 Personal notice, ain't just my stockin' braid. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details. Standard Oil Company of California invites you to let George do it. In a moment we'll begin tonight's adventure of George Valentine. In hard city driving, taxi cabs work round the clock. Stop and go, stop and go. Yet in one fleet of cabs, heavy-duty RPM motor oil actually reduced where 71%. In this tough day-in-day-out grind of traffic, heavy-duty RPM gave top protection. The kind of protection your car needs for top performance. It cut engine wear, kept oil consumption way down, and increased the time between overhauls. So, get what's best for your car. Buy heavy-duty RPM motor oil at any independent chevron gas station or standard station where they say, at Meme, we take better care of your car. And now, tonight's story, Seed of Destruction, a transcribed adventure of George Valentine. Dear Mr. Valentine, the name Dan Creighton must be familiar to you. Anyone who's read a newspaper turned on the radio in the last three weeks must react to it. Out of morbid curiosity of nothing else. Well, I'm Mrs. Dan Creighton, and the mystery of my husband's disappearance is something that I just can't stand any longer. I can't sleep night. I hate the sound of the doorbell for fear that it's the police or the reporters again. And yet I rushed to answer it because it might be some news of him. Good news or bad. I almost think at this point that even bad news would be better than none. Mr. Valentine, I'm through waiting. I want you to help me. I'll pay you well and believe me, the case is challenging enough for anyone. So please, come right away. Anxiously yours, Edna C Creighton. Of course I know some of the details, Mrs. Creighton, from the newspapers. But I want you to forget them. All of them. Why? All of them. I want you to start with only one fact, Mr. Valentine. Namely? I have been banished into thin air without reason, without leaving a single clue. Do you really believe that's possible, Mrs. Creighton? For when you and Mr. Valentine start checking for yourselves, Mr. Birx, I think you will be convinced it can be. Well, there isn't much point in not even tackling it, is there? Oh, but there is. Well, for one thing, I know you in your reputation, Mr. Valentine. You couldn't resist a puzzler like this if you tried. To Jay, Mrs. Creighton. Point number two, there's always the seed of destruction. I beg your pardon. Part of a German proverb that my grandmother used to quote to me when I was a child. Proverb? The seed of destruction is within all of us. And give it room to grow and nothing can stop it. That's a cheerful thought. As a matter of fact, it is. Because it will destroy that criminal. And you're sure there's a criminal involved, eh, Mrs. Creighton? Stan didn't leave me of his own accord. He didn't. Something happened to him. I see. And all I start with is the picture of Mr. Creighton, is that it? That's the one that I always liked. He's a very good-looking man. See, that's so strange. Why shouldn't he be? Well, I, well, I, I just... I was a very handsome young lady when we were married, believe it or not. Oh, I'm sorry. But I've been under terrible pressure. I understand. You will try and find Mr. Creighton, won't you, Mr. Valentine? Yes, yes, Mrs. Creighton. And I'll respect your wish. I'll check every step of this case for myself, taking nothing for granted. Not even anything you said to me. Right? Quite right, Mr. Valentine. No, Valentine, no. Nobody's timing can be that perfect. It can't be. Okay, Johnson, okay. It's too early in the year to make a bid for an Oscar. Yeah, I feel talented for bothering you. For three weeks I'm safe on the sidelines. Out of reach of fire and brick bats. Then today, today, the commissioner hands me and homicide the Creighton case. Because missing persons can't do anything and the papers are writing them. And I get hired by Mrs. Creighton. Why, that should be cause for celebration, Johnson. You know, shoulder to shoulder. Two heads of better than one, all that sort of thing. That's better. See, George, the good lieutenant is normal again. All right, seriously, Johnson, what are the facts? Simple hard facts. There are a few. Creighton and his wife's brothers, Stan Collins, own a bunch of small movie houses in this section of the country. Creighton was visiting one of their theaters in Ridgely Plains. When he got a call from a party, poor party's unknown, walked out to meet him, or rather her, with a big happy grin on his face. It was never seen again. The phone call was definitely from a woman, huh? The papers didn't have that. Papers don't know everything. No leads so far. No, a hundred of those. Not a good solid one on the bunch. And so homicide gets called in. And it's gonna be a big headache. If Dan Creighton's been dead for three weeks, where's the body? The boys and missing persons are smart. They looked high and low, found the... Yeah, and valentine. You know