 From Hollywood, it's time now for Bob Bailey as... Johnny Deller. Hi. Pat Keller, Universal Adjustment Bureau. Good to hear your voice, Patsey. Thought you were transferred to Baltimore. That's where I am. Say, John, can you handle one for me? What kind of one? It's a life-and-accident policy. Eastern Fidel, man named John Reardon, was in short party. He died in 1950. Wife was a beneficiary. It's a crazy one. Well, go on. Eastern wants us to look into the matter QT. One of their officers is reason to believe Reardon is still alive. Why would he think that? Because he saw him two days ago. I'll get the first plane. Tonight and every weekday night, Bob Bailey and the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator... Yours truly, Johnny Deller. Expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Deller to the Universal Adjustment Bureau, Baltimore, Maryland. The following is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the Chesapeake fraud matter. Expense account, item one, $22.75. Plain fare and incidentals, Hartford, to Baltimore. I arrived at 3.15 in the afternoon at Friendship International Airport. It was a cold gray day. I took a cab directly to Pat Callagher's office. Good to see you, John. He was 10 pounds heavier. Outside of that, he looks well. We'll have to have dinner once a week. My wife, wear your bags. She didn't go to a hotel. I checked my stuff at the airport. Pat, see, I didn't know how long I'd be here. Over the eleganties on the plane, I got to thinking about the number of alive but dead reports I've investigated at one time or another. They happen all the time or they never pan out. Yeah, well, this one isn't like that, John. Sit down. Thanks. You know, when a man like Paul Coombs, chairman of the board for Eastern Fidelity, not to mention vice president of two oil companies and one construction company, when he robs in here and says somebody's still alive, it's supposed to be dead, we got to listen to him. Sure, you do, Pat. It's your job. Your job now. Coombs claims he not only saw Reardon, but talked to him. I'll go into that later. Policy was issued in 1944. Mm-hmm. My wife's a beneficiary. Yeah. Elizabeth Jane Reardon. $10,000. 20, John. Double indemnity on the accident clause. Oh. Look, I'll look at this stuff later. Maybe you better tell me about that first. Okay, John Reardon was lost in a boat accident on Chesapeake Bay. When? August 13th, 1950. There were four people in the party. They went out for the afternoon on a power cruiser, and the thing exploded in the middle of the bay. Yeah, I may have read about it. Was there a man named Sharpton involved? Yeah, yeah, Sharpton owned the boat. He and his wife were aboard, and another man named Blaine. Did all of them go down? That's right. They recovered Mr. and Mrs. Sharpton's body in Blaine's. They never found John Reardon. What caused the explosion? No explainable reason. It was never determined. Oh, there's always a reason. Yeah, well, that probably blew up with a boat, too. As it happened, we conducted the investigation for Atlantic State's limited. They held the insurance on the Sharpsons and the boat. These are our findings in the matter. We found no reason for Atlantic not to honor the claim made by Sharpsons' estate. Mm-hmm. How about the other man who was killed, Blaine? His case was adjusted by another company. So that leaves us John Reardon. Yeah. About a month after the accident, his wife filed claim for payment. And our investigation was ended by then. We notified the insurance commission of the circumstances of his death and requested a judgment. Routine. Did it go through all right? Yeah. The appellate court declared John Reardon legally dead after the required three-year waiting period. Pretty standard when there's no body. Sure. Eastern honored the claim and paid Mrs. Reardon $20,000. So that's about it. Except that now somebody thinks he's alive. Not just somebody. Paul Coombs. Yeah, yeah. And if that's so, Eastern's been swindled for $20,000. Tell me about the beneficiary. Mrs. Reardon? Mm-hmm. Nice woman. Met her a couple of times. She didn't need money. I can tell you that much. Oh. Yeah, worth over $200,000. Never married again. You say she didn't file her claim until a month after the accident. That's right. She ever give any reason for waiting that long? Well, she was pretty broken up about it. The money wasn't important particularly. Maybe she just forgot. Pat, I've got a question. What's that, John? How can you forget $20,000? Expense account item two, $10, for drinks I had with Pat Kelleher while we talked some more about the Reardon case. At seven o'clock that night, I had on a fresh shirt and a press suit. They seemed to impress Paul Coombs, vice president, chairman of boards, et cetera. Dollar? That's right, Mr. Coombs, universal adjustment. Oh, yes, yes, of course. Come in, come in. I talked with Mr. Kelleher there. He sent you? Yes, sir. Oh, yes, yes, I recall your name now. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, we can sit here, Mr. Dollar. Now, you hear about John Reardon, of course. That's right. I'm glad they sent a man like you. I'm glad you're the one who's going to look into it. You puzzle me, Mr. Coombs. No, I don't. And that's a compliment to your perceptual abilities, young man. As a matter of fact, you're here because you're only curious about me. You want to have a look at the man who thinks he saw John Reardon alive, right? I suppose so. You don't believe he is alive? I didn't say that. Mm-hmm. I admire your caution. I'm glad you're the one who's going to look into it, because, well, John Reardon was a close friend of mine. Oh, I didn't know that. Yes, I knew him for a number of years. And Mrs. Reardon, he was a fine, sensitive man. I'm sure you'll know how to handle him when you meet him. You sound very certain that I will meet him, Mr. Coombs. There's no doubt in my mind about that. Three nights ago, at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado, I saw John Reardon. I walked up and spoke to him. I talked with him for 15 or 20 minutes. I know it was him. He didn't admit it. He denied it completely. He told me his name was Frank Bauer, and that he