 From Hollywood, it's time now for Edmund O'Brien as Johnny D'Ala That's right Why don't you get it off your chest, mr. Holly Off my chest Edmund O'Brien in another transcribed adventure of the man with the action-pact expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator yours truly Johnny D'Ala Expense account submitted by a special investigator Johnny D'Ala to East Coast Underwriters Association Hartford Connecticut attention Edward Hawley the following is an accounting of my expenditures during investigation of the Sydney Rikoff matter Expense account item one a dollar and a half cab fare to your office Now I'm not in the habit of beating about the bush mr. D'Ala But the situation from which we must uh Extricate ourselves is well delicate enough to warrant your extreme caution The Sydney Rikoff will be dead in seven hours. You want to pay off the ransom note. Is that it now? You understand that this requires the utmost secrecy Because few people realize the necessity of insurance companies such as ours being forced to negotiate with Scrupulous person Uh, here's the note. It was a mail yesterday in Kansas City Have the police seen this certainly not I'm afraid you don't understand at all mr. D'Ala. Are you see yeah, I see $25,000 is against a hundred thousand for you boys. No questions asked, right? Right It was what anyone would expect a ransom note to look like made up of prints taken from newspapers and magazines and pastes on a Plain sheet of yellow paper. It read we have Sydney Rikoff If you want him alive bring $25,000 to the anthony milkstone mausoleum Johnson Park cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri At exactly midnight from 8 13 if you call the police forget the money Rikoff will be dead Now naturally $25,000 is a loss of money If there's a possibility of saving it, we wish you do a little Investigating first now look mr. Hawley at five o'clock in Kansas City now as you said yourself He'll be dead in seven hours. It'll take me at least five hours to get there. We'd better pay off the We'd better pay off first and investigate later. You've marked the money, haven't you? That says lay here's the list and here's the 25 house That matters in your hand Expense account item two four hundred and fifty three dollars in advance for charter plane As we hit the Ohio River the sky started to blacken ahead of it Looks pretty rough out west watch what I say nothing later than st. Louis Storm front to 16,000 I think we have a set down. We can't I'm not in Kansas City by midnight somebody. It'll be dead You a doctor and away, but this is one thing that can only be cured with money Look, mr. I'm gonna lay it on the line I'm no hero. I got a wife and a couple of kids back east My contract says I'll get you the kc if I can But that front I had there isn't kid stuff It'll bounce this kiter on like a balloon. I can't tell you to do it. It's up to you But if we set down now, we'll find a dead man in the morning Okay, mr. I'll do the best I can Fasten up the plane is 200 power to climb above it. We're trying to go right through Hope the wings stay on What was left of us coasted into Kansas City at 1140 Expense account item three an extra hundred for a pretty good pilot Expense account item four three dollars transportation to johnston park cemetery the driver took off my month The driver took my money and scooted off fast. I found the right mausoleum at the edge of the park I look at my watch It was three minutes to 12 Yeah, I know I'm supposed to meet somebody here What's for the financial matter? You can think that you did it with me. Wait a minute How do I know there won't be more business tomorrow? Get built Where you're gonna leave them? We'll let you know Yeah Thanks There's never a guarantee in a kidnapping case. You hope the guy will be alive But you don't just sit around waiting for him to show up I checked into a hotel at half an hour to sleep in the next morning I strolled around the listed place of occupation of victims Sydney Reikoff the southeastern athletic club This high-sounding name covered for a bunch of cheap plugs and cheaper boxing equipment Sydney's manager made his shabby office livable by spraying the corners with sweet air household deodorant and keeping the door closed Close the door Crazier something want that smell coming in here. You know what trouble I go to keeping that smell out of here Sorry people come in here. What are they chair? It's not there or they wouldn't do it at home What do you want? I have information that you're a sydney reikoff's manager. Is that right? Yeah, you know where he is that bum Mashed him against him alone next week and he's over another bench. You want him? You're gonna happen A thousand fighters I could have two years ago. I should have torn his contractor pieces But it's not in love with his right cross. Do you ever see his right cross? No stand up here Put your hand up higher That's right now look It's the fifth round of a throne