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The Whistler - "The Tale the Dead Man Told" (Old Time Radio, 1944) · The Whistler | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: October 16th, 1944, marked episode 126 of The Whistler, heard
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: on the CBS Pacific Network with Signal Oil Company as sponsor.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: This broadcast, The Tale the Dead Man Told, concerns Bert
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Williams and Sandra Albers, wife of Bert's business partner, Arthur.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: When Bert and Sandra find Arthur dead in his office,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: they see a way to preserve a substantial partnership insurance
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: payment that a suicide would cancel. But their effort to
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: alter the circumstances brings conflicting accounts and growing suspicion. Ladies
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: and gentlemen, from the long-running West Coast series, here is
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: The Tale the Dead Man Told. And now, our story begins.
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Let every go signal remind you that you do go
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: farther with Signal Gasoline. The Signal Oil Program. Signal Oil
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: brings you another strange tale by the Whistler. Tonight, the
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: story of a man who gambled with life and of
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: the tale the dead man told.
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: I walk by night I know many strange tales, many
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: terrors of which they dare not speak.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Before the whistler brings you tonight's story, I want to
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: pass along to you a few of the enthusiastic comments
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: coming in from men in uniform to whom Signal Oil
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Company has been sending thousands of the exciting battleship games
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: called Salvo, S-A-L-V-O. Lieutenant Commander Hartung, commanding the USS Bladen, writes,
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Signal's generous gift of Salvo games is of inestimable recreational
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: value and will do much for.
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: The morale of this ship's personnel. And Commander A.L.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Mayer of the USS Haskell writes, The crew of this
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: vessel deeply appreciates Signal's kindness.
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: Salvo games provide much pleasure during leisure hours.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Well, friends, because of the popularity of this great game
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: for two persons, Signal Oil Company thought you, too, would
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: enjoy playing Salvo. So, in addition to those going to
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: the armed forces, Signal has been able to get a
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: limited number to be given away by neighborhood Signal gasoline dealers.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: A salvo game is yours for the asking. But I'd
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: suggest getting yours tomorrow, sure. Because folks over here are
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: sure to go for salvo in just as big a
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: way as men overseas are going for the salvo games
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: Signal Oil Company is sending them.
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: And now, The Whistler.
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: A driving rain slants down outside the Golden Pheasant nightclub.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: It drenches the streets, but it doesn't seem to dampen
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: the gaiety of the crowd inside. Yes, it's a gay crowd,
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: happy and carefree. Which just goes to prove once again
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: that all that glitters is not gold. A couple detach themselves,
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: make the short dash from door to curb and climb
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: into a car.
• 3:31
  Speaker 5: They seem far from carefree.
• 3:36
  Speaker 6: I can't understand it. It's only 11 o'clock. How come
• 3:38
  Speaker 6: you're tired already?
• 3:39
  Speaker 7: I'm not tired. I just want to go home.
• 3:42
  Speaker 8: Okay, so we're going home.
• 3:46
  Speaker 7: Darling. What? Don't be angry with me.
• 3:48
  Speaker 8: Oh, I'm not. How can I be angry with you?
• 3:53
  Speaker 9: Sandra.
• 3:54
  Speaker 7: You're so sweet. So understanding.
• 3:56
  Speaker 6: Well, I don't understand this. We were going to have
• 3:59
  Speaker 6: fun tonight. Going on to Sammy's place after the Golden Pheasants.
• 4:02
  Speaker 8: Make a night of it.
• 4:03
  Speaker 7: You were going to. Those were your plans.
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: Well.
• 4:05
  Speaker 7: Those weren't my plans. You know, sweetheart, that we always
• 4:08
  Speaker 7: do what I want to do.
• 4:10
  Speaker 8: Is that so?
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh.
• 4:12
  Speaker 7: You know, sweetheart, that I can make you do anything
• 4:14
  Speaker 7: I want to do.
• 4:17
  Speaker 5: Can't I?
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: Is that so?
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: Well.
• 4:19
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I guess you can. You little mink.
• 4:28
  Speaker 7: That's better.
• 4:30
  Speaker 8: So I take you home. When we could be having
• 4:32
  Speaker 8: a good time. But what I want to know is why.
• 4:36
  Speaker 7: All right, I'll tell you. Because I'm afraid of Arthur.
• 4:38
  Speaker 7: I'm afraid he might get home ahead of us.
• 4:40
  Speaker 8: Look, baby, I told you your husband is at the office.
• 4:42
  Speaker 8: I left him there myself at six o'clock.
• 4:44
  Speaker 6: He said he'd probably be there all night, or most
• 4:46
  Speaker 6: of it, going over the books.
• 4:48
  Speaker 8: This is inventory time. Very convenient, huh?
• 4:51
  Speaker 10: Yes.
• 4:52
  Speaker 7: Very convenient for Arthur. By the way, Bert, didn't you
• 4:56
  Speaker 7: say you wanted to stop at the office on the
• 4:58
  Speaker 7: way home?
• 4:59
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I'm going to Richmond tomorrow morning. I might as
• 5:00
  Speaker 6: well pick up my papers and things tonight. Thanks for
• 5:03
  Speaker 6: reminding me. What would I do without you?
• 5:06
  Speaker 7: Oh, you've gotten along pretty well.
