 Another tale well calculated to keep you in. In each of us, there is a possible murderer, or a man who feeds on murder, revels in the sound of it, the thrill of it. This is the story of a man who murdered for the pleasure of others. The story of Dirt Diamond, written by Sam Locke. As far as I can see, we don't need a doctor anymore. That's a pretty good job for us so far. We're in confidence. We meet twice a month at night. That's Welby talking. Robert Welby of the syndicate. He okays the murderers. So gentlemen, I think we've got to get rid of the doctor. You're right, Bob. 100% They're vice presidents. Nobody's. We see eye to eye on that. I had a feeling we would. Me? I'm the guy who does the murdering. So it's settled. The doctor must go. Right. Get rid of him. Get rid of him. No, no, no. I don't see why we should. He's outlived his usefulness, Mike. Give him a chance. We can't take chances, Mike. Not with Dirt Diamond. Not right now. What do you mean, not right now? He means that things are not so good with Dirt Diamond right now. So I'm afraid you'll have to kill the doctor. All right, when? Oh, I'd like to see it in the papers in about six weeks. And no blood this time. Yeah, that's right. The last three have been too messy. No blood. It'll be easy. The murders are coming too quick. No, Mike. They're not coming quick enough. Murder is what the public expects from Dirt Diamond. And if you don't give the public what it expects, they stop reading Dirt Diamond and go to other comic strips. They're doing that already. George, show Bob the cancellations came in this week. The Fitman chain. Ten newspapers all together. All right, so what? So what? A couple of lousy cancellations. You act like Dirt Diamond has finished. Ten years. It's been the top comic strip. All right, George. The meeting is over. You wait, Mike. Okay. And I drop you George. I got some work to clean up on that. All right, Mr. Wobby. Get it over with. Dirt Diamond stinks, hmm? Go ahead, Mike. Why do you think the strip is going downhill? If I knew that, we wouldn't be here. Oh, look, Diamond is as good as he ever was. Mike, people don't read a comic strip like yours for the hero. It's the villains. But I've given him plenty of villains. Needle knows and mosquito and armless even midget mouth and a hundred others. Now, it doesn't matter how monstrous I make them. They just don't go. I don't understand. Well, it's simple, Mike. This is the age of the H-bomb of rockets to outer space of science fiction. What you sell is fear, Mike. Monstrosity isn't frightening anymore. All right, so what am I supposed to do? Find a fresh approach to fear. How? What are you afraid of? What second to do? Answer my question. What are you afraid of? You. What? Will you ask me? I'm telling you. I'm afraid of you. Everybody in the synagogue is... Let's not degenerate this into a discussion of personal relationships. Stick to the subject. What have you always been afraid of before you met me? No, of being poor, I guess. Oh, that's a worry, Mike. What frightens you? What really frightens you? Death. Every fright is a fear of death. But what reminds you most of death? What in your entire life have you been more afraid of than anything? Freddie. Freddie? Freddie who? I don't know. I made him up. For the strip? The strip? No. This was a long time ago when I was just four years old. You see, one time I was afraid of sleep alone. But I needed an excuse to call my mother, so I thought if I can just make up something that will frighten me enough to scream, then my mother will have to stay with me. And that's how you made up Freddie? It didn't seem like I was making him up. You know, he just stepped right into my mind and started walking toward me full of murder and I screamed, all right. My mother came. After that, whenever I wanted her, I would just think of Freddie and scream. But then one night, I started to think of Freddie when I didn't want to. In the dark, suddenly seemed to seem giggly. You know, coming closer, his hands out to kill me. And I tried to keep him screaming, but I screamed. Now, what did he look like? Well, he had a very soft face and he laughed in a kind of a high giggle. He was very blond, almost an albino, and he was so heavy. He walked like a fat woman on high heels and his arms were short and his hands, they were always sweaty. That's it. I even like the name Freddie. That is the next villain. Wait a minute. No, no, no, I'm not going to do that. Look, please. I don't want to get started with Freddie. I suppose you