 The Adventures of Frank Race, starring Paul Dubov with Tony Barrett as Mark Donovan. War changed many things, the face of the earth and the people on it. Before the war, Frank Race worked as an attorney. But he traded his law books for the cloak and dagger of the OSS. And when it was over, his former life was over too. Adventure had become his business. The Adventures of Frank Race. Now we join Frank Race for The Adventure of the Nightcrawler. The telephone is a wonderful invention. It can get you company when you're lonely and food when you're lazy. I was staring at the instrument fondly, mulling a list of young ladies I might invite for dinner and dreaming of the delicacies my favorite caterer could whip up on the spur of the moment. But instead of waiting for me, the telephone acted on its own. Reminding me of one of its less pleasant functions, it can't call you for work. I was going to ignore it, but it's hard to ignore things when Mark Donovan is around. Well, ain't you going to answer the thing? My instinct tells me to skip it. Well, maybe your instinct is going to louse you up. Suppose that is one of the babes you was going to call and she thinks you ain't around and called somebody else. You've got a point, Marcus. Hello? Charter Grant, Race. Yes, Charter. I've said it. Insurance case? No, no, no. Mass murder. Listen, Charter, if this is another screwy assignment like the last one I... Oh, wait a minute. Yes? Keep your sense of humor. Oh, great. Oh, that wasn't funny at all. No, work. I guess we don't date tonight. What do you mean we don't? I am going square dance. Oh, that I'd love to see. All right, Scoot, but leave the door open. I'm expecting company. Okay, I'll see you later. An assignment from Charter Grant may mean almost anything. Sometimes it's just routine, but other times... Well, I sat there thinking of some of the other times. I thought about them until a man walked into the room, and I knew immediately that this was one of the other times. He was wearing ankle tight pants, a 1912 model suit with lapels about an inch wide and a derby hat. He was also sporting a mustache that belonged in a barbershop quartet. I looked him over quickly to see if a lighted fuse was sticking out of any of his pockets because he seemed ready to explode. Ooh, I tell you, whoever's doing it, you have got to find them and make them stop right away before I'm out. Dying, they are like flies. Millions of them from some murder. Whoa, slow down. Who are you? Gausmeier's the name of Hodef, Gausmeier. But I will soon change it to mud unless you find the murderers. Ooh, those bummers, whoever they are. Look, Krausmeier, murderers are for the police. Police, police, what do they care? They laugh on me. And last week, a loan is killed more than 50,000. 50,000 people? People, no, no, no, not people. Who cares for people? Do I sell people? I'm talking about worms, the nicer, sweetest, fed, oh, you should see them. Did you say worms? Yeah, yeah, that's my business. I sell them, you see, in cans. Oh, canned worms for fishing? Yeah, yeah, you understand? Yeah, yeah, but some murderer, some cold-blooded vicious killer, he is wiping them out. Oh, it was bull, little... Excuse me, but how could a little woman can defend himself? Look, I must be out of my mind, but maybe I can help you. You sell canned worms for fishing and something's been happening to them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have any idea what it is? No, no, my partner and me. You have a partner? Yeah, of course, his name is... I can't pronounce it. He answers card with mine. It's here. Hookham Good Worm Company. Rudolph Krausmeier, president. That's me, yeah, yeah. Jabez Abernathy, vice president. Yeah, yeah, that's him. That's the fellow that I am. Jabez Abernathy. Yeah, that's that. He is my partner. You see, we are both Yankees from Vermont. Yes, I get it, I see. You understand, I had a delicatessen and I sold it to Cointreau to worm business. Only now, when we are shipping out the worm to the sports stores, they are getting there. Dead? Dead, you understand? Oh, please, you have to help them. How could a little worm in a candy shop... All right, Krausmeier, all right. I see by the card that your place of business is on Long Island. I'll come out in the morning and have a look around. The Hookam Good Worm Company turned out to be a group of long, low buildings resembling hothouses with a modern office structure fronting on the road, adjoined by a canning shed and a truck platform. Across the road was a diner and I stepped in there to have my morning coffee. I was about to down the last mouthful and reach for my check, but the hand of the man next to me got there first. I'll buy a friend. Well, that's very