• 5:08
  Speaker 6: But I'm not going to get along forever without you. Sandra,
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: when are you going to quit Arthur? When are you
• 5:13
  Speaker 6: going to make the break?
• 5:14
  Speaker 11: Oh, let's not worry about that just yet.
• 5:16
  Speaker 7: Maybe something will happen to make things easier.
• 5:18
  Speaker 8: But this has been going on now for months. I'm
• 5:20
  Speaker 8: not going to wait forever.
• 5:21
  Speaker 7: You'll wait, darling. Just be patient.
• 5:24
  Speaker 8: How can you be so calm?
• 5:25
  Speaker 7: Oh, here's the office, dear. Turn in.
• 5:27
  Speaker 8: Oh, okay, okay. Sandra, you're a wonderful woman. A remarkable woman.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Yes, Bert Williams, Sandra's a remarkable woman.
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: So remarkable that you're risking everything to be near her.
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: Your friendship for Arthur, her husband. Your business partnership with him.
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: Your reputations. None of them matter if you can just
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: persuade Sandra to leave Arthur for you. But it's going
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: to take a little more time, it seems.
• 6:03
  Speaker 8: Just be a minute.
• 6:03
  Speaker 7: I'm coming with you.
• 6:04
  Speaker 9: But, Sandra.
• 6:04
  Speaker 11: You're not going to leave me out here in the
• 6:06
  Speaker 11: rain on this dark street alone?
• 6:08
  Speaker 8: No, but listen, Sandra. Arthur's up there. He might hear
• 6:10
  Speaker 8: us and come out.
• 6:11
  Speaker 7: He won't see me, I promise.
• 6:14
  Speaker 10: You.
• 6:14
  Speaker 8: All right, then. Come on. Come on.
• 6:25
  Speaker 5: He might as well find out now as later anyway,
• 6:27
  Speaker 5: mightn't he, Bert?
• 6:29
  Speaker 12: That might be the best way, just get it over with.
• 6:32
  Speaker 12: So you walk up, not being especially careful about the footsteps,
• 6:36
  Speaker 12: down the hall, into your office, get the papers, back
• 6:41
  Speaker 12: past his office, across that patch of light on the
• 6:44
  Speaker 12: floor coming through his closed door.
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: That's funny.
• 6:48
  Speaker 8: What is it?
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: Not so.
• 6:52
  Speaker 8: Well, he wouldn't be talking to himself.
• 6:53
  Speaker 7: No, but maybe he's already gone and forgotten to turn.
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: Off the lights.
• 6:56
  Speaker 8: Arthur, and waste electricity? Not Arthur.
• 6:59
  Speaker 7: Oh, silly my, sir. Maybe you'd better stick your head
• 7:01
  Speaker 7: in the sea. I'll stand back out of sight. He'll
• 7:03
  Speaker 7: never know.
• 7:04
  Speaker 10: But Sam.
• 7:04
  Speaker 7: You might as well. Besides, you'd think it was funny
• 7:06
  Speaker 7: you didn't stop and say goodnight.
• 7:09
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I suppose so. Okay, just a minute.
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: Hi there, you old workhorse.
• 7:16
  Speaker 8: What are you up to? But he must have fallen asleep. Arthur,
• 7:23
  Speaker 8: this is a fine way to act.
• 7:24
  Speaker 6: Come on, wake.
• 7:26
  Speaker 7: Arthur.
• 7:28
  Speaker 8: Arthur.
• 7:31
  Speaker 9: Good Lord.
• 7:32
  Speaker 7: Fred.
• 7:33
  Speaker 8: Sandra, stay out of here.
• 7:34
  Speaker 12: What's the matter?
• 7:34
  Speaker 7: Is something wrong?
• 7:35
  Speaker 6: Sandra, go back.
• 7:35
  Speaker 8: Stay.
• 7:36
  Speaker 7: Is something the matter with Arthur? Why is he lying
• 7:38
  Speaker 7: there with his head on the desk?
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: What?
• 7:42
  Speaker 8: Oh.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Oh.
• 7:44
  Speaker 9: Arthur.
• 7:45
  Speaker 8: Sandra, be calm. I don't know what happened, but.
• 7:48
  Speaker 7: dead, isn't he?
• 7:49
  Speaker 8: Yes, he's dead, all right. Pulled it right through his temple.
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: Oh, no.
• 7:52
  Speaker 7: Why did he do a thing like that?
• 7:54
  Speaker 8: I don't know. It does look like suicide.
• 7:57
  Speaker 9: Oh, what?
• 7:58
  Speaker 7: There, there.
• 7:59
  Speaker 8: Now, sit. Sit down. Try to keep calm.
• 8:01
  Speaker 7: Oh, Bertie. I was through with him. I was going
• 8:05
  Speaker 7: to leave him, but I never wished him death.
• 8:08
  Speaker 8: Of course not, darling. I know that. Now, just take
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: it easy.
• 8:10
  Speaker 7: I can't believe he committed suicide.
• 8:12
  Speaker 8: Why? Maybe he left a note. They usually do. Let's
• 8:16
  Speaker 8: see if There is something on the desk.
• 8:19
  Speaker 10: Here.
• 8:21
  Speaker 8: Here, look. It's addressed to me.
• 8:22
  Speaker 7: To you?
