 The Columbia Broadcasting System presents, yours truly, Johnny Duller. It's a baggage-packed to take a trip with America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, Johnny Duller. At insurance investigation, he is just an expert. At making out his expense account, he is an absolute genius. Expense account submitted by investigator Johnny Duller to Home Office, East Coast Underwriters Terminal Building, Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of my expenditures in the investigation regarding the pericarp policy for your company. Expense account item one, Plain Fair, two Benton, Ohio, $40.04. Item two, Plain Fair, Benton, back to Hartford, $40.04. Plain Purchase, two one-way tickets. Because of the type of case I'm usually assigned, I never pressed my luck by buying round trips. This time, I was almost right. Expense account item three, Cab Fair, airport, the Valley Hotel, $2.20. Hipped the driver? Gee, a dollar! Naturally. They'll be steak on the table at night. Welcome to Warfare City. Hey, Dorman. Yes, sir. What can I do for you, sir? Bring my bag inside, will you? Here. Hello. Is this the reservation for Johnny Dollar? Uh, yes. Mr. Dollar's in his room. He checked in about 8 o'clock. Huh? Well, I guess I ain't the man I used to be. What room is he in? Sorry, sir. I'm not predicted to tell you that. I can phone him. Oh, no, never mind. Uh, let me have one of those envelopes, will you? I'd like to leave my card for this Mr. Dollar. Uh, yes. Here you are. All right. Here. Just pop this in his box. The clerk prompt the envelope in the box number 207. And I prop my shelf into an elevator going up the room 207. I come to Benton to investigate a murder, and in just a matter of minutes, I found myself ready to commit one. Uh, bellboy, sir, a package from Hartford. Uh, uh, just a minute. Package for me? Special delivery. Oh, come on. Get up on your feet. Uh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Take it easy. You must be Johnny Dollar. Sometimes strangers in a hotel room can be a lot of fun, but not when they're using my name. What's your angle? Listen, Dollar, I can explain everything. I'd better be good and I'd better be fast. I-I didn't want to be seen waiting for you in the lobby, and it's important that I talk with you before anybody else does. That's why I'm here. I'm Eric Barker. Oh, the defense attorney in his paracord thing, huh? Well, I hope you're better at defending your client than you are at defending yourself. Whether my client goes to the chair or not, unfortunately, has nothing to do with my being a good lawyer. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Well, I suppose this is one time when the attorney won't mind relinquishing the floor. Why don't you get up on your feet? Yeah. Thanks. I will. Now, look, I'm-I'm no coward, Dollar. But if either one of us is going to get any place on this case, we'll have to work together. Now, I need your help. And I need it badly. I do a single act. Sorry. Now, don't be hasty. I can help you, too. Just how much do you know about the paracoff murder? All I know is it's one of the screwiest cases I've ever run into. All over the country, beneficiaries are knocking off insured people, but not here in Benton. Oh, no. Here they tell the insured man, uh, Harlan Wolf, knocked off his beneficiary and partner, Paracoff. And now I've got the jelly assignment of trying to keep the state from executing the insured man. My employer, East Coast Underwriters, isn't anxious to see a hundred thousand dollars of their money burn up on the electric chair. Well, at least we're both stuck with the same tough job. Now, look, I'll tell you a few things I already know, and you fill it in from there. All I know is that Paracoff was shot to death. But his business partner, your client, Harlan Wolf, was picked up leaving town and being held for the murder. What have they got against him? Only what they found on him. That's enough. They murder weapon. And is it any witnesses? One. Paracoff's wife, Marsha, an eyewitness. A murder weapon and an eyewitness. I don't think it's at least the first glance, anyway. The state of Ohio will be receiving a large electric bill one day soon. Is there any chance of me seeing Wolf? No, not before he's indicted. Great. There are Harlan Wolf shot Paracoff in self-defense. There was no premeditation. Well, I'm convinced that I could get him off with a second degree manslaughter verdict if it weren't for the tactics of the prosecution. What's that? Well, they not only have intimidated my character witnesses, they've suborned their own to perjury. That's the sort of thing I'm up against. Well, as the insurance companies keep on saying, never say die, see, where can I find the widow, Paracoff? Well, if they aren't holding her in protective custody so nobody can question her, she may be at home. That's 1375 96th Street. That's a lot of flavors. By the way, how's first? Expense account item four, cab fare to home a murdered man and the girl he left behind him, $2.40. I shivered all the way out to the suburbs, but not from fear or anticipation. A simple case of summer shorts in red flannel weather. The Paracoff place was