 From Hollywood, it's time now for Johnny dollar Ansel Garrett Johnny I'm calling from a gas station up near the three mile grade 10 miles north of the lake trouble plenty Johnny seems like when you go looking for people it always turns out to be bad luck For them. What do you mean? You came up here to Crystal Lake looking for Edward Russell. He turned up dead Now you've been looking for hire him the taxi driver Don't tell me afraid so We just fished his body out of a ravine Tonight and every weekday night Bob Bailey and the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. I was truly Johnny dollar Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar to amalgamated life associates home office Hartford, Connecticut Following as a final accounting of expenses in report of my investigation of the Crystal Lake matter Item nine one dollar tipped to the garage man to get my car out in a hurry I drove up to the three mile grade deputy sheriff Ansel Garrett was waiting for me beside the highway and led the way down the ravine Watch the foot Johnny. It's pretty tricky. Yeah Who discovered hiring his body one of my boys patrolling the highway? He spotted a glint of metal down here in the moonlight Here we are. Yeah Oh brother taxi cabin all What a wreck yeah, he crashed the guard rail and came down the slope my doubt if it was an accident That's when a guy's got a bullet hole in his forehead. It's no accident Johnny Looks like the same person who killed Russell killed Hiram to shut his mouth I guess that's about the size of it Hiram's murder opens up another keg and nails ants No, so well Betty's story is that the last she saw of Russell the night He was murdered was when he drove away in Hiram's taxi But that story depended on Hiram for confirmation You'll never be able to confirm it now well earlier tonight She were beat because you were fresh out of suspects Johnny now. You got a real live one again Maybe but trying to find a motive to fit Betty Norton is a blind alley The only one who could benefit financially from Russell's death is his wife Leona and she was in Denver at the time I Still think Russell's murder ties in with the fact that he came up here looking for somebody named Bill and apparently had it in For him could be trouble is Johnny We got too many guys by that name at Crystal Lake Bill Cullen the hotel bartender Bill Jensen at the Boat House Both of them are still possibilities ants The bartender had a fight with Russell on the night of the murder and it was one of Bill Jensen's padlocks on the cabin where the Body was found. Yeah It's true enough whoever killed Russell and hit his body and Bixby's vacant cabin didn't know that Bixby was planning on selling The place and would bring somebody up to show it and discover the body sounds real convincing Johnny Now all you have to do is figure out somebody's name for the whoever and a good motive And you're all set. Oh, yeah, sure real simple You know one thing that's been bothering me from the start though Why did the killer plant Russell's body in a cabin with all the wide open spaces around here? Why a cabin? Yeah, he could have figured dogs or animals that uncover the body if it was outside somewhere How about the lake? Bodies have a way of coming to the surface. Yeah, I guess you're right If we could only have gotten to hire him before this You haven't to know where he lived. No a little room in house not far from the hotel You threw here. No, not yet Johnny. I got a couple of my boys beating the bush around here Okay, I'll head back to town and see if I can turn up anything of interest at Hiram's rooming house On the way back to the village I stopped at Betty Norton's Lakeshore mansion, but she wasn't at home Her housekeeper told me she'd gone to Denver for a couple of days on hearing that my interest in her as a suspect shot Up again Expense account item 10 a dollar 45 long distance call to the Denver police Requesting them to try to locate Betty Norton for further questioning Then I went to the rooming house where Hiram lived. I Couldn't find anything in his room that would give me a lead on his killer But as I was coming out I found someone in the hall home white Well build a bartender. Oh, hello, darling. What are you doing here? It's real simple. I live here Oh Same rooming house as Hiram, huh? That's right. Oh look don't go trying to tie me into his murder We was friends. I didn't know the news of his killing was out How did you know he was dead Bill? Oh, I Just talked to one of Vance Garrett's boys at the hotel. He told me oh, I see. No, you don't say darling You still thank look whoever killed Hiram is the same one who killed Russell You had a fight with Russell on the night of his death. Yeah, I explained that to you before He was looking for somebody named Bill He thought I was the one got tough about it, but that's all there was to it I didn't kill him. I didn't kill Hiram. You'll never prove it. I did Yeah Going round and round on the merry-go-round Somewhere along the line I must have missed something But I didn't know what I Decided to go back and start from the beginning in this case Bixby's cabin where Russell's body was discovered. I Found Bixby in the hotel bar Hi, darling Care for a drink. No, no, thanks, Bixby Yeah, I got a little good news earlier this evening Sheriff Garrett told me he was through chucking over my cabin so I can get it cleaned up and repaint it now You're gonna advertise it again Not too optimistic about my chances of selling it though Even though the location of it's been kept out of the papers everybody at Crystal Lake here knows about it You never found out who put that new padlock on the door All the lock came from Jensen's boathouse, but we haven't been able to tie in Bill Jensen with any of the rest of it Look Bixby you mind if I take another look around your cabin? Not at all. Dolly. You want me to go with you? Now that won't be necessary. Okay? Here's