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Suspense - "Dead of Night" (Old Time Radio, 1947) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: June 1st, 1947 marked the original broadcast of Episode 9
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: in the long-running radio series Suspense. Tonight's program is Dead
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: of Night. It comes from an era when a weekly
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: dramatic broadcast could bring listeners together around the speaker. Here
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: is the original broadcast.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. Because
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Roma wines taste better. Taste better because only Roma selects
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: from the world's greatest reserves of fine wines for your pleasure.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: And now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: bring you.
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: Suspense!
• 0:52
  Speaker 4: Tonight, Roma Wines present Mr. Elliot Reid in Dead of Night,
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: a suspense play produced for Shenley by William Spear.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented for your
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines, those better
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: tasting California wines.
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: This is the month of June.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: When hearts are gay and wedding bells ring, when the
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: new bride is toasted and the brides of yesteryear are
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: honored with traditional champagne.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: So remember the occasion.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Say it with Roma Champagne, a superb bulk process sparkling wine,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: and discover better taste at its brilliant best. you'll find
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: the golden goodness of sparkling Roma champagne the crowning touch
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: to every festive occasion, whether it be wedding reception or anniversary,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: formal dinner, or just friendly entertaining at home. Yet for
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: all its premium quality, Roma champagne now actually costs you less.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: At new low prices, Roma champagne, or any Roma wine,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: is your best buy in better taste.
• 2:05
  Speaker 5: And now.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Roma Wines bring you Mr. Elliot Reid in a remarkable
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: tale of suspense.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Helen and I had never been apart since our folks died.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: Never before that summer when I got a job at
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: a mountain resort. She was supposed to go with me,
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: wait on tables or something, and it was to be
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: our vacation. But at the last minute, she decided to
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: stay in town. She figured her boyfriend, Steve, might be
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: coming home on furlough. I should have known better. My
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: sister was such a kid. But I let her talk
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: me into it, and I went alone. That was the
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: beginning of the whole thing. That's when she met him,
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: Phil Armstrong. If I hadn't gone away that summer, I
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: guess Phil would be alive today. All during the time
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: I was gone, Helen didn't write much. And what letters
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: I did get didn't seem natural. So I was anxious
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: to finish my job and get home. I expected her
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: to be at the bus station, but she wasn't. And
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: when I got to the apartment, I could hear someone
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: moving inside. The door was locked, so I knocked.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: Helen!
• 3:32
  Speaker 6: Who is it?
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: It's me.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: Jimmy? Yeah.
• 3:35
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: Open the door.
• 3:37
  Speaker 6: Oh, Jimmy, just a minute.
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: Well, since when have you taken to locking the door
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: in the daytime? Helen, what did you do to yourself?
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: Your face. Were you in an accident? I fell, Jimmy.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: I fell and I hurt myself. Your eyes swollen shut.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: I have something to tell you. What are these suitcases
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: doing here?
• 4:02
  Speaker 6: You and I are going away, Jimmy.
• 4:03
  Speaker 8: We've got to get out of here.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: I've packed everything. We're going no place till you tell
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: me what this is all about. While you were gone,
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: I got married.
• 4:12
  Speaker 9: Married?
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: You mean Steve was here on furlough?
• 4:16
  Speaker 6: No, Jimmy, not to Steve.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: Not... But you were engaged to him.
• 4:21
  Speaker 6: I know, but I got a letter from him right
• 4:23
  Speaker 6: after you left.
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: He married someone he met where he was stationed. Oh, Helen. Gee...
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: I was pretty upset, Jimmy, and that's when I met
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: Phil Armstrong. But, gee, I think you might have... I
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: don't even know the guy.
• 4:36
  Speaker 6: No, neither did I. But I was unhappy.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: You just don't go off and marry someone you don't know.
• 4:40
  Speaker 6: But I did, Jimmy. Now we've got to get out
• 4:42
  Speaker 6: of here.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: But why? Because there's been trouble. What kind of trouble?
• 4:47
  Speaker 6: I'm afraid, Jimmy.
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: He's terrible.
• 4:50
  Speaker 6: He takes something.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: I don't know what, but sometimes he's just crazy. Helen. Yes?
