 The American Broadcasting Company presented Pat Novak for hire. I'm Pat Novak for hire. Down on the San Francisco waterfront, the only use they have for sentiment is to pick your pocket while you're saluting the flag. If you hang out around there as long as I have, you'll even learn to sleep with one hand on the cash box. So I wasn't expecting any cascade of lilies when Joe Adams drove down to Pier 19. He'd phone that he was in a hurry and would stop by and pick me up in his car. He'd said he had a quick job for me to do. That was about all I knew about him. I wasn't worried about that either. In my work, you get used to odd-shaped hires, including those from guys who look like a bundle of twigs with shoes on and drove like they owned the keys to the city. Novak, this is a soft buck. All you gotta do is watch it join. If you keep driving through red lights like that, we'll both end up looking at the ceiling in the morgue. So I disagree with the traffic department. Look, the joints in North Beach, Malaya Street, here's the number. I wrote it down. So you can read and write. What do you mean? What's a pitch? You afraid of mice? No, and there's no extra cards in this deck. Yeah? So far it makes about as much sense as an eight-finger glove. Look, I have to meet a guy in Los Angeles. I have much time to make my plane. I lost my keys, so I had to bust in the door to get into my place. It was too late to get a locksmith. So I want you to watch it until I get back tomorrow. Is that hard? The way you're driving, breathing's hard. You scare easy. I scare plenty. I like to live. Give me a good reason. You wouldn't understand. You expect visitors tonight? Look, I've got some stuff that I'd like to see around when I get back. And stop trying to read between the lines in a steal. It's all in the black tight. You can say that about a funeral speech. You still worried about the way I drive? No. Only why take a plane when this is faster. Okay, if you can stop shaking long enough to walk, you can start here. On the way back, I'll look for your brains. Grab a cab. I'll pick up the check for it. And don't knock. Go right in. I'll be seeing you. Probably in four pieces. And keep awake, will you? Some of my neighbors would steal the handle off a blind man's cup. Don't worry. I'll keep both eyes open. You sound like you're saying one thing and thinking something else. About keeping awake? Yeah, what's worrying? You're ghost? I'm not buying this show the way you're staging it. Something sour in the deal. Yeah, that's all right, too. Just as long as you don't get any fancy ideas of making me the patsy. Boy, you do scare easy. Yeah, and I pay off bomb debts, too. Now I'm getting scared. So long, sucker. Adam's Joy turns out to be one of those walk-up flats. A nice wooden place that made you want to run for the firebox every time someone dropped his cigarette ash on the floor. The door was smashed around the lock all right, and the lights were out. And I found a switch and began to look around. It showed four rooms full of fancy furniture and decorations that made you wonder about Adam's private life. After I found out where the whiskey was located and pried three cushions loose from the easy chair, I looked around for something to do. There was a bookcase full of mystery stories, and this and that. When I passed the mysteries out without studying them, I knew that in every one of them, the detective would come out on top. And I knew four private eyes who'd started out on just such trails and ended up in urns and cypress lawn. There was one book with a purple cover called Reckless Moon Life with pictures. I was on page 30 with pictures when I was interrupted. They were too manly to make me glad. I jumped across the room and switched off the lights, and I stood just inside the door and waited. He didn't even knock. He came right in. From the back, he looked big enough to be a 10-ton trailer. He was fumbling in his pocket when I broke up the act. I'd chill up on the pocket-picking. This is a gun in your back. If you're sure you'll hit a policeman's badge, think that over. There's housebreak in a sideline with you, Helman. I'd know that voice in a nightmare. They blame gangsters for the crime way. They don't know where to look. Just stand still, sweetheart, till I get my flange working. Do you want to borrow some burglar tools? I'm better manners than right now. Where I come from, better manners started with knocking before you come cramming through a door. Where you came from, they didn't have doors, just a damp rock. What's the idea of turning out the lights? How could I tell who was coming? You don't smell that bad. Will you tell me why you're here or do I bounce it out of you? Don't worry. You can't parlay it into anything to tell a judge. A guy named Adams lives here. He had to get in in a hurry, broke the lock, grabbed some things and headed for the airport. He