 Corrected. Time the action. Only Heels offers double your money back if you don't get half our relief. Heels Cold Tablets. Ladies and gentlemen, Colin O's Toothpaste presents Mr. Keen Tracer of Lost Persons. One of the most famous characters of American fiction and one of Radio's most thrilling dramas. Tonight and every Thursday at the same time, the famous ol' investigator takes from his file and brings to us one of his most celebrated missing persons cases. Next time you buy a dentifist, get high polishing, high foaming, Colin O's Toothpaste or Toothpowder. Colin O's is a double result dentifist with a mouthwash effect built right in. Brush into your breath while you're brushing your teeth. Tomorrow, buy Colin O's. Now for Mr. Keen and the strange case of Charlie Lollimer. Our scene opens on a quiet country road which runs parallel to a wood. Two youngsters are on their way home after a breast hike. And the late afternoon sun is slowly setting in the west. Boy, I'm getting tired of walking, Tom. Me too, buzzy. Now let's take the shortcut through the woods. Okay. My old man says this strip of woods is a nice piece of property. It says the guy who owns it ought to clear all this brush away and build a house on it. I wouldn't want to live here. Why not? You don't know what they say. You mean all that baloney about guys disappearing in here? That's a lot of hoodies. All I gotta say is I wouldn't come here at night for a million bucks. Well, I ain't scared. Any time you give me a dare to come through here at midnight... Lollimer! What's the matter? Look, there's a man over there asleep in the brush. Yeah. You better not go near him. He might be some crazy tramp. He ain't no tramp. Look at the way he's dressed. And what are you gonna do? Maybe you're sick, Tom. Maybe... Tommy. What? He's dead. He's up there, officer. He's lying under the tree. Yeah, what tree? That big birch. Well, come on. Let's have a look. Ah, listen, you kid. I got more to do than fool around playing games. Buzzy, he's gone. Sure he's gone. He ran into some tramp who was taking a snooze and you figured you'd make a detective story out of it. Officer, he was lying right there. Yeah, and he looked like he was dead. Never mind. You got two minutes to get out of here before I haul you into jail. The both of you. Come on, Buzzy. Beat it now. That crazy kid. Please sit down, Miss Larimer. Thank you, Mr. King. Mr. King, this is Mrs. Bender. How do you do? I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. King. Emmy and my father were going to be married. Charlie disappeared the day before the wedding. You're a widow, Mrs. Bender? Yes. When did you last see Mr. Larimer? He came out to Bender to my house the night before last. I got a house near Trout River that's about 50 miles from New York. I see. The night Charlie came out, he was feeling awful good. I cooked a wonderful dinner for him, but kind Charlie likes. I know when he likes my cooking because he always says the same thing to me. Emmy, you're the best cook in this state. Oh, well, did you like the peas and yams, Charlie? I never tasted peas the way you cook them. Say, are they delicious? I preserved these myself this summer. I made up the idea myself of bad and peppered onions. You know, something tasty. Emmy, I'm a lucky man to get you for a wife. You know the value of a dollar. Well, a man works hard for his money, and I feel I ain't got no right to spend it easy. If my first wife had felt that way, I might have been a rich man by now. But I'm doing all right. I know. Well, more preserved, Charlie? Oh, no, thanks. Thank you so much. I can hardly move. I think I'll take a little walk, Emmy. Oh, walk? No. Why not? Just through the woods and back. Oh, it's so dark out there, Charlie. Oh, well, I'm not afraid of the dark. Well, you go ahead, but don't stay too long. All right. Well, tomorrow's the big day, Emmy. You'll be Mrs. Charles Lorimer this time tomorrow night. Oh, I know. I'll be back inside half an hour. I'll see you later, Emmy. Well, just be careful, Charlie, please. And you never saw him again, Mrs. Bender? No, Mr. King. Mrs. Lorimer, where the police notified about your father's disappearance? Not yet, Mr. King. We thought we'd wait for you first. Well, I'll contact the state troopers in that vicinity. Then I'll get to work on the case myself. Mr. King, do you think that something's happened to Father? I wouldn't have come too alarmed without sufficient reason. Mr. Lorimer, have no enemies? Enemies? Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to do him harm? Why, I... Mrs. Bender, it's absolutely essential for me to get the facts. Please don't keep anything from me. I... I just thought of Seth. Seth? Who is Seth? A farmer. He lived two miles from me. He sold his farm a few weeks ago and moved away. Well, did he know Charles Lorimer? No, Mr. King, but he knew of him. What do you mean? Well, I was supposed to marry Seth before I met Charlie. And what happened, Mrs. Bender? I broke off with him on account of his drinking. Was he jealous of Mr. Lorimer? Well, a few days after Seth sold his farm and moved away, he came back. It was late in the evening and Seth was in a nasty mood. Who's that? Who is it? It's me, I mean. Seth. Thought I'd come by and wish the bride luck. You get out of here, Seth, before I call the troopers. Where's the groom, I mean? Nobody's here but me. Where's the groom? He'd like to lay his skull open with my stick. Seth, you're out of your mind. How does he like your cooking, I mean? Does he like it just as much as me? Maybe you would have enjoyed a little more of my cooking if you hadn't. Never mind the lectures, I mean. Save your husband. Well, maybe I'll meet up with the groom before the wedding. He's got no time for the likes of you, Seth. You don't tell me. Well, I got time for him. Lots of time. Seth, Kenner, if you don't hustle out of here fast, I'm calling the state troopers. I'm going, Abby. I'm going. Remember me to the groom and give him my best wishes. Yep, my best wishes for an early burial. So long, Abby. Happy your wedding day. Mrs. Bender, why didn't you tell me this before? Well, because Seth ain't a bad man when he don't drink Mr. Keen and I figured his threats really didn't mean a thing. Do you know where Seth has moved to? No, sir. Well, did you ever see him again after that night? No, Mr. Keen. He never came back. This case seems a little more complicated than it appeared at first. Could...could Seth have had anything to do with Father's disappearance, Mr. Keen? It sounds likely enough, Miss Lorimer, but let's not jump to conclusions. Give me a little time, a few days, to make a preliminary investigation. I'll try to get results. I only hope those results aren't tragic ones. You want to see me, mister? Your officer, Ryan? That's right. Well, I'm Mike Clancy. I work with Mr. Keen. And the two of us are making an investigation here in the neighborhood. For a missing man by the name of Lorimer. Mr. Keen sent me out here to make a routine report for the state police. I see. How long has a man been gone, Mr. Clancy? Three days. He was last known to be walking through that strip of woods near the river. That's funny. What is, officer? Oh, two kids told me something about seeing a body lying under a tree. Just about that time. I went out into the woods with them, but it wasn't a trace of anybody at all. Well, dear, maybe they were playing a practical joke? No, I figured they might have seen some tramp asleep in the woods. Well, where can I get in touch with these kids, officer? I'll give you their addresses. They both live in Trout River. Thanks a lot. Meanwhile, you can give me this man Lorimer's description, and we can send out an alarm. We certainly appreciate your cooperation, officer, Ryan. We may be small towners out here, Mr. Clancy, but we've heard of Mr. Keen, the famous investigator, and we're glad to work with him any time. Well, I got in touch with the kids, folks, Mr. Keen. Both boys will meet us at the edge of the woods right after school. Good, Mike. I guess you're planning on returning to that spot in the woods where they saw this fella under a tree. I'm planning on going over those woods, Mike, if necessary, inch by inch. You're busy? Yes, sir. And I'm tired, Mr. Keen. Are you boys familiar with these woods? We know them like the backs of our hands, Mr. Keen. We've been playing and fishing around here ever since we could walk. And there'd be no question about you taking us back to the exact spot where you saw that man. You'll leave it to us, Mr. Keen. It's an honor working with a famous detective like you. We'll take you there. That's the idea. It isn't far from here. Just over that ridge. All right, boys. Let's go. It's just over there, Mr. Keen. You got a gun, Mr. Clancy? Why? I'd feel a lot better if you had. Oh, Tommy's always talking about ghosts. Don't pay