 I'm longed as Johnny Dollar. It's trash, Johnny. How fast can you get to the airport? Well, 30 minutes as I finish breakfast and 10 if I don't. I'll give you some feed on the plane. Where am I going? South Bend, Indiana. Washington Research Hospital ever robbed last night. $150 worth of gold. You're pretty excited about a claim that size, aren't you? We were right to be. The gold is what they call an isotope. Used for experimental purposes. Highly radioactive. Whoever stole it is carrying potential death around with him. Well, I guess the airline's coffee is better than mine, anyway. I'll see you, Ed. By special investigator Johnny Dollar to Home Office, Prince and Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the radioactive gold matters. Expense account item 152 dollars and 75 cents for air and instrumentals between Hartford and South Bend, Indiana. Expense account item 2, $1.40 Cabs there after Washington Research Hospital. Dr. Reed McKinlock was in charge of the radiological laboratories. It's impossible to over-emphasize the seriousness of the situation, Mr. Dollar. An extremely lethal weapon is loosed somewhere in the city of South Bend. Would you mind explaining what this gold is, doctor, and why it's so deadly? It's what we call a radioactive isotope. That means the gold's been exposed to an atomic pile, though it becomes highly radioactive. We use it here as well as a number of other isotopes from the treatment of certain malignancies. What form does it come in, doctor? Both gold leaf and needles, depending on whether we wish to employ solutions or a direct injection. What kind of protection do you have against its radioactivity when it's not used? All our isotopes are kept in small glass vials, which are in turn kept in small lead boxes. When not in active use, we place them in a lead vault in our laboratory. Any other isotopes missing? No, just the gold, which means there couldn't have been much of a profit if it had been unmoted in the test. Why not, doctor? Well, we only had four ounces of the gold. There was a metal that wasn't worth too much. And it's an isotope other such as carbon-14 or iron-55, a three-times as valuable. Any other reasons for anyone drinking it? Outside of its value in research and healing, it's practically worthless. I can't possibly conceive of any reason for its theft. All my staff have been with me for some time. According to Dr. McKinlock, the radioactive gold was discovered the day before, placed in the vault that night, and a laboratory technician had discovered its loss at eight o'clock in the morning. Apparently, whoever it takes was unaware of its lethal properties. The protective lead box and the left behind. Doris Floria, the lab technician, added one more bit of information. I can't help thinking it's all my fault, Mr. Gowler. I'm the one that's responsible. Well, why is that, Ms. Floria? Well, one of my duties here is to check the vault, make sure all the isotopes have been replaced, and then close and lock it. Well, didn't you do that last night? Oh, yes. At least I thought I did. You thought you did? But I came in this morning to unlock the vault. It was partially opened. Apparently, I hadn't locked it last night. Well, we all make mistakes, Ms. Floria. Yes. But not as deadly as this one's life could be. They spent the count on three, one dollar and seventy-five cents. Cab fare to police had caught it. I figured I'd better find out what the police were doing about things. Lieutenant Rito's told me. They've been working pretty fast, Mr. Gowler, trying to cover every possible angle, fairly intangible thing to work on, as well as few flecks of gold in the glass jar. Some pretty deadly flecks, Lieutenant. How are you doing with the hospital personnel? They're checking them out as fast as we can, and haven't come up with anything so far. What about Doris Floria's story? It could have happened if she said they did a lot of vault door cycling. Neither that or it was opened by somebody who knew the combination. There's no sign before it's empty. I suppose you've notified the newspapers and radio stations. Yeah. Yeah, they're giving us complete coverage. Scare headlines, plot broadcasts every fifteen minutes. We have to do something to let this guy know he's committing suicide by carrying that stuff around. Yeah, there goes for anybody who might come in contact with him, too. I made a copy of the Lieutenant's list of all the hospital employees who might have had access to the vault room during the hour from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Then I started back for the hospital to recheck. I was still looking for a cab outside of police headquarters when Lieutenant Arito came hurrying out of the building and changing my plan of action. Let's forget the cab and come along with me, darling. Why, what happened, Lieutenant? There's another flyer to all the pawn shops, freshers, metal flyers and cops. A fellow by the name of Gus Parker called in and owned a helpful friend, collateral company on South Holder Street. He just caught one of the radio frauds there, scared them to death. He bought that hot gold at 10.30 this morning. I mean, I'm glad to see you, Lieutenant. Oh, I'm pretty glad to have the home, you know? Yeah, it's the first time parking. No, that's no way to talk, Lieutenant, just because we had a few, well, kind of disagreements. Don't mean we're not friends. I'm