Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - The Laird Douglas Douglas of Heatherscote Matter - Ep 5
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Speaker 1: From Hollywood, it's time now for.
Speaker 2: Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 3: Ronald Kenworthy, Mr.
Speaker 1: Dollar.
Speaker 2: Good, I want to talk to you. Are you at
your home? I am, and after the way you... Okay,
then stay right there and I'll be over to see you.
Speaker 3: Why don't you send the police instead?
Speaker 2: What's that supposed to mean?
Speaker 3: A few minutes ago in Mrs. Van Pyton's library, before
you kicked me out, you practically accused me of the
murder of her nephew.
Speaker 2: Did I?
Speaker 4: Well, didn't you?
Speaker 3: Didn't you?
Speaker 2: All right, Ronnie, just calm down and stay put until
I can get over there.
Speaker 3: You mean you aren't afraid I might try to take
a powder, as you high-handed detectives like to put it?
Speaker 2: You mean you aren't worried that I.
Speaker 1: Tonight and every weekday night, Bob Bailey and the transcribed
adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account, America's
fabulous freelance insurance investigator... Yours.
Speaker 2: Truly, Johnny Duller. Expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny
Dollar to the Philadelphia Mutual Liability and Casualty Company. Following
is the final report in my investigation of the Laird
Douglas Douglas of Heather's Skull Matter. The whole case started
out almost as a lark. when I discovered that I'd
come to Philadelphia to act as bodyguard to Laird Douglas Douglas,
and for a fat fee and virtually unlimited expense accounts. Me,
bodyguard to a dog. But it ceased to be funny
when I learned that the dog's two previous caretakers had
been murdered, and when, only a few hours ago, an
attempt was made on my life that ended with the
death of young Warren Staley.
Speaker 1: Yes, Mr.
Speaker 4: Dollar, I see. I guess I was so upset by
the death of my nephew that I... I didn't realize
the attempt was really made on your life.
Speaker 2: The second attempt, Mrs. Van Pyton.
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 2: Shortly after I arrived in Philadelphia, somebody planted a booby
trap in my suitcase in my hotel room.
Speaker 4: Good heavens, no. And you think that Ronald Kenworthy did that, too?
Speaker 2: Well, what do you think?
Speaker 4: Well, yes. Now that poor dear Warren is gone... There's
nothing to prevent the Kenworthy estate from achieving control of
the Van Pyton holdings. That is, if I were to die...
Go on. Upon the death of Harrison Kenworthy, the whole
financial empire would be inherited by his son, Ronald.
Speaker 2: So I understand.
Speaker 4: Ronald. And he would be the wealthiest, the most powerful
man financially in the United States. Ronald who pretended to
be Warren's best friend. Who pretended to love me. It's
a terrible thought, isn't it?
Speaker 2: Apparently adds up, though, doesn't it?
Speaker 4: There is no question of it. But what evidence have you?
Speaker 2: None yet.
Speaker 4: Then I'll help you get it. And I can do it, Mr.
Speaker 3: Dollar.
Speaker 4: I may appear to be only a wealthy, foolish old
woman who dotes on her pet, Laird Douglas.
Speaker 3: But I'm not.
Speaker 4: I'm astute, shrewd and clever. Since Peter, my husband, died,
I alone have managed this estate, this financial empire. I
use the word again. With my money, with my... Oh, yes,
I can do it, Mr. Dollar, and Ronald will be
made to pay for these terrible things that he has done. I, uh,
I admire your confidence.
Speaker 1: Nothing.
Speaker 4: No one can stand in my way. You'll see. I'm
only sorry that a few minutes ago you didn't keep
him here, make him face it.
Speaker 2: I'm going to see him now.
Speaker 4: Oh, where?
Speaker 2: At his home. I understand the estate adjoins this one.
Speaker 4: Yes, but please look out for him.
Speaker 2: Shoot first, Mr.
Speaker 4: Dollar.
Speaker 2: What?
Speaker 4: Because now he may act like the cornered rat that
he is.
Speaker 2: I decided to walk across to the Kenworthy estate in
the hope the fresh air would help clear my thoughts.
Logical as it all seemed, I didn't like what I
just heard. Then luck Pure, unadulterated luck. As I walked
across the broad lawn between the main house and the gatehouse,
I passed the garage building with its Rolls Royce, two Cadillacs,
and a station wagon. And then I saw him. Andy LaFord,
alias Andrew Fortune, alias Andrew Ford, one of the cleverest
second-story men in the country, with a record on the
West Coast as long as your arm. A man who
would do anything for money. He was hardly going through
the motion of dusting off a car. I walked past quickly,
not sure whether he'd notice me or not. I hope not.
for it was one of his ilk who'd had to
plant the booby trap in my hotel room, who could
have slipped the poison into the liquor that killed Warren Staley.
I turned in at the gatekeeper's house. Mr. Dollar, I
saw you at the question. I want a telephone, quick.
