 My name is Jeff Regan. I get ten a day in expenses from a detective bureau run by a guy named Anthony J. Lyon. They call me the lion's eye. With Jack Webb as Jeff Regan investigators stand by for hard-boiled action and mystery and thrilling adventure in tonight's story of the man with the key. A block above Wilton on Hollywood Boulevard, there's a street they call Taft. It isn't very long. About 48 palm trees and a couple of bad sewers. It figures that the guy who laid it was near sighted. He didn't see the hill three blocks away. That kind of a tired look like an old lady who's been moving furniture. There's a dirty gray apartment house on the right hand side of the street. That's my place. 308. A low ceiling and a leaky faucet. A telephone that rings at the wrong time. It was last Monday night about 11 o'clock. I was in bed listening to the party next door when it rang. It was the lion. That's the way you sleep? You're gonna be busy. We've got a new client. Now tell me all about it in the morning. Special message. It came to my place 15 minutes ago with a seat note. Any good? It was from somebody named Dora King. Who's that? That's what you're going to find out. I can see better in the daytime. She's waiting for you right now. Oh yeah. At a place on La Brea called La Salana. Should I take my banjo? Don't be funny. She wants to talk to you so get over there. What does she want to talk about? How would I know? Well, don't you ever check into things? That's what I pay you for. All right. Where's last week's salary? You'll get it. When? As soon as I find out if your expenses will legit. Now get busy. That all? No. Call me right after you've seen it. Why? I want to know what's what. You mean you want to know if she can afford more than a seat note? You're getting out of line. That's what they told Gypsy Rose Lee. Well, I got over there about 1130. Turned out to be a small place. Long on the shadows and short on the whiskey. There was a ball headed guy playing a piano in one corner. I guess he'd been inside for a long time because he'd never been out for a music lesson. The bartender was the only other guy in the joint. His name couldn't have been Dora King. So I went to work on a straight shot and waited. Two drinks later a girl in a black dress walked in. She took in the piano player and the bartender and me. I won. She started toward me with a slow easy kind of a walk like a panther looking for breakfast. When she used onto the stool beside me a bartender got damp all over. The air conditioning wasn't doing him any good. What'll it mean, man? Make it the same as him. Okay, but then what? Got a match? Yeah. Got a cigarette? Got a name? Maybe. I'll bet it's Regan. All right, you got that much. My name's Dora King. I'm sorry I'm late. You ever on time when you meet a guy? No. You're a money. You can spend it any way you want. You're always this nice to customers. I don't get paid to be nice. What do you get paid for? You got a story? I haven't had my drink yet. Hey, yo. Coming up, coming up. I'm just propelled. Here you are, man. Hey, hot night, ain't it? You're waiting for the weather to change? That ain't gonna change in here, brother. What's your first name? Jeff. I don't like it. Neither do I. I'm gonna call you Regan. All right, let's start calling. Have you got a license? Covers up a hole in my wall. Have you got something that says you're what you say you are? Here. The lion's eye. Six feet, 170. Brown eyes. You fit? Yeah, I got a mole on my left shoulder. Let me see you. You're past. Okay, you won the toss. Let's kick off. Well, this isn't where we play. We'll go in my car. Where? You'll find out when you get there. Maybe I won't like the field. You trust me, don't you? No. Good. Well, fill her up again. We're just leaving. Floor show starts in a couple of minutes. That piano player gonna be in it? Yeah, he's my brother. He's gonna play something he wrote himself. Any good? Stinks. Maybe a better go. Well, the bartender was pouring himself four fingers of rye and about a fingernail of water when we walked out of there. We climbed into a big Nash convertible, parked in front of the place and headed for Santa Monica Boulevard. Then we turned east past western down to Vermont and south to Marathon. All at once we were climbing a hill on a dark street that gave us a view of the city. 20 years ago, a real estate broker might have had something, but now it was just an old neighborhood with a sad look, like a toe dancer with a short leg. Nobody said anything. I was beginning to have a feeling that maybe she'd forgot her compass when she slowed the car down. She pointed to a two-story house in the middle of the block and I nodded. Then she shoved the car in second, spun around the corner and came to a stop. I got out and walked around to let her out. She didn't move. End of the line. Short fare. Time for you to go to work. What kind of work? The white place back there, 39-36. You saw it? It came through. It's a boarding