Yours Truly Johnny Dollar - "19 the Imperfect Alibi Matter Part 3" (Old Time Radio)

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar presents “The Imperfect Alibi Matter,” Part 3, originally broadcast on CBS on September 19, 1956. This is episode 5609 of the series, starring Bob Bailey as insurance investigator Johnny Dollar and written by Robert Ryf.

Johnny continues his investigation into the death of wealthy New York executive Harvey Stone, whose shooting on a country road has turned an insurance assignment into a homicide case. A confession appears to clarify the matter, but troubling details leave Dollar with more questions than answers. Directed by Jack Johnstone.

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:54 Original Broadcast
15:46 Closing

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Speaker 1: On September nineteenth, nineteen fifty six, CBS brought listeners part

three of the five part Yours Truly Johnny Dollar serial,

The Imperfect Alibi Matter, Episode five thousand, six hundred nine.

Bob Bailey is Johnny Dollar, the insurance investigator following the

case of Harvey Stone, a wealthy New York executive whose

windshield was hit by a bullet on a country road

outside the city. The inquiry has turned to homicide, and

Alvin Gentry's confession seems to supply an answer until its

details collide with the facts. Johnny has assembled with Virginia Gregg,

Ted Decortia, Barney Phillips, and Will Wright in the cast.

This chapter was written by Robert Reff and directed by

Jack Johnstone. And now our story begins.

Speaker 2: From Hollywood. It's time now for Johnny Dollar.

Speaker 3: Joe was delli at homicide. Johnny, I was out.

Speaker 2: When you call anything new on the Harvey Stone killing,

Joe got a thing.

Speaker 3: But maybe we've already got all.

Speaker 2: We need, meaning Helen Barrett, we're still here.

Speaker 3: Joe.

Speaker 2: I don't think she did it. Oh, I know it

all adds up to her, but we'll just call it

a hunch.

Speaker 3: Hunches are fine, Johnny, but facts are better. You want

to hear some facts.

Speaker 2: I'll be right over tonight and every weekday night.

Speaker 4: Bob Bailey and the Transcribed Adventures of the Man with

the Action Packed Expense Account America's Fabulous Free Lance Insurance Investigators.

Speaker 2: Truly Johnny Dollar expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny

Dollar to the Home Office Northeastern demn to the associates Hertford, Connecticut.

The imperfect alibi matter location, New York City. Expense account continued,

I'd have made a dollar forty can't fair. The police

had gort Us in my hotel to talk to Lieutenant

Joris delli Son. Johnny, thanks, facts, you said. Facts number one.

Harvey Stone was shot in the left side of the

forehead at close range with the thirty eight caliber Smith

and West, and the gun was near the body and

hey prints on it always clean, But Helen Barrett had

glows with him. Helen says she left Harvey's apartment and

went to her own to pack up. They were going

to a lope. When she got back to us apartment,

he was dead. So she told me, Johnny, I'd like

to believe her too. She seems like a pretty nice kid.

But but what not enough facts in her favor? Who

saw her Leavestone's apartment? We can't find anyone who did.

What time she leaves? She can't remember. Did anyone see

her return? What time?

Speaker 5: That's a lot of questions not to be able to answer, Johnny.

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I know. What was the time of death?

Speaker 5: Medical examiner figures somewhere between eleven thirty and midnight.

Speaker 2: Well, Helen told me she thought it was about eleven

when she left Harvey's apartment and about midnight when she returned. Yeah.

Speaker 5: About even if she did leave, she only lives a

few blocks away. There's a lot of time on accounted

for it, Johnny, Yeah, better fill me in on what

you know.

Speaker 2: Well, as I get it, Harvey Stone took over the

management of his father's corporation when Old EJ took to

a wheelchair about a year ago.

Speaker 3: Yeah, I know.

Speaker 2: Two years ago, Old EJ married an next chorus girl

named Daphney. Yeah, well, she's about Harvey's age. The two

of them were apparently pretty friendly, and the old man

was bothered by it occasionally. Incidentally, he and Daphney are

joint beneficiaries on Harvey's insurance policy one hundred and fifty

thousand worth.

Speaker 5: Sounds like you're trying to tie the old man into

the killing. He quite a stretch, Johnny from his wheelchair

up in Westchester County, the Harvey's apartment on East fifty seven.

I know, but right now I'm more interested in Daphney. Oh,

I told you last night I thought Dutch Krieger was

mixed up in this. I went to his office afterward

and spotted a picture of Daphne's stone on his wall,

inscription all my love signed Daphne. You think Daphne got

Dutch to do her in himself a favor? That's a possibility,

isn't it. Sure, Sure, it's a possibility. Trouble is there

are all kinds of possibilities right now. I got to

stick with a probability. Helen Barrett, Uh huh. How are

you doing? On motive for her?