doing you a good turn right now to prove it. Hey, hey, hey. Yeah, I'll believe it when I see the proof. Yeah, oh, the proof. Oh, that awesome gold stuff. That's what I got for proof. Maybe my dead body will be proof enough for you. How do you know it's the radio action's gold, Mr. Parker? Well, how do I know? Goldy? But tell them the radio, didn't it? Goldy? Needle? Maybe four ounces? That's what it said, didn't it? Yeah, yeah, that's what it said. Okay, so this guy comes into my place at 10.30 this morning. Well, Goldy, he's got three Troy ounces of it. And he wants to sell. And so I buy it. Like an idiot, I should have hit him over the head. I should have shot him. But like an idiot, I buy it. Did he tell you where he got the gold? Oh, sure, yes, he told me. Oh, you think I buy gold without asking? Off in the windows in his place of being, as he said it. He had a big television store. He went broke. So he scraped the gold and bought the windows. And that's what it came to peddle to me. He said, oh, that liar. I should have shot him. All right, three Troy ounces of a lot of leaf to scrape off the store window. Well, so maybe he had a big store, lots of windows. How do I know? Well, that's what he told me from I bought this stuff. Where is it, Parker? It's back there. It's laying on the counter in the back of the door. Don't ask me to take you over there. I'm not getting within 15 feet of that stuff. Three Troy ounces of ass and bomb. I wouldn't get within 15 feet of that. Let's take a look with him, huh? That's gold leaf all right. Clean, too. It wouldn't scrape off any store windows. How do you bring it in, Parker? A glass jar? But he had stuff in an envelope, a paper envelope. I've got the whole store full of that hat himself. Now my counter, the scale. Get it out of here. Get it. I've got all that box in the car, darling. We'll put it in there and have a hospital check. Yeah, OK. Let's have it. Mr. Parker, you got a record of the man who brought the gold in? Yeah, sure. I got it. That's in my book. Wait a minute. Let me see how, um... Oh, yeah, here it is. It's John Jones. It's from the car. Flourny, Flournoy. Flourn... Street. John Jones. So that's the name he gave me. What am I going to do? Call him an ally to his faith? Oh, OK. Listen, Mr. That gold. What do you think it's that? Atom stuff? We'll find that out at the hospital. Yeah, but he'll let me know, won't you? This got me plenty worried. Maybe I'm dying from it right now. Oh, why don't you come with us and let him check you over? Oh, now how am I going to do that? Three hours? The clothes in here. Customers will come in here. After all, a fella's got to make a buck? No. We put the gold leaves into the lead box with the help of some sugar tongs that Parker had around, called the hospital to tell him we were on the way and drove down. Dr. McKinlock was in one of the x-ray rooms taking some plates when we walked in. OK, Steve, that'll do it. That's his old picture, doctor. That's it, Steve. You can put your shirt on now. Start by tomorrow afternoon. We'll have the plates developed by then, and I'll let you know. You think everything good already, doctor? Nothing bad going on. Everything's been all right. It's my job to worry about these things, Steve, not yours. So run along, give that lovely bride of yours a kiss for me, will you? I know she likes that, doctor. You wait till I tell her. Thank you. Thank you for everything. Wait till I tell my honesty. Sorry I had to keep you waiting. I wanted to be sure to get those plates on Steve Rojak today. Dispected little lignancy. Do you think you have the gold? Well, not sure, doctor, but we've got some pure gold leaf. Yeah, let's check and see. I have a Geiger counter over here. And now, if you step back... Yeah, sure. Did you, uh, get the man who had this? Not yet. Well, if this is hot, don't waste any time getting him down here. There may be still a chance to save his life. I'll pass the counter over now and increase the intensity of the clicking and we've got it. If there's not, well, let's see. Well, there's your answer, gentlemen. Yeah, looks like we start again from scratch. Progress came to a complete span still. Somewhere in the city of South Bend, a man or woman was dying from radiation. But no one had responded to the notices in the papers nor to the radio broadcast. Around 10 o'clock that night, I decided to call a quits and checked into the South Bend hotel for some much-needed sleep. During the night, my plans were rudely interrupted. Oh, Johnny Dollar. Oh, I'm sorry, it's just to be Mr. Dollar. This is Dr. McKinlock. Can you come down here to the hospital right away? At 2.30 in the morning? Why? It's our laboratory technician, Doris Floria. She came in here about 20 minutes ago in an advanced state of hysteria. She's under the impression she's dying from radiation poisoning. We bring you the second act of Doris truly Johnny Dollar. You sent in after what you told me. Where's Ms. Floria? She's one of the treatment rooms down this way. That's what happened, Dr. She came into the hospital at 1.50 a.m., sobbing and moaning rather incoherently about dying from radiation poisoning. The resident on duty called me. I came down, gave her a sedative and put in the call to you. Uh-huh. This is the real Mr. Dollar. I've already made a preliminary examination. Did you find anything? There's slight but very definite radioactivity