 Autolight and its 96,000 dealers present Ms. Loretta Young in Lady Killer, a suspense play produced and edited by William Spear. Hey, Wilcox, did I ever tell you about the time I plugged a buffalo? No, Remmingchester shotgun, but have I told you about the sensational White Gap Autolight resistor spark plugs? You mean there's something special about Autolight resistor spark plugs? Why, White Gap Autolight resistor spark plugs are the newest addition to the complete line of regular, transport, aviation, marine, resistor and model spark plugs, ignition engineered by Autolight. Your sure plug in tonight, Wilcox. Built right into every White Gap Autolight resistor spark plug is an exclusive 10,000 ohm Autolight resistor that makes practical a wider initial gap setting with advantages that have long been recognized by automotive engineers. For example, you get smoother performance on linear gas mixtures, greater gas savings, quicker starts in cold temperatures, even double life as compared to spark plugs without the built-in resistor. So friends, see your friendly Autolight spark plug dealer tomorrow and replace worn out spark plugs with ignition engineered Autolight spark plugs. Whether you choose the resistor type or the regular type, you'll be right because you're always right with Autolight. And now with Lady Killer and the performance of Loretta Young, Autolight hopes once again to keep you in suspense. 7-5 to Morningside and Capital City, now loading at gate 3. Will passengers please board the plane? Is this the right plane for Capital City, stewardess? Yes, sir. Name, please. Banton, Grant Banton. Take any seat, Mr. Banton. I have a horror of getting in the wrong plane someday and winding up into bed. Things like that happen to me. Well, it's not very likely this time. Your name is on the passenger list. So it is. That won't keep me from worrying, though. Name, please. Uh, Nordlinger, Ms. Nordlinger. You can leave your coat with me if you want, Ms. Nordlinger. I guess I would be better. Here you are. Take any seat, Ms. Nordlinger. Thank you, stewardess. That's the best way to travel, ma'am. How are you? You can't date a stewardess. Company will... I beg your pardon. Is this seat taken? As a matter of fact, Ms. Nordlinger, I was saving it for you. You know me? We've never met but we travel in the same circles. Don't I look at all familiar? No. But how do you do? Sit down, fasten your safety belt, have a pillow. Stick of gum, fetch a blanket? I'll settle for the gum. Here you are. Thank you. If you chew gum when you're up in the air, it relieves pressure on the ears. Why it relieves pressure on the ears? I haven't a vagus notion. Do you always babble on like this? Pretty near always, though sometimes... Ms. Nordlinger. Oh, yes? Yes, stewardess. This kilogram just arrived for you. Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. We'll be taking off in a few minutes or if you want to send an answer. Oh, no. I'm sure an answer won't be necessary, stewardess. I'll tell the boy not to wait. Thank you. Aren't you going to open the telegram, Ms. Nordlinger? I promise not to peek, or at most only a little bit. I can't open it. You see, I... I'm not Ms. Nordlinger. I'm sort of on the dull-witted side. Well, the flight was booked solid, but I came out to the airport hoping there'd be a cancellation. And just before the passengers started to get on board, a woman came up to me and offered me to... offered to sell me a ticket. How'd she know you wanted one? Well, she overheard me talking to the clerk at the reservation desk. So? Well, it would have taken extra time to have the ticket validated in my own name, so I decided to use hers. This telegram complicates things. What's your real name, deceitful woman? Lincoln. Peg Lincoln, Ms. Peg Lincoln. And I didn't deceive you. I deceived the stewardess. You just happened to have your ears flapping when I told her my name was Nordlinger. Ah, then, Ms. Lincoln, would you mind telling me why you let me go on with all that build about traveling in the same circle? Well, you were trying to pick me up, and I thought I'd better help out a little. That's what I liked about the modern woman, so shy and retiring, like Mata Hari. Well, after all, it's a two-hour trip to Capital City. Dear, I wish I knew what to do about this telegram. Didn't the Nordlinger woman give you an address? No, she didn't. I gave her mine, but she was in such a hurry to get away with it. She would like to do anything anyway. We're taking