 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar Hello, Sheriff. I Can't hear you for the storm. We were cut off before Hello, isn't that you sheriff? I said Hello Get cut off again. Mr. Dollar Not this time shorty somebody cut the wire the phones dead Then we got no way getting wet out no way getting help. No not at the moment And he's out there in the dark somewhere He's got a gun and it's no telling what he may Get away from that window Well, we know where he is now and what he intends because he just made a try at it What are you gonna do about him? Only thing I can do shorty go get him before he gets me All right, and every weekday night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator goes truly Johnny dollar From special investigator Johnny dollar at the Cronon estate Wells Falls, New York to the home office shorty mutual and trust company Hartford, Connecticut Assignment the Cronon matter protection of a half million dollar necklace Expense account continued item ten one hundred and thirty five dollars one tweet sport jacket to be purchased on my return Both lapels and one shoulder ripped by a bullet also one pair of slacks to match Destroyed a few minutes later in the mud slush and underbrush in the grounds of the Cronon place While pursuing a suspect who'd already tried twice to kill me and he'll made a third go at it when I stepped out of the side door of the house I'll even the door quick You can see the door opening, but he can't see us not in this mess He's desperate he's shooting blind Look shorty. Why don't you come on back in the house? There's no reason for you taking chances like this You're taking them with me. It's a job of work. I get paid for it Told you earlier how I felt about Dolly. I mean, I don't know what Jason Prell's game is miss a dollar But if it's against her then I'm against him. I'm staying all right. It's up to you Thanks for giving me the gun back emergency. That's all you've got a prison record shorty You know what it means if you're caught with a gun. Yeah, I know Hey good, I figured Prell would give himself away if he kept that up I got him spotted now where at the base of that tall pine a little to the left watch for it the next flash of lightning Yeah, yeah, now I see it. I know what you mean then stay here and keep him pinned down It's a good spot. You've got cover from the wall of the terrace there What are you gonna do circle around and come up beside it? Just throw a shot at the base of that pine tree now and then keep him tied down keep him busy You got it right and good luck. I Left the shelter of the house and started edging through the shrubbery The undergrowth was a regular jungle would have been impossible to slip up on Prell without his hearing if it hadn't been for the Shorty weaver fired now and then at the pine tree Twice Prell fired an answer Jason Prell so-called friend of old Mrs. Cronin knew I had him tagged At first I'd been guessing mainly but he didn't know it and he'd lost his head and made the guests prove out And now he was apparently ready to risk murder or death rather than face a prison term. I Was within 30 feet of he hadn't heard a sound. He was still firing at shorty over on the terrace His back was turned partly toward me. He didn't know I was near so I leveled my gun Get your hands up Prell drop that gun you're covered The quarrel peering into the darkness of the bushes trying to see me. He knew I was close, but he couldn't tell where He raised his gun started to turn and I'm not quite certain what happened next the light was bad And I could hardly see him whether he stumbled accidentally or or what is something. I'll never know All I know is that when I walked over to him He was dead. It was no goodness to dollar. I always thought so but dolly squirped by me and her fool What about Barnaby her husband? He couldn't stand Prell at first later. They got his ticket thieves. Yeah Well, it's a mess shorty a real mess all things that should have stayed dead and buried on the bottom They're all coming to the surface. Tell me something mr. Dollar. Yeah, what about dolly? It's this thing when I kick back on her. Will she get hurt by it? Yeah, shorty. I'm afraid she will pretty badly It was deep into the night edging toward dawn when I got back to the house. I Changed out of my wet clothes went to the game room and got dolly's necklace from under a chair cushion I'd stuck it there when Prell had pulled the main switch and put the lights out Then I went upstairs to look in on dolly Cronin quietly just to check But it didn't work out that way. Yeah, I Didn't mean to wake you. I've been awake most of the night All right, how you feeling there's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine good Isn't Laura Dean a nice girl Yeah, she is I'm glad she came Company for you Johnny. Oh, yeah Quite a storm we had wasn't it? Oh, it was beautiful All that lightning wind Thunder. Oh, I haven't seen such a beautiful storm since I was a little Johnny But I heard shots a while ago Shots outdoors off toward the woods somewhere Or might