Speaker 2: Not good?

Speaker 4: Not bad?

Speaker 5: You know there was some question as to whether they

were going to be married or not. Helen says the

hesitation was on her part, but suppose it was the

other way around.

Speaker 2: Harvey decided not to go through with the marriage.

Speaker 5: Yeah, getting cut out of the stone money would hurt

some girl's plenty. Maybe this was her way of getting

even with him for breach of promise.

Speaker 2: You know, Joe, for a guy who loves facts, seems

to me, you're edging over into hunches too.

Speaker 5: I admit it isn't a closed case by a long shot.

So let's get back to facts. Harvey was shot in

the forehead with a thirty eight Smith and Wesson sometime

between eleven thirty. Excuse me, but Stelli speaking? Who what about?

Speaker 2: Oh?

Speaker 5: Well, send him in. Somebody wants to see me about

the killing.

Speaker 6: Oh you, Lieutenant Rostelling. That's right, you're head on the

Stone killing trying too. I want to talk to you

about it. Sit down, thank you. What's your name?

Speaker 2: Gentry? Alvin Gentry?

Speaker 5: So what about the Stone killing?

Speaker 2: I killed Harvey Stone.

Speaker 5: Let's have that again.

Speaker 6: I said, I killed Stone. I want to make a statement.

Why did you kill him?

Speaker 2: Making a play for my girl? I didn't like it.

Speaker 3: You're a girl?

Speaker 5: You mean Helen Barrett?

Speaker 2: Who Helen Barrett, Harvey Stone's fiance. Oh I don't know her.

I mean my girl, Darris, a hat check girl at Barney's. Well,

go on, go on.

Speaker 6: The Stone was on the make for every time he

came in Barney's to make a play for I told

him to lay off, and he wouldn't. It's gonna go

away with I went to his apartment, I killed him.

Speaker 5: How'd you kill him?

Speaker 2: Shoddy? Where? I told you? In his apartment? I mean,

where did the bullet hit him? Oh? In the chest?

Speaker 5: What kind of gun do you use?

Speaker 2: Forty five cold? What'd you do with a gun? I

threw it in the river?

Speaker 5: Okay, Gentry, get out, I said, get out.

Speaker 6: But I told you, yeah, you told me. All right,

now I'm telling you get out. Look, I don't understand.

Speaker 5: I'll tell you what you do. You just go on

out of here and think it over when you come

back with a few facts straight. Fact Yeah, like the

caliber of the gun and where Stone was shot, in

the location of the gun. You get the facts straight,

and I'll be glad to listen to you.

Speaker 6: Now, get out, okay.

Speaker 2: Confessing Sam number one.

Speaker 5: Yeah, it's always a strength of them. That's one reason

we don't usually release the caliber of the gun to

the papers to help weed out these confess.

Speaker 2: And Sam won know why are they doing?

Speaker 5: A psychiatrist was explaining it to me once, something to

do with repressed feelings of guilt. I think he said,

next one, we'll probably say he stabbed Harvey Stone with

a letter opener. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Well, I'm gonna run on and have a talk with

Daphne Stelly speaking All right, now, look, Mike, you take

the statement.

Speaker 5: Huh, thanks, Well, I was wrong about the letter opener, Johnny.

We got a guy now who claims he used a

razor on Harvey slid his throat.

Speaker 2: From ear as I left, I spent about three minutes

feeling sorry for Estelly and his crank confessions. But then

I dropped that routine and started feeling sorry for my

own problems. The case against Helen Barrett looked pretty bad,

but I still kept thinking of Daphney Stone's picture in

Dutch Creeker's office expense acount out of nine three twenty

transportation to the Stone of state in Westchester County. I

was shown into the king sized drawing room again to

wait for Daphne, and I saw a very interesting sight

that wiped Daphnie out of my mind for a moment.

It was old EJ's wheelchair at the door of the solarium,

and what was unusual about it was that it was empty.

I edged toward the door. Then I got a glimpse

of EJ puttering around his orchids. He spotted me, though,

and hobbled quickly to his wheelchair. With an abrupt wave.

He wheeled the hall and out of sight. A couple

of minutes later, in came Daphne. Hello, Johnny Dephane.

Speaker 7: Look, you said it was important that you talk to me,

but I really don't feel much like talking after what's happened.

Speaker 2: I'm sure you understand, I think, So how's EJ taking it?

Speaker 7: My husband is reacting as I suppose any father would

who just lost his son, bewillered, hurt.

Speaker 2: You didn't tell me EJ could navigate without his wheelchair.

I saw him a minute ago, inspecting his orchids. The

wheelchair was parked near the door.

Speaker 7: I didn't think it was important, Johnny. It's true he

can be out of his chair for short periods, but

it's rather uncomfortable for it.

