 From Hollywood, it's time now for Johnny Duller Johnny. I've been trying to reach you for two days Who's that George Reed? Oh, I'll I took off a couple of days George. What's on your mind a riddle riddle? Yeah, and a blonde photographer's model. That's better. How are you with riddles Johnny? Not as good as I am with but go ahead try all right You're a go this model married Webster preen green hat company was green hat company You sold it when he retired come on last week green reported his wife had disappeared And according to him when she left home She didn't bother taking any of her clothes or car jewelry and she forgot to tell her friends. She was leaving right not even him You think preen told the truth Johnny That's the riddle Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator yours truly Johnny dollar Expense accounts submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar Deployed of England American branch office four four three north 15th Street Hartford, Connecticut The following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the mad hatter matter Expense account item one eighty five cents care fair from my apartment at George Reed's office He was seated behind his desk his lily white nose buried in a copy of playmate magazine He didn't look up until I was halfway across the road. Oh Johnny Hi George, what's your reading? I just taking a look at Bridget Randall or Mrs. Preen I suppose I should come in. Yeah, let's see Very nice. She look familiar to you. Oh George. You're flattering me. No really she should. Oh, why well up until she married Preen she was a very popular model. Please is that a pun? Any hour picture was in everything from the police cassette to the ladies home journal and after she married him. You're a tired Hey, this is a new magazine George this month's issue. The picture must have been taken before she was married What do you know about preen not too much He's over twice her age and from all reports has a lot of money. I bet on it They married cause quite a stir in our real winter and spring stuff the newspapers played it up big Where were they married New York? She done some mad work for preen's head company. He liked her look and she liked his bankroll cynical answer. Yeah Anyway, since then they've been living at his place near Los Angeles. Here's the address. All right, thanks I called Mr. Preen long distance day before yesterday. He knows you're coming out. What about the police George? You know who's handling their end of it according to preen. It's a man named Steiner detective lieutenant I got the feeling preen doesn't much care for Steiner George how much life insurance does he carry on his wife none none nope If he does it's not with us Then what's your mind explaining why you sent for me not at all we're not interested in her life Obviously, that's a pretty callous attitude. Let me finish. We're not interested in her life But we are in her face in our what the fine print reads from a point two inches below her chin to the hairline Come on break it down George. Of course Last year a couple of months before she married preen She took out a special coverage policy in case something happened to her face that would finish her modeling career You know like a permanent scar bad burn anything like that. Uh-huh. She received quite a bit of publicity at the time And it didn't exactly hurt us either. What does this policy lapse? Oh, that's why we're so concerned Johnny When she married preen she announced that she had given up modeling for good So we quite naturally thought she wouldn't renew the policy what she did. Yes, and just ten days before she disappeared How much did you people bet that she wouldn't ruin her face the amount she earned year before last? $25,000 Expense account item to 85 cents cab fare back to my apartment On the way I had the cabby stop at a newsstand where I spent half a dollar of my hard-earned cash for a copy of playmate magazine Yeah, there was no doubt about it. Mrs. Webster preen was the kind of woman any red-blooded American boy over 30 would be eager to locate Item three a hundred and ninety dollars plane fare Hartford, Los Angeles then a cab to the Santa hotel I checked in made arrangements to rent a car then put in a call to police headquarters Lieutenant Steiner was out. So I left word for her to call me had lunch and then drove out to the San Fernando Valley The preen home was one of those Spanish stucco and adobe jobs two stories probably 30 40 years old It sat in the middle of some two acres of orange trees with a plaster wall around all the property Separating her from the subdivision on one side and a main thoroughfare on the other. I walked up to the front door In a moment it was opened by a beautiful blonde If she hadn't been wearing a nurse's uniform, I might have mistaken her for Bridget Preen Yes afternoon Is mr. Preen in do you have an appointment dollar Johnny dollar? No, I don't have an appointment, but I'm sure you'll see me really Yes, really. I'm investigating his wife's disappearance. You're from the police. No insurance investigating. I see I'm sorry, mr. Dollar, but mr. Preen can't possibly see you you're sure of that miss Richard and I am sure Mr. Preen has suffered a severe shock. The doctor left strict orders, but he's not to be disturbed unnecessarily And you feel qualified to say what is necessary and what isn't I've been with him for nearly five years Well, answer me this mr. Richards You think mr. Preen's health would improve if somebody happened to find his wife what? I Mean they haven't found her heavy You haven't answered my question You want my honest opinion mr. Dollar Excuse me, no one important Johnny dollar mr. Preen Well, I hope you enjoy steam baths mr. Dollar steam bath, what