hired me to watch the place till he gets back tomorrow. That bulldog that wants your steak? You don't like his story, huh? What do you want, mad musician? You're mad enough without music. Tell me more. That's all there is till you started whipping in the fancy trimmings. I could see that and raise it without even string. You couldn't raise a rumpus on New Year's Eve. No. And how about the murder of Thomas Van Dyke? I must have looked surprised. Helman was pleased and mysterious. He kept prowling around the house, looking at books, up on shelves and behind the furniture like he expected to find Van Dyke's body there. In the meantime, he filled me in on the case. Van Dyke had been a heavy money operator in show business, sports promotions and such. He ran around with a mink and diamond crowd and did enough charity work on the side to build up a reputation for being a pillar of the community. Everyone was surprised when he turned up dead, including the police. Someone had shot him without leaving any signature on the job. The case had remained unsolved for almost a year. Of course, at the speed of Helman thought he might have just found out about it. Now he was passing out hints the thing had grown hot again. I was checking through the evidence and found I ran across something with Miss Grand Piano. Some stuff in the diary. Have you been messing around in these books? Is that why you're here? To borrow a book? The diary didn't make any sense at the time of the death, but we turned up a vag the other day who worked with Van Dyke and some of his underground connections. Now Van Dyke's the king of the thieves. And I put together the stuff this vag told us with some of the things in the diary and it began to look like pay dirt. It's a book missing. The Rover Boys, it's over your head, Helman. Death in Harold Square, it's called. And don't play that innocent routine too hard or you'll tear it out. You're making about as much sense as a pig in a candy store. The vag tied this address into one of the clues. How do you like them apples? I wouldn't buy them a ten cents of craze. Look bright eyes, I don't like waterfront punks sticking their guns in my back in the dark. I don't like you messing in this racket. Are you unhappy, nervous, run down? You keep your nose out of this scamper, Novak. And if you think that's just a lot of breath, try me. Why should I leave this house just because you're having a nervous decline? Don't think I'm buying that routine about some guy hiring you to watch his clothes while he went flying. You got a lead in this murder and you're trying to track it down. How much is the reward again? Ten thousand dollars. Who said anything about a reward? So that's why you're nervous. Keep out of this Novak, I'm warning you. You're hot for the payoff. I should have known you wouldn't get up off your fat. I'm giving you one more chance to get out, Novak. I was hard to do a job, Helman, remember? All right, wise guy, come on. Open the closet. Your nose is itch and open it yourself. Okay, Novak. See any men's clothes in there? Not in this year's style. Snap it up, Novak. Haven't you remembered by now that Joe Adams with the girl... All right, so the guy dealt me a joker. I don't mean I'm trying to crash your party. The name Louis here is named Dotto Sandberg and she ate lonely. But you're gonna be Novak soon. Dotto Sandberg. Maybe she'll come to see you in jail. You're not booking me, Helman. I told you to stay out of this, Novak. You got nothing on me but a nervous twitch because you think I might beat you to that reward. I got nothing on you. Except house breaking. Come on down to the station. Uh-uh, deal me out. You want to argue? Hey, hey, who turned out the lights? I'm getting to like that Adams or somebody. Stand where you are, Novak. Sorry, Helman. I just remembered a date with 10,000 bucks. Helman chased me, but the way he's built, he didn't have a prayer. He hit the street, doubled around a couple of corners. I couldn't even hear him. And I got back my breath. I walked along for a while and tried to put what I had together. Anyway, I looked at it. One thing was clear. Joe Adams had played me for a country boy in some setup that had a whole lot more in it than showed on the table. I needed to see Adams to square that deal, but something Helman told me seemed even more important. I liked the idea of trying my chances of cutting me to that $10,000 reward for Van Dyke's death. All I had to work on was a dame called Dodo Sandberg in a book called Death in Harold Square. I looked at the clock in front. I still had time to make it to the main library before it closed for the night, so I headed that way. When I got in the place at the Civic Center, it took the librarians quite a bit of scrambling around to get the book, but they finally turned it up just before closing time. I tucked it under my arm and started out of the place when the dame