 Johnny Deller. Art Angles, International Life and Casualty. How are you doing, Art? Hey listen, Johnny, are you free to take something on for us? Art and my boy, as long as a nice big wealthy company like yours just can't wait to pay my expense account. Not Johnny. Plus a sizable fee for my superlative services. Okay, what's it all about? Murder, fraud, arson? No. Okay, then what? I don't know. Oh, you want me but you don't know what for? That's right, yeah. Well, that's a switch. Actually, Johnny, it's one of our very important clients, won't you? Art, that's not a switch. He has demanded that you and only you be sent over to see him. But he hasn't told you why? That's right. Uh-oh. Now, what do you mean by that? Well, I mean, the last time I took on one of those, I don't know why matters. I got slugged, shot at and thrown off a bridge. Well, uh, Johnny... But okay, Art. I'll run on over and see ya. CBS Radio brings you Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Yours truly, Johnny Deller. Expense accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Deller. To the International Life and Casualty Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut office. Following his account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the phony phone matter. I don't really go for these vague assignments, but International has always been off pretty well. So expense account item won a dollar and a quarter for a taxi over to the office of Art Engels. He was waiting outside the building for me in his car. We took off and headed back across town again. Where to, Art? Mr. Wendell's office is in the clay building. Wendell? Jay Ransom Wendell, the important client I told you about, who wants to see you right away. But who hasn't told you why he wants to see me? He hasn't told me. How important, Art? Well, he owns and runs the crown lithograph operate. Never heard of it. When he inherited that plant, it must have been, oh, 40 years ago. It was just a small outfit, not worth more than four or five hundred thousand. Oh, you call that small. And now it's worth millions. Then Wendell has loaded them. He certainly is, John. And that means he carries a lot of insurance. One of our biggest accounts. Life insurance on himself? How much? Half a million. Ah. Insurance on his wife for the same figure. Policies on his home, his cars, the plant, personnel. Well, I make no bones about it. Even if his calling for you is only to satisfy some sort of a whim, we can't afford to turn him down. Some sort of a whim? Yeah. You mean it could be? Yeah. Johnny, he's so used to having his own way. You know, because of all his money. Oh, wait now. Hold everything. Now, she, our Wendell, alimony Wendell, that is our boy. Married five, six, seven times? At one. And always to some delectable dish he picked out of the chorus line of a nightclub on some Broadway show? That's the one, Johnny. Marries him, finds out all they want is his money, pays him off, then goes ahead and does the same thing all over again. Oh, brother. But according to the newspaper stories a couple of years ago, he swore he was through with those gold diggers that he'd never again pay off another one of them. So what happened? What happens? Nine, ten months ago, he puts a ring on that dancer, LeVon Laverne. Yikes. Whereupon, she promptly puts a ring in his nose and starts making the usual dent in his bank account. Oh, now you don't think his wanting to see me has anything to do with his trouble with this LeVon Laverne? Oh, now, all right, I want to find... You better don't find out, Johnny, because this is his office building. Wendell's office was huge. The walls were paneled in rich mahogany, hung with fine oil paintings. Wall to wall, carboning so thick you sank into it almost up to your ankles. Fine antique furniture, including his tremendous desk. And the man himself really fooled me. He must have been, oh, about 60. But instead of a snide-learing old wolf, he was tall, straight as a ramrod with clear, frank blue eyes. Yeah, the smart alert kind of man you'd expect to head up a multi-million-dollar operation. The kinds you wouldn't expect to have fallen for a whole line of cheap chorus girls. But then, of course, she never can tell. Yes, Mr. Engels, Mr. Dollar. It's my wife, LeVon, that I'm concerned about. But since it has nothing whatsoever to do with her insurance at the moment... Well, now, Mr. Wendell... Engels, I'm much obliged to you for bringing Dollar to me. If I need you further, I'll let you know. Well, if I can be of any help in this... No, no, no. Dollar and I can handle this alone, so you just run along. Okay, whatever you say. I'll be in touch. Yes, all I are. All right, Johnny, you let me know. Just... Goodbye. Dollar, well, I'll look if there's no insurance involved. Oh, there isn't. I hope there won't be. I'm quite sure there won't be. Nonetheless... You say this concerns your wife. Yes. Yes, it does. Well, far be it from me, Mr. Wendell. But I had a notion you were through with marrying all these pretty young girls. I made some bad mistakes, Dollar. Seven of them, to be exact. Cost me a lot of money, a lot of heartache. Took