yard. Good Lord. Did you hear that Johnny? Yeah, I heard it Can you prove it was arson tonight in Arcadia and before in Orlando? I? Well, Arnie we'll be over just as fast. Oh, what no wait for me there at your home Well, but look now. I mustn't come here and I mustn't stay here because I now listen man you Arnie guess he's ready to tell us now a Suspicion began to grow in my mind a Suspicion that Mike apparently shared with me that our old car himself might be responsible for the fires After all he was the only one who had seemed to know about the two one successful attempts He himself had planted the idea of arson. He'd lost no time and filing claim for the Orlando burnout But Earl said I was wrong Arnold was too honest a man Earl had also said we were only 15 minutes from cars home So in half an hour pass we called him back got a busy signal After the fourth try the three of us took off an Earl's can as we pulled into cars driveway We could see him through the picture window sitting at his desk telephone in hand apparently engrossed in a call Then as we walked up to the door, I noticed something else Arnold car looked enough like me to be my brother Maybe that explained Mike's reaction when she first saw me Hey, Arnie can't you see he's on the phone in there? Well, at least he can do his hair his own doorbell Earl wait What's the matter throw the window? Oh, no, I'll stand back. Didn't you see from out there? No, what's wrong? Oh Johnny? Right through the forehead Earl Looks like a 38 Before I could stop him Earl took the phone out of the dead man's hand and called headquarters Mike turned pale and slumped into a chair And I gave the place a quick rundown check doors windows, etc. A Few minutes later an officious young sergeant named larkin arrived and took over Calibur straight through the middle of the forehead. We're all three of you here when it happened mr. Foreman mrs. Foreman and who are you the answer to your first question sergeants? No, none of us was here and this is Johnny dollar insurance invest hire you insurers guys work pretty fast You related to mr. Carr. No, why look a little like him Who busted in the front door the killer? I did when we drove up. We saw mr. Carr sitting there at his desk We rang the doorbell and knocked but when he didn't move you took things in your own hands and busted in huh That's right heaven moved anything. Have you know except I took the phone out of his hand to call you Dollar if you're any kind of investigator, you should have known better than let him touch anything Now now let's see shot must have come from somewhere near this window by the fire Sure here we are Bullet hole right through the pain bull was fired from outside You're sure sergeant sure. I'm sure look for yourself. You call yourself an investigator Hey, Cummings will way check the area around that window beside the chimney out there for footprints. Maybe an empty cartridge case You folks get out of here so I can call doc Hanley over and get on with my investigation and no dollar I don't need any of your help. Well, thank you, sir. Your job is fires not Hey, where did Mrs. Pormin go out to the car? Why who told her she could leave who told us she had to sit here looking at a corpse All right dollar all right. Just be sure the three of you stick around town in case I decide to question you further Oh, of course sergeant. Yeah I'm not shot by somebody standing outside. What do you mean Johnny? Oh, I spotted that bullet hole in the window, too So I also noticed there were no particles of glass on the inside sill, but there were some on the outside Yeah, the shot that made that hole was fired from inside that room to make it look as though it had come from outside Then somebody was in there with Arnold Carr. Yeah, either somebody he let in or who had normal access to the house And he had to stop Arnold from talking about the fire in Arcadia Hey, how much do you know about his brother Edward? Nothing really outside of what Arnold told me was either the married family of any sort I mean he wasn't but I Arnold's death means Edward will own the business then well Oh, yeah, and he lives up in Orlando seen of the first big fire. Yes Sonny you don't think his own brother where can I rent a car take Mike Chevy? It's in the car for it at the house, but what are you gonna do drive up to Orlando my way of Arcadia? When I got to Arcadia only a few people were standing around the remains of the fire One host company was still working on it and a couple of police were poking about in the embers Walking toward it I almost stumbled over a little old man sitting alone in the darkness beside a palm tree hunched over his head in his hands sobbing He didn't even look up when I stopped beside You were you lost someone in the Farsie Only part of my life I helped build up that yard me and Mr. Arnold Arnold car He's been worried about it last week when him and me smell smoke and come over here and put out the barrel of tracers Was smoldering he knew know what that somebody was trying to burn him out That's why he stopped by tonight on his way home That's why we drove over here him and me and I brought my gun just in case When we got here too late already blazing When he's in the automobile pulling away with auto yes Frank he said to me I know he was the one trying to burn me out. He says who who all time or who do you mean? He didn't say Then he called the fire department that car that pulled away. What was it just auto big white? But he tied it in with whoever set the fire all he said was I knowed he was the one Do you know who it was he meant? He told me even if I didn't know I should never tell even the police. Well, who do you think it was? Break my word to mr. Arnie. Uh-uh never son. All right. Look old man. I'm sorry to have to tell you this Mr.. Arnie's dead What he what he can't be he was you Maybe you thought in the darkness. I wouldn't know you but I do know you get on not just a minute old time Mr.. Arnie's dead. It's because you killed him. What just like you set the fire. Oh, no, I'm not who you Act two of yours truly Johnny dollar in just a moment Back in the old days the very old days That is a girl