 Murder by Experts. The mutual broadcasting system presents Murder by Experts with your host and narrator, Mr. John Dixon Carr, world-famous mystery novelist whose books have been translated into 17 languages and have sold over 10 million copies. An author of the recently published detective novel, Below Suspicion. Good evening. This is John Dixon Carr. Each week at this time, Murder by Experts brings you a story of crime and mystery which has been chosen for your approval by one of the world's leading detective story writers. Tonight, our guest expert is the noted mystery writer, Mr. Hugh Pentecost. From the thousands of thrillers he has read and enjoyed, Mr. Pentecost has chosen a most unusual and gripping drama by Joseph Ruskell. We present Miss Anne Shepard and Mr. Larry Haynes in I Dramped, I Died. Hey, hey, hey, no, wake up the pizza. Hey, Helen, stop that, stop that. It's me, it's me, Ernie. What? Where am I? I wish you'd let me get some sleep. Oh, Kevin, then it was... must have been a dream. Oh, Ernie, it was so real. I dreamed someone was leaning over me just now with a pillow. It was horrible trying to smother me to death. And Ernie... It was you. What? That's a beaut. Oh, my. Why, you poor foolish little... Come here, boy, I'll kiss you back to life. No, no, no, no, don't touch me. Keep away. So what is this? That pillow, there in your hand. Oh, for crying out loud. Can't I even straighten it out? Oh, I'm sorry, dear. The nightmare it seems so real. Oh, darling, wasn't I crazy? You, the sweetest, gentlest husband in the world. Oh, Ernie, please don't look so hurt. Now I can't even look hurt. I just murdered my wife and asleep, didn't I? No, you were just about to. I mean... Oh, now, everything's happening tonight. Hello. What? Who? What's more, this is a heck of a time to be ringing. What a night. I thought maybe that was the police you phoned in your dream. Now will you go to sleep now? Ernie Kraft, I'm sure I didn't mean to insinuate anything. I was just telling you my dream. You asked, didn't you? Oh, you're a character. You know, I think I'll put you in that book I never wrote. Now what? That was in my dream, too. That book you never wrote. You nagged me about it so much, no wonder. Look, when you bent over me with a pillow like a madman. In your dream, sweet, a technicality. Lights out. No, no, wait. Ernie, what on earth do you suppose made me have a nightmare? Well, that's easy, dear. You would insist on eating hamburgers after the show tonight. Yes, I did, didn't I? When we got out of the movies. Hamburgers, of course. Ernie, they were part of my dream, too. Hamburger. Ernie, stop punching that pillow, please. All right. Okay, okay. Go ahead then tell me your dream. All of it. Neither of us will sleep until you do. When do I light this cigarette? All right, let's have it. The gruesome details. Well, if I can...terrifying. What happened before I smothered you with a pillow? Well, it's all like a crazy quilt telling about your job. And I was a millstone around your neck. And hamburgers. And you hated me. And September 13th. September 13th? Yeah. I can't imagine what it meant. Why did I decide to murder you? Woman, your secret love. What? You promised her you'd kill me tonight when I was asleep. My secret love? Yeah. She had you in her spell. Honey, that's kind of bad casting, isn't it? I'm the dishes and dustpan type, remember? In the five years we've been married, have I ever looked at another woman? I know. It was a crazy dream. I told you. Oh, this is the silliest part of it, Ernie. It's absolutely ridiculous. It was that girl, Betty Daniels. Uh, Betty Daniels? Who's she? Remember that tall, dark-haired artist I introduced you to? Cape Cod the summer? Cape Cod? Yeah, the exhibition? No, no, no. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Trousers and a long cigarette hold are very intense. Oh, no, what the devil? What was she doing in your dream? Well, we said hello to her, we walked off, and that was that casual. I know. I hardly remember her myself. I can't imagine why I dreamt of her. Oh, that dream, that awful dream was so crazy. And yet it seemed to be telling me something. Warning me. Strange and weird. You know how dreams are. The first thing I remember is Provincetown, and us looking at that art exhibition exactly as we did this summer, only now the picture was about ten feet tall and hanging crooked. And then she came along, Betty Daniels, just like them, black corduroy trousers, a yellow shirt, long cigarette holder, exotic. But this time, oh, so menacing. And she recognized me just as she was about to pass and start. Hello, Helen. And I introduced you the same way as I did then, only not exactly the same, like in a dream. Silly, you know? Betty Daniels, this is my husband, Ernest. He is very faithful to