 The American Broadcasting Company presents Pat Novak for hire. I'm Pat Novak for hire. Down around the Embarcadero Everybody's clawing his neighbor for a quick buck and everybody knows it. So if you call your work something else, who are you fooling? I rent boats when that pays off and in between I do what I can to keep something on my hip besides the handkerchief You've been along with me a few days ago. You'd have known that I was ready for work A friend of mine called Ira had an inside tip on a hot horse in the third race at Bay Meadows I'd gone down there to see if I could promote the news in the currency It was a good idea except that my horse was still running in the third when they started the fourth All I had left of my bankroll was an empty feeling After checking through my pockets, I went out on a highway and started back to town. I Was still unlimbering my thumb when a long low roadster pulled up beside me It was a very expensive job including the driver He was just about old enough to vote and if she did and the candidates weren't blind. They'd have spent all their time on her corner If I'm my way, I'd sure like to be How do you know which way I'm going? The scenery is good wherever it's located The shy type You want me to stammer? No, but you could wait until we're introduced. We'll Novak clear the air any My name is Lydia Reynolds Novak Haven't I heard about you somewhere if you have you ought to change your friends? Oh, you're sort of a lone wolf detective or something. You got three votes there. What I'm gonna win Well, if you're any of those maybe I could use you you look like you could afford it Oh, that's no problem if money's no problem. You weren't really worrying. What do you call fear? Never down. I can't it just Well, if you ever felt as if something were harboring over you and yet you didn't know what it was Could be a blackjack a second zombie Will you help me all I can do for nightmares ladies keep you up late more real than that believe me Those the money hiring me will cost you You'll do it. You could be a sort of of a bodyguard They'll get to fill in the pauses At least I won't have to worry about you keeping your mind on your word wait here. I have to make a phone call She walked away, and it was smooth and easy to watch like a bird gliding on a bit of wind But you got on a side. I began to think about the hire I Had heard a rich dame's doing crazy things, but this was crowding the record Nobody hires a watchman to stand off a bad dream I felt like a guy getting ready to fly with a pair of homemade wings It could be thrilling and what else? But what else began to develop right away a car pulled up near me with two men in it one of them got out a Big guy with a kind of a face you see in ads for men swimming trunks handsome and a little bacon He came over the car. He wanted to talk Got a match buddy. Yeah Yeah, thanks, buddy The nice car you got there Must have set you back three or four grand. It's only money. Yeah Would you say your name was if you're selling anything? I don't want it. Give me back my matches I didn't catch the name buddy the winds against you try shutting your mouth You have to be nasty you got the ways that make it come easy No, I could teach your manners if I had time you ain't built to teach me anything. I don't want to learn No, well, I can try starting with what's this in my hand? So you're loaded so let's drive down the road and see what else I can learn you like remembering your name friends Head right into the city you do know where the city is don't you look sucker if you're out to roll me you grab the wrong goose Don't tell me you're broke try the second five dollar window dollar Bay matters You're broke in three grand worth of auto that makes about as much sense as stuttering Daniel Bryan So you bet on a three-legged horse. Let's break it up and forget it. We're coming into town I might as well write it out besides this ain't my crate I come to ride from a dame I was waiting for her when you started waving around the artillery you're telling me her name's Lydia Reynolds Look drive up that alley before you get lost Your knucklehead. It's a dead-end street. That's all right. I'm here on you're riding on a clock when I came to it was raining Not much just a faint drizzle. It felt nice on the back of my neck and my hair These things came back into focus. I found out I was still behind the wheel I was leaning like a flower a week after the wedding My head felt big enough for a size 30 hat. I could count every pulse beating aches Didn't get any better when someone started shaking me a big rough hand There's been a goldmine for a rug cleaning outfit. I Turned my head enough to see a flock of best buttons bulging over a belt come on over back the shows of turkey I'll go away home and this ain't an apple car eggs. No good. No back. You'll never make Broadway. Stop shaking me What do you think I am a whiskey sour don't worry you happen to gun the shake little judge starts to read the papers You think I stole the car there's that so they caught up with you They took you off homicide and put you in a hot car detail I can see now where insurance rates are gonna zoom out of sight I caught you and the motor's still warm you couldn't catch a fever in a flu epidemic and while the body's still warm You couldn't find your way of an escalator What'd you say the body in the