named Cassandra had a corner on the Oracle market But nowadays you can do some foretelling yourself on jukebox jury for example You can help decide which of tin pan alleys new recordings are destined for the hit brackets And which ones are likely to spiral all the way down to oblivion Remember jukebox jury is yours to hear on most of these same stations every Sunday Now act two of yours truly Johnny dollar and the burning car matters Expense account item three five dollars fifteen cents gas for the borrowed Chevy to keep me going to Orlando Either the old man's eyesight was bad or he was just a lousy shot either way was okay by me I hated to slap him down, but there was no point hanging around Arcadia trying to explain things to the local authorities So after making sure I hadn't really hurt him. I appropriated his gun and took off fast He thought I was someone else even I had noticed a family type resemblance to myself in Arnold Carr Sergeant Larkin had asked me if I was related to him and now the old man at the fire had apparently thought I was the one who Oh, well I'm afraid I made the rest of the trip to warlander when somewhat less than legal time and at police headquarters I barged into the office of Lieutenant Cal Hudson without bothering to be announced To reach you but we got no answer to the phone at your house. That's very interesting I'm afraid I have the painful duty of notifying you that your brother Arnold down in Sarasota last night Why did you say very interesting mr. Carr? Had you already learned? Yeah, you're not the first one. Who are you Johnny dollar insurance investigator? I can't believe it you Dollar you look enough like Edward Carr to be his twin you sound a lot like I take it you haven't located Edward yet Well, no Lieutenant. I think Edward Carr is the fire bug we're after and the killer wait a minute Briefly as possible. I told him of Arnold Carr's phone call to Earl poorman his emotional upset just before he was killed I told him Arnold had been murdered by someone inside the house someone close to him and that everything Indicated that someone could very well be Edward Carr That's still all just theory dollar without any proof I will admit that Edward is a pretty worthless playboy living off the profits of the lumbi art In any event the lieutenant promised to put out an APB on Edward Carr Now is it breakfast for the two of us item for three dollars and a quarter Before I left him he gave me Ed Carr's address 1726 Allen Place As I expected there was no answer to the doorbell at 1726, so I tried visiting up the street It quickly became clear that Ed Carr wasn't very popular and this otherwise quiet well-ordered neighborhood Noisy parties at all hours of the night cars parked up and down the street blocking respectable people's driveways Yes, you know once in a while you expect a person to have callers and such me I have the ladies bridge club every third Wednesday for instance But these are all ladies not like some of the trash that that man and his friends have Dancing and drinking and carrying on at all hours. Yes, you mentioned cars You know people like Mrs. Herford Robin. She's awfully nice and Janet Osterweilie Now she's a widow and you know she could have her pick of anybody she liked But does she ever look at another man? No, sir, and then there's Mrs. Harper. Yes, you mentioned cars Do you know what kind mr. Carr drove? Well, yes, it was a big white one and the make Well, no My husband when he was alive always drove a Maxwell and I guess that's the only kind I've got to know by name But mr. Cars is white only I guess that isn't much help to you Is it all the white cars here in Florida? I mean now even that blonde hussy who's around him all the time drives a white car? Oh, I really shouldn't use a word like that though. Should I but it fits wait a minute What blonde mrs. Harper mr. Dollar? I don't pay any attention to people like that Why you think she owned that house of his the way she keeps popping in and out all hours as if she Belonged there Mrs. Harper drives all the way up from Sarasota. Do you know who she is? I do not I refuse to pay any attention to people like and the way she dresses too like a Newly rich chorus girl with all her fancy clothes and furs and things. How do you know? She comes from Sarasota by the license on her car, of course Every city has its own number, you know that very well and hers is 12 w w something and you don't know her name Of course not Flaunting all those expensive furs as though she bought and paid for them herself And if there's anything I hate to see it's a little shrimp loaded down with furs now a tall person If there's anyone I don't trust it's a person with green eyes Thank you, Mrs. Harper Her description of cars girlfriend stopped me in my tracks That description could fit Mike Porman to the letter petite blonde green eyes and she came from Sarasota and Then I remembered Mike's reaction when she first saw me Her dismissal of Edward is a possible suspect. There was obvious friction between Earl and Mike too I figured it was just normal and a couple who'd been married for a while now Item 5 a dollar 30 phone call from the nearest booth I could find to Earl poor men at his office in Sarasota Well, you know where my kids Betty Yeah, well Yeah, well, okay, Earl. Thanks a lot No, no nothing that you need to worry about I sat down at a corner drugstore That's item 5 80 cents over a sandwich and a coke to try to think things out But I'm afraid I didn't like anything that I thought Finally I drove over to Allen place again. I parked a couple of blocks away and walked to 1726 I Wrang the front door, but knocked a couple of times Then I slipped around to the back door finagle a lock on it with a little celluloid pocket calendar finally got it open I Left it open for the sake of a quick exit if such became necessary I guess that was a mistake for a couple of minutes later as I rounded the corner from the den into the living room I felt the barrel of a gun pulled into my back out of town. Oh, yeah, I'll wait a minute. Don't move Eddie boy Trying to stall off pay me the five grand by saying you're gonna be out of town Okay, so you think