fell in step beside me. A nice set of curves tucked away in one of those new-style dresses with so many extra built-in bumps it looked like a sack of potatoes. Didn't I meet you in Scarsdale? The shy type. I used to be. I outgrew it. Keep right on growing somewhere else. You have to be that way? My hobby's book. I noticed. That's why I wanted to meet you. I like the books you choose. Before I pick that up, what's your name? Dodo Sandberg. Watch out for the stairs. So you're after the book too? I didn't say that. I know. It's my fascinating personality. A very good friend of mine wrote that book. Does my reading it strain your eyes or something? That's very interesting. Now let's talk about you. You've got a round, don't you? What do you mean by that? I became a Joe Adams. That's a question for his mother to worry about, Patsy. I don't mind helping her. Do they have to be mothers? You need help like Midas needs do. There's help and help. What if a girl's lonely? You aren't built for the job. Let's get back to Adams in the book. Adams is no problem. He lives at the Standard Hotel on Polk Street. A careless isn't he to forget that. And how did you suddenly get a yen to read Death and Harold Square? The cop told me about it. Why? Because there's a better book on the same subject. It's called Death Waits Ahead. Am I supposed to turn that into some kind of warning? Could be. And here's a sample of what I mean. She worked fast and smooth as a piston. There was some kind of judo, I guess. I was too busy falling to be sure. The stairs didn't help any. By the time I picked myself up, she was out of sight. And there was a book. I sat there a while and thought about women. And I went back to the library desk. I didn't buy me anything. It seems they only had one copy of the book. It wasn't popular, they said. And I seemed anxious about getting a copy. They sent me to a bookstore on 3rd Street, which stayed open late. By the time I got there, there was nobody in the place except one of the hired help, looking bored by the cash register. I asked him for the book and he quit looking bored and he began to look nervous. He said he didn't have the book. He never heard of it and they were closing anyway. Whatever the guy was, he didn't have a card in the actors' union. I guess Crowley realized that as soon as I did. When I said I'd look around anyway, a curtain twitched in the back of the place and he came out. A big guy with a nasty disposition. You could do better than that. Did someone send you to tell me how to live? You're looking for death in Harold Square? Words all over town. You ought to be out eating something instead of nosing around where you're not wanted. You ever heard of the prisoner eating a hearty breakfast? That's a warning. You're a third in line. Yeah, who else is interested? Our cop and a dame. Get a team up and work it into three-part harmony. When they warned you, they were just trying to act like bad news. When I warn you, it's certified. You don't look eight feet tall. Put some meat on your skeleton. My name is Pete Crowley. Do you ever hear of me? I must read the wrong funny papers. You can say that about a sewer pipe. Something's making you twitch. Trot it out where I can see it. Dodo Sandberg tells me you got your nose up in the air over the Vendac killing. Does that worry you? I'm hiding right now in Mexico. What's the death's head routine for? Before you run to the cups of the finger, listen carefully. I picked up Vendac's rackets when he dropped them. They pay off very nicely. I like the way they're moving along. I don't want you or any of the eager beavers from the Kearney Street Station with their nose over the apple car. I came here for a book. You don't look like it. Also, I don't like anybody bothering Dodo. And that includes Sailor Salesman and smart guys looking for a new home. She doesn't want anybody ringing her bell telling her to take the sides out of her windows. You look like a fairly bright boy. Take a tip. Fade out of this scramble while you're still in mobile. And if I don't stick around and I'll show you my muscles, I'd rather look at Dodo's. Two of my muscles used to be wrestlers. Think it over. It began to look more and more like trouble doubled in spades. I began to get the feeling if I planned to sit in the game anymore it was time to start counting up the cards and seeing how the mirrors were placed. The best guy for that sort of work was an old alcoholic friend of mine called Jaco Madigan. Jaco was a one-time doctor around town who gave up his practice when he learned that alcohol made him feel better even when he wasn't sick. Finding him was like taking a phone survey on bars. I pitched a strike at a fifth when I tried. First, he didn't like the idea of movement but when I told him I was falling from a third street bar, he said he'd have a cab. He came in while I was working on my second drink. That's