do you mean follow me? You'll find out a Pretty girl in spite of her abrupt manner and there was a lot going on behind those clear blue eyes She led me into the house through a couple of large rooms and up a winding staircase and down the hall to a door at the end of it Mr. Preen's waiting for you in there Johnny. Thanks Ouch Hey, that doorknob's hottest Very funny. I warned you here like this Come here mr. Dollar, sir. I'll see you later Johnny. Close the door close it. I don't want it to cool off in here Well, you look surprised. Well, I I didn't expect to meet you in a hot house mr. Preen I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable, but orchids must have plenty of heat and moisture now me I love it. I I didn't use to but since I've well Since I am at the age where a man is nothing but stick and dried parchment If you can take off your jacket if you like mr. Pallock. Thanks Do you know anything about orchids? Well only that they're expensive aren't all beautiful things Sit down sir. Any place is clean We can talk while I do this. You know what I'm doing. I haven't the least idea What the bees would normally do that is if these plants were in their native environment Um pollination. Yes. So would you mind handing me those tweezers? Yes Thank you Hey How many plants do you have here more than 200 mr. Dollar? 36 different varieties Beautiful. Oh, yes lovely delicate creatures Mr. Dollar, do you think you'll be able to find her when I'm gonna try I'd appreciate it. I have so very few things left these days Did you notice the orange trees when you drove in? Well, yes When I bought this house the land on both sides was nothing but orange groves beautiful orange trees green Growing things as far as the eye could see And now it's a housing project Yes, well mr. Preen I understand you aren't entirely satisfied with the efforts the police are making to find your wife And you understand correctly they have done nothing but ask me the same assinine questions over and over again Have you talked to them? No, sir. I felt that I should see you first get all the information you have I will cooperate with you all the way, mr. Dollar. All right. What exactly did she disappear? just Just 10 days ago She'd come down from our place up at lake arrowhead where she'd spent Saturday in sunday We had planned on going up together that weekend, but I developed a cold The evening she returned I retired earlier than usual and then when I awoke about 11 30 that night She wasn't in the room I called to her Searched the ground then waited up But she never came home. I see Was anyone else in the building that evening? No we were alone rather I was Any sign of a injury to her face or blood anything like that nothing Do you remember if she made any remark earlier anything that had given you some indication as to whether she planned to go out? She had no plans She was tired from the drive home had already put cream on her face and her hair up in curlis but Yes Well, she did say something about wanting to go back to arrowhead the next day and you're positive. She didn't that night mr. Dollar My wife is a very beautiful woman And an extremely vain woman She would never leave this house with her hair in such a state And even if it were brushed She wouldn't leave on an overnight trip without taking along a complete wardrobe all right What do you think has happened to her? I don't know what to think If I did I wouldn't have gone to the police A few minutes later. I left the lonely old man with his orchids and started toward the stairs I was about halfway down when I suddenly felt as though I'd forgotten something Only I was sure I hadn't Feel something was wrong about this setup I was trying to figure out what it was when miss ritchett's called me donny. Yeah, I'm in here You better put your jacket on catch cold. Yeah, well, you better let me worry about that hunt nurse Helen johnny. I'm sorry. I was so rude But I thought you were just another detective who was going to upset mr. Preen Well, I wouldn't make you think I didn't because he didn't shout at you does he usually shout at the doctor He ripped into lieutenant's diner yesterday morning. Oh, you know why? Well, the police have a crazy idea that mrs. Preen's body could be buried somewhere on the grounds of Upstairs in the hot house bed. Well, how do you know that? We've been after him trying to get his permission to dig If they were really serious about it, they wouldn't need his permission. They'd get a warrant Johnny You don't believe mr. Preen killed his wife, do you? At this moment, I have no reason to look everyone knows what a kind and gentle person he is. What about mrs. Preen Helen? Well I hate her why You uh care for him I don't like that All right, sorry. He's a fine man a gentle man. There aren't many left. No, I guess not He called mrs. Preen extremely vain Would you go along with that description was made for her? Suppose something had happened to her that night suppose Well, something that scarred a burned her face What do you think she'd do if she lost her beauty? She'd kill herself even if she threw away 25 000 by doing I know about that policy But even if it was doubled she'd still do it. Why because she wouldn't have the nerve to face her friends Friends rigid pre never had any friends, but that isn't what happened to her. What did I don't know, but I'm sure she's dead. Why I Why Helen? Johnny please tell me now come on. I know you have a good reason for saying that now. Let's have it All right Come over here. I put them away in this drawer. See What any Caps What plastic dental caps Actresses models wear them over their teeth to give a perfect appearance Bridget wouldn't leave a bedroom without some Where did you get them? I found them on the floor