obviously the product of a good income and a bad architect. It looked like a great big wedding cake, and Mother Nature had mercifully iced the confectioner. The front walk was white and untrammeled as a driven snow. As a matter of fact, that's what it was. Three inches of it, which meant that Marsha hadn't had a visitor in the past couple of hours. I was playing detective, and somebody inside was playing the radio. So I played peeping Tom and loved every second of it. I couldn't see her face, but she had a lovely profile. My Haitians adore her. Her hair was red and her eyes were green. Her hair stopped her cold, and then her eyes gave her the ghost signal. Yes? Well, do you mind saving that yes for later? I beg your pardon? Well, I've come here to ask your help, and I hope you'll say yes. My name is Johnny Dollar. I've been sent to Benton to investigate the death of your husband. Well, why? Has this turned into a federal case? No, no, I'm from the insurance company. Oh, come in. Thanks. Say, where can I put my coat? This snow will melt all over your carpet. Let it melt. Just throw your coat anyplace. OK. Good shot. Come on in by the fireplace. It's nice and warm. I should have brought some chestnuts. I could have followed her with my eyes closed. She headed for the living room, leaving a pathway of perfume there behind her, and I didn't waste a breath of it. That's nice perfume. Sit down. Thanks. You have good taste. That chair is a genuine antique. Oh? If you can stand a compliment before we get down to business, you certainly furnish a room. Most of the things are just reproduction. Not the things that I'm talking about. Oh, you mean me. Uh-huh. Oh, this is a happy surprise. I expected to find someone fatter in 40 years. My husband was. And now, what about his insurance? Oh, you got me wrong. See, I'm working for the company that insures the man being held for the murder of your husband, all at once. What do you want from me? That's just a story of what happened. Oh, that I can't do. The district attorney had a long talk with me about it. I'm not supposed to say anything to anybody about it until the trial. Well, I'm not asking you for any state secrets. I just want to want you to save me a trip down to the morgue. Oh, don't be so brutal. Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were still in mourning. That makes me very confused. Anyway, I'm at the newspaper morgue. That's what they call their files. You gave them a story. Why don't you give it to me? I told you, I can. OK. Oh, yeah, wasted your time. Oh, wait, wait a minute. Don't go. Well, you aren't exactly cooperating. Don't please sit down. I'm going crazy in this house alone all the time. Can't we find something else to talk about? Sure. Later. First thing is first. That makes sense. All right. I don't see how it could be wrong to tell you what's already been in the newspapers, Johnny. That's right. Go ahead. All right. Well, Harlan Wolfe and I were here in this room alone. We were discussing business. Business? Business. The Harlan Cole Corporation. My husband was its president. Harlan Wolfe is a secretary treasurer, and I'm the vice president. I can't resist this. But your kind of businesswoman makes this anthracite heart of mine feel very betuminous. What? I don't get it. Let it go. So you and Wolfe were sitting here talking about your coal business. Where were you sitting? Well, I was sitting over there at the desk. How about Wolfe? He was sitting where you are right now. And then my husband came home. I no doubt accused you and the secretary treasurer of putting in too much overtime. Is that it? Yes. Oh, it was terrible. They fought, and finally Harlan ran over to the couch over there and pulled his gun out of his overcoat pocket and started pulling the trigger. Who called the police? The neighbors? No. I did. Well, that's all there is to it. That's all I want to know. I didn't hear it, did it? No. Now, how about using those big shoulders of yours for throwing a log on the fire? Sure. Well, I'll go outside and get one. No, there are logs in here. I'd rather go outside and get one that's a little damp. They burn much slower. Oh. Well, then, while you're at it, get a big one. Left Marsha gazing into the fire, called the cab and stepped out into the cold night air to wait for it. I went down the front walk with my mind on what was behind me instead of what lay ahead. Hey, dollar. Out of the white snow loomed two very large blue police uniforms, completely filled. Get out of this paracord, Miss Dollar. As a matter of fact, get out of this top. Why, officer? I'm just beginning to like it here. Look, this is from the top that makes it official. We've got the guilty man. We don't want any trouble. Look, you go back to the top and tell them that this is one sure way of getting trouble. They told us how to answer that one too. I did my best. My best to break every one of the marks was the Queensbury rules. I know I was fighting a losing fight, but I was fighting for a little time. And that's all I got. If this never stopped, then my head seemed to feel like a ping pong ball in a four-handed game. Suddenly, things looked up. Me flat on my back in