 From Hollywood, it's time now for... Johnny Daller. Mr. Daller, the investigator. That's right, insurance investigating. Yes, well, my name is Frank Skinner, Mr. Daller. Yes? You see, my wife and I run the Sunny Dream Home up here at Buckton Center. All folks home, it is. I see. Well, now, what can I do for you, Mr. Skinner? Well, I'm afraid there's something wrong here, Mr. Daller. You see, we've never had anything like this before. Like what, sir? Well, to begin with, all our clients are pretty well insured. Yes. All our guests here at the home these past months, too many, Mr. Daller. Well, after all, if your clients are all very old people... Yes, sir, they are, but you see, these have all been accidental deaths. Yeah, well, don't forget, sir, that older people are very often quite prone to accidents. Yes, sir, that's true, but if you want the truth, I don't think they've been accidents. All? No, sir. And if something isn't done to stop this... Mr. Skinner, I think you're right. The exciting adventures of a man with the action-packed expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Yes, truly, Johnny Daller. Act one of yours truly, Johnny Daller. My special investigator, Johnny Daller. To the Universal Adjustment Bureau, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the sunny dream matter. Expense account item 110 cents for a phone call to Pat McCracken, my old friend in contact at Universal Adjustment Bureau. Oh, say I'm glad you called, Johnny. Yeah, well, Pat, I just want you to know I won't be available for a couple of days. Oh, yes, you will. And it isn't because of any insurance matter. Yes, it is. What's happened is that I've just received a phone call. It surrounds my curiosity. And while at any rate, any assignments you may have for me will have to wait until I get... Yeah, that's where you're wrong, Johnny. I said we'll have to wait until...what? Just happens you have an assignment right now. As a matter of fact, I was just about to call you. Well, can't await a couple of days? No, no. The sunny dream home for the agent? No. Never mind that. What's wrong over there that you know about? Well, they're all separate companies, huh? Yeah. Any particular reason for thinking something's wrong, aside from the unusual number of deaths? Yes. What? Step my jalopy at the side of the flying red horse that's item 2-425 and drove some 30 miles south and east on Highway 2. I found the sunny dream home just north of Buckland Center. It consisted of a huge old frame house surrounded by trees and well-kept gardens. Incomfortable chairs scattered here and there on the wide porch and lawn. Nice-looking, well-dressed older folks sat around reading, chatting, playing cards, enjoying the late afternoon sun. The whole place looked clean, quiet, and restful. After parking my car, I walked slowly up the long, flower-boarded walk under the trees toward the entrance. And as I did so, a little wizened old man in a wheelchair detached himself from a group of the old folks and wheeled over to me. Mr. Dollar? Yeah, that's right. I'm Frank Skinner, the one that called you. Oh, how are you, Mr. Skinner? Come right along in the office where we can talk. Yeah, sure. Oh, may I give you a hand with that chair? Nope, don't need it. I must say you handled it well. Sure, haven't been on my feet in over five years now. You can help me up this little ramp, though, if you don't mind. Oh, sure. My stepson built me that ramp. Good idea. Yes, sir. It's a big help to a man that can't use his legs. Now, right around the side of the porch here. Oh, evening, Miss Baker. Good evening, Mr. Skinner. Ah, here we are. If you just open the door. Sure. You just sit down there and I'll get right to the point. Okay, fine. Now, if you listen to me, I'd appreciate it if you'd let the folks here think that you've just come to look over the place like maybe you've got some old relative you'd like a nice home for. In other words, you don't want to alarm your clients. Guests, Mr. Dollar, they are honored guests. All happy and with no worries. Uh-huh. Well, I must say that those I saw outside looked perfectly content, but now about those so-called accidents. Five of our people have died within the last six months, Mr. Dollar. Five of them. Terrible. And like I told you on the telephone, they looked like accidents. What kind of accidents? Well, now the first one. Well, maybe it was. That was old Miss Epp. Lived in the little guest cottage out back. What happened? Small fire. Must have started in the waste basket or something by the time we got to her. Well, she'd suffocated. And I suppose Mr. Purley might have been accidental too. Food poisoning, it was. At least that's what the doctor called it. But nobody else got sick on all those canned peaches, Mr. Dollar. Who was the doctor? Old Doc Cherry from town. Of course, Mr. Purley was the only one that had three helpings of them. But my wife