Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boy Seataho.

This is your host, Adam Graham.

In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

But first I want to encourage you.

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I will note on today's episode that we are missing a little bit of the start.

We don't hear the phone ring or Johnny's greeting, but we're not missing any essential plot elements.

But the start is going to be a bit of brop.

Just letting you know so.

Here from August twenty fourth, nineteen fifty eight is the Noxious Needle Matter.

I wish you'd to.

Investigate the death of one of our times.

All right, have you ever heard of Jalem of School, the theatrical producer.

Yeah, sure, well, famous for the beautiful girls he employed in his reviews.

Well, well, do I remember now what about him the papers?

You know that he died yesterday.

No, I didn't know as natural causes, but you think otherwise.

I do because of the the bene Fisher named in his three quarter of a million dollars insurance policies.

Three quarters of a million.

Yes, so I think you'd come over here and see me.

Yeah, mister Westbury, I think i'd better.

Bob Bailey in the Exciting Adventures of the Man with the Action Pact Expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigators, truly Johnny Dellar, and now at one of yours, truly Johnny Dollar, expense accounts urted by special investigator Johnny Dollar the Worldwide Mutual Insurance Company home office, Hartford, Kennedy.

Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the noxious needle matter expense account.

I out oft won eighty five cents for a taxi to the office of Worldwide.

When I got there, I had to go through a receptionist and two secretaries to get into mister Waldo.

R.

Westbury's private office.

Who you sit down, mister Dollar.

Thanks wow.

Here's the policy I mentioned, providing seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars insurance on the Jala Mont Schofield.

That's a lot of money, mister Westburrey.

Incidentally, was he married Schofield.

Surrounded by beautiful women all his professional life?

No, that hose has beneficiary.

This policy has been in effect only thirteen years.

But look here, look at these writers changing the beneficiars.

Goldie Laferne sounds like a burlesqueen.

She was after his money.

Of course.

Toodle's Tempest, Wow, he hurried him, baby Boodles Baker, that's worse.

Bubbles Jones, Holy Pepper, Capriest, Carstairs, Cupcake Delawn And hey, what's this doing here?

Mary T.

Smith?

She is the prison beneficiar.

And that's quite a condown from all those babes.

Mister Dollar.

The initial TEA stands for torso the stage designation she used.

And you think she bumped him off to collect the insurance bumped him?

Uh?

Yes, I do.

But if a medical report says the old man died of natural causes at the.

Time of his death, Mary Smith, Mary T.

Smith, this is his private dress, responsible for his care, the medication he received, and so forth.

Ah, I see, I'm glad you do, because if you can prove she murdered him in spite of the doctor's report.

Yes, you can save our company a great deal of money.

I don't often say this, mister Bellar, but in view the amount involved, there will be no questioning any innecessary items on your expense account, no matter how high.

Surely you wouldn't think of missing any unnecessary expenditure.

Dream on, mister Waterbury.

Nothing you say that Scofield died today, yesterday afternoon?

Where that is home in Cranford, New Jersey?

And all his doctor was, Yes, doctor Leonard Foot.

God, I wonder where this nurse is?

Anybody keeping an eye on her?

Yes, you're punder there at Scopfield's home.

Obviously she's a very smart woman.

You mean smart enough not to run.

I'd put it the other.

Way, mister Beller, smart enough to have made him name in his policy and to stay.

Around to collect.

You know anything about her, only that she was a show girl before making this pretense of being a nurse.

Yeah, but if a doctor was willing to have her take care of him, you know anything about him?

Frankly, No, then I have a sneaking suspicion I'd better pay him a visit.

I had him two four.

Dollars and fifteen cents for another taxi than a train down to New York.

At Grand Central, I ran up.

I had him three fifty bucks deposit on the drive your own car.

I had him four fifty cents to get through the tunnel to Jersey.

In the city of Elizabeth, I headed west and rob twenty eighth to the pretty little town of Cranford, then.

Directly to the combination hallman office of.

Doctor Lennon Foot, where I cooled my heels for a half hour in the reception room.

Coming please, mister Dollar, I'm sorry they've had to keep you waiting.

Oh that's cut a right down here.

But if little Jimmy Sayer doesn't stop eating greenow, he's going to have worse than a tummy age.

Your company called that you'd be here because of the death of Jay Lamont Schofield.

Sit down, I'll be.

Very honest with you.

Doctor Is Insurance Company thinks your opinion of death from natural causes might be wrong.

My tentative opinion, mister Dollar, Lamont Scofield suffered from well rather than boy with a lot of medical terminology.

Let's say he had a heart condition one that required that he'd take it easy, and of course medication, what kind of medication?

Digitalis for the most part, to limit the frequency of his heart contractions.

And more recently he's been receiving intervened injections of sidyllanid.

