 Good evening friends. This is your host to welcome you through the creaking door into the inner sanctum. Come in. We would like at this point to deny certain rumours that have been spread around to the effect that we of the inner sanctum like culture. Why have our own shelf of the world's great classics in our case? A six foot shelf naturally. We subscribe regularly to such magazines as the Saturday evening goes where all members will be spook of a month's love. There's nothing we like more than curling up in a fire with a copy of Shakespeare's immortal Midsummer Night's Scream. In short we are people definitely interested in these spirits and I can safely say that all of us here have received their degree. Usually preferred. Tonight's inner sanctum mystery Death's Little Brother was written by Lou Vittus and stars Larry Haynes in the role of Danny with Anne C. Strickland Very well. Lock the windows, bolt the door, pull the shade down, pay the premium on your life insurance and listen to Death's Little Brother. A happy-minded opus devoted to the thesis that nobody lives forever and most people even less. Meet Danny. A lad on the train is ticket paid on his way to suppose you find out. The big idea about trains is that they go someplace is where people want to get to. I wasn't going anyplace. I was only getting out of town. The cops wanted to talk to me about a coffee pot that got itself held up. After the conversation I would have wound up in front of a jury and the judge would have made a speech about crime and I'd have spent a year or maybe two in state prison. So I got on a train. Any train. I wasn't particular. But the rest of the people they picked this train. It was going to places they knew about. Places they wanted to be. I looked at them and hated every one of them. Including the guy who flopped into the seat next to mine. It's around my age or on my size to somebody in a hurry. He could have been my brother. Quite a train huh. Quite a train. Say would you know how long it'll be before we get to Dorchester. No I wouldn't know. That's who I'm headed for. I guess that. Yeah. You think they got a smoker on this train. I wouldn't be surprised. I think I'll go find it. Second train I've been on tonight. The guy was overdoing it. Not only one train. Two trains. A guy was very anxious to get someplace. So anxious he had noticed his wallet dropping out of his pocket. I had. A couple of 10s. A handful of ones. Went into my pocket fast. Driver's license which said the guy's name was Clark Davis. Hard to name a junk. A letter. A letter which smelled of perfume. Nice perfume. I read it. Clark Davis had a sister named Susie. She wrote the letter. Her mother and father had died 20 years ago in a car crash. An uncle named Davis had brought up the guy. The girl had gone to another uncle named Carter. Out in Africa, Uncle Carter had died and left his dough lots of it to his niece Susie and to his nephew Clark. Clark and Susie hadn't seen each other for 20 years. I put the dough back into the wallet. Susie was in the old family shack in Dorchester. That was where Clark was going. That was where I was going. Say, did you happen to notice this? Yeah, my wallet. He dropped it. Thanks for a while. I was afraid it was gone. Come back. Thanks again. He went to sleep sitting in the seat next to me. I didn't go to sleep. Susie and Clark hadn't seen each other for 20 years. I wasn't going any place in particular. Dorchester might be just as good a place to get off at his city. Maybe even better. Off here too, huh? Yeah, it looks that way, don't it? How'd that dump? The station's dark. Not a cabin sight. Wasn't anybody supposed to meet you? I didn't tell her what train I was coming in. Her? My sister. Oh. Living town? Nope. I'm on Lake Shore Drive, wherever that is. I know where it is. You wait here. I'm heading out that direction myself. Maybe I can rustle up a car. Hey, thanks. I'll swallow you up. Forget it. It's on my way. I'd spotted a sign down the street. A cheap hotel battling the termites. I went in. Yeah. Where's Lake Shore Drive? A couple of miles out east on the highway. Can't miss the turn on. I need a car to get there, don't I? Yep. Got one you can let me have? Old station wagon, but you didn't mention your name. I didn't, did I? It's Clark Davis. Susan Carter's brother? Yeah. Well, we've been hearing a lot about you in town. How about that