back of the car and your hem that act almost as much as you did that fake blackout She called it a nightmare The body wasn't much to see just a standard model citizen with a little too much weight and a little too little hair on his head He'd been anything special when he was breathing is it all gone away like a shout in a high wind Hellman went through the suit, but all I turned up was a hole in the pocket and some chicken feed change I need to find out what was going on. I need to find it fast I figured a good place to start was to look up Lydia Reynolds. I'd taken her address out the car It was a nice place a cozy 16 or so rooms done in neat white marble Set back from the rabble in st. Francis woods behind enough lawn out there a golf course a Butler answered my ring an easy six feet of well-collected muscles He led me along a flock of Persian rugs. I ended up in a living room a little smaller than the young museum Lydia was over by a window She wasn't glad to see me. She wasn't mad either Just polite You have a pleasant drive. I'll settle for exciting. You always steal cars like that or is it something you just developed? What am I supposed to do with that? Is the question strange? You knew my neurotic friends, you know, I have to ask things like that. Yeah, I meant one of them I found the police about the car, but I'm glad you changed your mind Everybody helped including the friend of yours who helped me up made me drive away and then slugged me friend of mine He knew you're a tall handsome citizen with a loud voice and nasty manners. You're describing most of my friends That doesn't help at all. This one likes jokes. He planted a corpse in the back of the car You're joking Aren't you? I mean this really didn't happen. No, you got to do is explain away my headache I had work just my imagination. Then what do you got? That's a good question, my dear. Maybe you want to think about it We were talking alone. You're forgetting your manners. Am I introduce us Lydia? Mr. Novak my uncle Charles Reynolds and then you'd better go up and rest. Don't you I want to talk to mr. Novak tomorrow would be better I'm sure mr. Novak will excuse me. I'll sit anywhere. It's not my ballgame Someday Excuse me Pat see a drink mr. Novak Make it straight for a change Perhaps I should tell you that I'm Lydia's legal guardian as well as a rungle the day is full of news Those fears of hers are really nothing just her imagination She's a very nervous high strong girl Did you notice I didn't notice you're trying to climb up the walls of course It's not that bad. Well, I'll admit her imagination gives me trouble now and then the job's tough with the pays good I'll look after my niece. I Hope it hasn't inconvenienced you any not so far. She hired me. I'll stick around till she fires me I'm afraid that's impossible. They used to say that about flying. I told you my niece is highly neurotic She's not responsible for her acts I'm willing to pay whatever you think so she's so far. I'll leave it that way till she hangs up a form You're wrong about that. My niece is not coming down again tonight. You might as well go. What if I check that with her? Yes, I do Are you leaving or will I have the butler show you out? Never mind the muscles I'll play your cards this time at least this time is the last time that part is still with her I tell you I run this establishment. Yeah I'm beginning to wonder how The big butler showed me out a nice guy to have around if you go for screams in the night It was quiet and roomy outside A big peaceful sky with a moon like a washed out little piece of wind playing with the trees on the grounds Like some old ghosts whispering together. I Heard Lydia call the first time she tried wasn't much above a breath She was upstairs at a window She told me to go to the guest house set on the back of the lot in the way in a clump of trees It turned out to be a little toy cottage like something out of a fairy tale Lydia showed up while I was still fumbling with the door I'm so glad she didn't go away What my uncle tell you Did he send you away? He didn't have to push hard. I was ready to throw in my hand anyway But I need you don't you see I need you now more than ever I didn't contract to play ducks and drakes with a dead body a muscled-down butler and an uncle who goes around saying goodbye But that's one of the reasons I need you My father left me a huge fortune My uncle's been trying for years to get his hands on it gets even better next we'll be having poison in the high balls How do I know how far it'll go Already he's tried to put me in an asylum. Yeah He was giving me that nervous talk about you Don't stay It's a job for the judge, baby All right for the judge And just stay and talk to me I don't know about that either Does it sound hard The last time we talked someone else finished the sentences with a blackjack I can make better memories than that While we're in the files, how come the guy who slugged me knew so much about you? His name's post they call him two spots Do I have to talk about him? I like lights when I'm ice skating Had to wait till morning Don't answer. Maybe they'll go away What do you mean coming here worried about your resting The doctor got out of here to heal leaving alone very well miss, but the gentleman is leaving And I thought maybe you'd like me to see you back to the house. He isn't leaving you