 From Hollywood. It's time now for Johnny dollar Hello Hello Hello, hello Sorry to scare off your caller Ben. You always answer other people's phones mr. Dollar Yeah, when it's right at my elbow and when I want to find out who's calling at this time of night Did you find out I think so I know of only one person in the township who'd probably hang up when they heard my voice and Who you reckon that it be mr. Dollar Millie Wells Jed who else I think you'd better leave Millie out of this If you don't mind I can understand your concern Ben, but I'm afraid I can't go along with it Your wife has been murdered gossip around town says you and Millie have been interested in each other and Millie stood trial four years ago on a charge of murder Edit up then edit up Tonight and every weekday night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-pact expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator yours truly Johnny dollar From special investigated Johnny dollar location Shady Lane Vermont to the home office star mutual insurance company Hartford, Connecticut Assignment the Shady Lane matter expense account continued It was a messy case hard to move around in a small community and everybody in it was a neighbor or friend of everybody else Except of course the unknown person who'd murdered Ellen Ben Bates invalid wife, but the ties were close Eleanor turned out was the niece of Constable Jed Bramler and Sarah preening next door neighbor had accused Ben of carrying on with waitress Millie Wells It was a good friend of Constable Bramler and Sarah preening's husband had helped Ben out of a jam by loaning him $7,500 on a worthless farm Yeah, it was sticky and tight and uncomfortable touch one domino and you moved all of them But the key to the game. I was still convinced was Ben Bates himself You're wrong mr. Dollar. I've known Ben here for more years and I can't think about Murder just ain't in his nature. Mr. Bramler. I Think you're just too close to this case to keep a perspective on it. I know these people and you don't well That's exactly the point Ben is your friend. He was married to your niece So you just can't imagine him committing a murder it ain't in his nature Oh, I've never seen a killer yet without at least a few friends who were certain that murder wasn't in his nature now Listen to me both of you. It's not a question of my nature. It's a question of fact and the fact is a plain and simple one I didn't kill Ellen mr. Dollar a lot of things say different Ben and there's nothing at all between me and Millie if Ellen had lived I've never spoken to her as it is. I've only asked her if I could see her sometime once this thing is all settled When you're together at least that's about what she told me. We're together because it's the truth mr. Dollar Or because you've already talked it over one fault. I haven't got his lion not even about your rifle being stolen Wasn't no actual lie When Jed here asked me if I had a squirrel gun. I said no and like I told you I didn't then it had already been stolen Suppose he'd asked you if you had a squirrel rifle. I reckon I'd have had to fess up to it Well, we'll never know of course for sure But one thing is sure After your wife was shot and killed by a gun of that same type you still didn't report to the constable here that yours had Well, I explained it to you how would it looked if I'd have told him after Ellen was shot that my old squirrel gun had been Stole before and you didn't report the theft when it happened because Ellen asked you not to is that the story she thought she knew Who took it she wanted a chance to get it back without causing them trouble and of course She's not here now to back you up on that. It's the truth. She was like that Jed here I'll tell you kind hearted and tolerant with people. Yeah, he was that all right It's a fact if either mrs. Prenier or grody Hawkins took it and they're the only ones that was here that week Then she was aiming to talk to whichever one it was and get it back without bringing the law in only she Never had the chance to she was killed. Yeah Yeah, and that gun figures in it somehow. It's bound to Look, we've got to find it mr. Bramley might take some do in then we better get at it tonight tonight We got things stirred up now. Let's keep them stirred up. No, all right, Ben You claim you're not guilty of this it ain't a claim. It's a fact then who would you say is the most likely suspect? Ellen didn't have a single enemy in this world as far as I know There ain't a person in this township that had a reason to kill her Except you for the money you mean for that life insurance policy It's worth ten thousand dollars and I'm that kind you think a man who'd murder his own wife Just to get his hands on ten thousand dollars Ben I don't know but there's one thing you can count on I'm gonna find out Constable Bramler and I left Ben alone in his empty farmhouse drove back into town The moon was higher now and the countryside was dappled in black and silver and it too was empty and silent We alone moved and made noise as we rattled down the winding dirt road through the flint rock valleys between the sleeping elms and maples Logic still pointed at Ben Bates, but I'd begun to doubt logic a little Bramler was right Murder didn't seem to be in Ben's nature And I wasn't sure now whether he sat there in his silent house alone with guilt or alone with grief Brody lives back at the feed store there. What do you mean back of it? Yeah, kind of a shack there on the back corner of the lot They let him live in it and returned for keeping an eye on the store at night Quite a choice for a night watch when a