 From Hollywood, it's time now for... Johnny Dollar. Mr. Dollar, I want you to come over here right away. What's that again? I want you to come over here right away. And that's what I thought you said, but who is this and where's here? This is LSP Watkins, Mr. Dollar. You've heard of me perhaps? Yeah, I think so. Manufacturer, aren't you? At the moment, that seems to be a matter of opinion. Over here is Broad Acres, at Fairfield, Connecticut. Would you mind telling me what this is all about, Mr. Watkins? It's very simple. I have a hundred thousand dollars to give away. Oh, to whom? That is what you are going to tell me, Mr. Dollar. I'll get there as soon as I can. In the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Act one of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. The account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to the estate of E.P. Watkins, Fairfield, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the happy family matter. Expense account item one, $1.20 taxie from my apartment at the Home Office of the Universal Adjustment Bureau and Pat McCracken. Thank Mr. Watkins long to get in touch with you, Johnny. Yeah, I figured he must have got my name from you, Pat. E.P. Watkins holds a life policy for a hundred thousand dollars. Beneficiary was to have been his wife, but she died several months ago. Now he wants a designated new beneficiary. You mean he wants me to tell him who the beneficiary should be? That's right. No thanks. Now look, Johnny. You look, Pat. I got tangled up in a family matter once before. I still have the scars to prove. Johnny. Why doesn't Mr. Watkins pick his own beneficiary? Ordinarily he would, but in a case like this it might take time. So what? From what I can gather, Johnny, Mr. Watkins doesn't have much time left to live. Oh. Okay, Pat. I got him two $4.30 transportation by car to Broad Acres, the Watkins' home in Fairfield. It was a big place and it was old. I was shown into the library. E.P. Watkins was sitting in front of the fire. I could see that he wasn't well, but there was still a lot of strength in his face. Mr. Dollar. According to the medical authorities, I have somewhere between one week and one year to live. I'm sorry. I'm not. Oh. My wife is dead. My business is on the verge of collapse and my children are strangers. Should I be sorry? Well, I... I don't know. I have three possible beneficiaries. A daughter, Sheila, 28 years old. A son, Michael, 26, and another daughter, Elizabeth, 24. Why not have all three share equally? Mr. Dollar, had I wished to do that, I would not be calling on you. The others will be taken care of elsewhere in the estate, I suppose. There is no estate other than this insurance policy. Oh. Most of it has gone down the drain of an ailing business. The rest will be consumed in estate expenses. I see. Watkins' money should be kept in the Watkins' family as I see it. But I... I most emphatically wish the money to go to one member and one member only. And the other two? They ought to be left out in the cold, huh? I did not engage you to examine my motives, Mr. Dollar. You have asked me a direct question, and I will give you a direct answer. Yes, I intend, as you put it, to leave the other two out in the cold. You say there are three of them, Sheila, Michael, Elizabeth. What can you tell me about them? Well, Sheila, who lives with me, seems to think that she should be managing my affairs instead of I. Michael seems to prefer the so-called life of an artist to assuming the responsibilities of the name of Watkins. And Elizabeth? Stubborn, stubborn. Married to one James Lovato is quite convinced that he knows infinitely more about business matters than I ever did. Well, you seem to take a pretty dim view of all of them, Mr. Watkins. I do. I do indeed, Mr. Dollar. You know, one little item occurs to me. And what is that? Whichever two are left out aren't going to like it very much. Obviously. Which means they're not going to like me very much. Also, quite obvious. So I intend to pay you a considerable fee. But you will earn it. Every penny of it. Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. And now for another episode in the life of Sergeant Donald Belweather, my husband. Is everything packed in this duffel bag? Yeah, everything with these, Sarge. Oh, let me see that bottle. Rainbow, what in the world would a bunch of guys on our fishing trip want with these indigestion pills? Well, you just take them along, Don. Remember, you boys will be doing your own cooking for three whole days. Yeah, maybe you're right. Oh, boy, I can hardly wait to pop some of those freshly caught fish into the pan. There now, everything's all packed. Yeah, well, we better get going. The fellas will be waiting. Well, I'll walk you to the car. Okay. I'll carry this bag. The rest of the gear is already packed. Here, I'll open the door for you. Oh, thanks, honey. Now, I'll just put this bag in the back seat. Okay. Now, kiss me goodbye right here on the front lawn so the neighbors will know I'm not leaving because we quarrel. Oh, you're so silly. Good luck, dear. Have a wonderful time. You really deserve this fishing trip. Well, is that all you got to say? I mean, you usually tell me to drive carefully, et cetera, et cetera. Well, this time I will not say a word. Oh, okay, dear. Well, I guess I better be going. What's this note on the steering wheel? Dear Sergeant, on one holiday last year in the States, speed was a factor in 71% of the accidents. Drinking was a factor in nearly half. Accidents were most frequent early in the weekend. 