Speaker 2: Out of his chair for how long?

Speaker 7: Not long enough to get into New York and back,

if that's what you're wondering.

Speaker 2: Thanks. You told me it was Aj who was opposed

to Harvey's plans to marry Helen Barrett. But I found

out that you were the one who was fighting it.

Speaker 7: I suppose it was fully shot me to pretend otherwise.

I guess I just didn't want you to get any

wrong ideas about What about the reason I opposed it?

Speaker 2: What's the right idea?

Speaker 7: The name of Stone means something, Johnny, dignity, tradition, breeding.

I doubt if someone like Helen Barrett, and entertainer nice

as she is, could keep that tradition alive.

Speaker 2: Are you kidding?

Speaker 7: I'm completely serious. Something like this happened once before with

Harvey's secretary Martha Winters, and.

Speaker 2: You stopped it. You were trying to stop him from

marrying Helen.

Speaker 7: I don't like the way you put that. I merely

persuaded him to think of the family name.

Speaker 2: You know, you kill me, Daphne?

Speaker 7: What do you mean by that?

Speaker 2: This dose of blue blood you've picked up? Aren't you

a Daphne? Come lady yourself? How dash ej told me

he lifted you out of a chorus line when he

married you. How about it?

Speaker 7: Yes, it's true?

Speaker 2: So why do you get off with this?

Speaker 7: Don't suppose you'd ever understand this, Johnny, But there are

chorus girls and chorus girls. This I know I had

to support my mother somehow, but all the while I

knew that life wasn't for me. And when I got

a chance at this life, I took it. And since

I married Edward, I've lived the way anyone with the

name of Stone should live. I've put my past behind me.

Speaker 2: Even Dutch trigger Dutch, Yeah, yeah, I saw your picture

on his office wall.

Speaker 7: He was out of the past. It doesn't exist anymore.

Speaker 2: Isn't it kind of a coincidence. He tried to worm

his way into one of Harvey's business deals.

Speaker 7: I had nothing to do with it, and Harvey acted

correctly in refusing to have anything to do with Dutch.

Speaker 2: I see, then you opposed Harvey's marriage to Helen to

protect the family name.

Speaker 7: Uh, just as I opposed the previous attachment to his secretary.

Speaker 2: Sure it wasn't because you didn't like the idea of competition.

Speaker 7: That's it's a pretty low thing to say under the circumstances.

Speaker 2: Well, just what are the circumstances.

Speaker 7: It's very simple. I've lost someone who is very dear

to me. Even though I was Harvey's stepmother, we were

practically the same age. Sure, I know people talked about

it made crude jokes about it, but I didn't care

because I found in Harvey's something I'd never had.

Speaker 2: In my life before. Oh what was that?

Speaker 7: A friend, Johnny, a real friend.

Speaker 2: I went back into the city. If I could only

find somebody to establish the time period Helen had been

away from Harvey's place. I went over to her apartment.

I was figuring, there's always one tenant who knows everybody

else's business. Five door bells later, I found the one.

Speaker 8: I had to come in late, but I don't remember

just what time.

Speaker 7: I was watching a program on the TV. There was

this old man and woman.

Speaker 2: Yes, yes, yes, see you're sure it was Helen Barrett.

Speaker 5: Who came in.

Speaker 8: How to be sure? She lives right under me? Besides,

he was waiting for him. They had a talk. I

couldn't quite hear what they were saying. She kept telling

him to quiet down. Well, I mean, well, I wasn't

really paying any attention.

Speaker 2: It was no, no, of course not, you said he

was waiting for who do you mean?

Speaker 5: Friends?

Speaker 7: Lisa used to be. She used to go with him.

Speaker 8: Heaven to remember his name, Ure Gentry, Alvin Gentry.

Speaker 2: Alvin Gentry. It was Alvin Gentry, who'd made the fake

confession in Rostelli's office. At the time, there had been

nothing to tie him into the case. But now, according

to missus Carson, he was a friend of Helen's. My

hunch about her innocence took a nosedive. Yeah, that confession

he tried to make could be his way of trying

to protect her, and that would add up to just

one thing. Helen was guilty after all.

Speaker 4: Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's episode

of this week's story.

Speaker 2: Tomorrow up Pops and Eyewitness and drives the final nail

to the wrong coffin. Join us, won't you? Yours Truly

Johnny Dollar.

Speaker 4: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar is starring Bob Bailey, is transcribed

in Hollywood, written by Robert Rife. It is produced and

directed by Jack Johnstone. Be sure to join us tomorrow night,

same time and station for the next exciting episode of

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

Speaker 2: Roy Rowan speaking.

Speaker 1: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar continues with part three of the

Imperfect Alibi matter. Good night, and thank you for joining us.