 As Johnny dollar Jim base Johnny. Oh hi a Jim Johnny when a chief of police gets shot and killed What would you say is the most likely reason for well most likely because he's a chief of police right only? I've got a hunch on this one like what Jim the insurance the chief was middle-aged Shot to death with his own gun in his own house The beneficiary his wife is 27. They've been married eight months The policy has been in four seven months The face value is $50,000 And the wife filed a claim on that only 24 hours after he was killed well fast girl She didn't waste any time. What do you think Johnny same thing you do? Maybe I'd better look into it All about taking a minute or so to talk about seals and fish that have some connection with the government of the United States Now that isn't as strange as it sounds You take the matter of seals for example There are two types of seals that are the responsibility of the Secretary of State First there's the great seal of the United States which is stamped on all official documents The Secretary of State makes sure it's always on hand when it's needed The other kind of seals he takes care of are the ones that swim in the ocean Since it's up to the Secretary to work out agreements with representatives of other countries and let them know How many seals can be caught in what is called international waters and when? The Secretary of State works out similar deals for the catching of fish and blobsters Because these agreements are actually treaties Before they can be put into effect. They have to be approved by two-thirds of the Senate As a matter of fact anytime our government wants to work out a deal with a foreign country on trade Mutual assistance fish seals or lobsters. It's done by treaty and all treaties are signed by the president Though some of them aren't drawn up until after the Secretary of State has worked over the rough spot In order to pave the way for prompt ratification. So Just remember the Secretary of State is a mighty important wheel in the machinery of your United States government Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar to a home office Commonwealth Mutual Assurance Company Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the Dan Frank matter Expense account of one seventy six dollars and forty cents transportation to the Great Lakes town of Middleboro and Taxi to the home of Dan Frank former chief of police now deceased It was a rambling two-story house well-trimmed hedges smooth lawn quiet neighborhood Good place to live and the last place you think of as a setting for murder. I Was halfway up the walk when a man came out the front door down the steps And then stopped and waited for me rocking on his heels Copper I can tell him a block away. You're a copper, right wrong Private eye, maybe. Oh, you're getting warmer insurance investigator Insurance that's what I just asked her about and she threw me out said I was drunk She was right. I am Usually I am a little bit Pete Parker daily Harold Johnny dollar glad to know you Insurance he had some or you wouldn't be here and who gets it the law, of course is ever-loving little wife Only question left How much no comment? I? Like you Johnny. You don't talk too much. I do Let me give you a little advice Watch yourself meaning what this town? It looks sleepy dead Don't let it fool you. It's wide open Rackets everything a guy could get hurt. What about Dan Frank was he in on these rackets? Johnny the police chief here gets six thousand a year Take a look at that house Go in and take a look at Laura even more expensive Dan was in He's out now though Be seeing you Pete right do that. I'm always around Pete Parker that drunk that works for the Herald ask anybody Well Johnny dollars my name I'm representing the insurance company. Oh come in Mr. Dollar Hardly expected them to pay so promptly. I'm not here to pay you Mrs. Frank. I'm an investigator The company wants a little more information about your husband's death. Why I told them everything in the crime I sent I know but there are always a few to try to get out of it. I know how those companies operate Oh, you've had experience with them before. No, of course. I haven't but What information what is it you want to know mr. Dollar. Well how it happened for one thing Right here. This is where he fell Done was laying beside him someone had taken it from the table there by the door and waited for him to come down the stairs middle of the night wasn't it Why did he come downstairs? I'd heard a noise I woke him up and he came down to see about it for the lights on not down here I turned on the whole light upstairs and done the shot for five of them Someone ran out the front door and got away without being seen. Yeah Who do you think that someone was Mrs. Frank? I don't know Dan had a lot of enemies of course because of his job. What about his friends? You suppose they could have done it. I don't know what you mean Well, who were his friends? Who heads up the rackets here in Middleborough? What racket? Okay, without your cooperation. Oh, it's gonna take a lot longer to get this settled Tell me something does the insurance company think I'm the one who killed him Well, I think 24 hours is pretty fast for a grief-stricken widow to shoot a claim into the office I'm not grief-stricken. Mr. Dollar. So I've noticed you