Right here, sir. Thanks. Operator, get me Central Police, emergency.
Good heavens, Mr.
Speaker 3: Dollar, something else happened?
Speaker 2: The man there in the garage, polishing cars.
Speaker 3: Andy?
Speaker 2: How long has he been here? Oh, a year more,
ever since the dog show at Valley King. Oh, what
does he do? Oh, the driving for Mrs. Van Payton,
but something gone.
Speaker 4: Hello?
Speaker 2: Give me Lieutenant Howard, homicide. After warning the old gatekeeper
that I'd have his head if he said anything to
anyone about my phone call, I left by the back
door and went over to the Kenworthy mansion where young
Ronald was waiting for me.
Speaker 3: I must say, before we go any further, that I
resent the way you ordered me out of the Van
Payton house a few minutes ago.
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah. Well, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3: Whether you suspect me or expect me to help you
in this case.
Speaker 2: Lonnie, you knew Warren Staley.
Speaker 3: Very well. We were the closest of friends.
Speaker 4: Confident.
Speaker 2: All right. Just how much did he really care about
the Van Pyton estate? Fortune, whatever you want to call it.
Speaker 3: To put it bluntly, he wanted none of it. And
I'm afraid his aunt rather resented it.
Speaker 2: Why do you say that?
Speaker 3: Because her whole life she's been obsessed by an almost
overwhelming lust for power. When Warren finally rebelled against this,
she tried not to show it, but she hated him
for it. Unlike my father. Oh? I feel as Warren felt.
And my father and I together have been laying the
groundwork for dissipating the Kenworthy estate into corporate setups that
will benefit many instead of just us. Does that sound
strange to you?
Speaker 2: It sounds like true philanthropy, if you mean it.
Speaker 3: You must believe me, it is, and I do mean it. Oh,
I won't suffer, of course. I'll still retain some control
here and there, but I'll have to work at it.
Instead of just carrying on the tradition of the idle rich,
I'll be a man.
Speaker 2: I hope you're telling me the truth, Ronnie. I believe
you are, and I'd like to meet your father.
Speaker 3: You will. Needless to say, it was much harder for
him to break from this tradition of financial power than
for me. So perhaps you can see why I admire
him above all other men.
Speaker 2: Anything else? I'll see you later.
Speaker 4: I was worried about you, Mr. Dollar, going over there
to see Ronald Kenworthy alone after all that has happened.
Speaker 2: Yes, you should have been, Mrs. Van Pyton. especially if
you notice that I pass by the garage on the way.
Speaker 1: What?
Speaker 2: I happen to notice someone there, and I think it
answered a lot of questions for me. It was Andy Laforte.
Speaker 4: Andrew?
Speaker 2: My private chauffeur? Is that all he is?
Speaker 4: Oh, do you know him, Mr.
Speaker 2: Dollar? Look, I took on this case, Mrs. Van Pyton,
because you offered me a fee too good to be
turned down and an almost unlimited expense account.
Speaker 4: You haven't answered my.
Speaker 2: I should have got wise then and there. But I
thought your great passion for your dog was just an
amusing foible of an immensely wealthy, kind of foolish old lady.
Speaker 4: Oh, Laird Douglas is a dear one, isn't he? Why, Mr.
Speaker 2: Dollar... Let me add things up. A few minutes ago,
you told me that thanks to your wealth and a
very sharp, clever mind, you'd let nothing stand in the
way of anything you chose to do. Please, Mr.
Speaker 4: Dollar, I don't think I understand.
Speaker 2: All right. You made a contract with Harrison Kenworthy that
you'd marry him when and if Laird Douglas beat that
pup of his at the dog show. An apparently silly
sort of thing, yet everybody believed it. But the real
reason for marriage to him was solely to acquire control
of his holdings, increase this financial empire of yours. Very subtle.
Kept you looking like a cute, whimsical old lady.
Speaker 4: Why, this is the most absurd thing I.
Speaker 2: Ever heard of. So I thought at first, but let
me go on. Oh, please do. When you realized that
Laird Douglas wasn't ready to beat that dog of his,
rather than admit defeat, rather than lose the chance to
make this marriage, you ordered the murder of the dog's handlers.
Speaker 3: Ah!
Speaker 2: Then the contract was still in force, just delayed.
Speaker 4: I won't listen to such terrible things.
Speaker 2: You'll listen whether you like it or not. You learned
that Kenworthy and his son were planning to dissipate their
fortune and thereby put it beyond your reach. Mr.
Speaker 4: Dollar.
Speaker 2: On top of this, your own nephew, Warren, wanted to
do the same with your estate. This was too much.
Speaker 4: What you have said is too much.
