 Johnny Dollar. Dollar, this is Michael J. Kendry at the San Francisco Office of International Life and Casualty. What's the Kendry? No, I'm not in my office. I'm over at Lake Tahoe, you know the place? South Arena? Can I have a telephone? Can I have a Nevada? That's right. I'm staying at a motel called Seven Plains Large at the south end of the lake. On the map, the town's called Al-Tahoe. Seven Plains Large in Al-Tahoe. Yeah, got it. Oh, and I understand it's a pretty great fishing in that lake. So Kendry, I'll grab the first one I can. Fishing, huh? What? Maybe that's what you'll end up doing all right. Great. For the body of a man named Marvin W. Smedley. Huh? Yes, radio brings you far Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Truly, Johnny Dollar. The expense account submitted by a special investigator, Johnny Dollar. For the International Life and Casualty insurance company, San Francisco Office. Following his mention of expenses incurred during my investigations, the Twins of Tahoe matters. Expense account at a 1-182-50 cab to Bradley's Field and an early-money jet flight to San Francisco. Item two, when I got the F-50 dollars deposit on a rental car. I could have taken a ferry plane to Sacramento or even North Carino. But I wanted another look-see at this part of the country. And I'm glad I made the drive. For Route 50, took me through a lot of the romantic old gold rush country. Yeah, through Placerville, now a quiet, busy little city. But once it's one of the most lawless, notorious places in the West, where the corner of Maine and Columbus streets was known only as Hangtown. And at one end of Main Street, you can still see the famous Hangtown Bell, where we used to call out the vigilantes in times of trouble. And then, finally, Lake Tahoe. And my way of thinking is one of the most beautiful spots on Earth. Over 20 miles long, about half as wide, its deep, clear water is the bluest I've ever seen, except in the shallows and on the edges where it takes to an almost brilliant emerald. Trolls still kept peeps stand out above the dense, forever-green forest that surrounds the lake, barely hiding the many resorts that nestle together along the water's edge. And the water's cold out there and very deep. There are parts that have never been fathomed. Now and then I could see the clean, cloudy way of the freeboats, sometimes with the waters here and tall. A group of small steelboats like canvas spread to the wind. Here and there along the shoreline, a few hearty soles and swimming, bathing the chill waters in that breathless high altitude before the early winter snows would come. And then, in contrast, in various spots along the highway, on the Nevada side, as such things are illegal in California, there were huge, gaudy, restless, noisy gambling houses. And out town, though, it was seven pines large, and there were seven tall pines around these little motels. Kendry was waiting there for them. Yeah, that's right. Glad you made it. I'm Mike Kendry. Oh, yeah. How are you, Mike? Good morning to Mike Cabin. I'll tell you what it's all about. Oh, Mrs. Elton, Mr. Dollar's alive. I'll settle him in the cabinet tomorrow. Come on, Johnny. Yeah, yeah. Hey, you mentioned fishing for the body of a man by the name of Smedley. The police are fishing for it now. Marvin W. Smedley. He's a client of... He was a client of ours. Very wealthy, retired. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good morning, sir. Well, on the way in here, you passed a big piece of lakeside property with a small stone house set back away from the beach. Oh, yeah, I know. Smedley, where he lived with a housekeeper, Mrs. Turner, and his twin nephews, Tracy and Alfred Smedley. They're over 25 or six. So what happened? About three o'clock this morning, Mrs. Turner woke up to what she thought was the sound of a shot. She went into the boy's room to see if they'd heard it, but they weren't there. Oh. And she remembered Tracy had said he'd be out gambling all night over on the Nevada side, and that Alfred was at the two or three-day house party at the upper end of the lake. And rather than try to wake an old man Smedley, well, she decided it was only a backfire and went back to bed. Yeah. But when she got up for breakfast, well, she found the library in a real mess and the safe had been rightful. Uh, no sign of Smedley? No. That's the one, Mike, please. Now, she knew that old Smedley had a habit of getting up in the middle of the night and going in there and counting his money. He never did trust the banks. He kept everything he had in that safe. So she knew right away what must have happened. Uh-huh. She knew for sure when she found that Smedley wasn't in his bedroom or anywhere else around the house. Oh, uh, also, she said, she could smell gunpowder there in the library. Well, did she call the police? Yeah. And Sergeant Corder came running, and when he found the footprints leading down to the beach, down to the dock, he found the marks of a body dragged along. And the body itself? No sign. Must have been weighted down and dumped in the lake. Who, Mike? No question about it. They've been living easy often for years, just waiting for them to die so they could get their hands