kind of you, but since we've never met, why the treat? I like to make friends and influence people. I'm betting you and I are going to get real friendly. So you can influence me? Maybe. Going across the road. Maybe. I'll go with you. Here's for the coffees, Mac. Hey, don't you want your change? No, I'll keep it. Oh, thanks. Well, now that we're outside, what are you selling? Let's call it a vice race. Oh, you know my name. You went up on me. I'm Buddy Tanner. I work for Joey Craig. Which means you'd break a man's arm for $20 or kill him for $100. That's just nasty newspaper propaganda. You got Joey all wrong. He loves people, especially you. That's why he sent me out to talk to you. Start talking. Joey says worms are for fish, so a guy'd have to be a poor fish to get mixed up in this thing. Don't nibble. You might get hooked. I might. And on the other hand, I might land a blowfish like you. Here's the dime you put out for my coffee, but I wouldn't give another dime for your chances of keeping your teeth if I see you around here again. I turned my back on him and started across the road, and that was a mistake. In the middle of the highway, I waited for a car to go by, but as it approached, Tanner came up behind me and pushed, and I went sprawling in the road. Did I hit you? No, no, no, a near miss, thanks to some very neat driving. Well, you're lucky I slowed down to turn in here. Didn't that other man push you? Yes, he did. Well, he ran into the trees on the other side of the road. No need to go after him now. He'll keep. We better get out of the road. That's a good idea. Look, if you want to catch your breath, come into the office. My father's one of the owners. Oh, Krausmeier or Abernathy? I'm Gloria Abernathy. And from the looks of you, that's a nice thing to be. I'm Frank Race. Well, if you're a fishing, Mr. Race, this is a good place to get your bait. When we got inside the office, Krausmeier was waiting with all the patience of a man who's been sitting on a hard stove. He was bouncing around like a basketball being dribbled toward the goal. Already, you see, all I did was just a closing in, you understand? Oh, I should only have begged my nice, quiet delicatessen. But the rest of my life, I would slice baloney and never word of complaining. What's wrong, Mr. Krausmeier? Where's my father? Oh, he is in there and at the office with a crazy boyfriend that he also plays baseball and horses. He's talking about Ted Walter, Mr. Race. The polo playing water? Yes. Or his Mr. Krausmeier calls it baseball on horses. Ted and I are engaged. He owns a building. Yeah, yeah. So if he is such a hot lover boy, why he keeps trying to take your father and me and throw us out with all the poor little baby worms? Is Waltham trying to get possession of the buildings? Mm-hmm. You know, it's really very funny. Ted took a long-term lease, but Ted didn't know what the buildings were going to be used for. You see, he's a sportsman and he has certain very definite ideas, especially about fishing. I think I know what you mean. He's opposed to worm fishing. Many sportsmen are. That's right. He says it isn't cricket. Fishermen should use lures and dry flies. That's his idea of sport. He says anybody can get a fish to bite at a worm. Sport, sport, sport. It's such a sport that the poor fish should get fooled with a piece of tin or a piece of painted wood. That's a sport. At least if he gets caught with a worm, he has for the last time something to eat. This goes on all the time, Mr. Pace. Oh, here they come now. So, make it over. I ain't thought it over. There's no use trying to change for mine. Now, bargain to bargain. We're staying. Suit yourself. Oh, hello, darling. Hello, Ted. Oh, this is Mr. Race. This is Ted Waltham. How are you? Hello, race. Uh, coming out to watch me play? Mm-hmm. Ready? Yes. And goodbye, Earl. Don't forget, future father-in-law, things keep going badly. I may be able to take the buildings anyhow. Bye. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Race, race. Follow him. But it's him, not the snake. It's a haystack you are looking for. Don't talk like an idiot, no doubt. Just because he wants the buildings back doesn't mean he's killing stock. Ah, so who is killing them then? Who am I? I can't even stand to talk to him. And I can't stand talking to you. Now look here, Race, my partner hired you, and it's all right with me if you can find the trouble. If you do, you get paid. If you don't, we don't owe you nothing. Uh, is it a bargain? It's a bargain, Abernathy. All right, then. Take them out and show them through the beading vat, Rudolph. I'd go with you, but I'm expecting Blake Carlin. Who's Blake Carlin? Another wolf already. We buy from him the cans for shipping