 Mutual presents the Mysterious Traveller. This is the Mysterious Traveller, inviting you to join me on another journey into the round of the strange and the terrifying. I hope that you enjoy the trip, that it thrills you a little and chills you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable. If you can. Tonight we're going to join Bill Storm, a newspaper reporter on the strangest manhunt ever conducted. Or should I say womanhunt? As he searches frantically through a great city for the most dangerous and deadly woman you've ever imagined. In the story I call... The Woman in Black. And now here is the story as Bill Storm himself wrote it down. When he began to be afraid that maybe he was going to succeed in his hunt for the woman in black. My name is Bill Storm. I'm a newspaper reporter. And I'm writing this because I have a date tonight. A date with a gorgeous brunette with big dark eyes and the smoothest, softest voice in the world. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, I'd like to believe she's nice, but I can't. In my heart I know she's the most dangerous woman in the world. Up to a week ago I'd never even heard of her. A week ago. The day of Rusty Dean's funeral. You know, the big shot gambling slot machines. Killed by a solitary gunman while stepping out of his nightclub. They didn't catch the killer, but they gave Rusty the biggest funeral since prohibition. I was on the read-write desk that afternoon. My best friend, Tom Jervis, was covering the funeral. And along about four he phoned in. First he gave me all the dope on the funeral and then he started telling me about some brunette he just met. He was always a sucker for brunettes. Who the softest voice in the world? I want you to meet her. Oh, Blonde's more of my style, Tom. Anyway, you're supposed to be working. Where have you forgotten? I am working. Listen, Bill, I've got a front page story here. Theta led me to it. Who did? Theta, that's her. D-H-E-D-A. Just like Theta Bear, the old silent picture star. This is how it happened, Bill. I was watching the crowd at Rusty's funeral. I spotted a trim little number all in black, whispering to Joe Nelson. Who's Nelson? Joe Nelson, a small-time thug. Well, anyway, she moved off. I thought she might be a relative of the deceased, so I asked Joe about her. He claimed he'd never seen her before. And all that she'd said to him was, four o'clock at the banner bar and grill. Four o'clock at the banner bar and grill? Sounds like a message. That's what Joe figured. Oh, he decided that she'd delivered it to the wrong guy. Well, I sort of wanted to see her again. So I persuaded Nelson he needed to drink. We slipped around the corner here to the banner bar and grill. Sure enough, she was here waiting for us. Ah, Tom, watch yourself. Well, you've got the wrong idea. She's a perfect lady. Yeah? What about that big story you claimed you had? I'm coming to it. But honest, Bill, I want you to meet Theta. You'll go for her. Hey, look, look, I'm going to put her on the phone and say hello. Here she is. Hello, Bill Storm. Hello, Theta. Is that your real name? Yes. Don't you like it, Bill? Sure, I like it. What's the rest of it? Any girl my sidekick goes overboard for, I'd like to know her name. There isn't any rest of it, Bill. Just Theta. Oh, nobody has just one name. Not these days. Sorry, Bill. It's all I've ever had. Here's Tom again. Listen, listen, Bill, I'm going to fix up a date with her for you. But here's the story that I promised you. Joe Nelson has been getting quietly plastered. And from what he's let slip, I'm positive he's the gunman who killed Rusty D. He is? Well then, hang on to him. I am. You get a car, come down here. We'll smuggle him up to the office and work on him. Maybe we can get the whole story out of him. I'll be there in 15 minutes. Keep buying him drinks till I get there. What's the address? It's on the corner of 15 Spruce. She slipped away when they came in. I think she fingered him for them. Yeah, yeah, that explains everything. Bill, they're coming over toward this phone booth. In five minutes, even before the police got there, the place was deserted except for the two dead men. Joe Nelson, the gunman, and Tom, my best friend, led to his death by a Delilah in a black dress. Well, the police didn't find the gunman who did the shooting, so I set out to find the girl to track them down through her. Once I found her, she was going to talk, plenty. I began the hunt by calling on the man who had been Rusty Dean's chief lieutenant and was running his enterprises now, Nick Murray. Sit down, Storm. You said you wanted to talk to me. What about? Murray, did your boys kill Joe Nelson this afternoon? My boys? No, Bill. Why should they? Maybe because it was Nelson who bumped