 The Hallmark Playhouse, which is heard during most of the year at this time on Thursdays, has nearly finished its summer vacation. Be with us when Hallmark Playhouse returns to CBS four weeks from tonight on September 7. Now from Hollywood, it's time for Edmund O'Brien as... Johnny Dollar. I'm glad you're in, Dollar. This is Barton, Chief Adjutant at Cosmopolitan All-Risk. When can I see you? I hope it doesn't have to be tonight. I'm ready for bed. I'm afraid it does have to be tonight. I just got a call from a city fire inspector. There's a four-alarm place in the Hartford Alliance building. We carry the fire policy. Does Inspector phone you? Does he suspect arson? More than that, they picked up the man who said it. That policy is for over $300,000. I'd like you to sit in while this guy makes his statement. Okay, Barton. I'll meet you there. Edmund O'Brien in another adventure of the man with the action-pact expense account. America's Fabulous Freelance Insurance Investigator. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to Home Office Cosmopolitan All-Risk Insurance Company. The following is an accounting of my expenditures during investigation of the Hartford Alliance matter. Expense account item one, 250 cab fare from my apartment to the scene of the fire. I couldn't see over here. Out of Han's way. Hey, that building was a bad risk. Is there any steel in it? Yeah, maybe a little in the plumbing, but it's no worse than most in this neighborhood. Somebody's got to ensure them. Who owns it? His name is Clarence Pickett. I don't know too much about him. I understand the blaze started there in the ground floor corner office. Yeah, that's right. The Hartford Alliance loan company. An off-duty policeman saw it start as he was driving by and then grabbed this kid as he was heading it down the alley. A kid? Yeah, about 19 or so. They took him down, but we can question him when they get through. And they're sure he's the one. He was running away. Hey, look at the wall below the second floor window. Yeah, he's here. Get out of there. Get back away from that wall. Expense account item two, a dollar and 75 cents cab fare to police headquarters where I met Sergeant Broderick, the officer in charge. This kid's a queer one. I don't know what you'll get out of him. He wouldn't even give us a name to book him under. There's nothing on him that would identify him? Nothing. He must have stripped his pockets. Well, the fact that he down here killed a bunch of men might help losing them up, huh? I wish you luck. And this is it. You already mountain? I'm all over this. We're going in to talk to him. When we finish, I'll bring him out. He'll be in front of me. Right. What's that for? Get a photograph, snap one as he comes out the door. Can't get a halfway natural one any other way. Then we'll have it published and try to find out who he is. Go ahead. All right, son. Get on your feet. These men want to talk to you. Won't do you any good to talk to me. I don't want to talk about anything and I won't. Did you set that fire? Yeah, I set it. Why? It doesn't make any difference. Why, I set it and I'm ready to take anything that's coming to me. Have you set any other fires? If you mean am I one of those arson nuts, I'm not. And why'd you set it? Why do you keep asking me questions when I told you I wasn't going to answer any? Your fire almost killed some man a few minutes ago. It may do it yet. I didn't think about that. I'm, I'm sorry. I had to do it. Why? I can't tell you. Leave me alone. Somebody hire you to do it? It doesn't make any difference. Why won't you tell us who you are? Because I don't want you to know. I don't want anybody to know who I am. I don't want a trial or anything. I'll plead guilty to everything to setting the fire and to killing fire and everything. Just give me what's coming to me and leave me alone. Let me see your hands. Why? Let me see them. No. Hey, let go. Will you let go? That's all I want. What was that for? I wanted to find out what kind of a kid he is. He's not tough. His hands are clean, nails trimmed. There's a mark left by a ring on a third finger left hand. Class rings, my guess. I've had enough of now, Sergeant. Okay. We're turning him over to the psychiatrist in the morning. All right, son, on your feet. I'm going to put you to bed now. Come on. Keep moving. Hold it now. Give me that, give me that camera. You can't take it. Pensacan item, free seven dollars. Transportation and general costs the next morning, spent while running down the financial condition of Mr. Clarance Pickett, owner of the burned out building. At one p.m., I look for him at his home, and at 1.45 I found him, viewing the charred remains of the Hartford Alliance building. Mr. Pickett, you were pointed out to me by one of the workmen. My name is Dala. I'm working for Cosmopolitan All Risk. I suppose there is as trouble as I am over this. My office was right there, the corner one on the third floor. It's right over the spot where the fire started. Yes, so I've been advised. And I was reminded as to how many nights I've been working there. At the hour it broke out. You haven't assayed the loss already. It's not my job, Mr. Pickett. I'm not an adjuster. I'm a private investigator. Oh, well I suppose under conditions such as we find