on his money. One of the twins. Only one of them? Only one said the footprints out there in the sand. Had the police been able to find the twins? Sure have. They've got them locked up in the local Huzoff. Then what's the problem? Only one of them did it, Johnny. Okay? But both of them. Both of those boys have absolutely airtight alibi. Crime, delinquency, threats of war. These are the subjects that dominate our news headlines these days. Not very pleasant subjects, are they? You may say that somebody ought to do something about cutting down on crime and delinquency and in promoting peace among nations. But that there's nothing you personally can do about it. Well, that's where you're wrong. You can wage your own fight against crime and delinquency in your own family by taking the family to the church or synagogue of your faith this week. The inspiration and guidance you and they will receive from spiritual contact will strengthen moral background and faith. Regular attendance at religious services will help your family to work out its own problems and give them comfort in facing the tensions of our present day life. Worshiping together brings your family closer together too. And supporting your own religious institutions provides funds to help those individuals and families who, unlike you, are unable to help themselves. Find the strength for your life. We're together this week. Now, act two of yours truly, Johnny Dolley. He said roped off a lane from Smedley's house to the beach to the dock where it was obvious from the traction of the sand that somebody had dragged the old man out there, piled him into one of the robots, then dropped him into the lake. It was one of those twins Mr. Dollar had to be. Now, why do you say that, Chief? It started. It started to build cars. Okay, but not only because of what Mr. Kendry told you about him, but because the footprints that hauled him out of here was made by the shoes you want up. Which one? Either Tracy or Alfred. But you don't know which. Well, that's the trouble, not only because it was a pair of brand new shoes that didn't have any what you might call identifying mark, even where they showed up here in the damp sand, but because those two young punks always dressed exactly alike. You know, so it's a cover up for each other. How do you mean? I mean, not only because they were always... Those boys were always mischief makers, Johnny, and sure were and still are. They, well, they just didn't have anything else to do. One of them was provoked a fight at one of the gaming casinos or borrowed somebody's car without permission, if that's nonsense, and each of them was where it was the other. Oh, yeah. And because they look and talk and act exactly alike nobody can ever tell which is which. Well, the police here never knowing which one they could legally hold and they were always threatening the super-false arrest. And you'd be as mad as we are over how many times they've gotten away with that, darling. Right. And not only because witnesses to whatever they did couldn't tell them apart, but that fool uncle of theirs had always come along and pay a fine or something before we could nail down the right one. And you say they both have alibis for whenever it was this thing happened. Yes, sir. About three o'clock this morning. And you're sure about those flip flops? Sure I am. Found the shoes that made him in the house in the clothes closet. Found the sand on him. In those closets. Tracy's. Aw. Yes, sir. And Alfred's. Aw. Same closet. tragic quarter. Mike and I went on into the house to talk to Mrs. Made-Centers. Nightly's old housekeeper. Tall, raw bone, but erect and strong in spite of years having worked hard all her life. She looked as if nothing in the world could ever face it. But obviously the death of her employer had. If only he'd have listened to me, Mr. Dollar. If only he'd have listened. Because I know something like this would happen to the poor old man. He'd been keeping all of his money here in the house instead of down to the bank where he ought to. How much money, Mr. Center? Goodness knows, Mr. Dollar. But for all he had was a rich man and everybody knows that he kept it here. And that he'd come down in the middle of the night and cut it all out to himself. And look, he didn't even pull down the shade so as anybody and everybody could see him sitting here with all his money. And I told him, I told him. And now, now it's happened. In other words, Sergeant, almost anybody around here could be suspected. If it wasn't for the footprints out there in the sand. Well, what footprints did you say? Well, to be honest, it's not it. That's why I came in here earlier, Miss Turner. Look at the boy's shoes and their closet. You see, whoever did it hauled him out and threw him in the lake. Well, that is... He doesn't need to tell me, Officer. Because I kept telling him about them, too. About the way he was spoiling them to that. Giving them everything they wanted. I told him sooner or later one of them would get so greedy he'd turn on to him. But which one, Miss Turner? Which one? They're the only relatives that he had. So it was ours. Oh. Oh, and it was facing. Oh, yeah. My next move was to go on down to the jail