him, my boy. I'm glad to see you, both of you. Or is that only two heads? I could use to. That's an involved way of saying you're in trouble. Goodbye. Listen, Jaco. I got my foot in the door of a deal and all you got your foot in is a dirty shoe, Patsy. And with your usual luck, you'll probably end up with Hellman stepping on it. He stepped on it already. Oh, he did? Good. How is the old walrus anyway? That's what I've been trying to tell you. I bounced into him tonight and he was hot on the trail of the man who knocked off Van Dyke a year ago. They're safe. Hellman couldn't put his finger on a fire eater in the darkened room. What do you know about a book called Death in Herald Square? What do you know about the home life of the macrosophallus peony bombics? As I was saying before Thirst choked me off, some people collect seashells, some raise dogs, some go after goldfish or matchbox covers or pretty women, but not Patsy Novak. Oh, no. Patsy's different. Patsy wants to collect murders. Did you ever hear of the book? What book? You're talking too fast. Death in Herald Square. Van Dyke's murder ties into it somehow. You talk sense, Patsy. Is it enough without you jabbering nonsense? Nonsense. I'm not on the right trail. Why have I been warned off three times already, including a threat from Pete Crowley? Are you asking me? Look, Chaco, there's $10,000 reward for the murderer. Why didn't you tell me that 10 minutes ago and avoid all this verbiage? If you'd get your nose out of that whiskey bottle, you'd... Oh, skip the greeting, son. Let's get on to the money matters. What do you want me to do? It's an old book. You know where to find it. I'll grab the dice. I know just how to get it. A friend of mine in the pen handle has a small bookstore and home distillery. Listen, there's a Joe Adams fit in there somewhere. See what you can get on him, will you? Do go on. You fascinate me. Two other people were nervous about me since the thing broke. One is Crowley and the other is Dodo Sandberg. It seems to be tied to Crowley somehow. Can you get a check on him for me? For $10,000, I can get a count on the fillings in their teeth. Is this Dodo Sandberg pretty? Why? I wonder no way you'll be in case I have to phone. So long, lover. I paid for Jaco's drinks and went out to the standard hotel. The room clerk gave me Joe Adams' number. He looked a little worried when he told me that that could have been about a new boss or an old girlfriend. It could have, but it wouldn't. Adams' room was on a fourth floor and when I reached there in the elevator, Hellman almost ran over me trying to get in the cage. He was a nice salmon pink and panting like a bloodhound on a deer trail. He had a gun in one fat hand, a mouth full of verbs and adjectives. Every time I turn a corner... Who are you expecting, Princess Elizabeth? Where did he go? You better shift to the overdrive. You're racing your motor. Where's Adams, Novak? Don't start testing your muscles on me, Hellman. You must think I'm your wife. This ain't Playland, Novak. Adams just left his room. Where is he? I'm not in the mood for company, Hellman. You're going to talk. You're going to talk plenty. What's all the pushing around about? Adams told me he hired you to knock me off. Yeah, and you believed it. I know you don't work that way, but I wouldn't put it beyond you to pretend to go along with the proposition as long as you could milk a few dollars out of Adams. With your head, it's a wonder you don't believe it that I did it. With my head, I remember that if you were written in a darkened apartment with a gun when I came in, that you ran out on me and that you show up now just when Joe Adams is escaping. You put two and two together and get twenty-two. You're just a sort of a lousy conniving... What about Adams? Is he the turkey that knocked off Van Dyke? I started to dial the phone to call the wagon to take... I thought I told you to forget the Van Dyke murder. You're full of towel, Hellman. Is Adams a one? Pin this into your hat, Norvac. I'm closing in on the one who did it, and I don't need you to help with the net. Like you closed in on Adams? Just let me stumble over you once more before I close this up, and I'll bet my badge I'll put you where you'll stand still. And it could be Adams. Do you hear what I said? Yeah, I heard prices are going down too, but I haven't noticed it. I can fix that. You're going to a place where the feed is on the house. Don't give me any more of that jail talk, Hellman, I need to come in with some paper. All I need to put you in a cage is a key. Let's go. I'll get him. You stay where you are, Norac. He must think I'm a boy scout. That was screwy. I was twice, Hellman, to try to jail me, and twice someone had fixed a breakaway. Anyway, you looked at that, it still meant somebody wanted me in circulation for some reason. Unless you believed in good ferries, a reason wouldn't be