of the garage Two days after she disappeared Act two of yours truly Johnny dollar in just a moment democracy What does it mean to the farmer? How can democracy benefit the farmer better than any other form of government? These are easy questions to answer because the facts are there Only in a democracy can the farmer get the most aid from his government Own his own land produce and equipment and still earn a standard of living that is comparable to workers in the manufacturing industries That's because the people in the democracy tell their elected representatives. They want it that way government subsidy free enterprise open markets and the will to work and better himself Enables the farmer in a democracy such as the united states of america To produce one of the world's finest diets Scientific agricultural advancement and democratic government are the reasons why this can happen This is a part of democracy But whether it functions in agriculture or some other form of endeavor Democracy gives mankind its finest legacy of freedom Now act two of yours truly Johnny dollar and the mad hatter matter Helen the supreme's nurse gave me the set of dental calves that bridget preen had used to beautify her teeth And after telling her not to mention them to anyone I drove back to my hotel in Los Angeles Along the way I racked my brain about whatever it was something that had bothered me at preen's home Then as I passed the newsstand in the hotel lobby it hit me hard I had been in almost every downstairs room of preen's house And not once had I seen a single picture of the beautiful and vain bridget In my room I was about to call preen and ask him why when somebody began pounding on my door Well, dollar we seem to have had a hard time making connections, didn't we? I'm steiner. Oh, how are you lieutenant fine? Just fine And I think I've got our little case all sold up. That's all yep Yeah, you mind if I rest? No, no go right ahead. Thank you Yeah, see we've been checking back on miss preen's activities for the past few weeks Then making quite a few weekend trips, ain't she I wouldn't know We figure she found herself a new man a young man and took off for parts unknown What about her clothes? Why didn't she take them? She didn't want to take what old preen had given her She's too proud a little too proud to be true She had enough things paid for out of her own money to last a good many years Oh now dollar you guys let your imagination run away with you Now you look at this realistic Here's a girl in her 20s married to a man who's content to sit home and wait for the golden chariot And maybe she's content to sit there with him at first But it ain't normal. She should belong. Yeah, you locate anyone who's seen her out with another man No, try to that's the thing that's still stuck in my cross. Well, I don't think you will Why not because she was smart a smart woman If you had had a boyfriend and I'm not disagreeing with you on that score She was very discreet about it Mr. Dollar I'm not sure you were aware of it, but each time you mentioned mrs. Preen you referred to her in the past tense why Oh, no, no, no, don't tell me I fell for the oldest trick in the business. Come on dollar stop playing games and answer me Oh, you should talk about playing game stoner. Sorry, but I wanted to throw you off guard. Oh, you did pal You did what did you learn bird dogging around today dollar nothing stoner nothing Look, you either let me have all the information you've received today or tonight you'll be on your way back to Hartford Now, which is it? Okay Okay Preen's nurse mrs. Richards found these on the floor of the garage two days after mrs. Preen disappears You know what they are I suppose They don't have to be mrs. Preen Now take a look at this chart dollar. We got it from a dentist last week Now look at the caps Okay What are you gonna do? What do you think arrest webster preen for the murder of his wife? I told stoner he could never get an indictment The teeth camps definitely belong to bridge it, but they were found in her own garage She could have dropped them anytime during that evening. She came home from arrowhead And I reminded him of preen's position in the community is money how well he was liked everything Hoping I could still stall them long enough for me to try something that had been in the back of my mind since I left Hartford I opened a copy of plane made magazine the bridges picture that I placed a long distance phone called a new york city You've called mr. Howard mr. Dollar. Okay. Thank you operator. Go ahead, please Hello, mr. Howard. This is johnny dollar insurance investigator Yes, dollar a client of ours has her picture in the current issue of your playmate magazine Mr. Howard her name is bridget preen Bridget preen or randall bridget randall. Oh, we uh aren't sure yet Mr. Howard, uh I've got to know when that picture was made in the address of the photographer who shot it. Have you got that? Yeah, I remember now. I was surprised to see bridget after all that talk about retire. Yeah Yeah, this is a new one as far as we're concerned. What's his name tracy russell tracy address mox 17 got it mox 17 lake arrowhead, california What lake arrowhead you ought to know where that is? Yeah Yeah, I do It took me a little less than two hours to drive up to lake arrowhead When I reached the village I stopped in at the post office Yes, sir. What can I do for you when I'm looking for an old friend of mine? He's got a place up here somewhere and what's his name tracy russell tracy Oh, yeah, sure a nice little cabin on the lake about a half a mile down toward the left You just follow the road. Okay. Thanks. Now the cabin just before you get to russells has a big mailbox out in front With the name preen on it