ourselves, it'd be reasonable to expect investigation. Who is that strange boy? And why did he do this thing? You've seen his picture in the paper there. I was gonna ask you if you knew him. I? Well, of course I did. What were your insinuations, young man? Look, Mr. Pickett, the conditions as you call them are not at all clear. An insurance company feels it as a right to make plenty of insinuations when it's up against the fire of incendiary origin. Go on. I was able to learn this morning that financially, you are not a healthy man. You rotten snoop. You've taken some pretty heavy losses on the exchange in the past few months. I've dealt in stocks, bonds and property for a long time. When the day comes that I have to burn myself out to recoup my losses, I'll go away. I don't want to talk to you any further. I'm afraid it can't stop here. Will you come down to police headquarters and face that boy they picked up? I will not. Why won't you? Because I have no reason to. I've never seen him. I don't care. On the strength of your refusal, I think a court order could force you to. You do that. I certainly would. So you have nothing to lose by coming without one. Very well, Mr. Daller. And I'll see you choke on your own insults. Sit down, Mr. Pickett. I want you to understand that this is routine procedure and in no way an accusation of any kind. No, Ross. A few words to whitewash a violation of my rights. Help yourself to the desk chair, Daller. Thank you. All right, Dr. Herbert. Will you bring the boy in now? Mr. Pickett, Mr. Daller, our psychiatrist, Dr. Herbert. How do you do, doctor? Gentleman. All right, son. Remember this is serious. Now, have you ever seen this man before? Yes, I have. What? Tell me who he is. He owns the building. Hired me to set the fire. But that's not true. He gave me $50 and promised me 50 more. But he's lying. I've never seen him before in my life. Why would he lie? How should I know? Because he's insane. He's trying to use me to hide something else. Son, where is the money? I spent it. I didn't get the other 50. He's a wolf. He lies. It sounds like a scheme of the police. Where it will not be as easy as that. I'll not put up with another moment. I'll see Council before I speak with you again. I couldn't hold him. We can pick him up later. Either of you want any more with this one? I'll see him later this afternoon. Nothing for me right now. All right, son. Come on. We'll go back to that room and talk some more. What do you think, doctor? There is a greatly troubled and very confused young man. I could do very little to help him. A psychiatrist needs cooperation. He fought me every moment of the consultation. You think he was telling the truth about Pickett? It's hard to say. It could be true. On the other hand, as a falsehood, it could be classed as one aspect of this truth. A tremendously strong desire to keep some secret hidden. How would he know that Pickett was the owner of the building? That would be quite simple. The newspaper was shown to him this morning in an effort to force him to reveal his identity. Yeah, that's right. There's still no key to who he is, eh? None. I've learned only that he seems to be, what should we say, a well-bred boy, fairly well-educated, who was tortured by something in the building that he feared and hated. The fire started in the offices of the Hartford Alliance loan company. Do you think a debt that the boy couldn't pay off would be a strong enough motive to drive him to arson? Oh, unless it were a debt of shame. No. Well, we have to start someplace. Loan company is a better lead than what we've had so far. Say, you're sure the kid isn't making this up that he's not a psychopathic? The psychopath is only an emotionally immature individual. And two of us can say that we have reached emotional maturity all what it is. After hearing the doctor out to the bitter end, I knew no more about the arson case than I'd known before. Expense count item 4, $1.75, cab fare, back to the ruins of the Hartford Alliance building. Only a guard from the fire department is there, and a workman who was busy in the same office I wanted to look over. I wouldn't come in here if I were you. You'll get dirty and it isn't too safe. Are you all right? What do you want? Now, I got no key from the guards out there. I'm an investigator working on this case. Oh, go ahead then. This loan outfit hired me to bring out this stuff that isn't burned, but it's all mixed up with the stuff from upstairs. Caved in. Yes, fires are a mess. And a safe from up there fell through, and I can't tell one from the other. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole floor came next. What's left of it? What are you looking for? I don't know. What was upstairs? An employment agency from what I picked up, maids and butlers and that kind of thing. There's a one safe and that's the other. Can you tell them apart? Why don't you take both of them out and open them? Yeah, well, all right. Give me a hand then, will you? Sure. This one's almost covered up. Hey, what's that? Sounds like a timber. Let's move. Higher stuff above. Yeah. Yeah, there's someone up there. Come on this way. Come on. Hey! Hey, you up there! Hey! Hey! The highest standard of living, the highest wages and the shortest hours. All this plus the time-honored guarantee of individual freedom. Where else will you find all these advantages, but under our American economic system? Help to preserve that system. It has brought more benefits to more people than any other system ever devised. Now with our star, Edmund O'Brien, we return to the second act of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. Oh, Rotten. How about the workman? Bad. I guess I feel better than he does. Hey, Barton, that cave-in was no accident. What's that? There was a man on the floor above us. It's one of the last things I remember. He was looking down at us holding a crowbar. Why didn't you say something about it yesterday? I wasn't thinking straight. You don't have to crack in the head like that. I began to remember last night. I guess it'll be hard to prove. There were two safes in there. One from the Hartford Alliance loan company and the other from the Hartford Alliance employment agency. It had fallen through from the office above. I don't get it. I don't either. But we just decided to move both of them out because you couldn't tell them apart without looking at their contents. And that's when the roof fell in. And you're trying to work out a connection. Oh, I don't know. Say, what about the kid? Has he been identified? Not much. I wouldn't build a case on it yet. I'll try some more coffee and aspirin and when I can make it, I'll go down and talk to the kid again. Howdy here, will you? I'd like to. I wish I'd never heard of you, much less senior. But it's my job to clean this thing up. That means putting as much evidence as I can get into the hands of the people who hired me. So settled back. I might be working on you until you're middle-aged. Picket hired me. I told you that. Speaking as an insurance man, I'd like to believe that's true. But I don't think it is. I think something in the building was behind that fire. He paid me to do it. And why would somebody try to kill a workman and me because we were pulling a couple of office safes out of the wreckage? I don't know. I don't know anything about that. Picket hired me. What does the Hartford Alliance loan company mean to you? Nothing. I don't know anything about it. Or the Hartford Alliance Employment Agency? It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean anything. Nothing does. I can't tell you anything. I... Leave me alone, will you? I can't tell you anything. Please. Leave me alone. His silence stopped paying off and his picture in the paper started to. A woman phoned in to say that she thought she recognized him. And at six that evening I was standing on her doorstep in the little resort village of Pine Orchard. Mrs. Landry? Yes. My name is Dollar. I talked to you after you phoned the police and hurt them. Oh, yes, Mr. Dollar. Won't you come in? Thank you. It was just the strangest thing about the way I happened to see that Hartford paper. Nobody out here takes it, you know. But I went down to the drugstore to buy a movie magazine and something just pulled my eyes to this paper and there was Billy Brandon. You're sure of it? I've known him since he was a tyke. I worked for his people, you know. That was before Mrs. Brandon passed on three years ago. I can't imagine what could have got into Billy to be in such awful trouble. Is his father still alive? Oh, my, yes, a splendid man. And they live here in Pine Orchard? Only in the summer. They're from Chicago. But they have a huge estate here, loads of money. Mr. Brandon is in Florida fishing. Poor man, I don't suppose he even knows. The police are trying to locate him. Yes, I just don't know what to think of it. How could Billy cause his poor father such shame? Mrs. Landry, do you know if there's anyone on the estate now that I could talk to? Nobody that lives in. Mr. Meek, the gardener, lives just down the street. He told me just yesterday that that woman who kept out there left her job without so much as locking up the house. Who is she? They're maid, an out-of-town girl. From your home, Hartford, some employment agency sender. Employment agency? That's what Mr. Meek told me. Mrs. Landry, do you know if it was the Hartford Alliance Employment Agency? The Lyon, yes, that was it. It's their business, I suppose, but there are plenty of good girls right here in town. Mrs. Landry, what was her name, do you know? No, I don't, but Mr. Meek lives just down the street. He'd know. It turned out to be Belle Muir. And with that information, I pride Sergeant Broderick loose from a friendly poking aim after I'd gotten back to Hartford. I met him in the fire room at headquarters. Come on in, darling, we'll see what we can dig up. Now, give me your theory again, will you? And according to your psychiatrist, young Brandon was afraid of something in that building. It would seem that somebody else was afraid to see one of the two safe sleeves. How sure are you of that? I saw a man pry the wall loose. Did you identify him? Probably not, I just caught a flash. But the fact that the Brandons had hired a girl from the agency sort of falls into place, doesn't it? Don't you smell black, man? We'll see. You want to check our files on the girl, right? Both the girl and the manager of the agency, Benjamin Price. What's her name again? Bellmure, M-U-I-R. M-U... Here it is. Here's a mure, Adelaide. How's that for a record? Look at that, they never learn. Mullen, mullen, that's it, no more mures. Can we try Price now? Sure, here's the mail file over here. Price, price, a... Adolf. Dollar. Benjamin? Benjamin L. Benjamin L... Yeah, here he is. What do you know about that? What's on him? 1939, suspected of fraud, no indictment. 