no attention to them. Ghosts? They say funny things happen at night in these woods, Mr. Keen. Well, son, ghosts, banchees, and zombies are right my line of work. Mr. Keen. Yes, fuzzy? Here's the spot. That's funny. It looks different. How do you mean, Tommy? Yeah, the ground wasn't all cut up this way. There seems to be a reason for that, too. Looks to me, Mike, is if something's been buried under here and recently. Tommy, do you want me to run back for a shovel, Mr. Keen? No, never mind, son. I can practically shovel this soil away with my hands. That's off, boss. Let's get to work on it, Mike. Here's an old board, sir. You can use this. Thanks, son. Easy, Mike. Whatever is there is buried very near the surface. I've hit something already, Mr. Keen. What is it, Mike? Why do you rock? It's a man. He's dead, Mr. Keen. Was this the body you saw under the tree? It doesn't look like the same one. It was the man we still had on a different coat. Mr. Keen, I know who he is. Who was he? He was still on a farmer out here. Sure. That's Seth Kinnery. Just a moment, we'll return to Mr. Keen and the astounding case of Charlie Laughman. Now back to Mr. Keen and the strange case of Charlie Laughman. A few hours ago, Mr. Keen and his partner Mike Clancy discovered Seth Kinnery's body buried in the woods. Now in the small hotel room which Mr. Keen and Mike are occupying while they remain in Plot River. Well, this is the way I see it, Mr. Keensel. The night Charlie Laughman went out for his walk, Seth Kinnery was gunning for him. But Charlie beat Seth to the draw. Then what do you think happened, Mike? Well, Charlie got scared. So he might not be able to prove self-defense. So he buried Seth as fast as he could and then took it on the land. Well, that's a very good theory, Mike. If it weren't for certain other facts, what are the facts? First of all, what about the original body under the tree? The one the boys first saw? That may not have been a dead body at all, Mr. Keen. That fellow may have been just a sleep and cramp, just as the state trooper said. But, Mike, how do you account for the fact that Seth Kinnery had been dead for three days when we found him? Because that's when Charlie Lorimer killed him. Don't you remember, boss? It was exactly three days when... No. No. Wait a minute. Well... If he had been killed in the woods by Lorimer, the state trooper would have discovered it when he first hit the spot. That's right, Mike. Which means that the only way Lorimer could have killed him would have been to... To do it somewhere else. Hide the body for a day or two, then bring Seth back to where we found him. That sounds like an awful lot of trouble, Mr. Keen. Well, frankly, I don't believe a man who kills in self-defense could be as cagey as all that, Mike. No, the man who killed Seth was an experienced murderer who knew his business. Which brings us to where we were before, Mr. Keen. It seems to me, though, that Charles Lorimer holds the key to the mystery. Ah, if we could only find him. I'll take it, Mike. Hello? Mr. Keen? Yes? This is Amy Bender. Can you come over to my house right away? Of course, Mrs. Bender. What's happened? I'll explain when you get here. Please, come quickly. I'll be over there in 15 minutes, Mrs. Bender. Wait here for me, Mike. The state troopers are going to phone in regard to the autopsy on Seth Kinnery. I want to make sure we get that call. Right, sir. I came as quickly as I could, Mrs. Bender. Oh, Mr. Keen, I received this in the mail today. Just, just read it. Dear Amy, I just want to tell you that you're free to do as you like. Don't wait for me to return. I can't and I never will. All my love, Charlie. He's alive, Mr. Keen, but I'm so worried. I, I heard about poor Seth Kinnery, and now I feel that my Charlie may be in terrible trouble. Mrs. Bender, we can't be certain this is from Mr. Larimer. Why not? The entire letter is typewritten. It isn't even signed by hand. But Charlie's always used a typing machine. He has? Yes, sir. Let me see the envelope this came in, Mrs. Bender. The envelope? Yes. I don't know what I did with it, Mr. Keen, but that was typewritten, too. I want to see the postmark to find out where he was when he sent it. That is, if Mr. Larimer did send it. Well, maybe I left it in the kitchen. I was so excited when I got the letter. I didn't know half what I was doing. Have you found the envelope, Mrs. Bender? No, Mr. Keen. I was almost