 And now, a tale well-calculated to keep you in suspense. Time to put our lipstick properly. I'm sure the natives will love you, Jarre. What natives? Where are we, Charlie? You mean to sit there making up that utterly provocative lower lip after we arrive at the biggest motel in the only town on 150 miles of desert highway and not know where we are? Well, I suppose I could find some postcards or envelopes in one of these drawers. Ah, you just stick with the decorating. How billion from this folder? See, this is the Beat Tatican. Beat Tatican Motel is located on the outskirts of Red Mountain, Arizona. So that's where we are. That's where we are. Red Mountain, Arizona is 485 miles east of Los Angeles. What's more, the temperature is now 20 degrees. It's expected to drop to five below tonight with snow before morning. Well, now it doesn't say that in the folder. Ah, the manager told me that when we registered. Five below? I've never been where it got that cold. Ah, you California gals. All you've got going for you there is climate. You never have weather. I'm sorry I failed you so early in our marriage. Better to know the worst right away. But come on, let's eat. I'm ready. Now, how do I look? Ah, you look fine to me. But the Indians may think white men go on warpath again. Huh? White's wall where heap much war pain. Funny, man. I got the key. I got it. Let's go. Ooh, it's cold. 20 degrees and dropping. Hey, be careful. There's ice there. Oh. Here, hang on to me. What's that? It's a train. That's what it is. Look, over there across the road. A train out here in the middle of nowhere? Sure, it's main line from LA to Chicago. Runs alongside the highway out here for hundreds of miles. Look at the meeting dinner in that dining car. I'll bet they're nice and warm. Want to change places? Uh-uh. Oh, they look so safe. I don't want to be safe. I want adventure. You picked a great place for it. Red Mountain. The hotspot of Northern Arizona. Just look at it. One main street, 52 motels, 87 gas stations. And six restaurants featuring chill mac and canned soup. The manager shills for the Cachina doll down toward center town. Watch out for that little truck, Charlie. I see him. He's far enough away, I think. Oh, that's so and so. That's what I do. I don't know. He waited till I pulled out in front of him and then he let me have his bright lights. Nearly blinded me in the rear vision mirror. Oh, maybe he's signaling he wants to pass. Let him. That's it. He's blowing his horn. Look out. He's putting on his brakes. He nearly piled into him. He's drunk. That's what. Oh, crazy. Well, now he slowed down to 20. Well, I'll have to pass him. Ooh, he won't let you. This is. I speed up, he speeds up. Well, let him go then, Charlie. It's a good thing nobody was coming towards us. Watch out. He's slowing down again. 15. Do you suppose he's doing that on purpose? No, I don't know. Hey, hey, come on. The Kachina doll. Where? Over there, there on the left. Well, there's one way of losing our comedian. I'll just peel off to the left and let him have a highway to himself. He doesn't seem to want the highway, Charlie. Look up the road. He's turning into their gas station. He's coming back. I'll let him. Come on, let's eat. Charlie, you better lock the car. Why? Him. There's nothing for anybody to take. I'd feel better if you locked it. All right. Look. Look, he's cruising by, looking us over like he was a cop and we did something. Yeah, maybe he is. It occurred to me when he first swung in front of us. Well, he isn't in uniform. Well, there, the car is all locked. Let's go. Charlie, down the road, he's turning around again. What's the matter with him? Whatever it is, it's his problem. Let's eat. We're not too late for dinner, are we? Oh, no. We can take care of you. Right this way, please. Who's for two? Good. Care for a little drink? No, I don't think we do. I'm pretty hungry. Let's just have some food because we're starved. Let's see the menu. OK. Coming right up. The driver of that pickup truck, he just came in. So it's a public place. But he's coming over here. Let him. Hey, you. Don't pay any attention to him. Hey, you. Were you speaking to me? Yeah, that blue 61 Chevy outside, that belonged to you. It does. What's on your mind? Outside. Charlie, don't go. What's on your mind? Look, but I don't like people cutting in front of me. You mean when I drove out of the motel? Yeah, that's what I mean. I didn't realize you were coming on so fast. Yeah, well, I could have killed you. I could have run you down and killed you. Stupid of me not to realize the danger I was in. Yeah, well, I don't like people doing things like that. I'll blame you and