 My name's Regan. I work for Anthony J. Lyon detective bureau. They call me the lion's eye Jeff Regan investigators starring Frank Graham as Regan with Frank Nelson as Anthony J. Lyon But stand by for mystery and suspense and adventure in tonight's story. Lo the gentle earth worm You take a beautiful woman a tall bony-faced guy with a draw 724 million worms mix them together and you come up with a case of port wine. I Did anyhow the thing took off under jet propulsion of a fatal Thursday I made the mistake of reporting for work as usual at the Lyon detective bureau office, so then you're mr. Regan the lion's eye Oh, I'm so glad Belgrade miss mercantile development of 1948 as I've been telling this to Lyon I won the title over 400 of fire And for a $5,000 prize In merchandise Congratulations, Mrs. Drake has a serious problem. Yeah, it's my husband He's going to kill himself. Yeah, and we're such a lovely wife, too Isn't it a pretty Jeffery the husband happened to mention what's bothering him the worms worms 24 million makes it clearer mr. Regan in just 18 days It'll be the first of the month again, so and there'll be 1,446,500 Worm you see Jeffery. This is a serious matter sounds like you must help me mr. Regan You must find the man who swindled my husband He did swindle him. We know that now you must catch mr. Myron block and get our money back Or my husband will kill himself He will I know Like that for a couple of minutes, then it began to get confusing After Drake Mirabelle's husband had bought 500,000 worms 12 months ago from Myron Biloxi The worms have cost 5,000 bucks Mirabelle's prize winnings converted to cash It started a worm farm the algebra of the multiplication of worms began to get out of hand the way Mirabelle told it So I said maybe we better get out to her place and get the dope straight from the worm growers mouth He said okay The Drake place was on the El Segundo flats between LA and the ocean Rancho Guzano in the Spanish Worm Ranch that meant Clapboard house tin mailbox gasoline cans and orange crates lying around the yard. I Thought of a beautiful kid like Mirabelle Drake living in a place like that And then all of a sudden I was thinking of something else Come on baby those shots came from out back of the house I ran around at the back of the tumble down in house Mirabelle Drake 15 Seconds and back of me Yeah, but after Drake hadn't shot himself There was a third shot just as I rounded the corner of the house, and I saw a tall gaunt guy and overall You had an old-fashioned Springfield rifle in his hand when he saw me he shouldered it Sure, sure Oh, well, I'm pleased to meet you mr. Reagan. I'm sorry I forget it Well now I got to thinking we're pretty isolated out here Mirabelle. What do we could protect? Nothing. There's nothing here except these words. Oh now they're honey. Don't you take on I got you to protect That's a real reason you bought the gun From the look on the sunburned raw bone space that wasn't the real reason out the Drake had bought the Springfield rifle You know about look at each other a minute men Mirabelle's sobbed one smothered it and turn around into the house Hmm. I reckon she's kind of upset mr. Reagan. Yeah, it seems to be well I'll just set this here gun aside See out there can over Now I'd like to show you around my place sure I'd like to see well this away, okay It ain't pretty mr. Reagan I guess I'm what the psychologist at the University back home in Arkansas used to call failure prone I've lost my wife's beauty prize money on these worms. That's what changed this Worm raising sounded a little complicated the way Mirabelle explained it to me. Oh, but it ain't now I'll show you now Here's the vegetable lug boxes. I raise them in mr. Reagan Hmm under the gunny sack. Yeah, that's correct Stacks of lug boxes and then all you need is the cans of water and the tub of acid boxes water acid Hmm. No mr. Reagan I can't agree with Mirabelle that the breeding of worms is exactly complicated for the $5,000 I gave mr. Myron Biloxi a year ago. I got me 500,000 worms 5,000 bucks 500,000 worms that cost me one cent of worms that add well worms is valuable and ricks of soil people buy them for the Gardens mr. Reagan. I heard now 500,000 worms produced one million 500,000 eggs capsules at the end of the first month But don't stop now when the egg capsules mature in three months mr. Reagan and each capsule produces round about one to twenty worms So allowing for Fatalities to the young you begin to harvest two and a half million worms a month after the fourth month Like you said not complicated Of course in the eighth month the first harvest of two and a half million worms is produced 15 million youngins and the next month with the first 500,000 worms and the first and second harvest of two and a half million worms all Producing concurrently you get yourself 27,500,000 worms Then after that the figures begin to get big oh, yeah, they do mr. Reagan Every one of those worms is worth one cent. Yeah, that's so Come to a decent profit in a year's time Well deducting one six of the growth for cost and six and a quarter million dollars on a $5,000 investment in one year. Oh, that sounds fair enough That's what I thought when mr. Myron Biloxi explained it to me and told me the worms He guaranteed me a thousand percent profit or money back But now I got me seven hundred and twenty four million head of worms here on the right mr. Reagan and I can't sell them Market won't absorb that much and I