me. How do you do? How do you do? We've never met. That's a marvelous, so you're painting, Helen. Don't you think? Or do you prefer hamburgers? Well, I... My wife prefers hamburgers, Miss Daniels. Oh? I didn't know. Only after a movie, though. Betty and I met on the beach, Ernie. She's a painter. Really? Our rowboats got tangled. That's how we mess. Yes. It's all very casual. I hardly remember. Well, well... Ernie and I are going back to New York today, isn't it a shame? I wish you two wouldn't stare at each other, so... Well, we'd better be running along, Helen. What's his packing to do? Ernie has to get back to his silly old job. He's a reporter. A reporter? Shouldn't he write a book he never wrote? Well, imagine that's what he always says. Well, goodbye, and I'm certainly glad you two won't be seeing each other again. Goodbye. Goodbye, you two. Goodbye. The scenes sort of dissolve into each other like a kind of dream movie. And I'm trembling with fright because I have a vague feeling I know how the plot's going to end. The next thing I remember, Ernie, I'm in a penthouse apartment on Park Avenue. Everything, the zigzag, even the butler. And I'm the maid, Marie, there. And what I'm doing is turning pages for Betty Daniels while she plays the piano for you, Ernie. Isn't it crazy? Neither of you hardly notice me at all, and I keep trying to open my mouth, but it's stuck, and I'm absolutely frozen at what I overhear. Darling. Yes, butch? Love, our loveless. A lot of this world. Ah, this is heaven. Ernie, do you ever call your wife butch? No, never. I'll give you that idea. I hate the very sight of her. She's really a little ignoramus. You're telling me she prefers hamburger. Ernie, do you think she suspects? No, of course not. She thinks I met a gin rumy cave. Darling, you're blind. She knows. She knows? How'd she find out? You may go, Marie. Marie, do you hear me? Why don't you go? Answer me, have you lost your tongue? Oh, well, there's murder in the air. How'd she find out, Betty? Tell me. Darling, do you suppose she doesn't know what happened this summer at Provincetown after we all said goodbye? You came back to look for your cigarette lighter. She knew you hadn't lost your lighter, that you'd come back to ask me for my New York phone number. She knew? Of course. Intuition. And she knows we've been having a secret affair ever since. Oh, Ernie, I can't go on like this. I'm tired of just being a gin rumy excuse. If you love me, you'll do what you promise. Yes, but I pity your soul. Don't be a fool. Has she ever encouraged your genius? Isn't it her fault you never wrote that book you never wrote? Yes, that's true. She wouldn't let me give up my job. She's a millstone around my neck. Then get rid of her, Ernie. Get rid of her. And I'll bring your genius to the world. I've plenty of money. You can give up reporting and write that book. Fulfill your destiny. Fulfill my destiny. Betty, you'll help me. Yes. But only if you forget September 13th. You'll forget all about it September 13th. It won't mean a thing to you from now on. Not a thing, I promise. And you'll do away with her. The way I told you. Yes. As you told me. The pillow? Shh. Don't let her hear. Just look at her there, standing at the piano. You've been spying on us, Marie, haven't you? Answer! Have you lost your tongue? Oh, don't try to fool us. We know you're not the maid. You're Ernie's wife. So we'll have to kill you now. Unless... Unless she gives me a divorce. Will you give him a divorce? Answer or we'll finish you right now. Very well. Here's the pillow, Ernie. Right now. I'll hold her aunt. Oh, aunts and Helen, don't make me do it. I pity you, but I hate you. Oh, let her cry. Look at her. Sticking dumb. Her mouth's moving but she's not saying anything. What are you trying to say? Helen, please, don't make me do it. Will you give me a divorce? Now tell me. Wait, Ernie, stop. Oh, what fools we are. Do we want her body found here? We'll hang for it. She's got to die. She's got to... No, no, not here. Not like this. Oh, there must be another way. Later tonight, Ernie. After a movie. Hamburgers. She'll get hungry for hamburgers. She's bound to. The waiter will ask her how she wants them. And that will give you the clue. And then when she's asleep... And they'll find her in her bed. The perfect crime. Don't you see, Ernie? Hamburgers. So this Betty wants a name and I will commit the perfect crime with a hamburger. Honey, you ought to sell that dream to a borrows just for the last. I know, John Silly. But it didn't in the dream. It was terrifying and so real, but so real. And then you drag me out into the street and then into a movie and then out again. I looked at you and you were crying. Because you had made up your mind to finish me off when we got home. Holy smokes. You know that dream