house. I already got a room. On the second floor, number 10. Knocked twice. Prohibition's dead, lady. There's a man there. His name's Benda. Ben Benda. That'll wake him up. He's expecting you. You're quitting? My job's finished. You're the new help. Well, what do I do? He'll tell you. At all? One thing more. One more. To me. Part of my fee? That's extra. I don't generally get tipped. Just for luck. You act like I'm gonna need lots of it. You are. When do I see you again? You don't. Goodbye, gorgeous. I stood there and watched her drive away. And then I noticed it. Somebody in a black coop, coasted around the corner, kicked into high gear at the bottom of the hill. I kept watching, whoever it was hadn't read the traffic laws lately. He didn't use his lights for two blocks. Oh, it registered. He was on a tail job. And Dora was nice to tail. 39, 36 marathon. Inside it smelled like stale beer and rotting wood. Room number 10 was at the top of the stairs. But Dora was already open. Thin guy with a hungry look was sitting on the edge of the bed. It was all bones. He didn't get up when I came in. He just kind of looked at me and his eyes were full of water. All of a sudden he pulled a bandana out of his pocket and began coughing. You're sitting in a draft. All my life. You rigged? A girl with warm lips said I'd find you here. Thanks for coming. Sit down. Hey, you just got back from a trip. Up north? Yeah. Sanitarium? States said I needed a cure. Did it take? What do you think? There's still coughing. The doctor said I could go. You can give me a going away present. Ten bucks and a suit of clothes. With a bum wrap. That's what they all say. Who I am? Ben Bender. Big Ben Bender. Does that mean anything to your pilgrim? Must have been before my time. Who do you think I am? I'm out of practice. You look 60. Then 45. That's what seven years in a sanitarium will do. You ought to get a specialist. Already got one. What's his name? You. No, I'm only an intern. You'll do. All right, what do you want? The guy goes up there and makes a lot of friends. And a lot of enemies. Sometimes you can't tell one from the other. Does it make any difference? Big Ben don't trust nobody. No, what about that girl? Dara? Forget her. Her job's done. That's what she said. See this key? Yeah. I wear it around my neck. I want it for seven years. You'll wear it for the next seven hours. Why? Them friends and enemies I was telling you about. What is the key fit? My safety deposit box at the American Security Bank. You meet me there. Tomorrow at 10. What if I oversleep? Stay up all night. I'll pay for the no-dose. Just be there. After that? And your job's finished. It's off. It's off this door. You over me. Look, when you kept this key seven years, why can't you keep it for seven more hours? My business. What's in the box? My business. Okay. Any of those friends or enemies drive a black coupe? White sidewalls? I don't know. Why? My business. I left him sitting there. He looked as happy as a sword swallower with a hiccups. Well, I put the key in my coat pocket, but it felt hot like a dynamite stick with a short fuse. If Big Ben had been holding it for so long, somebody else might have wanted. Maybe somebody who drove that black coupe. But I went out the back entrance, walked down an alley, and doubled over five blocks to Vermont. I stopped the cab and I had him take me over to the lion's place. It was 2.30 in the morning when he opened the front door. He was wrapped in a bathrobe, big enough to keep all the silkworms working overtime. What are you wondering? Information. You been drinking? I've been working. What kind of work? I got a key. That all? That's what they say. Who's they? A con named Benda. Ben Benda? That's right. I thought he was doing a long while up in Quinton. Well, he's out now. Where does Dora King fit? Taxi service. She took me to Benda. He gave me the key. Let me see it. All right, here. Safety deposit box. That's right. Nurse made to a hunk of metal until tomorrow at 10. What then? Well, I meet him at the American Security Bank and turn it over to him. Well, do it. Now, look, Big Shot, this key's hot. What makes it hot? Whatever's in that box? What's that? How should I know? Find out. You got the key. You got the client. Now, just a minute. Somebody waves a green back at you and you think it's a rainbow. That's enough. Stop it, will you? It's another bum client and you know it. Let me worry about that. If Ben held that key for seven years and won't hold it now, he's scared. What's he going to be scared of? Somebody else who wants in on the play. So what? I'm holding the key. That makes me the Clay Pigeon. You're getting paid for it? Just be there tomorrow at 10. Alive. I left the line and went out to the street. Nobody was there. I hailed a cab and he let me off in front of my place. Nobody was there. I opened the front door of my apartment. Nobody was there. I began to feel like a good bet for the Lonely Hearts Club. It was a good