 From Hollywood, it's time now for Johnny dollar Ralph Dean Johnny mono guarantee. Oh, hi you Ralph. How are things rough? My wife could kill me Johnny for the insurance. Oh just for kicks because she's mad because she wanted a mink coat in short She's a woman. I couldn't buy her a mouth. Isn't the insurance game? Oh sure. I know Ralph. You're down to your last yet So what happens yesterday? I lose 80 mink coats silver blue worth a hundred thousand dollars gone snatch disappeared Where house robbery check badly furriers out in Los Angeles my wife's about to blow her stack She says if I can't afford one fur coat for her then how come I can pay for 80 of them that I haven't even got How do you reason with a woman Johnny? I never try usually. I just sent flowers. I've already done that She ran him through the garbage disposer. So now what do I do buy some more flowers? Tonight and every weekday night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator does truly Johnny dollar From special investigator Johnny dollar to the home office mono guarantee insurance company forty three twelve spring Street Hartford, Connecticut The following is an accounting of expended jurors during my investigation of the silver blue matter Item one a hundred and fifty two dollars and forty cents telephone and incidentals and transportation to Los Angeles I call the mono guarantee agent out there before I left and got a brief rundown on the case Among other things I learned that a man I'd known and worked with before detective lieutenant for him on Garcia had been put in charge And with Garcia on hand I knew I could count on cooperation by the police, but I still wasn't expecting quite as much as I got I knocked over the fur joint myself Johnny see it the only way we get to see have you been over work underpaid Prostrated disillusioned unappreciated in other words fine got your luggage yet. It's coming right there good We ought to get moving. I've got a squad car outside. What's all the rush? We've got a guy downtown in the hospital. I figured you'd want to talk to well He'll wait one he he'd probably like to if he had any choice. He's dying kind of looks that way He's one of the two-night watchman the gang slug when they broke into the warehouse, and he's our big one Johnny He's all we've got as he's been able to talk a couple of sentences during the night He's got to talk. What do you mean? He's the only one who got a look at what he did talk. What did he say jibberish mostly? He did say one thing though. They were kids just a gang of kids. Oh, that's gonna make it a rougher. Yeah in a lot of ways What do you mean? You'll find out later Johnny. Come on. Let's go We took the freeway into town with the accelerator floor boarded in the siren screaming Racing against time and against dying weaving in and out through the four-wheel madness that Los Angeles calls traffic and Then the other side of the coin The solemn quiet of hospital corridors the calm voices of the nurses and the blank hardness of sterile white walls We sat there beside a bed and waited for a man to talk or to die But the slow minutes passed and he still didn't either So we waited Guess that shot the doctor gave him is not going to have any effect Apparently not. It's a crazy world Johnny No Just the people and I mean yesterday. We'd never even heard of this guy I still don't know his name and 24 hours later. Here. We are a couple of strangers sitting around watching him dance Here on his chart at the head of the bed Albert Christmas strangers not even family or friends. He didn't have any family or friends He lived alone in a furnished room worked alone too except for one partner So a gang of punks jump him and bust his head open I'm a bad cop Johnny. I get sentimental about things like this. How'd they work at Garcia? It's a warehouse district the streets are practically deserted at night A police prowl car checks the street once about every 40 minutes and they hit at 1 10 a.m Three minutes after the police had passed sounds professional. No just a smart bunch of kids The only further he seemed to know was mink. They passed up a dozen or so chinchillas were twice as much How'd they get in I don't know Christmas hasn't been able to tell us. I must have tricked him into opening the door What about Christmas partner? He was making his rounds. They slipped up behind him slugged him. He didn't see them He didn't know what hit him and nobody outside and the street saw anything saw them leave with the furs or nope All right, they did they're not saying anything. Oh, it's a rough one Johnny. We haven't got a thing to go on Except Christmas here the shape he's in that's only a straw if he recognized any of them if he lives long enough to identify At least the poor devil can groan. I don't know. I think he's closer to being conscious right now than he's been in the last hour Maybe all right Christmas He wants a drink Then enough you want some more Who are you this is Johnny dollar insurance