think I'm crazy. No, no, no, I understand. You're still susceptible to your childhood fear. Yes, that's it. You're afraid of Freddie, good. But you also told me that you were afraid of me and that's much more reasonable, old man. Because Freddie only exists in your imagination, but me, I'm right here. And in our ten years together, you've seen what's happened when I'm crossed, haven't you? Yes, I have seen. Now who are you more afraid of, Michael, old man? Freddie or me? I'll have the first batch in two weeks. Good boy. Frankly, Mike, Freddie is the only thing that can save Dirk Diamond for you. Oh, what's funny? He didn't ask me. He didn't ask me how I saved myself from Freddie. And go on. Well, every time I think of Freddie coming to kill me, I just make up another man who would fight Freddie off for me. And then I was saved. You know what his name was? Dirk Diamond. I made up Dirk Diamond to save me from Freddie, and now Freddie is going to save Dirk Diamond and me. In just a moment, we will return for the second act of... And now here's a message from the watchmakers of Switzerland. Swiss vacation. Polly under who? Swiss vacation. Win a fabulous vacation for two in beautiful Switzerland. Enter the Swiss vacation contest. It's easy. Nothing to buy. Pick up a free entry blank at a jewelry store or other store that sells quality watches. Then in 25 words or less, complete this statement. A quality watch is the best value because there are 1,000 prizes. First prize, a 21-day vacation for two in Switzerland. You'll find a lot of Swiss air both ways. Visit many colorful places. All expenses paid for two people plus $500 extra spending money. Second, third and fourth prizes. 15-day Swiss vacations for two. Also four mink stoles. Eight Bollack movie cameras and projectors. 12 Hermes typewriters. $160, $100 watches. 812 Gala assortments of Tobler Swiss chocolates. Enter the Swiss vacation contest today. Free entry blanks at your jewelry store. Yeah. Mike, we just signed the Higgs McCoy chain. 14 newspapers. That makes 30 papers this month alone. We've got a lot to thank Freddie for. Yeah, a lot. The last two months of this trip have been wonderful. What's gotten into you? Freddie. What? Oh, nothing, Mr. Welby. Goodbye. It's not nothing. Everything goes so easily. The panel's the storyline, even the dialogue. And I don't quite understand. Not for a long time. Then one day, my assistant comes into my office with a strip of my drawings. Mike, something's wrong. What? What's wrong? Well, in this panel who told me you were going to draw Freddie looking frightened. Yes, that's right. Well, you have him smiling. What? Let me see that. Oh, yeah. You want to change it before I ink it in? No, no, just let me have you erase it. Yeah. There. Mike, he's still smiling. Yeah. Let me have you erase it again. Funny, it still looks kind of like a smile. Yeah. Yeah, he's still smiling, isn't he? Well, do you want him looking frightened? It doesn't matter what I want. You see, it's what he wants. I have to do what he wants. Mike, are you all right? Sure, Shums. You won't get in. That's all go on. He'll get in. OK. Hello. Get me Mr. Welby. Well, find him. It's a matter of life and death, understand? It's life or death. After murder, Freddie, within 30 days you'll be dead. It'll have to be big, otherwise Mr. Welby wouldn't go for it. No tool for nickel ideas for him. I walk through the entire apartment, back and forth. Past all the gifts and the metals and trophies I've been given by Dirk Diamond fan clubs in New Jersey to Hong Kong. Clocks and statuettes, loving cups and ash trays. A music box in my bed. With a stiletto encased in it. When the stiletto is taken out of its scabbard, the music box plays. Construction. That's what I need now. I need ingenious construction because I've got to kill him. Oh, I... operator, what time is it? 5.45 a.m. Do you wish to place a call? Mr. Union. Thank you, OK. Mr. Union, this is Mike Snyder, Barton Hotel. I would like you to pick up a package at the desk and deliver it to the Welby Syndicate. Yes, Mr. Snyder. And you tell the messenger to be very careful with the package. Yes, Mr. Snyder. Because there's a body in it. Yes. It's a joke, it's all, just a joke. Oh, I can sleep now. Oh, man, I feel like I've had chain struck my arms and legs. I feel... I feel so lucky. I feel good. I'm happy. Tired? Oh, I put that stiletto back. It shouldn't be... it shouldn't be playing like that. That unless... Unless? Hello, Michael. Hello. Surprise. It's a nightmare. Let's see, it's