feeling. I sat up all that night waiting. Nothing happened. I felt about as popular as a bald-headed chorus girl. Nobody made a play. It was five minutes to 10 when I pulled into the parking lot next to the American Security Bank. The car next to me was a black coupe with white sidewalls. It could have been the same one that tailed us the night before. But then I figured there's a lot of cars in LA like that. But I leaned in and I looked at the registration. This one belonged to a guy named Al Spandy who lived in Van Nuys. I wrote the address down, walked into the bank. The guard in a blue uniform waved me downstairs to the safety deposit boxes. It was 10 and still nothing happened. I began to feel kind of relieved like a flagpole sitter when the wind died down. Big Ben hadn't showed yet. The only one there was a blonde sitting in a glass cage in front of the vault. She looked at me and I began to wonder what she did on her days off. Good morning. May I help you? Yeah, I want to see if the rent on my box has been paid. Here's the key. 60B. Just a minute. I'll take a look. 60B. 60B is all paid for. Well, I guess my partner must have taken care of it. This isn't a joint box. You're the only one who can get into it, Mr. Bender. Would you like to go in now? No, I'm waiting for somebody. We're all waiting for somebody. I'm waiting for a man. So am I. Been waiting alone? Yes. Here? Yes. Better places to wait. The ones with money keep coming here. My name's Claire. I'll remember that. Will you remember this? Granite 3408. I'll try it on my phone. When? As soon as I get a spare nickel. I'll give you one. You'll run out of them that way. Uh-uh. That's why I work in a bank. Kind of hard on the depositors. You're friends late, isn't he? I can wait. Maybe he forgot. You should have tied a string around his finger. No, lady. He already had one around his neck. Well, she went back to copying nickels, and I sat down in one of the plus chairs and waited. 1030 came, 11 came, Bender didn't. He began to get an uneasy feeling like a bubble dancer with a slow leak. At 1110, I couldn't take any more waiting, so I left ahead for Bender's place. Outside the bank, a thin guy with a sharp head was hawking papers. I slipped him the nickel if a blonde had given me, and he handed me a daily news. I wanted to see what a horse named Larry R had done at Belmont. I didn't get beyond the first page. Bender's picture was there, right next to Governor Dewey's, only Ben wasn't running for office. They found him in his room full of bullet holes. I guess he finally got a cure for that cough. I took my car out of the lot and headed for home. I mixed myself with a tall one, and I was just getting to the bottom of it when a couple of guys kicked my door open. Regan? Yeah? I'm Lieutenant Anderson, homicide. This is Sergeant Penelli. I am. Don't you guys believe in knocking? My knuckles are sore. Nice stuff. Well, help yourself, it's out in the kitchen. Don't drink on a job. Penelli? Me neither. Your boy should have told me you were coming. I'd have called some girls. Not done a job. Penelli? I got a wife. All right, Regan, find your hat. What for? Well, you want to look nice. We're going downtown, you and me and Pete. Right, Pete? Right, Andy. No, it's too hot there. We thought of that. We'll give you a nice cool place, won't we, Pete? Sure will, Andy. You got a warrant? And no, we just figured you might want to tell us why you did it. Did what? Tell him, Pete. Knock off Ben Bender and burn his feet. You're out of your mind. Regan, we know you saw Bender last night. We know you got out of a car on the corner and walked up to his place. We know you were the last one to see him while he was still alive. You got a witness? 31, a girl told it. Oh, you're trying real hard, Anderson, but you haven't got anything. If you were the last one to see him alive, you're the first one to see him dead. That's how we figured. Did you figure on a guy named Al Spandi, who drives a black coupe? I never heard of him. And how about a dozen other hoods who knew Bender? Now you're trying hard, Regan. You haven't even got a foundation. We got the whole building. It'll never stand up. We'll see. All right, you tell me why I did it. Your private eyes get folders on bank jobs. I get them from Charles Atlas, too. Bender was in on an $80,000 heist eight years ago. He went up for carrying a concealed weapon, but the money was never found. You know that the Imperial Bonding Company's offering $5,000 for the recovery of that door? The lion. Don't make any dates tonight. You're not going to be available. All right, the lion will tell you I was working on a case when I saw Bender. Oh, we already talked to the lion. But what did he say? He says he hasn't seen you for five days. You are listening to the Story of the Man with a Key tonight's adventure with Jeff Regan, Investigator. Commissions are still available in the Army Nurse Corps Reserve. If you were a graduate registered nurse between the