 Gallon cabs present. Pat Novak for hire. Did she went though she got a maid? With lovely shoes a girl can't lose. In Gallon cabs she'll raise. More miles to a Gallon cab. Yes, Gallon cabs. The family shoe stores with the yellow fronts. The largest shoe chain in the west with stores from Canada to Mexico to serve the west. G-A-L-L-E-N-K-A-M-T-S. Gallon cabs present. Pat Novak for hire. My office says Pat Novak for hire. Down in the waterfront in San Francisco you always bite off more than you can chew. It's tough on your windpipe but you don't go hungry. Down here a lot of people figure it's better to be a fat guy in a graveyard than a thin guy in a stew. That way you can be sure of a tight fit. I rent boats and do anything else that makes a sound like money. It works out all right if your mother doesn't mind you coming home for Christmas in a box. I found that out Wednesday night about nine o'clock. I closed the shop early and I came home to read. That wasn't a bad book if you ever wanted to start a forest fire. It was one of those historical things and the girl in it was just getting her second wind and her third man when the door to my apartment opened and the place began to get crowded. From where I sat the crowd looked good. She sauntered in moving slowly from side to side like 118 pounds of warm smoke. Her voice was all right too. Reminded you of a furnace full of marshmallows. Good evening. Yeah thanks for knocking. I don't think you mind my coming in without warning. No. I get the cabbage smell from next door the same way. Does it pay to be there for light Mr. Novak? Saves you the trouble of saying please. What's on your mind? That bottle in front of you. Will you pour me a drink? No. You'll save dough if you look up a bartender. All right. I came to use you instead of your whiskey anyway. Talk. My name is Lee Underwood. I'll give you three hundred dollars to do something for me. It'll only take an hour. That's too much dough unless it's murder. And if it is murder it's not enough dough. Are you afraid? I just don't like paid murder I told you. When you get caught the pain gets expensive. If it were murder I'd do it myself. Mr. Novak I want you to frighten someone for me. Why don't you hire a friend? Are they too pretty? It's a man named Dixie Gillian. You'll find him in an office down on Polson Street at this address. I promise nothing will happen to you. That's what they told Billy Khan. He'll be in this office until 11 tonight. I want you to go in and see him. Tell him you're from Adrian. But he's to get out of town by tomorrow noon. I suppose he wants to put it off. He won't. Don't let him know who hired you. Just tell him Adrian said to leave. Yeah. You better go home. For 300 bucks I won't buy a tissue paper plot. Now tell me more or say goodbye. There's not much more I can tell you. Except there won't be any trouble. He's a rotten little beast and I want him frightened badly. Why? He's been bothering my sister. Why does he bother you? Because I bother back too fast. Do you want the 300, Mr. Novak? Yeah. It's going to be a long winter. Put it on the table. Good. And you'll need this too. No you keep it. I don't want a gun. It's empty. Don't worry. See, no shells. It's perfectly safe. Now look, I've got a nasty disposition. You can let that for 300 bucks. But if you want more, find a gunsel or an off-duty copper. I don't want you to be a gunsel. That's why I want you to use this gun. I know it's empty. If you use it on Dixie, he'll scare fast. It's just a way to save some breath. All right. It's your 300. You better go now. Yeah. Where do I get a coat? If your doorbell rings, don't play mouse. Because I may look you up. Am I too young to ask why? Because if anything goes wrong, I'll be around looking for you. From there on, it won't be nice. I'll dirty you up like a locker room towel. Relax, Petsy. You'll never land a fallen love that way. She handed me the gun and walked out of my apartment. Seeing her leave made you feel like Frank Buck losing an argument. She walked with a nice easy swing of a satisfied leopard and for a small leopard, she had pretty good spots too. I put the gun in my overcoat pocket and I went down to Folsom Street. The address was down near the bridge entrance and the street was deserted except for a couple of winos near the corner trying to buy back 1926 of the dollar a jug. I stopped in front of the place. It was a machinery company. I could see a light burning in the back. I began to walk through the place. It was so quiet you could hear a worm with hooping cough and there were enough shadows around to keep a ghost happy for years. When I got to the office back in the corner, through the glass, I could see a man sitting at the desk. When I opened the door and walked in, he didn't seem surprised. Come on in, mister. You've got that noise. Yeah. That's right. You