the worms. Ah, come on. You must feed them. Oh, they are the sweetest, fattest, nicest little worms you ever saw in your holy room. Out in the buildings that resembled hard houses, I was given the lowdown on the breeding of worms. Ultraviolet rays, controlled temperatures, and other scientific apparatus combined to keep perfect atmospheric conditions. A pulpy substance like wood shavings filled the beds, and Rudolph Krausmeier filled me in on the love life of the species. Oh, that's lovely. You know, at first I did not like the business, but when you get to know them, they are so wonderful. Oh, affection, they got personalities just like people, you know, better even. Albert, Albert, who's that down at the end of the road? Over there. Oh, that's Mr. McDermott. He is in charge of the place. Let's talk to him. Maybe you could, but I tell you something I can't. I cannot understand him. He has the most terrible accent. I'll try it. Hello. Hello, sir. Hello, Mr. Krausmeier. What do these worms feed on? Oh, just the pulp in the beds, that's all. Could they suffocate when packed? Oh, no, sir. The tops of the cans have holes in them for air. I've checked those two. The holes are all open. They should live for as long as a year after shipping. But they reached the stores dead. I'm afraid that's right. Here is the canning room for the store here. You would like to go in there? Might as well complete the tour. Thanks, McDermott. Here's my card. Call me if anything unusual turns up. Check every load of pulp. Oh, all right. You finished your inspection? No, let me disturb you. No, you're not disturbing us. I'm Blake Carl and I supply the cans, so naturally I'm interested in your investigation too. You've got to keep the customers in business, you know. Well, we've been double checking the air holes, and they're all right. Yeah, yeah. The air holes is all right, but the price is all wrong for the cans. They should be cheaper, all right. Well, we made a five-year deal and the cans are scarce. We'll pay it. It's the best I can do. If you want out on the contract, I'll let you go. We do not. A bargain to bargain. Well, race, any ideas? A few. I'm going home and study up on the habits of worms. The worms I had in mind were the human type, Buddy Tanner and his boss, Joey Craig. But like the night crawlers of the insect species, they can be found most easily in the late hours of the night. I curled up with a book on insect life to wait for the coming of midnight when Mark was due to arrive with a car. A few minutes before 12, the phone rang. Hello? Mr. Reyes, this is McDovern, forwarding out at the Hookham Good Worm Company. Oh, yes, McDermott. I've got something to show you. Can I come up? Where are you? Chicago Store on Broadway under 59. That's only three blocks. Come on over. I'll be down in five minutes. Good boy. Goodbye. The five minutes passed and the clock struck midnight. I listened to the beat of it, but there was no sign of McDermott's. Another 10 minutes passed, 15, 20. Then the door banged open. Hey, race, race. Oh, oh, I thought it was somebody else, Mark. Look, I had been here before, but I just always turned off Broadway at 15. You know what happened? You saw a killing. Yeah. Yeah. See, a guy comes out of a cigar store. See, and, uh, black sedan pulls up at a coil and goes bang with a sort of shotgun. They jump the light, and in a minute, the street is jammed. And the cops come up in at first. I think it's a gang killing, but it turns out to be just an ordinary Joe-awakened guy by the name of... Name McDermott. Yeah. Hey, wait a minute. He couldn't be on a radio yet, even. How did you know? He was just a poor fish, Mark, hooked by a nightcrawler. Or maybe it was an angle worm, a human worm with an angle. We'll return to the adventures of Frank Race in just about one minute. Now, back to the adventures of Frank Race. You can't get information from a dead man. Mark drove me down to the morgue, and I identified McDermott's body. We checked the clothing he'd worn, his keys, a few cents in change, and a subway transfer. That was all. Mark said that McDermott had been carrying a small package, but there was no trace of it. It might have been lost in the street, or somebody who wanted it might have picked it up. They went out to the car and headed across town. You know, Race, if that was some rack of tear on that slab back there, I wouldn't care. But when it's an ordinary, everyday citizen, you care very much. So do I. A lot of people mixed up in this. What do you think might have bumped them? This was the work of a professional killer. The weapon points to it. So does the kind of car he used, plus the fact that he was killed on a very busy street corner, it was late at night. Wait