 Now, the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents Suspense! Might Roma Wines bring you the remarkable young actress whose performance you have admired in the Warner Brothers production, The Corn is Green. Miss Joan Loring has star of A Man in the House, a suspense play produced, edited and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear. Suspense! Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A. Roma Wines, those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live. To your happiness in entertaining guests. To your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you Joan Loring in a remarkable tale of Suspense! When I was 17 they called me that pretty little barrette girl. I never imagined then that five years later I'd be working in the public library day after day in two evenings a week. One of the mousy tight-moused librarians who frown and wrap a pencil when the adolescent scuffling and giggling becomes a little too unruly. I never dreamed that pretty little barrette girl would become Prim, Miss Barrett, nor that my mother would... But one evening my father came home from the office looking a little more tired than usual. He barely touched his dinner and said he thought he'd lie down on the sofa for a nap. Three hours later he was dead. From that day mother was a changed woman and our house was a changed house. She became suspicious and bitter and solitary. After time people stopped coming to visit and Ted Roper learned not to call for me. I suppose I should have rebelled that I was never a rebellious sir and I knew dad would have expected me to stand by her. And so in a year or two things had completely changed for me. I was working at the library stamping cards and checking bits and rapping on the desk and the digging became too loud in the corner. Ted Roper went away to school studying to be a doctor and by the time he came home to set up his own practice he was called up for the medical course. I'd get postcards from him from time to time and meanwhile I worked at the library and came home and cared for mother because her health had grown progressively worse. Now she was in a wheelchair and always in pain although she's never consented to see a doctor. I was thinking of all these things that night as I walked home from my evening session at the library. Maybe it was because Ted was back in town. He had his medical discharge and he set practice up again. He'd come to the house once and I knew he wouldn't want to come back again. And so I walked home alone in the dark thinking how once they had said There goes that pretty little bird girl. But now they said What Emily Burton a mother need is a man in the house. I looked up at our house. It was sadly and run down and the vacant lots on either side of it and across the street were wild with unkempt weeds and grass. A single light was burning in mother's room. The rest of the house is dark. I opened the gate and then I stumbled a little. Something soft and yet unyielding was at my feet. And somehow my blood went cold as I reached down and my hand touched something still and lifeless. It was my little life. Who are you. Not a sound out of you. Close the door. Why are you. What are you doing. Don't turn on the light just stay where you are. Mother are you all right. I haven't harmed her yet. I won't harm you if you do what I tell you. But if you annoy me as Rover annoyed me outside. You did call him Rover didn't you Miss Baron. What are you doing in our house. I'm your guest Miss Barrett. I trust your hospitality will measure up to the standards I set for you. May I turn on the light. Don't move. I'll do it. You find my hand cold on your arm. I didn't expect it. The light switches to your left isn't it. Yes I misjudged a little. That's why I touched you. It might have been better to have stayed in the dark you see. He was ugly. His face was horribly scarred. The entire left side of it was drawn out of shape by the rigid livid skin. The scar tissue seemed to distort his features into something evil and unclean. I'm not the most handsome guest you've ever had am I. Emily Emily Mother don't cry I'm here now don't cry. I'm frightened I'm so frightened. You'll only work yourself up by crying. Try not to dear. It would be advisable for her to stop whining. It annoys me. Please Mother please dear and Rover annoyed me now. What are we going to do Emily? Why is he coming here? I'm your guest Madam. If it's money you have we don't have. I've told you I'm your guest. I seek food and shelter as befits a guest. And you mustn't make one feel unwelcome. He's mad Emily. He's a mad man. You mustn't say that