• 8:23
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 8:25
  Speaker 6: Dear Bert, this will probably be a shock to you,
• 8:27
  Speaker 6: but believe me, it's best.
• 8:30
  Speaker 8: Business is bad, but that's only part of it. You'll
• 8:33
  Speaker 8: be able to carry on with me out of the way.
• 8:37
  Speaker 8: Just one thing. Look after Sandra for me, will you?
• 8:40
  Speaker 9: Goodbye.
• 8:42
  Speaker 7: How could he do such a thing?
• 8:46
  Speaker 8: I can't tell from this whether he... You or not.
• 8:51
  Speaker 8: What does this mean, you'll be able to carry on
• 8:53
  Speaker 8: with me out of the way?
• 8:54
  Speaker 7: I don't know unless.
• 8:57
  Speaker 7: Of course he meant the insurance.
• 8:59
  Speaker 9: Insurance?
• 8:59
  Speaker 10: Yes.
• 9:00
  Speaker 7: Didn't you two have some kind of partnership insurance?
• 9:03
  Speaker 8: Yes, that's right, of course. We took it out when
• 9:05
  Speaker 8: we first started in business. If one of us died,
• 9:08
  Speaker 8: the other got $ 100, 000.
• 9:08
  Speaker 6: Yes, that's what he meant.
• 9:10
  Speaker 7: Business was bad, but if he died, you'd get $ 100, 000
• 9:12
  Speaker 7: to help with the business.
• 9:14
  Speaker 8: Only Sandra... What a fool! He made a terrible mistake.
• 9:18
  Speaker 10: Why?
• 9:18
  Speaker 6: I won't get any hundred thousand.
• 9:20
  Speaker 8: I won't get a cent.
• 9:20
  Speaker 6: Why not? Because there's a suicide clause in the insurance.
• 9:23
  Speaker 6: It's paid for any natural or accidental death, but not
• 9:26
  Speaker 6: for suicide. Suicide voids the insurance.
• 9:28
  Speaker 7: It was all for nothing. He did it all for nothing.
• 9:30
  Speaker 8: Oh, I... Yes, he was a fool even in death.
• 9:33
  Speaker 7: Bert, how can you talk like that?
• 9:35
  Speaker 8: Why not, Sandra?
• 9:36
  Speaker 6: He stood between me and what I wanted most in
• 9:38
  Speaker 6: the world, you. Now there's nothing standing between us. We
• 9:41
  Speaker 6: can be married, live the life we've wanted together. I
• 9:45
  Speaker 6: have an assent outside the business.
• 9:47
  Speaker 9: Don't worry.
• 9:47
  Speaker 7: We'll think of a way. It's ironic, you know. If
• 9:51
  Speaker 7: only we had that hundred thousand.
• 9:53
  Speaker 8: We might have, too, if only he hadn't made it
• 9:55
  Speaker 8: so obviously suicide.
• 9:58
  Speaker 7: You don't suppose.
• 10:00
  Speaker 8: Suppose what?
• 10:01
  Speaker 7: It is suicide, isn't it? It couldn't have been... Murder?
• 10:08
  Speaker 8: Good Lord, Sandra, who could have murdered him?
• 10:10
  Speaker 7: I don't know, but a robber, somebody.
• 10:13
  Speaker 8: No, no.
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: Of course it's suicide. There's the note, obviously a suicide note.
• 10:17
  Speaker 9: Of course, naturally it is.
• 10:20
  Speaker 7: If it hadn't been a note, it might have looked
• 10:23
  Speaker 7: like murder.
• 10:26
  Speaker 8: Sandra. Sandra, listen.
• 10:28
  Speaker 6: If there was no note, if the police didn't find
• 10:31
  Speaker 6: a note, it might look like murder to them.
• 10:34
  Speaker 9: What do you mean?
• 10:34
  Speaker 6: And if they called it murder, the insurance company would
• 10:36
  Speaker 6: pay the $.
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: 100, 000.
• 10:37
  Speaker 8: You're not thinking.
• 10:38
  Speaker 7: Why not?
• 10:40
  Speaker 6: What difference would it make to him? He must have
• 10:42
  Speaker 6: intended that I get the insurance money. Well, why should
• 10:44
  Speaker 6: I be robbed of it just because he forgot something?
• 10:46
  Speaker 7: It's not right.
• 10:47
  Speaker 8: Why not? It's what he wanted.
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: We're just carrying out the wishes of the dead. It's
• 10:51
  Speaker 6: nobody else's business.
• 10:52
  Speaker 7: But you're forgetting if it looks like murder, then it
• 10:54
  Speaker 7: is somebody else's business. The police. They'd have to find
• 10:58
  Speaker 7: the murderer.
• 10:58
  Speaker 8: Which they couldn't do. Because there is no murderer.
• 11:01
  Speaker 7: But they might accuse even you.
• 11:04
  Speaker 8: Me? Yes, I hadn't thought of that.
• 11:09
  Speaker 7: A gun. Whose gun is that? I didn't know Arthur
• 11:12
  Speaker 7: had a gun.
• 11:12
  Speaker 8: He didn't.
• 11:14
  Speaker 6: Oh, good Lord, that's my gun. He must have taken
• 11:17
  Speaker 6: it out of my desk.
• 11:18
  Speaker 7: Your gun?