off. Oh, that's... that's funny. I feel dizzy all at once. The nonsense was still on the ground. Just your imagination. Ms. Lincoln. Oh, it's so stifling in here. I'm awfully sick. You want us... You want us to let the plane take off? There's someone sick here. It feels like poison. Sick. Oh, brother, was I sick. When I came to the hospital after a nightmare and which stomach pump seemed to be reoccurring, I was told that I could thank my handsome seatmate for the fact that I was still alive. He stopped the flight, carried me off the plane, and raced me into the hospital. Furthermore, he had engaged a private nurse in a telephone every hour until assured that the danger was over. I've bounced back fast. Next morning found me weak as a kitten, but sufficiently recovered to leave the hospital. The bubbling Mr. Benton was waiting to drive me home. So we bid a reluctant farewell to Rosemont Hospital, to its unsmiling nurses with their picturesque thermometers, to the pungent unforgettable aroma of chloroform that lingers in its halls. Miss Lincoln. Miss Lincoln. Oh, yes. Are you sure you didn't die? I'm sorry, my mind was on something else. Miss Lincoln. Or may I call you Peg? Let's keep it at Miss Lincoln for a while, Mr. Benton. I wish we read the same books. Meaning? The books I read, A Fellow Saves the Girl's Life, she falls all over him. Yes. The ones you read, it's Let's Keep It at Miss Lincoln for a while. Maybe I should explain. I am an insurance investigator. And insurance investigators get to be pretty good at spotting phonies. I think you're a phony. Well, aren't you sweet? Not very. You know what I'd do if you were drowning right now? I'd throw rocks at you. I don't doubt it. A cryptic remark. I love cryptic remarks. Did Dr. Shifland happen to mention what I nearly died of? He said it had some of the symptoms of food poisoning. Suppose I told you I never eat for 12 hours before traveling. I'd say you must have had something. Contaminated water, maybe. Or maybe a stick of poison chewing gum to relieve the pressure on my ears, eh? If you're getting at what I think you're getting at... I am. Do you know I canceled an important business trip just to make sure you were okay? Or you'd be at the embalmers right now if I hadn't run... Sure, sure I would. You did some expert diagnosing, all right. A little too expert for a man who hadn't had any medical training. Don't look now, but you're losing your mind. Now look, why would I want a poisoner girl I'd never seen before? I never had anything to do with it. That's what Dr. Shifland asked. You mean you ran off of the mouth to him? I pointed out that the poison may have been meant for the woman whose ticket I bought. It was too late to make any poison test. But to be on the safe side, Dr. Shifland decided to check on you. He called Chief of Police Longman. Oh, that must have been good. Ray Longman and I used to trade tricycles. Oh, the Chief rates you high, all right. Above suspicion was the phrase he used. But you're still not sold. I was for a while, but just after I got into your car, I found this unopened telegram in my pocket. Isn't that the one that was delivered to you aboard the plane, the one addressed to that Nordlinger woman? Yes. Well, what about it? Well, it wasn't in my pocket when I left the hospital ten minutes ago. You just didn't notice, that's all. Want to look at a copy of the hospital receipt I signed for the personal articles returned to me? You'll find everything else on it. No telegram, though. An oversight. Oh, hospitals don't make oversights. Would you mind running through the whole plot for me? I'm a little haziest to my motives. All right. You poisoned me thinking I was the Nordlinger woman. Fortunately for me, you discovered the mistaken time to correct it. Well, for a murder, I certainly am canned. However, you wanted to look at the telegram, so you stole it. Probably as you carried me out of the plane. You read it and then you resealed the envelope and then met me at the hospital, hoping to slip it back into my pocket before I missed it. You've got the telegram right there. Open it up. Maybe we can put an end to this fairy tale. Thank you, Noi. I'd rather wait until I find the Nordlinger woman. She's still alive. Well, then I'll open it for you. Here, give that back to me, please. Have a nice trip, love. It's signed Aunt Ellen. Well, that's in my gang's secret code. That means boatload of stolen jewels ready to sail at dawn for what cheer I owe her. Thoughtful of you to rip the