are You're fired the gentleman's leaving this and now I'm on your payroll. The joint's full of guys giving orders You want to walk out or stumble Make up my mind for me I was doing all right while I stayed away from him when he got in close the show ended and the band went home When I came to the bump on my head was match and aches with my jaw He won that one the hard way no mac are you the prize? What are you talking about that dead body over there? You must be out for the limit tonight. I helped me up He's a butler What happened to he backed into a knife. It's illegal, you know the town's full of knives Anybody could give it to him. I don't see any crowd around but you're here, ain't you? Where's the dame? Why did you kill him novella? Yeah, yeah, of course. Where's the dame? There's something going on around here that i'm not in on you seem to know all the terms open up and i'm not fooling You got the story straight helman After I left you I came out here to see the dame lydia reynolds You're in here and the play was beginning to warm up with the butler knock and try to throw me out I took a swing and he swung harder you woke me up the girl must have done it Oh lydia reynolds, what do you think i'm talking about hilly lemar You might as well be bub this way it's your word against eight million bucks It got even worse when we went after lydia Her uncle blocked us away from the door with a doctor looking over his shoulder He said he followed the butler out to the guest house and caught lydia as she ran out He'd seen us fighting and started in to stop us when lydia painted Then helman showed up with a stolen car The reynolds talked to a very positive voice eight million bucks word It takes more than inspectors bads interrupt that kind of talk Helman took it all down in the little book Then he took me into the kerney street station and booked me on suspicion of two murders and a car heist He was happy and helpful He even sent out and got jaco madigan to come to see me A jaco was an ex-medico and a boozer but he was the best friend I had in town If sympathy was a crowbar I'd have been out of the place in 10 minutes Patsy my boy, I've never seen you look more at home. I go away jaco you bother me Endurance vile there must you weakened whip and all your frowsy couching sorrow steeper to paraphrase bobby burr I go away my headaches. I've come to offer my aid anything I can do for you. Patsy say it and it's done You can't help me jaco. Oh, don't tell me you really did it this time. No Then why are you worrying? Have you no faith in justice? You can put together a deaf judge and a bought jury you can How's bad is that? I'll go away jaco weave in your beer for me Oh, this isn't like you patsy. No bad I've called you everything in the way of being a disgraceful citizen But I've always admired one thing about you. You were a fighter. You've never quit fighting How do you fight eight million bucks and a perfect frame up eight million bucks? Oh, there isn't that much money. Try and sell it to lydia reynolds Is she the one who built the frame? No, it's even better than that. I don't know who did it or why Don't be mysterious patsy. I'm too worried to play word games Look jaco. I was coming to ride in from bay meadows lydia picked me up Then I was hijacked by a guy lydia said could be two spot posts Slugged and left with a dead body in lydia's car And I would have to see her about it. The butler cooled me when I came to he's dead The girl must have a hard time keeping friends. She wanted to hire me for a bodyguard She said she was being threatened, but she couldn't put her finger on it That shouldn't be so hard She starts out with eight million dollars worth of bait or anybody might try for that Kind of veil Who's this two-spot character anybody? I know nobody we can use. I think lydia dreamed him up Well, he might be worth looking up. You're wasting your valuable drinking time jaco You can't put your finger on a ghost. Oh, you haven't had my experience with the little man patsy So long lover I sat there after jaco left and tried to put together something I could use to tell my lawyer I was still thinking it over when the guard came along and opened up my cage When I got out to the desk the sergeant told me lydia had sprung me She phoned in and said I couldn't have done it. She also fixed bail I walked out of the place and started down toward pier 19, but I didn't get far A car pulled up. It was two spot and he still had his gun I was tired of arguing so I got in How do you like Los Angeles? I like that. I'd live there. It'll grow on you. What's a caper post you got a dream spread it out I got better than a dream no back. I got the best racket since Robin Hood including dead bodies They make you nervous. My racket's better than that. I don't need you losing up the act now. Who's nervous? I won't be long I'm gonna put you on a train for Los Angeles and give you a thousand bucks Stay down there till you spend it. You're full of dreams and don't spend it too fast No vac you come scampering back here before the months out You liable to wind up looking at the inside of a luggage compartment like the private dick did. Oh, you know that guy, huh? Here's the station if you have any more questions ask information Remember no vac You're tired of breathe and just show your face around town again before new years if I do you'll be the first