off Rusty Dean. He did? How do you know that? You mean you didn't know it? Listen, if I'd known that Nelson would have been dead long before this. I figured that. That's what made me think that you were in the clear. You haven't told me how you know Nelson killed Rusty. Well, he had a few drinks this afternoon. He let his slip out to Tom Jervis, my sidekick. Just before those two hoodlums riddled them both. A brunette named Theta put Nelson and Tom on the spot for them. A brunette named Theta? Never heard of her. Oh, I hoped you might have. A good figure. Deep, dark eyes, low soft voice. Looks like a lady. Some lady, if she works with a bump off gang, no, I never heard of her. But if she's working with any local mob, I'll hear about her all right. If any of my boys run across her, I'll let you know. Thanks, Marie. But warn them. If they meet her, watch out. She's pure dynamite. It was one lead that got me no place. So next I dropped in on Captain Hughes, the head of homicide, to ask if the police had gotten any fingerprints off the glass. The girl had been drinking from before the shooting started. Sorry, Bill. No dice. You mean you didn't get anything from the girl's glass? Not a thing. You see, she hadn't touched it. None of the liquor was gone. Well, now that proves that she wasn't on the level. Not necessarily, but I've issued orders to have her picked up if she's found. Not much to go on, though. We try to get a description from Gomez, the waiter who served them, but... But what? Well, he says he didn't get a good look at her. When she slipped away, he didn't even see a go. Some eyes he must have had. I suppose he didn't even see the shooting. Not much, but he dived down the cellar steps when it started. He's in, uh, Civic Hospital now. Well, I'm going out there to talk to him. He must have noticed something. Oh, and so long, Captain, and thanks. It wasn't much of a lead, but it was all I had. It was pretty late by now, and when I got there, the hospital had settled down for the night. They put Gomez in a ward, and outside the ward I found a nurse on duty. The blonde kid who turned as I came up. Oh, good evening. You looking for someone? Yes, my name is Storm. I'm looking for a patient named Gomez. Gomez? Oh, yes, broken arm and internal injury. How is he? Is he awake? Yes. He's feeling badly. Complains of pains in his chest. Well, if he's awake, I want to talk to him. This is police business. What beds he in? The last one, down by the far door. But I'll have to ask the doctor if you can see him. Will you wait here? She disappeared down the hall, but I didn't wait. The ward was dark, except for a couple of dim lights. I started for the far end, and then I saw her. She was just a figure in a black dress, bending over the last bed. But it was theater alright. It had to be. I tipped her down the room. She was talking to Gomez, and he was moaning a little. It hurts, doesn't it, Gomez? Yes, of course it does. But it'll go away soon. It'll crumble or something, and then he reached for the glass on the table beside his bed. A drink of water? Of course. Let me help you. She helped him lift the glass to his lips, and then I knew what she was up to when I yelled, Gomez, drop that glass! Don't break out of it! He dropped it alright, but it was too late. He'd already drunk from it. He turned to stare at me, his mouth open, and she moved out the door right beside her. I ran after her, but it was too late. When I reached it, she was gone, swallowed up in a dark hall. I knew it wasn't any use hunting for her, and I turned back to Gomez. The patient's like bad to shoulder. Gomez! Who was she? What did she want? Mr. Storm, you're not supposed to be in here. What are you doing to my patient? I'm going to make him answer these... Take your hands off him. He's not going to answer any questions for you tonight. And I say... I'm afraid not, Mr. Storm. He's dead. He was dead alright. The only possible witness who could have led me to her and she eliminated him. And then I knew that whoever she was and whatever her game was, trying to find out was going to be about as safe as moving into a dinner rattlesnakes. I put in a bad night trying to figure it all out. Next morning, when I got down to the paper, my eyes, looking like two holes, burned in a blotter. I headed up my editor, Harry Holloway, in the city room. Well, well, look at Frankenstein. What happened to you, Bill? Oh, I'm alright, Harry. Listen, anything new come in about those thugs who killed Tom? Not a thing. Papers needling the police, but well, so far, no results. And there won't be either, till we find that girl in black. She's the key to the whole thing, I know it. Aren't you getting a little hipped about that girl in black? After all, she may be perfectly