 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny Diller Lieutenant Barry. Oh, hi, Lieutenant. You're stepping on toes Johnny boy. Who's now? Dr. Victor Palmquist, here you had a chat with him. Just out of your chat with a clan. Whatever it was he was very unhappy about it He called you? Yeah, very snide too said if we had any more questions to leave him alone and call his lawyers and to keep Unauthorized people away from him. Meaning me. Meaning you. Well, what's he worried about? You've already got his wife's killer in jail, haven't you? Everybody buys it but you Johnny. You said it before I'm a hard sale. Meet me for lunch. I'll try to sell you Tonight 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 yours truly Johnny Diller From special investigator Johnny Diller location, Los Angeles, California to National Underwriters Association 1180 River Road Hartford, Connecticut Assignment the long shot matter Expense account continued item three one dollar even taxi to the Barclay for lunch with Lieutenant Berry But let me backtrack for a minute coming down in the hotel elevator I kept thinking over what the lieutenant had said and I disagreed completely. I wasn't a hard sale It's just that I wasn't an early sale There were too many angles to the death of Mrs. Palmquist too many things. I didn't know yet. I Got proof of that the minute I stepped outside the hotel The white-caired sedan parked directly across the street contained a real interesting combination of people Eric Palmquist the doctor's son and Steffi Lund the doctor's nurse The moment they saw me they did whatever amateur sleuth does they drove away as fast as possible thereby becoming just as conspicuous as a second nose By the time I reached the Barclay Lieutenant Berry had ordered for both of us You don't like it order something else, but it's the best they got matter of fact. It looks pretty good Now so I was saying yeah, yeah, so Palmquist nurse and his kid are an item you waiting for me to look impressed You get up out of the wrong side this morning Lieutenant Look, I don't like to smell of this deal any more than you do But what does it all add up to you're sent out here to look into a possible killing which happens victim Mrs. Palmquist so an ex-convict sits in a cell accused of the murder the accuser and witness the dead woman's husband The con insists he's been framed that the husband is a killer But the husband is well alibi'd bringing it down to the setup known as ex-con versus respected citizen You know there's more to it than that don't give me lessons Johnny You think you've come up with one thing we don't already know about I got checkouts going on the doctor his nurse his son Everybody will then shooting distance of this thing don't get any ideas. We're asleep down at the hall All right. All right. Give me a little fill huh who palmquist nurse Steffi Lund nice kid never been in trouble At least we couldn't find any what about the boy Eric Palmquist typical rich doctor's son kind of wild Sensitive gambles, but Papa can afford it also hits the booze too much for a kid that young What about the doctor's alibi Laura Considine? Yeah, no, I should have skipped that one your eyes look like they're whistling and awful at my age too All right, Johnny. She's clean by the way. Where does she live as a big house in Long Beach? Why no doctors there still a free country? I know people whose doctors live in Patterson, New Jersey points. Oh Almost forgot I got the lab report on that anonymous note that started this thing anything Untraceable no prints cheap paper that can be bought anywhere and the letters were cut from a dozen different magazines Didn't tell us a thing. What do you mean it didn't why it told us someone was going to try to collect on a policy We knocked it around a little while longer getting no place in particular Then suddenly I was being paid for a telephone call Barry's raised eyebrows were eloquence They made me feel like one of those would-be movie stars who have themselves paged in the brown derby so that other would-be stars will know They're there Had a funny notion about who might be calling so I told the waiter I'd taken in the booth out front and left lieutenant Barry by himself Johnny dollar I found you Dr. Palmquist nurse well the day's picking up. I'm sorry. I hope I didn't interrupt your lunch You see I called your hotel, and they told me where you'd gone. I'm sorry Well, don't apologize Steffi a working girl who drives around in a beautiful white Cadillac doesn't have to you know I'll explain about that. Why should you owe me any explanation? Where are you? I'm at dr. Palmquist's office. Can you okay? I'll be right over and please however you want it You're calling the shots Expense account item for citation for speeding $25 the carbon copy reads 63 miles per hour in a 35 zone You ever trying to talk an LA type cop out of a ticket? It's ridiculous He's always a big good-looking guy who listens seriously while you alibi, but never stops writing Then he smiles calls you sir and hands you the ticket. I Couldn't beef about it though two reasons one I deserved it and two if I hadn't been stopped I'd never have realized I was being tailed Because the tail knew what he was doing a heavy set thuggy-looking