spread generally over her body. Of course, the counter shows any contamination almost immediately, but the secondary symptoms usually take 8 to 14 days to make that appearance. Uh-huh. Okay, let's talk to her. I've told you all I know. I'm guilty, and now I'm guilty. Why don't you take me away? We want to ask you a few questions, Doris. I've told you everything I know. I'm guilty. What more do you have to know? What are you guilty of, Doris? Taking the radioactive gold? I'm careless and confident. I don't deserve to be a technician here. Can't you understand that? I should have punished, not questioned. Punished. How are you careless? By exposing yourself to radiation? Yes. Yes. What do you think I've been telling you? A night after night, having to take a lot of time using the shields, the tongs, to put the isotopes away, wasting time, wasting time. Well, you've been short-cutting the safety procedures. Is that it, Doris? You haven't been following the safety rules? I just told you that, didn't I? Careless and confident. Now I'm dying, and I deserve to die. Be punished. Why, Doris? Did you take the gold? Take it? Take the gold? Yes. Did you take the gold from the vault? No. So, where did you take it? You said I took it. I wouldn't see you. Well, then why are you guilty, Doris? What did you do? The vault. Night before. I did close it. Brought it tight. With the gold. What about the gold, Doris? It wasn't in the lab. I left it out on the treatment room. I forgot all about it. I left it out there for anybody to take, anybody. Why don't you punish me for that? I'm guilty. Why don't you punish me? Oh, yes, Don. Was to throw our field of suspects wide open. The tenor Doritos was a far from happy man when I gave him that information the next morning. That's all I had to hear this morning, Doris. That's all I needed to finish the shopping for the stuff. What stuff was in it? There's all of those newspaper and radio stories. Every crank in town has been in the column. This fella claims his neighbor's got the radioactive gold. How does he know? Because the guy's a spy. Right now he's building a hydrogen bomb with it out in the backyard. Yeah. Here's one from a gold buyer out on the west side. He bought the stuff last night. He's sure of it. Only it turns out he's got a half a dozen gold-plated types and things like that. That's where it's been going, darling. We've got to check him out one by one. Yeah, policemen often tell me that a policeman's loss is not a happy one. I know an insurance investigator wasn't doing too well either. No car members, did it? Mm-hmm. Where are you going from here, darling? Out to the hospital. No place else to go. Maybe we missed something down the line there. I doubt it. Yeah, still alive, but I gotta do something. 24 hours have gone by. Yeah. Haven't gotten very far, have we? The squad car gave me a lift back to the hospital and I went into the questioning routine again. I was studying the very negative results of my handy work when Dr. McKinlock brought me some interesting information. Remember that patient I had in here yesterday, Mr. Dallas? He's Rojak. Rojak? I was giving him some X-ray tests when you and Lieutenant Doritos came in. Oh, yeah. The one you thought might have a malignancy. Well, we gave him a tracer dose of phosphorus 32 last night and I was going to check him with his portable counter. But while I was carrying it down the corridor just now, the counter became activated. You mean there's some radioactivity out in the corridor right now? That's right. Where is it coming from, Dr. I'll show you. This is a pretty sensitive instrument. Don't let the volume of its activity concern you. I'll take your word for it. This is the maximum intensity right here. There's nothing in the corridor to produce that. What's over there? A utility cabinet? That's right. Let's look inside. A rubbish cart. It pans reporters in order to put her out. And it's contaminated. Would that have happened if somebody had carried a radioactivity of substance hidden inside? It could. Now all we have to do is figure out who used it. I'm afraid that's in your problems rather than in mine, Mr. Dollar. While Dr. McKinlock prepared the cart for decontamination, I put a call through to Lieutenant Arito and gave him the names and addresses of all hospital porters and orderlies who've been on duty the night of the robbery. He had them all down at the hospital within an hour. Then Dr. McKinlock began to test each man for radioactive contamination with the Geiger counter. Just step up here, Brandon. That's right. Now stand still. That's all, Brandon. Thank you. Hartley, will you step up, please? That's right. Now stand still. Okay, Hartley, thank you. Shraggett, your next. That's right. Now stand right there, please. Okay, Shraggett, thank you. Dobson, your next. The search took a little less than 20 minutes. Not once did that little black box with its flashing light and a regular clicking show the slightest interest in anyone it was introduced to. My bright idea turned out to be a complete flop. Expense account item 4, $12.35. Cab fares and miscellaneous during the rest of that day. I divided my time between the hospital and police at poison came up with nothing. At 7.30 that night, I was sitting at the hotel bar wondering whether to wire in my resignation right then or wait till I got back to Hartford when I got a phone call from Lieutenant