Speaker 2: Then by the time I arrived, you learned from an expert,
Ray Rowland, that your dog would never stand a chance
against Kenworthy's. So you wouldn't dare let him compete, at
least until you'd hooked Kenworthy some other way. And part
of your whole scheme was to build up evidence of
attempts against you, through the dog, of course, though I'll
bet you actually hate the mutt. No, that's not true. Anyhow,
from the moment I talked to Ray Roland, I was
only in the way. So you tried to get rid
of me, had somebody booby-trap my luggage. Oh, you have
no proof. Andy Laforte, this so-called chauffeur of yours, would
do anything for money, and I fully intend to break
him down and make him admit you hired him as
a killer.
Speaker 3: Listen.
Speaker 2: Listen.
Speaker 4: Listen to me.
Speaker 2: On the second try, the poison liquor, your nephew Warren
got it instead of me. Fine, fine. Another obstacle out
of your way. After all, he had opposed you.
Speaker 4: Mr.
Speaker 2: Dollar, how much do you want?
Speaker 4: I can make you financially independent.
Speaker 2: Then you set your sights on Ronald Kenworthy, who was
trying to break up the other empire you wanted to
get your hands on. You even hoped that somehow I
might help you. Shoot first, you said.
Speaker 4: You don't understand.
Speaker 2: I was... Just what plans you had for his old
man and that warped, twisted brain of yours, I don't know.
But I'm sure you had plans. Oh, lady, now it's
too late.
Speaker 4: No, Mr.
Speaker 3: Dollar.
Speaker 4: No, it isn't too late.
Speaker 2: Stay away from that drawer. You'd even shoot somebody down
with your own hand if you thought it necessary, wouldn't you?
Speaker 4: But it isn't necessary, Mr.
Speaker 2: Dollar.
Speaker 1: Huh?
Speaker 4: Are you sure it wouldn't be easier if I were
just to give you, say, $ 100, 000 and.
Speaker 2: $ 200, 000?
Speaker 3: All right, Andrew.
Speaker 2: Right here, Mrs.
Speaker 1: Van Pyton.
Speaker 3: Well, well.
Speaker 4: Hello, Andy.
Speaker 3: Andy.
Speaker 2: Got a license for that thing?
Speaker 1: Shut up.
Speaker 2: Want me to do it now, Mrs. Van?
Speaker 4: Yes, Andrew.
Speaker 2: What if the servants hit a shot? Hold it, Donna.
Don't worry, Andrew.
Speaker 4: I'll take care of things. Haven't I always for you?
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, sure, sure. She'll take care of things. While
you're pulling that trigger, she'll blast you down so fast
you won't know what hit you. Make it look like
we killed each other and leave her in the clear.
Speaker 1: Quiet.
Speaker 2: She's got a gun in that drawer beside her and
she'll use it. You hear me, Eddie?
Speaker 4: I said quiet.
Speaker 3: Quiet.
Speaker 2: What you don't know is that she can't do without me.
Speaker 3: But we can do without you.
Speaker 2: All right, Andy, wait now. Listen, will you? Now, Mrs. Van.
Speaker 4: All right, Andrew.
Speaker 2: Now. Thanks, Lieutenant.
Speaker 3: Oh, Lieutenant.
Speaker 2: Then you saw.
Speaker 4: He was going to shoot down Mr.
Speaker 3: Dollar.
Speaker 2: Yes, I heard, too, Mrs.
Speaker 1: Van Pyton.
Speaker 2: Plenty.
Speaker 4: Oh, no, you don't understand.
Speaker 2: Mr.
Speaker 4: Dollar had come up here to talk to me. I
wanted to offer him a great deal more money for
his work for me.
Speaker 2: I guess I almost didn't make it. I'm glad you
keep talking to him so long. Got a cough drop.
Is this part of the air bill of fortune? Oh,
shut up!
Speaker 1: What was that?
Speaker 2: You heard him.
Speaker 4: I beg your pardon.
Speaker 2: Clever, shrewd, astute. You're just off your rocker. You'd have
to be, I guess, to start a thing like this
in the first place. Well, I guess by the time
the estate and inheritance laws get properly applied, the Van
Pyton empire will be spread around the way Warren wanted it.
Expense account item 10, 2890, fair and incidentals back to Hartford. Total,
including fees, $ 1, 113.
Speaker 3: 40. Remarks?
Speaker 2: I'm glad I'm poor. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 1: Now here's our star to tell you about next week's
intriguing story.
Speaker 2: Next week, an insurance swindle that really backfired. The only
trouble was it caught me right in the line of fire.
Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 1: Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, is transcribed in Hollywood.
It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also
wrote this week's story. Heard in our cast were Jeanette Nolan,
Harry Bartell, Byron Kane, Jack Crucian, Bill James, James McCallion,
Ken Christie, Dick Ryan, Burt Holland, Jack Edwards, and High Everbeck.
Musical supervision by Amarigo Moreno. Be sure to join us
on Monday night, same time and station, for another exciting
story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, Roy Rowan speaking. THE
END THE END I'm sorry.
Speaker 3: I'm sorry.