 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar Oh, hi, Paral I tried to call you a few minutes ago. We've had a shooting out here at the hotel No, no, nobody's dead the bullet missed somebody fired a shot from the terrace into one of the rooms Good, but would you do me one thing before you blow up a storm? There's a man missing from his room here a friend of the man who was shot at he must be around town Somewhere well see he's an Americano about 45 names Frank Maltz B you mean APB All right, hop to it, Paral And every week day night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigators truly Johnny dollar From special investigator Johnny dollar location in Sonata, Mexico to the home office Union States Casualty Company Hartford, Connecticut Assignment the laughing matter expense account continued Item six one dollar a pot of coffee from the hotel kitchen special It was 1 a.m. I've been half asleep when the shot was fired and I hope the coffee would help get me at least half awake I hadn't expected it to happen that way and neither had good old lovable Charlie Burton America's favorite TV Comic according to his press agents Charlie had called it a joke, but he wasn't laughing now and neither was I Charlie's life was insured for a half million bucks payable to his sponsor Seniors these man who was get shot. He didn't get shot Paral He got shot at well see it's what I'm wish to say, but the tongue is no make English too good You're doing fine the manager gave Bert another room inside away from the terrace here He's probably got the door locked and the furniture piled in front of it Monday I mean he's scared very scared comprendi. Oh si si el tiene mucho miedos Yeah, I guess so now according to his story. He was asleep here on this side of the bed Someone fired the shot from outside on the terrace It broke the window there and the bullet lodged here in the bed about six inches above Burton's head where he was lying on the pillow And see you put a pillow and then he is wake up quick. He is Is no see nobody senior is no here's nobody now He was too scared to know he jumped out of bed ran down the inside corridor and banged on my door I searched the terrace right away and didn't find a thing and these other people which are work for him to make the Television they are also having room which are close to this Paral Your tongue may not make the English too good, but there's nothing wrong with your head Monday's that I mean you're okay Amigo you're a good cop. Gracias anyway. Yes. Yes any one of them could have fired that shot and they are big Which ones these people well this Frank malts. He's the producer of the Charlie Burton show He's the one who was missing from his room the one I asked you to look at see you say then there's Gloria Dale She's the feminine star of the show. She's in the third room down She is in the room of her when the shoot was fire. Yeah. Yeah, she'd gone to bed I I had to beat on the door to wake her she hadn't even heard the shot She'd been pretty upset. She Well, she'd been drinking earlier. See it's always the same this American as ladies which have contents and not always They are drink too much. Yeah, you may be right Anyway, the third member of the group is Al Shriver second room down He's an actor too and where he is when these things happen in bed So he says the shot woke him up and he came out into the corridor while Burton was banging on my door And these are all senior. Yeah, that's the bunch Which one you are think is not like this Charlie Every single one of them hates him. Hmm Then there's another possibility to that girl. I asked you to check on earlier the maid who works here at the hotel You see la senor avelina Morales. Well, it's we have looking but we are no finer yet. Oh Hey, I know is that in case I She are no at her house, and you I see me and Merida tampoco is And also the how you say her husband is gone. Oh, then she is married with she's in your You're still looking for her aren't you? Well, she's in your no thing. I quit out. Oh, it's no big town It's another we are find her too soon now. I think it's for me. Yo, I'm tell the manager. I was here La policía ca Si capitán de vidro para Donde Bien si muy bien bien adiós This man you are say have disappeared. You know in frank waltz. He was now be found. Where is he? Es un cantina a night club is called the venti uno to you know, where is it in town somewhere? You see it is the how you say senora. It's one big hot spot I Them seven one dollar taxi into town Peral stated the hotel to talk to charlie Burton and the others. I thought I might do some good at least by keeping them off balance Regardless of his knowledge of English Peral was a smite lad and his eyes never missed a thing The venti uno may have been a hotspot earlier, but at this time of night it was almost deserted There were a few weary be girls drowsing at the bar a scant hand full of last-ditch