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Dragnet - "Big Switch" (Old Time Radio, 1954) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: January 12th, 1954 brought NBC listeners Dragnet, episode 230, Big Switch.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Jack Webb appears as Detective Sergeant Joe Friday alongside Ben
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Alexander as Officer Frank Smith in a Los Angeles homicide
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: detail investigation. A young woman, Mona Fenton, is found unconscious
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: in a low-cost hotel room where the gas has been
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: turned on. What first appears to be an attempted suicide
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: sends Friday and Smith to the hotel registration book in
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: search of the man connected with the room. The case
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: moves from the hotel to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital in
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a Tuesday night broadcast sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes. And now,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: we return to the original broadcast.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: Dragnet.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: young girl has been found in a cheap hotel room,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: apparently an attempted suicide. There's reason to suspect foul play.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Your job, investigate. It was Thursday, November 19th. It was
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: warm in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: on a homicide detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: is Captain Lorman. My name's Friday.
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: We'd just gotten a call from Georgia Street Receiving Hospital,
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: and it was 9.46 a.m.
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: When we got to the second floor, the treatment room. Yes?
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: Would you like to see Dr. Hall, please? Come in, George. Joe? Frank? Hi, Doc.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: This the girl?
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: How's she doing? I'm not sure yet. Just finished the transfusion.
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: And when are you going to know?
• 2:00
  Speaker 6: We think she's going to live, but there's no way
• 2:02
  Speaker 6: of telling right now how much damage has been done
• 2:03
  Speaker 6: to the brain tissue.
• 2:05
  Speaker 7: Mm-hmm.
• 2:05
  Speaker 6: Bad bruise on her face. Must have received a bad blow.
• 2:08
  Speaker 6: Might have gotten it when she fell.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Let's go outside. I can use the smoke.
• 2:12
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: Well, if there's any change, I'll be out in the hall.
• 2:15
  Speaker 5: All right, Doctor.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: You got a cigarette I'm fresh on? Yeah, here you are. Frank? Yeah, thanks.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: Here's a match. Thanks.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: I didn't know you gave transfusions in cases like this, Doc.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: Don't have to very often.
• 2:35
  Speaker 6: You see, a thing like this, the carbon monoxide in
• 2:37
  Speaker 6: the gas joins with the hemoglobin and the red cells
• 2:39
  Speaker 6: won't let go. Blood takes the monoxide through the system
• 2:42
  Speaker 6: and suffocates the brain tissue.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: We've given her some coramine. Helps speed up the heart action.
• 2:46
  Speaker 6: The way it looks, she's got a good chance of living,
• 2:49
  Speaker 6: but we won't know how bad it really is until later.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: It's a rough one, isn't it? You find out who
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: she is?
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: Well, according to the stuff we found in her wallet,
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: her name's Mona Fenton. Another thing that doesn't make much sense, Doc,
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: she registered into the hotel as Mrs.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: John Norris. Near as we can find out, she wasn't married.
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: How'd you come up with that?
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: Well, when the office got word about it, we tried
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: to get in touch with her husband. We called the
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: phone number on the ID that we found in her wallet,
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: talked with her mother.
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: She says the girl's single. How about the guy she
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: was with? Have you been able to talk to him? No.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: Haven't found out who he is. Name doesn't check out, huh?
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: Not that we can find. How about the mother? She
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: give you anything? We just talked to her for a minute.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: We're going over there when we leave here. Maybe she
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: can come up with some answers. I sure hope so.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: A couple of more questions you can ask her.
• 3:26
  Speaker 8: Yeah?
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: What's that? Find out if the girl's been under a
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: doctor's care. What do you mean? Checked her over when
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: she came in. Found marks. On her arm? Yeah. I
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: think she's an addict. At 8.30 a.m.
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: That morning, a guest in a small hotel on Grand
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: Avenue had thought that he detected the odor of gas
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: in the halls of the building. He notified the desk clerk,
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: and together they conducted a search of the premises. Finally,
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: they ascertained that the escaping gas was coming from a
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: room on the third floor of the hotel. When the
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: desk clerk got no answer to his calls, he used
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: a passkey to open the door. Sprawled across the bed
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: was a girl who appeared to be in her early 20s.
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: The gas heater in the room had been turned on
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: full and the windows were closed, locked and stuffed with
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: pieces of torn sheets to keep the fumes in the room.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: The quick action of the desk clerk had undoubtedly saved
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: the girl's life. While a hotel guest called an ambulance...
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: The clerk turned off the gas, opened the windows, and
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: administered artificial respiration to the girl until the ambulance crew arrived.