the snow, seeing stars. Then a boot came flying toward my head and switched off all the pretty lights. In just a minute, we'll bring you the second act of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. But first, we want to remind you that next Sunday night, CBS once more will bring you 10 great shows filled with great stars and complete with comedy, drama, and mystery. Betty Davis will make her first appearance on the Prudential Hour, co-starring with Ray Milland in a gripping story of a woman who has to bridge a lifetime in three short hours. Once more, you'll hear those 90 nonstop minutes of mirth with Spike Jones, Jack Benny, and Amos and Andy in succession. There'll be more comedy, more drama, following rapidly. The adventures of Sam Spade, Lerman Abner, Helen Hayes, Eve Arden, Life with Luigi, it pays to be ignorant. Staying tuned to CBS on Sunday night guarantees you the greatest entertainment on the greatest listening night of all. These programs are regular Sunday night features on most of these same CBS stations. And of course, Jack Benny comes to you over them all. Now, back to yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Continuing expense account submitted by Johnny Dollar. To the Home Office, East Coast Underwriters, Terminal Building, Hartford, Connecticut. Expense account item five, medical supplies, bonded, seven dollars. Oh, and here's something I'll give you for free. A handy help for your regularly employed insurance investigators. When I find myself overwhelmed in a brawl with unknown assailants, cops included, I do my best to take away more than just bruises and contusions. During my career, I've picked more pockets than a rack for in a pool room. And I added one more to the score during the brawl in front of a pericorps house just before I went bye-bye in the snow. Hey, Mr. Wake-Up, come on, come on, Wake-Up. You'll catch your death in cold. Did you call a cab? Yeah, I think so. Holy smokes, your face. Was you robbed? What's the matter? Isn't it there? Huh? Here, I'll give you a hand. Thanks. Holy smoke. When I first seen you laying there, I thought you was a snowman tipped over. How do you feel? Cold? Forevermore, I shall look kindly upon the haddock in the deep freeze. Huh? Hey, hey, what are you looking for? I'm looking for a wallet. Did you lose it? First I found it, then I lost it. Oh, yeah, here it is. Come on, let's get out of here. Where to, Mr. Police Headquarters? Police Headquarters? Over my dead body. Expense account, item six. Breakfast in bed, $2.40. Expense account, item seven. Photographic work, $6. For taking pictures of contents of wallet, I lifted from the police uniform the night before. Expense account, item eight. 70 cents cab fare to office of Edmund Byron, district attorney. Sorry to have kept you waiting, Bob. Good heavens, then, your face. Filonious assault? Yeah, but I got a flash for you. Not by person or person's unknown. Splendid. You wish to prefer charges? Yeah, right again. But not for filonious assault and not against the guys who gave me this going over last night. What are you talking about? You know what I'm talking about. They were a couple of your harness bulls. I know I don't want you to waste any time denying it, so forget it. I don't have the slightest idea what this is all about, Donald. I said forget it. I want to talk about something more important. You're holding a Harlem wolf for the Paracoff murder. Now, what I want to know is, when are you going to hand down your indictment and what it's going to be? First thing in the morning, first degree murder. Anything else you want to know before I have you thrown out of here? Yeah, how do I get mixed up in these robots? Expense account, item 10. Five cents. A phone call to my partner in despair, Eric Barker, attorney for the defense, who agreed to lend me a set of police photographs of the scene of the crime and the principles involved. Paracoff looked very dead. Marsha looked very frightened. And the accused, Harlem wolf, looked very fat. The pictures of the scene of the crime indicated the shooting occurred with Paracoff and Wolfe standing face to face, and that all of the bullets had gone banging straight into the right side of Paracoff's body. I set up an appointment to meet Barker at three that afternoon and decided to make the most of the time in between by seeing what kind of a trade I could make on that wallet I picked up during the winter sports of the night before. The name in it was Ben Arnold, and the address was disreputable. I don't want any brushes. What a coincidence. I'm not selling any. What do you want? I'm looking for Ben Arnold. Who isn't? He promised me he'd be home by now. By this time, I should know better. OK, I'll wait. Outside. Inside. Hey, wait a minute. Ben won't like this. Well, that makes it even. I don't like Ben. Look, I don't want any trouble. OK, then don't make any trouble. Well, what do you want here anyway? Oh, let's just say I drop by for an unfriendly visit. If Ben finds you here, it'll get real unfriendly. I'm warning you, get out of here. Ain't that pay for yours marked up enough? Well, that mouse hanging under your eye isn't exactly a beauty