patrons and frank waltz Alone at a table glowing with mellow geniality and bottled health Well now another night all with insomnia that tastes for dives pull up a chair Johnny. Thanks Been here long Forever at least for years and years. I am part of the place my boy These were meetin rafters the crumbling walls this musty aroma of ancient tequila That was spilt on these tiles long before you were even born I see you see the place was built by the conquistador They said I dropped in the very next day. I've been here ever since months. Look John now speak softly softly friend This is hallowed ground This is the meeting place. This is the crossroads you see for two separate worlds The tourists come traipsing down from beach boulevard up there They call it slumming and the townsfolk come up from gastro-loom and Balboa and they all meet here And they drink tequila then they dance to the Fandango The Amigo how about playing a Fandango? No, you can't hear you know because he is dead we are all dead here Johnny You know something malts. Mm-hmm. You're not nearly as plastered as you're pretending to be I know that Have you been here all evening here in the venta you know How do you like that name venta you know? It means a 21. Yeah, I know. Are you been here in the 21 all evening? Oh, no, I've been in all of them I just ended up here never see a better place to end up Johnny. Where were you around 1240 tonight? Well, what are you driving at? Somebody took a shot at Charlie Burton tonight. Whoo. I got my fingers crossed didn't know they didn't hit Well, maybe they'll have another chance not if I can prevent it That's why you were checking times on me, huh? You think I maybe made a clay pigeon out of that rat. Did you? Johnny I left the hotel at 10 o'clock. I've been a lot of places since but not back there I don't know where I was at 1240. Maybe some bartender around tunnel. No, I Have seen them all tonight one time or another this lush stuff seems to be a habit with all of you Including glory will stick around Burton a month. You'll know why so why do you stick around him me? Personally, there's a couple of reasons. I guess I'm trying to help somebody else for one thing. Well myself at the same time, of course meaning Al Schreiber the kid is great Johnny He really is and it'll be his show next year if we can hang on and for the same sponsor with you producer That's right. They're fed up with Charlie Burton, and they've got a reason to be He's a phony name Johnny nothing else. It's a fake. It's a build-up They've got to spend more on press relations now than it costs to produce the show then with Charlie out of it You and Al would be in is that the way it stacks up That's right You said you had a couple of reasons for staying on now forget it the second one is not important it's It's a sob story. It won't be the first one I've heard tonight. I I'm married you see Johnny 23 years now and for the last eight my wife has been completely Paralyzed utterly helpless. She's in a sanatorium upstate. She has to have special care Special treatments and it costs three hundred and fifty dollars a week 52 weeks a year So I stay on with Burton and I go on hating him and whenever the hate gets too bad I go up and see her Well, she doesn't know me. She doesn't know anyone. She just lies there and breathe, but I look at her And I remember how she was And how I loved her and I still love her Johnny So that's the way it is I left him there in the cantina with his love and his hate and walked out into the street Empty and silent under the wheeling stars in the soft dark night A lone dog sidled past gray and gaunt intent on some mission of his own and faded into the shadows And the town slept its own loves and hates put aside into mourning Quiet town Then the emptiness was filled with sound and a flashing red light slashed the darkness Paral of the insinata police He said the maid from the hotel Valena Morales had come home. One of his sergeants was waiting there with her The tiny room was lit by a flickering oil lamp and a candle burned beneath the crucifix on the wall above the bed Cement floor and adobe walls bare and clean Like the cell of a nun in a content She was young pretty and at the moment very frightened In a casa de una amiga por que me pregunta She talked half crying Charlie Britton all lovable Charlie had been bothering her annoying her at the hotel She tried to avoid him, but it made the mistake of telling her husband He'd been furious and had come to the hotel earlier in the evening That's when I'd see the two of them arguing on the terrace. She hadn't seen him since so senior dollar What is it you are think I think you better find a husband and find him quick Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow Death tries once more and this time doesn't miss But death you know is blind Join us. Won't you yours truly Johnny doll 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