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: As an attempted suicide, the homicide detail had to make
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: an investigation, and Frank and I were assigned to the case.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: After we talked to Doc Hall at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital,
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: we drove down to the hotel where the girl.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: Had been found.
• 4:38
  Speaker 8: Right in here.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Anybody been in this room since the other officers left?
• 4:44
  Speaker 8: No, sir. Told me to lock it until you could
• 4:45
  Speaker 8: see it. All right, sir.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: This is just the way you found it, is that right?
• 4:50
  Speaker 8: Well, yes, of course. The gas is turned off and
• 4:52
  Speaker 8: I opened the windows, but everything else is the same.
• 4:55
  Speaker 8: I see.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: From what you said on the phone, she came in
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: last night, is that right? Yes, sir.
• 5:01
  Speaker 8: At least that's what the registration book says. They checked
• 5:04
  Speaker 8: in at 10.15. Did you take care of them? No,
• 5:08
  Speaker 8: I was out to dinner when they got here.
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: Who checked them in?
• 5:11
  Speaker 8: Jeff, Jeff Christensen.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: Is he around?
• 5:13
  Speaker 8: No, not right now. He'll probably be back tonight.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: Know where we can find him?
• 5:18
  Speaker 8: I don't know. See, Jeff got paid last night. Got
• 5:21
  Speaker 8: his week's wages.
• 5:22
  Speaker 9: Last I saw him, he was on his way out
• 5:24
  Speaker 9: on the town with some of his friends.
• 5:26
  Speaker 8: Jeff goes out on the town. Maybe we don't see
• 5:29
  Speaker 8: him in a couple of days.
• 5:30
  Speaker 7: I see.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: But you figure he'll be back tonight, huh?
• 5:32
  Speaker 8: Oh, yes, yes. Jeff only worked a couple of days
• 5:34
  Speaker 8: last week, so he ain't gonna go on much of
• 5:37
  Speaker 8: the town.
• 5:37
  Speaker 10: Mm-hmm.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: Did you see the man Miss Benton came in with? No,
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: I didn't.
• 5:41
  Speaker 9: They were already in the room when I got back
• 5:43
  Speaker 9: from dinner. I checked the book. I got the money
• 5:46
  Speaker 9: from Jeff before I left. The man must have gone
• 5:49
  Speaker 9: out sometime earlier this morning. I guess I was asleep.
• 5:52
  Speaker 9: My room's just back at the desk. The fellow must
• 5:54
  Speaker 9: have got out while I was asleep.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: I see. Did you get any calls from the room
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: at all?
• 5:59
  Speaker 8: Not a one.
• 6:00
  Speaker 9: Like I told those uniformed officers to be here, I
• 6:02
  Speaker 9: didn't see them at all.
• 6:03
  Speaker 8: Not a people. Matter of fact, I was thinking how
• 6:06
  Speaker 8: nice and quiet they were.
• 6:08
  Speaker 9: But the way the room looks, they sure must have
• 6:10
  Speaker 9: had some sort of argument.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir. Would you know if they brought any baggage
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: with them?
• 6:15
  Speaker 8: Matter of fact, I know they didn't. Sure looks like
• 6:18
  Speaker 8: they did some heavy drinking, don't it? Mm-hmm. Glasses, that
• 6:23
  Speaker 8: bottle's almost empty.
• 6:25
  Speaker 11: Yeah.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: I'd rather you wouldn't touch the bottle.
• 6:27
  Speaker 8: Oh, yeah, yeah, well, I'm... Say, you talk to the
• 6:30
  Speaker 8: girls' people yet?
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: No, sir, we haven't.
• 6:32
  Speaker 8: But you plan to see them, aren't you? Yes, sir. Yeah,
• 6:35
  Speaker 8: I wonder if you'd do me a favor. You know
• 6:37
  Speaker 8: when you see up people?
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir, what's that?
• 6:39
  Speaker 8: Well, I don't much mind the dirty glasses and having
• 6:42
  Speaker 8: to straighten the room up. That's all part of the
• 6:44
  Speaker 8: hotel business. But I wish you'd say something about the
• 6:47
  Speaker 8: torn sheets. Tell the people about them.
• 6:49
  Speaker 9: I don't want to cause no trouble, but maybe if
• 6:51
  Speaker 9: they know how about the sheets were all torn up,
• 6:53
  Speaker 9: they'd want to make good on them.
• 6:56
  Speaker 8: You will mention it, won't you?
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: I'll call the office, Joe, have them send out a crew,
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: see what prints we can lift. All right, fine.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: Who else has a passkey to this room? Oh, you
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: mean beside me?