make too much for a thief and not enough for a customer. What do you want? About ten words if you're Dixie Gillian. Go ahead. You better look up a time table. What makes you that tough? This. Why do you look tougher with the gun? Does it make you talk faster? I'm going to say it's slow, mister. Pack up your robbers and get out. Is that you talking or somebody else? I'm just the guy with the gun. Adrian does the talking. And he says get out. That's right. You've got the whole message now. All right. You told me. So wander out and spend your dough. I will. You'll need part of it, though, because I'm going to give you an aspirator. I'm going to take that gun away from you, mister. You can pick the pieces out of your head on the way home. You better stand back or I'll show it with you. You've got your offer, mister. Let's see you make good here. Save your muscle, fella. Stop that gun, will you? Save your muscle, fella. The gun's empty. Oh, yes, mister. Sometimes you can get a home run with a half swing. That's the way it was this time. He couldn't have made it with a prayer book in both hands. He slipped down to the floor and trembled for a moment and then flattened out like a leaf in a pool of water. Just before he died, he grabbed his side as if he didn't like the way it hurt. Then he didn't care. I rolled him on his back and let him look at the ceiling. His eyes were open and he looked surprised, like a guy who didn't figure on a change in the weather. There was a scar that ran across his forehead and dug deep into his hairline. And he was lying there with a bunch of pink gum showing as if he was trying to pick up a few bucks with a toothpaste ad. I didn't have time to tell him how sorry I was, because if homicide caught me here, I'd have about as much chance as a canary in a basement full of cats. I started for the door. Right then, I knew I could start ordering bird seed. It was Helman. And he walked over to have a look at the body. Hello, Movec. The guy looks embarrassed. Yeah, I guess he is, Helman. What's he doing dead? Putting in a beef somewhere, I guess. He rates it. He'll like you for that, Movec. How did it happen? A team play. We worked it out together. But you've got the gun. That's right. I got the gun. You feel like a bet? No. Just keep stealing the old way. You know how I feel, Movec? Yeah, you feel flabby to anybody else. But to yourself, I suppose you feel good. Now, look, I walked in here with a gun. There was some quick fight talking. I killed him. But it's still not a good rap. I can get a long price on it for you, Movec. I bet you can, Helman. You can give me a bad deal. But part of the time, it'll be from the other side of the deck. Worse than that, Movec. It'll be all the time. And I want to watch it because I think you're going to be a crybaby. I'm going to scream if that's what you mean, Helman. I'm going to scream about a gal that sent me in here with an empty gun. That's a big hole for a cap pistol, Movec. I got a last-minute curve. It was empty once. Yeah. That's the only way they make a gun, Movec. I don't want you for an hour ago. I want you for this dead guy on the floor. All right, all right. I told you I didn't come in here to kill the guy. I don't know him. He may even be a good guy. I'm sorry he's dead. All right, Movec. Just wait a few weeks and you can tell him personally. Helman had me up against the rail and he knew it. When he left there, he was wearing a big, toothy smile that was big enough to sew on his ears. He called the coroner and he told him to pick up the stiff and then we rode downtown. He dropped the gun into ballistics and he hauled me into his office. The reporters were there. They gave him the whole story and told him out of spell, Helman. After that, we wound up at the desk and he booked me on suspicion of murder. The next hour and a half was the kind of stuff they don't write about in the paper. They call it interrogation. When you're finished, you've been through a lot of tight spots, like a piece of bubble gum and a set of false teeth. About 11 o'clock, Helman brought me into his office and from there on, it happened kind of fast. I just talked to the DA. He's going to streamline things for you. He's going to look funny and when the trial on a guy, you can't identify him. I won't press you. I don't have to, Movec. I've got the only parley I need. You, the dead guy and a big fat murder gun. Yeah. Yeah, Helman talking. Yeah, I know it was a 38. That crazy gun in ballistics, I saw him standing over the dead guy. Well, they must have made a mistake, that's all. No, I don't want him in here. I don't want him in here. Hey, Tony, Tony, I... If you're getting pale, you need some more rouge, Helman. I got some bad news, Inspector. Well, keep it. Or you'll take more home to your wife. I'll talk to you later. No, talk to him now, Helman. If the bullet doesn't