body blows that you see let me loosen my tire Forget it are you listening to yeah, go ahead. Now. Look your defenses drop Yeah, I'll tell a driver left a left. What cross oh cross. Yeah, then Now with me it never works. That's how reikoff won the golden gloves 47 How do you know he's off in a day and I mix is it with milk? You ever hear anything so disgusting barbarian milk thinks he's still in training that way When was the last time you saw him? Friday afternoon. He was working out. He looked great when he comes back He's got no manager. What kind of shape can he be in from alone? I'll have to bail him out I know if I don't who will Not his wife. That's for sure. Now. I was gonna ask you about his wife. Let me tell you something The one way she's the greatest gal on the face of the area on the other hand she can be a demon Let me tell you something what she did. Yeah, you know that big boy from chicago has come up through with the middle Wait, what was his name that's neither writer cry to start there for something like that Anyhow she she told sydney if he didn't beat this guy she wouldn't let him in the house Well, sydney gave the greatest fight it was possible for him to give but he got it in the egg He was a mess mr. A mess You know if they had to sleep in the hall she wanted a winner He never lost again I'd rather have her under contact than him any day. You don't fight for money You don't even fight to be great. He fights to keep her from leaving him Hey Who are you anyhow? I'm from heart foot. What with miloski? No, not miloski. What was what was miloski? Did you have a stable a world away? I'm thinking of that. Oh, what if what I might take it on that? Thanks for the information mr. Medell. I think it stopped raining wait a minute. Who are you insurance? Well, but another charlie told that dog Hey, I hear you're nosing around about sydney rickle. I've been losing a lot of money on him What makes you think I want to know anything about him quit it will you I listen to doors You found out anything about what about his disappearing who said he disappeared He ain't in a round. He disappeared some people think he went off on a thing Now it ain't his cycle. He had his last binge in march. He ain't do again till september You a friend of his allow me My name is al basumian. I handle wages. Where do you think rickoff is? I don't know, but the longer he stays there the better I like it. The betting ain't good when he's around Why's that? Well, he's a ratty sometimes he wins on the eights and sometimes in the tenth Well, that's the way it goes. Do I still live in the same place? Yeah, just follow the broken glass I didn't get on the trail of the busted gin bottles until about 11 that night. I knocked at a door and she yelled come in from the kitchen She was sitting at the table in a soup stain kimono of peeling the polish off her fingernails Sit down. I'll just fill them sardines on the floor You drink not right now. Thanks. I'm an insurance investigator Hartford, Connecticut. When did you see your husband last? Oh sydney, he comes home and he feels like it. Why is someone having to him? I think you ought to know him as a rickoff Your husband has been kidnapped Company I'm working for received a ransom note. I paid somebody $25,000 last night to get him back $25,000 for sydney? Gary Medill, his manager took out a hundred thousand dollar insurance policy on him Would you throw me that bottle? Who'd know about that policy? $25,000 for sydney. The papers know about this yet? Hey, I've got to get fixed up for the reporters I look like a perfect slob Nobody knows about it, but you and the insurance company. Now how about giving me some answers? Why so I can get him back? What do I want to get him around here for? Who'd know about that policy, Mrs. Riker? Besides Medill, I don't know, but he's gabby Who would you pay that $25,000 to? Well, the man that gave it to me didn't give me his name Wait a minute. If that firm walked out on me, if he picked up $25,000 by kidnapping himself, well, he can stay out He's not getting back in What'd he look like who you paid it to? He was dark, couldn't see much but his size Uh, about up to here Oh, then it wasn't sydney. He's a light heavy 511 Could have been a friend Any idea who? No, and if I had, I'd tell you Well, he can't get away with this What makes you think he'd try? Because he's got no guts anymore He wants to quit fighting When he does that, he quits having me And he knows I'm not the type for running milk shops Hey, are you sure you don't want to drink? No, thanks Why not? Mrs. Riker It's me, honey Who's he? Is that your husband? No, it's another stumble, but Mickey Snell Uh, hey, who's this guy? Never mind who's this You lost your fight Oh, Joe, honey, what's up, honey? I heard it on the radio, a lousy four-rounder You stupid clown, get out of here Don't be that way, Joe, it was a bad match I'll win the next one, please Then you can come back, but you lost And I get out