• 7:06
  Speaker 8: Yes, sir.
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: Well, ain't nobody. Where's the key kept?
• 7:10
  Speaker 8: That hangs on a nail next to the desk, that
• 7:12
  Speaker 8: big nail there. It hangs right on it.
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: When you came into the room, did you notice if
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: there was anything around the door to keep the gas inside?
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: I don't follow you.
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: Well, you found pieces of torn sheets around the windows,
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: you say. Now, was there anything like that by the door?
• 7:27
  Speaker 8: Oh, oh, yes, I'm with you now, yeah. Now, let
• 7:30
  Speaker 8: me think. As I remember, no, no, there wasn't nothing there,
• 7:34
  Speaker 8: just around the windows.
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: Was the key in the lock when you came up here?
• 7:38
  Speaker 8: You mean inside the room?
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir, that's right.
• 7:40
  Speaker 9: No, no, the reason I know that for sure is
• 7:42
  Speaker 9: that I looked through the keyhole. Tried to see what
• 7:45
  Speaker 9: was in the room.
• 7:45
  Speaker 8: No, sir, the key wasn't in. Of course, that don't
• 7:49
  Speaker 8: mean nothing.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Sir?
• 7:51
  Speaker 8: Well, only a couple of the rooms have keys anyway.
• 7:53
  Speaker 8: We don't use them anymore.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: You mean you don't lock the doors?
• 7:56
  Speaker 9: Sure we lock the doors. We got them all locked
• 7:58
  Speaker 9: all the time. This is a respectable hotel. Of course
• 8:01
  Speaker 9: we lock the doors. But not with those keys. We
• 8:04
  Speaker 9: got those other locks on the doors.
• 8:06
  Speaker 8: Oh, I see.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: You see?
• 8:06
  Speaker 8: Yeah, see that? Sort of like Yale locks. That kind,
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: you know. That's what locks the doors, not the other keys. Yes,
• 8:14
  Speaker 8: I see. Of course we lock the doors.
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: Yes. The locks catch when the doors close, though. Is
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: that right?
• 8:20
  Speaker 7: Yep.
• 8:21
  Speaker 8: Locks them tight.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: I got in touch with Lee Jones, Joe. He sent
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: a crew right over. Good. I checked with Doc Hall.
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: How's the girl? Oh, she's coming along. Doc says she's
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: doing better.
• 8:32
  Speaker 8: Oh, these fellas that you're going to have roaming around here.
• 8:34
  Speaker 8: What's this all about? Is something wrong?
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: We're not sure yet, sir.
• 8:38
  Speaker 8: Oh, dear, dear, it always happens like this, don't it?
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: What's that, sir?
• 8:41
  Speaker 9: I try to run a respectable place. Goodness knows I do.
• 8:44
  Speaker 9: I keep it right up to date. It's good service,
• 8:47
  Speaker 9: and something like this happens. There's no reason for that
• 8:49
  Speaker 9: girl to do a thing like this.
• 8:51
  Speaker 8: Not in my hotel. Now you cops come in here.
• 8:53
  Speaker 8: Cops are going to be all over the place. Tenants
• 8:56
  Speaker 8: aren't going to like it. They ain't going to like
• 8:57
  Speaker 8: it at all. Just because of that girl. Why'd she
• 9:01
  Speaker 8: have to come in here and do a thing like this?
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Why'd she have to do it at all, sir?
• 9:05
  Speaker 8: 11.26 a.m.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: We questioned the people in the hotel.
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: None of them could remember hearing any undue noise coming
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: from the room where the girl had tried to kill herself. Normally,
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: the investigation would have been routine, but with the possibility
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: of foul play, we had to check every angle and
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: then check it again. The crew from the crime lab
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: arrived and went over the room. Under the bed, they
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: found an empty capsule, the type commonly used to dispense heroin.
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: They also came up with a clean set of fingerprints
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: on both glasses. They were photographed, and the water glasses
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: themselves were removed to the crime lab to be booked
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: as evidence. The registration card the couple had signed was
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: turned over to Don Meyer in handwriting. The name was
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: checked through our record bureau, through the phone book, and
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: through the city directory, but when the leads were checked out,
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: we were no further in knowing who the man was
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: who'd taken the room with Mona Fenton. Word was left
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: at the hotel for the handyman to contact us as
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: soon as he returned. Word was also left that if
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: the man who'd registered with the Fenton girl returned, we.
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: Were to be called. 11.45 a.m.
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: The men from the crime lab finished their investigation and
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: returned to the office to compile the results.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: Frank and I left the.