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: Your face... You didn't fall. No. He did that. I'll...
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: I'll kill him.
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: Or he'll kill you. That's what I mean. That's why
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: we've got to get away.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: You can get a divorce, can't you?
• 5:08
  Speaker 6: Oh, he threatened me.
• 5:09
  Speaker 5: If I even tried to get one.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: We'll put him under a peace bond. What good would a.
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: Peace bond be, Jimmy, if he killed one of us?
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: So I let her talk me into running away. I
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: guess I shouldn't have. But I knew that if I
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: saw him after what he'd done to her.
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: Well.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Anyhow, she looked so frightened. I thought it best to
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: let her do it her way. We got to Santa
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: Monica that night, and we stopped at a motel near
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: the water. Well, a week slipped by, and Helen seemed
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: to be forgetting. She didn't jump every time someone knocked
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: at the door. I managed to get a job at
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: one of the shooting concessions on the pier, and we
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: both began to feel good for a while. Then one
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: night later, As I came home from work, I heard
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: voices coming from our apartment. I knew who it was.
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: And I knew from what Helena told me it would
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: be foolish for me to go in unarmed. So I
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: ran back to the shooting concession. I knew something was
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: going to happen. It didn't take long. But when I
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: got back, the lights were out. And the sound of
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: voices was gone. I tried the door. I tried the door.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: It was very dark. And then... My foot struck something
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: soft and heavy on the floor. I snapped on the
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: switch and the room was flooded with light. And I
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: looked down... Into a dead man's face. I stood there
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: shivering with cold and terror. Looking down at that man.
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: Although I'd never seen him in life... I knew this
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: was Phil, her husband... There was a deep gash over
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: his eye and the blood still flowed from it onto
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: the floor. I stepped over him and I ran into
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: the bedroom. Helen!
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: Helen!
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: But there was no one in the bedroom or in
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: the kitchen. And then I heard the front door open.
• 7:10
  Speaker 6: Oh, Jerry!
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: Close that door, Helen. Jerry! Close it, do you hear me?
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: Be quiet. Turn the lights out. Be quiet, I tell you.
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: Oh, Jimmy.
• 7:25
  Speaker 6: What have I let you in for?
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: Stay where you are. Don't move, Ellen. Who is it?
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: I don't know. Keep quiet.
• 7:34
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, it's Mrs.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: Gordon.
• 7:38
  Speaker 6: She's going to unlock the door.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Just a minute, Mrs. Gordon. I'll get something on.
• 7:45
  Speaker 8: Jimmy, what's going on in there?
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: All the tenants have been complaining.
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: Oh, some friends of mine, Mrs.
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: Gordon. They were.
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: They were having a party. They're gone now.
• 7:54
  Speaker 6: Jimmy Barton, you should be ashamed of yourself. Open this door.
• 7:58
  Speaker 5: I want to talk to you. I'm not dressed.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: I was taking a shower.
• 8:01
  Speaker 6: Well, flip something on.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: I'm tired. I was just going to bed.
• 8:05
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, I told you I wanted to talk to you. Now,
• 8:07
  Speaker 6: will you open this door?
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: She has a passkey, Jimmy.
• 8:11
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 8:12
  Speaker 9: All right, Mrs.
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: Gordon. Jimmy. Just let me get some clothes on.
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: I didn't know what to do. I knew that she
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: was determined to come in. Mrs. Gordon is a nosy
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: old woman. But she meant well. She'd taken it upon
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: herself to mother Helen and me since the first minute
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: she laid eyes on us. And we'd had a time
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: keeping her out of the apartment with her pots of
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: jam and her bowls of soup.
• 8:34
  Speaker 6: What do we do, Jimmy?
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: Helen, take him by the feet. No. Helen, take him
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: by the feet. No. We started half dragging, half carrying
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: him towards the bedroom, the rug slipping along the floor
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: as we moved. We'd just gotten into the bedroom and then.
• 8:51
  Speaker 6: Well, if your mother isn't here to look after you,
• 8:54
  Speaker 6: I'm going to do it myself.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: I can't leave him here. She might come into the bedroom. Quick,
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: the bathroom. Jimmy, where are you? Jimmy?