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 11:19
  Speaker 7: But then they would think.
• 11:20
  Speaker 9: Yes, unless.
• 11:21
  Speaker 8: Wait a minute. Would they?
• 11:23
  Speaker 7: It would have your fingerprints on it.
• 11:25
  Speaker 8: Naturally, it's my gun. And it has his on it, too, because.
• 11:28
  Speaker 7: He used it. That would prove it was suicide.
• 11:30
  Speaker 8: Yes, unless we wiped them off and put mine back on.
• 11:34
  Speaker 8: The murderer would wipe his off anyway, but it would
• 11:36
  Speaker 8: be natural for mine to be there.
• 11:38
  Speaker 7: Yes, that's right, of course. But they still might say
• 11:41
  Speaker 7: you killed him for the insurance.
• 11:42
  Speaker 8: They might say that, but.
• 11:44
  Speaker 6: Look, Sandra, I have a perfect alibi. I was with you.
• 11:47
  Speaker 6: We've been at the Golden Pheasant all evening since 7.30.
• 11:49
  Speaker 6: Plenty of people saw us there.
• 11:50
  Speaker 7: Now, wait a minute, please. Make a minute more. I
• 11:53
  Speaker 7: wouldn't want anything to happen to you now.
• 11:54
  Speaker 8: Darling, don't worry. It's simple. They couldn't possibly convict me,
• 11:58
  Speaker 8: even if they did decide I did it. Now, don't worry.
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: Everything's going to be all right.
• 12:02
  Speaker 6: I'll just wipe the prints off of my scarf. Then
• 12:07
  Speaker 6: grip the gun there. Wipe it again, but not too well,
• 12:12
  Speaker 6: so some of my prints will be left on. Now
• 12:16
  Speaker 6: I drop it carelessly on the floor.
• 12:20
  Speaker 8: Now the note. Just touch a match to it. There,
• 12:25
  Speaker 8: there goes the evidence. Just a pile of ashes in
• 12:30
  Speaker 8: the ashtray.
• 12:30
  Speaker 7: Couldn't they guess if we're destroying evidence?
• 12:32
  Speaker 8: Not if they don't know it ever existed.
• 12:33
  Speaker 6: And how can they?
• 12:34
  Speaker 8: Only you and I know.
• 12:35
  Speaker 7: What if they find the ashes in the ashtray? Won't
• 12:37
  Speaker 7: they examine them or something?
• 12:38
  Speaker 8: But they won't find them.
• 12:40
  Speaker 6: Because now we dumped the ashtray out the window and
• 12:43
  Speaker 6: scattered the ashes.
• 12:44
  Speaker 8: To the four winds.
• 12:48
  Speaker 7: There.
• 12:49
  Speaker 8: There, that does it. Now we're all set.
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: Oh, darling, I hope so.
• 12:55
  Speaker 9: I'm scared.
• 12:56
  Speaker 8: Don't be, baby. It'll be simple. Just leave it to me.
• 13:00
  Speaker 8: And you'd better cry a little more. So you'll be
• 13:03
  Speaker 8: properly tear-stained when the police get here.
• 13:06
  Speaker 9: Police?
• 13:07
  Speaker 8: Sure. That's the next step.
• 13:13
  Speaker 7: Hello, operator.
• 13:14
  Speaker 8: Get me the police station. Yes, the homicide division.
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: Well, Bert, you're skating on thin ice, don't you think?
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: Making the police believe that.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: Arthur's suicide is murder and possibly making them think you
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: did it. That's a dangerous game you're playing. But now
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: that it's done, the police seem to fall for your tricks.
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: At the coroner's inquest, they're eyeing you with suspicion. Your
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: testimony to the coroner doesn't help much.
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: No, I definitely don't think it's suicide. He wasn't the
• 13:50
  Speaker 6: type to commit suicide. He had no reason to that
• 13:52
  Speaker 6: I know of.
• 13:53
  Speaker 9: Then perhaps he had enemies who might have wanted to
• 13:55
  Speaker 9: put him out of the way.
• 13:56
  Speaker 8: No. No, not that I know of.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: The coroner seems satisfied with your testimony. Then Sandra answers
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: the question.
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: Yes, Mr.
• 14:06
  Speaker 11: Williams and I spent the entire evening at the Golden
• 14:08
  Speaker 11: Seventh nightclub.
• 14:09
  Speaker 9: And your husband didn't come along?
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: He said he had some work to do. We dropped
• 14:14
  Speaker 7: in at 11 to pick him up. That's when we
• 14:18
  Speaker 7: found him.
• 14:18
  Speaker 9: Did your husband ever speak of taking his life? Was
• 14:21
  Speaker 9: he despondent?
• 14:22
  Speaker 7: Oh, no.
• 14:23
  Speaker 9: Never. Mrs. Albers, do you think your husband committed suicide?
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: I feel sure that if he were to do such
• 14:29
  Speaker 7: a thing, he would at least have left me a note.
• 14:32
  Speaker 7: Some explanation.
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: But he didn't.
• 14:36
  Speaker 7: Therefore, I can't believe he took his own life.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: That went over big, didn't it, Bert? That practically clinched it.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: They can't call it suicide now. Sandra convinced him. But
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: just to add another link, there's the police officer to
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: add his testimony.