nice. If I guessed hard, I could make it relate somehow to the Van Dyke killing. But all I had for a trail on that was three people being nervous and a hard to get mystery book. And the way Adams saved me from Hellman, he looked like a good man to know more about and fast. I knew that after the gun work in the hotel, I'd have to find him somewhere else. The only other lead I had on him was through Dodo. I headed back to her place on Valeo Street. When she opened the door, she looked like something to fit in a fireplace had. She was wearing a negligee thin enough to roll up and stuff in a pipe. You bounce back fast. You grow on me. What do you want? Van Dyke's murder. Who's Van Dyke? You're a stranger in town, you never heard of him. Come on in, I'm having coffee. Think you can risk drinking some with arsenic and all? I got a strong stomach. You're a nice looking guy, you seem healthy. Why do you want to change? Boy Adams likes to play tricks. If I didn't try to pay him off for the hot foot he gave me, he might feel neglected. Adams is just a flock of nerves looking for some place to break down. Forget him. He tried to put me on a spot where I'd end up killing a cop. The gag-laden egg, nobody's laughing. Cream in your coffee? Yeah. I'm still guessing why he did it unless he killed Van Dyke. Sugar? Look, he didn't just pick this house out of the phone book. That puts you in line to do some explaining. I wouldn't explain how to turn over in bed until I've had a cup of coffee. You aren't shaken where it shows. Are you telling me how to live? I'd have to start with a way you say goodbye on stairways. You didn't learn that trick in a finishing school. It didn't finish you, but that's just because you're adorable. So's my longing for Adams. Where can I find him? I told you Adams don't mean anything, he just acts busy. He's like a fly batting his wings off and ending up in the same place. What place? Do I twist it out of you? Oh, that book, Death and Harold Square. Did you find another copy? That's for tomorrow. Tonight it's Adams. You're wasting your time chasing Adams. Concentrate on the book. I'm spreading my fire. How do I know that book isn't just to come on to get me off the trail? In the book, there was a millionaire businessman just like Van Dyke. He had connections in the rackets just like Van Dyke. He had a partner just like Van Dyke. When do I start panning? If you do, it'll be from running from the cops. That's all I'm giving you about the book. I'll get the rest when I pick one up tomorrow. You'll have a tough time doing that, Novak. The bookstores are all out of copies. You collected them all? Wasn't hard, a car, a telephone, little bustling about. You're real sharp, Crowley, till you start looking at a map. I have friends across the bay. You might try Sacramento or Los Angeles, but that would take some time, wouldn't it? I guess time don't count after tomorrow. Not with what you know, sunny boy. Am I being confusing? You make a good try. Well, this won't confuse you. I thought I told you I didn't like Dodo to be bothered. She needs protection like Jay at your Hoover. And didn't I warn you off this caper? Leave him alone, Crowley. He's harmless. Are you all done in the other room? Yeah. Come on, Novak. I want to make you a little present. There are the books you've been looking for, with only a few pages missing. Yeah, Novak, you can have them. All 50 of them. They're a little scarred, baby, but they'd still make a nice gift. Send them to your friends for Christmas. If any of them can read. You sound like you're ringing down a curtain. That's right. After tonight, you just keep right on guessing. About who killed Van Dyke? No, baby. About how you're going to prove anything. Mind if we sort of run along now? As soon as the lady gets dressed? After they'd gone, I went through the books. Page 187 was torn out of each one of them. I felt like a man in an earthquake. Something told me to run, but I didn't know where to go. Trying to make sense out of what I knew was like trying to put together a drop cake. I wandered around the place till I found a drink. I was just lifting a glass when the telephone rang. Yeah? Who's ahead? You or the moral squad? Everybody's out in front of me, including Dodo and Crowley. Adams is out of sight. You aren't alone? Dodo and Crowley just went out the door. I said goodbye to them and 10,000 bucks. Is Crowley that big or was it the girl? Crowley isn't worried, neither is Dodo. That leaves Adams. Oh, I ran down that book of yours. Crowley said he bought every copy in town. Every copy in the bookstores? My friend remembered where he'd sold one. My friend with the still. We borrowed it. Oh, by the way, Van Dyke wrote the book. Yeah? What's on page 187? A description of Van Dyke's double life fund. Page 187 is a description of the front man, the gangster, a bad writing job. No wonder he didn't sell. Who is it, Fett? It