a nightmare. A nightmare. This is a fine stiletto, Michael. This is the one you use to kill Mrs. Blue Teeth, isn't it? No, this is a dream. Yes, Mrs. Blue Teeth. It's carved on the blade. A copy of the stiletto used by Dirk Diamond in killing Mrs. Blue Teeth, presented admiringly by the Dirk Diamond Club of Toronto. I like this stiletto, Michael. I admire it. You can't eat like that. So you're giving me 30 more days to live? Don't come any closer. I'm giving you only one day. You put that stiletto down. And then there isn't going to be any more, Michael Snyder. It's a nightmare. This is all happening in my brain. Exactly. Even this stiletto in your brain. No, I'm putting it back there. Point burn. It's still there, Cleveridge. It's Cleveridge in the headboard of a bench. Hey, look, Mr. Snyder, I took enough with them fingerprints in the laboratory, but the fingerprints aren't on file here. So the lab's wiring worsening. Special for you, Mr. Snyder. FBI, you know. When will they get word back? Oh, any minute. You know, Mr. Snyder is funny. I should run into you here at the police on the counter. You know, I've got four boys at home who keep talking about nothing, but how is Dirk Diamond going to get out of this trap where he's got him in? Can you tell me now how you're going to get him on this trap? I don't know. Mulligan? Huh? Mr. Snyder, it's the lab. They got word back. Yes, yes, yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah? The fingerprints of Michael Snyder? I'm not into anybody, Miss Bennett. Mike Snyder, we'll put him on. Mike, where have you been all morning? We've been calling. What? Your train leaves in two minutes. Where are you going? What do you mean? Anywhere. No, I'm not out of my mind. No, I'm not out of my mind. No, I can't explain no time. Now, look, I sent you 30 days of Dirk Diamond this morning and you're not using me. If that's the best you can do, Freddie stays alive. You understand, Mike? I never questioned your judgment before, but this time I'm telling you. Now, you put those strips through because Freddie's got to die. It's him and me. It's him and me! In a moment, we will return for the third act of... suspense. Here's Hollywood star Mona Freeman. Who feels like acting with a miserable cold? I relieve cold distress the fast way with four-way cold tablets. Yes, tests of all the leading cold tablets prove four-way fastest acting. Amazing four-way starts in minutes to relieve muscular pains and headache, reduce fever, calm upset stomach, also overcomes irregularity. When a cold strikes, do what I do. Take four-way cold tablets. It's the fast way to relieve nasty cold distress and feel better quickly. Four-way only 29 cents. Our program will continue in a moment after we're about another fine product of Grove Laboratories. Had dandruff for years, now get rid of it in three minutes with Fitch Dandruff Remover Shampoo. Three minutes with Fitch regularly is guaranteed to keep unsightly dandruff away forever. Apply Fitch before wetting hair, rub in one minute, add water, lather one minute, then rinse one minute. Dandruff goes down the drain. Three minutes with Fitch, embarrassing dandruff gone. Fitch can also leave hair up to 35% brighter. Get Fitch Dandruff Remover Shampoo today. Oh, it feels good. Good to hear those wheels. My troubles are being left far alone and it feels so good to be surrounded by lots of people. Huh? A man on my right is reading a newspaper. I can see a woman. I turn away to the window. That's the first time I've ever turned away from Dirk Diamond and suddenly I know I've turned away from him forever. What it well be once said You put a lot of yourself in your comic strips, Mike. Yeah, I put everything. You know, there's more of me in Dirk Diamond than there is in real life. I have been hiding in a comic strip since I was four years old. That's pretty. But I'm leaving all that behind. Tickets, please. Tickets. I am escaping. I'm free. Tickets, please. I gave you mine before. No, Mike. Oh, sure. Mike? Yes. So you don't have your ticket? Oh, well. You need a ticket, not where you're going. Let's go. You won't need anything coming out of it. Easy, Mr. You were choking yourself. Your own hands were on your neck. It was awful. You have fits. Listen, stop it, Frank. I gotta get back. Oh, don't try. I gotta go back. I got two. All right, all right. Now, the next stop is Buffalo. You can get off and take a train back. Oh, you shouldn't be moving. Joe, help him with his shirt. No, no, no, no, no. I've got to do this. Myself. Myself. I