innocent. Oh, yeah? Then how do you explain her killing Gomez last night, just before I could question him? Bill, are you sure you didn't imagine you saw her at the hospital? After all, nobody else did. Not even the nurse. Imagine it. I heard her talking to him. In a soft, honey voice as if she was bringing him flowers instead of poison. Yeah, that's another thing. The hospital autopsy, Gomez, found no trace of poison. They claim it was internal hemorrhage and shock that killed him. Sure, the shock of a nice, healthy slug of poison in his glass of water. Suppose they didn't find anything, and weren't looking for it, that's all. Harry, look, I saw a killer. Okay, okay, you saw her. Now what? I want to be relieved to all assignments until I find her, that's what. She's in this city and I'll run her down inside a week, or I'll quit calling myself a reporter. A week, I said. Didn't take any week to find her, not that girl. She got around too much. I saw her again just one hour later. It happened like this. I went back to my apartment and I dropped into a chair beside my window. And I started trying to figure my next move. Now, I have an inside room and the window looks right out on another building across an airshad, not ten feet away. I've been sitting there about a half an hour when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone in the room directly across from me come to the window and stand there, looking over at me. It was a girl in a black dress, wearing a cute little hat with a black veil down over her eyes. And as soon as I saw her, I knew it was theater. Don't ask me how I knew, I just did. Standing there with a ten foot air shaft separating us. Well, I did what I could. I turned so that she couldn't see what I was doing and I got Captain Hughes on the phone. He said that he'd have the building surrounded if I could keep her talking for five minutes. Well, I hung up the phone and I turned back toward the window, trying to act casual. Hello, Theta. Looking for me? Hello, Bill. No, it's just accidental that I'm here. But you're looking for me, aren't you? Her voice did something to me. I can't explain it. It sounds crazy for a hard-boiled crime reporter to say, but it seemed to get down inside me and twist things all around. A minute ago I had hated her. And now, well, now I knew why Tom had gone overboard about her. I said something, anything to keep her talking. Well, yeah, Theta, I've been looking for you. You're a hard girl to find. I have to be, Bill. But why, Theta? Look, you're just a kid. What kind of a raggedy are you mixed up in anyway? I'm sorry, Bill. I can't answer that. But listen, you could be anything you wanted. You don't have to be mixed up with murder. Then you think I'm a murderer? What else can I think? Last night you killed that poor devil at the hospital. I saw you. Yes, I know. You wouldn't believe me if I told you you're wrong, would you? Oh, I'd like to, Theta, but I can't. I can't. Bill, someday you'll know the truth. Now I have to go. Oh, no, wait. Let me look at you. I think we met someplace before. Yeah, it was in Chicago. But I can't remember where. Please don't try to, Bill. And don't try to find me anymore. Now goodbye. Oh, no, wait. But she was gone. And then somebody else appeared at the window. A window washer. He started to climb out on the sill to fasten his belt to the safety hooks. And I yelled at him, hey, you! That girl was there. Stop her. You made a little number in the black dress? Yeah. Where did she go? She went out just as I come in. But... Well, go after her. Grab her. She's wounded by the police. Hey, listen, Mr. I'm here to wash windows, not to chase dames. If the police want to let them catch it, that would bother me. I got a job to do. Hey, look on. You're a safety hook. No! Right in front of my eyes, he fell 15 floors. I saw the safety hooks break as he leaned his weight against them. And then I know why she'd been there. She'd been there to weaken those hooks to make sure that poor devil fell and killed himself. Well, Storm, we didn't get her. She slipped through our fingers somehow. But she was there, Captain. I saw her. I talked to her. Ah, she was there, all right. We found a handkerchief in the room. A woman's handkerchief. Initial J on it. Heavy perfume. Here it is. Wailock. It's drenched in Wailock. But look, the initial's J. She said her name was Theta. She was kidding you. But she did the job all right. Those safety hooks had been filed away to nothing. One of the local mobs is trying to get control of the window washers' union. That's why she was killed. Intimidation. Sweet little lady, that one. Hey, it's Storm. The elevator boy who took her up said she was a blonde, not a brunette. He was crazy. Her hair's as black and soft as