 Liptin tea and Liptin soup present in a sanctum mysteries in a sanctum This is your host Welcome again through the squeaking door Did you miss her? You know we haven't been around to haunt you these last eight weeks Yes, that's right Death takes a vacation Where have we been always met our vacation in a nice cool place Underground of course we missed your smiling faces, but where we went everybody grinned Yes, they couldn't help it. They were grinning skulls Too bad you couldn't all come along good evening, mr. Host. Well, hello Mary Bennett Say Mary on my vacation. I met someone who had something very nice to say about Lipton tea Yes, it was a ghost and he said the flavor of Lipton's was out of this world I suppose you think that's a real testimonial, but of course no other product has ever been endorsed by a ghost Well, I can tell you that Lipton's isn't looking for such compliments What pleases them is the fact that more real people drink Lipton tea than any other brand and what's more They drink it all year round right now Lots of folks are enjoying Lipton's as an iced beverage because it certainly makes a cold meal taste better Yes, and Lipton iced tea is grand between meals, too It's a welcoming refreshing drink to serve when your guests drop in at your house You see Lipton tea has that famous brisk flavor and that word brisk Isk means that Lipton's always tastes fresh and full-bodied never flatter wishy-washy So get acquainted with Lipton's real soon. Won't you folks? Yes, and if you'd like to get acquainted with murder real soon Then listen to Dead Man's Deal It's an original radio play by that chill master Amel Tepperman and our star tonight is Larry Haines Who plays the role of Joe Lester It all happened to Joe Lester Who's really a small time gambler who had no business in that big time game with Barney Flood and Dan Kilmer and Nick Zapparatty and the others But it's it's really Lester's story Here he is to tell it to you. I Guess it was the biggest poker game. I ever took a hand in Was in Barney Flood's rule of a 327 a Brandon hotel They're all big shots. I Had to play a careful game I only had about $3,000 and if I didn't nurse it a single deal could wipe me out Matta Lester playing kind of tight on Joe. Whatever Barney man some time to play his own game, isn't he? Maybe you don't belong in this one and he'd guts for this game You tell him Dan, maybe Lester doesn't know what guts are by now. Listen, you don't try to get tough Lester. It wouldn't be healthy Lester sought me down so because I took his girl away from Suppose we leave Louise out of this bunny She prefers you that's okay with me That's mighty big of you Lester That's why I hated Barney flood He'd taken Louise away from me And Louise was the only thing in the world. I loved What was worse Barney flooding his man Dan Kilmer were laughing at me because they knew I didn't have the guts to do anything about it Then it came The hand I've been waiting for Dan Kilmer was dealing Barney flood opened blind I opened for the thousand I dropped The others all dropped out But when I picked up my five cards, I Found I had three aces This was the way I'd wanted it just Barney flood and me and they were the strong hand before the buy Now I'd show them who had guts. I Counted out $2,000 and $100 bills and shove them out on the table. I See you Barney and raise your thousand. Oh So our little lester's waking up Okay, I see the raise Just the two of us. How many cards money one right? And how many do you want big shot? I'll take two. Yeah My hands were a little clammy as I picked them up. I looked at the courage and Suddenly I felt as if I'd inherited the whole universe I had bought an extra ace. I Held four aces Well big shot I Bought something here. I think it's the winning hand I'm going to bet the works Yeah All the cash I have with me 90 grand I felt the sweat on my hands as I watched him push the money out on a table 90 grand he was betting and I had him beat with my four aces But I couldn't see his bed. All I had was about a thousand dollars. Come on big shot What are you waiting for? You know, I haven't got that much money and you should be playing in this game Tin horn. You're taking advantage of me, Barney. You're trying to show me up You know, I have to drop out even with a better hand. Oh, so you think you have a better hand, huh? Make the bed inside my limit and you'll see All right lester We'll see what kind of a gambler you really are Yeah, I'll withdraw this 90 grand bet Don't make another kind of bet The bet you can't see If you have the guts Well, what kind of bet I'll bet my life against your life The man who loses this deal Agrees to commit suicide For a full minute after Barney flood made his proposition the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop Barney flood and I sat facing each other across the table our clothes cards in our hands These were the biggest stakes men had ever played for a life against a life The other players were stunned and frightened by it. They wanted no part of it One by one they made lame excuses and faded from the room Only Dan Kilmer was left with Barney me Look Barney Why should you