 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar Hello Is this dr. Big B Look dr. Big B. I want you to come out here just as soon as possible It's the old cronin summer place about five miles up the river from where I know Mrs. Cronin opened it up for a party this weekend, but she was taken ill on the train coming up And I want something out there. Yeah, she's the one I want you to look at She had a prescription from her doctor in New York, but she's taken the last of it. It's apparently your heart I'm sorry. It's a dollar. I'm very busy tonight. Oh what much too busy And then there's a storm coming up, and I have a patient someplace. I think no wait a second if you're a friend of Dolly's Mrs. Cronin's do one thing take her back to New York now Tonight get her out of here fast before it's too late Tonight and every weekday night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expensive out America's fabulous freelance insurance Investigator yours truly Johnny dollar From special investigator Johnny dollar at Wells Falls, New York to the home office surety mutual and trust company Hartford, Connecticut Assignment the cronin matter a half million dollar necklace expense account continued Item seven five dollars and forty cents taxi I figured I'd find dr. Bigby in one of the local pubs But I covered them all in about 30 minutes no sale and unfortunately Bigby was the only doctor in Wells Falls Worse the local drug is couldn't fill Mrs. Cronin's prescription the nearest chance was Tupper Lake 25 miles away Back out at the Cronin place I turned the taxi over to Jason Prell Mrs. Cronin's business advisor and he took off for Tupper Lake to look for the medicine Then I went looking for Mrs. Atherton a village woman who had been housekeeping on the estate since the place was built I found her in the kitchen Storms brewing up coming out of the mountains. It'll hit us for a morning. They always come in the night I guess you've seen a lot of storms in these hills Mrs. Atherton. They've here all my life never been out of them It's miss Atherton not Mrs. Oh She's the Mrs. Up in the bed Even if she is a widow Little dolly. Mrs. Cronin till death to us part Did you know Barnaby Cronin miss Atherton? Yes, I knew him of course. I knew him. I worked here. Oh, yes You were here then What kind of a man was he? Like any other man out according to dolly. Mrs. Cronin she apparently worshiped him still does in fact dolly's always Worshiping something everybody was always worshiping her She had us all dancing to her tune and without even trying you know her back then she was born and raised here in the village I thought everybody knew that No, that's when I missed We used to work together waiting tables at the summer hotels around here. That's where Jason Prell saw her Told her she ought to be on Broadway She left the town the next week didn't come back again till after she and Barnaby was married And she got him to spend a fortune to build this place for her. Well, I guess he had the fortune to spend. Oh, yes She married well count on dolly for that Always got whatever she wanted never even had to ask Things were just given to her always. Yeah, probably so But she's been pretty generous herself Like keeping you on here for instance when the house has been closed up for years with nobody using it She's the dancing darling all right right to the end Well, I feel excuse there was something else. I wanted to ask you miss Atherton I'm not one to talk ordinarily, but you got me started. This is not about mrs. Cronin at least not directly She was taken ill on the train. I don't think it's serious But I wanted a doctor to look her over the only one in the village seems to be a man by the name of big B big B He's the coroner here, but he's not a doctor. No Not anymore still calls himself one, but he lost his license ten years ago He's a drunken shot. Yeah, I kind of figured But he sobered up fast when I told him on the phone that the patient was mrs. Cronin He refused to come out told me to get her away from here fast and then he hung up on me forget him He couldn't do any good, but I'd like to know why he acted that way Do you happen to know any reason? Big B is a drunk. Who knows what his reasons are I? Thought you might better ask him What difference does it make anyway? You can't help her nobody can't what do you mean? She's come back finally For the first time in all these years Took sick on the train. That wasn't any surprise to her. She knew it was gonna happen Well, I guess she halfway knew she knew It's like with an animal when it's hurt or sick and it comes home to die and that's what she's done She's come home to die. No, I think you're wrong there miss Atherton I don't think she's anywhere near that sick Barnaby didn't think so either when he came back here to die Barnaby died here. Yes in this very house a heart attack it was called He came up on the afternoon train That's strange It was the same kind of night A storm like tonight Strange how things move and patterns Were you here with him miss Atherton? Barnaby died alone and the doctor Big B Miss Atherton was the doctor I'm sorry. I was thinking The bridges were washed out Big B didn't get here till the next morning Wouldn't have mattered. He couldn't have done anything Nobody could have When it's time for a thing to be done, it's done Nobody can stop it nobody It was a strange year ominous and oppressive with a feel of violence in the air Even the house itself added to the feeling Furnished lavishly in a style 30 years forgotten. It seemed garish now old and tired and lonesome Like mrs. Cronin herself who'd planned a grand party for all her old friends and