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: Hotel and drove out to the address listed on the
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: girl's identification. It was a large white colonial home near
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: one of the colleges. We rang the doorbell and waited.
• 10:25
  Speaker 11: Yes?
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: Miss Fenton?
• 10:26
  Speaker 7: Yes, that's right. What is it you want?
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Police officers would like to talk to you.
• 10:29
  Speaker 8: Oh, come in.
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 10:33
  Speaker 7: It's about Mona, isn't it?
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 10:35
  Speaker 7: I knew something like this would happen. I knew it
• 10:37
  Speaker 7: all along.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: Beg your pardon?
• 10:38
  Speaker 12: When she first had this crazy idea, when she first
• 10:41
  Speaker 12: told me about it, I knew. Kids, try to tell them.
• 10:44
  Speaker 12: Just try and they tell you that times have changed.
• 10:47
  Speaker 12: They say that you're not keeping up with the time.
• 10:49
  Speaker 7: They know it all.
• 10:50
  Speaker 12: Nobody can tell them anything.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: But what idea is this, Mrs.
• 10:53
  Speaker 9: Fenton?
• 10:53
  Speaker 7: When she wanted to quit school and take the job
• 10:55
  Speaker 7: in that drive-in restaurant. The most ridiculous thing I ever
• 10:57
  Speaker 7: heard of. Nobody could talk her out of it. Lord
• 11:00
  Speaker 7: knows I tried. I knew something like this would happen.
• 11:04
  Speaker 7: I just knew it.
• 11:05
  Speaker 8: Yes, ma'am.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: Do you know any reason why your daughter might want
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: to take her own life?
• 11:10
  Speaker 7: Are you a policeman, too?
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am. I'm Frank Smith. This is my partner, Joe Friday.
• 11:14
  Speaker 7: How do you do?
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: Do you know any reason why your daughter might want
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: to kill herself?
• 11:19
  Speaker 7: It's a little hard to say, Mr.
• 11:21
  Speaker 10: Friday.
• 11:22
  Speaker 8: What's that?
• 11:23
  Speaker 12: Mona and I had quite an argument about her leaving school.
• 11:25
  Speaker 12: It's one of those silly things that starts and gets
• 11:27
  Speaker 12: all out of hand, you know. We both have pride,
• 11:31
  Speaker 12: and neither one of us was going to back down.
• 11:34
  Speaker 12: I haven't seen Mona to talk to for over a month.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: Does she live here, ma'am?
• 11:38
  Speaker 7: Yes, she does, Mr.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Smith.
• 11:40
  Speaker 12: There's an outside entrance to her room. She comes and
• 11:42
  Speaker 12: goes as she pleases. Doesn't eat her meals here, though
• 11:45
  Speaker 12: I hardly ever see her.
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: Do you know if she's been under a doctor's care?
• 11:49
  Speaker 7: No, I don't think so. Why do you ask that?
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: Well, is your daughter a diabetic?
• 11:54
  Speaker 7: No, she isn't, Mr.
• 11:54
  Speaker 8: Friday.
• 11:56
  Speaker 7: Why all these questions about Mona and a doctor? What
• 11:58
  Speaker 7: are you trying to find out?
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: Does your daughter have any special boyfriends, Mrs.
• 12:01
  Speaker 7: Fenton? She did have.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: Who was that?
• 12:03
  Speaker 12: Richard Burdick, nice boy. Mona and he were planning to
• 12:06
  Speaker 12: get married when they got out of school. And along
• 12:09
  Speaker 12: with everything else, that just blew up. Everything seemed to
• 12:13
  Speaker 12: go all at the same time.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: Did your daughter have any trouble with this Burdick? No.
• 12:18
  Speaker 12: Nothing you could call real trouble. But they agreed to disagree.
• 12:22
  Speaker 12: With Mona's idea, Richard didn't want anything to change. He
• 12:25
  Speaker 12: was very much in love with her.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Uh-huh.
• 12:27
  Speaker 7: Does he know about this?
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: I don't think so, Miss Fenton. We haven't told him.
• 12:31
  Speaker 12: I don't know what he's going to do when he
• 12:32
  Speaker 12: hears about it. It's going to hit him awfully hard.
• 12:35
  Speaker 12: He's the sensitive type.
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: Does your daughter have any close friends that she might
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: confide in?
• 12:39
  Speaker 7: I suppose she does. She's talked about some of the
• 12:41
  Speaker 7: girls where she worked.
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: Would you give us their names, please?
• 12:44
  Speaker 7: Oh, yes, I will. I'll write them down for you,
• 12:46
  Speaker 7: those I can remember.
