Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - The Salt City Matter - Ep 5
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Speaker 1: From Hollywood, it's time now for....
Speaker 2: Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 3: Johnny, this is Ellie. I've been worried to death about you.
Speaker 2: You might be even more worried when the papers come
out I'm wanted for murder. Johnny... Now listen to me.
I don't have a lot of time to explain it
to a policeman. I didn't kill anybody, Ellie, but I
need help.
Speaker 3: Where can I meet you?
Speaker 2: If I remember right, there's a coffee shop over on.
Speaker 3: Are they looking for you all over town?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I suppose so.
Speaker 3: We better not pick any place like that. I have
a Blueford convertible, a. 50... Yeah. Go there. Watch for me.
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 truly.
Speaker 2: Johnny Dollar. ¶ ¶ Expense account submitted by Special Investigator
Johnny Dollar to Samuel Rubin and Associates Insurance Brokers, Majestic Building, Hartford, Connecticut.
The following is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation
of the Salt City matter. Expense account item 19, 25 cents,
car fare to Fisherman's Wharf. Standing there in the light rain,
it occurred to me that 48 hours had gone by
since I'd last closed my eyes. I might have been
reading a little when Eleanor Strauber showed up. Johnny.
Speaker 3: Johnny, Johnny. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Johnny. Same old sport.
Speaker 3: What have they done to him?
Speaker 2: Oh, easy, kid, easy. Hey, look, maybe we'd better get
out of here.
Speaker 3: Yes. This way, all right?
Speaker 4: Fine, fine.
Speaker 3: Johnny, what can I do to help?
Speaker 2: Didn't I tell you on the phone I was wanted
for murder?
Speaker 4: Yes.
Speaker 2: Aren't you going to ask me about that?
Speaker 3: You will tell me if you want to, Johnny.
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm going to tell you, all right. And I
want you to go to Inspector Dan Walsh at the
Hall of Justice and tell him. Go on. Well, some
of it you know, some of it you don't know.
Speaker 3: I know I'm the cause of a lot of it.
If I hadn't been so dumb as to sell that
big policy to Ed Julian.
Speaker 2: You had no way of knowing. My job was to
protect him, get him alive, keep him alive until the
company could break their responsibility. And I've been trying to
do that. But I had to find Ed Julian first.
Speaker 4: Sure.
Speaker 2: One of my best leads was an attorney named Ray Gumby.
He hoped to get Julian into custody one way or
another in jail. That seemed a pretty good way for
me to protect him. I got a tip from a
hotel clerk that Ed was in Salt City with Jim
Reno and some others. He's gone, Johnny. Well, I took
the train over to Salt City with a subpoena to
find Ed. He was there, all right. But Jim Reno
found me first. He drugged my coffee, and when I
went out to see Ed at the Smeller Works, the
drug began to work. I saw Ed and Chili Winters.
They were drugged, too. Reno came in a little while
later and shot them with my gun. I got away
from Reno. He was going to haul me down and
let the Salt City Police charge me with murder. I
think he owns the Salt City Police Force, too. I
managed to get back here early this morning. I called
the police and tried to explain all this here, but
they wouldn't listen. I went over to see Ray Gumby. Ellie,
Gumby was dying when I got there. He'd been shot twice.
I don't know if the police know about him yet
or not. Then I called you.
Speaker 3: Who shot Gumby?
Speaker 2: It was those two thugs I tangle with over at
Ed Julian's apartment, Swifty and Luke. Only names I know
them by.
Speaker 3: Reno killed Ed Julian and Chili Winters?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Anything else? Oh, no. One place the police won't be
looking for you is my office. There's a nice couch there.
You need some rest.
Speaker 2: She drove me over to her office, and ten minutes later,
I was asleep. About seven o'clock, I woke up, and
for the first time in days, my head was cleared.
Clear enough to think of a man with a pencil-marked
mustache who'd sold me information about Ed Julian being in
Salt City. I found him in his rooms. Yeah, we
got business.
Speaker 1: What are you... Please, my lapel.
Speaker 2: You worry about them good and hard. I'm worried about
the two men I saw murdered in cold blood in
Salt City yesterday. I'm worried about the man who died
in my arms early this morning. Most of all, I'm
worried about myself.
Speaker 3: Please! Now, look.