believe me, it won't happen again. Yeah, better not. Because the next time, brother, I'll kill you. I'm sure you will. Yeah, I'll kill you next time. I'll remember that. Yeah, you do that. Yeah, well, accept your apology and you remember the next time. I remember next time you'll kill me. Yeah. Don't you forget it. Believe me, I won't. He was drunk, Charlie. At least. I could smell it all the way across the table. Well, that's why I agreed with him. You were wonderful. I'm afraid you think I was chicken. No, no. There's no point arguing when they're that far gone. No wonder he drove the way he did. I'm proud of you. You left him with no way to go, but out. Hey, did he give you any troubles? No, not really. But he might have. He might have killed us out there on the road. Oh, Leroy don't mean no harm. You know him? Ah, sure. Everybody knows Leroy. He talks rough, but he don't mean no harm. Well, your folks decided? I'm not very hungry now. Oh, but you must eat something, huh? You order for me. Gracious, I'm afraid I've lost my appetite too. Fried pork chops is nice tonight with flour gravy. No, I think not. Have you any soup? Oh, yes, ma'am. Vegetable, tomato, green peas. In cans? Well, it's a matter of fact, yes. Good. But I'd prefer it that way. You do? Yes. Yes, then the cook can't get at it. Huh? We'll have vegetable soup. Well, okay. Two vegetable soups. And what else? That's all. Yes, ma'am. And listen, stop letting Leroy upset you. He's just a big kid. That's all. Oh, who put that on? Another folk song. Charlie. Hmm? Are you sure you locked the car? I'm sure. Maybe you better go look. Why? I don't know. Maybe he's done something, so broken a window. What a tire. I don't know. Well, I was thinking the same thing. Okay, I'll go look. We'll be careful. Everything's okay. I've been thinking, hon. I think we ought to report him to the police. Maybe. We could have been killed, you know. If anybody had been coming the other way, when he wouldn't let us past him, we'd have been killed. I know. If he tried the same thing on somebody else and they were hurt, or worse, I'd never forgive myself. Well, two vegetable soups? Say, are you sure you don't want to try the fried pork chops? Quite sure, thank you. Miss, can you call the police for me? The police? What for? I ask you now, can you call them for me? Now look, if it's on account of Leroy, well, I wouldn't do that if I was you. You're not me, are you? No. I'm kind of glad I'm not you. What kind of a crack is that? Leroy. You don't bother me. Yes, officer, I wrote down the license number 8808. Yeah, that's right, officer. It was an international harvester pickup, painted red and shiny. That's Leroy, all right. That's his horn. No, lady, that ain't Leroy. That's the Orange Empire Express. Goes through here every night at 9.42. Oh, well, anyway, this Leroy was drunk. More than likely. He's driving in a fog. And you want me to arrest him? I don't think you should before he causes an accident, or hurts, or kills somebody. Oh, that ain't likely. How do you know? I know Leroy. Look, I know my rights. I hope you know your duty. I want you to swear out a warrant for the arrest of this Leroy. I want you to go out and pick him up and put him in jail till he sobers up. Oh, Leroy's the same drunk or sober. It makes no difference. Then maybe he should go to another kind of institution. You sure you want to make a formal complaint? What's going on here? Is this Leroy the son of the mayor or the nephew of the governor or something? What kind of a conspiracy is this? Your boy Leroy could have killed me and my wife, and yes, I do want to make a formal complaint. That's what I thought I was doing. Look at it this way. You're just passing through town. Chances are you won't be back this way for months, years, maybe never. But me? I got to live here with Leroy and all the other Leroy's in town. We get quite a few of them. They're just big kids. They don't really mean no harm, but they get restless. There ain't enough to do in this burg, only one movie show. The TV don't come through good. That leaves the bars. So they get their kicks on 66, scaring the pants off of tourists as they pass through. Sounds kind of silly when you put it that way, but that's about the size of it. Tell you what I'll do. I'll have a talk with Leroy next time I see him. Well, I want you to put him behind bars now, tonight, before he kills someone. Gee, Mr. I sure would like to blodge with it. I would know where to begin looking for him at this hour of night. With the weather kicking up a blizzard, I just wouldn't know where to begin. That's a fact. I mean, it invades your privacy on, but haven't you already