match, the gun, talk to him now. That's right, Inspector. A 38 bullet, but it won't match the gun you brought in. It's got a match. I came in and found him standing there. He admits it. It's a neat trick, then. If he fired the bullet out of that gun, he retold it in midair. I'm not that fast, Helman. Get out of that chair so you'll have room to squirt. You'll keep still no back. Oh, I won't, Bobby. I'm going home. I'm walking out of your jail, Helman. You got a broken down 38 that won't fit anything but your thumbs. You can't hold me on that. I found you over the bar. I can hold you on suspicion of murder. But it'll hurt tomorrow morning, Helman. The papers will be down here for a follow-up. You'll have to tell them what it looks like out in left field. I'll handle them. You can't afford to let them be laughing at you. People will get the idea at your face. You can save coffee. I'll just stay right here because I'll have you back by noon tomorrow. You're not that good, Helman. You couldn't hold a moth with a searchlight. The town ought to thank you. Oh, it's a nice jail, Helman. And with you around, it'll last for years. We'll return to Pat Novak in a moment. You're going to put extra warmth and comfort in your Christmas wishes this year. How do I know? Well, because I've seen the Gallon Camp Christmas Gift Slipper Collection, you know everybody's talking about it as the gayest, brightest idea on the gift-shopping horizon. When you visit your neighborhood Gallon Camp store, well, then you'll know why. There you'll find slippers for every member of the family. Soft and cuddly warm ski capers persist, handsome and brighter Chinese slippers for mom, warm, shearling-lined opera slippers for brother, and good-looking, smooth-kid opera slippers for dad's fireside loafing. Yes, and they're appealingly soft and gorgeously colored, shearling scuffs to delight the heart of any young lady from 16 to 60, and slippers for the little nippers. All are irresistibly comfortable, good-looking, and irresistibly Gallon Camp price. Go to Gallon Camps, the store with the yellow front near you to buy Christmas gift slippers that'll say Merry Christmas in a heartwarming way. Give more smiles with a Gallon Camp slipper gift. All back to Pat Novak. When I walked out of headquarters, I had a nice, messed-up juggle. It was like trying to walk the baby on a floor full of marbles. If things didn't add up for Hellman, they weren't doing any better for me. I knew the gun I had went off. If it did, what happened to the bullet? Where did the other one come from? Why weren't there two shots? Oh, I couldn't put my finger on a thing and nothing added up. It was like trying to follow a grain of rice in a Shanghai suburb. I looked up Lee Underwood's address and I went by her apartment. My girl downstairs told me she worked at a nightclub out in the Bay Shore Highway. Well, I had a couple of places to hit, so I looked up the only honest guy I know. An ex-doctor in a boozer by the name of Jaco Madigan. A good man until he began to figure the last drink in a bottle is just as easy to get as the first. Well, I found him in a little leather trim sink on Powell Street with a grimy little hoe where they wash the glasses once a week in stale beer, more at home than a butcher in Calcutta. Ah, Percy, you're just in time to celebrate my return to health. Something mild for Mr. Novak, a double stinger perhaps. No, forget it, Jaco, I gotta talk to you. Percy, I've just passed through a crisis. A few minutes ago they set before me a glass with a woman's lipstick all around the rim. All right, Jaco. I took one gulp and looked at the glass and in this dim light I thought I was bleeding to get there, bleeding to death. They took them ten minutes and three mirrors to calm me down. Jaco, I'm in trouble. You gotta help me. No, but they washed the glass for me in ammonia. They must have left a little ammonia in the glass because the next drink had a very odd tongue about it. I've had three more just like it, a sort of ammonia calling. All right, all right. Well, so far they've been using domestic ammonia. When the important stuff comes in, I may give up whiskey altogether. Calm down, will you, Jaco? I got a bum shake tonight. I either killed a guy or I thought I did. Well, that use is up the alternative, is it? What are you doing now, taking a boat? I got hired to scare a guy down on Folsom Street. Ten minutes later the guy was dead. Oh, Patsy, you take your work too seriously. Couldn't you just scare him into a lingering illness instead of killing him? One of the props was an empty gun, only when the fight came it grew bullets. Hellman walked in right after on a telephone tip. What are you doing out of the electric chair? Oh, the whole thing backfired down at headquarters. The bullet and the phony gun wouldn't match. Jaco, it doesn't add up. The call to Hellman's