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: What if she comes in here?
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Pull back those shower curtains.
• 9:05
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, we can't.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: Don't argue. Pull them back.
• 9:10
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, I can't get his legs in.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: Here, I'll double them up.
• 9:18
  Speaker 5: There.
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: Now pull the curtains together.
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, what's been going on in here? Look at my rug.
• 9:26
  Speaker 8: Has there been a fight?
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: Just a minute, Mrs.
• 9:28
  Speaker 9: Gordon.
• 9:28
  Speaker 10: Jimmy.
• 9:33
  Speaker 6: Jimmy!
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: Get me a razor out of the medicine chest.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Here.
• 9:37
  Speaker 6: What are you going to do?
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: Never mind. Stay where you are. I'm coming, Mrs. Gordon.
• 9:44
  Speaker 8: Well, just as I suspected. You've been fighting. You've hurt yourself. Here,
• 9:48
  Speaker 8: let me see your hand.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: It isn't bad, Mrs. Gordon.
• 9:52
  Speaker 8: No wonder you didn't want me to come in.
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: Where's Helen?
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: She's out.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: She hasn't been here all evening.
• 9:57
  Speaker 6: Here, let's look at your hand.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: It isn't bad, Mrs. Glenn.
• 10:00
  Speaker 6: Let me see that hand. There. Why, Jimmy, this is
• 10:04
  Speaker 6: a bad gash. Have you disinfected it?
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: Yes. Yes, I have.
• 10:08
  Speaker 6: Well, let me bandage it for you.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: No, this towel's all right.
• 10:10
  Speaker 6: It's not all right. Where are your bandages and things?
• 10:12
  Speaker 6: In the bathroom?
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: No, no.
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: I don't have any.
• 10:15
  Speaker 8: You're just saying that, Jimmy Barton, because you don't want
• 10:17
  Speaker 8: to be bandaged. You're not fooling me.
• 10:20
  Speaker 6: And I'm going right into the bathroom and get some.
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: No, not the bath.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: I mean, I don't have any.
• 10:25
  Speaker 6: Well, I'll just see for myself.
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: No, no, Mrs. Gordon.
• 10:29
  Speaker 8: Jimmy, you've dripped blood all over this floor. Here, let's
• 10:33
  Speaker 8: look in this medicine closet.
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: There.
• 10:36
  Speaker 6: I knew it. Here's some tape and some gauze, too.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: Mrs. Gordon, can't we do this in the living room?
• 10:41
  Speaker 6: No, we'll do it right here. Now, here's some alcohol.
• 10:44
  Speaker 6: Put your hand over here.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: We stood there, and she bandaged me. And I kept
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: wondering where Helen had gone. And then I saw the
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: shower curtain move slightly. And I knew. For a moment,
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: I thought Mrs. Gordon had seen it move, too.
• 11:02
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, just look at that shower curtain.
• 11:04
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 11:05
  Speaker 8: Goodness, you've smeared that with blood, too. I'd better clean
• 11:08
  Speaker 8: things up before Helen gets home.
• 11:10
  Speaker 6: You'll scare the life out of her.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: No, I'll clean it up, Mrs. Gordon. You've done enough.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: Thanks very much for taking care of this hand.
• 11:17
  Speaker 6: Well, all right, if you don't want me to. Now
• 11:20
  Speaker 6: you'd better get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning.
• 11:23
  Speaker 6: Good night, Jimmy.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: Good night, Mrs. Gordon. Jimmy.
• 11:29
  Speaker 5: Shh, Ellen.
• 11:31
  Speaker 6: Oh, I had to hide someplace, and it was terrible.
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: I know, I know. It was the only thing you
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: could do.
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: Oh, Jimmy.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 11:40
  Speaker 8: Jimmy, I forgot to tell you that I'm having some
• 11:42
  Speaker 8: painting done tomorrow, so you'll have to be out of
• 11:44
  Speaker 8: here early.
• 11:45
  Speaker 6: It's hard enough getting painters these days without making them
• 11:48
  Speaker 6: wait from attendance to get up.
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: All right, Mrs. Gordon. I'll be out first thing in
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: the morning.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: Good night. Good night.
