 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar Pat McCracken Universal Adjustment Bureau. Oh, hi, Pat This is my third call. Where are you been out buying some tackle want to go fishing fishing? Yeah I'm heading down to New York State. Esopas River Maybe the beaver kill trying to snag myself some nice trot and Patsy my fishing is one thing you aren't going to interfere with Think of it. Why don't you try Lake Mojave? Ah, where's that? What sure be the guest a greater Southwest insurance and liability. What are you talking about? I don't know how you value those Esopas River trout. There's a fish out there that may be worth three million bucks I'll be right over 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 yours truly, Johnny dollar Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar to greater Southwest insurance and liability company Kingman, Arizona office Following is an accounting of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Midas touch matter Expense account item one cab fare from my apartment to the Universal Adjustment Bureau 8242 North Spring When I got there Pat McCracken was standing holding the door of his office open for me My and Johnny, but don't bother sitting down. What's that supposed to me? Means you haven't got time y'all pack Oh, you bet I am for a trip to the Esopas and some of those pretty rainbows in Eastern Brooktrout Got a new lure oil called fast strike. I want to try out. I hear it's great Sorry, but if there's gonna be any actual fishing it's gonna be for Lake Mojave bass So you here here your plane tickets here to New York non stop to Los Angeles and out to Las Vegas And there you'll have to go to Kingman, Arizona by car Oh down boys slow down man to see in Kingman is Jake Kessler at Pat yeah, you mind telling me what it's all about Midas touch mine new racket in uranium. I said Midas gold mine. Oh sure Well, what's the insurance angle ask Jake Kessler when you get to Kingman? Well, but you can at least tell me what you've only got 20 minutes to catch your plane to New York You mean if I decide and with a million and a half dollars maybe three million at stake Nobody's gonna quibble too much over your expense account Maybe I should take a crack at those Lake Mojave bass Expense account items two and three two ninety even a handful of American Express travelers checks and cab fare back to my apartment for my luggage Then to the airport from my plane to New York to Las Vegas, Nevada It was 11 30 p.m. When the big plane slowly glided down out of the clear starlit sky and Unless you've seen the millions billions of stars that twinkle brightly through the clear dry air over the Mojave desert You've missed a real thrill We glided down toward the landing strip on the edge of the town of Las Vegas from the air the myriad multi-colored lights made the fabulous resort Sparkle like a field of jewels Item 4 30 cents phone calls to car rental agencies. They were all closed Item 5 65 cents per cab to the flamingo hotel where I decided to spend the night and drive on to Kingman in the morning item 6 hotel overnight food and Incidentals $178 30 cents if you know Las Vegas, you know what that word incidentals me I'll say this much I tried to make some expense money on the side but Well, I guess I shouldn't have tried to cover so many of the gambling joints if I'd stayed at the flamingo Or I'd always made me a buck or two at the casino But this time lady luck just wasn't on my side. Anyway, well Item $750 deposit on a rental car the next morning. I had it south and east toward Kingman, Arizona First stop Hoover Dam where that tremendous hunk of steel and masonry straddles the Nevada Arizona state line And I took a brief but longing look at what I could see of giant Lake meet I wanted to stay right there break out my fishing tackle and take a crack at some of the huge Lunker bass for which Lake meet is famous But duty is duty or something Anyhow I hit the highway again across the hot dry desert toward the city of Kingman At this time of year at this time of morning the thermometer hits the hundred mark without any trouble at all and the occasional swimming pools and Motels outside Kingman look pretty inviting But I drove straight to Jake Kessler's insurance office on East Palm Drive Jake was tall angular well-tanned and dressed in blue jeans open denim shirt high-heeled boots and broad brimmed hat He looked as though he'd be more at home on a range pony than in this insurance office All right, darling. Let me tell you what this is all about. Okay. Thanks, Mr. Kessler Jake You want the folks around town think I'm putting on air. Okay, Jake By the way, Johnny, I hope you didn't make any arrangements to stay right here in Kingman Did you know my bags are still out in the car. Good. I got a place waiting for you down at Catherine landing What's that Lake Mojave resorts what to call it now is nice cabins good restaurant nice people right down at the edge of the lake Too bad you aren't a fisherman. Well, I Just happened to have brought along a couple of rods and reels good boy And then you'll love it bust your favor down there I'll show you spots where you can haul in the prettiest mess a large mouth bass you ever saw Five six pounds maybe more stop making my mouth water Jake. I'm supposed to be here working on a case Well, every man's entitled to a little time off for fishing and you look like you could stand some brother You aren't killing me. Listen Pat McCracken at Universal Adjustment Bureau said something about a goal. Yeah, I contacted Pat because I knew He'd know where to find you It's the Midas touch mine Johnny and it's right down that neighborhood where you'll be staying well The mine was abandoned back in the early 30s worked out apparently but about a year ago hard luck Dennis took another look at Who's he Dennis prospector promoter here and there Arizona Nevada, California