instead lay ill and alone in the bedroom upstairs The queen gave a party and nobody came all dressed up no place to go Yeah, it blew me Jason Prell came back from Tupper Lake with a medicine Miss Atherton served a dinner of sorts served it in silence and we were left to our own devices Five guests and a mansion built for a hundred Prell stayed pretty much to himself Lovely Laura Dean with that air of knowing innocence and vehicle to shorty Weber into teaching her some of his old dance routines And they cranked up an old phonograph in the music room And me I just stood at an open window and watched the rain come down and tried to think That's the perfect touch. It's exactly what the evening needed that music Sylvia really cornball, isn't it? No, no Johnny I meant the thunderstorm an isolated old mansion Fabulous necklace of diamonds and emeralds weird housekeeper a hostess lying ill And now rain shades of a house of usher. That'll make a good lead for your magazine store I should have stayed in New York and just written it not lived it. Oh, I thought you were the big take a chance girl Miss Blake danger mystery adventure Don't those things appeal to you? Maybe is there any of that lying around somewhere? There may be before the night's over all I can see at the moment is sheer boredom You have to know it a look the bottom of that scotch glass for instance. Oh, it's just killing time. Oh I've been wanting to ask you Johnny How'd you get that cut on your head? It's a long story. It happened on the train. I know that you didn't have it when we left a sudden stop I fell over my suitcase. Sure. You did backwards. Huh? It's on the back of your head Somebody made a try for it. Didn't they on the train coming up? Well, I don't know what they were trying for Wasn't time to ask maybe they even got it That's the way you were betting wasn't it that it wouldn't be just an attempt That somebody was going to get it and get away with it. Did they is that what happened? Is it gone? All right, just stand there and grin then Rain I'm going back to the city tomorrow. You are well. Don't smother me with your pleading Stick around Sylvia things may get better including the music You know in a way, I hope somebody did get the circle of fire why what good is that fabulous necklace doing her now lying up there? She's had everything she ever wanted life's been too easy on her. She doesn't deserve it She ought to lose it her life or the necklace the necklace of course, you know for reasons I can't go into I think you'll be sorry you said that someday sorry why she's a woman You're pretty pretty aren't you hurt and afraid am I feel something big may have passed you by and you put up that tight bright front for protection But inside you're tired not and what is your recommendation doctor a man perhaps. That's the usual advice You said it I didn't well you're a man Johnny. Why don't you smooch with me be a way of passing the evening killing time What are you Johnny wait? Johnny Why did you do it because you wanted me to and because I wanted to? Adventure mystery danger Who's bored? Who's going back to the city? Those doctors are right Dollar could I talk to you for a minute? Why not shorty? What's on your mind? I don't know exactly why you call us all together in here was mrs. Cronin's idea She set it up with me earlier. Well, I ain't got nothing to do with what I wanted to say You see you see me in a bad light there yesterday your dolly's apartment Well, you found a gun and me you know about my record made it look better I know it did but so help me mr. Dollar everything. I told you was the gospel truth Yeah, I'd break my arm before I do anything to harm dolly in the least bit You see I've been in love with that woman for 35 years Like the broken heart when she married Barnaby But I always know I didn't have no chance right from the start. She was up there big somebody Me I was a nobody but I'd still die for her any time. That's all mr. Dollar I just wanted you to know They were all there Gathered around the big dining table watching me and waiting Mrs. Cronin had asked me to arrange it. She said that was the main reason they'd come and she didn't want to disappoint them I told them that And then I took the circle of fire from my pocket and laid it on the table They all reacted in different ways Laura Dean gave a gasp in her eyes open wide and Sylvia Sylvia Blake was fascinated hypnotized. Yeah, you should have seen it on her back in the old days It's sparkled even twice as much So that's what this is all about. It's only jewelry. I've seen it before but there was one special reaction I was looking for and I got it Jason Prell's face went white Mr. Prell you seem surprised I Wasn't carrying the necklace in its case the case you stole from me on the train I was carrying it loose in my pocket. What did you do throw the case off the train without even bothering? I went after him but he'd already disappeared somewhere down the hall He knew the layout of the house, and I didn't I searched the different rooms quickly as I passed but there was no sign of He couldn't have reached the floors above but he might have gone down toward the game room and lower halls I ease my gun from its holster and started slowly down the stairs and At that moment every light in the house went out There'll be another intriguing episode in our story of the Cronin matter tomorrow tomorrow a white lie bullet from the darkness and Death comes in out of the rain Join us. Want you yours truly Johnny dollar Yours truly Johnny dollar starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood written by Les Crutchfield 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