rescue in life against this punk's life? This is the way it's going to be Dan Lester hates me Don't you lester? Yes, Barney. I hate you. You see Dan. He hates me because deep down inside of him He knows he isn't as good as I am All right, this is the showdown One of us walks out of this room alive The loser stays here With a bullet in his brain That's okay with you Lester Yeah Yeah, sure. It's okay with me, but I don't want Dan in the room It's just between you and me. Let him go out before we uncover our cards. All right, the lesson bar you heard him Dan just the two of us Okay, if you come here on the table Dan, I don't like I say Okay Thanks Now go down to the lobby and wait So long I'll be waiting in the lobby Okay, Lester There's no backing out now We'll open our hands The loser picks up that gun and blows his brains out This was the minute I'd been waiting for My lips were dry. I wet them with my tongue Now at last I had Barney flood exactly where I wanted them Okay, Barney Read them and weep How do you like these one ace two aces three aces four aces? How do you like them Barney? All races, huh? Kept my eyes on Barney. I wanted a milk the last drop of satisfaction out of that moment But he was a born gambler his face didn't show a thing He sighed and slowly he began to turn over his own cards Three of hearts four of hearts five of hearts six of hearts Seven Straight flush Her Lester Straight flush beats four of a kind. Yeah, you only bought one card. That's right. I Went in with three four five and six of hearts. I bought the seven of hearts a Street flushing I Can't believe it. I've lost this Lester you've lost You've lost your life And the gambler always pays up. There's the gun Lester Go ahead a Gambler always pays up I Curled my finger around the trigger. I Stood up and leaned across the table. I pointed the gun at Barney flood my shot him in the head Now I had to work fast and carefully I had it all figured out when I shot Barney I leaned over the tables so the barrel of the gun was close to his head There were powder burns on his temple around the wound I wiped my fingerprints off the gun and press Barney's hand around the barrel Next I turned my attention to the card table. This was important I left my four aces intact where I laid them out, but I changed Barney's hand slightly I removed the seven of hearts replaced in the deck and rippled through the left under seven of diamonds I substituted this for the seven of hearts Now Barney's hand was no longer a straight flush It was an ordinary straight and my four aces were better So now it looked as if I had won the game. I was ready. I Picked up the phone and asked the operator to connect me with the police Hello police headquarters. This is Joe Lester. I'm in room 327 of the Brandon Hotel Barney flood has just committed suicide It looks as if Lester has carefully set the stage for foul play He has to be careful if he wants people to believe that Barney has committed suicide Because that's the last thing in the world a man would do How about it Mary? What side are you betting on? I'll give you odds that Lester isn't caught why you know very well that I don't bet Oh, come on Mary. I'll tell you what I'll bet you my Sunday shroud against a package of lipton tea My gracious, I never know what you're going to say next But I still don't believe in gambling and folks if you feel the same way about it Then I know you'll like lipton tea because you can always be sure of its flavor T experts describe that flavor by saying it's brisk brisk And brisk flavor means that Lipton's always tastes fresh and vigorous never flatter and sip it Lipton's is a real experience in tea drinking That's why I always say that you don't know how good tea can be till you know how good Lipton's is and now Let's go back to Joe Lester Let's see if his airtight scheme to make Barney floods murder look like suicide goes over with the police Yeah, so let's hope it's not so airtight, but it leaves him dangling in here at the end of a hangman's noose At headquarters all the players told the same story How Barney flooded proposed a suicide bed and how they'd all cleared out Inspector Larkin dismissed them all Leaving only Dan Kilmer and myself in the office with him and the stenographer Now you kill my essence fixie your Barney floods right hand man Well, you know, I have a private detective's license Barney paid me to be his bodyguard. You work for Barney a long time. That's right Mr. Says you left your gun on the table. Is that right? That's right And I went out Okay, Lester. It's your story from here What happened after kill my one out? Well Barney and I uncovered our hands He had a small straight, but I had four aces you saw the cards lying there on a table. I saw them. What happened then well Barney said well, I guess I lose He picked up the gun. I tried to stop him, but he said a gambler always pays up And he put the gun to his head to pull the trigger before I could stop him. Hmm How do you think of that story Kilmer? I think he lies makes you think so. I Can't say yeah, that's no evidence Looks like suicide I'm afraid there's no charge told John Lester and we say was You mean