filed the nails on that hand? Huh? Oh, yes. Charlie, I'm so nervous. I don't know what I'm doing, and I keep hearing noises outside. Your imagination's playing tricks. I suppose so. But just a minute ago, I thought I heard them again. Oh, Charlie, I know it's silly. But would you please check the car again for me? Oh, come on, Flo. Please. And then I promise I'll get ready for bed. What is it? Somebody left the air out of the back fire. Come on, answer the phone. Hurry, Charlie, hurry. Well, you don't answer. No wonder. What? That's this card here. It says, the motel switchboard is closed after 10 p.m. But we've got to get air in those tires. We couldn't wait a morning? No, Charlie. I will not stay in this place a minute longer with that crazy man out there beeping his horn at us. And I don't know what all. Next thing, he'll murder us in our bed. I can't get anybody to answer the phone. Well, we'll just have to wake up the manager. I'm going to like it. I couldn't care less. Can't you come out in the back? Same thing? Same thing. I could have told you. Nobody's coming out in this weather to fix a time. How do you get the police? Well, they ain't coming out either. Number, please. Operator, will you give me the police? Look, you folks are keeping me up. This will only take a minute. Uh, listen, did you pick up Leroy? Oh, you. Yeah, it's me. You got Leroy in jail? No. I didn't think so. Well, he's just let the air out of my tires. Of course I didn't see him do it. But my rear tires are flat. And what's more, I can't get anybody to come out here and pump them up for me. Well, I don't want to wait till morning. I don't want to spend another minute in your crummy town. I want to get out of here right now. It's a good idea. I just might do that. That's about all I could suggest. And, uh, don't you friend, I'll speak to you. Thanks a lot. Come on, Flo. Let's get out of here. Just a minute. You owe me for those phone calls. Yeah, here. Keep the change by a trip to the moon. How's it going, honey? The last one's nearly up. Is the car packed? Everything's ready to go. Oh, listen. That's him. That's his horn. Hurry, Charlie. No, no, no. Don't, don't less panic, Flo. What can he do? No, I don't know. I don't know. Oh, what's he done, really? Charlie, just don't try to reason with me. Get that tire pumped up and take me away from here. Please, please, Charlie, please. What's the idea of parking out in front of the police station blowing that horn? You're giving this town a bad name. Scan them thirst. They want me to arrest you. Oh, you wouldn't do that to an old friend. I didn't want to, but then you had a goal and let the air out of their tires. You know, I'd do the darnedest thing sometimes. No, no, you're going home. I'll lock you up for being ornery. You better do that, Pete, because I never make it. You know, I can't see to drive home. All right, climb out then. I'll give you a cell to sleep it off in. Yeah. Putting up a pit in the jailhouse. City limits, Red Mountain. Come back soon. Sure we will. I never was so glad to get out of any place in my whole life. I didn't exactly enjoy it too much myself. Hello, lady. It's funny how a little thing like that can work on you. You grow and grow on the edge of panic. Those snowflakes are so big. They come straight at you. Well, what a duck, because they seem to be coming through the windshield. The best driving conditions, I can tell you that. Can't do much better than 20. Oh, I don't care if you have to drive to the dreadful town every minute. That's all I need. What? There's some idiot behind me with his high beam on. Only one headlight. He is murder. Charlie, you don't suppose? He's overtaking us fast. You can't let him pass. You can't let him box us out here in his blizzard. What I can't see is the snow. It's just a white wall. Faster, Charlie. Charlie, he's gaining on us. Yeah, but that one headlight's in the mirror. It's blinding me slow. He's gaining on us, Charlie, faster. Jimmy Blaine. Hello. Have a nice trip. Don't forget to follow. Your vacation or a weekend trip. Well, long distance can be a big help. You decide where you want to go. Then just pick up your phone and call ahead for reservations. Make sure of a good place to stay. And while you're away, it's so easy to keep in touch with home by telephone. Well, have a good trip and don't forget to phone. Music supervision by Ethel Huber. The third in tonight's story were Gwen Davis, James Dimitri, Bill Mason, and Sam Raskin. Sound patterns by Walter Otto. This is Stuart Metz speaking. Listen again next week when we return with the next murder written by Joseph Corcoran. Another tale well calculated to keep you in.