had lived in Denver ever since the war. Frank Bauer? Yes. I was so certain it was John Reardon, I insisted. He laughed at me. It seemed good-natured about it, even bought me a drink. I see. I asked him where he had lived before Denver. He said something about Toledo. I asked him if he'd gone to college there. He told me he'd gone to Ohio State. He told me he was an engineer, a mining engineer. Everything he told me seemed plausible and reasonable, except that all the time I knew he was lying. I knew his name wasn't Frank Bauer's. That was John Reardon. How did you leave it with him? Well, the whole thing unnerved me somewhat. I'm afraid I looked like rather a fool. I simply caught my limousine out of the airport and came back here to Baltimore. Did you get his address in Denver? No. Any of his business connections, anything like that? No. Was he alone when you met him? There was no one with him. At the bar, he even ordered his drink the way John always ordered it. You know, like this. Oh, yeah. Well, a lot of people make that signal for two fingers of bourbon. We're closed the same way, too. Have you spoken of this matter to anyone outside of Pat Kelleher? No. No, I thought it should be looked into before I called up Elizabeth. Elizabeth? Elizabeth Reardon, John's widow. Oh, yes, I... It'll do no good bothering her just now. I'm afraid she'll have to be bothered. Why? Can't you investigate the information I've given you without upsetting everyone? With this kind of information, somebody's bound to get upset. Look, don't put restrictions on me, Mr. Coombs, or we won't get anywhere. You say John Reardon was a close friend of yours. Yes. I presume his wife was, too. That's right. A lovely, lovely person. I'll keep that in mind when I talk to her. Maybe you aren't the man for this. You can get somebody else, Mr. Coombs. No, no, no. It's just that I suddenly had a strange feeling about it all, depressing. If John Reardon is alive, and you seem to be certain of it, then I understand your feeling. How's that? Your friend's party to a $20,000 fraud, not to mention his wife. Possibly he's not as sensitive and she's not as lovely as you thought. I spent the rest of the evening with Pat Kelliher and his wife hoping to see the bright lights and listen to some laughter. We picked a couple of fancy bistros and started the rounds to watch champagne flow and Eve's drop on the happy stories of success, promotion, and love. But it didn't work. Like the place, John? It's swell. You're as low as a cricket's ankle. Well, today a man kept telling me a friend of his was alive who's supposed to be dead. He told me what a fine fellow this friend is, or was. Yeah. 99 times out of 100, I tell him to go jump in the lake, but Paul Coombs comes under the title Reliable Witness in anybody's book. Give me a minute. Here. How you fix for plans? Start somebody looking into Frank, whatever his name is, and Denver, who's supposed to be Reardon. I'll start with a beneficiary. Mr. Reardon? Yeah. I'll march out and say, uh, let me look at some pictures of your husband. What kind of a guy was he? Did you enjoy each other or try to kill each other? Did you ever, uh... Why didn't Coombs look into it himself? Why didn't he go out to the widow and tell her about his meeting a guy in Denver? Because he came to us, John. I know, Patsy. I'm sorry. But the prospect of going to somebody, anybody with a flimsy story like that, makes me soar. It might get her hopes up that her husband's alive, and that's a lousy thing to do. Reliable or not, Coombs is probably all wet. Probably. Saw a racket. Saw a racket. You being a parrot? Just being agreeable, John. If you want to be sad, I'll be sad with you. You both know situations like this, part of the trade. Oh, I should have been a... Oh, let's have another belt. Sure. Wait here. John. Maybe another way to handle Mr. Reardon with that. That's her over there at the bar. Nice, isn't she? She is lovely. Not nothing. She looks a little tight. I hear she gets that way quite a bit these days. You want me to introduce her like a friend? No, I'll handle it myself. Who's with her? Beats me. He's looking for a phone booth. I may be able to find out what I want and not let her know what it's about. You mean right now? I mean right now. Hello. You're Elizabeth Reardon, aren't you? Oh, yes. Probably you don't remember me. My name's Johnny Dollar. We met some time ago. I'm afraid I don't remember Mr. Dollar. I'm in the insurance business. Don't remember? Well, where was it we met? No, I can't remember. May I sit down? Well, I'm expecting somebody who'll be back in a minute. Yes. Would you care for a drink? I have this one. Thank you. How's John these days? John? Your husband, Mrs. Reardon. His name is John, isn't it? My husband's been dead nearly five years. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, it must be... This is very awkward. That's all right. Five years. I could have sworn it was just three years ago I met you and John. In Denver. It couldn't have been. We were never there. Oh, well, pardon me. I sit here making bad conversation with you and it's very apparent you're distressed. Look, I'm very sorry I upset you. Anything I can do? No. No, Mr. Dahler, you didn't upset me. You look like a very nice person. How long are you going to be in Baltimore? A few more days. Perhaps you'll come out to the house for a drink before you go back. Say tomorrow? Oh, I'd like that, Mrs. Reardon. You can call me. I'm in the book. Mrs. John Reardon? Yes. I will. Again, I'm sorry that I brought... Do me a favor, Mr. Dahler. When you come to my house for a drink, call me Elizabeth and please, don't mention my husband's name. I'd appreciate it very much if I never heard it again. There will be another exciting episode in our story of the Chesapeake fraud matter tomorrow. Tomorrow, a little talk to a widow who might not be a widow at all and a strong feeling that a smile can sometimes be more dangerous than a gun. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dahler. Starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood. Written by John Dawson, 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 Dahler. Roy Rowan speaking.