Speaker 2: When you came to my hotel two days ago, you
were taking a big chance about telling me where Ed
Julian was. But it didn't make sense, because your kind
don't take chances.
Speaker 1: What do you mean?
Speaker 2: I mean somebody paid you to look at me and
tell me Julian was in Salt City. Oh, no, Mr.
Speaker 3: Dollar.
Speaker 2: Ed's wife didn't know he was there. The police didn't
know he was there. No one but you. Now, once again,
who paid you to tip me off that Ed Julian
was in Salt City?
Speaker 4: Honestly, Mr.
Speaker 1: Dollar, I'm just a clerk there. It was just as
I explained. I happened to be working the switchboard, and
a call came in for Mr. Julian, and I just
happened to overhear... You're lying.
Speaker 4: Please.
Speaker 2: I was in Ed Julian's apartment. His calls don't come
through your switchboard downstairs. He's got a private line.
Speaker 4: Please.
Speaker 2: Now, once more. Who paid you to tell me that
Ed Julian was in Salt City? No one paid me.
Who was it?
Speaker 3: Tell me. Please, Mr. Dollar. Tell me.
Speaker 2: Who is it?
Speaker 3: Me.
Speaker 4: Mr. Julian himself. What?
Speaker 2: Honestly, it was Mr.
Speaker 4: Julian.
Speaker 1: Before he left town two nights ago, he told Mr.
Speaker 4: Swift and Mr.
Speaker 1: Luke, all of us, to make it difficult for you.
And then he sent me a special delivery letter with
$ 50 in it and told me to go to you
and tell you he was in Salt City.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 2: Okay, relax.
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 2: I don't want you to make a move. I just
want you to stay where you are for the next
half hour.
Speaker 4: Clear?
Speaker 3: Clear.
Speaker 2: Expense account item 20, 20 cents, phone call to Eleanor Strober.
Speaker 3: Johnny, are you all right?
Speaker 2: I'm getting better every minute. Did you talk to the police? Yes.
Speaker 3: They want to see you very badly.
Speaker 2: I'll go to see them as soon as I clear
up some other business.
Speaker 3: Johnny, be careful.
Speaker 2: Don't worry about me. Did you tell them about Ray Gumby?
Speaker 3: Yes. They found his body. You have an awful lot
of explaining to do.
Speaker 2: Now, look, I got another pickup for them.
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 2: Not a body, just a hotel clerk. He's in his
room at 412 Turk Street. I think he'll be out
cold for another ten minutes. I just conked him.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 2: Phone the police and tell them to send somebody out
to pick him up. He's part of my story, and
he'll tell it.
Speaker 3: But, Johnny.
Speaker 2: And tell them to be sure and pick up Swift
and Luke for Gumby's killing. Got all that?
Speaker 3: I think so.
Speaker 2: See you later. It was dark by the time I
arrived at the Skyline Apartments and took the elevator to
the fourth floor. The place looked quiet and deserted. It was,
for the most part. Except for Lorraine Julian. She looked
about the same.
Speaker 4: Tired.
Speaker 3: Sad.
Speaker 2: Johnny Dollar. Isn't that your name? Yeah. What are you
doing here? Didn't you ever expect to see me again?
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 3: You better go. Wait. I shouldn't be in here. Ed,
walk in here.
Speaker 2: Ed isn't going to walk in, Mrs.
Speaker 3: Julian.
Speaker 1: What do you mean?
Speaker 2: I dropped by to tell you you've been double-crossed.
Speaker 3: Where is Ed?
Speaker 2: Chili Winters was gunned in Salt City. Ed Julian was
shot to death, too.
Speaker 3: You're lying.
Speaker 2: I saw it happen, Mrs. Julian. Some kind of a trick.
It isn't so.
Speaker 3: Not Ed.
Speaker 2: You haven't seen the papers or listened to the radio, then.
They all have the story by now.
Speaker 4: It is true.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, all of it. Ed told you to keep
me guessing when I came around looking for him, right? Yeah, sure.
Maybe you didn't know, but you were helping Jim Reno
put the finger on him.
Speaker 4: I don't believe you.
Speaker 2: Ed can't be dead. Neither can Chili Winters, then, huh?
Speaker 3: It was Chili they wanted out of the way. They
wanted Chili out of the way. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2: Well, Chili and Ed are out of the way now,
and Jim Reno's in command.
Speaker 1: What a fool.
