 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar Tom Bates, mr. Dollar. Oh good morning, mr. Bates There's nothing like starting the day with a good fight that is not my intention at all good I was beginning to think he went around in a permanent state of illigurancy only when I see a so-called insurance Investigator out to frame an innocent girl anybody. I know Look dollar will you be available at two this afternoon to interview miss Parker? I've been available for two days She's the one who hasn't been she was in no condition to see anyone However, dr. Praley is releasing her in an hour. She's going on home. All right. Tell her I'll see her too It won't be necessary to tell her you'll go out there with me and you'll talk to her in my presence like that Huh you can't take it or leave it. Oh, I'll take it mr. Bates, and you know something I think I'll still be able to tag her tonight and every week day night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with The action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Yes, truly Johnny dollar From special investigator Johnny dollar location Green Pass, Virginia to the home office surety mutual insurance limited Hartford, Connecticut Assignment the qui bono matter Expense account continued Item 12 a dollar and 80 cents for a late and leisurely breakfast in the hotel coffee shop Leisurely because I had nothing to do but kill time I covered every possible lead I could think of and the result zero The simple facts of the case were that Dan Parker the local county attorney had returned unexpectedly from a business trip late at night And at his darkened home and had been shot to death as a prowler by his daughter Luanne Coroner's verdict accidental death. I'm out of insurance $100,000 beneficiary Luanne Parker Why don't you give up dollar admit you're wrong wrong about what about thinking you've got a chance of beating Miss Parker out of her insurance money Oh, so that's what I'm trying to do, huh? That's what your company pays you for isn't it to find some angle some Technicality that they can use to break the claim No, they pay me for the unpleasantness of having to put up with bull-headed acting County attorneys, mr. Bates Sure, you'd lot rather question that girl without me being around Bates I'd rather do anything without you being around. Well the feeling is mutual. I just can't quite figure you Usually I get complete cooperation from the local prosecutor's office But you've tried to block every move I've made here. I'm protecting Miss Parker's rights. That's all her rights haven't been challenged I'm not out to get her if I'm convinced that she's innocent and that her claim is legitimate I'll report it that way all the company wants is the facts Look, I'm not hired as a claim-breaker and of course, you know that you've dealt with insurance cases before So I wonder what the real reason is for your attitude suppose you tell me well You're in love with her of course and that itself could be the explanation Or maybe it's only part of it mean in what? Maybe you know more about it than you've admitted Maybe you know she's guilty and I'm trying to cover up for I know she's innocent sir or uh, it's possible Your motives are a little more selfish Maybe she's covering up for you What do you mean by that? It's that old Latin phrase qui bono who benefits who gains through Parker's death his daughter does of course She gets the insurance But so do you Bates in what way you got Parker's job, didn't you and along with it the chance to run Sammy Drake out Of town without Parker stopping you and in the long run if Lou Ann marries you you'll get a good part of the insurance Are you accusing me of murder? No just speculating But it's an interesting possibility Don't you think so any particular subjects? I should avoid mr. Bates ask anything you want as long as I'm here to advise Lou Ann This is mr. Dollar from the insurance company. How do you do miss Parker? Mr. Dollar won't you come in? Thank you I guess we better go in the study Mary's clean in the living room In here just sit down anywhere. How do you feel Lou Ann? Oh, I'm all right now A few days after it happened. I I couldn't feel anything but horror self-loathing. I want to kill myself But the last two days I've Well, I've done a lot of thinking About what daddy'd say if he was still here He was a wonderful man mr. Dollar Yes, the whole town seems to agree on that I'd give my life gladly to change what happened But it can't be changed Daddy used to say Lou Ann remorse is only self pity in disguise The future is a question mark. All you have is the present so live it He believed in those ideas mr. Dollar and I'm gonna try to live my life by those beliefs Because I loved him very much I Miss Parker, I have a few things I'd like to ask you in order to complete my report Do you feel up to answering some questions? Yes, of course, whatever you wish I insisted Lou Ann that I'd be present during this interview Why Tom his job is to save money for the insurance company He'll try to trip you up lead you into saying things you don't mean things that could be misinterpreted Tom That's ridiculous. I've nothing to hide of course, hon But he'll make it seem as if you do I'd say you're making it seem that way and for no more reason than just a silly kind of suspicion Lou Ann mr. Dollar would you rather talk to me alone? I think it will work out a little better that way Tom It's been nice to see you. I'm not leaving. Yes. You are leaving right now, honey. You do I said now All right dollar, I guess you will Follow me later Tom He's nice. He means well, but sometimes he can be an awful idiot. Oh his actions are fairly normal for a man in love Oh one who thinks he's in love usually adds up to the same thing Cigarette miss Parker. Oh, thank you Where? What is it you'd like to know mr. Dollar? First let me tell you a few things. I've talked to quite a number