a lot out of me. Well, let's face it, I pretty much made an old fool of myself. Paying off those girls, those leeches to get free of them, I should have... I at least profited by the mistakes I made. What do you mean, sir? I mean, LeVon, young, beautiful... Maybe she is no mental giant, but... She's made me a good, a loving, a devoted wife. Well, I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Wendell. But now what's the problem? Fear. Fear. Yes, LeVon's. But fear of what, sir? Fear, Mr. Dollar, of being murdered. Smoking more now, but enjoying it less. Have a real cigarette. Have a camel. So good. Have a camel cigarette. So rich. Have a real cigarette. Have a camel. So mild. Have a camel cigarette. And here's the reason why. Best tobacco makes the best smoke. Have a camel cigarette. You can say that again. Best tobacco. If you're smoking more these days, but enjoying it less, then change to camels, the best tasting cigarette of all. Have a camel. Start to really enjoy smoking again. And now the second act of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Mr. Wendell, your wife LeVon, she's been threatened with murder. Threatened? No. I'm afraid I don't understand. But, Dollar, she's fearful that someone is going to kill her. It's been going on for several weeks now. Why? I don't know. All I know is that she's become terribly upset over this idea. This is fear. I've called on you to see if you can determine for me if there are grounds for all this apprehension. What if she hasn't received any direct threats? If she hasn't, at least none that I know of. Well, she says that she hasn't. Well, no, no, no. Something has gotten into her, gotten her into this unfortunate state of mind. I don't know what it is, but I hope you can find out for me. Are you sure you shouldn't have called in a psychiatrist? Have one of those stupid money-grubbing head shrinkers ask her a lot of silly questions. Oh, no, no, wait. Some of them are pretty good. Can do a lot of good in a situation like this. No, no, Dollar. Because I know LeVon. I know what her reaction would be. She's nervous and upset enough about these fears as it is. But you, posing as an old friend, is our guest there at the lodge. Your lodge, Mr. Wendell? Yes, over on the Peek-a-Buck River above Farmington. It's a little place we keep as a sort of retreat, a place to get away from it all. I see. When I left the house here in town a few minutes ago, I told LeVon we'd meet her there for lunch and start the weekend a little early. We, huh? I told her you're an old friend. Come east for a bit of a vacation. From where? Los Angeles, Hollywood. You are familiar with the West Coast, I hope. Oh, enough to talk about it intelligently. Good. Well, then why don't we leave right away? Mr. Wendell... We'll stop at your apartment so you can pick up some clothes and then we'll head on up to the lodge. Excuse me. But now, look here, sir, I'm... Yes, Mr. Wendell? Ms. Barker, have my car brought around, please. Yes, sir. I'll be gone until Monday. Have a pleasant weekend, Mr. Wendell. Thank you. Well? Well, I still don't quite understand what you expect me to do up there at your lodge. Dollar, I have known about you for years. I have great respect for your talents. Not only as a crime investigator, but because of your ability to deal with people, get very close to them. Ah. People like your charming and beautiful wife, Mr. Wendell? Oh, no. I'm very serious, Dollar. You have a lack of inspiring confidence of getting things out of people that... Well, you see, I follow the reports of your cases on the radio very closely. Yeah, well... I'm convinced that you can be of more help than any psychiatrist could possibly... And also, and let's be frank about this... Yes? That is, if your wife's fears are justified... Well... You also think I might be handy to have her out as a bodyguard. Right? Yes, Dollar, that's right. We drove over to my place and I packed a couple of bags. I also picked up the old faithful .38 caliber limit squeezer. We drove east on Route 4 to Farmington, then north along the western side of the Peekabuck River, and finally east again on a private road. Meantime, as we drove along, I questioned Mr. Wendell further. No, Dollar. I can think of no one who might want to harm her or whom she ought to be worried or afraid. Well, there must be some basis for this fear of hers. Of course, before I met LaVon and married her, when she was dancing in nightclubs, I'm afraid not always the better one. Now, a lot of those joints are run by racketeers. Yes. The contacts in those days were not always with the best of people. That's something to work on, isn't it? Oh, but now here we are. You like my little place? Oh. Do you call this little? We like it because it doesn't require any servants and we can... What's the matter? Nothing. Only it's well afternoon and I don't see LaVon's car anywhere. Maybe she's been here and left to do some shopping or something. Come along, darling, let's go in and see. Well, I suppose 10 rooms is rather small to a man like Mr. Wendell. But I didn't have much chance to look around because of his concern over his wife. He went through