that getting rid of a body is about the hardest job there is in the whole world. Not to be obvious. A murderer could have buried poor Mr. Creighton. Ridgely Plains is a highly chore suburb. Every inch of ground is carefully cultivated. No one has been seen doing any extra corrector digging. Oh. Well, Johnson, good luck to you on your future search in Ridgely Plains. We'll probably see you there sometime. Sometime. Sometime. Do you have anything more important to do? As a matter of fact, I have. I promised Mr. Creighton to take no shortcuts, but check every step of the case myself. Come on, Bruxy. Dead. Ah, you gave me a scare, Mr. Valentine. I simply said that's one assumption the police must make, Mr. Collins. Yes, yes, I suppose so. It would be a terrible shock to witness you build your whole life around Dan. You've noticed that, haven't you, Ms. Flux? Yes, I have. Mr. Collins, I understand that you and Mr. Creighton have been having some differences of opinion lately, at least about the way the future of this business should be run. I gather that you've snooped around here enough to get that information. Well, in my business, this kind of snooping is sort of glorified by the name detective work. Yes, yes, I guess so. Besides, your sister did want Mr. Valentine to take nothing for granted in this case. Check everything for himself. Well, actually, I suppose I'm the more daring partner in this team. You see, there are things I want to do that Dan was holding back on. Things that would take a great deal of the firm's money. Yes. Come on, please. Well, on this last trip around, Dan has been taking as much money away from the different theaters as was feasible. Usually, it had been forwarded here to the office, but I presume Dan was sort of making sure I wouldn't get my hands on it to do anything impulsive. I see. Then by the time Mr. Creighton had gotten around to Ridgely Plains, he had quite a lot of money with him. Yes, that's right. Well, was this gathering up of the money purely one-sided, Mr. Collins, after all, since you were a pilot? I'm afraid I didn't realize what Dan was doing until very late. I did beat him to the punch at the last place, Oliver. Ridgely Plains? Yes, Miss Books. I was there the day before Dan came and disappeared. Oh, the police know all about that. I've been thoroughly checked and given a clean bill of health. Still, to be brutally frank, Mr. Collins, you would benefit in a business sense if anything happened to Mr. Creighton. To be brutally honest, Mr. Valentine, I'd benefited greatly, but I wouldn't look for the seed of destruction in me. Oh, so you know about that, huh? Well, after all, Edna and I heard the same proverb from the same grandmother. Uh-huh. Tell me, Mr. Collins, how did Mr. Creighton get around to those different movie houses? Oh, his secretary, Paul Dorr, always drove him. A nice young man. Oh. Well, I wonder if Mr. Dorr would have time to drive us to Ridgely Plains, Mr. Collins. Well, yes, yes, I am sure he would. You see, Mr. Valentine, the truth of the matter is, I'm anxious for you to find my brother-in-law. Ralph Holder, the manager of our theater there, he, too, will do everything he can to help you. Mr. Creighton was standing just about here in the lobby when the phone called King. Isn't that right, Mr. Holder? That's right, Mr. Dorr. It was just before noon. The theater wasn't open yet, huh? Yes, sir. Yes, sir, it was about the same time as right now. And as I get it, Anusha answered the phone and then told Mr. Creighton it was for him. That's exactly what happened, Mr. Valentine. The Anusha Joe is around somewhere. I'll get him for you. Thanks, Mr. Holder. Mr. Dorr? Yes, ma'am. Strictly off the record, do you have any idea who the lady on the phone might have been? As I understand it, you and Mr. Creighton have made periodic trips here to Ridgely Plains. I would know anything about Mr. Creighton's personal life or his friends. I bet. Would you venture a general opinion? Oh, of course, sir. Would you call Mr. Creighton to kind of phrase a gay dog? I wouldn't say so. This is Joe Ritchie, Miss Brooks. Mr. Valentine. How are you? Mr. Valentine would like to ask a few questions, Joe. Yeah, sure thing. The lady who asked for Mr. Creighton when you answered the phone. Hey, hey. Sounded nice. You have no idea who she was? It's a funny thing. The voice sounded familiar sort of. I can't say I recognized her. That's too bad. Of course she didn't say very much. Just asked to talk to Mr. Creighton. But from her voice. I bet that day would be a lot of fun. Yes, sir. Joe. Oh, sorry, Miss... Well, no, and Mr. Creighton, I mean... Oh, come on, Joe. What are you going to say? Nothing. Except that he always got around if you know what I mean. You're making it very clear, Sonny. Mr. Creighton was a very friendly man and sometimes he would get lonely, but... The night before, he sure made a play for Miss Barton. Miss Barton, our cashier. Lovely young lady. I'm sure Mr. Creighton