got it preen Yeah, I sure had I was there in five minutes. It was small in two rooms at the most The dog came from the direction of preen's cabin at park area Then went back into the woods again russell tracy. Who names dollar insurance investigating May I come in? Yeah, yeah, come on in. Thanks Oh, mr. Dollar work this all about bridges preen. Oh, wait a minute. I'm not That's a very good picture of her in playmate You tell her you sold it. Yes, I did when The day you decided to submit it Or after it was sold and too late to stop publication Or not until some other photographer started calling her home to see if she'd come out of retirement. I looked mr. Dollar, I haven't done anything wrong. I didn't say you have I mean a dollar All I did was take some pictures of her. I didn't have any reason to kill her Who said she was dead? All right dollar set out I'll give you the whole story at least all I know of it Go ahead Bridget liked modeling She liked it better than anything else I guess And when she found out I was a photographer, well Now she was over here most of the time. What about the day she disappeared? I'm getting to it I'd needed some money a few weeks before that I needed it bad I I had a run-in with the law in texas a couple of years back I have been able to hold on to a good job since go on Well, I had this one shot of her and I knew it was right So I sent it in without her knowing about it. Why did she find out? Well, like you said photographers called her house or Husband answered one of them. You ever meet her husband? Yeah A couple of times when it was up here. He knew you were a photographer He's been trying hard to get back at me for taking that shot of his wife. How do you mean? There's a dry well out in the back about 20 yards from the fence line After he killed Bridget Yeah, yeah, because the next morning I I was out with my dog and we found her face down in a well I guess he figured the sheriff would find her before I didn't figure I did it How do I know you didn't if I had I wouldn't have dropped her in my own well. Would I? Besides Why? All right. She's still there No and I I took her out that same morning and it's good thing I did to the sheriff and some detectives from la were Up here and nosing around the next day. Why would prane want to kill her tracy? All right, and I don't ask why but Bridget was in love with me tonight. She went back to la. She was going to tell him I guess that on top of the picture was just too much for him to take Dolly, you believe me, don't you why didn't you report this to the sheriff? I've got a record dollar and prane's got more money than he knows what to do with Besides, there's no proof of what I've I've just said. It'd be his word against mine and You know who'd come out on top Where's everybody now? I'll take you Yeah, bring your camera My camera and plenty of film Don't ask me why I trusted him. I couldn't answer you Except like he said he didn't have any reason for killing Bridget He led me deep into the woods And there Well, he'd done his best to make her comfortable We removed the rocks and Bridget was She was very dead Expensive kind item four five dollars and 20 cents assorted phone calls era head springs to los angeles I've been hoping you'd call there's mr. Pring there. Yes right now. He's up with his orchid Have you seen steiner? Oh, yes. He was here this afternoon. He took mr. Pring away with him But in about an hour mr. Pring now look Helen you stay there but keep out of his way Do you understand it Johnny really you're talking like he's a criminal Helen do just as I say I'll be there as soon as I can after seeing that Russell Tracy was safe in the custody of steiner I took the freeway out to the san Fernando valley There's a little after 9 30 when I pulled another pring driveway The porch lights were on and Helen opened the door Johnny you look awful. You had dinner. Oh, no, not yet. Well, let me fix you. No, please What's in the envelope? Uh, nothing important. Where's mr. Pring? Where do you suppose upstairs with his orchid? Would you mind if I went right up? Of course not Johnny. Go ahead. When your dinner's ready, I'll call you Yeah, okay. Thanks. Careful of the door knob. Yeah, I remember Hello, mr. Pring Didn't the best for us again, I think Is it better to take off your jacket mr. Dollar? Uh, afraid I'm not going to stay long enough to bother. Oh, well, now that's too bad Beauties such as this isn't often seen mr. Dollar. I uh I disagree with you sir. What? I think I have something here. That's every bit as beautiful as any flower in this hot house She was beautiful wasn't she mr. Pring here. She's very beautiful Yeah, look at this picture Taking just a couple of hours ago Yeah, what about this one? What about it mr. Pring? What do you think of your handiwork? Proud of what you've done mr. Pring No No, please No more of this. Why did you do it? I had to I had to She was going to eat me Like everybody else and then Everything does She was going and I couldn't let her I just couldn't let her go The hunch have been right After he killed Bridget Pring and not been able to face the many photographs of her about the house Or any pictures of Bridget as we were One photograph had caused it death The others we took later What Bridget's husband away for the few remaining years of his life Expense account total including car rental hotels and rentals and transportation back to Hartford $870 and 40 cents Yours truly Johnny dollar Now here is our star to tell you about next week story next week A fishing trip that could be very pleasant Except that one of the fishermen is dead Join us won't you Yours truly Johnny dollar has come to you through the worldwide Facilities of the united states armed forces radio and television service