envelope so I couldn't check they're resealing. How can you be suspicious of somebody so charming? Well, the chief of police knows what's on my mind. If anything happens to me, it'll take more than that charm of yours to keep the badge boys off your neck. But I do have charm. That we're agreed on. Oh, yes. But you're wasting it on me. Next one is my apartment building. Oh, look out! Look out for that girl! Of course it's just me! Oh, what happened? It's me, Jack, the elevator operator. Oh, gee, you had me scared. Jack, how did I get here? I carried you into the apartment lobby. Oh? I guess you're still weak from the hospital because you fainted after the accident. Oh, where's Mr. Benton? The man, the man who was driving the car, where is he? Police headquarters. They want you to report into whenever you're feeling better. Then the girl was killed? Yeah, I understand. She was awful. Yes, Miss Lincoln, it was so awful. Friend of yours too, huh? No, no, I didn't... Well, gee, she was just leaving here when the car hit her. She was asking for you. Who was she? Well, I wrote her name down. It's in my pocket somewhere. Yeah, here it is. Patricia Smire. I don't know any Patricia Smire. She said it was important to get in touch with you. Oh. Jack, Jack, did it strike you that Mr. Benton, the driver, could have avoided that accident by yanking the wheel the other way, perhaps? Well, I was reading the financial page when it happened. I didn't see nothing. Oh. But anything you want me to swear through it, oh, Miss Lincoln. No, no, never mind, Jack. Call me a cab, will you? Oh, Miss Lincoln, you're sick. You ought to be in... Now, look here, something tells me if I'll stay a lot healthier if I get to the telegraph office right away. What was that message again, Miss? It was addressed to Cate Nordlinger at the municipal airport. And the message? Have a nice trip, love and Ellen. Uh-huh. Well, not sent from this office. Uh, might I see the telegram? Certainly, here it is. Why, this thing is fake, Miss. Are you sure? It's a regulation form, all right, and the message is pasted on in strips, but, well, look, look how different the type is from one of ours. Well, yes, I see. Well, was any telegram sent to Cate Nordlinger at the airport? You're Miss Nordlinger? Yes, I am. Well, I can look it up in a minute. Thank you, that'll be fine. Mm-hmm. Just a minute here, I think I'll be fine. Oh, yes, yes, yes, here's one. Let's see, it reads, um, On your return, we'll contact you at Hotel Ludwig. It's signed Patricia Smyth. Patricia Smyth. S-M-Y-T-H-E. Oh, what was her name at that hotel? The Ludwig Hotel Ludwig. Right there, right across the street. Oh, oh, oh, yes, so thank you very much. You've been very helpful. Oh, quite well. Hope you miss. Yes, if you would. Ring Miss Cate Nordlinger's room and tell her that Miss Lincoln would like to see her for a moment. It's important. Whose room did you say? Miss Nordlinger's. Oh, I'm sorry, but, uh, we have no Miss Nordlinger registered at the Ludwig. Well, I was sure she was staying here. A friend of yours, Miss. Why do you ask that? Well, seemed a natural sort of question. Well, not to me, it didn't. Why do you want to know she's a friend of mine? No reason. No reason at all. I'm just making conversation. Well, make a little more conversation, will you? Did you ever have a Kate Nordlinger registered here? Well, yes, but she's not with us any longer. When did she leave? Last night. Oh, why didn't you tell me that before? I didn't think it important. Yes, you did or you'd have mentioned it. Where'd she go? I don't know, I really... Why are you so scared? I'm not scared. It's the manager's orders we're not supposed to talk to reporters. Oh, now what makes you think I'm a reporter? Well, who else would ask questions the way you do? An insurance investigator. Oh. Here are my credentials. Now, what's this all about? Well, you'll have to promise to keep it confidential. Of course. Thanks to the cooperation of the police, there's been nothing about it in the papers, and we'd like to keep it that way. Such things are bad publicity for the hotel. What do you mean such things? Well, suicides. Last night, Kate Nordlinger threw herself out the window on the 14th floor. AutoLite is bringing you Loretta Young in Lady Killer. Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills suspends. Coach, I bagged him with a set of wide gap auto light resistor spark plugs. Ramming Chester, that's a spark plug story all right, but motorists everywhere can tell you stories about the money saving advantages of wide gap auto light resistor spark plugs. The newest addition to the complete line of spark plugs ignition engineered by AutoLite. You should have seen the difference. Difference? Difference why there's an exclusive 10,000 dome auto light resistor built right into every auto light resistor spark plug that permits a wider initial gap setting with advantages like smoother performance, greater gas savings, quicker starts in cold weather, even double life as compared to spark plugs without the built-in resistor. I've always say... So friends ask your friendly AutoLite spark plug dealer to replace worn out spark plugs with a set of ignition engineered AutoLite spark plugs and whether you choose the resistor type or the regular type you'll be right because you're always right with AutoLite. And now, AutoLite brings back to our Hollywood soundstage our star Loretta Young as Peg Lincoln with Larry Dobkin as Grant Benton in Lady Killer. A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. As well as her name? How about a stick of chewing gum? No, thanks, Mr. Benton. I thought you were police headquarters. The police didn't keep me long. It was obviously an accident, so... Obviously? Look here, Ms. Lincoln. My car hit a girl and killed her. It was her own fault, but that doesn't make me feel any better about it. I could do without the cracks. Oh. What are you doing here? I just happened to be leaving my room as you walked into this one. Well, that was convenient. I thought I recognized you. You live at this hotel? Certainly when I'm in town. Oh, I see. Or did you think I just dropped by to push Kate Nordlinger out the window? So you know about that? The chief of police is a friend of mine, remember? Oh, yes, that's right. Me living on the same floor as the woman who committed suicide he thought maybe I could help with some background information. But you couldn't, of course. No, I couldn't. Believe it or not, I never once laid eyes on the woman. And it wasn't until I saw you walk in here that I connected her name with the name on the telegram. Well, I'd better be going now. You think I'm lying, don't you? No, no, not necessarily. I... Please don't come one step closer, Mr. Benton. Ms. Lincoln... One step closer and I start screaming. Take it easy. I'm not coming any closer. I won't try to kid you. I'm scared of you. Really scared. I'm going out of that door now. And don't you move. This is absurd. So much as lift a finger and I'll yell my head off. I'm scared, I tell you. And I kept running until I was out of sight of the hotel. Had police headquarters, I suppose I looked just like any other psychopath with a persecution complex. But I was stubborn about it. Finally, I got in to see the chief of police himself. Ray Longman's name was. Surprisingly young for his job, middle 30s, I should say good-looking, patient and reasonable. But when I told him of my experiences with a charming Mr. Benton, he laughed out loud. Why Grant Benton was his best friend, the whole thing was impossible. In the first place, there was no connection between the deaths of the two women. Patricia Smythe, the girl in the automobile accident, had been a clerk at the police department, the chief had known her well. Kate Nordlinger had held a private detective's license for five years prior to her suicide, as he kept calling it. So far as anyone knew, the two women had never even seen each other. It wasn't until then that I mentioned the fake telegram. Mm-hmm. Well, I'll tell you what I'll do, Miss Lincoln. I'll check with the telegraph company. If anything develops, I'll get in touch with you later. Get in touch with me later. I know. I know you're taking all this very seriously. What am I supposed to do? Sit around like a duck in a shooting gallery until you decide to... You tell me you're an insurance investigator. You know court procedure. Would you under oath swear that Grant Benton deliberately drove into Patricia Smythe and killed her? Well, I... Well, no, I couldn't, but... Well, I know he did it deliberately. But I couldn't swear to it. If that makes any sense, I... It does. In order to swear it to it, you'd have to know exactly what went on in his mind at that moment. Well, that's all very well and good, but don't you see that... Now, I assure you there's nothing to link Grant Benton with an Ordlinger woman's suicide. And that brings us to the so-called attempts on your life. Would you care to press charges? Well, I... I