a minute. That fits in with a guy who tried to shove you under the car. Buddy Tanner? Yes. Him or somebody else in Joey Craig's gang, but we want the person who paid to have the job done. Yeah, but the only guy who can tell you that is a guy who pulled a trigger. Right. So my plans for the evening haven't changed any. Drop me off at the underground club. Oh, brother, we're really getting into something. Look, that place is always jammed with torpedoes and mobsters, and I... Wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean, drop you off? I mean, you're not coming in with me. Are you off your run? I want them to make a play, and they may not if there are two of us. I have something else for you to do. Find Charter Grant. Get him out of bed if necessary. Ask him to brief you on the details of the partnership between Rulof Krausmeier and Jabez Abernathy. He's their attorney. Oh, that's fine. Then what do I do? Go back to the morgue and wait till they put you on the empty slab next to McDonough. Oh, I'll be all right, Marcus. Go back to the apartment and wait for me. If I don't show by morning, call police headquarters and ask them to play button-button with Buddy Tanner and Joey Craig. Okay, you say so. I'll take you to the underground club. But I hope you don't become appointment and member. The underground club, an expensive atmosphere that almost bordered on good taste but it missed. Most of the patrons belong to the group who had a lot of trouble explaining their earnings when March 15th rolls around. Others who came there were only slumming, looking over the bad boys. Among those who may or may not have been slumming were a couple of new acquaintances. They hailed me. Over here, race. The end of the bar. Oh, hello. Come have a drink. What are you doing here, Gloria? Ted? Seeing how the other half lives. Care for a stingy? Mmm. Dubinay cocktail, I recommend. You've been lucky you happened along. I have some business to attend to and Glory girl here wants to stay and watch the gangsters. Care to take over as my escort, race? Just stay here alone if you don't. She's a very determined woman. I have a little business myself with the gentleman at the corner table. Oh, Joey Craig? Yes, Joey Craig. Well, that's the same man you just did business with, darling. Why, uh, I had a gambling debt to pay. Well, I'm going. I'll wait here for race. Good night, Dylan. Don't grow old waiting, baby. My business may take quite some time or I may leave suddenly. Oh, how interesting. I'll be right here. Suit yourself. Hello, Joey. When I'm sitting at a table race and somebody comes up and joins me without being invited, I always figure it's a pretty stupid guy. Why? Because I might resent the intrusion. The hard way. You did that once before two years ago and I had to break your pretty nose. You lost face with your boys for quite a while. What do you want? You mean who do I want? One of your boys, Buddy Tannery, tried to kill me. Very inefficient. I'll cut his salary. He was efficient enough a few hours ago when he killed a workman named McDermott. Where is he, Joey? And right behind you. Now turn around, there's a gun in your back. Get up and walk out the side door. Yeah, race. Come on out in the alley. We're having a party. Just for you. Get going. Tannery, let's go to work. Grace, don't touch your head. You're pretty badly cut up. Oh, they were pistol whipping me how'd I get away? When I saw them force you outside, I called the police. Scared them off. I was able to get you into my car and bring you home. You probably saved my life. Well, I think that might be a fair estimate. Even if you did tear me down at the bar. Well, how's patient? He's all right now, Dad. Thanks to your daughter. She thinks fast. That's my long line of whale hapunas. Got to think fast. Grace, there's a friend of yours outside. You want to see him? Mark Donovan? Yeah. Have him come in. He says, come in. Oh, look at you. I know it. I know. I'll get you some coffee. What did you find out, Mark? You all right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, not plenty. Look, do you know that there is dough in that wine business? They grossed about a quarter of a million last year. Dollars, that is. Not whims. How about the partnership agreement? Oh, it's a pip. That, uh, that, that Krausmaier character, he put up the dough. So he had the idea. How much? 20,000. He sold his delicatessen. But look, here's the kicker. They've been at it almost five years, see? And at the end of five years, if either one ain't happy, he can buy the other guy out for 50 Gs. Ah. And if the business stopped paying off, one of them might be unhappy. Mm-hmm. I'll be back close. Wait a minute. What do you think you're going? To make