Arito. Why? Why, what's up? My name refers to the radiation poisoning from that call. Yeah, who is it? Nature, old boy, named with Bobby Thatcher. His mother just ran into the hospital. What makes you think he's been exposed? She's not playing with a little glass bottle. Is this... Are you all right? Bobby, don't have to be all right. There's no sense in getting yourself off except before we hear the report, Mrs. Thatcher. We're not sure that Bobby was exposed to any radiation. Oh, Mr. Dolly, you know better than that. And so do I. The radio broadcast were clear enough. Bobby was exposed. I'm only praying that I caught it in time that the radiation won't have caused too much damage. I suppose you tell us just what happened. Well, it was about 7 o'clock tonight. Bobby was playing out in the backyard after dinner. The gang camp is back, so I went out to bring him in. That's when I found him playing with the glass bottle. For a minute, I was stunned. All right. I didn't know what to do. What did you do, Mrs. Thatcher? I knew I had to get Bobby to the hospital immediately, and I knew you people didn't want to see the bottle. So I put the bottle in a no tin can. I wrapped the whole thing in newspaper, put it in the luggage compartment of the car, and drove Bobby right down. Do you have any idea what he got the bottle, Mrs. Thatcher? Where it came from? I asked him that on the way down, he said he found it in the neighbor's yard. What neighbor is that? Oh, there's an elderly couple that's next door to us. We don't have a sense between the two properties, and Bobby wandered over there. He said he found the bottle and brought it back. What are the neighbors' names? Oh, Lieutenant, I don't want to get them in trouble. I'm sure they come to that end of the door, but they're such a kindly old couple. Well, that's how the name is, Mrs. Thatcher. But to disturb them now about something that couldn't possibly be connected with it, it would be a terrible pity. Why is that? They're going to have a party tonight to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The whole neighborhood is going to be there. It would be terrible to disturb them on a night like this. You're pretty disturbed about your son, Mrs. Thatcher. There may be other people who are disturbed in the same way. Yes, I suppose you're right. And you could go out there and find out, anyway. Well, there are Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Rojak. We made a check of the hospital records on Rojak before we started out. They showed that Stephen Rojak had been admitted for treatment at 7.45 p.m. the night of the robbery, and had remained there undergoing tests for approximately two and a half hours. There's something I can do for you. You're Mr. Rojak? Yeah, that's right, Stephen Rojak. I'm Lieutenant Arito, assistant Mr. Dollar, and we'd like to ask you a few questions. Lieutenant, you say? Then you are from the police. That's right. This is too bad. Too bad? What is, Mr. Rojak? That this should happen tonight, but you should find out now when is our 50th wedding anniversary. Yeah, too bad. Welcome in, Mr. Rojak. If you do not mind, Lieutenant, my wife, Farmer, she does not know. Could we talk him back at my workshop? Yeah, that would be all right. Thank you. Thank you. You know why we're here, Mr. Rojak? Yeah, yeah, I know. It is about gold. You took it from the hospital? Uh-huh. I took it, Mr. Dollar. That rubbish cart I used to take to the door then in my part... Where is it now, Rojak? It's back here, Lieutenant, in my workshop. In here, gentlemen, please. Thanks. I won't get the light for you. Now, what did you wish to ask, my gentlemen? Why did you take it all, Mr. Rojak? That is such simple question, Lieutenant. Yeah, it's all hard to answer. You must have had a reason. Reason? Yeah. Fifty years of reason, Mr. Dollar. You're talking about your wife? My honor. Four fifty years we've been together, and me, like that one person you've become in fifty years. I understand you. You raise children, have good time, have bad likes. Like one person, isn't it, Joe? Yeah, we understand. Now, now comes time of celebration. The anniversary. Gold and time it is to be, and that is what I wanted for my honor. Gold and time, gold and present. Look here, I will show you. I have it here, in my workshop. Don't touch it, Rojak. But why should I not do that? It's nothing but gold. I have been working with it almost constantly for two days now. There. You see, gentlemen, what I had made, two golden rings. Two gold rings with design in them. A design which when they are placed so, joins them both together. You made the rings out of the gold, huh? Gold and present for the honor. And then a golden anniversary. I know it was an old thing to do with taking the gold, but when I saw it there in the hospital on the table, I didn't know what I had to do to make this for honor. You've been working with that gold for two days? Mm-hmm. Two days, right? Haven't you read any papers in that time? Listened to any radio broadcast? Oh, I'm sorry. I've been up to read an agent since red, so we've been up there. Yeah, I see. I was going to pay back for the gold after my treatment. I was going to pay back. I thought I needed to pay. Yes, Mr. O'Jack. You will. $42.20 hotel bill in Michelinian. Expense account of $6.55 airfare and incidentals back to Hartman. Expense account total $165.45. Here's truly $20.