 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar your numbers ringing now, mr. Dollar. Oh, so well Ain't well detectives. Yes. Who are you calling? Please want to talk to mr. Rainwell. My name is Johnny dollar. This is a well I understand your agency has been looking for the pearling girl for about a year now Oh, you do that. Mrs. pearling. I never heard of you or her or a girl so long Hmm cut off mr. Dollar. I'll call them back. Never mind. Call me a cab, honey I'll talk to them in person and every week day night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Oh, it's truly Johnny dollar Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar to Eastern liability and trust company Hartford, Connecticut The following is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the pearling matter Item seven three dollars cab fare my hotel to the office of the aim well agency a Red-headed girl at the switchboard looked me over like I was a car. She didn't want to buy I Told him my name and that I wanted to see Niles aim. Well. She told me to sit down and wait Three minutes later. She waiving down a long carpeted corridor. I followed directions a typewriter clack somewhere Men in those suits with a little shoulders and hem stitching for lapels moved in and out of offices They look more like an advertising office than a detective agency Finally I opened a door and stepped into a small room that was decorated in gray gray walls gray carpeting great draperies a Desk a brass lamp a filing cabinet and a man were there He didn't get up when I walked in but slouched back in his chair and let his ball head rest against the wall You're kind of determined aren't you I suppose so you're aim. Well mm-hmm On the phone I told you I didn't know what you were talking about Now I'll tell you again Don't slam the door when you go out. What are you paying rent here? Hmm if I've got it figured right you wish you weren't paying it But then a place like this draws a snappy a crowd of clients So what you've got in the end is more clients and more rent no more money for yourself now that you've said all that Will you get out of here? I know one of those snappy clients happens to be the Perlings I know you've been trying to find their daughter This is my ID. This is my license bond letter of authority from Eastern liability Now two days ago the papers carried a story that David Perling was killed in a boating accident in Key West That was a lot of baloney. It was resurrected I know that but I talked to a reporter down in Key West who told me Perling paid to have that story about himself printed My client had an idea Perling might have done it to set up the stock market for a killing Mrs. Perling told me he did it and I'll hope his missing daughter would see the story in the papers and contact home What have you got to say here's your stuff one of the thing Perling the kind of man who'd pull a trick like that ask him You've got a way about you. I don't like that's too bad But in between the time I called and the time I got here You had time to call the Perlings on the phone and ask about me They said it was all right to tell me what I wanted to know If there was a daughter if you've been hired to look for her if you don't tell me you might jeopardize the part Of the rent the Perlings pay for you now look I've got something else. You aren't gonna like I might just want to see your operatives report in the case I might have the idea that if you've been looking for her this long you might just be dragging it out a little bit You know the rent money it's due every month Get mr. Or mrs. Perling on the phone right away. I Hope they tell me to throw you out on your ear Well while we're waiting. Let's get back to the questions. Where have you looked? What have you done? We pulled the case eleven months ago almost to the day The girls five five hundred and fourteen pounds no visible scars no glasses Black hair brown eyes She's 24 and will be 25 next month We thought we had her located in Muncie Toledo Detroit Fort Worth in Pueblo We think she's traveling alone We think she's a little girl who was fed up to here with mom and daddy and just struck out for herself But you haven't found her Five men have been looking on eight hour shifts seven days a week for 11 months to the day Five men 11 months seven days a week and I'm one of the five My feet hurt my headaches most of the time My wife's thinking about divorcing me and then you walk in here and plant yourself in my office You're suggesting maybe I can go out and find it just like that But I can't nobody can So I want you to know I kind of resent that remark about how I'm laying down on the job And if you don't take it back, I'll have to cave in the side of the wall with you What do you got to say dawg? I take it back. Mr. Sit down and have yourself a smoke Hello Well, hello, mrs. Perling Mr. Dollars in my office now Yes, yes, I'll cooperate with him Yes, mrs. Perling. I understand he explained it all to me Yes, ma'am The whole file everything How would you like somebody to bring up a bottle of cold beer? Oh, I'd like that fine, mr. Amwell Niles Amwell in between complaining about the abundance of bad private operatives and the detective business showed me how good he was The genie Perling file was a comprehensive day-to-day report on the investigation His discouragement in the case was understandable. The only thing that meant something was