a tip-off. I was framed, but why wasn't I framed all the way? Well, who is the dead man? It's a guy with a falling blood count. His name was supposed to be Dixie Gillian, but there's no identification and no record on him. Oh, you shouldn't have hired out as a gunslinger. I told you I didn't hire out as a gunslinger. It was somebody else's idea. Oh, you have no conscience, Patsy. Just a sort of soap opera rule of thumb you put into practice now and then, but no real conscience. You'd let a dying woman lie in the middle of the highway unless her head was resting on a pile of war bonds. All right, Jaco, I'll cry with you later. I need help now. What sort of help? I want you to break into a girl's apartment. Yes? Don't worry, she won't be home. Oh, is that supposed to be an incentive? Here, it's at this address up on O'Farrell. Her name is Lee Underwood. She's the one who hired me. Well, if the girl's not there, what am I supposed to find? Anything that will connect her with a dead man. He's a big guy with a scar. That doesn't help much. You can't miss. Go through the desk and the drawers. Pick up everything you can. Leave a message in my place, huh? As soon as I finish this drink. Hurry up, will you, Jaco? Leave the glass alone and get going. Don't rush me. Hurry up, the glass is empty anyway. Yeah, that's what you thought about the gun, but the fellow got an awful jolt out of it. Good night, lover. I went by a horse parlor on O'Farrell Street and borrowed a car from a guy. It was after midnight when I started down the Bayshore Highway, and about a half hour later I pulled up in front of the cat's paw. There was a long, rambling place on the left side of the road. No, there was no plan. It just followed the erosion line until they ran out of material. There was enough neon in front to light a main intersection in heaven. I asked a 50-year-old busboy, and he said Lee Underwood was back in her dressing room getting ready for the one o'clock show. When I walked in, she was sitting in front of a mirror, working on an up-swept hairdo. If she swept it up anymore, it was gonna leave her head. I stood behind her, looking at the pink, fresh part of her neck that didn't show when her hair was down. You seem fascinated, Patsy. No. I just want to know where to break it. Oh. Sit down on the footstool here next to me. That's it. I like to look down on people. Hey, let me brush that strand of hair back. What do you like it in your eyes? Brush it back so I can see your answers. Who's Dixie Gillian? What difference does it make? None to him and some to me. He's dead. No. No, he couldn't be dead. He'd like to believe that, too. I couldn't sell him that story about an empty gun. He couldn't have been killed with that gun. No? No, I put in a blank, Patsy. Somebody used a hard-working bullet because Dixie's dead. There was no reason to kill him. I don't understand. That makes you even with homicide, but they got a bigger team. I don't understand it, Patsy. Who's Dixie Gillian? He was after some microfilm. I thought I could scare him away. You better be ready to identify him because homicide stopped. Even the scar didn't help. What scar? The scar across his face. There's no record on him. No, no, Patsy. Everything goes wrong. Everything you touch goes wrong. That's the wrong man, Patsy. Yeah. Well, it's too late for a recount. You've got to get to that body, Patsy. I don't know how, but some way you've got to get to him. You look good in there. You'll make a nice picture. Wait a minute, Dixie. You don't need your coat. Come on. I don't know how it happened. Dixie, I didn't mean it that way. If you like it that way, all right. Bring your boyfriend, too. No, don't let him, Patsy. Oh, that gun's too big. I'm going with him. It was a short trip. We let us out of the dressing room and down a thin hall to the back door. On the way past the kitchen, you could smell onions and used grease, and that's all you noticed, except the sound of a jukebox somewhere out in front. And someone laughing in a loud, mirthless way. When we got to the door, it was raining outside. They walked about 40 feet over near some trees where the dark was working over time. And the gun so made her stop. And that's where it happened. She's going to get wet, mister. You'll have a little trouble to yourself. The cup, it was still raining and I was lying on top of the mud like a stubborn seed. My wallet was gone and the gun so had ripped open my pockets. I stood up and I walked over for a last look at Lee. The rain had washed the makeup off her face and she looked small and tired as she lay there. Like a broken doll that had been tossed out from the rain. I guess she was. I got to the car and I drove back to town. I checked my place but there was no word from Jaco, so I went up to Lee's apartment. When I opened the door, the room was dark, but I knew someone