• 11:54
  Speaker 6: Do I have to get him out of here?
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 11:58
  Speaker 6: Where will we take him?
• 11:59
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: I've got to think. Helen, you try and rest.
• 12:02
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, let me get to the police. Let me tell
• 12:05
  Speaker 6: them that I did it. Let me tell them what
• 12:07
  Speaker 6: he was. They won't do anything to me.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: No, no, you try and rest. What time is it?
• 12:11
  Speaker 6: About six.
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: I've got two hours before the painters get here.
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: What are you going to do?
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: Well, there's the car. No one will see us if
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: we take him through the service porch into the garage.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: Then what? I don't know, but that'll get him out
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: of here anyway. I think I can do it alone, Helen. Listen, Jimmy.
• 12:28
  Speaker 6: We're in this mess because of me. And I'm going
• 12:31
  Speaker 6: to help you. I'm going to help you.
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you Elliot Reid in
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: Dead of Night. Roma Wines' presentation tonight in radio's outstanding
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: theater of thrills, Suspense.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Suspense.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Presented by Roma, R-O-M-A. Roma Wines, those better tasting wines
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: that come from California's finest vineyards to enrich your table,
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: to enhance the hospitality of your home. To bring you
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: better tasting wine, Roma selects and presses California's choicest grapes. Then,
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Roma Vintners, with ancient skill and winemaking resources, unmatched in America.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: guide this sun-drenched grape treasure unhurriedly to tempting taste perfection.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: These fine wines are placed with other Roma wines of
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: years before, and from these reserves, the world's greatest reserves
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: of fine wine, Roma later selects for your enjoyment. Now
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: you can enjoy the premium quality of your favorite Roma
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: California wine at savings up to 20%. Tomorrow as a
• 13:53
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• 13:59
  Speaker 2: Be sure to ask for Roma, America's favorite wine.
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: And now Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: Elliot Reid as Jimmy Barton with Kathy Lewis as Helen
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: in Dead of Night. A tale well calculated to keep
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: you in suspense. When I went into the bathroom, the
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: shower curtains were standing open. His legs had slipped from
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: their cramped position and they'd pushed themselves into the room.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: He sat there with his head twisted down and his
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: chin digging into his chest. I took a washcloth and I.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: It was awful. I wiped the blood off his face.
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: Just in case anyone saw us. They might think he
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: was just sick. Then I tried to lift him, but
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: I slipped, and his head made a hollow sound as
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: it thumped down on the shower floor. Helen helped me
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: get him into the luggage compartment of the car.
• 15:10
  Speaker 6: Where are we going, Jimmy?
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Helen, won't you stay in the apartment, please?
• 15:13
  Speaker 6: No, I couldn't. I'm going with you.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: All right, come on.
• 15:28
  Speaker 6: Lucky it's so foggy.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: What time is it?
• 15:32
  Speaker 6: Five or seven.
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: The fog will be clearing soon. It'll be harder getting
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: him out of the car than... What?
• 15:39
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, there's a Santa Monica Pier. You can drive cars
• 15:42
  Speaker 6: out to the end of it.
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: Maybe we can... Yeah.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: It's worth a try anyway. We'll have to act fast.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: That fog's clearing. You stay here. I can manage alone
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: this time.
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: I'll help you, Jimmy.
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: You stay here this time.
• 16:01
  Speaker 6: All right. Call me if you need me.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: I'll go around to the back. Keep your eyes open.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: All right. Jimmy, someone's coming. Who is it?
• 16:11
  Speaker 6: I can't see.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: Jimmy, it's a policeman. What?
• 16:16
  Speaker 6: It's a policeman.
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: Jimmy.
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, it's Slugger Vanda. He's patrolman on the pier. Well, hello, Slugger.
• 16:29
  Speaker 5: Well, when do you get your sleep, Jimmy? While you're working? Yeah, Slugger.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: But I couldn't seem to remember if I'd locked up
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: the old shooting gallery. So I came over this morning
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: to have a look around.
• 16:44
  Speaker 5: Oh, I see.
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: This is my sister, Slugger. Helen, this is Slugger Vanda.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: How do you do? Hello.