of people during the last two days They all worship you In fact only one person in the whole town said anything against you And he's a man whose word on anything would be a little questionable Sammy Drake. I suppose yes Well, I don't know what he said, but I imagine he thought he was being honest You see Sammy's never understood me at all and I guess I have given him a kind of a bad time. How do you mean? But I pretended to take him seriously Most people seem to think of me as a child mr. Dollar, but actually in my attitudes and awareness I'm quite a lot older than my age Of course and I saw right through Sammy the first time I met him He's just a silly little would be tough, but he likes to think of himself as a smooth wicked mobster type So I pretend to go along with it even put on an act of my own in return And what do you think happened? You had another Tom Bates situation on your hands. Yeah, Sammy took me seriously Well, I didn't want any part of that. So of course I ran for cover and he has never forgiven me Well, I guess you can stand having one detractor miss Parker. You got a big team on your side. I like people I guess that's why they usually like me I've had a wonderful life mr. Dollar, and I'm very grateful especially to daddy He did everything possible to make me happy. I think about ask for the moon you to try to get it for me There was one thing though that I understand you disagreed on you mean my wanting to go to New York That's right. I guess the only arguments we ever had was over that If I'd only known how short a time he was gonna be with me I Well didn't matter that much. I felt I was right that the only reason he was against the idea is because he still thought of me as a child Parents usually do that And it just didn't matter enough to To hurt him when he had so little time But you can't go back. I wonder if you would try to go back for just a moment miss Parker And tell me in your own words just what did happen that night? Well, daddy had gone to Richmond on business None of us expected him back that night. All right. Go on. Well, Mary. She's our housekeeper She went to bed early. I read till about 11 then I went to bed and Shortly after midnight something woke me noise down on the terrace I looked down from my window and I saw sort of a dark shape slip across the terrace toward the back of the house I was scared stiff I'd heard prowlers outside twice before during the past month. Yes, the sheriff told me you didn't yes Well, I realized it was up to me cause Mary would have just gone to peace if I'd waked her All I could think of was getting to the phone down at the bottom the stairs When I started out of my room, I could hear somebody fooling with the lock on the back door And that's when I thought of the gun Where was it in the drawer of the night table besides my bed daddy'd put it there himself after the night I heard the prowler, but I'd almost forgotten it. All right, then what did you do? Well, I took the gun. I went back out into upstairs hall All I had in mind even then was to go downstairs and get that phone But when I reached the stairway, I heard someone moving down below and I realized that whoever it was it already got in the house that they were starting up the stairs and I could see just a vague blur dark shape against the shadows I was petrified. I remember thinking he's probably got a gun and Without even stopping to consider I Fired twice down the stairway. Yes, miss Parker. I Heard him Paul. I knew I'd hit him Mary screamed came running out of a room. I found the switch. I turned on the lights and Then I saw what I'd done Was that I'm sorry miss Parker and I'm sorry. It's necessary for you to go back over this. I'll be all right There was one thing that wasn't brought up at the inquest your father apparently tried to make a phone call from the railroad station that night And he told the agent all he was getting was a busy signal Could he have been trying to call here? I don't know. I didn't know about it Would he be likely to call you coming in unexpectedly that way? Oh, he'd be more likely to call Jake digly Jake runs a taxi service here Yes, I met him only might have tried that but Jake was out at Sammy's place that night Well, the reason I say that's because daddy would have known that our phone is usually off the hook at night Was it off that night? Well, I don't remember maybe Mary knows One or the other of us was always taking it off because we had to go clear downstairs to answer it Yes, miss Louie. Oh Mary the night daddy was killed. Do you remember whether the phone was off the hook or not? Yes, miss Louie and it was I remember when I picked it up to phone the doctor I ain't sure if you left it off that night or I did but it was off all right. Thank you, Mary. Yes Well, mr. Dollar What other questions do you have? None as a matter of fact, I did have several more but you've already answered them indirectly Thanks for cooperating You're quite a girl miss Parker. Oh, yes. I'm quite a girl a girl who killed her own father Goodbye, mr. Dollar I meant exactly what I said to her One way or another she was quite a girl Either she was one of the sweetest bravest and most honest kids I never met Or she was one of the smartest coolest little murderouses who ever walked the face of the earth And I was very much afraid that I'd never be quite sure which Now here's our star to tell you about the final intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow One slip of fate then the avalanche and a wind up that'll raise the hair on the back of your neck Join us. Won't you yours truly Johnny dollar? Yours truly Johnny dollar starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood written by Les Crutchfield It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone Be sure to join us tomorrow night same time and station for the next exciting episode of yours truly Johnny dollar Roy Rowan speaking