station wagon? Why, sure. Seeing as who you are, won't have any need of it tonight. There you are. Glad to be a service. Runs fine, only you've got to be careful of the brakes. Don't worry, I'll be careful. So long. Station wagon was there, and so was Clark. And long after you had a station wagon hop in. Okay. I was pretty sure nobody had seen Clark get into the car, and pretty sure it had to be good enough. We hit the turnoff in 10 minutes, and I began pumping the hand choke. Clark had his eyes closed. What happened? Motor. I'll have to take a look at it. No much about cars? No, not a thing. Might be trouble. Let's see what's under the hood. Oh yeah, you know, the carburetor's flooded. Is that bad? Not serious. Take a while to drain off. In the meantime, there's a lake over there. Like to take a look at it? Yeah, sure. The bank's kind of steep. There's no hurry. The water looks good. I don't drink water to sleep. Oh, why don't you get some water on your face? It might wake you up. Yeah, it's not a bad idea. What's cold? Cold and deep. Davis. Hi. How's your sister going to know it's you when you show up? I'll tell her. Didn't you send her any pictures of yourself? No, I haven't got any pictures. Come on, Nanny. The water's fine. Yeah, sure. Say, it just occurred to me. How come you know about Susie and me? Oh, tell Clark. Tell him gossip. Oh, let me careful with rocks. I'll be careful. And I was. There were lots of rocks around. I didn't grab just any rock. I picked one that was heavy enough, but not too heavy to handle, easy. And I went down. I certainly feel a lot better. What have you got that rock for? The rock? You weren't thinking of trying to skip that across the water, were you? Skip it? What you need is a flat rock. I want a whole lot smaller. What I need is this rock. He went down, sprawling over the rocks at the edge of the lake. He wasn't dead, but after a while, he was dead. I went through his pockets. While I had identification letter from Susan Carter, the works, I went into my pockets. It wasn't robbery, though. I gave him my wallet. And I gave him some rocks, too. Loaded his pockets with him. So when I jumped from the lake, he went down. It stayed down, too, for a while. And if he came up in a week or two, he'd be a guy called Danny, wanted by the cops' philosophy. And he wouldn't have much of a place left to identify. I turned around and headed back for the car. Now I was somebody who had some place to go to. Yes? Hello, Susie. Oh, you must be... How about you got a kiss for your big brother? Clark. I didn't wire. I thought I'd surprise you. It's a wonderful surprise, Clark. Oh, I'm so glad you came. I was lonely. Lonely? Oh, this is your home. I'd never lived in it. Uncle and I were brothers. But of course you know that. Yeah, sure. Your letter. See? It's funny after such a long time. But you know, Clark, I think I'm going to like my brother. He's kind of handsome. Well, I guess it runs in a family. Thank you, darling. Say, I'm kind of tired. Oh, of course you are. Come on. I'll show you a room. I... So I expected Mrs. Better to be with you, though. Mrs. Brenner? My bet she's a wonderful person. Mrs. Brenner. Clark, what's the matter with you? I'm talking about the housekeeper. One who practically brought you up, who wrote me about her, don't you remember? Oh, I... Yeah, sure. I remember. I'm just glad you haven't had much sleep. I know. Well, like your room? Yeah, it's well... I've got Mrs. Brenner's room ready for her down the hall. Susie. Yes? Susie, she didn't come with me because... Well, because she wasn't feeling too good. Matter of fact, I don't know when she'll get here. You're worried about her. I know it's sweet, Clark, but you don't really have to. Huh? I got a phone call from her about half an hour before you came. You did? Uh-huh. She said you'll be here first thing in the morning. Good night, Clark. With Mrs. Brenner doing the morning, Mrs. Brenner, who knew Clark Davis, I had things to think about. One of them was finding out when the train came in. I found out. It was coming in early the next morning, which meant I had to be early too, very early. Clark? Huh? Oh, Susie. Good morning, darling. Why are you up so early? Oh, what about you? I always get up early. Don't forget I'm taking care of the house. Well, I got to get the station wagon back to the hotel. They don't need it, not right away. And besides, Mrs. Brenner's