ages of 21 and 45, you may be eligible for a commission in the Army Nurse Corps section of the Regular Officers Reserve. These commissions are still available, and those who meet the high standards and qualify may elect active or inactive status. Those who request inactive status will continue with their civilian nursing duties but stand ready to serve in time of emergency. Nurses who elect active duty become commissioned officers in the Regular Army. If you believe you qualify for a commission in the Army Nurse Corps Reserve, apply to the Adjutant General, Washington, D.C. And now back to the Story of the Man with a Key and Jeff Regan, Investigator. I had about as much chance as a violin player with no chin. Anderson and Penelli took me down and locked me in one of the rooms upstairs. They didn't ask any questions. I guess they figured they had enough answers. Oh, it was a real nice fix. A dame named Dora King takes me to a con named Ben Bender. He slips me a hot key and says, meet him in a bank at 10. I'm there on time, getting the phone number of a blonde named Claire. Only Ben doesn't show. Somebody burns his feet and fogs him before he can keep the date. And then there's that black coupe registered to a question mark named Al Spandi. And then the lion deals one from the bottom. Oh, it was a screwy picture and I was right in the middle of the frame. Well, I spent the next four hours taking in some free entertainment from the drunk in the next cell. Okay, Regan, on your feet. Bastille Day? You sprung. I was getting tired of the floor show anyway. Try and make it Saturday sometimes. That's our big night. Part of my bring a date. That guy ought to be at Syros. Where do you think we picked him up? Now, the patience with you. How many times have I told you to keep out of trouble? Why didn't you tell him I was working on a case? I went to a lot of trouble to get you out. And you went to a lot of trouble to get me in. That was easy. Still got that key to Ben's safety deposit box. I got it. Tomorrow morning at 10, you're at that bank getting into the box. Crazy. It's in Ben's name. I'll teach you how to spell it. I won't do it. Homicide might like to know you got that key. Now you listen to me and we'll both make dough. Where I'd be, I couldn't spend it. If the 80,000 bucks from the bank job Ben to pull happens to be in that box, like I think it is. Imperial bonding owes us five grand reward. I don't like it. You owe it to the company. Now listen, you. Ben to was knocked off for this key. Whoever wants it might make another try. Nobody knows you got it? Well, I'll give it to you and nobody will know you got it. Reagan, I'm giving you a chance to straighten yourself out. That's right. What do you mean? I feel stiff already. Well, it was a triple play. Homicide to the lion, to the black coupe. I went home to wash off some of the jailhouse lice all. When I walked in the front door, I had company. The gray flannel suit with a yellow tie was sitting on the edge of my bed. Both hands were full. The whiskey was mine. The gun was his. When he saw me set down the bottle and walked over and put the gun right against my neck, it felt cold and I got kind of nervous like a hula dancer in a forest fire. Hi, Reagan. Been waiting for you. You like my liquor? I'm a ride drinker myself. Well, bring your own next time. That ain't being sociable. You weren't invited. How could I have been? You don't even know me. You're Al Spandy. You drive a black coupe. What do I have for breakfast? Egg and it's all over your tie. You look hot, Reagan. You have to hold that gun there. Right there. The same one you used on Benda? That's the same. All right, now, give me, Reagan. I told you, I don't have any ride. Where's the key? I don't use one. My door's always open. I'm talking about that key you got from Benda. I don't have it. Do you hear any music? Yeah, but I'll sit the next one out. No, you won't. This is a men's cheat. I'll step on your toes. I don't mind. It's a pole gun. I want to do it with you. I thought it was a long dance, but Spandy didn't get tired. I knew I wasn't going to last the evening, huh? And then I saw Dora King standing in the doorway thinking it was Spandy. She was taking everything in like a Hoover vacuum cleaner on a dirty rug. She had a 25 on her hand, and she knew how to use it. Thanks for cutting in, lady. I had to do it. He was killing you. I'll take the gun, huh? You know I had to do it. Yeah. Here. Go on, drink it. Do you want to tell me all about it? Yes. I wanted to tell you at first, but Ben wouldn't let me. He's not around to stop you. Do you think Spandy heard him much before he killed him? I wasn't there. He was sick. He couldn't have taken much. Why'd you tip the cops on me? I thought you might have done it. Now I know different. Tell that to homicide. I will. You better. Spandy can't. I'm not going to do it. You better. Spandy can't. He's dead? That's right. You still don't trust me. No, I don't. I couldn't