go see max Billy talk to him max Billy the city attorney Get his story before you jump to conclusions. See if he thinks I'm guilty. All right, I will then we'll talk after it Maybe I'll even cooperate Maybe you'll be a little nicer to me tell you why she sent you to me So I could tell you she didn't kill him that she couldn't possibly have killed him Why not mr. Billy late at night the two of Malone in the house the chief shot with his own gun That mysterious prowler story has been used before yeah, I know But you're wrong about one thing. They weren't alone in the house. I Was there oh You see Dan and I were leaving early in the morning on a fishing trip. So I was staying all night. I Woke up and heard somebody in the hall outside my room About the time I opened the door Laura snapped on the hall lights just then the shots blasted downstairs She was standing in the door of her room not ten feet away. She couldn't have done it No, apparently not She sure couldn't have had a better alibi the city attorney himself Were you and Dan Frank good friends mr. Billy? No, we didn't have much use for each other Well, then why would I know I know I was spending the night in his house and we were going fishing together You're thinking maybe I needed that alibi as much as Laura does well. It does work both ways mr. Billy No motive Laura could be a motive. She's a beautiful girl A lot younger than her husband. I understand About your age in fact, uh-uh again. I Know it too. Well sure. She's a knockout wild honey suckle and a handful of stars Inside there's a little cash register bell when you put money in it rings real pretty when you don't nothing Dan found out is that why he got mixed up with the rackets here. Sure. He needed dough You do get around don't you who told you there were any rackets here Max? I wonder if you'd go over that. Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you come on in commissioner. This is Johnny dollar insurance investigator He's checking into Dan's killing a terrible loss mission of Corbett. Mr. Dollar. How do you do? Oh, yeah If there's any way at all we can help this dollar just speak out the entire facilities of City Hall are completely at your disposal So well, thanks commissioner Just what is the theory on the shooting? Find Eddie sales, and you've got the killer Eddie sales and chief Frank sent him up a couple of years ago Eddie swore he'd get him if it was the last thing he did Eddie was parole last week seen here in town the morning before the killing hasn't been seen since we've combed the town for a week No luck Well, it seems to add up Would missus Frank now anything about the rackets her husband was tied up with like it's why that no commissioner He's been talking to people found out our fair city is not as lily white as it looks Well, then there's no point in trying to cover it up It's true. Mr. Dollar unpleasant as it is to admit it any idea. Who's back of them not enough to talk about if I did I'd be talking about it in court find Eddie sales. Mr. Dollar That's the key to both the killing and the rackets find Eddie and you can wind this up in 10 minutes Expensive on Adam to a dollar and fifty cents taxi from City Hall back to my hotel. I Kept trying to make sense out of what I'd learned but got nowhere Everybody blamed Eddie sales the ex con with a grudge on the Eddie wasn't around There wasn't any closer to an answer when I got out at the hotel I Watched the taxi pull away and then started across the walk throughout the entrance It was Laura Frank parked at the curb a few yards away I've been waiting for you Johnny. Oh have you I wanted to talk to you. Why don't you get in? Okay Did you talk to Max? Yeah He gives you a pretty strong alibi. I could have told you myself, but you'd have checked with him anyway Yeah, I imagine I would have They're not being any nicer Johnny. Is that what you wanted to talk about? Maybe I'm ready to be nicer. Oh And how about cooperative that to tell me and tell me why you didn't mention Eddie sales when I talked to you earlier Why should I I don't know that it was Eddie? I suppose it was everybody's sure of it But I don't know it with him. I see forget him Johnny It's the police can't find him when they know the town inside out. It's the fincher. Get out quick Yes, I guess I am why Johnny, why would they want to kill you? How do you know it was me they were shooting at? No No, something to think about isn't it? You feel any more cooperative. I gotta get out of here Johnny. I'll talk to you later. I've got to get out of here Another scotch and soda. How about you Johnny? Well, thanks people right now. Oh, I forgot to ask How did you find me? I called the paper. They gave me the names of three bars. I was lucky on the first try Reputation is a wonderful wonderful thing Well, Johnny, what else you want to know more about Laura Frank? Why? She's got an alibi. I know and somebody tried to knock her off a couple of hours ago not necessarily She could have been setting me up for that one Possible. Hey, Arthur. Oh, thanks Laura Frank hate champagne, but always Auditors it costs more a pink and gold dollar and spangled tights a four-star tramp X dance at the Cosmo Club X girlfriend of Eddie sales until Dan girl friend of Eddie sales. Oh, sure Sure, hadn't you heard about it? That's why Eddie swaried gets Dan