1944, suspected of receiving stolen goods, no indictment. Suspicion of fraud again in 48, no indictment. What about young Brandon? Can I talk to him? He won't do any good tonight. He's in the hospital under sedatives. You can't help feeling sorry for him, at least I can. Especially if it's blackmail. Yeah, I know. His father's due in tomorrow afternoon. Maybe he can do something with him. Well, I'll see if I can get authorization from the Bunco detail to follow this through. Tomorrow we'll look into that setup. Do you care if I go ahead tonight? Where you going? Bellmure's. Why start with her? Couple of reasons. With a background of suspicions, but no indictments like that, Price must be smart. And I'd like her to talk to him before I do. Put him on guard and see what his next move will be. OK, darling, there's no way I can stop you. You've been lucky so far. Don't foul it up now. Lucky? Don't trade you my headache for your polka losses any day. The discovery of Benjamin Price's name in the police file wasn't the only development to take place at headquarters. The desk sergeant had a message which he passed along just before I left. The workman who had been with me in the office when the wall had come down on us had died of his injuries. It wasn't just an arson case any longer. I found Bellmure at home, the ground floor apartment, low income neighborhood. Her reaction when I introduced myself gave me nothing. She invited me in, apologized for some nylons drying on the back of the chair, and invited me to sit down. I can't believe that Mr. Brandon would do such a thing. Why would he? I think he was being blackmailed. Oh, a nice young man like him. I don't think he'd ever do anything he could be blackmailed for. He's too nice. Have you ever heard of anybody but people with nice reputations standing still for blackmail? Oh, I can't believe it. And I don't understand about the fire. Why would he do that? To try and stop the blackmailers. Now, you're the only connection we've found between the building and the Brandon's. I hoped you could help us. I don't know anything about it. You got your job with the Brandon's through the Hartford Alliance Employment Agency? Yeah, I've been signed with them for over a year. Is there any way they could have gotten a hold of any information they could use against the boy? I don't see how. And I swear, I don't know what it could be. Young Mr. Brandon was almost too nice of you. I don't know what I mean. Well, just what do you mean? Well, I've had trouble with some of these spoiled rich men's sons. Mr. Brandon never looked twice at me. Listen, you don't think that I... Why'd you leave your job so suddenly, Miss Mueller? I didn't. I'm still employed. But when his father ran off to Florida and young Mr. Brandon said he was going away, I didn't see any youths cooling my heels in that place away from my friends. Uh-huh, sure. I think you're barking up the wrong tree, Mr. Dollar. They're all nice people in the agency, everyone. Mr. Price, the manager? He's very nice. He is quite a record of being questioned by the police. I don't believe that. It's true. Well, I never would have suspected it. I don't know what to think of this, Mr. Dollar. I really don't. I don't either, Miss Mueller. I won't take any more of your time. Thanks a lot. Well, anything I can do to help, please crawl on me. I said I would and left the apartment. But I got back to a position outside her door in time to hear a phone dialed and a conversation that started, he was here. Proof of blackmail is hard to get without the cooperation of the victim, which is also hard to get. But it looked more and more like that lay behind the trouble. The next morning I decided to try my luck with Benjamin Price. Mr. Price? That's right. My name is Dollar. I'm investigating the fire in your building for the insurance company. What do you want from me? I didn't light it. It's funny you should say that. Why? Because in a way I think you did. You can suspect blackmail all you want. That's one thing making it stick as another. I guess Belle won't be much of a witness against you, will she? Best kind I can think of. We're gonna get married. She's loyal. So why don't you drop it, Dollar? You won't get any place. You feel a little different now than you did when we were moving your safe out of that building. You must have gotten rid of the evidence. I don't get you. Yes, you do. I saw you. Don't you remember I yelled at you? Don't be ridiculous. The man who was with me, the workman, died yesterday afternoon. With a blackmail, it should work into a first degree murder charge. You're going pretty far, aren't you? Not as far as the men from the police laboratory are going. They're looking for marks from a crowbar and that rubble that came down on us. And they're pretty good. Watch where you talk this stuff up, Dollar. I'm warning you. I don't scare easy and I don't railroad easy. Then what are you worried about? Watch where you shoot