 This is your FBI. This is your FBI. The official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Tonight's FBI file opens in a large eastern city. An attractive young woman is just admitting a guest. He is one Art Graham, junior partner in the firm of Ford and Graham. Specialists in interstate commerce. Hijacking. Come in, Art. Thanks, Julie. Where's Pete? Inside, getting dressed. Oh. Want a drink? No, thanks, baby. Well, tonight's the night, huh? Yeah. What's the setup? Oh, pretty big job. Nearly 4,000 cases of bonded whiskey. Hey. We're gonna knock off four trucks. Well, that's really a tough order. Well, we got it all laid out. Everybody knows what they're supposed to do. Shouldn't be any trouble. How much cash will that stuff bring? Oh, a real bundle. That I like. Hey, Julie, where's that big bundle? Oh, hi, Artie. Hi, Pete. Hey, I'm glad you stopped by here, kid. I got something I want to spring on you and Julie both. What were you looking for? Uh, that big brown envelope, honey. Oh, it's right over there on the table. Oh, okay. Good. You know, there's something in here I want to show you. What is it? Pictures. Uh, now sit on both of you. Hey, what is it? Sit on, will you? Okay. Look, Artie, when you and I started in business together, we agreed that if either one of us ever wanted to pull out sometime, he could. You remember? Yeah. Well, uh, tonight's my last job. What? Are you kidding? I got plenty of letters packed away for me and Julie. We're gonna get out of this larceny business for good. What are you talking about? Here you are, baby. Take a look at these pictures. What's this? It's a banana plantation. So? So I bought it a month ago. What do you know from bananas? Well, it's your favorite dish, ain't it? Bananas and cream for breakfast? Yeah. Well, then you got a whole plantation to go against. Hey, where is this joint? Boca Grande. That's in Africa. No, it's an island near Cuba. It belongs to the United States, so we don't need a passport. It's still Africa. Okay, okay. Anyway, sweetheart, we're leaving on the boat in the morning. From then on, we're living like dukes and duchesses. How's it sound to you? Well... Oh, what do you think about it, Art? I think it's swell. Sure. And so will you, Julie, when you get to thinking about it. Hey, wait a minute. Look at that time. I'm going to go and case that warehouse where they're loading the trucks. I'll pick you up in about 30 minutes, Artie. Artie, look, build Julie up on Boca Grande while I'm gone, will you? Yeah. I'll see you later. Well, sweetheart? If he thinks I'm going to Boca Grande, he's nuts. He wants you to leave in the morning. Yeah. Art, what are we going to do? You got to think of something quick. Don't the idea appeal to you? Boca Grande? A plantation? Living safe and easy? Not without you. And you know it. Then I've already thought of something. What do you mean? I mean, it was real nice of Pete to buy that plantation for you and me. Huh? He wants to retire? Okay, I'll see to it tonight that he does retire. For keeps. At three o'clock that morning, FBI Special Agent Taylor was asleep at home when the phone beside his pillow suddenly went off. I'll get up in a minute. Hello? Jim, this is George Wilcox. Yeah? I'm sorry to wake you, but something broke and the SAC put us on it. No, it's all right, George. What is it? Four whiskey trucks were hijacked on Route 1 shortly before midnight. Each of them was carrying a thousand cases of bonded bourbon. Yeah. So far we've located three of the trucks. Four? No, they'd already been unloaded. Sounds like a well-organized job. Yeah, it sure was. That's why I don't understand where that fourth truck is. The three we found were together. Maybe more to trouble on the way back? Could be. If they abandoned it on the highway, we ought to know pretty soon. There's a three-state alarm out on it. Did you get an ink from the three you located? No, but I interviewed the drivers and the hijackers used the same M.O. as that central city job last month. That file's still open, isn't it? Uh-huh. So it could be the same gang. Why don't you pull that file? Apart from that, Jim, somebody on the other phone. Okay. The truck has just turned up. The state police found it in a ditch near the intersection of Route 15 and 39. That one been emptied too? So far as the whiskey is concerned, it looked like somebody was trapped in the truck window. The ditch had caught fire. Uh-huh. The trooper didn't examine the body. He called in to make his report and say he's standing by. I see. Jim. Yeah? I'm stuck at the desk tonight. Can you go out there? Sure, George. As soon