of here Joe! She'd back him into the living room And reached up towards the mantel as she passed it She finally found something heavy enough A two-foot wrought iron candlestick She didn't have to swing it Her guest took one look at it and went out the door I thanked her for her hospitality And followed it He went down two blocks and into a bar I got his name from a waitress And slipped into a booth with her What was you doing there, buddy? Business, Mickey, I was asking her about her husband Yeah, what for? What difference does it make? He's missing and I want to know where he is I don't believe you You're part of why she kicked me out And I don't like it to see you You know why she kicked you out She likes winners, you lost your fight tonight She knew I was outmatched That guy had to reach in everything Look at my face How long you a friend of his, buddy? I'm not a friend, I just met her Came in from Hartford, Connecticut How well did you know Sidney Wright got? What is he? Look, I'm working for an insurance company They want to know where he is, that's all How well did you know him? You know where he is? No Did he take a run out on his own Or was it somebody else's idea? Who could have that idea, buddy? I hear he was winning a lot of fights He was He beat me a couple of times Who was losing money? Albusumian? This is too public Where are you staying? Commodore Hotel, it's not far from here Yeah, I know it But I can't go with you I'll meet you in the lobby, we'll go to my room It's got to look like I ain't meeting you Sure, it's easy, we'll order another drink here I'll leave and then you saunter over in about 20 minutes Okay I pulled only one double-cross on Mickey's Nail Instead of waiting in the hotel lobby for him I waited outside the bar He came out 20 minutes later And I followed a quarter of a block behind him I was half expecting him to make a wrong turn At the first corner, but he didn't He stopped to wait for the traffic signal to change And then stepped into the street And you say you saw it happen, Mr. Dollar? That's right, Lieutenant, I saw it happen It was deliberate hit and run What's the license number? Only the first three numbers, M176 Now, any other witnesses? Well, I don't know, there were a lot of people around Well, that doesn't necessarily mean witnesses What did you find in his wallet? Oh, identification Mickey Snell, he was a fighter He must have won the night he was loaded Can I see one of those bills? Yeah, Dollar, but watch it I have to keep a record Thanks The dollar bill the Lieutenant handed me And the corner was a number A number I'd memorized on the plane trip out The bill on Mickey Snell's body Was part of the ransom money I'd paid For the victim I hadn't gotten back We will return to the second act Of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in just a moment Circle Wednesday night That's the night George Burns and Gracie Allen Drop by to visit with you Over most of your CBS station Each Wednesday, Burns and Allen Have 30 minutes of rich laugh And hilarious characters Remember Burns and Allen, this Wednesday night Now with our star, Edmund O'Brien We return to the second act Of yours truly, Johnny Dollar I knew Mickey Snell had died for something And his inglorious death Pointed a one of three possibilities First, Albusumian's gambling ventures Second, Gary Meddell's insurance on Sidney Reikoff And number three, the old kidnap yourself In crime with Mr. Reikoff himself as the suspect To me, the latter loomed as the most probable I told the police as little as I could Still operating on the assumption that Sidney Would be dead if I spilled what I knew At two o'clock a.m. I went back to my hotel For another half night's sleep The next morning I made up my mind To visit Mrs. Reikoff again It was such a nice day I walked As long as Sidney was missing There was nothing to do but ask questions Until something seemed to make sense Everybody had an angle Albusumian might have been paid off Gary Meddell might have been paid off And Mrs. Reikoff might have been paid off I took the whole thing up with Mrs. Reikoff As she stood in front of a cracked full-length mirror Trying half-heartedly to comb the knots out of her hair You come in here with your ouch lousy activations I'm not accusing anybody, Mrs. Reikoff I'm trying to get at the truth Now, somebody has your husband, right? Hand me that brush How should I know? Look, I don't have any interest in Sidney Reikoff I don't care if he's alive or dead I don't care about your $25,000 All I know is I'm sick of hearing about Sidney Reikoff, Sidney Reikoff, Sidney Reikoff A good mind to go out and change my name You too must have had a fine romance Oh, he was okay for a while He was winning steady I can't stand to go with a guy that can't win And when he lost... He slept in the hall A man has to fight for me I ain't just sitting here waiting for losers Sidney was winning, wasn't he? Winning? Winning what? With that Medillus' manager, what