coming in. I want to meet her at the train. Well, she could always get a cab. Yeah, but, uh, well, I'd like to make sure she gets here. I'd like to make sure. But she didn't come in. But I'm at train. Hi, Mr. Davis. Huh? Oh, the clerk. Yep. Seen somebody off? No. Expecting somebody? No. Well, it's fun watching train. I brought the hotel station wagon. Oh, it was no great hurry. Uh, cigarette, Mr. Davis? I don't smoke. Eat much of a habit. I guess the other fella left this pack in the station wagon then. Another fella? One that you was with last night. I was alone. Looked kind of sick. Guess he's staying out at the house with you. I tell you I was alone. But you might have some trouble starting the wagon. You were so nervous. Well, I was tired, that's all. So I kind of drifted over to the window in front of the hotel. Seen you helping me? I told you I was alone. That's right. I, uh, I guess the pack of cigarettes could have been left in the car before last night. Sure. Even though I cleaned it out thorough before you took it. And, uh, I guess maybe I could have made a mistake about seeing another fella get in with you. Mr. Davis, I need a little time to think about these mistakes. Get my mind straight about them. Can't do that if I have to keep on working. I don't get it. Well, I could use a vacation. I take one. Well, I can't afford it. Lesson to rich young fella like you feels like helping out. Well, I have a little town knows about the legacy, Mr. Davis. Now, I ain't the fancy kind. Say, couple of thousand dollars? Couple of thousand. You're crazy. No. Just need a vacation awful bad. Say, uh, tonight? Tonight? Yep. All right. Where can I meet you? Well, stop by the house. No, no, my sister. Well, outside the house then. Okay. Down in the road. By the lake. Sounds all right. Around eight? You better wait inside the house till you hear a hoot owl go three times. I do awful good hoot owl. Ain't any real ones around, so you'll know it's me. I don't want you waiting outside for me in the dark. You might catch cold. So long, Mr. Davis. See you tonight. And besides doing a good hoot owl, I'm pretty good at shooting things. Comes from hunting. You don't want to forget that, do you? What? You're so fidgety. I'm kind of worried. How about Mrs. Brenner? She'll probably show up tomorrow. No, no, not about her. Susie. Susie, I've got some debts to take care of. I guess the legacy is all set, isn't it? I'd like to lay my hands on some of it. Just for the fun of it. It'll take only about a week before it comes through, Clark. A week. You know all the legal red cape and stuff. Yeah. Yeah, but a week can be an awful lot of time. Susie, you wouldn't have any money. Of course I have. Well, how much can you let me have? Against my share, of course. Two? Three hundred dollars? That's all. Clark, are you in trouble? No, no, no. Of course not, only. Do you think the lawyer in charge of the estate might have had some money, though? I don't think so. Why not? Well, most of Uncle's money is tied up abroad. Yeah. Yeah, well let's settle that. Settle what? I'll just have to wait, Susie. That's all. I might have paid the clerk off if I had the money. Might have. But that's why it was going to be cheaper and safer. He was waiting for me down the lake. And he had a gun. He told me that. I'd have to come to him facing him with a thought. But I forgot the lake. I'd had all day to find a boat. I found one. There was no moon, so it was dark. There was a wind which made noise. More than noise enough to cover the sound of the boat, even if he'd been aboard. And he wasn't. He was wearing a white shirt which made it easy. He was standing a couple of feet from the shore facing towards the house. I let the boat drip the last few yards. Besides, I needed an oar for another purpose. It was a heavy oar. I was out of the boat into shallow water. There was a splash, but it didn't register on him until I was close. He started turning. He was almost all the way around when... It was dark when I got back. Susie asleep. That was good. I'd had enough for a day. More than enough. I went to my room and hit the head. I didn't bother on Jesse. I wanted darkness fast. Darkness and quieted sleep. And though I didn't expect it to come, it came. I was dreaming, sure, but I had to go outside. When I got close to where I'd put him, there was no more sound. The earth over him hadn't even