investigator from Hartford, I'm lieutenant Garcia LA police warehouse The kids all right now. You're in the hospital now. It's gonna be all right Do you feel like answering a few questions mr. Crispin? It won't take long those kids. How did they get in? Telegram They showed me telegram through the window When I Open the door One of them hit me. I did you get a look at the boy who showed you the telegram? Yeah, I Saw yeah 18 19 what do you look like? five nine 10 Dark skin Black hair. How was he dressed? dark jacket Hard to think any scars anything unusual about him No Are you sure? Would you recognize him if you saw him again? Yes any of the others? No only one There was a mark On his arm what kind of a mark What kind of a mark on his arm That's that yeah, he's passed out again Well, we got a description only one thing wrong with it right in that area. There are about 50,000 kids who fit it I talked with mr. Vanley owner of the furs then Garcia and I went down to the warehouse It's still in the fringe of the river bottom section fronting the railroad yards and backed up by block after block of weather beaten slum shacks We look through the warehouse for the racks where the furs had hung Watchman's office where the gang had ended But knew how we did it that we were only going through the motions The police technicians had already been over the place inch by inch and they'd found exactly nothing Finally we stepped out the door into the street a drab gray street cluttered with things cast off and discarded Dusty and how? There's the story of this whole district down here Johnny right there in that Yeah It's a backwash service yard Something you need but don't like to look at you shove it out of sight people you need but don't want around It's the same with them. You grew up down here. Didn't you Garcia? Yeah, I grew up down here. That's why they gave me this case I know this section inside out and that's why I told you this one was going to be tough I think I get the general idea those kids came from that slum there to the east one gets you nine on that The people who live there aren't on our side Johnny If they do know anything they won't talk is that it they wouldn't tell a cop the time of day I don't mean they're criminals most of them aren't It's just that they always put themselves on the other side. What about juvenile gangs? Do they operate around here a lot dozens of them and there's another thing A few of these gangs are pretty rough and people who might talk don't because they're scared to Oh, it's a great setup Johnny a fine place to look for a hundred grand in first You know I've been thinking about the fact that they knew exactly the time to hit They must have staked out here somewhere sure and probably right in the place you're thinking Hey that lunchroom across the street or they had to be inside or the prowl car would have seen them That's the only place open at night. Did you shake it down like I told you Johnny. They won't give us the time of day What about me having a go at it? Maybe they wouldn't smell cop on you quite so strong The owner's name is red wellers. He was on that night. See what you can get out of him if you want I think I will By the way Johnny, I know you insurance guys make deals sometimes no questions asked just to get the loot back Sometimes, yeah But before you make any deal on this one, you better remember one thing Christmas may die What do you say, Mac? Save your money Yeah, I guess so House business Bucket to a day Father in the hole More creams. No, I'll pick it black I'll sink it with it. Oh, thanks. Are you red wellers? So that's it What do you mean? You're in a fur case, ain't you Maybe I thought you was the same one, but I couldn't be sure I seen you across the street You come up with that cop guy see a while ago didn't you? That's right. I'm an insurance investigator Well, you're coming the wrong address, mister. I don't know nothing about nothing Who was in the lunch room here just before the robbery? I don't remember any young kids here No, it was all old men with long beards I see 10 cents for the coffee Yeah, they got you real scared, haven't they? Haven't they? I don't know any days. All right. Look You know christman the watchman over at the warehouse. He comes in. He didn't know any days either. What about it? Nothing Except he's dying I'm at the ruckens hotel. If you change your mind room 312 johnny dollar Sorry, I don't see no use of me dying too. Follow me mac Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow Fear stalks the streets closing the mouths of a sullen and suspicious people terrifying a lonely girl And bringing death in a dusty alley Join us. Won't you yours truly johnny dollar yours truly johnny dollar starring bob bailey is transcribed in hollywood Written by less crutchfield. It is produced and directed by jack john stone Be sure to join us tomorrow night same time and station for the next exciting episode of yours truly johnny dollar roi roan speaking