kid who's been up several times for petty theft. Mm-hmm. I reckon it does seem a bit odd Well, let's go see if he's there You know folks around here use a person according to his nature Brody is pretty reliable at something. He's made responsible for and why do you think he might have stolen that squirrel rifle from Ben Bates place? He was working for Ben wasn't he but just as a hired hand. He wasn't hired spatially not steel But here he is. Well, that's a fine point of ethics Yeah, most points of ethics is that way Reckon grody just does onry thing sometimes so people will notice him take an interest in him He's a little simple-minded, but he ain't a bad kid at heart. Is anybody bad in your book, Mr. Bramler? Whoever killed Ellen Bates is Watch step now. Put the doc back here. Yeah Hope nobody has dug a hole here somewhere. It's ain't likely No, I think the door is here, but the corner somewhere I would collect rightly You all right Bruce machines all now who in the same hill put all these boxes in front of the door You stop right there now. Don't you move? He's gonna rifle on us. All right Don't try nothing miss dollar like I told you he's a dead shot. What's your whispering about there? Never you mind grody. You just put that gun down Don't you move now? It's Jed grody gospel Bramler mr. dollars with me you stand still I get a light on you and then we'll see Golly kids. Yes, didn't you recognize my boys? Never can't tell People might try something funny try to break in something like that Well, now that you know who we are grody. How about having a look at that gun you're holding on us? Well, I don't know I guess if constable Bramler says it's all right. It's all right grody. Let him look at the gun Here Thanks Mind holding the flashlight here All right. Well, at least this isn't the one it's a 22. What do you fellas up to anyhow, grody? What did you do that squirrel rifle you took from over Ben Bates his mantle? They're already I don't know what you're talking about you don't anybody says I've done that is lying Don't get excited grody. We don't want to wake up this whole town while we're walking across there Where we going constable over to the city jail? Quiet night not even a mockingbird singing out there I wish that bird back in the cell would do some singing. Yeah, he will Always gets to bothering him after he's in for a while 30 minutes hasn't bothered him much. He'll talk pretty soon Provided of course. He has anything to talk about. I know that boy inside out now whether he stole that gun or not He's lying about something By some oil in these days dog gone cherry even gets on my nerves I don't think anything gets on your nerves, mr. Bramler. Well the country up here has that kind of influence I reckon these hills are older than man. They've seen a lot of things come and go Yes, they kind of quiet a person down if he stays here long enough. I doubt if this place is as quiet as it looks I think there are things under the surface like flint rocks and field and sooner or later They work to the top and break off a blouse here. Yeah happen sometimes Isn't there anyone you can think of who might have hated her even slightly Dollar if I was to say honestly who I thought was the best like person in this whole township I would have to name my niece Ellen Bates And yet somebody put a bullet through her head and fired at her from the brush without even any warning. It's a fact There had to be a lot of hate behind that bullet or a lot of greed Same old tune eh Ben killed her for the insurance. I keep coming back to it because nothing else makes any sense and neither does that He owed that mortgage to Martin Prini and the farm wasn't worth it Martin wasn't pressing him for maybe not But if I tagged Ben right he still felt the obligation a sense of pressure $10,000 must have looked pretty big to him not that big mr. Dollar Then there's Millie Wells pretty as a picture and in love with him and an invalid wife at home Pigeons starting to chirp mm-hmm Let him think I ain't coming right away gets more anxious save time in the long run matter of understanding his nature Something like that What about your nature mr. Brunner always was kind to my mother and your niece too meaning How did you and Ellen get along fine? Just fine Reckoning must be ready to talk It's true. I was lying about it. I stole that gun alright, but I ain't got it now Where is it buddy? I sold it to mr. Martin Prini to hang in his house Martin Prini there can't figure Martin paying money for something to hang in the house. He's too tight-fisted He gave me $4 for about three weeks ago That would be after Ellen was shot and you took the gun the week before the murder I are you saying that I shot miss Bates that gun was in your possession at the time grotty Oh, she was the best friend I ever had the only one in this town had ever treated me like somebody Wouldn't have it done nothing to hurt miss Bates you had that gun the same kind she was killed with That gun ain't been fired in years. What? Well, mr. Bates never did use it. What even got rust inside the barrel? grotty for your sake I Hope it has Now here's our star to tell you about the final intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow One domino tips the whole stack tumbles and the last man falls with a crash Join us. Won't you yours truly Johnny doll? Yours truly Johnny dollar starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood written by Les Crutchfield It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone Be sure to join us tomorrow night same time and station for the next exciting episode of yours truly Johnny dollar Roy Rowan speaking