mark. Ben really spreads his blessings, doesn't he? Hey. Ben had really spread one blessing right there, right there close in front of me. It was a small room about the size of a large closet with a closed sprawl high and low, making the whole place look like a collapsed clothesline. And there, hanging on the back of the door, was Ben Arnold's police uniform. My eyes popped out, pushed one of its shiny brass buttons, and rang the bell. There, like little brass love letters on the brass, stood the initials. CPPD were never the initials of the Benton Police department. You're saying me so quickly, Barker. Dollar, you are a good lord. What happened to your face? A couple of police uniforms with overstuffed shoulders did this to me last night. No, there you are. I warned you. We're up against a ruthless bunch. Something should be done about it. Using the police force to beat up anybody who stands in their way? No, Barker. They were wearing uniforms, but they weren't police. They what? Well, I'm afraid I don't follow you, Barker. Can you give me one good reason for a Benton cop to be wearing an out-of-town uniform? And don't tell me they got mixed up at the cleaners. Out-of-town uniform? Yeah. Yeah, and here's another one. If the law enforcement setup here is so rotten, why would they go to all the trouble of dressing up an outsider to do their muscle work? Well, I don't know. What I mean is, did they? Who else would do it? Certainly couldn't have been Marsha. Why not? The policy I'm interested in is the one that Paracoff, as president of that coal company, took out on Wolf's life because of his importance to the company. That kind of policy is taken out every day. But Marsha, as vice president of that coal company, is in line to collect on that policy if Wolf goes to the chair. But why should Wolf admit to the shooting? He has nothing to gain. There's life to lose. Now, look. Marsha told me that the night of the murder, she and Wolf were alone in the house talking about the coal business. And then she didn't know what I meant when I used the words Batumanus and Anthracite. Whatever Marsha had on the fire that night with Wolf, it wasn't coal. No. Well, you were right about that. Marsha and Wolf were having some kind of romance. OK. So let's say Marsha shot her husband. Let's say Wolf is madly in love with her. Let's say she promises Wolf that she will testify he shot her husband in self-defense. Marsha gets away with murder. Wolf gets away with a light sentence and none at all. And then Wolf gets away with a girl. That makes sense. But what makes you think this is even possible? Barker, somebody had me beat up last night. I say the prosecution wouldn't have bothered sending fake cops. So the question is, who would? One thing I've got to check and check fast. Well, what's that? Those police photos you gave me show that Paracoff was shot by a left-handed shooter. And that's one of the prosecution's strongest points. Wolf was left-handed. Well, that doesn't prove that Marsha isn't. Barker, I'm going out and see Mrs. Parkman, Mrs. Paracoff. And there's only one thing I really hope, that she's left-handed, that she's worrying that same naked jay she had on last night. Hello, Marsha. Can I come in? Why, Johnny, what happened to your face? Oh, I didn't get down to the beauty parlor today. You look like you've been fighting. Uh-huh. Not too well, but wisely. Well, come on in the other room. And how about throwing another log on the fire? You're a real little fire bug, aren't you? You should've lived back in old Nero's time. Whose time? Never mind. I'll tell you what, I'll build a fire if you like it. Well, I'd love to. You're getting a dry one from inside. Last night, you went all the way outside to get one that would burn for a long time. Oh, that was last night. You got some paper? Oh, here's some. There we are. OK, hot point. Here's my lighter. Touch it off. OK. There, that'll do it. Come on, sit down over here. No, over here'll do. This chair is a perfect fit for me, which makes me think maybe the state of Ohio has a chair that's a perfect fit for you. What are you talking about? Well, if you want to play games, I'll read you the rules. You know, there's a big advantage in being on my side of investigation. Fellas in my racket have the benefit of a lot of experience. But murderers, well, almost everyone is inexperienced at that business. One moment they aren't murderers, the next moment they are. Johnny, please. Now let's have a look at what's on my side. For instance, from the empty shell thrown off by an ornamented pistol, the experts can get a better picture of a murder scene than they can from the witnesses. Your husband was killed by a gun that was held approximately 18 inches away and directly in front of him. And the bullets entered the right half of his body. That means he was killed by someone who shoots left-handed. Harlan Wolf is left-handed. You can ask him. He'll tell you. I know that. And so are you. Anybody who likes a cigarette lighter with your left hand is left-handed, which makes you a good candidate. That doesn't prove anything. No. No, I guess it doesn't. But this chair I'm sitting in does. What do you