the picture of genie Perling Cold black hair over a fresh white skin face Dark eyes a nice smile Somehow not my idea of the daughter that would belong to david perling Too old too young or too something. I couldn't put my finger on it If I had been able to I could have ended this expense account right here As it was I spent a hundred thousand dollars somebody else's money sure But I spent it just the same I certainly surprised this development You say Perling's daughter is missing. That's right, mr. Scottman And I'm convinced that the detective agency he's had looking for have been doing just that Well, then I'm relieved to know you got to the bottom of this matter I'm sorry, of course for mr. Mrs. Perling, but as I say relieve that there there was no attempted financial manipulation I think then I can call you off the case There is no case now Nope, guess not And that's the way it stood at four o'clock in the afternoon I told mr. Scottman I'd send him a bill. We shook hands and he wandered off to see if he could get a night flight back to heartford I went up to my room to pack and was folding a shirt all wrong when it struck me that I suddenly didn't believe anything or anybody The idea that there was money in it somewhere still kept coming back to me. I couldn't shake it I finished packing and left my bags at the desk. I wandered out and found a bar and sat down to think After a couple of hours nothing much occurred to me, but I did something anyhow My plane doesn't leave till 11 o'clock. I haven't had dinner yet. I hope I didn't come about dinner, mr. Scottman. Well, what is it? Well, how does this case strike you? Eh a phony death report a missing girl a stock market manipulation that didn't come off. How does it strike you? Well, very neat if that's a phrase I can use mr. Dollar We had a question with serious implications to it. We have an answer now. That's what we wanted But it's too neat I'm not sure I know quite what you mean Look, you first called me in because it was halfway in your mind that pearlings alleged death was for the purpose of making money on the market Now, why did you think that it was a possibility? But what else what about pearling? What do you mean you know him ever met him? Do you think he was capable of a thing like that? Not now No, I have proof from you that that wasn't his reason at all But you thought so before you had that proof you suspected it Suppose I did yes Well, I didn't know him from a load of coal But I always figured there's money in it somewhere and I've met david pearling He doesn't seem like the kind of man who'd worry about a grown daughter who didn't like him and ran away Just just didn't seem that way. Oh here now a detective agency working on the case the story in the paper But no police mr. Scottman no bulletins no 100 effort to find her. Why I suppose you have a good point I'm sure I have a good point. Mr. Scottman money's always a good point But what money how why I don't know I can't answer those questions I wish I could if I could I'd know that a man like dav pearling was lying through his teeth If he told me he wanted his daughter back safe at home. I'd know why he was lying I know I'm just talking and getting nowhere right now, but Well, I thought I thought I'd better tell you what was on my mind. Yes. Well, you've certainly done that Now what? That's up to you Oh Well, if you feel so strongly about this, I think then you should continue I thought it was ended but in view of the circumstances Continue by all means continue. Well dollar Well, you're working late. I'd rather stay here than go home sometimes most of the time Hey, well, we might be seeing quite a bit of each other. How did you know? pearling told me to contact you You're pretty cute dollar Tell me why You hardly ever run across a picture of a girl you'd like to look at as much as this pearling dame Oh, I might have You know, you kid me most of the time and I'm an old slob who stands around with hardly any fast answers You aren't kidding me this time pally. You show it all over If I walked in a place and I seen a girl as nice looking as this and I had me business with her I'd be the luckiest guy in the world There are women and there are women But if that picture means anything Boy, she's a woman And you want to meet her right sure I want to meet her but you're getting romantic And if I saw but didn't have any business with her just saw I'd go take a walk around the block before I talk to anybody Yeah, I know And I don't blame you you're a very lucky fella You're gonna see her That's why pearling asked me to contact you. Huh? Here came in about an hour ago One of our men located her where? She's in New Orleans He handed me the wire and I read it over Then I looked at him. He looked at me I didn't ask any questions. He didn't say a word There was a wonderful make-believe world, but it really didn't exist Too neat and too tidy And we all know the world's full of bumps Ever hear of Mount Everest? Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow Well, once you get in on a joke, you do what they tell you you go along with a gag Join us. Won't you yours truly johnny dollar Hey johnny dollar starring bob bailey is transcribed in hollywood Written by john dawson. It is produced and directed by jack johnstone Be sure to join us tomorrow night same time and station for another exciting episode Of yours truly johnny dollar This is roi roan speaking