• 12:47
  Speaker 8: All right, fine.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: Has your daughter been in good spirits lately?
• 12:50
  Speaker 7: As far as I know, yes.
• 12:51
  Speaker 12: She's always seemed happy enough when I saw her. I
• 12:53
  Speaker 12: told you we hadn't said much more than hello the
• 12:55
  Speaker 12: last month, but she's seemed happy.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: You said that she broke up with this Burdick boy,
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: is that right? Yes. When was that?
• 13:02
  Speaker 7: Six weeks, two months ago.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: You know what caused it?
• 13:05
  Speaker 7: The job, all the other things. Mama kept making dates
• 13:09
  Speaker 7: with him and then breaking them at the last minute.
• 13:10
  Speaker 7: I guess Richard just got tired of being stood up.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: Well, does he and your daughter have any arguments that
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: you know of? No.
• 13:16
  Speaker 12: They just decided that it wouldn't work out for them.
• 13:19
  Speaker 7: They just decided to stop seeing each other.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: Did your daughter have any other steady boyfriends? Anyone that
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: she saw quite a bit of, maybe?
• 13:26
  Speaker 7: Well, there was one boy. He was quite a bit
• 13:27
  Speaker 7: older than Mona. She saw a lot of him the
• 13:30
  Speaker 7: last couple of weeks.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: You know who he was?
• 13:33
  Speaker 7: No, I never met him. I only saw him once.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: What if you could describe him for us?
• 13:37
  Speaker 12: No, I'm afraid I can't. He drove by for Mona
• 13:39
  Speaker 12: one night, going to pick her up for a date.
• 13:41
  Speaker 12: Parked out in front and honked the horn.
• 13:43
  Speaker 8: I see.
• 13:44
  Speaker 12: I went to the front door to tell him to
• 13:45
  Speaker 12: come in. Mona wasn't ready yet, but he wouldn't. Just
• 13:48
  Speaker 12: sat out there and waited. I didn't get a good
• 13:50
  Speaker 12: look at him.
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: Could you describe the car for us?
• 13:53
  Speaker 7: Not good. It was one of those foreign cars, a convertible.
• 13:57
  Speaker 7: I think it might have been a Jaguar. I'm not
• 13:58
  Speaker 7: sure about that, though.
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: But you're sure it wasn't an American automobile?
• 14:01
  Speaker 7: Yes, I'm sure about that.
• 14:02
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: How about the color of the car? Can you tell
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: us that?
• 14:06
  Speaker 7: It was awfully dark out there. I'm not sure... I'd
• 14:09
  Speaker 7: rather not say, officer, if I can't be sure you
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: understand that. I wouldn't want to tell you something and
• 14:13
  Speaker 7: then have it turn out to be wrong. You can
• 14:14
  Speaker 7: understand that, can't you?
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am, of course.
• 14:17
  Speaker 7: Did you see Mona this morning?
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, we did.
• 14:20
  Speaker 7: Is she all right?
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: They think so, yes.
• 14:23
  Speaker 7: Aren't you sure?
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: Well, when we talked to the doctor, they were doing
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: everything they could. They seemed to think that she was
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: going to be all right.
• 14:29
  Speaker 8: Thank God.
• 14:31
  Speaker 12: It's so hard, Mr. Friday, to know that your child
• 14:34
  Speaker 12: is sick, that she tried to kill herself. Do you
• 14:36
  Speaker 12: want to go to her and not be able to?
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: It's so hard.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: Try to take it easy if you can, Miss Fenton.
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: If you'll just give us the names of the girls
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: that you might know, we'll be on our way.
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: Yes, I'll write them for you.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 14:53
  Speaker 8: Excuse me.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Shirley? Hello?
• 14:58
  Speaker 8: Yes, it is.
• 15:00
  Speaker 9: What?
• 15:01
  Speaker 7: Yes, they're here. Just a moment.
• 15:03
  Speaker 8: For you.
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: I'll get it, John.
• 15:08
  Speaker 7: I'll get those names for you, Mr.
• 15:09
  Speaker 10: Pratt. All right, fine.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Did your daughter ever refer to this man in the
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: foreign car by name?
• 15:14
  Speaker 7: No, I don't think she did.
• 15:15
  Speaker 12: All I know is that whenever she went out with him,
• 15:18
  Speaker 12: it was.
• 15:19
  Speaker 7: The big date of the bunch.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: How often did she see him?
• 15:21
  Speaker 7: Maybe a couple of times a week. Might have been more.
• 15:24
  Speaker 7: I had no way of knowing what she was doing.
