 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar answer it answer it Johnny dollar Hello, Johnny. There's Jake Kessler. Be careful what you say Johnny. What are you doing out there at the two lazy, too? Johnny talk to him, but be careful. Don't forget this gun. Why you Jake? What's on your mind three million dollars of insurance? Dora Haskell's file to claim on the basis of accidental death Unless you can come up pretty quick with proof the Haskell brothers were murder Jake. I have a funny feeling I'm looking at that proof right now. You mean there at the ranch. You still haven't told me what you're doing out there. Why? Why don't you come out here and see Jake? You try that door and Jake will hear it over this phone and come out here anyway You're hanging up yourself 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 was truly Johnny dollar From special investigator Johnny dollar location near Kingman, Arizona Attention, Mr. Jake Kessler greater Southwest insurance and liability company Following is an accounting of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Midas touch matter Proof that the Haskell brothers were murdered rather than killed accidentally in the cave in at the Midas touch mine could save greater Southwest a cool Million and a half dollars But the one man who could have given me that proof was murdered himself Thanks to Buster favorite the Lake Mojave Resort who could read a set of tire tracks like you and I read a newspaper I was able to trace the killer's car to the two lazy to ranch and There the evidence all pointed to the foreman Alex Bundy However, when Alex appeared at the ranch house. He also put the finger on Dora Haskell That's when your phone call came in Jake and that's when Thanks, Buster Yeah, well, I kind of hate to hit a woman that way, but she wouldn't have missed with that rifle Matter of fact, she didn't she creased your arm there just forget it. First of all, let's take this gun Oh, that's right Alex kind of forgot about you Why don't you put that thing down before you make the same mistake she almost did it won't be a mistake dollar now look I'll shut up Buster You should have known better than to mess around this whole thing. Maybe you're the one that should have known better Alex According to Dora here a few minutes ago. I heard her I heard from outside the window heard all of it and she lied Keep an eye on our buster. Yeah, sure to stay where you are stay stay away from that gunner's too Look Alex, why don't you just calm down? She lied She was the one who shot at you down at the lake not me But it was you who shot up old hard luck Dennis when he tried to talk to me sure sure I did I had to He was gonna tell you it was me that caved in the mightest touch on the Haskell brothers He did tell him sure he was gonna tell you I know he was and I had to stop him wouldn't you stop the man was trying to put a noose around your neck Well, you listen to me That's why I had to kill him there at the hospital when he was well enough to talk some more He would have put the finger on I tell you he already had I know we would and I had to stop him, but it wasn't my fault it wasn't my fault dollar She was lying to you. I heard her outside I heard she was trying to lay it all on me, but she's the one not me in spite of your murder of hard luck I had to don't you understand me? I had to look why don't you put down that gun and he's the one all the way from the start I'm not dumb dollar, but she was smarter than me and she kept getting me in deeper and deeper I'm a good ranch foreman dollar see for yourself what I done for the two lazy, too But this kind of thing I don't know about so she got me in deeper and deeper right from the start Just how did it start Alex? I'll tell you I'll tell you how it started I got drunk one night over in Kingman So I heard made a lot of foolish talk about wanting the two lazy two for myself Any foreman wants to have a big ranch of his own any of mask him you ask him Isn't that true Buster? You know Alex give me that no stay back. You stay back. I want him to know Don't want him to know everything She heard about what I'd said understand and she came to me sweet talked me said I could own the lazy, too Along with her made it sound so wonderful just me and her But then when she started plotting how to get rid of her husband Well, she thought he was gonna die when he when he came out here, but he didn't see so she started plotting how to get rid of him And I was scared about that, but she told me I was already in it on a kind of I knew about it So I better help her so what else could I do and all the time? She kept me thinking how how wonderful it would be just me and her you know what that means to a man mr. Dollar Well, I could so I helped her with the boat. You know the time Buster You mean when the Haskell sank during the windstorm out on the lake? Yeah, yeah, because I fixed the boat I took out the flotation tanks and weakened the transom. There's any kind of strain it would sink and it did brother You're in so deep, but you went after him you saved him didn't you Buster? Yeah, I guess I did so but then I wasn't too deep you see you understand. Yeah, Alex I understand it and I'm afraid that you're her she thought of the mind She made me tell old hard luck to take him out to the Midas touch because he thought they were still golden it Johnny hard luck tell you the door got him started on that page. Nobody would have That's why I had to kill him because he would have blamed her and then she would have blamed me the way she did you just now Don't you see all she was doing was using me. You didn't come out here looking for her you were looking for me Weren't you yeah, I guess I guess we were and if there'd been a fight if I tried to gun you down She would have killed me Then she would have been in the clear don't you see she would have killed me the way