doesn't fit anyone, Patsy. He only said that the person had a star tattooed on his chest. It's a horse. Now, all you've got to do is to get them in a game of strip poker. Get them. They're all gone. Still a good idea, especially if Dodo sat in. So long, lover. Give me Helman. Inspector Helman speaking. I got your killer for you. That's right. Who's this? I'll back you up. Yeah. Don't start bubbling about my nose in your business. Business is picking up. You get Adams? Adams? That's good. No, no, back my stool pigeon. Got it. That fag I was telling you about. That leaves you the only one knowing. $10,000 worth. Don't think I'm coming after you, baby. You can stay there and run. So far, I feel healthy. You think he can drag me off the trail after you by this funny phone call? I know who did it. Oh, no, you don't, Novak, but I do. Yeah, fill it in. I just got a phone tip where they're hanging out. And so they're sending out invitations. I'll even tell you where they are. It's at the beach, near a shooting gallery. I've got a siren in my car. Let's see you beat me out there. It's the first gallery below the ballroom. Look, Helman, you're the only guy alive who knows the whole story. What if this is a gag? Oh, no, Novak. I'm not biting on any of your funny tricks. But listen. Save your breath this sob with when you see me pick up that nice fat check. I thought a while, and suddenly the thing fell together like a winning poker hand. As soon as I saw it, I started running for my car. I don't know how it happened, but I beat him out there. I went along the bridge arterials. And they're widened fast by stealing a flock of red lights and nicking the paint off a couple of fenders. I was out through the procedure and over to Golden Gate Park in no time at all. When I hit the beach, it was foggy and empty. I was only one guy in the shooting gallery. When I got up near him, it turned out to be Crowley. He had a rifle in his hands. And he saw me first down the barrel of the gun. Don't back up, Novak. Come on in. We're looking for Adams, weren't you? I was looking for a lot of things. He's here behind the counter. Look on the floor. And did you kill him? Those bullet holes could be 22s. Yeah, I killed him. Justice, I'll kill you if you've got any fancy ideas like trying to grab a gun. What are you saving me for, Christmas? Yeah, you dress up that joint. I want Helman to walk into the trap just like you did. That's why I'm shooting at the targets. Like this. Bullseye. I'm good. You have to be good to get away with killing a cop. I hired Adams to do it. But he thought he'd get smart and frame you into the rep. That's why he hired you. Did he expect me to kill Helman that night? Well, that's one of his bright ideas. He's full of bright ideas, or he was. And Mr. Smart, he'd still be breeding. That's really very simple. Helman got on the trail. And he was the only one in town who knew there was a trail. So he had to be killed. He ain't dead yet. You're betting a 22 against a police special. I'm live bait. You ought to see the gun Dodo has in the car. You're gonna drag Galtier, huh? He'll be watching me and I'll be watching you. Let's see you beat that hand. You're forgetting the books. We're forgetting nothing. The books don't mean anything unless you put it together with what Helman knows. Helman and his stool pigeon. Stool's dead. And here comes Helman. Adam's thought of everything, including mirrors. You thought of everything, except a quarter. What for? To pay for the reload on that gun. These other guns are only loaded. You win a cigar, Helman. You got it. She'd have had me if you didn't spray the windshield. One was the deal. While you were creeping up on Crowley, Dodo was gonna pat you on the back. Crowley? Where's Adam? He quit the game. Crowley helped him. Come on. Crowley's coming to you. Don't worry. He won't like these odds. What odds? 38 to 22. There wasn't much of a trial. Crowley got a gas chamber. I got 10,000 bucks. The tax collector took half. Jaco got some and there was even some left for me. Oh yeah, Dodo was the one who killed Van Dyke. She and Crowley were sort of a team. She was the contact and the real boss. Helman never knew how I was so sure. I never told him. I thought it was a man, too. Till Jaco told me about the killer being tattooed. After that, it was easy. That negligee at Dodo's only left one thing to wonder about. That was how she kept warm. And now an important announcement for your listening pleasure. Pat Novak for hire and all your KGO programs will come to you by the new power of 50,000 watts. Here's what that means for this program, for instance. Pat Novak will reach a million new listeners all the way from the state of Washington to the Mexican border. The new power and the new transmitter, the finest science can build or money can buy, will make KGO the most powerful station on the west coast. This is ABC The American.