Madam. He killed the dog and then he sneaked into the house. He's been through every room. He has your father's revolver and he wouldn't turn on the lights except the one in my room. He made me wait here in the dark for you. Oh Emily Emily I feel sick. Oh stop that whining it annoys me. Don't you hurt me don't you dare. Mother please please dear. You annoy me Madam. I suggest you retire for the night. Emily no I couldn't I couldn't sleep. You'll be good enough to take your mother into her bedroom Miss Barrett. What are you going to do? I've told you I'm your guest. Well Miss Barrett. Come along mother let me will you into your room. Oh I don't want to. A conveyance needs oiling madam. Don't speak to me. Don't talk to me. Oh by the way Miss Barrett. Yes. Don't trouble to close the door. And don't attempt to talk secretly with one another. I find it a very annoying habit. Emily is mad. She's insane. I don't know what I've ever done if this should happen to me. Try to become mother. Let me help now. Come on on the bed why don't you dear try to relax. Oh I couldn't I couldn't. But if you could get some rest you'd feel so much better. I'm not getting out of this wheelchair. If you could let yourself sleep. No I tell you I can't Emily. If you just take your pills. What was that? What did you say? Answer me. My mother ordinarily takes sleeping pills for her insomnia. Not tonight Emily. I won't take them tonight I couldn't. I think you will Madam. No no I won't you can't make me. Is that her bottle on the bedside table there? Yes. I'm not going to take them. How many does she take? Two. I won't do it. Here. Come on give them to her. Emily no no don't make me. What will you do if she sleeps? Wait and rest. Wait under the shelter of your room. No. You promise I'll be at her side when she wakes in the morning? Yes I promise. I'll give her the tablets. No I won't take them. Very well. Take them now mother. Mother swallowed the sleeping tablets with difficulty. Her eyes wide with fear. Unable to look away from that scarred awful face. Then he walked away into the living room while I stood by her wheelchair holding her hand. After eternities her eyelids drooped and closed over the frightened eyes. Her face relaxed. She was asleep. I made her as comfortable as possible in the wheelchair. Put a blanket over her. Turn off the light and come out here. Did you hear me? Yes. Oh. Sit down. Yes that chair there. How do you spend your evenings Miss Barrett? You read? No not often I get enough of books at work. Why did you break a dart? What do you do for a livelihood? I'm a librarian. Why did you choose a... You don't usually stay up late do you? No I don't. In that case then we'll turn off the light. You're rather isolated at this end of the street but someone might wonder why lights are burning in the Barrett house at this hour. Why sit so uncomfortably Miss Barrett? Come on lean back, be at ease. Why don't you leave us in peace? We won't give you... I need rest. The safety of rest and the solitude. But why our house? Why? Because you have few visitors. Your mother's to blame isn't she? My mother? Weak selfish complaining. Not the most delightful of companions. You're a librarian you say huh? How long do you intend to stay here? Your curiosity annoys me. She'll stay here as long as I please for a very long time if need be. You can't you'll be found out. I doubt that very much. But if I fail to report for work... No you won't. I don't understand. You will go to work at the library as usual. And leave my mother here with you? Yes. As a hostage shall we say. Hostage? She'll be my guarantee you won't betray me. You will not go to the police Miss Barrett. You will not make any indiscreet disclosures to anyone. You'll work at your job all day and then come back here. And if I don't... Need you ask that question? Is it really necessary to ask me that? No. No. For Suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you a star Miss Joan Loring in A Man in the House by Leslie Edgeley. Roma Wines' presentation tonight in Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills. Suspense. Between the acts of suspense, this is Ted Meyers for Roma Wines. Elsa Maxwell is famous not only as a hostess, but also for her helpful suggestions on how to entertain more graciously. Recently she said, next time you have friends for dinner, add to their enjoyment of the food and give the occasion a gracious festive touch by serving distinguished Roma California Burgundy. Even when ration points are low, your simple menus take on added glamour, added flavor goodness with Roma Burgundy. Serve cool. Yes, Elsa Maxwell's suggestion