she made me kill hard luck It took you a long long time to realize it didn't Alex There are a lot of things you didn't realize But what's done is done and you can't ever change it You're in so deep. There's no way out for you now and you know it Alex But you're not going to make things any easier for your son. Get back. I tell you I'm in so deep I can't get in any deeper. That's what you really mean, isn't it some only chances to kill you and try to get away with Alex Before I try and I'm gonna kill her I'm gonna kill her because what she's done to me listen you crazy mixed up sure Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I've been crazy all along, but I'm gonna kill her. You hear me. I'm gonna kill her now Oh, no, you're never gone bussing Okay Alex Okay, you've done it added one more murder to your list I'm glad I did it and put that gun down Come on Johnny, I've got her gun. No good. It's jammed. That's why she couldn't pull it on him. She did yeah Here buster while I make a phone call see if you can find a gun for yourself and some ammunition. You're sure she's dead. Yes Couple of 38 handguns here Johnny and find some ammo operator Operator get me Kingman one nine nine seven oh emergency all set with his side arm Johnny You want a rifle or Jake Alex Bundy is killed or a Haskell and headed for parts unknown And that's where I call Ted hiding at headquarters haven't put a roadblock in every highway leading from this ranch Be sure there's a block at Davis Dam so he can't cross over into Nevada. Yes, that's right By the time I hung up buster had my rented car started and waiting so he took off on the main road leading from the ranch We could still see the dust left by Alex Bundy and the chief could see that when he swung on to the highway He turned right toward Lake Mojave. We saw no dust on any of the side roads So we kept on going down toward Davis Dam hoping that by the time he could get there the roadblock would be set up We'll be able to see you when we get to the top this hill Johnny good Yeah, yeah, yeah, you see him cars across the road over the dam that means he will have seen them And there's only one place he could go Lake Mojave resort right Ten is just up ahead. All right. We'll take it on two wheels Glad we aren't having to track them this time. Huh winds coming up See the dust blowing off the maces up the east when that east wind comes up it comes up fast All right, hang on here sir turn Buster was right by the time we got down to the dock at Lake Mojave the wind was blowing a gale The chief we've been chasing was parked next to the tackle shop and no sign of Alex Bundy We learned the reason from Ham Pratt general manager of the resort. Hey Johnny Buster, what's going on here? I'm not a ham listen ham. Did you see why Alex Bundy came down the road like a bat out of hate? He's a couple of minutes ago where'd he go jumped out of his Jeep waving a rifle tore down to the dock and took off in his Outboard runabout got a boat for us Buster. Yeah, sure. I have come on. You want me along? No, two of us is better ham. We'll need all the speed we can get out on that lake You're right that boat of Alex's is the fastest one of the lot to 30 horsepower Johnson's Here we are climb in Johnny Cast us off ham my job Here we go All right, this wind is really coming up sure is Well, what he had Woodlanding about 20 miles up or even Nelson's landing he has enough gas Either way get over into Nevada. All I hope is he's having as rough a time of it as we are But not to see where they exist We did and unlike saltwater where the wind builds up long swells that you have a chance of riding over this lake developed a chop Waves only three or four feet high, but one on top of the other With a less skillful hand than buses at the wheel We would have swamped in a minute as it was we were both soaking wet and hanging on for dear life as a little Outboard pounce didn't bound it along look Johnny did it. Yeah, I see him Hey, he's making an awful lot of speed too much speed for that This kind of weather you'll pound the bottom out of it. What do you think you're doing to this boat? It was a mad chase a crazy one and then I noticed that we were slowly but surely gaining on Alex I knew he couldn't take it in that hole See he had to slow down gradually the distance between us grew shorter 200 yards a hundred At least he'd never be able to aim his rifle in a sea like this at least until we got right on top of it Okay, when you pull us alongside them then it happened as we came up on him Alex suddenly swung his boat Straight in at us and gunned his two motors wide open That's really all there is to it oh Except that ham prep bless his heart had followed us with an outboard cruiser and picked us up Alex While the shock of crashing into us must have wedged him into his boat and with the bottom of a turn out it sank like a rock And he went along with it Expense account total including transportation back to Hartford 978 35 remarks There was no question of course, but that the Haskell brothers had been murdered no double indemnity and Dora's little scheme to collect a cool 3 million. Well, it got her exactly what she deserved Won't people like that ever learn? yours truly Johnny doll now here's our star to tell you about next week's intriguing story next week a quiet little new england town with elm shaded streets picket fences flower beds And a killer on the loose Join us. Won't you? yours truly Johnny doll Yours truly Johnny dollar starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone who also wrote this week's story Heard in this week's cast we're Virginia Greg Johnny Jacobs her Butterfield Parley Bear Barney Phillips Shepman can and Roland Winters musical supervision by a marigol marino and Carl Fortina Be sure to join us on Monday night same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly Johnny dollar Roy Rowan speaking