 From Hollywood, it's time now for... Johnny Duller. Joe Restillley at Homicide returning your call, Johnny. I've uncovered a couple of items on the Harvey Stone killing Joe. Good. Let's have him. Remember Alvin Gentry? The crank who made the fake confession in my office yesterday. Yeah, what about him? Looks like he's not a psycho after all. What do you mean? I just found out he's a friend of Helen Barrett's. Well... Yeah, I gotta admit my hunch about her innocence just took a nosedive. I also learned that Harvey's secretary, Martha Winters, used to be his girlfriend. Yeah, I'm up. Did you want to make a statement? You want to hear it? You bet I do. And every weekday night, Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator... Joe Restillley, Johnny Duller. Expense accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Duller to the Home Office, Northeast and Demnity Associates, Hartford, Connecticut. Assignment, the imperfect alibi matter, location, New York City. Expense account continued. Item 10, a $1.40 cam from my hotel to police headquarters. Martha Winters, secretary to the murdered man Harvey Stone, was in Lieutenant Joe Restillley's office. She was a blonde. And again, I had to admire the dead man's taste. He could really pick them. Mr. Dollar here, which you just told me? No, not at all, Lieutenant. You see, Mr. Dollar, I have a small apartment in the same building as Mr. Stone's apartment. On East 57th? Yes. Harvey, as Mr. Stone transacted most of the business at his apartment more than the office when he was in town. That's mainly why he kept the apartment. And we felt it would be more convenient for me to be nearby. I see. Well, the night before last... It was the night of the murder. Yes. I'd been out to a show. I got home about 11.30. Go on. I saw Helen Barrett walking toward Mr. Stone's apartment. What? You sure about the time? Well, not right down to the second, of course, but I am positive it was within five minutes of 11.30. I see. Well, why did you wait until this morning to tell us this? Well, I... Come on. Let's have it, Miss Winters. Well, naturally, no one likes to get mixed up in things like this. I didn't want to make trouble for anybody. Helen Barrett always seemed like a nice person. But Mr. Stone was my employer and my friend. After thinking it over, I could see what my duty was. You say Harvey Stone was your friend. Was he anything more than that? I don't think I know what you mean, Mr. Dollar. I think you do. I understand that at one time you and Harvey were planning to be married. That's true. But that's all in the past. Oh. Yes, we decided mutually that it was a mistake. We've been friends ever since, but nothing more than that. I see. Well, heard enough, Johnny? Yeah. Okay, Miss Winters. That'll be all. Thanks for coming in. We'll get in touch with you again if we need any further information. All right. Anytime, Lieutenant. Well, Johnny, according to Martha Winters' statement, Helen Barrett was in Harvey's apartment at the approximate time of the murder. We know it was somewhere between 11.30 and midnight. Helen said she left Harvey's apartment around 11 to go home and pack. They were going to a lope. When he didn't come for her, she got worried. She went back to his apartment around midnight, found him dead. But that story won't hold water if Martha's telling the truth. Yeah. If. You don't sound convinced. Are you, Joe? Ah, I don't know, Johnny. I don't know. It's a pretty nauseating shortage of facts in this case. Nauseating's the word for it, all right. No, I mean literally. When I get one like this, my stomach starts acting up. Joe, what have we got in the way of facts? Well, number one, Harvey Stone was shot in the forehead with a 38 Smith and Wesson sometime between 11.30 and midnight. Yeah. And even that fact got twisted around yesterday by Alvin Gentry when he made what he called a confession. He said he shot Stone in the chest with a colt 45 and threw the gun in the river. Yeah. You told me you'd found out he was a friend of Helen's. His confession doesn't look good for her, believe me. I know. But I can't seem to lose my hunch that she's innocent. Look, Johnny, I don't blame you for trying at your job. What do you mean? Harvey Stone was insured for $150,000 by the company you represent. Yeah, that's right. OK, as Father E.J. Stone and his young stepmother Daphne are the joint beneficiaries. Now, if one of them should turn out to be the murderer, your company wouldn't have to pay out. Wait a minute, Joe, wait a minute. I think you know me well enough to figure out a lot rather see that company pay through the nose than convict an innocent person. Sure. But just about everything, we've got points to Helen Barrett. Just about, but not quite. For instance. For instance, Harvey's father, E.J. Stone, he thought Harvey was running the business into the ground. He didn't like it. He also didn't like the fact that Harvey and his stepmother were pretty friendly. Man, wheelchairs liable to resent a lot of things. Yeah, that's just the point. E.J. can get out of his wheelchair when he wants to. I saw him out of it yesterday. Sure. Then there's Daphne herself. She opposed the idea of Harvey marrying Helen. Said she wanted to protect the stone name. But that sounds pretty fishy coming from somebody who used to be a chorus girl herself. Did you ask her about that picture of her? You spotted in Dutch Krieger's office? Yeah, she said that was all in the past. But I wonder. Dutch got kicked out of a business deal by Harvey. He wouldn't forget that, and he's a tough cookie. And there still could be a connection between him and Daphne. Here we go again. Could be. OK, OK. So I guess what it all adds up to is just that I kind of got myself sold on Helen. Sure, I've been sold on people, too. Sometimes it's ended up costing me. So now I just hold back and don't make up my mind one way or another. All right. It's turned out to be a pretty good idea, too. Why don't you try it, Johnny? Expense account item 11, a double martini for me. Well, I thought over what Joe Rusteliot said. Sure, it was good advice not to get too sold on people, but it didn't help me much at the moment. I still couldn't believe Helen Barrett had killed Harvey's stone. But I had to admit that if she wasn't the killer, it left a lot