never had trouble with her canning before. Well, go on, Mr. Skinner. Well, old Miss Charmley fell down the main stairs to the living. Look through the door there. You can see the stairs. Well, that's a long stairway for elderly folks. Then Miss Lizzie Bell. We called her Miss Lizzie Bell, though her real name was... What happened to her? She fell out the window of her bedroom. And Mr. Dollar, she just wasn't strong enough to get her window open that wide she was 94. Then poor old Miss Betzler, she fell down the stairs too. Well, Mr. Skinner, if those people aren't able to negotiate a stairway like that, you're at fault for requiring them to do it. Well, most of them are. The others had their rooms here on the first floor like I have to. How about Miss Lizzie Bell, who was 94? Well, she never left her room until she fell, or until she was pushed by somebody younger and stronger than she was. Well, unless you can prove something like that. I have to prove that those others were pushed down the stairs. Great so. You see, from what you've told me so far, Mr. Skinner, there's no reason to suspect those deaths weren't accidental. Even so many of them, all within a space of only six months. Unless, as I say, you can come up with some concrete evidence to indicate otherwise. All right, then. You can tell me this. Why did all those things happen late at night when those poor old folks wouldn't have any reason to be up and around when there wasn't anybody around who could help them until it was too late? Well, so far as that's concerned. Oh, sure, sure. Folks have got to get up at night sometimes, one reason or another. But they all had their own private bars, and if they want anything from downstairs, like something to read or some hot milk, something like that, all they have to do is room the push button in their room, and my wife gets it for them. We do that all the time. Where is your wife, by the way? Martha, why she's so lucky. Right here, Frank. Who's this you're blabbering off your mouth to? Well, Martha, this is Mr. Johnny Dollar Insurance Investigator. Investigator, huh? Well, you can march yourself right out of here. Well, not just a minute, Mrs. Skinner. Just a minute, nothing. You get out of here and leave us alone. Mrs. Skinner. And if you don't, I'll throw you out. If you don't think I'm young and strong enough, then I'll show you. Strong enough to throw a little old lady out of a window? Or shove a couple of people downstairs? Get out! Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. And now for another episode in the life of Sergeant Donald Bellwether, my husband. Well, good dinner, Eva. Oh, that was delicious. Well, I'm glad to hear that, dear. More coffee? Uh, yeah, just about a half a cup, please. All right. There you are. Now, tell me all about your safety class. Did the boys enjoy your speech? Oh, yeah, sure did. Thanks to you, I did quite well. My lieutenant complimented me afterwards. Oh, good. Yeah, but that same lieutenant threw me a curve, too. Oh, dear. Well, after I gave my talk, he asked the men if there were any questions. Well, I did it. One of the guys stood up and said, uh, said, look, Sarge, you claim there were over 95,000 deaths and over 9.5 million people injured in accidents in the U.S. last year. Uh, it looks to me like all those safety campaigns and slogans are doing no good at all. Oh, how did you answer it? I couldn't think of an answer. I got out of it by saying I'd have more facts and figures at the next meeting. All right, let's see now. Oh, yeah, here it is. Now, first, Sergeant Bellweather, you start off by telling the boys that since 1913, the accidental death rate has been reduced 35%. Mm-hmm. Or in other words, if there hadn't been campaigns and safety measures put into effect to reduce accidents, almost a million more people would have been killed in the last 46 years. Hmm, that's all right. It certainly is. I'm reading it right out of a National Safety Council record book. Oh, and another thing, accidents in the farming areas are much higher than in the city. But you know why? Why? Because in rural areas, there are fewer policemen enforcing safety laws and less traffic signs and signals to guide the motorists. Mm-hmm. You know, many more cars travel the city streets, and yet the per capita rate of accident is much higher in the rural areas. Of course, the reason is obvious. In the city, more safety measures are instituted and obeyed. Reba, you are wonderful. That's a good logical answer. I don't know what I'd do with that. Oh, that's my Donald. That's my Donald. Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Sunny Dream Matter. Martha Skinner, co-owner and the real manager of the Sunny Dream Home for the Aged, was a big woman, tall, muscular, and a lot younger than her husband. I don't want your kind snooping around, Mr. Dollar, so get out of here and leave us alone. Your husband seems to think those deaths here in your home for the Aged weren't so accidental, Mrs. Skinner. No, he does. Yes, I, uh, that's what I told him, dear. If you'd keep that mouth of yours shut, Frank, we wouldn't have this sort of thing. Why don't you and that wheelchair get out of here? You sound as though you have something to hide, Mrs. Skinner. I have nothing to hide. Don't you see what you're coming around here will do to our nice place? It'll give us a bad name. That's what it'll do. Folks, come here on the recommendation of the folks that live here. If your sort starts prowling around, it'll make our nice home for them sound like a murder factory, and I won't have it. Oh, now just calm down a moment. Those poor old folks, Miss Lizzie Bell and Mr. Perley and the rest, were accidental, that's all. Have you got any reason to think they weren't? Well, I didn't have until a minute ago. What do you mean by that? If they weren't accidents, well, it certainly took somebody younger and stronger to push them down those stairs. You mean me? Well... No. No, Mr. Dollar, you're wrong. And if anybody started that talk about not being accidents, I guess I did. Yes, you did, but... I was so upset those fine old people passing away while they were like family to me. I guess I said a lot of things that didn't make sense. Until the doctor and the police came around and told me I was wrong. The police investigated? Yes, and they made quite a stir. I guess that's why you were being here, as you're upset, Martha. Well, of course, if they found nothing. Mr. Dollar, do you think that I could do anything like what you would... that I could harm a single hair of any of these nice old people? What possible reason could I have? And what sense would it make by we're being paid for their living here and if anything happens to them? Yeah. Yeah, if anything happens to them, you collect a nice big fat hunk of insurance money. You know about that. Insurance investigator, remember? No. No, you're wrong. It was their idea to name us and their policies. Now, wasn't it Frank? Yes, Martha. He's searching anyway. Well, let's not talk about it anymore now. It's getting late, so I think I'll drive back to Buckland Center and have some dinner. Well, you do no such thing. Now, you'll have your supper, your dinner, right here. And if you wish to stay overnight. Oh, no. You mean I'll have another room to fix up? Well, I'll help you, of course. Walter, this is Mr. Johnny Dollar. Dollar? The insurance investigator I hear about all the time on the radio? That's right, sir. What's your business here, Dollar? Frank called in, son. Yes. About those accidents? That's right. What do you think about them, Walter? Look, Dollar, mother's got enough trouble without you coming around here. Walter. Well, it's true, ma. You know it. First it's a police making a big racket. We've been through all that, Walter. I asked you a question. Well, why don't you get out of here and leave us alone? I'm sick of all this nonsense. I'm sick of this whole place. Oh, well, sir. Year after year, working like a dog for a lot of old fogies. Are there only the three of you to take care of this place? That's right, old one. Of course, Frank here is a lot of help tied down to that wheelchair. Well, I do all the office work. Oh, sure. Big deal. Handle all the money, too. Well, what about the talk that as soon as we get enough money, we can sell out and get away from here? Hey, look, Dollar, what difference is it to you who keeps this place up? You're a pretty husky fellow, Walter. Yeah. Yeah. Would you like a little demonstration on you? What do you mean by that? Well, maybe I'll tell you after I've had a look around. Then you will stay. Oh, yeah, I'll stay until I'm satisfied. Well, you won't be here for long if I've got anything to do with it. Understand? Is that a threat, Walter? Take it any way you like. I'm sorry, Mr. Dollar. I'm sure he didn't mean that the way it sounded. Well, tell me, do you two have joint ownership of this place? You and Mr. Skinner? Well, uh... Well, it's really in my name. And if anything were to happen to you? It would go to Frank and Walter. I see. Walter said that you've talked about getting enough money to sell out and leave this place. He certainly did. Is that what you're planning to do? Yes, sir. Well, I'm not so sure. Of course you are. I've grown to love this place. And all the nice people who... Mr. Dollar. Yeah? Enough money, you said. Like a lot of insurance money from... Oh, no. You can't think that Walter would... Oh, no, no. He's spoiled and fresh and impetuous and talks a lot, but... Surely you don't think it. Mr. Skinner, what would you think? Act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. Do you know who said, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty? Those famous words were written by Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson knew that human nature tends to cause us to take for granted the freedoms for which others have fought valiantly. He knew that Americans had to be alert, or the essential freedoms of democracy would be taken away. That's why Jefferson gave his warning to the Americans of his era and to their descendants. He set the price for liberty as eternal vigilance. And Americans, through the years, have heated Jefferson's warning. They have been alert to detect and resist the enemies of liberty. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson. They are part of your American heritage. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. And now, act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, and the Sunny Dream Matter. At dinner that evening, I made a point of chatting with as many guests of the Sunny Dream Home for the age it is possible. Sweet old Mrs. Baker, who must have been in her 80s, pretty much summed things up as we talked together in the porch in the cool of the evening. You're all really kind of sorry for Walter, Mr. Donna. A young man like that doesn't really have a place here among all of us old ones. Yeah, I wonder why he doesn't go out on his own then, Mrs. Baker. Because in spite of his brash, noisy way, he loves his mother Martha. And since she has so much to do taking care of us, why, he just stays and helps her. Isn't she one of the loveliest people you ever met? Well, she certainly seems devoted to you, folks. And she is. Meets his toe the line, bulges out sometimes, just like a mother hen, but she's all heart. And Mr. Skinner? Very nice. Handles the business affairs of the home real good too. Doesn't generally know, but he's the one who gave us the idea of making out our insurance to the Sunny Dream. Oh. Of course, we never told Martha. Oh, there you are. Evening, Miss Baker. What a nice young man this is, Mr. Skinner. We've been having a wonderful time talking away about this and that. That's fine. They make you a comfortable room upstairs, Mr. Donna. Yeah. Right at the head of the stairs. Very comfortable. Good. Well, don't let me interrupt. I'd like to talk to you a minute if Mrs. Baker will excuse us. Why, of course. Thank you. And we'll talk again tomorrow, won't we? Sure, of course you won't. Good night. Mr. Skinner, when was the last accident when someone fell down those long stairs? Eh? Why, uh, that was Miss Bedstra early this month. Why? Well, at the head of them as I came out of my room, I found something that, well, they were marks that looked to me as though they'd been made by some kind of struggle up there. Oh. And a tiny piece of cloth. From a man's suit caught in a splinter on the new post. Well, uh, what are you going to do about it? Oh, just leave it there. Tomorrow I'll get somebody from the police, the police laboratory, over here to look at it. Well, whoever suit that was must have a tire. Oh, no, not necessarily. It was really just a few threads that had been pulled out. But they might be the clue to a killer. I see. Well, good luck, Mr. Dollar. Yeah. Thanks. In my room, I waited until long after the big home was quiet. And wondered, wondered if my hunch was going to pay off. Hunch? Sitting there in the porch talking with old Mrs. Baker, I'd suddenly remembered something Pat McCracken had told me in the very beginning. He had notified the home I was coming here to investigate. That meant he'd notified Frank Skinner. Could that have been why Skinner phoned me? To allay any suspicion the insurance companies might have? Yeah, I wondered. Finally, about midnight, I heard a noise at the head of the stairway. Quietly, I opened my door. And there, at the top of the stairs, armed with a flashlight and standing solidly on his own two feet was the man who said he was confined to a wheelchair. Mr. Dollar! You won't find anything there, Mr. Skinner, because there isn't anything. See? You lied to me. It got you up out of that phony wheelchair, didn't it? To see if you'd left some trace of your last murder, didn't it? Now listen, darling. Pretty rotten racket, Skinner. You and only you handle all the finances of this place. You've persuaded the old folks to name you as beneficiary of their insurance policies. Then you proceeded to shove them down those stairs. Would you like to see how? Yes, Skinner. Then I'll... Show you! No, you don't. Whatever sentence they hand him, will be much too short. The sunny dream home... Well, I hope it'll be the quiet, peaceful place his wife wants to be. Expensive count total, including incidentals, $12 even. Yours truly? Johnny Dollar. Nate's in Hollywood and is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also wrote tonight's story. Heard in our cast were Virginia Gregg, Peggy Weber, Junius Matthews, Larry Dobkin, and Bert Holland. Be sure to join us next week. Same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Is Dan Cumberley speaking? Quiet facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.