know I promised you a weekend, but this is an emergency. Now, stop whining, will you? Mike, forget it, Frank. I don't need you. Oh, so you came back. I can't say I'm surprised, not really. Listen, Freddie... Freddie has got to die. Do you understand? Look, it's 3 a.m. The entire staff just left. All of us trying to keep dirt diamond going because you go off half-clock. You've got to die! Calling me up from Grand Central that you've got to get away. Well, it's not that easy, Mike. Not from me. I know Freddie's got to die. I heard you. Kill him then. But not with this third-grade stuff you're trying to farm off on me this morning. You know where that goes? Freddie's the best villain you ever had. You want to get rid of him? It's got to be the best killing you ever had. Otherwise, he stays alive. All right, start crying then. Start from here, this panel. Dirk has locked himself in his room. And here he's saying, I'm going to kill Freddie. I am going to kill him. That's right. Now go ahead from there. All right. It's nighttime. Dirk lies on a couch, still thinking of his problem. Suddenly in the night, Freddie appears. From where? I don't know, but he's there with a stiletto. He comes over to the couch and he plunges the knife into Dirk's head. But Dirk awakens and the stiletto stabs into the couch. But you said first it went into his head. Now how did he miss? I don't know, but he's missed. There's Freddie. And Dirk grabs him by the neck. No, no, no, no. It's too thin, Mike. Now look, you might as well face it. You can't kill Freddie off. You're stuck with him for life. Wait a minute. Now listen. See, Dirk Diamond has never been more frightened in all his life. He knows it's got to be either Freddie or him. No, no, no, no. Dirk remembers something, then. He first saw Freddie in a dream. Suddenly he realizes it. Oh, no, Mike. You see, nobody else knows Freddie. The only time Dirk's ever seen him, they've been alone together. It's just him and Freddie. And then it comes to him. Freddie only exists in his mind. He's no dangerous enemy. He's the nightmare of his brain. Now he knows the one way to get Freddie. Yeah? Dirk... Diamond will kill himself. Go on. So he knows Freddie only exists as long as he does. And the only way to bring Freddie into reach is by taking his own... his own throat in his hands. And choking. Choking himself. All right, Mike. Stop it. Mike, you're crazy. Mike! You see? You see it work? Freddie is ready to reach. And now he has it by the throat. You think himself is the decoy. He's caught his nightmare. All his nightmares, all the monsters that imprisoned him, find the throat. And now it thrills him to feel Freddie's neck between his hands at last. The mouse playing the cat, Mr. Wellby. I'll do a panel of Dirk's face smiling. Oh, and now Freddie reaches out for the alarm bell under the desk. And now to a sniff of this thrashing desperate hand knocking over the telephone and groping until it reaches the bell under the desk and with its last dying strength pushing. And then, then he'll cut to the bell ringing in the office of the floor watchman and in the lobby and in the local precinct. And then, and then the floor watchman he knocks on the door and he calls out Mr. Wellby, Mr. The monsters are all dead. And Dirk Diamond he's escaped at last. Mr. Wellby. Oh, no. Who, who are you? Don't you know? Suspense. You've been listening to The Crisis of Dirk Diamond written for suspense by Sam Locke. In a moment the names of our players and a word about next week's story of suspense. When you listen for news don't you want it presented in lively fashion by a man you know you can trust? Of course you do. That's why millions listen regularly to Lowell Thomas whose news broadcasts are on CBS Radio five evenings a week Monday through Friday. When you want all angles of the news get them from Lowell Thomas and when you want all angles on sports tune in Sports Time presented every evening except Sunday on CBS Radio. Frank Gifford brings you the high spots and the low down on the sports world straight from the horse's mouth. Be in the know on latest news with Lowell Thomas and on sports with Sports Time two great services only a network can bring you and only CBS Radio does. Erd in Tonight's Story where Bernard Grant as Mike, Louis van Rooten as Welby and Eric Dressler as Freddie. Also included in the cast were Ian Martin Larry Haynes and Maurice Totland. Listen again next week when we return with another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense on CBS Radio.