I'm free to go. Yeah, sure Get out Then Kilmer gave me a dirty look But I only grinned at him. I Got up and went to the door Everything was going my way. I was rid of Barney flood. I'd committed the perfect murder And now I was free to go to Louise Funny what's awful funny Louise how Barney killed himself He's a drink. Oh, thanks There's nothing funny about it. He lost and he paid off. Yeah, I know but Somehow I can't imagine Barney lives in a hand like that Listen Louise you stop thinking about Barney. He's dead seeing I'm alive, and I'm not letting any other man have you Yes, darling, it's plain come here, baby That's better. I'm crazy about you It seemed to have changed you seem so strong. Yeah, you bet Now I'm nothing stops me You know what? We're getting married tomorrow. We won't wait. I'd better answer the phone. I'll let it bring you better. Let me answer Well, okay, go ahead, but make it snappy. Well, I will go Hello Yes, this is Plaza 87790. I watched her at the phone And she was more beautiful than anything I'd ever known That was the happiest I'll ever be that one short moment while I watched her at the phone Then it was over. Yes, he's here Who is this talking about Please before he's trailed off into a sob and she She looked as if all her life had been drained out of her body by that phone call Louise Who was that? Who was that on the phone? What'd he say? He? He said remind you about that about the seven of hearts. He said, you know what he meant Seven heart card I'd substituted and Barney floods hand But no one can know about the seven of hearts Barney was the only one and he was dead Who gave you that message Louise? Who was that on the phone? He didn't give his name, but I recognized the voice Louise for heaven's sakes. Tell me who it was I can't believe it, but I swear it was Barney flood It's the phone again. He's calling back. I'll answer Push Louise or face side slowly. I walked toward the ringing phone almost in the days And picked it up. I Think I must have been expecting it Because I wasn't surprised when I heard that voice I only felt numb Wanted to talk to me about the seven of hearts And he was waiting outside But who I dropped the phone and went to the window pulled back the blind and peered out at first at first I saw nothing and then And then I spotted him a shadowy figure standing in a doorway across the street With his hat brim pulled low over his face It just then a car swept down the street its headlights illuminated the doorway and I got a quick look at the face There was blood Tripping from under the hat brim Remember how I managed to get out of Louise's apartment not the front way I didn't go to take one to the street with that shadowy figure waiting out there I stumbled blindly down the back stairs flight after flight almost tripping skinning my hands on a banisters bruising my albos But I didn't care wanted to get away away from there What tax tax a taxi yeah, yeah sure Oh Quick sure, but where to where to I didn't care anywhere anywhere as long as it was away from here Home home. That was a place. I'd go home and shut myself up and not answer the phone 17 Glidden Road quick right give the sigh of relief as we pulled away Out of pure instinct I suppose I looked out the rear window Suddenly the blood began to plunder my head like a thunderous avalanche Because back there at the corner was that same shadowy figure Getting into another cab Pointing after my taxi Faster faster drive. You got to go faster. What's wrong, mister? Look that cab behind us $20 if you lose it What cab that one you're full of cab behind us one of us must be nuts Maybe you had a couple too many there isn't any cab behind it Turn around and looked again My driver was right The street was empty as far back as I could see I got out of the cab and saw that the driver was looking at me as if he thought I was drunk or crazy My shirt was wet with perspiration. My head began to throb and everything swam before my eyes And a voice began to whisper in my ear like a terrible refrain Weekly against the taxi cab This room is to look down the street Same shadowy figure with a head blow over the bloody face Seven of hearts walking Seven of hearts Slowly Seven of hearts And out faster Seven of hearts Seven of hearts Seven of hearts Seven of hearts Seven of hearts I said quarters I burst into Inspector Larkin's office. He was in there talking to Dan Kilmerer What's your idea of barging in here, Lester? I got it taught to you Inspector. What's wrong? You look all broken up. Don't keep out of this, Dan. I've come to see the inspector. How do you want? I want protection. You've got to protect me. Protect you against whom? Against Bonnie Flood. He's come back. It's a gang. No, no, no. It's no gang. No, I tell you, Bonnie Flood's come back. At first I thought it was a foolish... But now I'm sure it's Bonnie Flood. How do you know it's Bonnie Flood? Because I stopped short. I'd almost said too much. Well, I was sure it couldn't be anybody else but Bonnie Flood. Get out of here, Lester. I've got no time to waste. But you've got to sign an officer to protect me. I'm afraid to go home. Look, Lester, I think you're