the motions of pouring a couple of drinks. I just don't understand this, darling. It's almost one o'clock. She's always on time. Will you excuse me? I'm going to see if something's held up at home. Oh, LaVon. I'm just silly, I suppose, but I'm here at the lodge with Mr. Dollar and I was beginning to get worried about you. Why, you weren't here when we... Visitor? Anybody I know? Bunny, you sound worried about something. What is it, dear? Bunny? Bunny? Hello? Hello? Hello? What's wrong, Mr. Wendell? Bunny, that sound I heard, what was it? Hello? Hello? Bunny, Bunny, what is it? What? What? I don't know what happened. I don't know, Mr. Dollar. She gave a strange kind of a... kind of a gas. I believe she dropped a telephone. There was a thump, a heavy thump. Operator, give me police headquarters and hydrogen. Make it a homicide. We'll continue with yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in exactly 30 seconds. A signature can reveal a great deal. Take, for instance, one that you hear every day. A highly respected signature, CBS News. That's the name. It stands behind every news broadcast heard over this network. It's your assurance that you're hearing the very latest news and that you're hearing it reported with scrupulous accuracy. Remember that. CBS News, the first word in swiftness, the last word in accuracy. You can depend on it. Fight cancer with a check-up and a check. Today's reminder from the CBS Radio Network. Now, back to yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the phony phone matter. By the time we get back to Wendell's home in Hartford, the police were there, Lieutenant Billy Walker in charge. The body of LeVon Wendell lay sprawled on the floor next to a sofa. The telephone had fallen to the floor beside her. One of Walker's men was dusting it for prints. Another, obviously, the medic had removed a rather gruesome-looking knife from the middle of her back. Wendell had slumped into a chair and he sat there staring as if it was a thump. He had a thump, a heavy thump. He had a thump, a heavy thump. He had slumped into a chair and he sat there staring as though he couldn't quite believe it. His face was white and he kept clenching and unclenching his hands with such force I was sure his palms were bleeding. The only sound he made was an occasional half-smothered sob. Must have killed her instantly, Dollar. Doc here says the knife went clear through into her heart. I think he can trace that knife, Lieutenant. Oh, I don't have to. It came from that collection up there over the fireplace. Johnny, that could indicate that somebody she knew that she let in here. You mean somebody who came unprepared to kill her? Right. No, the back door was left jar, by the way. Any servants in this place? We're way ahead of you. What? Well, to begin with, they're an old, old couple. Neither one of them could have had the strength to do this. Or are they? They were given the weekend off. How do you know that? One of the boys who knows them saw him at the station early this morning said they were heading down to New York to see some relatives. Yes, yes, we... because we plan to be up in the country for the weekend. Okay, Mr. Wendell, only we had... if only there'd been someone here when... when he... when whoever did this... Easy now, sir. A visitor, she said. She told me over the phone... Yeah, yeah, I... ...to tell me who it was before... Dollar, you've got to find him. You've got to find this killer. Don't worry, Mr. Wendell. We'll do everything we possibly... Spare no expense. I'll do anything. I'll give you anything you want, but you must find him. Dollar, I don't care what it costs or what you have to do. My attorney? You'll have to be notified of this immediately. Who is he? Oh, uh, Spital. Harold Old Spital. I'll take care of it. As soon as I can pull myself together. Now, look, you can't be of any help at the moment, so why don't you just sit down and, uh... better still pour yourself a drink. A drink? Yeah, do your good. Go ahead. Yeah. Perhaps you'll write. Perhaps... Um, Lieutenant. Oh, wait a second, Johnny. You're sure of that, Mac? Okay, I'll take your word for it. Sure of what? Johnny, the only prince on that phone or hers... you'd think in a household like this... unless somebody wiped him off just in case. Of course, Lieutenant. Look, I'll see you later. What? I borrowed Mr. Wendell's car without bothering to ask him for it. I drove to the office of lawyer Spidell, all on a big, fat hunch. And I thought he might be able to help me with a better understanding of the whole Wendell setup. You know something? I don't think you'll ever know how much he did help me. Well, as long as you were there with him at the lodge and heard the phone conversation with her... Why, uh, yes. Of course, it's too bad, LeVon going like this, but, dollar, I can't say I'm at all surprised. And, by the way, of being cold-blooded about it, well, it saves Wendell the trouble and expense of another divorce, more alimony. I, uh... Yeah. Dollar is one of the most clever, the most ruthless businessmen I've ever known, yet these girls, one after another, have been able to take him for so