to know it He followed me into the station and on the train He stayed right by me until the thing started to pull out. Yeah, it was wonderful I had a thousand dollars the name of the guy behind the killings and a free ride to Palo Alto And I got off the train down there. I phoned helman. He was as helpful as a fireman in a sorority house They're in Palo Alto Hey there before you go out and arrest some more wrong suspects. Maybe you'd like to know who did it You're full of news no bank. I guess you think you found him. Am I calling for help? You wouldn't know what if you needed help the guy behind that you figure that spot Figure that out all by yourself. Lydia said it might fit him, but I needed proof. I got it. You haven't got the right time Yeah What's wrong with two spot having something on Lydia something that is quieter if he tried to kidnap grab Are you trying to tell me how two spot works? We've known the guy for years. He runs a bowling alley and makes a little horse book on the side Kidnapping isn't his style. Did you ever hear of styles changing? He has a $50,000 bowling alley the two spot in O'Farrell Street He's not going to risk that you're going to sit around on your fat hips and let Lydia be snatched while you check on the tax rate of a bowling alley I know who did it right boy. I just told you not unless he's put on a lot of weight. Who is it? You know everything no back. I wouldn't think it trying to steal you Did you know that the body in the car was a private detective? Yeah, so was the butler don't worry so much about things Who was it helman and have you announced up the act? We got the guy covered like a blank at the next false move He makes will be on his last and two spots on the town. I hear Palo Alto is a nice place Now you just stay down there and look it over. I'm gonna look just far enough to find a car Listen no back I don't want you to come around putting your big feet in the trap now stay out of this I'm warning you you ought to get a refit on your plate helman. That sounded like you said you were warning me I took a taxi back to san francisco and the price is easy if you have a thousand dollars We drove up to st. Francis woods Just as we were approaching the Reynolds Place. I saw Lydia walking along the sidewalk She was wrapped up in one of those long capes with her hood. She was walking in a hurry I caught up with her. She seemed glad but she didn't slow down Come on patty walk with me. You run it after something or something after you something's after me patty I'm frightened you're full of half talk. Don't you ever open up? I saw a man at least a shadow of men Hide in your corner of the guest house some more of those fears this man was real patty He was waiting for me out there I said they're closing in and they are You don't want my help but I do I need help desperately Why don't you give me something to work with all I get out of you is talk about goosebumps. I'm tired patty awfully tired What you need to drink Come on down town with me. We'll look up a friend of mine named jaco madigan. Can't we go to a bar? You don't know jaco We flagged a taxi and beat around town for a while I finally located jaco in a market street trap up near the civic center The place ran all the way through to the next street I didn't pay much attention with lydia headed for the back of the place The joint had that kind of lights that made a girl want to fix her makeup I was looking around for jaco and it was only by accident that I noticed lydia walked right past the powder room and out the rear door I started after her and I wondered why I should I figured if that was some more of her half talk. She could have it all herself I'd had enough for one day. I turned back to jaco Didn't walk to dead duck. I'm out of jail. So you're crying you're out of girl too. I saw you watching her leave She's the restless type. She dropped you like a leaf smart girl names lydia. But when I told you about she sprung me out of jail Oh, I take back the part about her being smart. I had two spot post bill for the part Helman says I'm crazy. He could be right. You know, why did you pull down your bets on post? All I had to go on with the fact that he was anxious to keep me out of town for two weeks That could mean something was on the fire. I forget he was doing the cooking You know patchy I'd like to talk to that lydia person. There's something fishy in the past I'd like to know what it is with eight million bucks. She could afford to be careless This is something special two spot ties into it somehow and then there's that uncle of hers Just naming them all put them in jail There's a lot of temptation when you have eight million to manage for a young girl Think of what you could do if it all became yours. You can't arrest a guy because he's no hungry You know patchy a few months ago lydia used to run around occasionally with two spot He had a little bowling alley out near her home and she used to go there So she needed exercise then suddenly two spot sells the little place and moves downtown to this super layout of his Where do you think he got the money? You just said they ran around together Could be that but what if it's something else? Is that all you're gonna work with? Don't be abrupt new bowling alley has a guy called sackhead as manager. Well good for him and goodbye Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute sackhead used to be a pin boy in the old bowling alley When he was sober enough to stand up that is now he's manager. There must be a reason and that's better Let's go see sackhead When we reached the two spot alleys the place was almost deserted It was too late for the earnest bowlers and too early for the drunks And I asked the bartender for the manager who began to gulp air and turn white I knew I couldn't get anything from him. So I looked around the place till I saw the door marked office I started that way, but it was a short trip The bouncer dropped a cigar on the floor and cut across my path fast Where you going bud? I don't need any help. It's private. You can't go in there I just want to talk to sackhead look that up in your rule book. He don't want to talk He's out to lunch. Anyway, let me find out these things myself. Nobody goes in there understand Everybody's showing up stop signs tonight. I can't win all the time Let's get out of here jackal. It's all a hurry. I've got to finish my drink. Come on now Oh, not even one for the road Hold on. Oh back. It's bad for your heart. Oh, you're bad for me all over helman I thought I told you to stay in Palo Alto. Well, you two argue I'll just go back and finish my drink stay here madigan Now what's the fast getaway all about you can pick up your bets about two spot not being the one Is he in there? Yeah, another knife job. Somebody must think it's still Thanksgiving. Look patchy. I was shitting at the bottom Brad madigan Is going to make it tough on you know that not any tougher than that bouncer He saw me go in if you weren't so busy being a wise guy I tipped you off the two spot was a cold trail All right helman come out from behind that veil. You knew who did it all the time now name them What's hot about that Reynolds of course, but he got to approve some out of a dream book We chucked up on those detectives who were killed Reynolds hired them to work up a plan on Lydia He wanted her jailed on suspicion of murder that would give him control of the money and he killed two spot because he beat him Balling he hired two spot and some of his boys to do the killing if those dicks began to turn up dead We could get Lydia on circumstantial evidence. It's too bad. You two didn't wait a while to be born They're making a better grade of cement now your brain It adds up pretty good jaco The killings were only on circumstantial evidence. Lydia wouldn't get the chair They'd probably give her 20 years and uncle could keep up with the family funds. I'm going out now to pick up Reynolds I'd like to see if you try and come along Well, who's it be jaco a champagne hypo Look just because I'm buying guess who I saw when uh, you were in two spots office a bottle of scotch Yes, no, I also saw Lydia. Lydia. She ran out the side door. That could mean anything She's crazy, you know, I could see it in her eyes right then. She was crazy. You think she did it I hate to break up your and helman's dream But a doctor's supposed to know insanity when he sees it also there was blood on her hand A doctor's supposed to be able to identify that too if he's had the problem but she can't be crazy I was talking to her. Oh, it could come and go besides She's probably at the stage where drugs can still keep keep her calm down I'll bet that's what two spot had on her She worked off the drugs effect while bowling and something happened that two spot witnessed Maybe she killed a pin boy that would fit Sackhead seeing it too. Then she did all the killing sure and two spot was covering for her to keep the money coming in You can't blackmail an insane asylum. You know, come on. We better warn helman warn helman If we do that the killer might get away. Come on jaco. The helman gets killed. They might replace him with a cop of the brains We grabbed a taxi ten dollars worth of persuasion made him forget the color of some of the stop lights And we were out there in no time at all Even before we were out of the cab. I knew it was too late. I could see the guest house lit up in its own flames The trees around it looked like black skeletons dangling in the firelight We started running across the lawn, but rentals cut us off It's no good. No act. There's nothing we can do. Is it lydia? Yes We tried to get in but she's barricaded herself in an inner room. The heat drove us away. It's a hard way to die I'm sorry. I had to lie about the butler's death put you on the spot like that I knew she killed him I was hoping I could get her in an asylum. She had a rough shuffle With all that dough all she could buy was a black ace If you read the papers about it all you'd have learned was that lydia died in a fire And the uncle saw to that. I don't know how he did it, but he managed. Of course, I kept quiet I kept a thousand bucks worth of quiet Rentals gave me that to forget to talk added to what was left over from the thousand two spot gave me It made a nice little bundle And just my luck They meadows close yesterday Heard on tonight's presentation were ben morris's novak john gallbraith as inspector helman jack louis's jaco and mary milford as lydia With her bella's tall avery edwin mcdonald and henry left special music by otto claire Listen again next week when over most of these same abc stations the american broadcasting company will present pat novak for hire This is abc the american broadcasting company