• 16:49
  Speaker 5: Well, you're an early riser, too, huh?
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 16:52
  Speaker 5: Well, the fog's clearing up. Looks like we're going to
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: get some sun today for the shade.
• 16:55
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: Well, I guess I'll be getting back. I think I'll
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: try and catch a few more hours sleep. So long.
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: Yeah, so long. Oh, say, say, Jimmy. Yeah?
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: Say, Jim, I have to take my wife over to
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: a nursery today and pick up some plants and stuff, and.
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: I don't have a trunk on my car. I wonder
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: if you'd let me use your car.
• 17:13
  Speaker 6: Why, you have to drive me over to Malibu this afternoon, Jimmy.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'd forgotten.
• 17:18
  Speaker 5: Well, you can drive over in my car. How's that?
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: Well, you see.
• 17:21
  Speaker 5: Your brother thinks I'll wreck that beautiful car?
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: Oh, it isn't that, Slugger.
• 17:24
  Speaker 5: Okay, then, okay. I'll be over about noon.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: I'll leave my car for you when I get back.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: I won't be home at noon, Slugger.
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: Well, then, I'll meet you at the entrance to the pier.
• 17:31
  Speaker 9: How's that?
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: All right, Slugger. Okay.
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: Why'd you say you'd meet him?
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: Oh, if I don't, he'll go over to the apartment
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: looking for you. I mean, for us. And I don't
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: want a policeman going over there.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Oh.
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: As we drove along the ocean, the fog cleared up rapidly.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: It was almost 8 o'clock, and some kids were already
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: out on the beach playing around. Then I saw a
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: group of early picnickers. They were unloading their blankets and
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: umbrellas and things. I guess it was from them that
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: I got the idea. From seeing them. Listen, Helen, I
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: gotta let you out of this car. You can't help
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: me with what I have to do now.
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: No.
• 18:15
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, I'm staying with you.
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: Don't argue, Helen.
• 18:17
  Speaker 6: I'm not leaving you, Jimmy.
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: We can't go back to the apartment with the painters there,
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: and we can't leave him in the car. Slugger's liable
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: to see us and pin us down to using it.
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: There's only one place left.
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: Where, Jimmy?
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: Helen, get out of this car.
• 18:28
  Speaker 6: Do you hear? Well, but, Jimmy, I.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: I haven't time to argue with you. Get out.
• 18:32
  Speaker 6: I won't do it, Jimmy.
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: Yes, you will. If I have to push you out.
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: Oh, Jimmy, you're hurting me.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: There.
• 18:36
  Speaker 9: There.
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: Now, go back to the apartment. Get off that running board, Helen.
• 18:40
  Speaker 6: I can't leave you alone, Jimmy. I want to help you.
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: I'm not blaming you for killing him, Helen. But now
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: you've got to do as I say.
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: What?
• 18:47
  Speaker 6: What did you say?
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: I don't blame you for what you did.
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: He deserved it.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: But now you've got to help me handle things.
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, you've got to let me explain.
• 18:54
  Speaker 5: Goodbye, Helen.
• 18:54
  Speaker 6: Jimmy? Jimmy? Jimmy?
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: I watched her out of the mirror. She kept calling me.
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: I drove on as fast as I could. I knew
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: that what I was going to do was one chance
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: in a million... But I knew I had to take it.
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: And I didn't want her to be part of it.
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: If I could keep him on the beach that whole day,
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: then maybe I'd be able to get rid of him
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: when night fell. It wasn't until after I stopped that
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: I realized I'd driven right back to a strip of
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: beach not far from the apartment. I had my swimming
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: shorts and a blanket and a towel in the car.
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: And I got out. I looked around carefully. And then...
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: I opened the luggage compartment. It was the hardest thing
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: I'd ever done in my life. But I started taking
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: his clothes off. I managed to get my shorts onto
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: him lucky we were pretty near the same size then
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: I closed the door and I went out onto the
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: beach and I spread my blanket out on the sand
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: and I went back for him when there were no
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: cars in sight I carried him over to where I'd
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: spread my blanket and I placed him on it face
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: down with his hands folded over his head as though
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: we were sunbathing. Then I spread my towel out a
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: short distance from him and I laid down on it
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: and I tried to look relaxed. People didn't start to
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: arrive until about an hour later and gradually little groups
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: of sunbathers started to form. He and I, we looked
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: no different from the others. No one paid any attention
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: to us And I was beginning to feel that everything
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: was going to be easy once it was dark again. Jimmy!