was on the floor. Either that or they'd varnished the floor with bourbon. I flipped on the light and bent over Jaco. Aw. Wake up, Jaco. Come on, come on. All right, Jaco, wake up. Oh, a little ammonia. A little ammonia, I think, would bring me around. What happened? I was sapped, I guess. Everybody's got the same act tonight. Help me up. All right, come on. Where have you been? I went down to meet the girl. Huh? Where'd you meet her in the swimming pool? I've been in the rain all night. She's going to stay longer. What'd you find out? Uh, the fellow with the sky is her husband. Yeah? There's a picture in the desk. Are there any more pictures? Oh, a few. Take a look. Wearing here? Yeah. Well, well. Who's he? Must be Dixie Gillian. He was down to pay off a debt tonight. She called him Dixie once. There's a note with that name and address in the other drawer. He's our boy. We better get up there. Not if he's already killed two other people. We can't wait for a helmet. If he gets away, I'm all through. I won't have a leg to stand on. That's my point. When the other fellow gets through with us, we won't have much standing to do. I felt better now. Gillian was the only guy left in the picture. So I dragged Jaco up to his place. It was an apartment on Post Street. The elevator operator took us to the eighth floor and said that Gillian had come in a few minutes before. There was no answer. So we tried the door and it was open. Jaco didn't like the idea. Oh, Patsy, this is folly. Risking my life is one of the bravest things you do. Keep still, Jaco. What are we supposed to do? The door was open one day. So a lot of graves, but I've never been tempted. Hey, look at the furniture. There's been a fight here. I'll look in here. You check in the bedroom. If I'm not right back, don't expect me at all. Yeah. Patsy, Patsy, come here. Yeah? There's somebody on the fire escape. Stand back here. He's not moving. He was leaning that way when I first saw him. I'll get on this side. You raise the window. Go easy, Jaco. Can you see him from there? Raise it a little more. He's still leaning there. I can reach out. Now watch yourself. If he's kidding, you'll lose an arm. I've got him. Raise the window more. Yeah. Patsy, he's folly. Give me a hand. Oh, here, let me through there. It's too late. I can't hold it. He's folly. I'm sorry. Yeah. He was probably dead anyway. If he wasn't, that was a step in the right direction. Oh, it was an easy night to die. Three of them had checked out already and there was still time to look for more. Jaco and I went downstairs to see the guy. He was lying face down in the alley. And as you looked at him, you got the funny feeling he belonged there. He didn't disturb. Then he just fit it in like a dirty wet newspaper under a grandstand. There was a gun in his pocket, probably the same one that killed the girl, but there was no way of knowing. Jaco and I watched him for a moment, but your eyes begin to hurt when you see your only warm lead in a deep freeze. And it was past two when I got down to headquarters and I looked up Hellman. I briefed him on the girl and the guy in the alley and then I asked him if any microfilm had turned up on the first guy in the morgue. It was a waste of time. Hellman couldn't find a brass ring in a dead man's nose, but we went over to the morgue for another look. So far it was working out like a crossword puzzle torn in half. It's your time, Novak. I got more after tomorrow, you haven't. The microfilm must be on the guy. Three people have been killed for it and I got roughed up just to laugh. Research the guy once. Here it is. Help me roll it out. Yeah. Well, well, he sure got thin under that sheet, didn't he? Wait a minute. Oh, you run a good morgue, Hellman. What'll the papers say when they hear the stiff got up and walked out? They got him in the wrong place or something. He didn't walk out. He's gone, Hellman. Have you got an answer? He's been moved, I tell you. The guy was dead and I saw him put him here. He couldn't be walking around with a hole in the middle of his back. Oh, I don't know, Hellman. You can do it with one in your head. Don't sell the guy short. We'll return to Pat Novak in a moment. What girl hasn't dreamed Cinderella dreams of her own and wished for a fairy godmother to make those dreams come true? Here's what the newest Cinderella, Marilyn Duford, Miss America says. The modern girl doesn't waste time dreaming. She makes her dreams come true and she needs no fairy godmother to give her lovely shoes. She doesn't, that is, if she has discovered my favorite shoe store, Gallon Camps. Yes, Marilyn. For gracefully lovely shoes, flattering, and in the latest fashions, wise girls go to Gallon Camps. Gallon Camps are shoe-style leaders. And so amazingly priced, a girl can afford to have all the shoes she needs. And here's extra good news of a special