of yours sounds like something out of Alice and Wonderland. But as we went down the street you kept crying out. You should have let me write that book. Helen, you should have let me. No kidding. Yeah. And I kept crying. I love you, Ernie. Don't kill me. Please don't kill me. And then what happened? Then you pulled me along through the streets again. I was terrified. I shrieked as loud as I could. He's going to murder me. He's going to murder me. But no sound came. I saw a policeman and I tried to run to him but my feet seemed paralyzed. But finally I caught up with him and I cried to him. Officer! Officer! Yes, what is it, lady? Please save me. My husband here wants to kill me. Well, now, wants to kill you, huh? Well, that's a cry. A felony. Oh, why are you joking? Don't joke about it. Do something, please. I'm frightened to death. Don't pay any attention to her, officer. She's dreaming. No, I am not. Don't believe him. He wants to wait till I go to sleep tonight. And then, as soon as I fall asleep... Oh, come now, lady. He wouldn't do it to you in your sleep. You're cute. Not in his sleep? As a matter of fact, we're stopping off first for a hamburger. She's hungry. No, no, no, I'm not. I am, but I don't dare. I'm starving. But I don't dare. He's just waiting for me to order one to see what I say. And then he'll take me home and kill me. Lady, stop. You're breaking my heart. No, officer, please protect me. Don't let him take me. Don't leave. And then, we were in a little lunge room in our neighborhood, around the corner from our house, sitting on the stools. The counterman came over to us. He winked at you, Ernie. And you winked back at him. And then he said... Even, folks, what do you have? I'll tell you what, Joe. Make it two hamburgers. Right. Rare, medium, or... Well, medium, Joe. Make mine medium. Right. And, uh, the little lady? How on you have yours, Helen? Answer. How do you like yours? Make hers medium, too, Joe. Two hamburgers, medium. What do you have on them, folks? Relish or onions? Relish. Make mine with relish, Joe. Right. And the little lady? The man's talking to you, Helen. How will you have yours? Answer him, I say. Go on, answer him. This is it. This is the pay-off. How will you have yours? I won't tell him if I do. No. You'll know how to do it, so I won't tell him. I won't. The next thing I dreamt, we're home again. Sitting in the parlor. Everything exactly the same, Ernie, just like tonight before we went to bed. But in my dream, I was sitting paralyzed in a cold sweat waiting for the word. The word from you that meant my death. Oh. Oh. I guess we'd better hit the hay, huh? What do you say? What do you say, darling? No, wait. Ernie, I did tell that counterman how I wanted my hamburger served, didn't I? Of course, dear. What did I say? I can't seem to remember. I forget, too. Don't read anything into it, dear. I'll come along to bed. I don't want to go to bed yet. Please, don't make me go to bed. I'm scared. Helen! Come to bed, darling. Like a good little girl, huh? We went to bed. Then you said. And now lights out, huh? That's it. I tried to think of everything I knew to keep awake. I wondered whether I ought to count to a hundred or whether counting would put me to sleep. I tried not to count, but I felt myself getting sleepier and sleepier. A sleep, honey? I heard. But I pretended not to. I fought to keep my eyes open. I knew I would die if I closed them. A sleep, butch? I didn't answer. I couldn't if I wanted to. I was so scared. And then pretty soon I heard you stirring ever so quietly, and in the moment you were leaning over me. Ernie, I know it was just a dream, but it was so real. And there was hatred in your eyes, and there was a pillow in your hand, and I knew you were going to do it right then. Oh, gee, that's a build. You know, that's really a honey. You know, when you have a nightmare, you sure do it up golden brown and creamy. Well, wasn't it crazy? Oh, darling, wasn't it mad? But, Ernie, when does a person have a horrible dream like that? What does it mean? Well, it's a cinch. I'll interpret it for you. And without a dream book. You will. Good, then tell me. All right. Easiest thing in the world. Darling, where did we go tonight? To a movie. What kind of a movie? It was a murder mystery. Gee, that's right. You think that was... Don't interrupt, butch. Now, who was starring in the movie? Betty Davis. Now, repeat that first name. Betty. And the villainous in the dream, my secret love, the girl we met last summer, was also Betty. Betty Daniels. Well, that gave you Betty on the brain when you went to sleep tonight, and movies, and murder, and those hamburgers you did stop to eat after the show wrapped up the whole sequence. And no wonder they're still lying on my stomach, too. Well, what was the pillow doing in