was being just friendly, I know. Anything else you want to know, Mr. Valentine? No, no thanks. You're welcome. Anything else we can do? Did Mr. Creighton say anything after the conversation with a mysterious lady? Yes, he told me to go on back to the city. He joined me there later. Did you? Yes, of course. Now, it took you less than an hour to drive us out here, Paul. He didn't get back to the city until four that afternoon. I checked. Oh. Well, as a matter of fact, I didn't go right back. I spent a couple of hours with a friend here. Friend? A girl, a lady, yes. She has nothing to do with any of this. There's no point in mentioning her name. I won't. All right, we were just curious. And you, Mr. Holder, what did you do after Mr. Creighton left for his mysterious appointment? I went home for lunch. After a couple of blocks, I always go home for lunch. At one o'clock? A what? I checked. Yes, that's right. But you see, my wife was leaving town the next day and had some shopping to do, so I went earlier. I see. Your wife's been gone ever since. Is that right, Mr. Holder? Yes, sir. They're visiting her family. Any time you'd like me to drive you back to the city, Mr. Hunter, I'll ask you, Paul. Thanks. Thanks very much. Go out with Mr. Creighton? No, sir. Not this little girl. She's just curious, Miss Barney. I turned him down flat. And I was with my roommate all the following day, so I didn't see him at all. I know that. I was just curious to get your opinion of Mr. Creighton more than anything else. He was a wolf, Mr. The most dangerous kind. Oh, it isn't that I'm afraid of anybody. And if a nice man would ask me to go out, I'd be only too glad. You've been a great help, Miss Barney. Goodbye. George, there's no question about Mrs. Holder leaving town the day after Mr. Creighton disappeared. Everything checks? Yes. She's been making plans to go to Chicago for quite some time, talked about them to the neighbors. Huh? Mr. Holder bought her a ticket, drove her to the station. What did the neighbors say she looked like? Well, they say she was very pretty, younger than Mr. Holder, liked better things than he could get her on his salary. Good work, Booksy. I think we ought to see if we can find Lieutenant Johnson around anyway. That could very well be at Valentine. Creighton had a lot of money. He had an eye for pretty women. He and Mrs. Holder probably ended up somewhere in South America to save themselves the trouble of getting, shall we say, two divorces. Well, there's up that way, doesn't it? Poor Mrs. Creighton. And I'm sorry for Mr. Holder, too. Yeah, no wonder we couldn't find anybody. Well, Italian law, I told you, the hardest thing in the world is to get rid of a body. No, Johnson, you're wrong. What? To get rid of two bodies would be even harder. We return to tonight's adventure of George Valentine in just a moment. No one wants to have tire trouble at any time, and yet it always seems to happen just at the time when you least expect it. You can help to avoid this aggravating situation by having your tires checked and inspected regularly by the car savers at independent chevron gas stations and standard stations. Then if you need new tires, you can take advantage of the special low prices now being offered on famous Atlas tires for a limited time only. Atlas tires are covered by a written warranty that gives you protection against tire damage from any road hazard. It's a warranty that's honored by more than 38,000 Atlas dealers from coast to coast and in Canada. And you can buy the Atlas tire in different terms. Charge it if you have a chevron national credit card and get a liberal trade-in on your old worn-out tires. All in all, you won't find a better deal anywhere than that offered now by your car saver. So drive in tomorrow and get complete details on the new low prices on Atlas tires and tubes at any standard station or independent chevron gas station where they say and mean, we take better care of your car. With an old and wealthy married man, Dan Creighton disappears mysteriously after receiving a phone call from a lady. And so you're hired by Mrs. Creighton to try and find him. As you get to work and dig up enough evidence to give you a logical answer, Creighton ran away with someone else who was straining at Marital Ties, Mrs. Holder, the wife of the manager of one of the movie theaters owned by Creighton. So there it is, case solved. But if your name is George Valentine, you seem to have reservations for accepting your own answer to the mystery. And the only one who really shares your doubts is Mrs. Creighton. I had to come here to rigidly pains, Mr. Valentine. I just had to talk to you. Of course, Mrs. Creighton, you're upsetting yourself, Edna. Oh, you're very worried about me, my dear brother. But you would accept that lie about Dan and that, that Holder woman. I know your pride has hurt Edna, but the evidence. Look at the evidence. Only a trusting soul like Ralph Holder wouldn't think