going nuts the way Dan says. When I signed an officer to you, everybody'd say I was going nuts, too. Signing a cop to protect the man against a ghost. Get out! Dan, will you help me? What? Who me? You're not working now, are you? No, I lost my job when Bonnie died. Look, how about a job? Protect me, huh? Against a ghost? Against Bonnie Flood's ghost? What do you care as long as I pay you? Okay, Lester, you've hired me. Come on, then. Come home with me. I want you to sit up with me all night, huh? Dan Cumber came home with me. And we sat up, whiling the time away, playing two handed poker. My dear, Lester. Yeah. Yeah, sure. So you're really scared now, Lester? Don't laugh at me, Dan. You'll be scared, too, if you seem real eyesore. You mean, uh... like the guy with the blood on his face? I don't know about that. And the telephone call about the seminar hearts? The seminar. Yeah. I figured that stuff would sort of, uh... get you on edge. What do you mean? I mean that I'm the one that planted that man outside Louise's apartment. You? Sure. That cab driver was my man, too. I had him planted out in back of Louise's house. He was waiting for you to come out the back way. You see, Lester, I had you figured right. Every move. You... You did all that? What was the idea? I wanted to get you right here. Like this. Afraid of your own shadow. What? What for? Pick them up. I picked up the cards. I stared at them. It was four aces. The same hand I'd held with Barney Flood. How would you like to make a little bet on your hand, Lester? Against mine? Say, uh... your life against my life, huh? What do you mean? Don't you get it yet? Here. I'll turn my cards over for you. See? Three of hearts. Four of hearts. Five of hearts. Six of hearts. And the seven of hearts. You see, Lester, my hand does have the seven of hearts in it. I thought it Barney Flood's. Before you took it out. What? How do you know about the seven of hearts? For a long time, Dan Kilmer didn't say anything. He just sat there. Looking at me. Then he got up. Took out his gun. Layed it on a table. Then he went to the door. How did I know about the seven of hearts? You see, Lester, I dealt the other hand, too. Barney Flood was right. The seven of hearts. You see, Lester, I dealt the other hand, too. Barney Flood was right. A gambler must always pay up. A gambler must always pay up. The gun is ready on a table. And now, I'm ready, too. He's in a very grave situation now. He's in a very grave situation now. So grave, he needs the help of an undertaker. So grave, he needs the help of an undertaker. But he was only a beginner in crime. He might have done better if he hadn't come to such an untimely end. Well, I've got no sympathy to waste on him. He shouldn't have gotten into that poker game in the first place. Oh, I don't know. I never forget the time I played Strip Poker with a bunch of ghosts. Hey, was I lucky that day? She should have seen those ghosts shedding their ectoplasm. I declare, I don't know why you're always talking about ghosts. Oh, they're such lucky guys. They always keep cool. Even in the summer, the least little breeze goes right through them. Well, I'd rather be a human being. Real honest folks have a good way of keeping cool, too. They just make themselves a refreshing picture of Lipton's iced tea. Yes, there's nothing like Lipton's to perk you up on a hot day. I guess it's that famous brisk flavor that makes all the difference. It's so rich and lively. Whether you drink it iced or hot, there's nothing that can beat Lipton's. The tea with the brisk flavor. And now a word of advice. You can't afford to gamble with death because the loser never gets a chance to stage a comeback. And what's more, friends? If all the corpses on this program were laid end to end, they'd be a lot more comfortable. Oh, by the way, this month's Inner Sanctum Mystery Novel is Puzzle for Wantons by Patrick Quentin. Yes, and next week's Inner Sanctum story directed by Hyman Brown and brought to you by Lipton Tea and Lipton Soup. Next week's story is gonna blow the tubes in your radio. It's about a beautiful woman who marries a dead man. Now there's an unusual romance. And this graveyard Romeo has second sight and always knows who's going to be murdered next. Well, of course, he's got second sight. He lost his first sight when he died, see? Now it's time to close the squeaking door until next Tuesday. So, good night. Good night. Pleasant, please. Even with a cold meal, most of us have a craving for one hot dish. Well, why not make that one hot dish Lipton's Noodle Soup? You see, Lipton's has a real old-fashioned taste, a chickeny taste, just like real homemade chicken soup. And yet it's so easy to prepare. That's because Lipton's comes in an envelope. You just empty the contents of the envelope into boiling water and in no time at all. Soup's on just as quick and simple as that. And yet Lipton's Noodle Soup is blessed with a real chickeny flavor and it's brim full of tender golden egg noodles. So, folks, don't forget Lipton's Noodle Soup. And don't forget to tune in next Tuesday night for another Inner Sanctum Mystery. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.