certain, though, that I left it in here. Search the place thoroughly, please. Go through the cupboards. It wouldn't be in the cupboard. That cupboard's broken anyway. I never use it. When did you get this letter, Mrs. Bender? Just a few minutes before I called you, Mr. Keen. I found it in my mailbox. Here it is, Mr. Keen. Here's the envelope on the sideboard. There's no postmark on it at all. Who is it? Which means it was probably placed in your mailbox by the man who wrote it. Then Charlie's here and he's alive. I wonder... Oh, Mr. Keen, at least give me something to hope for. Oh, Mrs. Bender, it wouldn't be fair of me to tell you something I didn't believe. Then... Then what do you really think, Mr. Keen? I think Charles Larimer is dead. Oh, no. I'm sorry, Mrs. Bender. I wish everything didn't point in that direction, but it does. Charlie never hurt anybody in his life. He was such a good man. I may still be wrong, I hope so. In any case, in order to prove the facts, we've got to find the evidence. I'm going to take this letter with me if you don't mind. But would you return it later, Mr. Keen? Of course. So all I have left to is a member to Hollywood. I'll take good care of it for you, Mrs. Bender. Are you all right? Yes. Yes, I'm all right, Mr. Keen. Then goodbye, Mrs. Bender. You'll hear from me again very soon. Mike. Yes, Mr. Keen. Have the police called. Not yet, boss. What was up with Mrs. Bender, sir? Mike, I've got an idea. Hello? Mr. Keen? Yes? I'm calling 9 of the state police. Oh, yes, officer. I'm calling from headquarters. They just finished a post mortem on Seth Kinnery's body. That bullet in his head wasn't the cause of death. Kinnery was already dead when he was shot. He'd been poisoned. What? Yes, sir, poisoned, but it was accidental. What do you mean by accidental? The man died of food poisoning. The doc said he ate something that was spoiled and that killed him. Food poisoning? That's right. We can account for the bullet wound. I know, but I'll get in touch with you later if I have anything new of interest to you. Right, Mr. Keen. So long. Thanks for calling, officer. Well, Mr. King, you mean to say that fellow died because of something he ate? Well, that's the coroner's opinion, Mike. But what about the bullet in his head? Mike, I'm going back to New York to talk to Charlie's daughter Nancy Larimer once again. You stay on the job here, and I'll return sometime tonight. Right, sir. This case has taken a decidedly different turn. Yes, I may have a job view to do when I get back, Mike. A dangerous job. Do you have news of problem, Mr. King? Not yet, Nancy. I came back to New York to ask you a few questions and to go through all your father's effects. You're welcome to search his room, Mr. King. Well, thank you. First, I want to ask you one or two things, and please try to remember every single detail. It may mean the difference between solving this case or having it remain a mystery forever. Yes, sir. Now, this is what I want to know, Nancy. Any new developments, Mr. King? Yes, Mike. I think I found the answer to Seth Kinnery's death and Charles Larimer's disappearance. You have, sir? I want to put an ad in the papers, Mike, the local papers. Have you got your pen, sir? Yes, sir. I want the ad to run this way. Don't some bachelor looking for companions between ages of 35 and 45. 35, 40. Have you got that? Yes, sir. Now, here's the rest. Correspondent wishes to marry and offer $2,000 in cash in exchange for a comfortable home. Is there a woman in the world who is lonely, too? Anything else, Mr. King? Well, that's all, Mike. You're not going into the marriage broker business by any chance, boss? Only temporarily, Mike. Well, who is the lonesome bachelor you're referring to, Mr. King? You. Me. That's right. Oh, no. I ain't so lonesome I want to hitch myself up to a woman I don't even know. I ain't even lonesome at all, Mr. King. You will be the time being. You'll be a suitor, Mike, with $2,000 in cash in one pocket and a gun in the other. Here's the letter, Mr. King. You're through on the base and it worked. The rest is up to you, Mike. Let's get started. Yes? Mrs. Bendus? That's right. I'm the fellow who advertised in the papers. Oh, please. Why won't you come here? My name is Clancy, ma'am. Mike Clancy. Well, and I'm Amy Bendus. I'm sure the nice place you got here. Well, it's a lonesome place without a man around. Well, Amy, I'm a man of few words. I got marriage and