anything wrong about not getting any letters from his wife. Now it turns out she never even went to her folks. Dan would never leave me like that. Yes, Edna. Mr. Valentine. Yes, Mrs. Creighton. I want you to go right on working on this case. Stan and I will stay here at the hotel. And I want you to remember what I said about this deed of destruction that lies deep within each criminal. I remember. There was foul play, and the criminal will give himself away. He must. You're a very optimistic woman, Mrs. Creighton. But I'll do what I can. Okay, Mr. Durham, Mr. Valentine's here. What's in your mind? Well, I, I feel I must tell you the name of the woman I spent that afternoon with, Mr. Valentine. Okay, who was it? Mrs. Holder. The femme fatale of Ridgely Plains. Keep talking, Paul. I, I had a date with her. I picked her up after Mr. Holder had his lunch and went back to the theater. We rode around, stopped for a drink and a little cabin the Holders have not far from here. Nice girl. Kept her date with the kid here. Met Creighton somewhere in Chicago the next day. Uh-huh. I wonder. The cartoon is on now, Mr. Valentine. We can talk here in the lobby. The Mickey Mouse always goes over big here. So I'm here. Mr. Holder, was there any special reason for your wise trip to Chicago? Reason? Well, now you can be honest with me. I'm trying to get at the truth. It's hard to know what truth is, isn't it? I thought Dottie really liked me. Maybe she didn't love me, but I thought she liked me. I'm sure she did. No, she didn't. Oh, she wasn't bad, but she liked to flirt. I thought a visit to her folks would do her good. Maybe she'd miss me a little and things would be different between us. Do you think she and Mr. Creighton ran away together? I don't know what to thank God. Oh, I kid myself, Mr. Valentine. Sure, they ran away together. Oh, sure good thing they're Mickey Mouse. I don't know what you expect to find here in Mrs. Holder's room, George. Maybe nothing. Just curious about how she lived. Yes, well, I had a job getting permission from the chief here. After all, we're pretty sure now no crime has been committed. But Johnson, there are too many loose threads. Like what? Like Stanley Collins's pretty good motive for killing Creighton. Now look here, Valentine. Well, I'm not making accusations. I'm just thinking out loud. Certainly enough pictures of Dottie Holder around. She liked herself. And Mrs. Creighton isn't fooling anyone with all this talk of her husband's loyalty. She knew him for what it was for a long time. Valentine, stop making a mystery of everything. Well, this would be Dottie's closet, I suppose. Brilliant deduction. Oh, not much left in here. A couple of old dresses she probably didn't think were worth taking. We're wasting our time. Look, Valentine, Mrs. Johnson is expecting me home for dinner. That's fine. What is that? These shoes. Look. What a brand new. Yeah. So what? So why didn't Dottie take them along? Yeah, that is funny. She probably bought them for this trip. Just a minute. Now what are you looking for? Not here. No, they aren't here at all. George, if you don't stop acting so mysterious... Excuse me a minute, Angel. I've got to make a phone call. Yes, but George... What was the number of the movie house again? Oh, you heard this. What do you expect Holder to tell you? Just what Mrs. Holder took with her. No man ever pays enough attention to know. Maybe, but I... Hello, man, speaking. Oh, it's you Holder. No, nothing really new. I was just wondering if you know what Mrs. Holder took with her in the way of clothes. Uh-huh. I see. Oh, her brother has a clothing store in Chicago. Oh yes, it's just that we found a brand new pair of shoes in Mrs. Holder's closet, and we were wondering why she didn't take them. Yeah, I guess so. Forgot them, yeah, maybe. All right, thanks, Mr. Holder. Well? What do you think you're accomplishing? Well, there's only a couple of handbags, a few dresses, some underthings, some toilet articles. That's all. So? Her brother has a clothing store. She was going to get a lot of new things there. Okay, okay, so what did we do now? Well, we wait a little while for the seed of destruction to begin to sprout. Then we go to work. George, I don't think there's anybody around here at all. Oh, now don't you be a cynic, Angel. We lost the good lieutenant to the lawyer of Mrs. Johnson's famous corned beef and cabbage. That's enough. All right, George, I stick it out, even though I don't know why. No lights in the house, no car anywhere around. Just as I said, no nothing. Well, let's see now. You might as well sit out here on the board, Angel. What are you going to do? Look around for signs of freshly dug earth. Oh. Well, maybe I will just sit here. I'll be back after a while. Oh, great. Well, at least I can have a cigarette. Relax a little. Oh, my teeth hurt. I wouldn't bother to sit down, Miss Brooks. Oh, Mr. Holder. Quiet, please. I wouldn't want to kill you just yet, but I will if