 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar your number is ringing. Oh, thanks. Oh, this is Johnny dollar I meant to but I got tied up in Mrs. Wendover's business affairs again. What now? Can you come over to my hotel right away? I know it Can't you grab a cab and come over here hardly? Why not a couple of Sam Costigan's boys followed me here I think they might like to do a little target practice on me Tonight and every weekday night Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. That's truly Johnny dollar Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar to the Universal Adjustment Bureau 518 Spear Boulevard Hartford, Connecticut The following is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the tears of night matter Expenses continued items 10 and 11 $10 scotch and soda plus a pitcher of icing glasses I had them filled children waiting when Hilary Fuchs knocked on the door of my room His eyes were still puffy with sleep, and he had a trench coat thrown over his pajamas What's this all about Johnny? You said Mrs. Wendover somebody followed you what? I want you to tell me what you can about the tears of night The tears of what tears of night a piece of jewelry owned by Mrs. Wendover a necklace four diamonds on black onyx silver chain What the devil would I know about something like that in her account sir bills or property you're her business manager You must know something about it. I never heard of it. You better straighten me out. Try some of that This is all too fast for me. Okay, I'll bring you up to date I Came here day before yesterday to investigate Mrs. Wendover's claim has been a fishery of the death of her husband She forgot to file it for two years. Now you explain why I bought that. It's a legitimate claim But I didn't buy her story about being cursed or I didn't buy your idea that she was on the verge of blowing a top No, I'm not so sure I'm just along for the ride Well, you left me in your office last a little while after you left a man named Frank Scanlon came in and stuck a gun at me And said Sam costigan wanted to see me Costigan the gambler same Scanlon thought I was you he took me over to cost against place What's this got to do with insurance? Nothing, but it has something to do with Mrs. Wendover Costigan had a necklace the tears of night there He said Mrs. Wendover left it as a pawn a week or so ago Oh, he told me Mrs. Wendover called up and threatened to come out with policemen unless costigan returned it And as long as I was there costigan asked me to take it to her I went over to her place. And what do you know? She was wearing the tears of night. I don't get this I'll have another drink neither do I By the time I got there to her apartment Mrs. Wendover hardly remembered my name or that we'd met in your office She was waiting for her boyfriend to show up Incidentally his name is Teddy Davis. Is he after her money or what? Search me. I never met him Well, I skipped out of there and looked up the jeweler who'd made the necklace a man named Hannibal Mortuus I heard of him. He speaks Latin or something. That's the one. He told me the necklace. I had was the real thing Now I want you to tell me who made up the one Mrs. Wendover was wearing I don't know anything about it. Well, it had to be made up sometime within the last week And you've been handing her a business affairs. I don't know a thing about it Johnny All right, come here take a look Do you know anything about those two birds outside there? No Well, one of them is a character named Philly. He works for costigan The other one I saw at costigan's club They tail me from Mortuus's place probably been on me all night long since I picked up the necklace Where is it now? I mailed it to myself from Mortuus's hotel Who's too out there you better call the police if you think they're after you nothing I could tell the police it would hold them up half a second Mainly I wanted to ask you about all this before I went on with it What do you mean go on with it go back to Mrs. Wendover to costigan find out what's real and what isn't real This isn't your line of duty. Why? Oh, I've been thinking about that. I don't know why Maybe it's Mrs. Wendover those eyes of hers and that talk about the curse. I Got a feeling she needs help in this matter Somehow she needs help. What can I do Johnny? Go to bed. I'll let you know what happens now. Where's your car? Parking lot back at the hotel. Give me the keys. I'll use that. Hey make yourself at home. Mr. Fuchs Go to bed here. Oh, yeah Every now and then walk over and look out that window and have a drink They'll think it's me and that's a good thought for them to have okay What else if they start for the lobby call downstairs and have them send up the house man and get the police I don't think they will but remember that. Well, why would they want to think I've got that piece of jewelry on me? We shook up another drink and I borrowed Fuchs's trench coat and left I found his green Chevy without too much trouble since there weren't too many cars out in a lot that time of morning. I Looked at my watch and it said 235 I drove around front past the two hoodlums still keeping up their silent vigil and found a street that looked familiar 20 minutes later. I was in the parking lot beside at least Wendover's apartment building. It was