is one that lends enchantment to dining. You'll enjoy Roma Burgundy. Its tart pecancy, its fruity robust taste, the happy result of selecting and gently pressing luscious grapes is one of his choicest vineyards, guided to flavor perfection, unhurriedly by Roma's ancient wine skill. Good Roma wines never vary, they're always enjoyable, yet cost only pennies a glass. Remember, because of uniformly fine quality at reasonable cost, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. R-O-M-A. Roma wines. And now Roma wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage, Joan Loring as Emily Barrett with Joseph Kearns as the man in the house. In a radio play well calculated to keep you in suspense. The rest of the night passed in silence. He didn't speak to me again and yet I knew he was staring at me from his chair, staring at me in the dark. Except for the single time he moved to bring the dog into the house. I was still frightened, so frightened, but it was the morning I thought of, the morning when I would have to leave mother alone with him. We ate breakfast together, the three of us silent at the table. His face was uglier than ever in the morning light. He had watched me prepare breakfast with wary eyes. Now he wolfed his food down as though he hadn't eaten in some time. Are you hungry? No. And you, madam? I'm not hungry. I'm sorry to hear that. Is it time for you to leave, Miss Barrett? Leave. Emily, what does he mean? Your daughter has a job, Mrs. Barrett. You wouldn't want her to leave it, would you? Emily, no, you can't leave me here. You can't. You'll be all right, mother really. You will. It's the only thing I can do. Emily, no. You'd better go, Miss Barrett and remember your responsibility. Yes. Yes, I'll remember. My day was a nightmare. I performed my duties automatically. And all the time my mind raced with speculation. What was he doing? Was mother all right? How could I possibly get him out of the house? I couldn't tell anybody. I knew that I couldn't dare. He'd kill her in a minute. My cards expired. But could I land it? For mother's sake, I had to keep Sire. I had to. I had to. And meanwhile, stamp books, stamp books, stamp books. Where's my mother? Your mother? In her room. Lock the door. Right, lock the door. Fine, I'll give me the key. Mother! She was all right. Give me the key. That evening I didn't have to go back to the library. Again he watched me prepare our meal and again he wolfed his food down. My mother and I left our plates untouched. I washed and dried the dishes after dinner and then all three of us sat in the living room. This is an ugly house. A barren house. There's no laughter in it. I'm not interested in what you think of our house. You should be. You're still young. Your life is being ruined by this selfish woman. How dare you! I'm sick. I'm not well. It's wicked of you to come into my house this way and say such things. He's evil, Emily. He burned the dog in the room. And you're evil too, madam. You're a selfish parasite. The world would be bitter of you and I'll go and go into your room. No! No, I don't care what you do to me. We have no money. We haven't anything you could want. Take her into her room, Miss Barrett, please. Come along, mother. Please don't excite yourself. You won't make things any easier this way. It's time she slept, Miss Barrett. I don't want to. I don't want to sleep. I'm so afraid. You're stubborn and weak and useless. You're a blood-sucking parasite. Give her pills, Miss Barrett. It's time she slept. Mother refused to leave her wheelchair again. But I persuaded her to take her sleeping tablet. And after she'd fallen asleep, I returned to the living room. He sat in a chair where he could watch the door and windows. One side of his face was twitching and nervous tick he couldn't control. You've permitted your mother to ruin your life. That isn't true. Of course it's true, I know. I've seen it happen before. I know all about it. I've been trapped just as you're trapped now by your mother. I won't stand for you talking like that. I know about women, domineering women. I was one. She'll never bother me again. You killed someone. Did I? That's why you're hiding here. Is it? Did you kill someone? I'm not sure. Maybe someone annoyed me. I'll kill if anyone annoys me. Don't annoy me, Miss Barrett. I'll tell your mother not to annoy me. That night went by. Crawled by as the first night had done. At 10.30 he switched off the light and then we were sitting in the dark again in silence hour after hour. When morning came I was wretched and haggard but I knew I had to do as he said leave the house again. I had no other choice. I