of things unexplained. For one thing, Alvin Gentry's fake confession. It sure looked like he was trying to shield her. I checked and learned that he managed a supper club where Helen used to sing. I decided to have a talk with him. I found him on a corner table. Yeah? I'm Johnny Dollar. Gentry, we, uh, we met in Lieutenant Rusteli's office. Yeah. I'd like to talk to you. What about? About the Harvey Stone killing. There's nothing to talk about. I don't agree. I think there is. I made my confession you guys didn't believe me. Well, now that's because you got a few of the things wrong, Gentry. One interest me now is not your confession, but the reason you made it. What do you mean? When you said Harvey Stone had been making a play for your girl, a hatchet girl, wasn't it? You, you said that's why you killed him. So? So you said you didn't know Helen Barrett. I don't. But you're lying. Look, darling. We found out you're a friend of Helen. She used to go with her, and you were waiting in her apartment the night of the murder when she left Harvey's and came home to pack. Well, how about it, Gentry? Okay, so I do know Helen, but she didn't kill Stone. How do you know? She couldn't have. She's not that kind. Oh, sure. You were waiting in her apartment that night. Why? I wanted to see her. What about? She used to sing here. She drew good crowds. I wanted her back. What kind of a mood was she in when she got to her apartment? What do you mean? Well, did she talk about Harvey Stone any? Did she seem mad or upset? I don't remember. Cut it out, Gentry. I want straight answers. Well, I guess they had a little argument. What about? I don't know. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Helen didn't kill Stone. She was... She was with me. You mean for a few minutes at her apartment? I mean longer than a few minutes. She was with me at the time of the killing. Now, look, Gentry. I know you're trying to help Helen, but believe me, this isn't helping her. First, you make a phony confession, and now all of a sudden you're giving her an alibi. Sure, it was stupid of me to make that confession. You can say that again. But I realized later it wasn't necessary. I realized that Helen had been with me at the time of the killing. You're going to stick to that story? Sure, I am. Under oath? Under oath. Perjury's a pretty serious thing, Gentry. Perjury's pretty hard to prove, dolly. One thing seemed pretty clear. Alvin Gentry was apparently convinced that Helen had killed Harvey Stone. He was doing everything he could think of, even perjuring himself to shield her. And the more he scrambled, the worse he began to look for her. Then, too, there was the statement of Martha Winters, Harvey's secretary, that she'd seen Helen returning to his apartment that would put Helen back there during the time of the murder. I still wasn't completely convinced that Martha Winters was telling the truth, so I spent the rest of the afternoon checking on her to see what I could find out. And a couple of things I found out were pretty interesting. So interesting that I decided to try to run a little bluff on her. Hello, Martha. I'd like to talk to you. Well, I was just on my way out. Well, this won't take long. Please, come in. Thanks. It's about that statement you made to Lieutenant Rustelli this morning. Well, I really haven't anything more to add to it, Mr. Dollar. Look, I'm sorry, but I have an engagement... Yeah, you told us this morning that you and Harvey Stone used to go together. But you called it off and were just, uh, friends after that. Yes, that's right. Now, look, Mr. Dollar, I... But that isn't the story I picked up at the office of the Stone Corporation a while ago, Martha. The office? Now, what right of you to go snooping around that office? Sorry, Martha, but snooping's my business. You know, you pick up a lot of interesting information that way. Well, if you're going to listen to office gossip... For instance, I found out it was Harvey who called off the deal with you. No. And you've been carrying a torch for him ever since. There've been a couple of nasty scenes about it. That's a lot. Matter of fact, once or twice, he'd almost made up his mind to can you, but each time he decided not to. Lies! Lies! All of it! Okay, okay. We'll let that go for a minute. Now, about your statement this morning... Mr. Dollar, I haven't time to stand here and repeat what I've already said. That's where you're wrong, Martha. You've got time to hear this. You'll take time. Well, what is it? You said you saw Helen heading for Harvey's apartment at 11.30. Yes, I did. Where were you at the time? Why, here? In your apartment, here? But your apartment's around the corner of the hall from Harvey's. How could you have seen her from here? Well, I didn't mean I was in my apartment. I was at the entrance just coming in. The front entrance, huh? Yes. But Helen came in the side entrance. You couldn't have seen her from the front. Fine. Anyway, I hadn't reached the front entrance yet. I was outside. Sorry, Martha. The doorman and the cop on the beat both would have seen Helen. I dare you. You lied, didn't you? No. You didn't see her at all. Well, it had to be Helen. She's the one who killed him. I know she did. You lied, didn't you, Martha? But it hadn't been for her. If it weren't for her, maybe you'd be Mrs. Harvey Stone, huh? I didn't mean that. I meant Harvey'd still be alive. I just didn't want her to get away with it. You lied, Martha. You didn't see Helen at all. Yes, I lied, Mr. Dollar. Yeah. My bluff about the doorman, the cop on the beat and Helen coming in the side entrance had paid off. Looking at Martha, I didn't exactly feel like giving three cheers about it. But one thing was clear, though. The Harvey Stone murder case had just busted wide open again. Here's our star to tell you about the final episode of this week's story. Tomorrow, the wind-up. A gambler sticks his life on his hand and loses. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Today, Johnny Dollar starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood, written by Robert Reif. It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Be sure to join us tomorrow night, same time and station for the next exciting episode of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, Roy Rowan speaking.