82% of the accidents happened in rural areas and the victims were usually the drivers. Your loving wife, Reba. I might have known you'd get to me somehow. Goodbye, dear. Oh, I'm going to miss you. I'm going to miss you too, Reba, and don't you worry. I'll drive safely. That's my Donald. That's my doll. Two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Happy Family Matter. Well, this was undoubtedly the weirdest assignment I'd ever been handed, and from one of the weirdest characters I'd ever met, E.P. Watkins. And yet I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He was really alone. And somewhere along the line, he must have been hurt pretty badly. I left the library and started through the drawing room. Mr. Dollar, I'm Sheila. Oh, yeah. I'd like to talk to you for a moment. Sure, why not? Mr. Dollar, I know what you must think of my father. Oh, do you? But if you're inclined to judge him harshly, just remember, he wasn't always like this. Oh. So, so very many things have gone wrong for him. Like what? Like, I'm afraid the main thing is his feeling that the three of us, Elizabeth and Michael, and I, have let him down somehow. He seems to resent us so terribly. Why should he, Sheila? I'm not sure. I think he resents me because I'm not a man. Oh. You see, I'm the oldest. And in many ways, I'm more like father than the others are. But I'd been a man, I could have, well, taken over for him. Yeah, I see. I've tried to do what I could, help make decisions, that sort of thing. But I think he's somehow reasons that too. Well, I, I gather it hasn't exactly been easy for you, living here with him. Yeah. Somebody has to. And the others have lives of their own. Speaking of the others, I'd like to talk to them. Where can I find them? Elizabeth and her husband live in Cranford, New Jersey. And Michael's in New York in Greenwich Village. OK. Thanks, Sheila. Outwardly, she was poised, but I could tell she was nervous, tense. Her fingers wouldn't stay still. She kept shredding bits of cellophane from her cigarette package. Yeah, she was under strain all right. And I could understand why. Item $3.48 and 40 cents, transportation in New York City to the Greenwich Village apartment of Michael Watkins. Mr. Dollar, you can tell Dad that I do not want that insurance money. Why not, Mike? Because it doesn't, well, he doesn't owe me anything and I don't owe him anything. It was a clean break and that's just the way I want it. You're sure about that? I am. I'm doing what I want to do. I'm painting. Everything is just the way I want it. You know, Mike, you sound sort of like you were trying to convince yourself. I resent that, Mr. Dollar. Our family is split apart, that's all. Sheila's been trying her best to hold it together, but it won't work. Why not? Because I have had it. For years Dad's been trying to cram Watkins and company down my throat. He knew my heart wasn't in it, but did that matter to him? No. Look, Mr. Dollar, I can make your job real easy for you. Yeah. There's one person in our family really deserves that money after what she's been through. Sheila? Yes. Sheila. Item four, six dollars even. Transportation to the Lovett's home in Cranford, New Jersey. No, Mr. Dollar, if sending you here is some scheme of Dad's to... Will to force us into line, you're wasting your time and so is he. Now, wait a minute, Elizabeth. After the way he's treated, Jim. Relax, honey. That's all over and done with. Look, Dollar, I can simplify your job for you. Can you? Give the insurance to Elizabeth here. Why? Because then I can get my hands on it. Oh. Well, what would you do with it, Jim? Buy a controlling interest in Watkins and Company and put the business back on its feet. You once worked for Watkins and Company. Why did you leave? Because he's still running it the way he did 30 years ago. It won't work, and I wouldn't be a part of it. Jim tried, Mr. Dollar. He really did. But Dad wouldn't even listen to him. For years he tried to get Mike to take over the business. But Mike prefers to be off in Never Never Land painting those lousy pictures of his. Now, Jim... They are lousy and you know it, Liz. Look, Jim, you say Mr. Watkins didn't give you a chance to put your ideas into effect, huh? No. Finally, things got to the breaking point. Dollar, I sent him a written contract guaranteeing I'd raise the necessary financing. I asked for only six months in charge. Contract? But he wouldn't accept your offer, huh? No. Sheila begged him to sign. Finally, he sent word back for me to tear up the contract and get out of the company. I see. Well, Dollar, you've met all three of us now. Who's gonna be the beneficiary? Sheila or Mike or Elizabeth? One thing I wanted to check on was Jim's opinion that Mike was not a good painter. I noticed around until I found an art dealer who'd handled his work. He showed me a couple of paintings and then leveled with me. So far as he could see, Mike was a lousy artist. I went back to my hotel to think it over. But I found a message that Mr. Watkins' attorney wanted to talk to me. He'd taken a room on the floor above. So I went upstairs. Halfway into the room, I noticed it was dark. Then as I heard the door slam, I felt a gun barrel in my back. Oh, real still, Dollar. Oh, you. And that don't matter. What's this all about? Dollar, this case you're working on, you drop it right now. And if I don't? If you don't, you get dropped for keeps. The door is truly Johnny Dollar in a moment. Do you know who said, that man is free who is protected from injury? Those words came from Daniel Webster, one of the most eloquent orators in American history. Webster knew that a man could not be free unless he lived in a country which recognized his right to freedom and created laws to protect that freedom. A slave state may say that its citizens are free, but as long as a single citizen can be harmed by the whim of a country's rulers, true freedom does not exist. A man