I'm Edward Carr you kidding Don't you know what happens when somebody tries to stall me? I Don't know exactly how long I was out but when I came to it was dark except for the glow from a streetlight outside and What rouse me was the sound of footsteps feminine steps cautiously entering the back door Then briefly silhouetted against a window. I saw a trim petite figure that was all too familiar coming toward me And she saw me too hurt. What happened? What do you think did this who struck you? You don't know? Yes, of course It was Tony because you didn't pay him soon enough for the Arcadia job here Eddie let me help. No, just let me rest for a minute I thought that was Tony. I passed on the road in from Sarasota. Why'd you come over from Sarasota to see you? I know you'd be here. Oh, why why so the police could surprise you with the news of your poor dear brother's death Why did you come to the house because I hoped you'd come here? I guess Eddie You should have waited until I could raise the money to pay off Tony you made for killing Arnold too, of course, no You're trying to say you didn't kill Arnold, but I saw you from outside in the Buick. You'd swear to that, wouldn't you? I Don't know what you Eddie you sound like you don't trust me We're in this thing together. Yeah, you sure that What are you talking about whose idea was it to knock off Arnold? But you had to When he saw you at Arcadia, he knew that you were having the yards burned out That's the way you figured it from the beginning wasn't it now look first burn up the lumber yards and collect the insurance on them Then convinced me that you and I should have it all by putting Arnold out of the way But you had to kill up. I don't understand you Eddie. Yeah And I wish I didn't understand you Mike Mike. Come on. Let's turn on a light. No No, somebody sees this with Eddie you Are you kidding Mike? I Wait a minute. Who are you? You're that insurance investigator Johnny dollars that Mike told me let me out. Oh, no, you don't you're staying right here Mike poor man sister, aren't you well sister? So we went to the sister act before she married that poor man guy now Let me go that by a long shot. You may as well dollar what? Don't move dollar. Get his gun Betty. Get it. Yeah. Yeah, sure Here Ed good Ed car that's right. You know, we do look alike you and me. Yeah, sure enough for Betty here to have told me all I need to know don't believe him Eddie. He's lying. I heard no Eddie I thought it was you don't just sure sure why'd you come up here anyway because Mike told me that dollar was coming up here You've been shooting off your mouth to her too. She knew about us. She thought you might have something to do with the fire She was my friend. She was trying to get me out of this whole mess. I wish I'd listen to it Well, it's too late now, baby What are you going to do now? I gotta get rid of both of them and figure some way to shut up Tony's mouth You know, you'd never get away with it car. Oh, no, I'll call him. That's what I'll do Yeah, Betty and he'll come here to get his money and then I'll call the police see tell him to come right away Tell him I found out about you having Tony start the fire That's right that you had him burn up the yard So there'd be even more money for you to bleed from me like all the door you got from me already You're crazy Ed. I'll tell the police to meet me here and when they come in It'll just be in time to see me kill Tony and self-defense after getting here too late to save you I'll tell you're out of your mind. They'll check that gun of yours so fast And that'll prove it because the only shot out of my gun will be the one that gets Tony This gun of yours is the one that's gonna knock you to off and they'll think it's Tony already Please you're drunk. Are you crazy crazy to save my own life to keep you and Tony and dollar from putting a noose around my neck If you think that hair brain scheme of yours will ever work, you know, it's gotta work because it's my only chance So it's gonna work now I was too late to save it But Eddie Carl lived to face a jury What brought you here anyhow? I did Johnny Mike stay there stay right here Mike. I don't want to see it She was my friend Where's Earl I? came alone And I talked to Betty this morning. I knew your suspicions about Ed were right because See, I knew Betty and Ed were going together Earl didn't know Yeah, maybe you better call him Expense account items six nine dollars eighty cents gas and insinettles for the drive for the two of us back to Sarasota remarks Betty of course is already paid for her part in the deal and I guess it's pretty obvious what'll happen to Ed Carr and Tony Ricardo The insurance money in the car estates will be distributed according to Florida law Further remarks the apparent friction between Earl and Mike was only part of a normal married life They're pretty nice pair. Oh And I thoroughly enjoyed three days of fishing in the Gulf thanks to Earl Expense account total including all the incidentals I could think of 385 26 yours truly sunny dollar Our star will return in just a moment You don't have to be an efficiency expert to figure out that it's easier to lend your support to several worthwhile Fundraising campaigns all at once then it would be helping one campaign at a time that kind of efficiency is yours to enjoy through the United Community Campaigns CBS radio hopes that when the United Community campaigns are underway in your town that you remember how much good you can Accomplish with one gesture of support Now here is our star to tell you about next week story next week a case with a real twist One that I think will just about tear your heart out Sure nice won't you yours truly Johnny doll Yours truly Johnny dollars starring Bob Bailey originates in Hollywood It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone who also wrote tonight's story heard in our cast were Virginia Greg Harley Bear Victor Perron Bob Bruce Harry Bartell Vivi Janus Tony Barrett and Junius Matthews Musical supervision is by Amarillo Marino Be sure to join us next week same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly Johnny dollar damn cover Lee speaking