still dark still foggy and Too late. I found out too crowded Somehow the pair of hoodlums were waiting for me after all This is him Philly Got a match dollar Toby asked you if you got a match He's a dummy Toby don't answer Got a match dollar What'd I tell you he's a dummy boy? You look like no dummy boy. You're near sighted. Take your hands off. He's a dummy. All right, ain't you dollar? See Toby I Told him about you being near sighted and he wouldn't answer he don't talk Go on smart boy. Tell Toby. How sorry you are about him being near sighted talk, I Heard you talked before Told you was a dummy. Hey, tell me something dummy all insurance guys like you Don't be asked your question. He wants to know if all insurance guys are like you. I don't like him Yes questions and he ain't told us nothing. Hey, maybe we find out something went towards pockets. Yeah. Yeah We're gonna dummies got pockets. Ain't that right dummy hold them All right boys you played the scene good and I'll see what I can do for you, but I haven't got the neck Hey, he talks yeah, yeah, you make him talk again Toby Don't make them talk too much. We know if the stuff ain't on him. It's in his room. We can pick it up anytime That's it easy Toby easy He talks real nice feely, but he don't say much. Hey, you think maybe he's tough could be No, I wasn't and I didn't feel like talking in that quiet little parking lot where the only noise was them pounding on me I told them I didn't have the necklace anymore. They didn't care about that They wanted to find out the hard way the hard way for me I Remember trying to wake up a couple of times I Dreamed I was driving along in a big Cadillac Frank Scanlon was on one side of me Sam costigan on the other Animal mortuous was in the front seat. He had his jeweler's glass out looking at the tears of night I Tried to see who was behind the steering wheel and I gave that up because the steering wheel was a roulette wheel Then we had a blowout and the whole car vanished with everybody screaming demortuous demortuous Somewhere around six in the morning. I began to get a feeling several feelings and all of them hurt It just turned on and I rolled over on my side to watch a man who hadn't seen me step into his car with a fresh shave and a fishing pole pulled out of the lot and disappear Somewhere vaguely I heard the sounds of early morning traffic street car clang somewhere Nothing much happened for a while Then it came to me it might be a good idea to get on my feet and find a telephone and get hold of a doctor and see how long I had to live Somehow I managed by holding on to a fence and stumbling against cars to make the front entrance to Elise Wendover's house I made the elevator self-service my way up to the ninth floor and staggered toward 913 Would have been better off in the parking lot At least Wendover was there sitting in a large chair over the window She still wore the black strapless dress and urban piece. She'd had on the night before The grapes were drawn the door was slightly open Life from the hall seeped in She had a telephone in her life the receiver was off held highly in one hand. She looked at me But she was looking at nothing I don't think you'll need this well then mr. Dallar well then I Suppose you've met some people tonight who know a great deal about me a gambler a Jeweler they tell you about Teddy Davis He's really a dear mr. Dallar quite the nicest boy. I've met since Noah died on the boat No, and I had so many things together mr. Dallar. I do think he enjoyed Being alive with me. I mean I cried when Noah died. I really did I cried like a little baby Of course, I cried when I heard my brother was killed in Korea and when daddy died in his office with a heart attack I shouldn't really cry anymore. I mean After all I am cursed. I told you that yes, I told you I didn't believe it. There's no such thing But there is you'll see Mrs. Wendover. I have Teddy. He's really a dear I do think he will be a very prominent artist someday. He paints you know Teddy asked me to marry him tonight. That's nice. You marry him. Teddy isn't interested in my money Could you believe that? What is my mom? Seem to get my tongue and chested to my mouth did that ever happen to you mr. Tom. Yes, sometimes I should see a correctionist Glad you came by again, mr. Dallar. I told you once that sometimes sometimes it means an awfully lovely lot to speak to someone What what about mr. Custon? Later must be strange to you, but but but but but some people live for nothing but money and Tell me what's happened. Tell me what's happened so I can help you I've seen them count money so often and so much money, and I really believe that it's honestly all they live for She pointed across the darkened room her black eyes glistened with no semblance of reason left in them It took me five seconds to find the light switch Stretched out on the floor of her apartment. They look funny. All right, feeling Toby Both of them as dead as you can get Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's final intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow the tears of night come home Join us. Won't you yours truly? Johnny dollars truly Johnny dollars starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood Written by John Dawson. 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