as I'm done, I'll head for the office. What? Oh, same to you, Mrs. Floyd. What's with the Mrs. Ford? You know with the rail, like you're looking for somebody on the pier. It'll be better if we don't know each other. Why? You're supposed to be making this trip with your husband. I already told the person he couldn't get aboard in time. Play it my way. Okay. But... But what? Arch, you don't think there's any possible chance of anybody finding out? About last night? Mm-hmm. Everything's clean. You're sure? Chuck Baldwin took care of it. He was driving the truck Pete rode in when they hit a dark stretch. Chuck tapped out your ever-loving, ditched the truck and set fire to it. Oh. Morning papers even got a picture of the truck all burned and the thing about a guy's body being found inside. It goes to gang planning. We'll be pouring out in a couple of minutes. Want to hit the bar and buy a girl a drink? We don't know each other, remember? Ah, come on, let's have some fun. Look, before you know it, we'll be in Boca Grande. Just the two of us on that plantation. Let's save it for there. Goodbye, Mrs. Ford. Nice to run into you again. A hijacked truck runs off the road into a ditch and catches fire. The driver's body is found. It all appears to be an accident. But special agents of your FBI do not accept the obvious. The ditch has gone over foot by foot. The truck is examined with painstaking care and the following morning at the FBI field office. Hi, Jim. Oh, hello, George. You've been out there all night? Yeah, I just got back. We couldn't get near the truck till about an hour ago. Well, what happened? Well, the truck body was metal, frankly, for a whileer. I wasn't sure it had ever cooled off. I guess the killer figured the same thing. Killer? Oh, yeah, George. The thing is more than a hijacking. The man we found on the truck had been murdered. He died from a blow on the head. Oh. It turned out to be somebody named Pete Ford. Pete Ford? Yeah, Ford's wallet was near the truck and a ring the corpse was wearing at the initials' P.F.O. The teletype came in this morning from the resident agent to Central City. He's worked up a lead on this Ford. Oh, it's too bad we didn't get it earlier. Oh, it is being murdered now from what we can learn he was about to quit. Oh? Yeah, I went over to interview Ford when this teletype came in. His bags were there all packed. The doorman told me I just missed his wife. Oh, where'd she go? She and Ford had tickets to sale this morning for Boca Grande. Boca Grande, huh? You think she'd go along? Well, she did. I radioed the ship and learned she was a passenger. But we've got nothing to hold her on. No, that's true. Well, here's Pete Ford's arrest record. It just came up from my den. Thanks, George. Okay, I'll cross-check every name. We'll try to round up his gang. Oh, brother, what a joint. Pete was right. There's sure plenty of bananas. I wonder when we hit the plantation. Are you kidding? We're on it. Huh? If this map ain't lying, those are all mine. Well, one thing's for sure, we'll never starve. Art. Huh? Look through those trees. That house. Holy. Aren't they beautiful? Looks like a railroad station. And it's ours. Good old Pete. Art, please. Please, why? Let's forget Pete. I'm okay with me. What a joy for a party. Yeah, we'll have him. Pete, you got the key? Yeah. Here. You want to look around out here first? No, let's go in. All right. Welcome. Pete! Hello. What is it, honey? We thought you... Well, I mean we didn't... Too bad it didn't work. No, Pete, put it away. It's only a gun. You're not afraid of a little gun, are you? Please, Pete, I didn't know... Out of the way, Julie. I got some unfinished business with Artie. We will return in just a moment to tonight's exciting case from the official files of the FBI. And now back to the FBI file, the Tropical Frame Up. To those familiar with law enforcement, it is not surprising to find the FBI calling a special agent at three o'clock in the morning to set him to work on a hijacking. The men of your FBI have learned one rule for every type of crime investigation. That rule is there is no substitute for speed. Clues may disappear in a matter of minutes. The memory of witnesses may fade. The entire structure of the case is different where the criminal has a head start of only an hour instead of a day. That is why no special agent of your FBI is ever off duty. His job is never nine to five. But nine to nine. Nine in the morning to nine the following morning. For the Federal Bureau of Investigation keeps the same hours as America's Army of Criminals. And crime takes no holidays. Tonight's