Speaker 4: What a fool I've been.
Speaker 2: I'd have done anything for him.
Speaker 1: He asked me to get you to go over to
Salt City.
Speaker 3: I loved him. I loved him.
Speaker 2: There's no way to bring him back, Lorraine. But you
can help me get Jim Reno. How? Will you sign
a statement?
Speaker 4: Anything.
Speaker 2: Get some paper.
Speaker 4: Here.
Speaker 2: I wrote it while she sat there and helped me
fill in the details. How Ed Julian and Jim Reno
planned to get rid of Chili Winters. How Ed Julian
took Chili over to Salt City with him. How before
he left he knew that Ray Gumby had a subpoena
out for him and that I, if tipped off, would
eventually wind up in Salt City and be a patsy
for the killing of Chili Winters. Only Jim Reno decided
he'd be better off if Ed and Chili were both
out of the way.
Speaker 4: Do you think this will do any good?
Speaker 3: Can we get Reno for killing Ed?
Speaker 2: An assault city court, no. But it stands a good
chance in this town. How about Gumby?
Speaker 4: Luke.
Speaker 3: And Swift. I know.
Speaker 4: Why?
Speaker 2: Mr. Gumby knew all about the enterprises. If there had
been any kind of investigation... So they just put him
out of the way, huh? Yeah.
Speaker 4: Nice people.
Speaker 3: That's one trouble.
Speaker 4: You never usually ask about the people you fall in
love with. You just go ahead and do it.
Speaker 2: We'd better find a notary public. I have to turn
myself in to the police. A lot of things have
to be explained to them.
Speaker 4: I think you'd better get over to Salt City and
explain some things there, Donna. Mr. Reno. Yeah. Hello, Lorraine.
Nice tricks.
Speaker 3: You killed Ed.
Speaker 4: Didn't this insurance man tell you that he shot him?
Speaker 3: Huh?
Speaker 4: Well, don't you worry. You got $ 50, 000 coming to you now.
You want to thank him.
Speaker 2: 50,000, a lot of money.
Speaker 3: Why, you.
Speaker 2: Easy, sugar.
Speaker 4: I'm liable to blow your head off.
Speaker 3: You killed Ed.
Speaker 4: Well, I did it for this fella.
Speaker 2: I do, kid.
Speaker 4: Only room for one guy in our business, and that's me.
Speaker 2: And I figured you'd be here, darling.
Speaker 4: You're a tough man. Come on. You and me, we're
going back to Salt City. The police say I want
to talk to you.
Speaker 2: I'm still your patsy, huh?
Speaker 4: You're still it, brother. They want you as bad as
ever where I run things. If you don't, this thing
might go off.
Speaker 2: Don't move, Lorraine.
Speaker 4: Is he dead? No.
Speaker 2: Am I still? I'll call a doctor.
Speaker 4: Once.
Speaker 3: Once you said I looked like a nice girl. Tell
me that again. Please, tell me. Yeah.
Speaker 2: A nice girl. Expense account, item 21, $ 1, 000, legal fees.
To get a lawyer to explain formally what had happened.
Item 22, $ 130, room and board. 23, $ 135, plane fare
to Hartford and, uh.
Speaker 3: Johnny.
Bye, Johnny.
Speaker 2: Bye, Lee.
Speaker 3: The next time I sell an insurance policy, I'm going
to ask for character recommendations. Then I won't get a
nice fella like you and... Johnny, will you be back?
Speaker 2: Well, I'll have to appear as witness against Jim Reno
when his case comes up. Item 24, two bucks, two drinks. Yep,
for Eleanor and me. Expense account total, $ 3, 262. Remarks, none.
Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 1: Remember, there'll be another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar,
beginning next Monday night.
Speaker 2: Next week, proof that a dog's life sometimes isn't so bad.
A case that starts out like a lark, just one
big joke, but isn't funny for long. Join us, won't you?
Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 1: Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, is transcribed in Hollywood,
written by John Dawson. It is produced and directed by
Jack Johnstone. Heard in this week's cast were Barbara Fuller,
Gene Tatum, Barbara Eiler, Lawrence Dobkin, Dick Ryan, Jack Edwards,
Barney Phillips, Junius Matthews, and Tony Barrett. Musical supervision by
Amerigo 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.
Speaker 3: THE END
Speaker 4: Oh, my God.