can't locate mr. Myron Biloxi to get that their money back That's why I begin to think that mr. Biloxi Whaddle me, you know Drake. I think you may be right The first step in putting to be on the worm king Myron Biloxi was to find him Maybe that wouldn't be easy down to the worm deal. He was slick mean Mirabelle Drake and her husband couldn't help me much just a description Myron Biloxi and team prosperous was about 60 kindly round face I Got ten bucks from Arthur Drake against expenses and he had to go down deep for that Then I drove back down sound of the lion detective Bureau office Lion had news for me. Oh, here you are Jeffrey. I'm glad to see you. What's up, Lyon the Mirabelle Drake just telephoned Yeah, what's wrong? I just left there. Oh, she was terribly upset Jeffrey nearly hysterical her husband's disappeared I told the lion to check the regular channels missing persons Monko squad files try to get a lion on the guy who's real name might or might not be Myron Biloxi Then I got out to a ranch of Rosano fast Like the lion said Mirabelle was nearly hysterical I had to let her cry off the first wave of tears before she was calm enough to make sense Listen lady the past you give me what happened the past I get started to find your husband. Yes How long has he been gone Yeah, I lay down in the bed fell asleep when you woke up. He was gone Well, maybe he had to go somewhere store get some supplies for his worms. No, no, no, sure. Oh, yeah He didn't take the car It's a three or four mile walk to any place at all from here That's how I know Walked up in the hills Just try to relax Mirabelle. I'll look around the place and see if I can turn up a lead I Walked out back of the house. No sign of art. I Started poking around the lug box as the worms were kept in Just pulling some of the gunny sack coverings off when Mirabelle came out No, not yet you better wait in the house lady. No, no, I can't okay Right Yeah Yeah, that's right Look Mirabelle, come on and get busy helping uncover these stacks of lug boxes. We may find something Start on that section over there. All right Yeah, check down between the box of the rifle could be there Never mind Oh Your husband hasn't gone off someplace to shoot himself. That's right. Oh, thank you the rifle down here back at these boxes But then if Arthur didn't go off to shoot himself What I'm wondering myself Why did he disappear? Hey, the thing you start uncover over there. That's not a vegetable lug box It's under the gun is sacking like the other sure but look Not the same shape and the surface under the sacking the top surface of these lug boxes is flat flat Wormy earths straight across from edged edge that gun is that bumpy something bumpy surface tundra Stay here. No, stay here. Let's see That's it All right, come on This Wine it's a pleasure Yes, yes it does the bottle made the lumps and the gun is sacking and this against the case of wine just in sacking Have to give a thing the shape of Of a covered up body Might have been there Let's have a look at one of these bottles. They look pretty old And I can't understand Arthur spending money on wine Now when we have so little no expert but it figures this wine cost dough look here at the label Robertson special vintage port Bottle that Villanova de Gaia, Portugal near 1892 The others are the same 12 bottles One case of port wine 58-year-old vintage Mr. Regan, I remember enough from when we had money and Arthur used to buy wine You know that that must be So maybe somebody gave it to him Maybe we can find out who Okay, you can stop staring at the petty girl and get the work This is Regan skip that Did you locate myron velocity line? Okay, listen lion two things first phone lieutenant Sanducci at the homicide department Well, it's not that I want Sanducci to do something unofficially Ask him to get to the right guy in the highway patrol division and have a couple of squad cars from the El Segunda Playa del Rey region start combing the section from around the Century Boulevard South And it begins to look that way he's tall lean-faced about 35 now if they find him They can ride him to a substation on some pretext and phone me now the other thing lion Start phoning wine merchants find out all you can about Robertson's pork wine vintage of 1892 Don't drown in her tears. I'll explain the whole thing to you in 40 minutes. I'm starting back to the office now Oh, I am the best lead We've got to go on so far as that case of port wine now if it costs enough and was bought anywhere around LA the wine Merchant who sold it ought to remember that could help. Yes. Yes, I see that We got anything on it yet. Well, this port wine is expensive very expensive That help it happens Jeffrey that there's a wine merchant in Beverly Hills who specializes in fine wines of that sort I I've located him Jeffrey. He'll be returning my telephone call any minute. Okay, Pat So good work. Oh, you got in touch with Sanducci. Well, naturally. I did Jeffrey so you could fix it So some cops will put the search on after Drake. Yeah, well, then we're rolling. I got it It'll be your Beverly Hills wine guy calling back Hello, lion detective friggin talking sure go ahead Yeah Yeah Okay, thanks Well, my boy, was he able to help you wasn't the wine guy the cops One of the squad car Sanducci had looked around the El Caguna area stopped at Rancho Grisano throughout the Drake's place They found Drake, but that's good Jeffrey. Uh-huh They found him bent bevel and shoved into the vat of