somebody unhappy. Don't you understand? I don't want to sell my business out. I love the world. Besides, the contract has got yet two more months. You'll be out of it in two months anyhow. Do as I say, and I might be able to clear this up. Oh, this is awful. Look, everybody else, they got under them a cushion to land on. But not me. Not me. If it goes to pieces, the business, my partner, he could start over again without me. That warl son who plays the baseball and horses, he could rent his buildings to somebody else. And even Colin with the cans, he could sell them to the salt company. What salt company? Oh, some crazy salt company that puts all the time the salt in the bags. Now they got an idea that they sell it in cans, so you could shake it right out and not bother to fill the shaker. All right. Now, do as I say and call Abernandy. Oh, how could I bear it to leave those fat little devils? I don't know. Hello, this is Rodolf. Go ahead, go ahead. I want you to buy me out right now. Yeah, but I want to sell now. You don't have to give me the $50,000. I take half. Are you crazy, Rodolf? Yeah, I think so, too. Well, I left it hanging up on me. Now I am out of business. Hey, hey, he said no. He wouldn't do it, he said. Fine, that's all I wanted to know. I'll be seeing you later, Rodolf. So I wouldn't buy Kraus Marat at half price, huh? All right, what does that prove? It proves that Abernathy is exactly what he seems to be, a solid New Englander who sticks to his bargains and holds other people to theirs. He isn't ruining the business, so he can take it all over. Here, turn this next corner. I don't care. All right, wait a minute. The underground club's on his street. Yes, my boy. Turn into the alley and go to the back of the place. Look, you ain't going in there again. You'll have bandages on your bandages. No, Marcus, I'm not going in. We're going to wait for two gentlemen who are addicted to side doors. When they come, I've got a score to settle. That guy, Race, may show up again. If he does, we'll take him in the car and do the job right. You better ditch that package inside. Now, Marcus! And it looks him out, ain't you? Got that guy put away yet, Grace? This is one I want to chop up a little. I quit, Race. Who hired you? Nobody. Real piffin. Thank you, Marcus, my boy. Tie him up and drive him down to police headquarters. Tell the inspector to book them for McDermott's murder. I'm going after the man who hired them. Okay, who was it? I'll know for sure when I find the package McDermott had. It's hidden inside. If I get it, I'll go pick up the third singer for this trio. Hello, Carlin. Manufacturing can seems to call for late hours. Well, I've got a big new account, Race. Canning salt, I heard. You had to cancel all your other business to handle it. But Abernathy wouldn't let you cancel. With him, a bargain's a bargain. So? So, unless you can give them your entire output, you lose your salt company account. That was bad. So you had to figure out a way to put Krausmeier and Abernathy out of business. How could I have heard that I only supply the can? I know. Cans like these. A pair of them, and they look the same. Where did you get those? From Joey Craig and Buddy Tanner, who are now in jail charged with the murder of McDermott. A murder you hire them for when McDermott got wise to your stunt. Here. Watch me. I'll unscrew the tops of the cans. Look, worms in one of them alive. In the other, dead. McDermott found an old can and filled it. Nothing happened. But the latest batch of cans, those are the ones you washed out with a very strong DDT solution before you sent them over, aren't they? DDT to kill the worms before they reach market. That's a silly theory, race. I'll show you why it's in this drawer. See? A gun. I see. But you won't use it. You'd pay somebody to kill me if you had a chance, but you can't do it yourself. So I'm gonna take that gun away from you. Race, I warn you. Drop it. Drop it! Don't it, race, I just... All right, Colin. I'll take you in on the police headquarters. As Krausmeier said, when a fish gets hooked for the last time, he's at least got a right to something to eat. And you'll be able to order anything you want in the death house. The Adventures of Frank Race starring Paul Dubov with Tony Barrett as Mark Donovan comes to you from Hollywood. Others heard in tonight's cast were Michael Ann Barrett, Gunner Peterson, Hal March, Bill Crawford, Wilms Herbert, and Dick Ryan. This series is written and directed by Buckley Angel and Joel Merkut. The music is composed and played by Ivan Dittmarz. Be sure to be with us again this time next week for another dramatic chapter in The Adventures of Frank Race. Art Gilmore speaking. This is a Bruzelles production.