file continues on the island of Boca Grande. Special agents Taylor and Wilcox are in the office of the island's chief of police. And so it would seem pretty obvious that the man whose body we found on the truck was Pete Ford. A senior, you were able to get no fingerprints. No, we tried, but it was impossible. I see. What are these Pete Ford's wife? Well, we're not sure, but we've got reason to believe that she may have been mixed up in the killing. We uncovered evidence that Ford had a partner named Art Graham. We then learned that Graham and Mrs. Ford were better than just good friends. I see. And according to the passenger list of the boat Mrs. Ford took down here, one of her traveling companions was the same Art Graham. The old story, yeah. That's right. Oh, have you been able to get anything for us yet? No, senior. When I got your cable, I sent the man to see how far I have heard nothing from him. We did a little checking before we came over here. On Ford? No, we tried to locate Graham, but no hotel here or in San Saba had him registered. We brought pictures of Graham, if you could distribute them. Oh, certainly. Chief Brazos. This is Gonzalez. I'm at the Hall of Records. Have you found anything yet? Just now. Senior Ford bought a banana plantation last month. The Solano family sold it. Oh, I know where that is. Thank you, Gonzalez. Come back to the office immediately. Look, Pete, you've got to believe me. I didn't have anything to do with it. Stop lying to me. Stop lying to me, I said. But I've got a right to tell my side of it. I already know it. Okay, then, if you're satisfied with what you think, you know, kill me. Go ahead. All right, let's hear your story. This is the truth, Pete, so help me. Go on. When you didn't come back from that job, by the time morning came, I was scared stiff. Yeah. And said something had gone wrong and you were plenty hot with the cops right then. Yeah. And he said you told him to get me on the boat and come on down here with me. To look after me until you'd cooled off and could make it here yourself. No kidding. Honest, I didn't want to go off and leave you, but if you thought it was best there, there wasn't anything else for me. Pete, Pete, it's the truth, every word I'm saying. Don't you believe me? Chuck Baldwin got cold feet about knocking me off, that's the whole story. I don't care what Chuck Baldwin told you. I do because the way it turned out, you and Artie did me a big favor. What do you mean? As far as the cops are concerned, Pete Ford is a dead man. What? I did the Chuck Baldwin what he was supposed to do to me then I fixed it so the cops would think he was me. But... Then I grabbed a plane and come on down here to be on hand to greet you and Artie when you arrived to set up housekeeping. Oh, listen, Pete. Well, I'm going to let you stay and keep house with Artie. But you might have a little trouble explaining to the cops why he has to lie down all the time. You know, I couldn't have been the cause of it. Remember? I'm dead. Pete, Pete, come back! So long, sucker! And enjoy the bananas. Now the long search seems almost over. The long search that started 1500 miles from the tiny island with a hijacking. A hijacking that included a murder. Arriving at the banana plantation, Special Agents Taylor and Wilcox first examined a car standing in the driveway. There was luggage piled on the back seat. Luggage belonging to Julie Ford and Art Graham. The car contained no further evidence. Well, let's go up to the house, George. OK, Jim. It's quite a place that Ford picked up. Yeah. Rosas was right about that storm coming up. I hope it doesn't hit too quick. Oh, George, you better cover me. Right. Hello, Mrs. Ford. I don't know you. We're Special Agents of the FBI. Here are my credentials. I see. Well, what do you want here? I mean... All right, come on in. Thank you. Go ahead, George. Mrs. Ford, the reason we're here is... Jim, look. Art Graham. Yeah, it's him and he's dead. But I didn't do it. Who did? My husband. Nobody believes me. Mrs. Ford, we were led to think your husband died Monday night. But he didn't. He was in this house less than an hour ago. And he killed Art Graham. Well, where is he now? I don't know. He walked out. Maybe that's him calling. Would you answer please? I don't want to talk to him. Hello. Hello, Mr. Wilcox. Oh, this is Taylor speaking. Oh, Taylor, a cable message just came from your office. Will you read it to me, please? See, a body in truck identified through dental records. It is Charles Baldwin alias Chuck. Baldwin's record shows previous arrest with Pete Ford believed member of