been touched. He was still under it, deep under it, where I'd put him after I finished with the oar. Even if he'd still been able to hold my command, I couldn't hurt him not with all that dread on top of him. I'm sure I'd been dreaming. I got back to the house. That's where the oar was yelling from, except that when I got back, the house was the same. My room was the same till I put the lights on. I nearly let go there. I nearly turned and ran because... Because sitting in the chair next to my bed was Mr. Davis. Mr. Clark Davis. Dead and in person. The water was dripping from his clothes under the floor, but there was no blood and nothing more. He was cold when I touched him because I had to touch him. I didn't want to. I wanted to run to get away to keep running forever. But I went to him and I touched him. And his body was cold and wet and solid. My hand didn't go through. That was all I needed. I headed downstairs. Suzy had a car, convertible, back to the house. I was there all right. I reached in, broke the seats. One of them was wet. I went to the front of the car and touched the hood. It was warm. All he answers except one and that one I'd get in person. I turned back to the house. I wasn't thinking anymore. Just doing what had to be done. But I should have thought... Both shots had got me. She didn't good. Oh, not trying for anything fancy like the head. Both shots went in me deep. I hit the ground and stayed put. But I did. It was easy, a rehearsal. I could taste my own blood and my mouth. Soon it wouldn't be a rehearsal, but a real thing. But before that, she stopped, just smart, stopped a few feet away from me and waited. I didn't breathe. She wouldn't want to waste bullets, risk more noise. After a while she came a little closer. She'd seen the blood I was slaughtering in. She came a little closer. And I still had strength and I have to roll into the rack to bring her down. I got a rest. She was still watching through the gun too far for me to get at it. But I held on to it. Darling, what's the matter with you? It's no use. You got your brother out of the lake, didn't you? You hooded like an hour. You saw me kill a hotel clerk, didn't you? You made you feel any better, I did. You better let go of me. You're not doing yourself any good leading the way you are. Why shoot me? Why didn't you yell for cops? You had the good zombie. All you had to do was show me your brother's body. Why drag it into my room? Why try to drive me nuts? Because you bitch. That body in your room isn't my brother. Is it your brother or was he? A friend. A boyfriend. What about your brother? You want to save your breath? A dying man like you. What about your brother? He was murdered. Why? The man you thought was my brother. Why? Because my uncle left all the money to my brother. He didn't trust me, didn't like me. So I had my brother killed. The man you met on the train was going to impersonate my brother till the rule went through. You had to come along. Yeah, I had to come along. When you walked in, I didn't know what to do. I tested you. There is no Mrs. Brenner, but you fell for it. So I knew you couldn't come from close town. Why did you shoot me? We could have gone through the act. Not after you killed the hotel clerk. He'll be missed. If I couldn't afford to have an unsolved murder around, they'd find out about my real brother. This way you were a killer. My brother's dead because of you. I'll get the money. She didn't stop trying to get away. She was waiting for me to die. And I was dying, all right. But I was still strong enough. No! No! No! Get your hands off! No! No! No! Still strong enough to take with me. Now that, I think, pretty much winds up the sad story of Danny. A winsome lad who only wanted a new address and discovered that the housing situation is... murdered. We can sympathize with his feeling about rent ceilings, but he really shouldn't have raised the rules. Of course, it's no fun to be out in the cold, but did Danny have to go to the other extreme? The person that we really don't understand, though, is Suzy. She didn't have to kill Danny. After all, he only wanted to be a brother to her. Ha! Inner Sanquem was heard in the United States over CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, and has been rebroadcast for servicemen and women overseas. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of information and education.