could he win? What kind of a contract did Sidney have with Medillus? Medill got everything including Sidney's third mullers So what was I supposed to do? Look at this place! Sofa needs covers Boy, could I use them clothes Tatters! Look here! He was busting out all over I like Sidney to win, but I like him to win something big Maybe you can if you bet on him Take Persumian, for instance Never gamble against my whole way of life And then there's the possibility that you've gotten debt And knowing about Medill's $100,000 policy on Sidney Talked Sidney into kidnapping himself And writing to the insurance company for ransom That's a dirty crack But a pretty fast way to get out of debt I've been scouting around You owe a lot of people I put the figure up to around $10,000 For a girl who lives like you do, that's a big sum You make me mad Get out of here Bet you didn't think it would be like this When you first met Sidney, huh? Golden Gloves winner, handsome boy Trips around the country I'll bet you... Get off! I'll put down that candle stick I'll get it, you finish your hair I'll get it! You say where you are Oh, copper, huh? Yeah, what is it, Sergeant? Mrs. Rikoff lives here My Mrs. Rikoff, what is it? I'm afraid I've got bad news for you, Mrs. Rikoff Your husband, Sidney What happened? They found him on the highway just outside of town He did I studied Mrs. Rikoff Her face showed only what could have been contempt And maybe a little relief The officer made an embarrassed exit and I closed the door Mrs. Rikoff walked to the window And I followed her We didn't say anything for a long while And then she turned to me What is that mean to do? Cry? A lot of you don't feel like it I feel like I've felt it when they paroled me I didn't know you did that Twice For what? Burglarians A couple other things What are you going to do now? I don't know, something's the way I did You know he wasn't like a bad guy when you got to know him He tried hard I used to sit in the front row and when they knocked him down I'd stand up and yell at him and call him every name in the book Until I saw how mad he got and he'd get up and win Funny guys I never could figure if he won because he loved me Or if he won because he couldn't stand me Hey, have a drink with me, will you? I'd appreciate it Sure Expensive on item 5, 250, transportation After toasting the remains of Sidney Rikoff and Jinn I went down to the Morgh and took a look at what was left of the Golden Gloves chant His head had been bashed in with what the attendant described as a heavy instrument The heavy instrument hadn't been found He covered him up and I went back to the hotel It was still possible that Sidney had abducted himself, collected the money Then been killed for it by whoever he hired for the job But then everything was possible The more things happened, the more things were left in the dark My head was spinning with Rikoffs and Meddils and Basumians And the taste of that raw Jinn wouldn't go away I slept through the day, got up and ate dinner and went to sleep again It was a good thing I did because the next morning the phone rang early Hello Mr. Della Yeah This is Al Al? Al? Oh yeah, Al Yeah, Basumian, you better get down here to my place Yeah, why? Don't be ridiculous, I can't tell you over the phone 1050 Clay Street in 10 minutes, huh? Yeah, so it's possible Well, hurry Yeah, yeah Frensac on item 6, 185, taxi fare to the brick bungalow of Mr. Al Basumian I was surprised to find a man of such uncertain profession housed so well He met me at the door in his bathrobe and without a word led me down the cellar stairs He flicked on the light near the furnace and pointed nuclear at something gold in a box of ashes I lifted it out carefully It was a golden statue of a boxer In grating red, Sidney Reikoff, 1947 The base was caked with dried blood It might have been a little difficult to explain to the police, Al I came down this morning to give the furnace a good cleaner It ain't been used since winter My wife has been after me to clean out the furnace because it ain't been used for so long So I came down here, look, Della, I didn't have nothing to do with this This is probably the object that killed Sidney Reikoff It could very well be that you thought up this kidnapping, killed Sidney and took the dough Would I kill Sidney? Plant a murder weapon in my own furnace and then call you? Now would I? To throw suspicion away from yourself, it's been done before All I can say is I didn't do it Look, Della, I called you because I thought maybe you could get me out of this You being a man of influence As far as influence goes, mine stops at getting funeral passes And stick around, if I were you, Al Any traveling you might do between now and when the police get here is liable to be considered a confession You gonna turn me in? What would you suggest? Drop the trophy back in the box, Della Every so often I run into something like this Come on, stand away This shows you I'll never