have been lightning thunder sounded like a gun like somebody's shooting Well sound plays funny tricks up here in the mountains. I guess so but Well, I've been thinking back over the past so much that makes the present a little unreal I'm afraid the past is about all I have left now Now don't be so quick to sell this future of yours short. You've got a lot of years yet. Good years. Well, I Had a lot of good years Good friends good times a good life Best of all was Barnaby You loved him very much didn't you Mrs. Cronin? I Wished him. He was perfect Never did a wrong thing in his life Now that he's gone is the one fine memory. I always cling to Oh, I didn't have that I just couldn't go on Well, then let's hope you never lose that memory. Of course. There were the good friends too over the years Like Jason Prell He is so quiet And withdrawn it takes a long time to get to know him But he's been such a good friend to me It's a patient with all this silly ignorance of mine about business problems. Yes, I'm sure he has I just don't know what I'd do without him. Yeah Now don't you think you'd better get some sleep in a little while You know Johnny it's Funny how things work out in one way I was born and grew up Right here in this village. Yes your housekeeper Miss Atherton told me the two of you were girls together. We're inseparable Like I said, I Grew up here and then I went away And Barnaby and I came back and built this house and we went away again We're always so many places to go new things to do It's a big world, isn't it? And finally Barnaby came back for the last time and died here All alone poor boy And now I've come back Place where I was born Everything finally comes home Doesn't it Johnny? Yes nearly always I'm very tired. I Think I will sleep now be good for you The necklace Johnny do you have it with you? I sure do Here you are So beautiful And so many memories So long ago put it on me. Will it Johnny? Of course Raise up now just a little Yeah How do I look? Sweet enough to kiss Well, you gotta sleep now Yes, sir I'll only look at the necklace for one minute only Then I'll take my pills and go to sleep Then I'll dream up a dream A great big dream. Good night Dancing darling. It's been a long time since anyone called me that A long long time. Good night Johnny Thank you. I left her and went downstairs and rustled myself apart of coffee. I Sat down by an East window and drank it cup after cup and watched the morning Sun come up Dream a big dream Well before many more hours. She was going to need a big dream There was no way of keeping it from her all of it the fact that Jason Prell was dead shot that he'd attempted murder And tried to steal a necklace and worst of all that her beloved Barnaby had probably been as big a crook as Prell Can't sleep since this one out with you sure pull up a chair Laura Like some coffee just black. Thank you. I Guess it wouldn't do much good to ask you what's been going on around here all night Something has like I said, I guess it wouldn't do much good. Here's your coffee. Thanks. That's how I found you Just followed the smell of this coffee Good I guess if I said I heard somebody shooting up the place during the storm you'd just say really never use the word And I guess if I showed you that broken window over there, you'd say maybe a pigeon flew in might if I happen to think of it I'm sorry. I'll just kept you away. Don't apologize. I probably wouldn't have slept anyway. Why not? Guilty conscience. Don't be silly. I didn't even do it do what whatever it is I'm supposed to feel guilty about lying is what I had in mind at the moment Oh, I do that all the time, but I never feel guilty about it I just call it making up things like claiming you were the niece of fritzy morale Mrs. Cronin's oldest friend My windpipe like claiming you're fritzy morale's niece mostly I drink tea, but you already had the coffee I'm claiming you're fritzy. All right. All right. How'd you find out nothing very spectacular? She just didn't have a niece. I wasn't sure but I thought she must everybody her age has at least one niece. What was the idea? well Well, I lived in the same rooming house. She did she liked me talked to me a lot before she died Last year so when the invitation came last week. I got the idea of going as her niece I didn't mean any harm by it. I just wanted to go to the party All right, relax. That's about the way I figured it Well, it turned out to be quite a party didn't I hope I never see another one like this is Johnny Johnny what's wrong with her? It was miss Atherton. I got up slowly from my chair as she walked toward us and then stopped a few feet from the table Her eyes were fixed on something far away and the look on her face was strange and grim I think I knew even before she spoke Mrs. Cronin is dead There'll be another intriguing episode in our story of the Cronin matter tomorrow tomorrow the questions and the answers For the living and the dead the final payoff and fate itself plays the last trump Join us. Won't 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