it? Oh, darling, what were you talking about this evening at supper? That chore you intended to do tomorrow? Oh, I've got to stuff the pillows they're caved in the way the feathers have come out. Right. That's your pillow you had on your brain which brings me back to the hamburgers. Yeah, I was going to ask you. I mean, that nonsense of how did I want the hamburgers? What all that mean for heaven's sake? Precious, how did you order your hamburgers done tonight, remember? No, I don't recall. Go on, go on. Of course you can't think now. How do you almost always order your hamburgers? Well, it's smothered in onion. Oh, Ernie, of course smothered in... Smothered? Pillow? Smothered with the pillow. Check. Oh, for goodness... Oh, my gosh, so that was... Well, if that doesn't... Ernie, that was wonderful. Really? The way you did that figured it all... I think you'd make a terrific detective. So I'm a police reporter, close enough. Ernie, dear, it made me think though about maybe I have been a little selfish. Well, that book you always wanted to write, maybe I ought to let you give up your job and try. Oh, nuts. Have us both starved. No thanks. Anyway, in my sane moments, Helen, I've always known the truth. I'm no writer. If I had it in me, it would have come out of me. Job and no job. I could take up nursing again. Well, it was hard. No, no, not since. I won't have it. I don't say any more about it, and that's final. You're a swell guy, though, butch to offer to. Oh, Ernie, there was one thing more. What do you suppose that was about September 13th? About your forgetting September 13th? What did that mean, you know? Don't you? No, I can't... Well, it does seem familiar enough, but I can't seem... Where are you going? Get something out of my wallet. Wait a minute. Helen. Helen, what's the date of our anniversary? Uh, it was September 13th, of course. Tomorrow. Was that... Right, right. You've had that on the brain, too. By the way, here. A little present for you, darling. Tickets. Two airplane tickets to Havana. Right again. We're taking an anniversary trip. I wanted to surprise you when you woke up, but... Happy anniversary, baby. Oh, Ernie. Oh, you great, big, precious darling. How can I ever... Then you didn't forget. You always did before, but this time you didn't. Oh, Ernie. I can't stand at first that dream and then finding out it didn't mean the opposite. Oh, Helen, don't. Don't now. Come on. Oh, but it was so sweet of you. I'm so thrilled, Havana, where we had our honeymoon and you haven't forgotten. Oh, Ernie. I do hope I've... I've been a good wife to you. And if there's anything I ever... I mean, if you want me to, I can always change. Darling, I wouldn't want you any different from the world. I want you to stay just the same, sweet little girl I married. And now let's get some shut-eye. White's out. All right. I'm going to put the tickets right here under the pillow. There. And have a happy dream for a change. Good night, butch. Hey, you haven't kissed me. Good night, dear. You asleep? Hello? This is Betty, Ernie. Oh, it's you. Are we free? No, not yet. You shouldn't have phoned before she was awake. Did you get the plane tickets? Yes, yes. It has to be tonight. You promised. Yes, I know. What's the matter? I think she suspects. Suspect? Yes, yes. It's incredible, but she had a dream just the way everything's happened. A dream? What are you talking about? I'm trying to explain. She was telling me of the dream she had. Everything in it was just the way it happened. And she dreamed what was coming. Is she asleep now? Yes. Then what are you waiting for? With a pillow? I'll do it now, right now. As soon as I hang up, Betty. Slip out of bed. Easy, easy. Right now. Stop. Helen, Helen, you had it. You had it gone. There was one part of my dream I left out, Ernie. In the end, I killed you. And so the curtain falls on I dreamt I died, which was chosen by guest expert Hugh Pentecost, whose latest novel is Where the Snow Was Red. Next week at this time, Murder by Experts brings you a story of three people caught in a whirlpool of intrigue, with death their fourth companion, as selected for your approval by Miss Helen McCloy. Until then, this is your host, John Dixon Carr, hoping you'll be with us next week at this time. Our dreamt I died was written by Joseph Roscoe. In our cast were Anne Shepherd, Larry Haynes, Grace Coppin, and James Stevens. Music on the program is under the direction of Emerson Buckley, composed by Richard U. Page. Murder by Experts is produced and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Cogan. All characters in our story were fictitious, and any resemblance to the names of actual persons living or dead was purely coincidental. This is Phil Tonkin speaking. This is the world's largest network, the Mutual Broadcasting System.