trust a friend, he might be more honest than you Get upstairs, get those hands up You bet, he walked me in front of him for a few paces As we passed the light switch, I let my elbow brush it down As the lights went out, I fell to the floor He shot over me and I felt the hot sprinkle of powder I grabbed his legs and pulled them to the ground Okay Al, come on, let it go Let it go You dirty double crosses Come on I grabbed the gun and felt my way along the floor on the wall of the light switch When I snapped it on, I found I'd left a very cold Mr. Barsoomian on the cellar floor I took the golden gloves trophy out of the box of ashes, wrapped it in a piece of newspaper and headed up the stairs Spent the count item seven, two dollars, taxi fare again To the police station? No I was a fool but no I had a big hunch that the man I'd left in his own basement was not the killer or kidnapper of Sidney Raikov What I should have done is told the police my theories and hopped a plane for home But there was twenty-five thousand dollars the company had paid in ransom money Plus one hundred thousand for the death of Sidney Raikov, which they were going to have to pay And if things stacked up the way I had it figured, maybe I could save them on both accounts No, I didn't go to the police I went to the drab apartment of Mrs. Sidney Raikov I was about to knock when I heard a pair of familiar voices inside You shouldn't have come here, darling Well, I had to Now that they found him we can get out of here You think so? I don't think right today a week may be that we get out Just maybe I had a scratch Careful As he opened the door I ducked around a corner of the hallway and flapped myself against the wall Once he looked back I saw him squinting into the shadows and I wasn't sure whether he saw me or not I waited till he was a good way down the street before I went to the drugstore and phoned for the law I told the lieutenant in charge to give me five minutes alone with Mrs. Raikov and then to take her away He agreed not knowing what was up I went back up to Mrs. Raikov's apartment In the hallway I quietly unwrapped the Golden Gloves trophy and stuffed the newspaper into my pocket The door was open just a crack I opened it wider There was no one in the living room I squeezed inside and shut the door with care I heard her pulling up window shades in the bedroom I went over to the mantel There was a round clean spot in the center and the trophy fitted right into it Then I went over to the couch and sat down I felt the comforting bulge of the Sumian's gun in my pocket And I lit a cigarette She must have smelled the smoke How did you get in here? You left the door open She's got a lot of nerve You know something's different about this room I can't put my finger on it but there's something added Maybe it's you No, I'm in the way of furnishings Are those the same drapes you hadn't heard before? Let's skip the interior decorator routine No, please, it bothers me The sofa was over here, remember that? The chair was over there Maybe it's something on a mantel piece What? Yeah, yeah, it's that thing Hey, where did that come from? I don't know, but it sure is pretty Oh, I guess that's what Sidney won in the Golden Gloves, eh? I'd see that No, stay away from me What's the fuss? It's just a trophy You're pretty smart, aren't you? Oh, it isn't gonna do you any good You better put that trophy back where it belongs, Mrs. Reichhoff You don't want to cave in my skull like you did your husband Nobody's stopping us, nobody! You must swing a pretty mean trophy, Mrs. Reichhoff, but not today Let go of me! Come on, give me that No! You better stand over there near the door Go on, this thing's loaded They're late to never, huh? It all tied up nice Al Basumian's gambling racket was looked into and cracked wide open Mrs. Reichhoff's confession read something like this I killed him a week ago I got mad at him I picked up the trophy off the mantel piece and killed him I didn't mean to kill him I called Gary and he put the trophy in Al Basumian's furnace and got his boys to lug the body out to a place he had They kept the body for a week and then put it on the highway after the insurance company paid the ransom End of confession, end of affair, end of story Expense account item 8, $203.54 air travel back to Hartford Expense account total $982.28, yours truly, Johnny Dollar Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, stars Edmund O'Brien in the title role and is written by Gil Dowd and David Ellis with music composed and conducted by Leith Stevens Edmund O'Brien can soon be seen starring in the Columbia Pictures production The Los Angeles Story Featured in our cast were Howard McNeer, Howard Culver, Walter Burke, John McIntyre, Bill Gray and Jeanette Nolan Yours truly, Johnny Dollar is produced and directed by Jaime Del Valle Join us again next week at this time when Edmund O'Brien returns in another transcribed adventure of Yours truly, Johnny Dollar