off your mouth. Now beat it. Go on. I wish you hadn't gone to him, Dollar. You said yourself he was smart. He is, but he's guilty, too. I recognize him and he knows it. What about the father? Well, he got in a little afternoon. He's a pretty important man in Chicago, an ex-public defender. Defense lawyer now with one of the biggest private practices there. I'm sure he would be. Yeah, this is the room. We, uh, moved him out of the ward. Mr. Brandon, this is Mr. Dollar from the insurance company. How do you do? Mr. Brandon. Well, I understand that you've done a great deal of work on this situation. And I feel that it's fair to tell you that neither my son or I will make any kind of statement until we take the query under the fullest consideration. That's all right with me, Mr. Brandon. I just left Benjamin Price. You did? Yeah. From his attitude, I take it that the basis of his blackmail is pretty strong. Blackmail? I see no reason for that word to enter the conversation. You're not in the courtroom now, Mr. Brandon. You're in a hospital room where your son has been kept under sedatives because of an almost complete nervous breakdown. Price is convinced that you'll sacrifice your son rather than give us proof that we'll clean this up. He threw that in my face. Mr. Dollar is an insurance investigator. What is your interest in this case at the moment? Your son has tried to involve an innocent man. The company that hired me would be liable to slander if they tried to build a case on his accusations. And you know the insurance companies. I do, indeed. I can promise you that we'll dig into your son's background and your background until we get the answers we want. Dad... Just a moment, Will. If you let Price get through this one untouched, where do you think he'll stop, Mr. Brandon? Dad, make him go. I can't stand anymore. I don't care about myself, but I don't want... Well, let me handle this. Mr. Dollar, you must realize that my son acted under severe emotional strain. Could I depend upon you to be a witness in his defense? No, you couldn't. He started something that caused a man's death. Dad, don't let him talk anymore. Just leave me alone and I'll take care of it. I've done it all right so far. Yeah, you've done a fine job. Bill, I think it's gone far enough. It has to stop sometime. But, Dad... Dollar, my son was involved in a traffic accident in Chicago two years ago. He was drunk. Woman was killed. There was a witness and I paid him to perjure himself in our favor. Bill was acquitted. Price found out about that? Yes. This man... Well, his name isn't important now. He continued to extort money from me. He phoned at the house in Pine Orchard and the maid overheard. I didn't know Bill knew about it until today. She didn't know I was there and I listened to her talk about it. The first one was bad enough, but then with another one I had to do something... Did you make a payment to the maid? No, somebody else. A man. Did you recognize him? Yes. Would you identify him if we took you to him? Yes. The rest, as far as I was concerned, came 20 minutes later when Mr. Brandon, Sergeant Broderick and I stood in front of Benjamin Price's door. Well, Dollar, haven't you caused... That's the man. Who is this guy? What is this? Get out of here. I think we better come in, Price. No, you don't. I know my rights. You don't come in without a warrant. We got a warrant. What do you want in here? All we want is you, Price. There's a man waiting outside. I want to place you at the scene of the murder. I can't do it. I wasn't there. You'll have your chance to prove that if you can. The man want to go through your apartment. Why? To look for traces of soot from the building. All they need is a speck or two. Come on, Price. Let's talk it over. Not me. Oh, you know you don't, Price? Does it... Okay, pick him up, Dollar. Don't bother to be gentle. He won't care. Expense account item 6, $40, Miss Heleneus. Item 7, $2.50 cab fare back to my apartment. I guess the company won't get far trying to avoid the payment of damages. But all of us might make a moral out of the matter. Maybe somebody has said it before. One sin begets another. In this case, the original conspiracy that perjurer witnessed parlayed to a narsan indictment. The son, fraud and murder for Price and Belmure, and enough charges to put the father out of work for the duration. All I got out of it was a headache. Expense account total, $180. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, stars Edmund O'Brien in the title role, and is written by Gil Dowd with music composed and conducted by Leith Stephens. Edmund O'Brien can currently be seen starring in the Columbia Pictures production, 7-Eleven Ocean Drive. Featured in the night's cast, never back, Ken Christie, Raymond Burr, Gil Stratton Jr., Howard McNeer, Ted Osborne, and Peggy Weber. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, is produced and directed by Jaime Delvalle. There will be a new adventure with Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's famous private eye on most of these same CBS stations this Friday night. Shrewd, hard-boiled, given to the wisecrack, Philip Marlowe will bring you a solid half-hour of thrills Friday night on CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Thanks for watching.