• 14:53
  Speaker 10: A bullet entered the right temple on a 250-degree angle.
• 14:56
  Speaker 10: That is, slightly from.
• 14:59
  Speaker 8: The rear and moving forward.
• 15:01
  Speaker 10: Powder burns on the skin indicated that the gun was
• 15:04
  Speaker 10: not held directly to the head, but several inches from it.
• 15:07
  Speaker 8: Perhaps three or four.
• 15:09
  Speaker 9: In your estimation, Captain, could it have been possible for
• 15:11
  Speaker 9: the dead man to have fired the fatal shot himself?
• 15:14
  Speaker 8: Well, yes, possible, but it would have been an awkward position.
• 15:18
  Speaker 10: If he had shot himself, it would have seemed more
• 15:20
  Speaker 10: logical for him to place the muzzle directly against his temple.
• 15:24
  Speaker 9: Yes. And in your opinion, the gun was probably fired
• 15:27
  Speaker 9: by someone else. Someone who came up from behind him, perhaps.
• 15:31
  Speaker 10: Well, that would only be an opinion. It might not
• 15:33
  Speaker 10: have been. It could have been either. Well, Bert, there's
• 15:39
  Speaker 10: a break for you. A break you hadn't counted on.
• 15:41
  Speaker 10: Arthur was very obliging. You can see him right now,
• 15:45
  Speaker 10: deciding to hold the gun away from his head. No
• 15:48
  Speaker 10: doubt he wanted to avoid unnecessary unpleasantness.
• 15:51
  Speaker 8: He was so fastidious.
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: Well, offer up a few thanks, Bert. Because that did it.
• 15:57
  Speaker 5: The coroner's jury has reached its verdict.
• 16:00
  Speaker 9: The jury finds the deceased Arthur Albers met death at
• 16:04
  Speaker 9: the hands of a person or persons unknown.
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: You are listening to the Signal Oil Program.
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: Let every go signal remind you that you do go
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: farther with Signal Gasoline.
• 16:39
  Speaker 5: Well, Bert Williams, you pulled it off, didn't you?
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: The coroner's jury called it murder by person or persons unknown. Oh,
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: there'll be an investigation, but you're not worried about that.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: You'll be able to prove that you didn't do it.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: But now you've fixed it so that you can get
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: that $ 100, 000.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: Go ahead.
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: Go on down to the insurance company and collect it.
• 17:00
  Speaker 8: Yes, naturally, Mr. Williams, you want the insurance benefit.
• 17:04
  Speaker 6: It's rather customary to give us a little time to
• 17:06
  Speaker 6: investigate a case like this in which there seems to be...
• 17:10
  Speaker 6: Some question of doubt.
• 17:11
  Speaker 8: But I need the money right away. The business, you see. Yes, yes,
• 17:14
  Speaker 8: of course, of course. I understand that. But if he,
• 17:17
  Speaker 8: in case it were later proved that Mr.
• 17:19
  Speaker 6: Albert's death was by suicide, then we'd not be able
• 17:22
  Speaker 6: to pay him.
• 17:23
  Speaker 8: I know that. But the coroner's jury has already said
• 17:25
  Speaker 8: that it was murder. Unless I'm very much mistaken, that
• 17:27
  Speaker 8: makes it legal. Yes. Unless we could prove otherwise. You
• 17:31
  Speaker 8: mean you'll investigate further on your own? Yes, yes, of course.
• 17:35
  Speaker 8: We're required to do so.
• 17:36
  Speaker 6: But you're also required to pay me since it's officially
• 17:39
  Speaker 6: called murder, at least until you prove otherwise?
• 17:41
  Speaker 9: Yes.
• 17:41
  Speaker 6: Then I'll take that chance and pay you back if
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: I'm wrong and it is suicide. There's only one thing
• 17:47
  Speaker 6: about that, Mr.
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: Williams.
• 17:48
  Speaker 6: By taking the money now, I warn you, you might
• 17:51
  Speaker 6: be laying yourself open to suspicion of fraud in case
• 17:54
  Speaker 6: it turned out to be suicide.
• 17:56
  Speaker 8: Fraud?
• 17:56
  Speaker 6: Yeah, oh, now, please don't misunderstand or don't... I'm not
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: accusing you of anything. I only warn you that the
• 18:02
  Speaker 6: courts might view your action as suspicious. I'm suggesting that
• 18:06
  Speaker 6: it might be better to wait. Let the decision be
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: final before you collect your benefits. I'll take the chance.
• 18:12
  Speaker 8: I want the money now. Very well, Mr. Williams.
• 18:14
  Speaker 9: As you wish.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: Yes, you're sure of yourself now, aren't you, Bert?
• 18:25
  Speaker 8: Very sure.
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: And why not?
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: You've deposited that certified check for $ 100, 000 in your bank.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: And they can't touch you. So you go to Sandra
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: to tell her the good news.
• 18:36
  Speaker 8: Now, baby, we can get out.
• 18:37
  Speaker 6: Maybe in a week or two when it's all blown over,
• 18:39
  Speaker 6: head for Mexico or Florida, anywhere you say.
• 18:41
  Speaker 7: That's wonderful, darling. I'd like to start out right now.
• 18:44
  Speaker 8: So would I. We'd better let things cool off a
• 18:46
  Speaker 8: little first. The insurance company might smell a rat if
• 18:48
  Speaker 8: we pull out too quickly.