acid. He kept out in back of his house dead lion murdered I Got back out to Rancho Grisano fast after the phone call came from the cops that my client Mirabelle Drake's husband Have been found in a vat of acid out there murdered But I didn't get there before Lieutenant Sanducci of the LA homicide department Reagan This is break tells me she's a client of yours It checks with the phone call from Anthony lion that sent the boys out here. Mrs. Drake hired me to find a guy named Myron Baloxi Sanducci. Oh, yes I feel he's responsible for all this somehow She must have What about this Biloxi? Let me swindle Drake kind of to start this worm farm took five grand off him. You located Biloxi yet now Well, it looks like a pretty clear thing here, Regan by mrs. Drake's own story Her husband was shot shot shot Regan. I just can't see how he could have been shot Mr. Regan As I told you I'd fallen asleep But I'm a light sleeper And if anyone inspired a shot, I'm sure I would have heard it That's a damaging admission mrs. Drake. It may be But it's the truth the deceased was shot with an old spring field Artist guns the wrap of you and I found down behind the lugbox is an hour and a half of gold You uh, you sure the spring field did the job Sanducci the bullet entered the heart and lies in the left venus room The body's not a pleasant thing after being in that acid region and it just happened that the blast was close enough to Sanducci, I get the picture I'm not a tougher captain. I have to be Regan sure sure. I know anyway. We got the bullet with an old timer Chances are 999 to a thousand that it was fired by the spring field. Yeah, sure Drake seems to think her husband committed suicide. Yes, I do She talked about being afraid he would when she came to the office to hire me But that wouldn't account for her not hearing the shot and even if it would I would find it hard to believe a man could bend himself double And shove himself down into a vat of acid with a bullet lodged in the left ventricle of his heart See what you mean The mrs. Drake I haven't any choice except to hold you on suspicion of murder Sanducci took her off the headquarters. I drove to the nearest phone Go mirror bell drake was proved guilty. She was still my client This is the lion detective bureau Yeah, uh, I wonder if you've got anything on You happen to sell it to a guy named myron baloxi Not the starboard Skip it. Listen, I have the record about the name and address of the buyer Thanks I phoned the lion told him to call the agricultural extension service told him to golly could on worms And every piece of equipment needed for the care and raising Then I drove out to bel-air One royal road was a king size cottage of 40 rooms Tile terracotta palms Swimming pool off to the right great dane chained on the left There was Lincoln continental park in the drive mississippi license I got a cute idea They got a town in mississippi named aloxi Now if a guy takes on a phony name for some reason He gets the idea of what phony name to use from some place Hmm Doorbell was the tongue of a devil and when you pull the tongue the eyes lit up red What answer the door would have made anybody's eyes light up How do you do it? It was the only woman I'd ever seen who'd have beaten mirror bell drake in a beauty contest Red hair cleaning clear skin A little hearty maybe Reagan's the name Mrs. Baloxi Set inside, please Thanks This way Sure I was about to have tea. Won't you join me? Lonely you know tea by oneself by oneself with two cups Oh There are two cups. I was expecting someone your husband. Maybe. Oh, no, he's out of town Sure, yes Do sit down to read Thanks May I pour you tea? Be better iced Big fire you got down at the other in the room Yes The day seemed quite chilly Not to me Mrs. Baloxi How odd of you to persist in calling me that You know that I am Mrs. Diana Park. Oh, I think that's your real name I'll pour you tea It's really rather good to know we English are partial to tea Like you are to pork wine Yes As we are Your team Thanks If you'll excuse me a moment Diana got up from the tea table and left the room in a hurry Her mask dropped just for a second as she stood up then you could see she was scared worried I went to the window looked out The Lincoln Continental with the Mississippi license was still on the drive The big great Dane was tugging at his chain barking. That was all I figured I had another 40 50 seconds I wanted to know about that fire in the grave on a hot day So that's it burning letters There was a packet of letters in the fire. I raked it out. One of the middle letters hadn't burned yet It was a love letter to Diana in a man's handwriting I read the signature brushed the ash off the letter and stuck the letter in my pocket I checked the window again. Diana was out in front trying to quiet the great Dane I kept an eye on her from behind a drape and picked up a telephone dialed the lion Lion this has got to be quick Did you get that stuff? I asked you to from the agricultural extension people about raising and taking care of worms Later lion What did they give you on the equipment for raising worms? You sure that's all Okay, lion, thanks They're not mr. Regan. I must apologize. They haven't been so long Don't Don't it helped I'm afraid I don't you uh seen the afternoon papers No, but I have heard the wireless About those flying saucers you mean I mean about Arthur drake the worm grower getting murdered Uh Arthur drake cut it, you know him your husband going