much. And you don't think this one would have lasted? I'm certain of it. But I thought he and LeVon were getting along pretty well. Oh, I suppose he may have thought so. I don't see why, though. Oh, what do you mean? Some of the others were pretty expensive while he was married to them. They all were afterward, but none of them compared with LeVon. Did you ever see one of her lavish nightclub parties? I just happened to be in the purple cat over and... Now, mind you, I'm not a nightclub habituator. Yeah, Mr. Sperdell. I think I'd better be going. Oh, but I thought perhaps I could be of help, too. Oh, you've been plenty of help. After all, I know the names of many of the gangsters with whom this girl was formerly associated. Oh, I'm sure you do. Any one of them might be a possible suspect. More so than Mr. Wendell himself. Wendell himself? I think that over. But you were with him there at the lodge. Of course. You yourself are his perfect alibi. Am I? Yeah. That telephone conversation. So I don't, too, want to expense a kind of 10 cents for a phone call to my favorite gal friend, Betty Lewis. As I expected, she was willing to go along with a little stunt I had in mind that might blow this whole murder case wide open. By the time I got back to Wendell's home, the police and his wife's body were gone. And he calmed down all right. There were several empty glasses at his elbow. All right, darling. I've pulled myself together enough to realize that what's happened has happened. Oh, I forgot to call my attorney, as you suggested. I'll do it right away. No, no, no. Wait. I want to talk to you. Yes. Besides, I'm expecting a call myself on that phone. Oh, you made some progress? Yeah, quite a bit, I think. Well, good. I understand that as a businessman, you're pretty ruthless. Doesn't sound nervous upset to me. What? What? And you know that phone conversation there at your lodge was pretty smart. Will you please start making sense, darling? Oh, I was pretty dumb. I should have realized you couldn't have dialed this number from up here. Just a minute. Sorry, I want to get this called. Hello? Hi, hon. This is Betty. Yeah, this is Johnny, darling. I'll pick you up and leave you with an empty line the way you said I should. Yes. Yes. Yes, I'm alone here. What? I'll give you a 500 if your info is accurate. What is it, Mr. Dollar? Not all, 500 is the limit. Unless you're willing to appear and testify in court. Okay, then it's a thousand. Come on over here and I'll give it to you. If you can give me enough facts right now to prove you were here. What goes on there, dollar? Come on. Through which window? Yeah, side of the room. Yeah, I can see it from here. And you actually saw him take the knife from his collection over the... Yeah? Yeah. Then he what? The back door? Yeah, I got it. His own car, huh? Well, sure, it was office and time to meet me there. Hang up that phone, dollar. Excuse me, I've... Hang it up. Somebody saw me. Somebody saw me, killer. But when that informer comes here to collect the money you promised... Mr. Wendell... Dollar, he's going to get exactly what you're going to get. A bullet in the head. You see this gun? Now, Mr. Wendell, my name isn't Matt Dillon. What? But if you think you can outlaw me... Wow. Well, I hope Wendell never finds out that my phone conversation with a mythical informer was just as phony as his. His talk with his wife after he'd killed her had left her there at the telephone at his home. Had set me up for an alibi at the lodge. But then what's the difference where he's going? Expense count total? A dollar thirty-five. Oh, let's talk about the fee on this one. Yours truly, sunny dollar. Constipation can be a problem for anyone. Even doctors. And when constipation occurs, it's interesting to see just what doctors consider important about a laxative they might use or recommend. Well, a majority of the doctors we heard from had this to say... A laxative should be effective, gentle, close to natural acting. A medicine that can be used with complete confidence. Now, x-lax has been popular with many doctors and millions of people over the years because chocolateed x-lax is effective. Overnight, it helps you toward your normal regularity. X-lax is so gentle, so close to natural acting, there's no upset. That's why many doctors and millions of people use x-lax with complete confidence. X-lax. The laxative that helps you toward your normal regularity. Gently. Overnight. Now, here is our star to tell you about next week's program. Next week, one of my ever-loving gals comes into the case and believe me, things get complicated. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, sunny dollar. Truly, sunny dollar, starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is written, produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Heard in our cast were Virginia Gregg, Harry Bartel, Marvin Miller, Dick Crenna, and Lou Merrill. Be sure to join us next week. Same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, sunny dollar. This is John Wall speaking. Suspense, next on the CBS Radio Network. Radio 59, W-R-R-W, first on the dial, serving Albany, Tri, and Schenectady.