can't prove anything. So, where does that leave us? It leaves you thinking that your best friend is the victim of a few embarrassing coincidences. And it leaves me thinking that... That the Chief of Police is just a big, dumb flatfoot being taken in by a pal? Which is exactly what I did think. I felt pretty sick when I left his office. I went back to my apartment and locked the door and moved a dresser behind it, but... Well, even that didn't give me any feeling of security. I couldn't find anything else to do, but paste the living room floor, so I... I pasted and... I pasted and I pasted and... Finally, late in the afternoon. Hello? Ms. Lincoln? Yes? This is the Chief of Police, Ray Longman. Oh, yes, yes. I checked with the telegraph company your story's on the level. I already knew that. You come out to my home tonight after dinner? Well, yes, I guess so. Grant Benton will be there. Oh. Well, now look here. I wrote down the street directions. There were a lot of them because the Chief's home was in the Secluded Hills section on the outskirts of town. When I arrived there, my insides were doing push-ups. But I was calm enough on the inside. I hoped. Ah, Ms. Lincoln. Oh, good evening, Chief. I was half expecting you to be late. Most people have trouble finding my house. Well, I started early. Uh, won't you sit down? Thank you. Well, take the easy, Chief. Oh, thank you. Grant, you'd be arriving any moment. I, uh, I want you to understand that, well, I'm not out to trick him into a confession or anything. It's, uh, well, I'm hoping that the three of us can talk things out. The situation's become uncomfortable all around. Well, with Benton being your best friend, I can see where this is rather awkward for you. Awkward? You know what happened this afternoon? Know what? Grant walked in on me just as I was testing this typewriter to see if the print checked with the print on the fake telegram. Oh. I felt like Benedict Arnold. I'm sorry. Did the print check? No. Now I know what they mean by one-track mind. Well, there are other typewriters. You know, that must be Grant now. I can take my word for it, Ms. Lincoln. There's no need to be frightened. All right. Good girl. A handsome couple you two make. Our fourth-right young chief of police and the lovely lady who has only recently voted Miss Unbridled Imagination of 1915. All right. That's enough, Grant. Sit over there and behave yourself. Oh, now then, Ms. Lincoln, to business. What can I do for you? Chief Longland thinks you can convince me you're innocent. I have reservations. On what plane? Where would you like me to begin? Let's start with the fake telegram. Explain that away. You're starting with a beaut. It's the one thing I can't explain. I haven't the faintest idea why it was done or who did it. But you didn't. No. Won't you even try to believe me? Yes, yes, I'll try. I'll even concede it was an accident when your car killed Patricia Smyth. Are you willing to believe that that blonde Miss, whatever her name was, committed suicide? Kate Nordling? How did you know she was a blonde? I read it in the paper with my big blue eyes. The whole thing was kept out of the newspapers and you told me that you'd never laid eyes on her. Don't pardon me for interrupting, Ms. Lincoln, but I questioned Grant right after the suicide at the time I probably mentioned that the Nordlinger woman was blonde. You did, Chief. I distinctly remember. Don't let him talk you into it, Chief. For heaven's sake, open your eyes. He's it. The explanation fits. What explanation? Well, can't you see? Patricia Smyth worked as a clerk in your office and happened on some information that incriminated our friend here. There was no sense her telling you about it. You were too fond of Benton to believe it anyhow. So she went to Kate Nordlinger, a private detective. And they worked together on the case. Benton found out what was going on. When he learned that Ms. Nordlinger was taking a plane to Capital City, in order to talk to the state's attorney, he decided to act. He'd seen Patricia Smyth around police headquarters plenty of times. But the Nordlinger woman, he only knew by name, which is how he came to give me the poison by mistake. Don't you see? I apologize, Grant. I thought Ms. Lincoln understood this was to be a friendly meeting. Girls will be girls. But listen, Chief. That's all I ask. Just listen. Very well. Go ahead. Well, through the telegram, Benton learned that Kate Nordlinger was staying at the Hotel Ludwig. That night, while