mean? Last night you told me Wolf was sitting in it when your husband came home. And that statement makes you a liar. Look, I'm trained down to the point where my belt is ready to sue my hips for non-support. And I can just get into this thing. And Wolf's picture shows that he's got a beam like the Queen Mary. He wasn't in this chair, which makes me think he wasn't even in this room when your husband was killed. All right. So I'm a liar. That doesn't mean I'm a killer. Marsha, investigators can make a lot of mistakes. But a murderer can only make one. And you've made a big one. I tell you, I'm no murderer. You've got to believe me, Johnny. I'll tell you everything. You're right. Harlan Wolf wasn't here. That's enough, Marsha. Shut up. Eric, what are we going to do? He knows. Keep quiet. Well, Barker, you're acting mighty offensive. We'll have to get rid of him, Eric. Just as soon as we get rid of something else. Dollar, you've only got one thing on me. Ben Arnold's wallet. And I want that now. You're welcome to it, Barker. But it might interest you to know that I've had this picture taken this morning. Your phony policemen's wallet and everything in it. And copies are in the mail right now. The insurance company won't have any trouble connecting you with the comedy cops who beat me up last night. You're bluffing. There's something else I've got on you, Barker. This morning, when I was lying at bed, counting the bumps on my head, it suddenly occurred to me that you were the only one who knew where I was going last night. So you must have been the one who had me roughed up. It also does my heart good to see you standing there with that gun in your left hand, which makes you a candidate too. Shoot him. Shoot him, Eric. You're a lawyer, Barker. What's your legal opinion? Are you just an accessory after the fact or before the fact? Or are you the murderer? What are you waiting for? Shoot him. Kill him, I tell you. Shut up, Marsha. Dollar, stand still. If you won't, I will. Give me that gun. Marsha, look out. When Marsha made a rush to grab the gun from Barker, she got between me and the gun, and I dove in behind her. Arms straight out, picked her up, and heaved. Marsha went smashing into Barker, and I went in a frantic treasure hunt through that clayling mass of a snorting, angry body to find the head that held the gun. Believe me, it was no place for a lady, but Marsha was no lady. I grabbed deep in between them and pushed Barker's gun hand up another go round. And just to make sure the rest was strictly a fistfight, jammed my trigger finger in over his, and pumped all the shots went to the ceiling. The way the plaster was falling, it was like another fight in a snow. But this time, Johnny Dollar came up heads instead of tails. Eric, Eric, Eric. Come on, Barker. Up you come. Down you go. All right. When I first met you last night, I asked you please to say yes for later. I'm going to ask you a few little questions. If I'm right, let's hear it. One, did you kill your husband? OK, two, did Eric Barker shoot your husband? Did you kill Harlan Wolfe? Tell him you did it, and talk him into taking this rap for you? It was all Eric's idea. He said we'd get rid of my husband and Wolfe, and... And collect their insurance. Well, Marsha, there's just one more question. Are you or aren't you going to call the district attorney and invite him over here? Yes. Expense account item 11, $12.40. That was lunch for the district attorney, who also turned out to be left-handed. And a very nice guy to boot. We're a lot in common. It was the first case either one of us had ever worked on where the defense had been working harder than the state to bring in a conviction. Also, that it was the first case where everybody on both sides turned out to be guilty. Defense attorney Eric Barker of murder, his girlfriend Marsha Parakoff of being an accessory before and after the fact, and Harlan Wolfe of conspiracy to do fraud. I wonder the nation's jails are getting overcrowded. Expense account item 12, $700. Side trip to Miami, Florida. Purpose, uh... Purpose to recover from catching 40 winks and a miserable cold in Benton, Ohio's snowbank. Expense account total $1,230.20. You signed yours truly Johnny Dollar. Ta-da! Watch the word about a special CBS broadcast this Sunday. You'll find it a story that grips you for a full 60 minutes on the air, a startling drama of a young reporter who finds that his assignment comes too close to home. A revelation of disturbing facts about our mental hospitals, based on actual documented reports and six months of intensive study and preparation, With Eddie Albert starring as the young reporter, this tale of a mind in the shadow comes to you by popular demand in a repeat performance next Sunday over most of these same CBS stations. Be sure to hear Mind in the Shadow, next Sunday at 12.30 Eastern Standard Time. We'll see you then again next week when CBS brings you Yours Truly Johnny Dollar with Charles Russell as Johnny. Yours Truly Johnny Dollar is written by Paul Dudley and Gildow with music by Mark Warno and is produced and directed by Richard Sanville for CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.