• 18:49
  Speaker 7: The insurance company has nothing to do with me. I
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: could leave right now. Rest after the strain of the funeral,
• 18:55
  Speaker 7: you know?
• 18:55
  Speaker 8: Without me, ain't none of that. From now on, it's
• 18:58
  Speaker 8: us together.
• 18:59
  Speaker 11: It's a fallacy, you know, that two can live as
• 19:01
  Speaker 11: cheaply as one. That $ 100, 000 would go a lot farther
• 19:04
  Speaker 11: for just.
• 19:06
  Speaker 7: One of us.
• 19:07
  Speaker 8: Sandra, I don't understand you. Naturally, you're going to share
• 19:10
  Speaker 8: it with me. I don't care anything about the money
• 19:12
  Speaker 8: except for what I can do for you.
• 19:14
  Speaker 7: Oh, really, darling?
• 19:15
  Speaker 11: Well, that's very nice. Because, you see, I've decided that
• 19:17
  Speaker 11: I'll just take it all. So if you don't mind,
• 19:20
  Speaker 11: you might write me a check or make.
• 19:22
  Speaker 7: Out a bank draft or something.
• 19:24
  Speaker 8: Sandra, what is this, a joke?
• 19:25
  Speaker 7: No joke, I assure you, dear. I'm very attached to money.
• 19:29
  Speaker 11: And the thought of that $ 100, 000 thrills me, so I'd
• 19:31
  Speaker 11: rather not have it piecemeal like a housewife's allowance.
• 19:35
  Speaker 7: I want it now.
• 19:35
  Speaker 8: Good Lord, Sandra, do you realize what you're saying? You're
• 19:38
  Speaker 8: telling me it's the money you want, not me.
• 19:40
  Speaker 7: You might put it that way.
• 19:41
  Speaker 8: Are you trying to tell me that all this time
• 19:43
  Speaker 8: I've meant no more to you than that?
• 19:45
  Speaker 7: Oh, it's been fun, darling.
• 19:46
  Speaker 12: Fun?
• 19:48
  Speaker 8: Sandra, you can't mean that.
• 19:49
  Speaker 7: I'm afraid I do, Bert. So there's not much need
• 19:50
  Speaker 7: for any further talk.
• 19:52
  Speaker 11: Just transfer the $ 100, 000 to my account tomorrow morning and
• 19:55
  Speaker 11: we'll call everything even.
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: Even?
• 19:57
  Speaker 6: What fantastic notion makes you think I'd give you the
• 19:59
  Speaker 6: money now?
• 20:00
  Speaker 7: It's far from fantastic.
• 20:02
  Speaker 11: I have a notion you wouldn't like for me to
• 20:04
  Speaker 11: tell the insurance company and the police that you perpetrated
• 20:06
  Speaker 11: a fraud.
• 20:08
  Speaker 7: That Arthur really did commit suicide. And you destroyed the evidence.
• 20:12
  Speaker 8: You wouldn't dare tell them. They wouldn't believe you in
• 20:14
  Speaker 8: the first place. How could you prove it?
• 20:15
  Speaker 7: With a little slip of paper I have. Just a note.
• 20:17
  Speaker 11: A note from Arthur. It came registered mail the day
• 20:19
  Speaker 11: after he died. You might call it a suicide note.
• 20:23
  Speaker 5: No.
• 20:23
  Speaker 9: Yes.
• 20:25
  Speaker 7: Isn't it logical that he'd write one to his wife
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: as well as to his business partner?
• 20:29
  Speaker 8: I never thought of that.
• 20:30
  Speaker 7: No, darling, you didn't, did you? But it turned out
• 20:33
  Speaker 7: very nicely for me. Now, when you transfer the money
• 20:36
  Speaker 7: to my account and bring me the bank book, I'll
• 20:38
  Speaker 7: do you a favor. I'll burn this little note like you.
• 20:42
  Speaker 8: Burned the other one. Okay. You win, Sandra.
• 20:47
  Speaker 7: That's a good boy. I'll expect you there in about
• 20:50
  Speaker 7: ten in the morning.
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: Well, Bert, that's what you might call poetic justice. Well,
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: poetic anyway. You really got taken, didn't you? But there's
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: nothing to be done about it. She has you on
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: the spot. And so you'll have to go down, transfer
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: that $ 100, 000 to her account, and bring her the deposit slip.
• 21:17
  Speaker 5: You watch her burn the note and destroy the ashes,
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: and now you're even.
• 21:22
  Speaker 7: Thanks, darling.
• 21:23
  Speaker 8: Someday, Sandra, you'll pay for this. Someday you'll get what
• 21:27
  Speaker 8: you deserve.
• 21:27
  Speaker 7: Perhaps. Who knows? But in the meantime, I'll be so comfortable.
• 21:33
  Speaker 7: Thanks to you.
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: Yes, she rubbed it in, didn't she, Bert? And you
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: go back to your apartment, smarting under her words. But
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: you don't have too much time to think about it, Bert.
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: Because there's a man from the DA's office waiting for
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: you when you get there. And he takes you downtown
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: to talk to the boss.
• 21:53
  Speaker 9: Just a couple of questions I want to ask you, Mr. Williams.