• 15:26
  Speaker 12: She kept pretty much to herself when she met him.
• 15:29
  Speaker 7: But I could tell he was the big thing in
• 15:31
  Speaker 7: her life. He was it.
• 15:32
  Speaker 8: Joe?
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Stay a minute? Yeah. Excuse me, Miss Fenn.
• 15:38
  Speaker 7: I'll finish this list.
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 15:41
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: Call was from Jack Smyers at the office. Yeah. Just
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: removed her to the general hospital. Yeah. She had a relapse.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: They don't think she's gonna live.
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: We obtained the name of the drive-in restaurant where the
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: Fenton girl was employed. We also got the names of
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: the girls that she worked with and the address of
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: her boyfriend, Richard Burdick.
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: Mrs.
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: Fenton also gave us a list of names of persons
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: who might be able to aid us.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: In the investigations.
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: Under further questioning, the mother was still unable to furnish
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: us with a motive for her daughter's attempt.
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: To take her own life. The apparent lack of a
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: motive or.
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: Any type of a suicide note coupled with the bruise
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: on the girl's chin made the likelihood of foul play.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: More than possible.
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: 12.57 p.m. We left the Fenton home and drove over
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: to the drive-in. We stopped on the way and put
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: in a call to the office. There still hadn't been
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: any report of the handyman at the hotel, the only
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: person who could give us a description of the man
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: who'd registered at the place with the Fenton girl. When
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: we got to the drive-in, we asked about a Peggy Gregson,
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: one of the girls on the list. After a few minutes,
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: the girl came over to our car.
• 16:49
  Speaker 10: You want to see me?
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: You Peggy Gregson?
• 16:51
  Speaker 8: Yeah, why?
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: We'd like to ask you some questions about Mona Fenton.
• 16:54
  Speaker 7: Who are you guys?
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: Police officers. Just like to talk to you.
• 16:56
  Speaker 10: I've got to get it okayed with the manager. I'm
• 16:58
  Speaker 10: on duty now, lunchtime. Pretty busy. I've got to get
• 17:00
  Speaker 10: it okayed.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: I'll take care of it. All right, fine. I'll check
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: with the manager, Joe. Right.
• 17:04
  Speaker 10: This isn't going to take long. I've got a couple
• 17:06
  Speaker 10: of customers waiting for orders.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: My partner will take care of it.
• 17:08
  Speaker 11: Why ain't the manager knowing that worries me? It's the
• 17:10
  Speaker 11: tips they're going to leave. Make what I do, and
• 17:12
  Speaker 11: the tips are important.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.
• 17:14
  Speaker 10: It's all this about Mona, anyway.
• 17:15
  Speaker 8: What are the.
• 17:16
  Speaker 10: Cops after her for?
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: Well, she tried to kill herself this morning. Mona? Yeah.
• 17:21
  Speaker 9: Why?
• 17:22
  Speaker 10: Why'd she do a thing like that?
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: Well, we thought maybe you could help us there.
• 17:25
  Speaker 10: Why me? I haven't got anything to do with it.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: Well, we understand you're pretty friendly with her.
• 17:28
  Speaker 10: Oh, sure.
• 17:29
  Speaker 11: I was a friend of Mona's, but I don't know
• 17:30
  Speaker 11: anything about no suicide. I don't know anything about it,
• 17:33
  Speaker 11: and I don't want to.
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: Do you know any reason she might try to take
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: her own life?
• 17:36
  Speaker 10: Not a reason in the world. Not Mona.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: Do you know if she was under a doctor's care
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: for any reason?
• 17:41
  Speaker 9: No.
• 17:41
  Speaker 10: I mean, I don't know. Didn't say anything about it.
• 17:43
  Speaker 7: Never said a word.
• 17:45
  Speaker 10: Was she?
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: Well, that's what we're trying to find out. Can you
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: think of any enemies she had? Anybody who might have
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: wanted to hurt her?
• 17:51
  Speaker 10: How far is this going to go?
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: What do you mean, miss?
• 17:53
  Speaker 10: I mean, who's going to hear about this? Who's going
• 17:55
  Speaker 10: to hear the answer that I'm going to give?
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: Well, no one. Now, what do you got for us?
• 17:58
  Speaker 10: Well, I'll give you this for free.
• 18:00
  Speaker 11: If anything happened to Mona, you go talk to Dick Burdick.
• 18:02
  Speaker 10: Talk to him. He'll be able to tell you.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: Why do you say that?
• 18:05
  Speaker 7: Because it's true.