I was at the hospital, he killed her. He pushed her out of that window. Later, he recognized Patricia Smyth coming out of my apartment building. She'd come to warn me of what I was getting mixed up in. And he murdered her. He ran her down with his automobile. Now, really, Ms. Lincoln, you're logical. Never mind her eyes. She's right. They made a couple of slips in the entire Supreme Court. Couldn't shake her loose now? Very well, Ms. Lincoln, if it makes you any happier, I killed both women. You have the dubious honor of having proved your point. You'll still be trying for laughs when they strap you in, won't you? They're not strapping me. If you get a glance at our fourth-right Chief of Police, you'll notice a rather large gun in his hand. You'll further notice that it's pointed not at me, but at you. Sorry, Ms. Lincoln. We did our best to talk you out of this. Now you've given me no choice. Let me tell you what our fourth-right Chief of Police means. He means that he and I run the gambling activities of this town. And people who interfere are up to get hurt, very hurt, dead, you might say. I don't think the Chief is going to shoot. There are two schools of thought on that. I think I should mention that the Bushes outside are thick with men from the State's Attorney's Office. What is it, Chief Easy? I knew telephone to invite me here, Chief. You told me that you had checked with a telegraph company about that fake telegram, but later I talked to them again and it turned out that you hadn't checked, which meant that you'd known about it all along. It was then that I decided to long distance the State's Attorney. You'd better leave the comedy to me, Ms. Lincoln. That's not even a good stall. The men outside are under orders to demand entry at the slightest disturbance. Fire that gun, Chief. And they'll be here like a swarm of gnats. And if I don't fire? You'll take your chances in court. After all, it was Benton who actually killed those two women. You have any qualms about this, Chief? Just hand the gun over to me. Wait a minute, Grant. Stay right where you are for the moment, both of you. What are you going to do with that ashtray? Heave it through the window? There's your slight disturbance, Ms. Lincoln. They'll be here. We'll wait. That bluff went over like a lead balloon. No, if you let me have the gun, Chief. Don't give it to her, Chief! Please! Don't give it to her! Wait a minute! Right, Grant. Spence, presented by Autolite. Tonight's star, Loretta Young, and featuring Larry Dobkin. Remmingshester, I've weighed your story about the buffalo. Thank you, Wilcox, but I could have told you his weight nearly two tons to be exact. Ah, you can never be sure of Remmingshester, but you can always be sure of any Autolite product. For Autolite makes more than 400 products for cars, trucks, planes, and boats in 28 plants coast to coast. These include complete electrical systems used as original equipment on many makes of America's finest cars. Spark plugs, batteries, generators, coils, distributors, starting motors, bullseye, sealed beam headlights. All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly because they're a perfect team. So don't accept electrical parts supposed to be as good. Ask for and insist on Autolite, original factory parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage, or repair shop. Remember, you're always right with Autolite. Next Thursday for suspense, our star will be Mr. James Mason. This will be a broadcast you won't want to miss. For next Thursday, Mr. Mason will appear in The Pit and The Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe, one of the all-time masterpieces of Suspense. The highest suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear and directed by Norman MacDonald. Music for suspense is composed by Lucian Moore-Awake and conducted by Lud Bluskin. Lady Killer is an original play for radio by William Bruckner. Congratulations to Loretta Young, who has again been nominated for an Academy Award. This young may currently be seen in the Metro-Goldwood mayor production key to the city. In the coming weeks, you will hear such stars as Ronald Reagan, Alan Ladd, and Ginger Rogers. Don't forget, next Thursday, same time, Autolite will present suspense starring James Mason. You can buy Autolite resistor or regular spark plugs, Autolite staple batteries, Autolite electrical parts at your neighborhood Autolite dealers, switch to Autolite. Good night. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.