and talk with the twins. Oh, they were identical, all right. I wondered how they themselves knew which was which. But in spite of what seemed to be the general opinion of them, they impressed me. He is just a couple of other nice, normal, high-spirited kids. So what if we did raise a little pain around town now, and then, Mr. Dollar, none of it ever really did any harm. And we had to do something with our time. All right, now look here, Tracy. No, I'm outside. Oh, and what I mean is, it's no reason to pen a lousy thing like this on us. Even though we aren't too sorry that he's gone. After all, what did he have to live for? Oh, I mean, just having to drag on maybe 10 or 15 years more with that lung trouble he had. Now, look, you boys never had to do a lick of working your line. Well, not since we got through school. But do you know why, Mr. Dollar? Why, Al? I mean, Tracy? Because Uncle Mar didn't want us to. He'd worked so hard as a prospector and a miner accumulating his pile, and he wanted somebody to enjoy his money. And that old skin-flint ever want somebody else to enjoy it? That's right, Tracy and me. We're his only kin. Yeah. That's why he told us he was leaving us all his insurance. And what about the rest of the estate? We don't own, we don't care. After all, he did plenty for us. I mean, even before this insurance we'll get. But it's the truth that you killed him, Tracy. All now, wait, Mr. Dollar. Have you got any proof that Uncle Mar was killed? Proof that? Well, what? I mean, sir, that unless you find his body... Don't you worry about that, Tracy. I mean, Al. My boys will find his body if they have to drag that entirely. But unless you do, you won't really have a case against us or anybody, will you? We'll find it, all right. And why don't you suspect somebody besides us? Yeah? Like who? I'll tell you who, Sergeant. What about all those old prospectors from the old days that he did out of mining claims that have kept coming back to me for handouts? Oh, you're a fine man to talk about handouts. Now, listen, don't tell me you aren't glad that he's gone. Yes. Tracy and me and that old witch Turner and all the other people... All right, I mean, if Miss Turner hadn't taken care of him all these years... Oh, sure, sure. All right, all right. I understand you boys have pretty good alibis for three o'clock this morning. Do we have to go over all that again? What, afraid you might slip up retelling them out? I'm crazy, Mr. Dollar. Okay, okay. Now tell those alibis to me. Okay, Mr. Dollar. Whatever you say. We'll leave Jimmy over there on the blackjack table. When he gets back, you can take over one of the relays. Oh, Mr. Market. Sure, Dollar. One of the medley twins was in here all night. Which one? Came in around midnight and didn't pull out until about 8.30 this morning. All right. Are you sure that he was here at about 3 a.m., huh? Sure, I'm sure. Playing one of the craps. He didn't step out for a few minutes, perhaps? No, sir, and I know. Because I always keep an eye on those medley kids. You don't watch them. They're liable to pull tricks on our dealers. They think it's funny. All right. Which one was it? You know, I told you. It was Alfred Smedley or his brother, Tracy. Oh, nice. Let me give you a dollar. No, no, no, thanks. Just go on with what you were saying. Well, the party got pretty big, and we all had a lot to drink. I didn't watch the clock, and it didn't really break up until about 9 o'clock. This morning? Mm-hmm. And he was with you all the time? Every minute. All right. Now, which one of the twins was it? Who cares? You're both a lot of fun. I mean, fun. But, now listen, I have to know if it was Alfred or Tracy. But I haven't believed that. You know, what's this all about, Johnny? Murder. Oh, well. Well, it was Tracy. Maybe it was Alfred. Oh, thanks a lot. The world of doubting Thomas's decades ago never would have been possible for stars to shine in the daytime. But in this day and atomic age, anything's possible. Thus, it's not only possible, but a fact that only on stations of the CBS radio network, stars do indeed shine in the daytime. You'll find on illuminating an entire segment of your daytime listening every Monday through Friday. These stars have all been named by celestial authority vested in their forebears. Their names are Arthur Godfrey, Art Linkletter, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Cluney, Gary Moore, and Derward Kirby. You won't find them in your books of the planets of stars, but no compendium of show business luminaries to be complete without them. Monday through Friday, your radio set is your personal telescope on this star-studded display on your CBS radio station. To list them once again, Arthur Godfrey, Art Linkletter, The House Party Man, Bing Crosby and Rosemary Cluney in tandem, and Gary Moore and Derward Kirby. Enjoy them often. Now act three of yours truly, Johnny Duller, and the twins of Tahoe Matter. Lacey and Alfred Smedley had alibis, if for no other reason than that neither of them could have been in two places at once. And those alibis might be pretty hard to bring. Yet, according to what little actual evidence there was, one of them must have killed their uncle for the