had to leave mother with him. I'd have to go about my duties as usual. For a moment I thought of going for help but I knew what he'd do to her if someone even approached the house and then as I came down the front steps my heart almost stopped but Ted Roper was coming up the front path. Morning, Emily. Hello. I'd heard your mother wasn't too well and I thought I'd drop in a minute and see her. No, no, I don't think you'd better. She's asleep. That's too bad. I wish I'd stopped in the last night. I was in the neighborhood and I was just on the verge of knocking on your door and I noticed your lights were out. Oh, yes, we retired early. Is there something wrong, Emily? No, no, no, there isn't. You look worn out. Getting plenty of sleep? Yes, yes I am. You've got to get a lot of sleep. And as he stood there chattering on about my mother and my health I could see the curtain and the living room moved. He was watching us. He could probably hear every word that was being said. Emily, you're not listening. Are you well? Of course I'm well. Will you leave me alone, Ted? Of course, if that's the way you feel. I'm sorry, Ted, but I have a headache. I'd appreciate it if you'd go on. Certainly. And as Ted disappeared down the street I turned and looked into the window. He was standing in the back of the curtain smiling as if in approval. I don't know how I managed to get through that afternoon, but I did. And then I went home again and they were there. When I'd seen that mother was all right I cooked dinner and he tried to keep up a conversation. We had visitors today, didn't we, Mrs. Barrett? Milkman, mailman. No letters, however, just a magazine. And we had an interesting talk, didn't we, Mrs. Barrett? About mothers and daughters, you know. I looked at mother across the table. The panic in her eyes had given away to another emotion. One hard to name at first. And then I realized it was resignation. As though she were resigned to her fear. Her face was peaceful, strangely serene, and she looked more beautiful than I'd ever remembered seeing her. After dinner we sat in the living room. Silently. He looked tired, deep circles under his eyes and his face twitched involuntarily. I felt unbearably tired, my eyes so heavy. Mrs. Barrett, I think you'd better go to bed. Go to bed? You'll sleep. No, I couldn't. There's no excuse for not sleeping. You see how easily your mother can do it. You'll take some of her tablets. No. You'll take them. But my mother... She'll take them too, she knows how. And then I knew why he wanted me to take the pills. He needed sleep for himself. All right here, Mrs. Barrett. All at once I had no resistance left in me. I took the water from him. He was leaning over me in the chair. And then I swallowed the tablets. Sleep couldn't have come immediately and yet somehow it was like a swift black curtain shrouding my mind. When I awoke he was still asleep in the chair facing the door and the windows. But the moment I moved... Good morning. Where's my mother? In her room, of course. Mother was still sleeping in her wheelchair. But something was wrong. She looked so strange. Something was radically wrong. She was ill. My first impulse was to cry out to run to him and plead with him to help me. But I knew that was useless. I turned around knowing that I shouldn't leave her and yet I was powerless to help her. It's late. I won't have time to make breakfast this morning. Yes, we seem to have overslept, didn't we? I'll have to go now. The key, please unlock the door. Mother's still sleeping. Please don't disturb her. That still depends on you, Miss Barrett. Have you forgotten? I left the house desperate with fear. Mother had to have medical attention immediately and yet I didn't dare call anyone in. I didn't dare do anything that would endanger her life. I didn't know what to do. I walked blindly and rapidly along the sidewalk almost running, not knowing where I was going. And then I saw Ted. Ted ain't better. Oh, Ted. What's wrong? What is it, Emily? Ted, you've got to help me. You've got to... What's it? Here's my car, Emily. Sit down now. Tell me what's wrong. And then I told him the whole story. And when I'd finished, he said... I'd better go to your house at once. But you can't, Ted. I can't let you in the house. You won't have to. I'm not letting you go back there. But I must. I can't leave Mother with him. All right, then. Go back to the house. Tell him you went for a doctor. Oh, I couldn't. Tell him that, Emily. Tell him you saw your mother was ill when you woke up. You called a doctor, and you said nothing about him being in the house. But he won't believe me. I know he