under the name of marion baloxi took him for 5 000 bucks sold him worms Can you conceive mr. Regan that I might not know all my husband's sure, but you knew Arthur drake probably met him through the worm deal That doesn't matter. You met him Maybe it was the old story opposite the track Anyhow you and Arthur drake fell in love that's a you gave him a present expensive Robertson's pork wine 1892 vintage You bought it inspector specter inspector inspector and bevelly hills That case of wines at drakes house now That's the kind of evidence will stand up in court Very well I knew Arthur drake. What are they? Yes This letter I say from the fire is a love letter from drake to you. Let me have that evidence, baby You know, uh, if your husband had happened to find a letter like this Could have made him quickly sore at drake Are you inferring my husband murdered Arthur drake? I didn't say that I told you that my husband's out of town He's been away since yesterday and Arthur drake was alive this morning. That's right. He was No, it's my turn. Excuse me a minute. Where are you going to somebody else in this house? And I'd like to talk to him sit still listen, baby You're not very good at this game I'd overcross the tea table got half a cup of tea in my lap, but I got diana's gun Then I took off with the other part of the house where I knew I'd find somebody hiding 10 seconds later. I pulled up beside a heavy door. It was locked, but there was movement behind it Diana caught up while I was standing to one side trying my skeletons on the lock for size No, no, don't go in there. I lied to mr. Riga. My husband's not out of town. No stand back, baby I want to work on this lock. No, you mustn't go in there My husband my husband's desperate. He'll kill you. You think your one murder on his hands is enough. Is that it? Yes. Yes You're a tough lock to make So then I guess it was your husband the second he placed the set for when I came in Yes, of course. Yeah, and was he the one the dog barked at? Yes. Yes You know, that's a careful watchdog you've got the bark of its own master like that. Well, the dog is sure sure You know diana this key's gonna work. No, don't go in there. He'll shoot you I don't think so. I think it was his gun. You tried to use on me a minute ago All right, rake get your hands up over your head Right, can I better do just what you say mr. Reagan? He passed on your gun to diana which he slipped out to see you a couple of minutes ago He wanted her to get rid of me one way or another before I saw you saw you alive when you're supposed to be dead Okay, drake I got the gun now You got no choice but to do what I say. You're right about that mr. Reagan I know when I'm brief That was it The guy in the acid wasn't Arthur drake at all. It was the guy known as Biloxi Drake shot him hid the body Then today drake staged a disappearance before he left while maribel was sleeping He put the body in the vat of acid He figured it would be found and with the condition it would be in there'd be no way to tell it wasn't him He'd be declared legally dead and under a new name begin life all over with diana somewhere I phoned sanducci at homicide turned Arthur drake over and started out to find the lion Lion what are you doing at home? Why aren't you at the office? Jeffrey come back tomorrow. I'm very busy busy Lion I wrapped up the Arthur drake murder they're letting mirabelle drake go No, well good work my boy. Well, why don't you answer your phone? And I've been phoning the office trying to tell you that the case is closed Well, I may be in the office tomorrow Maybe yes, you can tell me all about the case then lion Don't you even want to know who did the murder? Oh, oh, yes. Yes, of course. I do did it Arthur drake. That's interesting. So that was it So Arthur drake murdered Arthur drake Jeffrey that's impossible. Well, it was your detective work that clinched it lion You don't say so I do the worm equipment lion You found out from the agricultural extension people what it takes to raise him. Yes No tub of acid was included So that vat of acid drake had a display didn't have anything to do with worm breathing It was for the disposal of the husband of the woman drake was in love with Guy who used the phony name of myron balaxi. I see Imagine all this from my detective work with the agricultural extension people sure lion You know jeffrey. I'm glad drake was a criminal. Yeah, it reassures me I'd already found out he was a very poor businessman. He wasn't swindled at all about the worms. I mean No, no, no, I was talking with the agricultural extension people. You see jeffrey I wonder if you have any conception of the fantastic financial possibility You know what's that jeffrey? Oh nothing, man. Go on. Yes. Well, hey, come over here jeffrey I was just fixing up these vegetable love boxes here. You see I see Do you know jeffrey 500 worms five dollars worth at one cent of worm You see will produce still at a value of one cent for each worm 40 000 worms in the tenth month 110 000 worms in the eleventh month and in the twelfth month alone five hundred and twenty Jeff reagan investigator is written by william fifell produced and directed by sterling tracy And stars frank grayham as reagan with frank nelson as anthony j lion Original music is by dick aron Jeff reagan investigator is heard each week at the same time bob stevensson speaking and inviting you to be with us Again for more suspense and mystery and adventure with jeff reagan investigator