insurances. Wait a minute. Yeah, there was something in Alfred or Tracy. Anyhow, there was something in one of them that suddenly gave me a hunch. Expensive count, I'd have 370 cents for phone calls to locate Smedley's lawyer on the 16th advantage. Then I dropped into his office and asked him just exactly one question about the old man's will. And his answer gave me a new fresh start on the case. I'd have 410 cents for another call just for the sergeant quarters. The boys found the body all right. Now you know how the water off that beach stays clear and shallow until it's all getting to 150 yards or more straight out from the dock. And it drops off over 300 feet straight down just like that. And the body had been dumped over it over that ledge? It hung up on a rock, not more than 20 foot under. I see. Did you find the gun? Same caliber as one that was issued to those twins a couple of years ago. Did you find it? No, sir. We've never found it in a thousand years. Maybe we don't need you if I can pull off a little bluff. In other words, we're never going to know whose friends are on it. I want to go back to the house. You meet me there on the library. Smedley's house. I'll be there in five minutes. That's right, Mr. This is turning. This is turning. It's a dollar. Well, let's quit fooling around with this thing. I just finished talking to Mr. Kenneth McManick. Mr. McManick? That's right, the lawyer. Yes. Yes, and I guess he told you that all of poor Mr. Smedley's insurance goes to those two worthless twins, those murderers. Yes, he mentioned that. Is that all he told you? No, no. He told me that the remainder of the estate goes to... Let me see, I scribble down some of the actual words. The balance of my estate, including my home, I bequeath to one who, although I'm certain her motives have been entirely selfish, that she has simply been looking forward to being provided for in my will, nevertheless as a reward for Mrs. May Turner's faithful service and I have told her it is. He left something to me. You know that he told you he did. And that was your motive, Mrs. Turner. What is? Of course, the gun belonging to the twins was just as available as a pair of shoes that were borrowed to carry the body out there and leave the footprints. The point is, though, that when Sergeant Quarter found not only the body, but the gun out there in the lake. Oh, no, darling, I take your fingerprints and compare them with those we found on the gun. You, uh... You don't mind giving me a set of your fingerprints, do you, Mrs. Turner? Well... Half of my life. Half of my life I spent taking care of that stinky old man and then giving me nothing. Out all the time, he kept giving his money to them. Them boys. So that by the time he finally would die, that's what they'd be left for me. And you would've let those boys go to the gas chamber, wouldn't you? Oh, no. Oh, no? I hated those boys, but I know they could never put it on to them. Nobody could ever put anything on to them before. I'm afraid that's beside the point now. Now that we know you did it. But I had to. Because by the way, he'd give them all his money, and when he did die, there was nothing left. Nothing for me. Nothing. Don't you say? What's left for you now, Mrs. Turner? If you're on in and set to the court, then no doubt the whole estate will go to the twin. You know something? I hate this kind of a case. It leaves a bad taste in my mind. I spent the count on putting incidentals in the trip back home, $416 even. Yours truly? No, I don't. There's something people don't talk much about, but it can be a problem for anyone, even doctors. And when constipation occurs, it's interesting to see just what doctors consider important about a laxative they might use or recommend. Now, a majority of the doctors we heard from have this to say, a laxative should be effective, gentle, close to natural acting, a medicine that can be used with complete confidence. Well, pleasant-tasting chocolate x-lax is effective. Overnight, it helps you toward your normal regularity. X-lax is so gentle, so close to natural acting, there's no upset. That's why many doctors and millions of people use x-lax with complete confidence. X-lax, a laxative that helps you toward your normal regularity gently, overnight. Now, here's our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week, one of the most beautiful, most charming girls I've ever known involved with a killer. But, now, don't misunderstand me. I didn't say how she's involved. As a matter of fact, it's to protect her from a killer that I take on the case. And it just so happens that among the people on this man's list are intended victims. That is, the people who had a hand at sending him off to prison. He's also after me. Jonas, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is written, produced and directed by Jack Johnson. Heard in our cast were Virginia Gregg, Jean Tatum, Paul DuBois, Boris Lewis, Sam Edwards, Terb Ellis, Tom Hanley, and Bill James. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station, for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is John Wall speaking. Manus looms over blistering desert waste. Suspense brings you Inferno, next on the CBS Radio Network.