the key Help yourself. It was my last chance Maybe there was something in the cabin that neither Ansel Garrett nor I had noticed before Something anything that would give me a lead. I Spent an hour going through an inch by inch and I drew a great big blank Everything was in place nothing had been touched Even my cigarette butt on the front porch and Bixby cigar wrapper twisted in a knot where we'd sat and talked after he'd re-enacted the discovery of Russell's body Inside only marks on the floor where Ansel Garrett's boys had measured the distance of the body from the door stuff like that But as far as anything that would give me a fresh lead. There was nothing nothing at all. I was licked and I knew it Mr. Dollar good evening, Mrs. Russell. I just dropped in to say goodbye. Well that it was very thoughtful of you. Please come in. Thanks When are you leaving? I'm checking out in the morning. What are your plans? I'm not sure mr. Dollar I'll probably get rid of the house in Denver and take an apartment for a while After that I I don't know have you filed your claim yet on your husband's insurance policy. No not yet My lawyer will take care of it for me I'd rather not have any more to do with things like that personally than I can help Mr. Dollar Have you gotten anywhere with your investigation? Have you found anyone at all who could have had a reason to kill my husband? To tell you the truth Mrs. Russell up to now I've got no Then I saw it Something in Leona Russell's room Just a little thing But all of a sudden the whole deal slid neatly into place But I had to be sure somehow I had to start the ball rolling and see what happened You were saying mr. Dollar. Oh Yeah, I was saying that up to now. I haven't been able to get any at what time is it? Quarter to 10. Oh, I got to make a phone call. Mind if I use your phone? No, not at all. I was supposed to call deputy sheriff Garrett to check on a new lead And if it's panned out looks like we're in Johnny dollar ants. How's that new lead look? Yeah, cool That's right. Well, it looks like we're on the right track at last. How you can't beat a lab test. Thanks, ants Something new has developed. Mr. Dollar. Yeah, looks like we're finally closing in on the right man, Mrs. Russell I gotta run now. I've got a date with a sheriff, but I'll keep you posted I went outside her hotel cottage and waited I could hear her on the phone In a moment she came out started along the trail near the lake shore I followed I was sure I was finally getting close to Russell's killer But then a gun barrel in my back told me I'd gotten a little too close. Oh, the dollar. Well Mr. Bixby Surprise as a matter of fact. No Is that you Bill? Hello, Leona the only a stupid little Falling for a gag like dollar just pulled on you, but I had to talk to you to warn you looks like you're a little stupid, too Bixby, huh? I just spotted one of them in Leona's cottage. I told you I should never have come to your cottage Leona You insist I had to see that's what threw me about you Bixby Clarence Bixby But a middle name of William Wilford if it'll do you any good now It was you and Leona right from the start her husband found out about it But all he had to go on was the name bill Somehow he got a lead that brought him up here to crystal left. Of course. I arranged for him to get the lead Yeah, you wanted to be easy to find you had hire him the taxi driver to Koi Russell to you then killed hire him to shut His mouth bill get rid of him then you killed Russell in your own cabin and left his body I had to The people of the next cabin moved in that night. I was afraid they'd see me if I moved the body So you played it smart You stole a padlock from Bill Jensen to throw suspicion on him Then you advertised your cabin and discovered the body when a prospect wanted to see the place a pretty neat cover Bixby You had a lot of nice still have dolly Enough to do what has to be done now and sweet little Leona Russell the poor grieving wife In it with you right from the start hurry up and do it Bill then you and I can oh no That's for your wrong Leona. It's not gonna be you and I anymore Bill You can't say that you engineered the whole deal right from the start and I'm sick of it I'm getting out you can't get out Bill you hear me you can't you're in this as deep as I am Oh, yes, I can get out all right Leona. I know one good way. Oh, yes, I've used it before and it works Here's for you baby bill bill he swung the gun toward her. I drove at him, but too late I hit him twice in the face. I went down I've been over Leona, but she was gone She must have been dead when she hit the ground 11th and final item on expense account $145.20 transportation and incidentals from Crystal Lake home total expenses $423 even remarks about Bixby in jail awaiting trial on three counts of murder Edward Russell Hiram Leona Russell About Leona who'd engineered the whole deal for a payoff Well, she got paid off. All right end of remarks end of report Yours truly Johnny dollar now Here's our star to tell you about next week's story next week Beginning on Friday night because I'm sure you'll want to listen to the Republican Convention Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday of next week a Simple string of beads and each bead on it a motive for murder Join us. Won't you yours truly Johnny dollars? Or is truly Johnny dollars starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood written by Robert Reif It is produced and directed by Jack John Stone Heard in this week's cast were Dick Crenna Charlotte Lawrence Jean Tatum Howard McNear Forest Lewis and Herb Ellis Musical supervision by Amarigo Moreno Remember next week's story will start on Friday night because of the Republican Convention on Monday Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday So join us Friday a week from tonight same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly Johnny dollar Roy Rowan speaking