is free only if his rights to freedom are protected. Remember the words of Daniel Webster. They are part of your American heritage. The free man must be protected from injury. And now act three of yours truly Johnny Dollar and the happy family matter. The message, Dollar? Sure. I dropped the case or else. Look, you're obviously not Watkins' attorney. The message was just a decoy to get me here. Who hired you to give me this warning? No, get so nosy, Dollar. You got the warning. It's the main point. Just to make sure you get the message. I'd seen what was coming in duck, then swung and knocked the gun out of his head. He gave me a knee and the stomach got flat. By the time I got to my feet, he was gone. I turned on the lights and looked around. And then on a table I spotted something that stopped me cold. The truth had been right under my nose all the time. I called the various members of the family, asked them to meet me at the Watkins' home. When I got there, they were waiting for me. Mr. Watkins, Sheila, Mike, Elizabeth and her husband Jim. There was a stiff chili politeness in the air. There was tension too. Mr. Dollar, I want you to know that I resent your theatrical gesture in assembling us like this. And I'm sorry, Mr. Watkins, but you hired me to do a job and I'm trying to do it. I'm sure you have reasons for this, Mr. Dollar, but you must know how painful this is to Father. Yes, I know, Sheila, but it's necessary. I don't see why, Dollar. I'm coming to that, Mike. Now, look, let's face it. This is not exactly the happiest family in the world. It's been torn wide apart. All right. Why is it torn apart? Oh, that's ancient history, Mr. Dollar. Maybe some of it is, Elizabeth, but a lot of it isn't. Well, I don't see what's to be gained by rehashing all this. Let him finish, honey. Just what are you driving at, Dollar? Just this, Jim. I was hired to find out what I could about the three beneficiaries. On the surface, everybody was very cooperative. On the surface? Somebody in this family didn't really want me to make this investigation, Sheila. They hired a strong arm to rough me up earlier this evening to make me drop the investigation. Nonsense. Sorry, Mr. Watkins, but I've got the scars to prove it. But who? Let's start with you, Mike. I want to know why you quit the family business and started painting. I told you. It was because Dad kept trying to cram the business down my throat. Why, you ungrateful... Well, it's true. I couldn't take it any longer. Sure. But you'd felt that way for a long while. What led you to make the break, Mike? Well, I... When even Sheila agreed it was no use, I thought... She encouraged you. Of course I encouraged him. I felt he should have the right to a life of his own. But, Sheila, you told me that you had begged Mike to stay in the company. Steve, why? What? I was acting in the best interests of the family. Where is Sheila? Mr. Darla, I don't know what you're trying to suggest. That brings us to Jim and Elizabeth here. Jim, you quit the company, too. Why? I've already told you, Darla. Mr. Watkins refused my last offer of help. Kicked me out. Well, that's not true. What offer are you talking about? That contract I sent you. What contract? You never saw it, did you, Mr. Watkins? I most certainly did not. But I... Wait a minute. I gave the contract to Sheila. She said it'd be better if she handled it. Then she told me later she'd discussed it with her father and he'd refused. Sheila, you lied. I refused to... Sheila, you... You have a nervous habit of shredding cellophane cigarette wrappers to bits. In the hotel room where that hired strong arm jumped me, I found a little pile of shredded cellophane near the ashtray. Sheila? I don't understand. Mr. Darla, do I understand that you're suggesting it? It's been I who torn the family apart. Not sure. I don't know. Hey, look, I'm an insurance investigator, not a psychologist. But I don't think this is too hard to understand. Sheila... Won't you try somehow to... To punish? I... I'm not sure. Sheila. Oh, Sheila, if that's true, you need help. They... They all had a life of their own. Except me. We'll help you, dear. We'll get help for you. I hated what I was doing. But I just couldn't... Mr. Darla, you will understand that I am rather bewildered by all this. I know, Mr. Watkins. You suggest that she was deliberately trying to... To tear the family apart in order to punish someone? Well, that's only a guess, Mr. Watkins. But I think it's probably a good one. Then she was... Trying to punish me. I think so. Should I understand why? Did she ever have a life of her own? Was she ever allowed to have one? Mr. Darla, I requested you... To designate a beneficiary for me. That's right. I now request you to suspend further action for the time being. It appears the matter requires further thought. Item six, eight dollars and fifty cents. Transportation and incidentals back home. Expense account total seventy-three dollars even. Remarks? Sheila is now undergoing treatment. The outlook is favorable. Elizabeth's husband, Jim, is managing the affairs of Watkins and Company. Mike is helping him. And I guess he's doing a good job. Mr. Watkins, well, he's still alive. And his doctor tells me that now the old gentleman has found some reasons to be alive. He'll probably be with us quite a while. And make all three of his children his beneficiaries. Yours truly, Johnny Darla. He originates in Hollywood and is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Tonight's story was written by Robert Wright. Heard in our cast were Virginia Greg, Shirley Mitchell, John Daener, Larry Dobkin, Peter Leeds and Paul Duboff. Be sure to join us next week. Same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Dan Coverley speaking.