won't. We've got to gamble, he will. I'll drive you back to the corner. Give you time to walk to the house and explain things to him. Then I'll make my call. And then what, Ted? What will we do then? I don't know, honey. But do as I say. It's all we can do just now. When I faced him again in the house, I knew I'd blended. I should never have taken a chance. I shouldn't have left Mother in the first place. What are you doing back here? Why aren't you at the library? I didn't go to the library. My mother's sick. I called for a doctor. I've phoned for a doctor. He'll be here soon. You called him about me? Oh, no, no, no. I didn't. You're lying. You're lying about your mother. You tricked me. My mother's ill, I tell you. She was sick when I looked at her this morning. You must believe that. We'll find out. Come on in the bedroom. Oh, wait. The doctor's here. Huh? You see, he's coming up the walk. Let him in. Don't go away. I can't do that. Not after calling him. He'll know something's wrong. Then he'll call the police, won't he? That's exactly what I warned you not to do, isn't it? My mother's sick. That's all that matters. All right. All right, all right. Let him in. I'll leave your mother in the living room. I'll be behind the curtains. Keep that in mind. If you try any tricks, I'll kill her. No, I've... I have your father's revolver, you know. I don't care what happens to me. I'll kill her first. No. Go on. Let him in. I'll be ready for him. Hello, Emily. Hello, Doctor. I'm so glad you've come. Where's our patient? In the living room. Well, let's look at her, shall we? Here she is, Doctor. She isn't breathing loudly now, but she was breathing so harshly when I left her. Well, let's just see. I stood against the wall while Ted bent over her. She was facing the curtains in the doorway. And behind those curtains, behind them... I scarcely breathed, praying Ted wouldn't do anything to arouse suspicions, praying against hope. And then... All right, you in there? You'd better give up. No, Ted, you can't. Go on. Easy, honey. Take it easy. You let him kill her. Doctor, I told you you let him kill her. Honey, listen to me. It was the only thing I could do. It was you who killed her. You really did it. Emily, listen. Look at this bottle of sleeping tablets in her lap. Almost half empty. And she's cold. Cyanosis, blue, lips, and skin. She took an overdose of sleeping tablets. She was already dead, Emily. Already dead? You knew that when you told him to give up? Yes. I couldn't leave you in the house with him. He'd have found out and then he'd have flared up and killed you. I had to do it, honey. I had to provoke him into shooting a dead woman. To give me time to shoot him. I didn't know where he was. Oh, Ted. He told us he'd ruined my life. He called her a parasite. You think she... I think so, honey. She did it so you might live. Roma wines have brought you a man in the house. Starring Joan Lauring as Emily and Joseph Kearns as the man. In tonight's study in... Suspense! Before Miss Lauring returns to the microphone, Ted Myers with the word for Roma wines, the sponsor of suspense. Warm weather and iced drinks just naturally go together. And as famed hostess Elsa Max will recently remarked, for a gay and colorful warm weather drink, I recommend Roma wine and soda. A delightful frosty cold thirst quencher that's as delicious as it is refreshing. Yes, and Roma wine and soda made with distinguished Roma, California burgundy, or sautern is quick and easy to make. Half fill the tall glasses with good Roma, burgundy, or sautern. Add ice cubes, sparkling water, and a bit of sugar. And for a decorative touch, garnish with cherries or fruit. And for a delightful aperitif, sip delicious Roma sweet vermouth, well-chilled. Zestful, full-flavored Roma vermouth is blended and developed with all the traditional wine-making skill of Roma wineries. It's made and bottled in the heart of California's famous vineyards, yet surprisingly low priced. Try Roma vermouth soon, won't you? This is Joan Lauring with a message from our government. America's war production program calls for the retention of millions of war workers in their jobs until the Pacific War is won. Stay on the war job until released. Keep buying more and more war bonds and hold on to them. And keep supporting all home front activities and observing all wartime regulation. Price controls, rationing, volunteer service, and salvage drive. Thank you. Next Thursday you will hear Lloyd Nolan as star of... Suspense. Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills. Presented by Roma Wines, R-O-M-A. Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.