• 21:56
  Speaker 9: Just to clear up a few points.
• 21:57
  Speaker 8: All right, anything I can do.
• 21:59
  Speaker 9: First, a minor point. Did either you or Mrs. Albers
• 22:02
  Speaker 9: smoke while you were in Albers' office before the police arrived? No.
• 22:08
  Speaker 8: No, I'm sure we didn't. Mm-hmm. All right.
• 22:11
  Speaker 9: Now, you say you were with Mrs.
• 22:13
  Speaker 8: Albers all evening? Yes, we went to the Golden Pheasant
• 22:15
  Speaker 8: nightclub for dinner and dancing.
• 22:16
  Speaker 9: What time did you arrive there?
• 22:18
  Speaker 8: Well, about early, about 7.30, I'd say.
• 22:22
  Speaker 9: And where were you before that?
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: Well, I was at the office till about six, then
• 22:25
  Speaker 6: I went to my apartment to dress, I suppose.
• 22:28
  Speaker 8: I can't really remember. Mrs.
• 22:29
  Speaker 9: Albers was not with you then?
• 22:30
  Speaker 8: No, I picked her up about 7.15. Why? Well, you see, Mr.
• 22:36
  Speaker 9: Williams, the autopsy proves that Albers was killed between six
• 22:41
  Speaker 9: and seven.
• 22:43
  Speaker 8: Oh, I thought... You thought what? I thought it was
• 22:47
  Speaker 8: probably later, that's all.
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: Is that so?
• 22:50
  Speaker 9: No, it was definitely between 6 and 7, or just
• 22:53
  Speaker 9: a short time after you say you left the office.
• 22:57
  Speaker 9: And you were not with Mrs. Albers until 7.30. An
• 23:00
  Speaker 9: hour later.
• 23:01
  Speaker 6: Why, no, I was at the apartment, but... Well, I'm
• 23:05
  Speaker 6: sure I can prove that. The elevator boy would have
• 23:07
  Speaker 6: seen me.
• 23:07
  Speaker 8: And the maid, I have a maid. She testified that
• 23:09
  Speaker 8: I was there. Mr.
• 23:10
  Speaker 9: Williams, I'm not questioning where you were. You're not under
• 23:15
  Speaker 9: suspicion for Albers' death.
• 23:17
  Speaker 8: I'm not? No, of course not.
• 23:19
  Speaker 9: You never were. You see, from the very beginning, we
• 23:22
  Speaker 9: had a pretty clear line on the real murderer.
• 23:25
  Speaker 8: What do you mean?
• 23:26
  Speaker 9: The ashtray was the first clue.
• 23:28
  Speaker 8: You see, it was a little.
• 23:29
  Speaker 9: Strange that a man working late at night hadn't piled
• 23:32
  Speaker 9: up an ashtray full of cigarette butts. The ashtray had
• 23:35
  Speaker 9: been used, but there were no butts left in it.
• 23:39
  Speaker 9: It hadn't been dumped into the wastebasket. So we got
• 23:43
  Speaker 9: a little suspicious. We found that it had been dumped
• 23:46
  Speaker 9: out the window.
• 23:48
  Speaker 8: Out the window?
• 23:49
  Speaker 9: Yes. And among the cigarette butts that we found was
• 23:53
  Speaker 9: one especially that interested us. It was smudged with lipstick.
• 23:58
  Speaker 9: This naturally led us to think of a woman.
• 24:00
  Speaker 8: A woman? Not one.
• 24:02
  Speaker 9: No, no, not one of the office employees, because we
• 24:05
  Speaker 9: found that the janitress had cleaned that ashtray about six.
• 24:09
  Speaker 8: After all, but Mr.
• 24:10
  Speaker 9: Albers had left for the day. And you told us
• 24:14
  Speaker 9: that Mrs. Albers didn't smoke when you two came in
• 24:17
  Speaker 9: later that night.
• 24:17
  Speaker 8: Yes, that's right.
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
• 24:20
  Speaker 9: That meant that there was a woman there about the
• 24:22
  Speaker 9: time Albers died. So we began looking around, and we
• 24:26
  Speaker 9: got the main clue from the dead man's lips.
• 24:29
  Speaker 8: From the.
• 24:29
  Speaker 9: Yes. You might almost say he told us. You see,
• 24:33
  Speaker 9: on his lip was a smudge of lipstick. That told
• 24:36
  Speaker 9: us that indeed there had been a woman there, and
• 24:38
  Speaker 9: she had been someone known intimately enough to kiss him,
• 24:41
  Speaker 9: and incidentally to stand behind him without arousing his suspicion.
• 24:45
  Speaker 9: From where she placed the gun to his head and fired...
• 24:49
  Speaker 9: But that might have been his wife's lipstick. Yes, it might.
• 24:51
  Speaker 9: Mightn't it?
• 24:52
  Speaker 6: But, I mean, it could have been there all day,
• 24:55
  Speaker 6: ever since she kissed him goodbye that morning.