midnight. Getting poetic, aren't you? I wonder if you're still as anxious to find that girl as you were. What? Of course I am. And when I find her, she'll get what's coming to her. That's what I said. I didn't know for sure whether I meant it or not. I just knew that I had to find her again. For four days I combed the town for that girl. And then, the two nights ago as I was walking home, just about midnight, I ran into Dutton, a cop I knew, looking down the dark street and scratching his head. Hello, Dutton. What's the matter? You see a ghost? Oh, hello, Mr. Storm. No, but I got a funny feeling I just saw that girl Captain Hughes once picked up. You did? Where? When? Just a minute ago. I was walking my beat when this dame comes past me, all dressed in black. And she smiles at me. Yeah, go on. What happened then? Where'd she go? Down the street. She turned into that door down there. Well, come on then. If she's still there, we gotta get her. In 30 seconds we were standing before the dark door that Dutton said the girl had turned into. It was partly open. That's the door, Mr. Storm. But that's the entrance to her first storage loft. Why would she go in there? I don't know, but we'll find out. Go first. I've got a gun here. I'll see what's going on inside. You push the door open, step into the dark hall, and then I heard him call out. Hey lady, I want to talk to you. Are you up there? Put down that fur. Put it down! Dutton! Dutton! Who shot you? Was it the girl? No. She was just standing there. It was two guys upstairs. Hey, hey, Jack, in the first... Dutton! Dutton! But lesson, Storm. You say you didn't see her. Now how do you know it was the same girl? I know, Captain Hughes. She was acting as a lookout for those fur thieves. She deliberately lured him in there to his death. Maybe. And maybe not. I'm seriously beginning to doubt if it's the same girl mixed up in all these cases. I think it's just a theory. Your theory. I'll prove it to you. She's definitely mixed up in these rackets. And by now, Nick Murray and his boys must have learned something about her. I'm going over there now and find out. When I got to Murray's club, one of the boys showed me up at the office. Hello, Storm. Come in and sit down. Thanks. I will. Can I fix you a drink? No, no thanks. No? I just wondered if you'd picked up any trace of that girl I was asking you about. Peter? No, the boys haven't turned up a thing. Look, are you sure you're not just imagining her? That's what the police are beginning to think, too. But I'm not, Nick. She's real all right. Listen, if there was any such girl working in this man's town, I'd know about her by now. Unless she's awful smart. And it looks like this one is. Oh, well, I guess I'd better go and get some sleep. I need it. Oh, before you go. Yeah? I don't know anything about the girl, but tomorrow I may be able to tell you who killed your sidekick, Tom Gervis. You may? Yeah. When? Well, I won't have the dope until tomorrow night. If you'll meet me around 10, I can give it to you. I'll meet you. Just say where. You know the tambourine bar on 3rd Avenue? No, but I'll find it. Okay, there's a back room. Meet me there about 10. And come alone. About 10. Right. I'll be there. I went home, but I didn't get much sleep. I was too keyed up. About three, I get up and I put on a dressing gown. I sat down by the window to smoke. And then, behind me. Hello, Bill Storm. I turned and she was there, standing in the doorway. I started to get up. No, stay where you are, Bill. Unless you do, I'll leave. Theta, why have you come here? You've been looking for me so hard, Bill. I thought I ought to. Look, I won't touch you or try to make you stay, but let me get up and fix you a drink. I'm sorry, Bill. I can't stay. But I did want to tell you the time has come when you can know the truth about me. You mean you're going to tell me who you are and why you've done what you did? Everything, Bill. But not tonight. I'll see you again tomorrow, though. When? Where? You have an appointment, don't you, with Nick Murray at 10 o'clock? Well, yeah, at the Tamrain Bar. How do you know? Are you working for him? No, Bill. I'm not. I don't work with anyone. Yeah, but Theta... Please don't ask me any questions now. I can't tell you anything until tomorrow night. Good night, Bill. Oh, no, wait. You can't go yet? But she was gone. By the time I reached the door, she was out of sight. So I went back to bed, but I didn't get any sleep. I was groggy, punch-drunk. I knew she was guilty, but I wanted to believe she was innocent. Well, now I'm going to learn the truth. I'm waiting in the back room at the Tamrain Bar. It's almost 10. And I'm just finishing this report that I started this morning. She should be here soon. So should Nick