Thanksgiving shoe sale. Yes, prices are actually going down on many of the up-to-the-minute shoe styles tomorrow at Gallon Camps. So, shop this sale at the Gallon Camps store near you tomorrow to step assured into the exciting holiday activities ahead. Look, lovely, in Gallon Camps. Cinderella lost a shoe and so she got a mate with lovely shoes a girl can lose in Gallon Camps. And all back to Pat Novak. When Hellman found out the body was gone, he stood there and stared at the empty slab. And then he started looking around in a nervous way like a man trying to find the sugar bowl of a restaurant counter. Few moments later, he turned and walked out of the morgue and we were halfway downtown when it happened. It must have hit us at the same time, sharp and quick, like a piece of candy in a bad tooth. That guy back in the alley had come off that slab in the morgue. We got out to Dixie's place and we began to check. There was a phone operator downstairs and she said Dixie had put through a call about two hours ago. Hellman checked the number and it was the ticket office of a railroad. We got downtown and we ran through the timetable. There was a train leaving the Oakland Mole in 40 minutes. It was an outside chance but tonight that was the only kind for sale. We got down in time to slide on the last ferry over to the mole. It was still dark out when the ferry pulled away from the slip and started across the bay. Over toward the Berkeley Hills it was beginning to get light. The sky was the color of a bruised spot on a man's arm. We'll get up to the pilot house and tell him not to dark until we've gone through all the passengers. He doesn't have to be in on this one. He'll check the train when he gets there. Wait a minute. You don't have to check. There's your boy. Where? Up there. On the rail. You better go easy. He's not a scale model. Just walk quietly until we're behind him. Yeah. Run around, mister. He'll get a better view. Oh. Hello, Novak. How was the wind and the rain in your hair? Meet Inspector Hellman. You better turn in your ticket. Well, I hope you brought your muscle. Grab your helmet. That's what I'm trying to do. All right, copper. Watch it. I'm being pushed over on the rail. Yeah, I'm worried, Hellman. Watch it, Novak. I'm going over. I watched him disappear in the dark. Halfway down the guy turned in. I followed him down the ladder along the main deck. He ducked into one of the engine spaces, and I started in to look for him. Oh, it didn't take long because he turned out to be helpful. You got the idea yet, Novak? I'll come closer. Tell me then, huh? Note yourself, but I'll knock you down hard when you show. Hey, watch that platform. You're backing into trouble. Stay back there, Novak. Watch out for that platform. You're backing into that engine. Look out. That's what it looks. Did you get the microfilm? Yeah. I got a big herd. Does it show? A little. Yeah. Yeah, it's been a long night, Novak, huh? Yeah. But your worries are over. It's almost dawn. I don't know. I don't know if I can use it, but I'll give it to you. Millie faced Hellman out of an oil slick a few minutes later. It was the first time his hair ever looked good. Vixie Gillian lasted long enough to piece the story together for homicide. Lee Underwood was on the level. She knew her husband was carrying microfilm and was worried, so she hired me to scare off Gillian. It might have worked, too, because Adrian was too big for Gillian to argue with. But the first slip came when Lee's husband went by to make a deal with Vixie without telling her. Well, when I jumped him, Vixie was outside and figured it was a double-cross. He didn't have time to figure it, but he killed him with a silencer when Lee's foamy gun went off. Well, he spent the rest of the time looking for the microfilm. That's why Jocko got sapped and the girl got hers. By that time, Vixie knew the microfilm was still on the dead man. The only way he could be sure was to get the body out of the morgue. He took it up to his apartment. When he got the film, he planted the gun and put the body on the fire escape. It was safer that way. It was a 50-50 chance. The police had missed it the first time around. He'd have a fair lead. It almost worked out for him except for that phone call. The microfilm was in a capsule next to the roof of the guy's mouth. Yeah, so old it was new again. Hellman asked only one question. In that fight, did I have anything to do with pushing him against the rail? I told him, sometimes those ferry boats roll as much as 45 degrees. Be sure to join us next Sunday evening and every Sunday, same time, same station for Radio's newest show, Pat Novak for hire. And don't forget, the store with the yellow front is the Gallon Caps shoes store. Gallon Caps shoes are good shoes. There's something about them you'll like. Franklin Evans speaking, this is ABC. They have...