a mind. That's why I'm here. Well, you remind me so much of my first husband. He was straightforward like you. Well, we'll need some time to get acquainted, but just to prove to you, I ain't a fellow who brags about what he can prove. Look at this. My goodness. There's $2,000 cash in this roll. And I brought it to show you that I was on the level that I wouldn't take advantage of a nice widow like you by lying to her. Now, that's what I call straight talk, Mike. And now I've got to show you that I'll make a good wife. And the way to a man's heart I found is through his stomach. Well, now, if that's an invitation to stay to dinner, it's fine with me. Oh, I'll give you a real home cooked meal. Everything's my own cupboard. I can, my own vegetables, you know, and they're delicious. I bet. Oh, you'll be surprised, Mike, and please. Well, let me. I just can't wait. Well, now, everything's ready, Mike. It certainly looks like a wonderful dinner. Oh, fine. I need to get started. You must eat the peas before they get cold. And the roast. I've got lots of good fresh pepper and onions with the peas. My old special recipe. Everybody raise it, Adam. Go on, and take them. Say, what are you doing? Collecting. Collecting what? The evidence. Emmy, this food is poison. Huh? Just say where you are, Mrs. Bender. Mr. King. Sorry I started you. I came up by way of the seller. What is this, a frame up? You've got your boots, Emmy. You killed Charles Larimer by poisoning him, Mrs. Bender. What? With your special recipe of highly seasoned peas. He died of the walk through the lonely woods that night. The next morning you brought his body here to your cellar, where Seth Kinnery was already buried. That's a lie. Later you decided you could account for Charles' disappearance by putting a bullet through Seth's head and leaving his body where it could be easily found. But if it hadn't been for you... No, no, easy, Emmy. We don't want to get rough. You had met your prospective suitors by advertising in the newspapers for companions. The way Mike advertised yesterday afternoon. You led them on, robbed them, then got rid of them in your own quiet way with your delicious cutlets. Sure you ought to have seen her eyes light up when she saw that whole of bills, Mr. King. Thought I was an easy touch, eh, Emmy? That letter you wrote yourself wasn't a very clever idea. Even though you thought so at the time, Emmy. And the newspaper ads I found in the late Charles Larimer's coat, together with his daughter's story of how you met him was enough evidence for me. And then extra special peas sure worked fine and that dilly affixed up to me, Emmy. And I wouldn't be surprised if that's the kind of a dinner you'd dished out to your poorly-parted husband. So what if I did? He was no better than any of the others. Mrs. Bender... Why shouldn't I get something out of him? Why shouldn't I get one with a million dollars like them games on Park Avenue do? Why not? Why not? I used any way I could think of to poison him. My husband? Yes, his darling. I'm clever, I am. I'm smart. They were crazy about my special recipe for peas. Mike, I suggest we escort Mrs. Bender into town. She has a date with another man. Have I missed a piece? Yes. The chief of police. And Thomas DeCain solves the strange case of Charlie Larimer. All of these sometimes call it the case of Emmy and her delicious dish of peas. Would you like to smile this very minute and have your teeth reveal their natural brightness? 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Toothpaste or Tooth Powder. Tomorrow, buy colonose. You've been listening to Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, on the air every Thursday at this time. Don't miss Mr. Keen next Thursday when the kind deal Tracer turns to the ballet murder case. Here's the fast, easy way to have beautifully shining floors. Just use no rubbing arrow wax. While you watch, it polishes itself with marvelous luster that eliminates frequent scrubbing. Arrow wax dries in minutes, but lasts for weeks. Yet a full pint costs only 25 cents. Get arrow wax. A-E-R-O-W-A-X tomorrow. Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons will be on the air next Thursday at the same time. Mr. Larry Elliott saying good-bye for Mr. Keen and the Whitehall Pharmacal Company. Make us a colonose toothpaste and Tooth Powder, and many other dependable high-quality drug products. This is PBS Columbia Broadcasting System.