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: I've been looking all over for you.
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: What? I.
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: Hello, Mrs.
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: Gordon.
• 20:50
  Speaker 6: Where's Helen?
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: Isn't she in the apartment?
• 20:53
  Speaker 6: Oh, no. And what time did you go out this morning? I.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: I couldn't sleep.
• 20:58
  Speaker 6: Say, didn't Helen come in at all last night?
• 21:00
  Speaker 10: Oh, yes.
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: Yes, she did. But she left early, too. Said she
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: was going into Los Angeles.
• 21:05
  Speaker 6: Oh, and I left her a note to tell her
• 21:07
  Speaker 6: I was going down to the beach today. I was
• 21:09
  Speaker 6: so worried about her. Say, the painters came, Jimmy, and
• 21:12
  Speaker 6: everything's a mess. You know, I think I'll just sit
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: here with you for a while. You're not with anyone,
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: are you?
• 21:19
  Speaker 10: No.
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: No, I'm not.
• 21:22
  Speaker 8: Wish I'd brought some oil along. Looks like it's going
• 21:24
  Speaker 8: to be a hot day. These things, these days that
• 21:27
  Speaker 8: start off foggy are deceiving, you know.
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, they are.
• 21:31
  Speaker 6: This is a real treat for me, Jimmy.
• 21:33
  Speaker 8: I never get out on the beach. I think I'll
• 21:35
  Speaker 8: have a nice day of rest for a change. Later
• 21:37
  Speaker 8: we can get some sandwiches. The treat's on me.
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: Oh, Mrs.
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: Gordon, no. I hadn't planned on spending the day at
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: the beach.
• 21:44
  Speaker 8: Oh, it'll be good for you, Jimmy. Not healthy for
• 21:47
  Speaker 8: a boy your age to be working all night and
• 21:49
  Speaker 8: sleeping all day.
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: But, Mrs. Gordon, I.
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: Oh.
• 21:54
  Speaker 6: Say, Jimmy, you know that man over there?
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: Which one?
• 21:58
  Speaker 6: That one right there.
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: No, I don't know him.
• 22:02
  Speaker 6: These lions are still. His back's going to get an
• 22:06
  Speaker 6: awful burn.
• 22:07
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 22:08
  Speaker 6: You suppose he's asleep? See, it isn't good to sleep
• 22:10
  Speaker 6: in the sun.
• 22:11
  Speaker 9: Mrs.
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: Gordon, will the painters be finished by this afternoon?
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: I hope so.
• 22:17
  Speaker 6: You know, a person can get an awful burn on
• 22:19
  Speaker 6: a day like this. Somebody ought to speak to him.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: Mrs. Gordon, wouldn't you like to go for a walk?
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: Oh, I'm not one for walking. You can go ahead
• 22:26
  Speaker 6: if you like.
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: Well, I.
• 22:27
  Speaker 6: Come on, Dick, pitch it over here. Oh, those kids.
• 22:31
  Speaker 6: You children, stop that. You're getting sand all over me. Sorry, lady.
• 22:36
  Speaker 10: There's no need to play ball here. There's a playground
• 22:39
  Speaker 10: over by the pier. Now get away from here. Ah,
• 22:42
  Speaker 10: don't pay no attention to her. She don't own the beach.
• 22:44
  Speaker 10: Pitch it over here. Oh, we hit that guy in
• 22:49
  Speaker 10: the beater.
• 22:50
  Speaker 8: Now see what they've done. They've hit that poor man.
• 22:53
  Speaker 8: Now they'll get what's coming to them.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: Mrs. Gordon, are you sure you don't want to go
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: up and get some sandwiches or something? I'll stay and.
• 22:59
  Speaker 6: Not until I see those two hoodlums get what they deserve. Sorry, mister.