• 24:57
  Speaker 9: It's possible, but not probable. He'd have seen it and
• 25:00
  Speaker 9: wiped it off, or it would have worn off. But anyway,
• 25:03
  Speaker 9: the next clue pointed in the same direction. Your prints
• 25:07
  Speaker 9: on the gun had been smudged with some kind of fabric,
• 25:09
  Speaker 9: not a handkerchief. We decided it could have been gloves
• 25:13
  Speaker 9: worn by the murderer. Not leather gloves, but cloth gloves
• 25:16
  Speaker 9: like a woman wears. Now, what woman might know where
• 25:19
  Speaker 9: you kept your gun, be in the habit of kissing Albers,
• 25:22
  Speaker 9: and so on? Only one. Since Albers was the kind
• 25:27
  Speaker 9: of a man he was. His wife.
• 25:30
  Speaker 8: You mean.
• 25:32
  Speaker 8: You're charging Sandra with the murder?
• 25:33
  Speaker 9: Yes. You clinched it with what you just told me.
• 25:37
  Speaker 8: What do you mean?
• 25:38
  Speaker 9: You told me the truth. That you didn't pick Sandra
• 25:41
  Speaker 9: Albers up until 7.15.
• 25:43
  Speaker 6: She slipped.
• 25:44
  Speaker 9: She told me you picked her up shortly after 6.
• 25:47
  Speaker 9: At exactly the time she was killing her husband.
• 25:49
  Speaker 6: No, no, she didn't do it. You're making a terrible mistake.
• 25:51
  Speaker 6: I know she didn't do it.
• 25:52
  Speaker 9: How do you know, Mr. Williams?
• 25:52
  Speaker 6: Because Arthur Albers committed suicide.
• 25:54
  Speaker 9: Oh, come now, Williams.
• 25:55
  Speaker 4: He did.
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: There was a note, a suicide note.
• 25:57
  Speaker 9: What happened to it?
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: I burned it.
• 25:58
  Speaker 6: I burned it so it would look like murder and
• 26:00
  Speaker 6: I'd get the insurance money.
• 26:03
  Speaker 8: Mr.
• 26:03
  Speaker 9: Williams, I know how you feel about Mrs. Albers. And
• 26:07
  Speaker 9: I know you're trying to protect her. But I warn you,
• 26:11
  Speaker 9: she's not worth lying for. She's going to be prosecuted
• 26:15
  Speaker 9: for the murder of her husband. And she's going to
• 26:18
  Speaker 9: be convicted. Nothing you say can help her.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: The Whistler will revise the strange ending of this tale
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: in just a moment. Meanwhile, I'd like to tell you
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: about Roy Jacobson. For 13 years, a signal gasoline dealer
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: in Berkeley, California. What with repairing tires, relining brakes, replacing mufflers,
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: and other jobs to keep aging cars on the roads,
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Jacobson is a busy man. While I was waiting for him,
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: a customer who had just had his brakes relined commented,
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: I've been having my car serviced at Jacobson's signal station
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: for 13 years, and I have yet to hear a
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: customer squawk. I know I can depend on his work
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: because he's so conscientious.
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: Conscientious.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: That word, friends, characterizes the kind of service you'll find
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: in signal gasoline stations from Canada to Mexico. And the
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: reason for their conscientious, thorough service is that every signal
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: dealer is in business for himself, most of them for
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: many years, like Roy Jacobson. Naturally, they want to serve
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: you so well, you'll be their permanent customer. Well, with
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: Uncle Sam predicting that one car in every 12 will
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: go off the road this year, such service can be
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: mighty important. That's why so many drivers these days are
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: switching to those friendly signal gasoline dealers who make a
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: permanent business of helping cars go farther.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: And now, back to the whistler. Well, the district attorney
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: was right. He did convict Sandra Albers for the murder
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: of her husband. All through the trial, Bert Williams kept
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: trying to explain the clues they brought in, kept protesting
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: Sandra's innocence.
• 28:05
  Speaker 8: But it was no use.
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: Nobody believed him.
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: And when she died, something happened to him. He said
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: he'd murdered her, that ghosts haunted him, that he heard
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: her calling to him.
• 28:16
  Speaker 5: His friends decided his mind had snapped and they had
• 28:19
  Speaker 5: him put away.
• 28:20
  Speaker 8: Too bad.
• 28:22
  Speaker 5: No need for it at all.
• 28:23
  Speaker 8: No.
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: Because what Bert didn't know was that Sandra really had
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: killed her husband.
• 28:29
  Speaker 5: Yes, the district attorney was right.
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: And Bert, who had started out to make it look
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: like he had committed a murder he hadn't, ended up
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: in a madhouse because he thought he had committed one
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: that he hadn't.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: Funny, isn't it?
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Next Monday at 9 o'clock, the Signal Oil Program will
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: bring you another strange tale by the Whistler. The Signal
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: Oil Program is broadcast for your entertainment by the Signal
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Oil Company, marketers of Signal's famous go-farther gasoline and motor oil,
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: and by your neighborhood Signal Oil dealer, who is at
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: your service daily to keep your car running for the duration.
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: The Signal Oil Program, produced and directed by George W. Allen,
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: the story by John Dunkel and music by Wilbur Hatch,
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: is transmitted to our troops overseas by the Armed Forces Radio.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: The Signal Oil Company and suggesting once again that you
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: let every ghost signal remind you that you do go
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: farther with Signal Gasoline.
• 29:57
  Speaker 4: This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting.
• 30:04
  Speaker 11: System.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: This concludes The Whistler, the tale the dead man told.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: Follow The Whistler for more classic broadcasts.