help myself once the gun went off. Big Ben was my father. Yeah. He didn't want anyone to know. All he wanted was to give me a break. Why'd he hire me? He was afraid. Yeah, that's what he said. Regan. Yeah? May I have the key? I haven't got it. You can get it. Maybe. You know what's in that box? I think so. Or why don't I turn it over to the police? That's my job. Like I told you. I'm Big Ben's daughter. Yeah, lady. You convinced Spandy. Well, I called Homicide and Anderson and Penelle handled it. We all wound up downtown. It didn't take them long to find out that the gun Spandy used on me was the same one that killed Big Ben. Dora gave Anderson her story. He said it would take some fixing, but he could keep her out of the papers. It was justifiable homicide. She wouldn't even be indicted, but they had to hold her overnight. Now it was almost daylight when I pulled to a stop in front of my apartment. I was beginning to feel a little better, but it didn't last long. When I walked into my place, it looked like the LA Dons had been having a scrimmage. Every corner had been going over. Oh, it didn't make sense. Benda was dead. Spandy was dead. Dora King was downtown, but somebody still wanted that key. Well, I crawled into what was left of my bed and set the alarm for 9.30. I didn't sleep much. I kept saying keys and faces and $80,000 bills. 10 o'clock the next morning, Granite 3408 was still sitting behind the same desk near the same safety deposit vault. She gave me the same look. I waited for you to call last night. I spent the nickel. On a doctor? I'd like to get into my box. All right, Mr. Benda, so I'm here. All right, like part of the new freeway. One thing about a vault. It's quiet. So is a tomb. Live alone. Yeah. Well... All right, sunshine, open your eyes. My box number is 60B. Back and wait. I can't. Easy, baby. You'll set off the alarm. You and I can make a great team, Benda. You know my name's not Benda. What is it? Regan. You and I can make a great team, Regan. Got what you told Al Spandy? Well, I bring up a dead issue. What's your deal? You got Benda's key. I got the bank's key. You need both of them to open up the box. It's good so far. Go on. It's $80,000 there. Let's not let it get a waste. Big Ben waited seven years to open that box. Look what I have to him. I waited just as long as Ben, and seven years is harder on a girl. How'd you work it? Ben and I had a great plan. I was a cashier, Ben Heisted. Only I just gave him a bag full of paper. The real dough's in his box. Well, that's the safest way. Keep your money in a bank. Yeah. When it cooled off, both of you go in and pick up the dough together. That's the way it was supposed to work only. Ben was dumb enough to get himself picked up and tucked away for seven years. Oh, you made real good partners. Nobody trusted anybody. I trust you. That's why you went through my place looking for the key last night? Girl's gotta use her head. Besides, you might have been home. Ben and Spandia are dead. We don't have to worry about either of them. The money's still here. We got the keys. It'll open the box. Can you add that? Yeah. What's the answer? About 20 years. What do you mean? That bonding company will see that you get the full load for grand larceny. You wouldn't turn me in. Don't make book on that. You and I'd make a great team, Regan. We can't lose. That's what USC thought. Well, I called Anderson and Finnelli and they came out and picked her up. I rode down as far as the office with him. That wrapped it up. When I told the lion what had happened, he was as happy as a college boy in a harem. He got on the phone right away and called up Imperial Bonding, told him to make out that reward check for 5G's to Anthony J. Lion. But he was real good about it. He took me for a ride in his new Nash convertible. Well, I guess he deserved it. He was really the patsy that had done all the heavy work ever since he bailed me out of jail. Because that's when I slipped Bendis Key in his pocket. Jack Webb is featured as Jeff Regan with her Butterfield as Anthony J. Lion. Jeff Regan, investigator, written by E. Jack Newman and Larry Roman, produced by Sterling Tracy, is heard each week at this time over CBS. Tonight's cast included Ken Christie, Yvonne Patey, Marvin Miller, Paul Freese, and June Martel. If you are a graduate registered nurse, please listen carefully to this important message. 29,000 nurses are needed to join the new Army Nurse Corps Officers Reserve. All nurses who receive reserve commissions will benefit from the opportunity for specialized training offered to them by the Army. Inactive reserve status will not interfere with the nurses' civilian life, but the educational opportunities offered her by the Army Medical Department will be of great advantage. For further information, drop a card to the Adjutant General, Washington, D.C. Original music for this program is by Dick Aront, Bob Stephenson speaking. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.