fellow in the black 51 CDN He circled the block twice while I was getting the ticket was right back on me as I started out again He was still there as they pulled up in front of dr. Palmquist's office But he was smart enough to ride on by without even looking at me I waited to see if he'd come around the block again. He didn't What do you want? Well, now that's a switch when you call me a few minutes ago. You said you're mistaken. I didn't Wait just a minute Her words were deliberate and fatty But her eyes were suddenly doing the real talking signaling desperately into the room behind it trying to tell me that she wasn't alone But I wasn't the only one who caught the signal get away from the door Steffy I mean you Did you hear me? I said come in please Hello, Eric What seems to be the trouble around here? That's far enough. Oh now come on Why don't you put that thing down your family's had enough misery with 38 Do what he says. Why did you call him Steffy? Why? Somebody's got to help you because of what you're going through and what it's doing to you Eric I can't stand any more of it. You're half out of your mind with fear now. Listen to him Eric Maybe he can think he can help you think anybody can one thing sure that guns not gonna help you any Come on. I'll kid put it down Nobody tells me what to do not when I've got a gun. They're afraid to They're afraid to you're both afraid aren't you? It's nice it's nice for somebody else to be afraid I like that I really like He wasn't even looking at us anymore just somewhere off into space Somehow Steffy sensed that I was waiting for a chance to grab his gun and motion for me not to and Suddenly I remembered where I'd seen that lost empty look before Mrs. Palmquist Eric's mother she'd had her share of that look the day she died Mr.. Dollar help me with him, please I Picked him up put him on the couch. He had that terrible whiteness that a deep vein brings and Steffy Didn't waste any time. She loosened his collar shoved his head forward In a few minutes. He shut it once came to took a deep breath We made him comfortable on the couch, but you could see that it had been a rough trip for him He was conscious, but he didn't have the strength to open his eyes Steffy just stared at him What's wrong with him Steffy why that that thing that just happened you want the technical name Circulatory liability Sound impressive talk layman, huh a form of extreme hypertension Nerves have to make him faint like that from anger from fear It's a lovely thing for a man to go through isn't it? Well that that calls for a different kind of medicine doesn't it? Analysis with a psychiatrist. He's in it now Only with Eric. It's going to take a long time Maybe a very long time, but a kid like that. How why fear? Overpowering petrifying fear of what his father Of dr. Palmquist. Yes The nice dr. Palmquist the gentle quiet healer my employer My father-in-law You and Eric are married to one of six weeks ago Eric is 25 years old Mr. Dollar and he's so afraid of his father was still keeping the marriage a secret why Steffy Why is he so afraid of Palmquist his analyst hasn't been able to get through to that you expect me to well somebody better Why did you say that because he waved that gun around very convincingly for a scared kid? He never would have fired Don't you understand? He's so frightened. He couldn't have made himself do it. I hope you're right. I Didn't think it was quite the time to mention one small fact That if Eric Palmquist was incapable of pulling a trigger it might turn out to be a very good thing for him as The sole beneficiary of his mother's will he would soon have a hundred thousand dollars in a nice tidy lump And if he really was afraid of his father a piece of money like that could take him a long long way from the parental fold In fact no matter which way you turned you couldn't get away from the logic that Eric Palmquist might be regarded by some parties as a First-class suspect in the death of his mother Steffy was still pretty much upset when I finally left her and I must admit that my own mind wasn't exactly at ease Hoping that the fresh air would help to clear my thoughts I took my time driving back and it must have been nearly an hour later when I pulled into the subterranean garage in my hotel I guess I was thinking too hard about what had just happened in any case I wasn't quick enough just as I passed one of the garage's big concrete pillars a figure stepped out from behind it Brought the business end of a colt banging down on my head The ground climbed up and got me But not before I had a look at him my heavy set thuggy looking friend who tailed me earlier in the day He could talk to you're in a wrong turn punk. Take the hint. I took the hint. I passed out Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow a study in reactions Three of them one by a man who should know one by a man who doesn't and another by a bullet Join us. Won't you yours truly Johnny dollar yours truly Johnny dollars starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood Written by Tony Barrett. It is produced and directed by Jack John stone Be sure to join us tomorrow night same time and station for the next exciting episode of Yours truly Johnny dollar Roy Rowan speaking