• 23:03
  Speaker 6: Can we have our ball? Look at that. Ball's right
• 23:07
  Speaker 6: in the crook of that man's arm.
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: She's pretending he's asleep.
• 23:10
  Speaker 8: He's not going to hand it to them. But just
• 23:12
  Speaker 8: wait till they reach for it. He'll give them something
• 23:15
  Speaker 8: besides their ball.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: Hey, mister.
• 23:18
  Speaker 6: Could we... Ah, what are you waiting for, Dickie? It's
• 23:20
  Speaker 6: our ball. Just take it. Go on, take it. Here,
• 23:24
  Speaker 6: I'll get it.
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: Thanks, mister. For you.
• 23:29
  Speaker 6: What's the matter? Hey, he's cold. What did you say?
• 23:33
  Speaker 6: He's cold, lady. His arm's like ice. I just touched it.
• 23:37
  Speaker 6: Why don't you.
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: Well, you.
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: Probably hurt him. Ah, a little ball like this couldn't
• 23:41
  Speaker 6: hurt nobody. Well, nevertheless, it did. Here, let's have a look.
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: And then she started moving toward him. I knew it
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: was useless to try and stop her. And she reached
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: over and put her hand on his back. And suddenly
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: she was screaming.
• 23:57
  Speaker 6: This man's dead! This man's.
• 24:03
  Speaker 5: Dead!
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: Before long, there was a crowd of people around us.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: And someone called the police. I wanted to run. But
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: I knew that would be the wrong thing to do.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: So I stayed there, numb like watching things. When the
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: police came, they started questioning everyone.
• 24:20
  Speaker 10: Mrs.
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: Gordon was first.
• 24:21
  Speaker 8: But he'd been there all morning. I came early, and
• 24:23
  Speaker 8: he was here already, just like that, with his face down,
• 24:26
  Speaker 8: just like he was Sunday.
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: Now, was there anyone else around when you arrived?
• 24:30
  Speaker 6: Well, yes, Jimmy was here. He was here all alone
• 24:32
  Speaker 6: with him, weren't you, Jimmy?
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: Yes. Yes, I was.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: Doesn't anyone know the man?
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: Hey, I told you kids to keep away, do you hear?
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: Oh, we discovered him, didn't we? If it hadn't have
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: been for us, you.
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 24:43
  Speaker 6: You don't even know a clue when you see one.
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: Look at his fingernails. See, the child's right, officer.
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: Look.
• 24:49
  Speaker 10: Huh?
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: What's that?
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: Let's see.
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: It looks like powder or something flaky.
• 24:54
  Speaker 6: You sure none of you people around here recognize him? Well,
• 24:57
  Speaker 6: I've never seen him.
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: Officer.
• 25:00
  Speaker 6: That blanket he's lying on. It's from my motel.
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah? See?
• 25:04
  Speaker 8: It's stamped right under where you moved his hand. Seaside
• 25:07
  Speaker 8: Motor Cabins.
• 25:08
  Speaker 5: You sure he wasn't registered?
• 25:09
  Speaker 6: I'm positive.
• 25:10
  Speaker 5: Is there anyone around here from your motel?
• 25:12
  Speaker 6: Look, look, Jimmy.
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: Jimmy!
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: Jimmy!
• 25:15
  Speaker 6: Here comes Helen.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: She's crying. Mrs.
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: Gordon, I asked you if there's anybody around here from
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: your motel.
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: Well, yes. Just Jimmy Barton here. And that girl. She's
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: his sister. They've been with us for several weeks.
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: And suddenly everyone was looking at me. And at Helen
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: as she ran towards us. And like a fool, I
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: too started to run in Helen's direction to ward her off.
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: I didn't get far, though, for someone caught me by
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: the arm.
• 25:42
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, I've been looking all over for you.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: Don't say anything, Helen. Let me do the talking. Don't
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: say anything.
• 25:47
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, when you forced me out of the car this morning,
• 25:51
  Speaker 6: you said you didn't blame me for having killed him.
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: Helen, be still.
• 25:55
  Speaker 9: Don't.