you force me to. Oh, why? I never argue with anybody with a gun. Never. Please go inside. No. No, we won't put on any lights. We'll just sit here in the dark and wait. Wait for what? For Mr. Valentine to come back. But why? You mustn't think I'm a fool, Miss Brooks. I know Mr. Valentine suspects me. Ever since he mentioned that pair of shoes, I knew I'd have to kill him. Both of you. I don't know what you're talking about. You'll find the place where ground was freshly dug. Find it sooner or later. My own place was the only one where I could work safely, wasn't it? You... You killed both Mr. Creighton and your wife. I killed him first. I knew he had all that money. I saw him flirt with the cashier and I knew he'd been watching Dottie. So I made her call him at the theater. Came over to the house. I killed him. What if your wife... I hated her. I knew I could never trust her. So I had to protect myself, didn't I? Didn't I? Oh, sure, sure. He'd already made plans for her to go to Chicago. Everybody knew it. So I took her here and... She didn't even like me anymore. I had to kill her. What... What are you going to do now? In a minute, I'll open the door and let Mr. Valentine in. I must protect myself against everybody. No! I have money now. I need time. Come on with me, Miss Brooks, to the door. Please, Mr. Hoady, you can't go on killing me. Don't be such an impatient young man, Mr. Valentine. I'm coming. So I see... George! I've been gone, though. I said, Robin. That's a nice boy. I'll kill you. I'll kill you. Come on, quietly, or I'll carry on. I... Yes. Yes, I'll come along. George, did you... Did you hear what...? Hey, I heard enough. The doorbell. It's still ringing. I thought I was safe as long as I heard you ring the doorbell. George, how did you know? Shades of Halloween. A pin and a bell. The seed of destruction can take all sorts of shapes, can't it? You know, there are eight good reasons why chevron supreme gasoline works better in any car. And those eight reasons are chevron supreme's eight high performance qualities. Quick starting, fast warm-up, full power, area blending, anti-knock, vapor lock prevention, smooth acceleration, and economy mileage. Remember that you get the gas with all eight when you fill up with chevron supreme gasoline. So stop in tomorrow for a tank full at any standard station or independent chevron gas station where they say and mean we take better care of your car. She meant nothing to Dan. I must leave that. Always. That's right, Mrs. Creighton. He still loves me. Well, here is your check, Mr. Valentine. And thanks for everything you've done. I'm sorry I couldn't have brought you happier news. Oh, I wanted the truth. Well, my brother is waiting for me. Goodbye, Miss Brooks. Mr. Valentine. Goodbye. That poor woman. You know, George, I still don't quite understand that business about the pair of shoes. Well, I was only part of it, Brooksy. It's what I didn't find in Mrs. Holder's closet that really got me thinking. Well, I didn't find any bedroom slippers. And Holder didn't mention her taking a pair along. Now, a woman has at least one pair of slippers. We found them on her body. Holder thought his wife was all ready for the train when he killed her. But she didn't notice she was still wearing her slippers. That's why she didn't take her new shoes. And that also meant she was killed before she left the house. The little things we overlook. Yeah. Well, maybe there is something in that proverb, the seed of destruction. Come on, George, come on. Where are you going? What's the hurry? Well, look at the time. I made dinner. It's waiting. Oh, OK, OK. Take it easy. Well, take it easy. Nothing. There's a good American proverb that might work also. The way to a man's heart. It's really stomach. You coming, George? Tonight's transcribed adventure of George Valentine is brought to you by Standard Oil Company of California on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and standard stations throughout the West. Robert Daley is starred as George with Virginia Gregg as Bruxy. Let George Do It was written by David Victor and directed by Kenneth Lev. Ken Christie was heard as Lieutenant Johnson, Joyce Manners as Edna, Stephen Chase as Ralph, Rollin Morris as Paul, Tom McKee as Stan and Karen Steele as Miss Barton. The music by Gaylord Carter. Your announcer, John Heaston. Listen again next week, same time, same station, too. Let George Do It. Let George Do It is heard overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. Sam Hayes suggests that whatever you have for your daily breakfast, you'll flavor it with a generous serving of news. It's a good way to start the day, unnerishing breakfast under your belt and the latest news stories under your hat. The place to get those latest news stories is on The Breakfast News. Broadcast at 7.45 a.m. each Monday through Saturday over this Don Lee station. That's 7.45 Monday through Saturday. This is the mutual Don Lee broadcasting system.