• 18:06
  Speaker 10: No other reason. He's a real bum. You ask me,
• 18:08
  Speaker 10: I think there's something wrong with him. You know, in
• 18:10
  Speaker 10: the head.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: Well, do you have any reason to say that?
• 18:13
  Speaker 11: All the reason in the world. Poor girl, this bum
• 18:15
  Speaker 11: all the time coming around giving her trouble. All the
• 18:18
  Speaker 11: time telling her how he's going to kill her and
• 18:19
  Speaker 11: anybody that comes near her.
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: Burdick said that to Miss Fenton, did he?
• 18:22
  Speaker 10: Half a dozen times. Wasn't one a week ago.
• 18:25
  Speaker 11: Mona told me she told him off, told him to
• 18:27
  Speaker 11: get lost.
• 18:28
  Speaker 10: She wanted any part of him to leave her alone.
• 18:30
  Speaker 10: He made a big scene. Mona told me all about it.
• 18:32
  Speaker 10: One day this Terry drove in here. Got one of
• 18:35
  Speaker 10: those flashy foreign cars.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: The Jaguar?
• 18:37
  Speaker 10: I think so, yeah.
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: All right, go ahead.
• 18:40
  Speaker 11: Well, one day he drove into the place. Mona took
• 18:42
  Speaker 11: care of him. I guess he liked Mona. He kept
• 18:44
  Speaker 11: coming back. Always parked in her station.
• 18:47
  Speaker 7: Anyway, this Burdick kid.
• 18:48
  Speaker 11: Found out about it. Wasn't anything for him to worry about,
• 18:51
  Speaker 11: but he made a big thing about it. Told Mona
• 18:53
  Speaker 11: she was supposed to stop seeing Terry. Said if she didn't,
• 18:55
  Speaker 11: he was going to cause real trouble.
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: Did he say what he was going to do?
• 18:58
  Speaker 10: I think he was kidding. I don't think he really
• 19:00
  Speaker 10: meant it.
• 19:01
  Speaker 8: He's just a kid. Well, what did he say?
• 19:03
  Speaker 10: I really don't think he meant it.
• 19:04
  Speaker 7: Well, all right.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: Now, what did he say to her?
• 19:07
  Speaker 11: Said if he found them together again, he'd kill them both.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: We talked to the other girls on the drive-in.
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: From them, we got the same story about the scenes
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: that Richard Burdick had created. We got more information about
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: the threats that he'd made against the Fenton girl and
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: Terry Hamilton. From one of the girls, we got the
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: address of Hamilton's. 2.45 p.m. We left the drive-in and
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: drove over to the address of the girl's boyfriend, Richard Burdick.
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: We talked to the landlady. She told us that the
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: Burdick boy had regular habits. He paid his rent on time.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: He never had any visitors. She told us that he
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: wasn't in his room at that time, but she said
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: that she'd let us in. In her company, we went upstairs.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: She unlocked the door, and Frank and I went in.
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: come check the bedroom i'll take the kitchen yeah there's
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: nothing out there how'd you do well it looks like
• 19:59
  Speaker 4: we're a little late what his clothes are gone.
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: We checked the room further.
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: Every indication was that Richard Burdick had left the apartment
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: in a hurry. We talked to the landlady again.
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: She could give us no reason for his disappearance. She
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: gave us the name of his employer.
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: We put in a call to them, but they told
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: us that Burdick had failed to show up for work
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: that day.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: 4.15 p.m.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: We put in a call to the hotel on Grand Avenue,
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: but the handyman still hadn't returned and there'd been no
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: word from him. We went back to the office and
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: checked the name Richard.
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: Burdick through R & I, but we found.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: No criminal record for anybody answering his description. We put
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: out a local and an APB on him. At 4.39 p.m.,
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: we got a call from General Hospital telling us that
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: the Fenton girl had regained consciousness and that we could
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: talk to her. Frank and I left the office and
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: traveled Code 2 out to the hospital. The doctor on
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: duty told us that the girl was out of danger,
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: but that she was very weak. He asked us not
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: to get her excited, and he let us into her room.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: Miss Fenton?
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: Yes, who are you?
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: Police officers.
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: Why can't you leave me alone? Go away.
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: Just a couple of questions we'd like to ask you.
• 21:08
  Speaker 5: I don't want to talk to anybody. Why didn't you
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: leave things the way they were? Why didn't you leave
• 21:12
  Speaker 5: me alone?
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: Well, you had a lot of people worried, miss.
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: No reason for it. It'd be better all the way
• 21:18
  Speaker 5: around if things had happened the way I planned them.
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: And you did try to kill yourself? Yes. Who was
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: with you in that hotel room? Mr.
• 21:26
  Speaker 9: Morris? Yeah.