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: Jimmy, I didn't kill him. I thought you had. I
• 25:59
  Speaker 6: was helping you get rid of him because I thought
• 26:01
  Speaker 6: you'd done it.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: Helen! Are you telling the truth?
• 26:04
  Speaker 6: I swear it, Jim. Bill and I were quarreling. He'd
• 26:08
  Speaker 6: been taking something again. He was just like he was crazy.
• 26:11
  Speaker 7: And I knew there'd be trouble when you came home
• 26:13
  Speaker 7: from work, so I got out the back way and
• 26:15
  Speaker 7: I went looking for you on the pier.
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: I couldn't find you. I went back to the apartment and...
• 26:21
  Speaker 6: I found him on the floor. I thought you.
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: But, Helen, why didn't you say so?
• 26:25
  Speaker 6: You didn't give me a chance, Jimmy. You just took
• 26:27
  Speaker 6: it for granted that I.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: Then who did kill him, Helen?
• 26:30
  Speaker 6: That's what I'm trying to tell you. Nobody killed him.
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: What are you talking about?
• 26:36
  Speaker 7: I went to the apartment a little while ago to
• 26:38
  Speaker 7: wait for him. While I was there, I remembered about
• 26:41
  Speaker 7: Phil last night. How strangely he'd acted, Jimmy. And how
• 26:44
  Speaker 7: he'd almost fallen several times while we were quarreling. And
• 26:47
  Speaker 7: then I saw the gas.
• 26:48
  Speaker 6: Heater, Jimmy.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: There was a sharp edge on the top of it with.
• 26:51
  Speaker 6: Blood on it. He must have fallen. He must have.
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: But, Helen, we've no way of proving that.
• 26:56
  Speaker 6: There was something else, Jimmy. The wall above the heater
• 26:59
  Speaker 6: was scratched. There might be fingerprints. There might be.
• 27:03
  Speaker 10: Officer!
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah? That flaky stuff you found under his fingernails, that
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: might have been plastic.
• 27:08
  Speaker 10: Uh-huh.
• 27:09
  Speaker 3: I think we'd better get down to the station.
• 27:11
  Speaker 6: Oh, Jimmy, they've got to believe us.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Don't cry, Helen. As long as we know that we
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: didn't do it, that's all that matters. Everything's going to
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: be all right. Don't cry anymore. Well, that's about it.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: Lucky for us, everything checked pretty well back at the motel,
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: and the autopsy showed he was full of some kind
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: of drug. They call it highly toxic. But I guess
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: it was really Mrs. Gordon who saved our necks for us.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: Besides talking so loud and so long that they'd have
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: probably acquitted us just to be rid of her... She
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: did dig up a witness who'd heard Helen and Phil
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: quarreling and who'd seen Helen leave alone after he'd threatened her. Well,
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: everything's all right now. Helen and I are beginning to forget.
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: But it's Mrs. Gordon who's making quite a nuisance of
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: herself on the beach these days as she goes along
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: poking all the sunbathers and asking if they're sure they're
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: all right.
• 28:28
  Speaker 4: And now we will hear from the star of tonight's show, Mr.
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: Elliot Reid.
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much. It was a great pleasure to
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: appear on tonight's broadcast of Suspense. For the next three weeks,
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: Suspense will originate from New York, when you will hear
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: Eva Legallion, Alan Baxter, and Gloria Swanson.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: Good night.
• 29:13
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• 29:18
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• 29:31
  Speaker 9: serve Cresta Blanca California wines from the finest of the vines.
• 29:36
  Speaker 9: As the perfect prelude to dining or for distinguished entertaining,
• 29:40
  Speaker 9: serve a Cresta Blanca sherry. They're among the great sherrys
• 29:44
  Speaker 9: of the world, and there's one for every taste, every occasion.
• 29:48
  Speaker 9: Your dealer features these famous sherrys, as well as other
• 29:51
  Speaker 9: choice Cresta Blanca wines, at unusually attractive prices. Shenley's Cresta
• 29:56
  Speaker 9: Blanca Wine Company, Livermore, California. Listen to Suspense next week,
• 30:01
  Speaker 9: same time, same station. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: That concludes Suspense, Dead of Night. Good evening and thank
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: you for joining us for Classic Radio.