He's found himself an old mine pecked away at it and managed to scratch out a fair living for himself You said promoter. Yeah. Well, I was in Texas mostly never was able to get the full story But it appears he got some folks to invest in some kind of phony oil stock down there a couple of years ago and had to skip out Couldn't have been too serious. Oh cuz the law never bothered chasing him up here Or else he was able to make things look legal enough could be could be Anyhow, he's been back in this country for a while now poking around the hills looking for the big strike again You know how prospectors are. Yeah, I've heard finally a while back He started prowling around the old Midas touch first thing. You know, he'd got a lease on it Well, I still don't see the insurance connection. You will you will and you won't like it. Okay, go on Well, next thing we knew he'd got a report on some more samples. He brought into town here at the assay office Johnny Well, you wouldn't believe it. Good Johnny. It looked like a prospectors dream comes true or worth about $1100 tons. All right now it takes money to work a mind like that no matter how you figure it First of all, he had a big pumping job to do pumping out there in the middle of the desert That's right. You see when there was just the Colorado River running down the valley It was different But since Davis Dam was put in to form Lake Mojave about 10 years ago The level of the water table in that whole area is raised considerably I see the Midas touch was in a low spot and parts of it were dug pretty deep So now with seepage from the lake feeding at the lower level filled up with water. Yeah, well not shake simmer down Johnny I'm getting to it Hard luck Dennis needed money a lot of money So who should he come to but the Haskell brothers three of my best clients. So what happened? Hate to keep you in your ear off the way, but I've got to give us some background shoot Ernie Kevin and George Haskell their money men from back east. What do you mean money men? Brokers, you know stock market. Oh Yeah, they made themselves big pile of dough got the usual ulcers doing it and then decided to give up and get as far Away from New York as possible I don't blame them but about this when they got out here instead of just retired and taking it easy You know much as you might like it at first you can get pretty bored just riding around on horseback and hunting and fishing all the time Get tired of fishing. Huh? Nothing go on. Yeah. Well after a few months. They decided they'd have to have something to do with themselves Or at least something to occupy their mind. So they bought up the old two lazy to ranch cattle 80,000 acres north of eastern here not very good grazing land But enough to keep two three hundred head of beef alive and with Alex Bundy as their foreman they did all right Well, now let's get down to gentlemen ranchers. They called themselves and that's just about what it amounted to They build a nice house on the property settled in it and well not much work But just enough worry and responsibility so that time didn't hang too heavy on the hands Now now now all their insurance is with my company the straight life. That is 500,000 a piece and you're afraid something sir half a million each and double indemnity Wow a million a piece in case of death by accident, right? Accident so let's get back to hard luck Dennis. Well that part's easy isn't is it sure Dennis needs money to open his mind the Haskell boys are obviously loaded right First off even before he got his lease he tried to sweet talk him into putting up some money But after years of fooling around with those bulls and bears in Wall Street, they were too smart for that So we took him down in the mine let him chip off some samples or and had him take it themselves down The assay office and was that the or that you said tested so high yes, sir And from the minute they saw the report on it You couldn't have held him back with a 20 mule team. How much did they go in for him? 20,000 a piece cash on the strength of a handwritten agreement with hard luck Dennis that they'd get 30% of whatever came out of the Mine, okay, Jake now. Let's get down to business Are you afraid that something connected with this Midas touch mine and hard luck Dennis is what the Haskell brothers in jeopardy? I'm afraid it's got beyond that Johnny Three days ago hard luck took the Haskell's over to the mine again for another look yeah cave in They finished digging their bodies out yesterday morning all three of hard luck Dennis He wasn't caught in that cave in where is he? Who knows hmm Then for you it's a question of a three million dollar payoff on the policies are a million and a half Yep, Johnny a question of accident or murder then for me. It's a matter of finding a killer Yeah named hard luck Dennis and when you do look out for him. Yeah Tell me Jake does anybody know I've come here to look into this the whole town I'm afraid Maybe I should have kept it quiet well sometimes it is better if we're the policies Here I'll get them for you there right in this little side office Who are the beneficiaries? Only one the girl that is or the was married to Kevin Haskell the other two were bachelors She lives at the ranch. She finally claim you know has Well, can you make the corners reports available to me anytime you want I'll take it for you Johnny dollar. I mean this is the officer. Oh, who are you? Who is this Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow I find that one of the fishermen who hangs around Lake Mojave is a character called death Join us. Won't you yours truly Johnny dollar? There's truly Johnny dollar starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone who also wrote this week's story Be sure to join us tomorrow night same time and station for the next exciting episode of yours truly Johnny dollar Roy Rowan speaking