Murray. If what she tells me satisfies me that she's innocent, I'll tear this up. But if she isn't, well, I'm going to find out because she's coming through the door now. Hello, Bill. Hello, Theta. You did come, didn't you? Of course I came, Bill. You believe bad things about me, don't you? Oh, yes. How can I help it? Believe me, Bill, I'm not wicked. Look at me and see if you really think I'm bad. She lifted her veil and, and for the first time I saw her face clearly, it was just as I thought it would be, a beautiful face, with dark eyes that I could see into deeper and deeper, like looking into the heart of the night itself. Now, Bill, do you really think I'm wicked? Who are you then? What's your connection with these murders? Now, in a moment, Bill, I have to leave you, just for a minute or two, just while you talk to Murray. He's coming now. She slipped out one door while Murray came in the other. Nick closed the door behind him and sat down. Well, I see you're on time, Storm. Yes. If you can tell me you killed Tom Jervis, I want to know. That's what I'm here for. Two of my boys killed him. Two of your boys? That's right. You see, Joe Nelson killed Rusty Dean on my orders, so I could take over. Then I saw your friend trying to pump Joe. I couldn't very well afford to take chances. I had to get rid of both of them. I see. That explains a lot. What about the girl? I don't know a thing about her. I think you just made her up as an excuse to come asking me questions. Oh, no. No, I didn't. She's real. I know better. Because you did see a girl in that apartment where the window washer fell, but not a girl in black. You saw Janice, my girl. She filed those safety hooks, dropped that handkerchief the police found. She did. You mean you had that fella killed? Yes, Storm. Just a little business deal I'm interested in. And last night I decided you were getting to be a nuisance. That's why I'm telling you all this now. Because you're not going to pass it on. Oh, no. No, put that gun away. You can't get away with it. Bye, Storm. We won't be meeting again. Theta. Theta. Here I am, Bill. Theta, help me. Call a doctor. I'm sorry, Bill. I can't. But it won't hurt long. Theta. I recognize you now. I know where I saw you that time in Chicago. Yes, Bill. I knew you'd remember. No. No, stay away from me. Bill, don't be afraid of me. No. Stay away from me. Stay away. Bill, come back. You mustn't run away from me. You're not going to get me like you did the others. Mr. Storm. Mr. Storm, can you hear me? You're a nurse. Yes. You're in Civic Hospital. You were brought here an hour ago shot in the chest. You were found crawling down Third Avenue by a policeman. Oh, yeah. I remember. Nurse, take this down. Nick Murray shot me. Get word to the morning ledger. Certainly, Mr. Storm. And I'll please lie quietly while I get the doctor. I'll only be a minute. Hello, Theta. You followed me here. Yes. You shouldn't have run away, Bill. I did it because I remembered where I saw you last. In Chicago. The time I was in a taxi accident. I saw you in the other car just before we hit three people who were killed. That's right, Bill. You did see me then. And now you know who I am. Yeah, I know. Now I understand why you have to be around when people die. You don't kill them. It's just your job to be there. I never expected you to be a beautiful girl. Why not, Bill? Just because people think of me as an ugly old man with a scythe. Does that make it true? I'm not really ugly, you know. I'm not someone you have to be afraid of. Oh, no. And I'm glad you're beautiful. It makes it easier this way. Now take my hand, Bill. It's time for us to go. Yeah, sure. A minute ago, Dr. Clark, I came for you at once. It seemed to be quite strong and I... Doctors! Dr. Clark! This is the mysterious traveler again. So that was the secret of the girl in black. Theda, a strange name. T-H-E-D-A. I wonder if Bill ever did realize that those are the same letters that spell death. But he did what he set out to do. He learned the truth and he avenged his friend and he... Oh, you have to get off here. I'm sorry. And I'm sure we'll meet again. I take this same train every week at this time. You've just heard the Mysterious Traveler, a series of dramas of the strange and terrifying. In tonight's cast were Maurice Tarplin, Chet Stratton, James Van Dyke, Wendell Holmes, Mort Lawrence and John Tomkins. Original music was played by Jack Ward. The Mysterious Traveler is written, produced and directed by Rob Arthur and David Cogan. Listen next week to a tale titled... Death wears my face. Another strange and shivery tale of the Mysterious Traveler. The Mysterious Traveler came to you from our New York Studios, Carl Caruso speaking. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.