his organization. That all? Yes, sir. Thanks very much. Bye. Was that him? No, that was the chief of police here. The body in the truck's been identified. It's not Ford. Well, I told you it wasn't. It's Chuck Baldwin. Well, now you've got to believe me. I couldn't know that unless Pete told it to me. We believe you, Mrs. Ford. George, if Pete Ford left you almost an hour ago, he might be trying to get off the island. Let's try to stop him. Well, that was you knocking. Yeah, brother, what a storm. Yes, a bad one. Is that your boat tied up at the foot of the pier? Yes. I want to charter it. All right, look in the book. Let's see. Well, tomorrow it's rented. Sunday, it's rented. Monday. I want it right now. Fishing is not good in the storm. I don't want to fish. I got to get to Cuba. I'm sorry, Mr. If I took you there, I wouldn't be back in time for tomorrow and I'm rented already. You sign out there says 50 bucks a day. Well, that's what I charge. You bring as many people as you want. I'm alone and I got to be in Cuba by tomorrow. What about it? All right. All right, come on. Not now. We have to wait till the storm clears. Huh? Well, how long will that be? Sometimes last an hour, two hours. Never more. You have your papers to get into Cuba. Huh? Yeah, yeah, they're in my pocket. Here. Please sign your name in the book. Why? There's the law. Is there anything else before we go? Yes, I must have your exit pass. Now what? You don't live on Boca Grande? No. When you came, the man gave you a blue card. Oh, yeah, yeah, that's right. I threw it away. I cannot take you off the island without such a card. I just told you I threw it away. The police will give you another one. Look, can't you forget about that? I will lose my license. Okay, okay, I'll go get one. And if the storm's over, when I come back, we take off. Jim, look at that rain. I see something that bothers me even more. Oh, what's that? That patch of clear sky out there. That storm will probably be over pretty quick. Well, when it is, we can pick up the search again. Well, I'm afraid Pete Ford might be waiting for it to clear too. But there's only two ways he can get off the island, and we've checked the airlines and the steamship offices. Yeah, I know. Brazos didn't come up with any more charter services, did he? No, none we didn't cover. Well, then maybe Ford's going on to somewhere on the island. After all, he's got nothing to go back to the States for. That's true enough. I doubt he'll break his neck to get to Chuck Baldwin's funeral. Baldwin. Baldwin? Yeah, what about him? Look, so far as Ford knows, we still think he's dead, right? Yeah. Come on, George, let's make all those calls again. Storm's over. Did you get the exit pass? Yeah. Can I have it? Well, we got to Cuba. I must put it with my papers before we go. I said you'll get it when we hit Cuba. I'm sorry, Mr. Baldwin. I need it now. Okay. What are you doing with that gun? You wanted to see my exit pass? This is it. It's my passport to Cuba, too. I'm not afraid. I had a lot of guys say that. I never knew any of them who really wanted to die. You're the first. No, but you can't kill me. Why not? If you do, how will you get to Cuba? Maybe I'll find another boat. I got a chance if you don't take me, but not you. Tell me down on your dead. I see. This way you make yourself 500 bucks and keep on living. All you got to do is run me across to Cuba. Now, what's it going to be? All right. I'll take you. Smart boy. Come on. Hold it, Fordon. Hey, what is this? An arrest. Special agents of the FBI. And thank you, Captain, for stalling till we got here. I'm going to arrest him on a charge of murder. All other members of his hijacking organization were rounded up and convicted in federal court for theft from interstate shipment. Special agents Taylor and Wilcox located the charter service Pete Ford was trying to use when they checked to see if anyone employing the name Chuck Baldwin had applied for transportation. And so another case from the files of your FBI was closed. Closed with the arrest and conviction of the criminals. That result was important to you, the decent citizen, wherever you are. For crime begets crime. And if one killer is allowed to go unpunished, he might kill again. Both of Pete Ford's victims were fellow criminals. But had he not been apprehended, had he gotten to Cuba and then back to this country, his next victim might have been an innocent truck driver, a passing motorist, might indeed have been anyone, even you. This has been a case of you. This has been a Jerry Divine presentation distributed by the Colas Hoffman Organization.