• 21:28
  Speaker 5: It was Terry. It was always Terry. He was going
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: to marry me, then he didn't. He said he would
• 21:34
  Speaker 5: and he didn't.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: Is that why you did what you did?
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: You used narcotics, Miss Fenton?
• 21:40
  Speaker 10: Hmm?
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: You used narcotics?
• 21:43
  Speaker 11: Yes.
• 21:43
  Speaker 5: It was Terry's.
• 21:44
  Speaker 7: I did, too.
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: I think that's all he wanted with me, just to
• 21:48
  Speaker 5: get me hooked, so I'd have to do what he said.
• 21:50
  Speaker 5: I think that was the reason.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: How about this Richard Burdick?
• 21:54
  Speaker 5: What about him?
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: Do you have anything to do with you deciding to
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: take your own life?
• 21:57
  Speaker 5: In a lot of ways. The only mistake I ever
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: made was leaving Richard... I thought it was smart, real smart.
• 22:04
  Speaker 5: I was going to show him. Terry said he'd marry me.
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: He said he was in love with me.
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: Did he get you started on narcotics?
• 22:09
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: At first it.
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: Wasn't so bad. I loved him, really, I did. Then
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: when I had to have the fixes, he changed. Told
• 22:18
  Speaker 5: me he couldn't give it to me anymore. I was
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: going to have to pay for it. I tried to
• 22:22
  Speaker 5: tell him to tell him that I loved him, that
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: I wanted to be with him. That's why I went
• 22:26
  Speaker 5: to the hotel to talk it over. Try to come
• 22:29
  Speaker 5: to an understanding, something. Kind of an understanding.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
• 22:34
  Speaker 5: He said that he didn't want to have anything to
• 22:35
  Speaker 5: do with me. That he wanted no part of me anymore.
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: Said that I was going to have to pay for
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: the H from now on. I didn't have any way
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: to pay for it. He said it wasn't any of
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: his business.
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: So you used it?
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: Yeah. All so stupid. All so stupid.
• 22:55
  Speaker 11: Ma'am?
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: The whole thing. I had it real good all the
• 22:59
  Speaker 5: way around. And then I went ahead and ruined everything,
• 23:02
  Speaker 5: tore it all down. Even if I'd have killed myself,
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: it would have been no answer. Not the right answer, anyway.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: I know that. I know it real well.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Can you tell us where you can find this Terry?
• 23:16
  Speaker 10: You bet I can.
• 23:18
  Speaker 5: I want to see him feel like I do. I
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: want him to know what it's like.
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: Would you be willing to meet with him? Make a
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: buy of narcotics for us?
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: You name the time, I'll be there. I'll be there
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: if I have to crawl.
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: All right. You better get some rest now.
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: I guess so. I'm pretty tired. Did you see my mother?
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: Is she real mad at me?
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: No, I don't think she is.
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: Would you call her? Ask her to come and see me?
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: Tell her I'm sorry. Tell her I want to see her.
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: She'll be glad to hear that.
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: I hope so. I got so much to tell her,
• 23:58
  Speaker 5: her and Richard.
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: I'm just going to tell them both.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: All right, Miss Fenton. We'll get in touch with her.
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: And you tell me when you want me to call Terry.
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: You tell me.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: All right, we will.
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: Terrible thing, isn't it?
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: What's that?
• 24:14
  Speaker 5: Terry. He's been around a long time. Must be other
• 24:18
  Speaker 5: girls in the same fix all because of him. Girls
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: who have a bad habit and have to do what
• 24:24
  Speaker 5: he says. Girls like me, terrible. Nobody knows how many.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: Where's it going to end?
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: When you meet him.
• 24:41
  Speaker 13: Terry Norris Hamilton was tried and convicted of violation of
• 24:44
  Speaker 13: the State Narcotics Act, a felony, one count. He received
• 24:47
  Speaker 13: sentence as prescribed by law. Violation of the State Narcotics Act,
• 24:51
  Speaker 13: a felony, is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary
• 24:54
  Speaker 13: for a period of from one to five years. Mona
• 24:57
  Speaker 13: Irene Fenton pled guilty to the same charge and was
• 24:59
  Speaker 13: placed on probation for a period of three years with
• 25:02
  Speaker 13: the provision that she be placed under the care of
• 25:04
  Speaker 13: a competent psychiatrist.
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: Dragnet.
• 25:07
  Speaker 6: The story of your police force in action is a
• 25:09
  Speaker 6: presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us for Dragnet, episode 230, Big Switch.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: Follow Dragnet for more classic broadcasts.