claimed he was being framed Maybe he was Maybe Laura suggested it to Dan. Eddie had done all he could for a by then Why do you hate her Pete? It's quite the contrary Johnny I'm in love with her Always will be she was my girl before she met Eddie sales. Oh Oh Waiter It's a screwy case anyway, you look at it Johnny That gun for instance, I guess you heard Now what about it? Well, they found it lying beside Dan's body His own gun. So of course they assumed he shot it out with a killer It was two days before the lab woke up and realized he'd been shot with his own gun Hadn't used it at all. Hey, Mr. Parker. There's a call for you. I'll plug the phone in here. Oh, thanks. Yeah, sir Pete Parker What oh Yeah, yeah, sure. I'll cover it. Oh, yeah, yeah right away It's a three alarm fire Johnny Laura Frank's place flames 50 feet high. They can't get inside No many great men have attained the highest office in our land the presidency of the United States Can you guess the name of this man? The son of a president he served his country as diplomat lawmaker and secretary of state before becoming president himself his excellence as a speaker one for him the nicknames of old man eloquent and the walking vocabulary in His first message to Congress as president in 1824 He recommended a program of national improvements including the building of highways Canals a national university and federal weather observatories He was also responsible for the Smithsonian Institute If you don't have his name by now here are two more clues During his presidency the Erie canal was completed and the first passenger railroad was built Who was he? John Quincy Adams six presidents of the United States His life is part of your American heritage And Now with our star John Lund we bring you the second act of yours truly Johnny dollars Franciscan item three six dollars and twenty cents refreshments for Pete Parker of the Daily Herald and taxi to Laura Frank's house in the suburbs Marked now by a pillar of flames visible for block The whole outside shell of the house was blazing and the fireman couldn't do much of anything but try to keep it from spreading And hold back the crowd that it collected on the street and lawn. It's terrible Mr. Dollar simply terrible a total of yeah I look that way so what about Laura commissioner? Where's Laura Frank? Oh, she's all right Pete got out before it really caught She's over there in the car with Max Bailey. Oh, oh, yeah Well, we'll see you later commissioner. You're coming Pete. They're right with you. That's a terrible thing Pardon me, please. Come on. Let us go please It was me they were after and now they've tried again. Yeah, it could be. Oh, hi. Yeah, Mr. Billy, I'm another one for you, Mr. Dollar. The house is in short, too Oh, it's awful. I came home and laid on this sofa. I guess I dropped off to sleep. I woke up with planes all around me I was just lucky to get out. You've always been lucky Laura. I can get along without any remarks from you Sure, you can baby. You're getting along real fine Too bad the car wasn't in the garage then all your assets will be converted to cash nice green bloody cash Shut up you fucking fool. Go away from here and leave me alone. Why you can afford me now Get out. Get out of here. Take it easy both of you. I'm sorry. I lost my head. How do you figure Mr. Dollar? I mean the fire Eddie sales. Well, it kind of looks that way He got Dan Frank a week ago and came back and tried for Laura tonight. Where the devil's he's been hiding out though I've gone over this town foot by foot hard to tell That came from the house ammunition maybe the chief probably got some somebody coming out by the cellar door He's carrying a gun look fallen on the ground. Come on How can anybody come out of that alive? I'm trying to Good Lord, you know, it's the boy we've been looking for Mr. Dollar Eddie's sales I can't promise anything gentlemen That shot may bring him to for a few minutes or it may not badly burned What are his chances of coming through it alive like a resin not one of the thousand commissioner you may hang on for a day or two and Might become conscious for a short while and be able to talk as far as pulling through Not a chance really. Hmm. Well, there's no point in me staying here any longer If he does talk you can get his statement Max. Good night gentlemen. Thank you. I The whole answer Mr. Dollar right there on that bed and we may never find out what I can't figure those shots He fired him before he came out of the blaze He wasn't trying to shoot anyone apparently he couldn't even see anyone burn the way he was I'm going up to the dispensary and get some more plasma back in a few minutes But how do you figure it Johnny that Eddie started the fire? There's no other way to figure it Pete. Oh, if you needed funny He got caught in his own trap. Yeah, he started it. All right, and he shot down Now he's paying for It looked like we're not going to find out who's behind the racket Wait a second. He's trying to say something Who double crossed you Eddie Still can't make it that may be as close as you'll ever come I'll get it. Oh, yeah Thank you You miss the dollar. Oh, thanks Johnny dollars Oh Right away All right, talk All night long over here. I guess so right away. Yeah, right away so long Pete That was Laura. She wants me to meet her across the street stay here and keep an eye on things with these sure go ahead What's in your mind? Down Johnny Come on. Thanks. You had a talk to me right away. Well Look at me Johnny I'm not so bad. I'm And look you mean oh You're a pink and gold doll Handful of stars That's what a couple of guys said today, and I guess it fits. I don't care what a couple of guys said What do you say Johnny? You look great, Mrs. Frank terrific now if you'll excuse me. No, wait Johnny I'm in the clear on this. You know that The night my husband was killed. I've got an alibi. Nobody could shake right Well, I'm convinced that you didn't pull the trigger. That's what you mean You could convince the insurance company to see what We could have this over in saddles. Yeah, they'd go pretty much on my report Why don't you be nice and turn in a real good report? Well, we get some answers first, Mrs. Frank Straighten out some of the coincidences Like the fact that you heard the noise and woke up that you sent chief Frank downstairs And you turned on the upstairs light behind them and made a perfect target out of Let's hear what Eddie sales has to say before I file a report suppose that he dies without talking Well in that case you probably will be in the clear and now if you look sorry I'll give you $10,000 Make that report now You are anxious, aren't you? I just want to get it settled and out of the way Johnny one of the firemen I know just came by the hospital They found out why Eddie sales fired those shots the cellar doll was padlocked on the outside He shot the lock off to get out and Eddie didn't set the fire. He was locked in the basement So he was the one who was supposed to die in it Right, Mrs. Frank. I don't know what you're talking about. What did you want to see me about Jenny? See you about oh, yeah, you just phone the hospital and said to come right over here that you wanted to see me Come on Pete. Let's get back over there That's why she wanted to talk to me to get me away from that room Eddie's the big threat He comes to when those he's finished you'll probably talk his head off We get there before Wow, are you being mr. Bailey? Yeah, somebody phoned the commissioner wants me to meet him across the street Is there anybody up there with Eddie? Well, no not right now the doctor be back in a few minutes though Come on look. Look. I've got to meet the shut the doors Pete. Oh, what's going on here? Look, I haven't got time to go back upstairs. I think you'd better take time mr. Billy was all right. Eddie wasn't showing any signs of coming to help Eddie wasn't All right, let's go Now look you mind letting me in on this mr. Dollar. Let's go down to that room and take a look at Eddie first What happens that policeman they had undue I was here in the hall when I left it might have walked down to the Did you leave that door open mr. Billy? Come on. What's the devil? Are we interrupting anything commissioner? What are you doing with that pillow? Nothing nothing at all. I'm holding it down over Eddie's face. You would try Dead you smothered him he was dead when I came in I was just moving the pillow Did you have to get us all out of the hospital and send the police guard away just to move a pillow mr. Dollar? Surely you're not suggesting what I'm suggesting it Corridor I've known for a year that you were back of the racketeer But I didn't have any way of proving it until now. Is that what you mean max hold it right where you are That gun isn't your answer commissioner There are three of us and you can't get us all stay back dollar. Why did you have Dan Frank killed? He was one of your boys. I can tell you mr. Dollar Dan was going to pull out fill the whole business Give me names and facts that was the reason for the fishing trip Laura must have tipped off Corbin Eddie sales was in town and already had a grudge against the chief. It was real convenient That's right max real convenient and Eddie hit out in the basement of Laura's house until she decided she feels safer If he were dead until she locked the basement door and burned the house down tonight Laura was a weak link That's why we tried to knock her off this afternoon money better. Give me the gun call you back better do as he says Commissioner I've worn your daughter. Don't come any closer stay where you are To watch it he's making for the window You got out of being prosecuted Laura sales is dead mr. Corbett and Dan too No witnesses and nobody to prosecute He still has you Mrs. Frank accomplished a murder Johnny no witnesses. She's right Mr. Dollar I couldn't build a case against her with this you can Well she intended it to be an insurance claim but it's actually a confession all signed and witnessed What are you talking about? It's all filled out with a complete story of what happened It says We found my husband's body at the foot of the stairs He'd been shot and killed with his own gun Oh, I don't quite see what this claim was in the main office of the insurance company less than 24 hours after Dan Frank was killed But the police didn't find out he'd been shot with his own gun until two days later How did you know it Mrs. Frank Expense account item four one hundred and ten dollars and eighty cents hotel incidentals and transportation back to Hartford Expense account total one hundred and ninety four dollars and ninety cents yours truly Johnny dollars