His nurse gave him the injections.

Yes, it's under my orders.

I understand she's an old Burls queen.

Some years ago he starred Mary in one of his Broadway productions.

It was a flop.

But shouldn't he have had a regular license registered nurse.

She was a registered nurse, mister dollar.

Is she still a good looker?

Of the years, Lamont kept himself pretty well, surrounded by.

Well, some of them were very pretty.

Girls were not this merry, so I doubt they were all after his money, including Mary.

Well, mister Dollar, I told you my tentative opinion was death due to natural cause, so the papers reported.

And now, let's face it, doctor, if she hastened his demise by saying overdose of one of those injections I learned, and while acting under your orders, by using something that you put into her hand, now justin could look pretty bad for you too, couldn't it.

Are you trying to am just stating imply that I might have conspired with that girl to bring about the death of which is.

Always a possibility, now, isn't it.

Well, are such tactics usually part of an investigation like this?

Why not if you were gilly, if I could get your riled up, catch you off your guard.

I see, I don't like you, Dollar.

I shall expect your apology.

I'll see, as I started to say before you interrupted me, I learned just this morning from Monty's attorney that Mary Smith is the heir to Lamonta State and the beneficiary to his insurance policy.

You didn't know this before I did not.

Nonetheless, a result, I have ordered his body held at the Coltner's office.

Oh yes, so that the complete authopsy can be made.

I see, I'm sorry that.

Would you like a towel, mister Dollar, towel to wipe the egg off your face?

Act too of yours?

Truly, Johnny Dollar?

In a moment, Sometimes we may wonder why a football team doesn't quit playing and walk off the field when it finds itself fifty points behind with only a few minutes of play to go.

What is that indomitable spirit that fills men with hope and keeps them.

Going in spite of terrific art, keeps them going just to play the game according to the rules.

Just to get the job done as well as they know how.

This kind of spirit pervaded the feelings of heavy bomber crews of the Ninth Air Force on that day of Glory August first, nineteen forty three, the day of one of the most secretly fanned surprised bombing missions of World War II, the day of the low level attack on the Romanian oil refineries at Floesti, more than one hundred seventy B twenty four heavily loaded bombers took off in a swirl of red dust from Benghazi, Libya, to bomb a highly defended priority target.

The element of surprise in the low level attack was to be one of their greatest weapons, but things went wrong from the start.

Three planes exploded during takeoff operations, eleven more aborted due to engine trouble.

Of those that reached the target area, less than one third returned to home base.

The leaders of the mission encountered navigation difficulties and difficulty in identifying the specific target, and due to the loss of that elemental hope surprised.

They also encountered devastating enemy firepower from black and fighting.

The mission was partially successful, but a horrifying experience.

Five Medals of Honor were awarded to the heroes of the Ploesti Raid for valorous action above and beyond the call of duty.

At any time the men would have been justified in turning back, but they had a code of conduct that made them want to see the unequal game.

Through to the end.

It was a job that had to be done.

A charge mudge of the light Brigade in the air as they flew down the valley of death to glory, and now act too of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar and the noxious negal matter.

Yes, mister Dollar.

As soon as I learned that this ex show girl was to be La Montscofield's sole heir, well, I realized the same possibility that I'm sure you must be considering that she may have helped him over the hill.

Precisely, I know, all things being equal, doctee, do you feel that he should have lived on a whund where a bad heart is concerned.

One can never be certain, of course, but knowing his desire to live his willingness to adhere to my instructions and take care of himself.

Plus the medication I provided, medication given by this Mary Smith.

Yes, I will agade you.

He could live on for ten or thirteen years.

Why don't we know the results of the autopsy.

A toxicologist by the name of Stanley has been called in at my request.

It may take several days.

I see meantime, then I'm going to see this Mary Smith.

Incidentally, the police found no sign of any poison of anything it might have been.

Used to cause Lamont's death.

You mean the police have been in on this sy.

They've been very thorough.

Then one of the autopsy and a toxicologist, because the least detectable means would have been an overdose of medication.

I see, now talk to her.

I've really told you all I can, mister Doner.

Why don't you go along and see Mary Smith?

Then?

When I intended but not tell me, oh me if you need me.

After you talk with the curved mister Donnan.

When that TOPSY report comes through, I'll let you know.

Goodbye, mister doll And that was all I could get out of the Home of the Light.

Jay Lamont's Goofield turned out to be a small place on Third Street, nestling among some fine old oak trees, and gave it a quiet sort of isolation, a park cry from the bright lights of Broadway.

Apparently he had taken his doctor's advice.

I wondered about the ex Burley queen turned nurse who's managed to save enough of her looks and figure.

To charm them into leaving her his all.

Matter of fact, I've often wondered how a lot of those old war horses, Yes, oh, how do you doing.

That?

Is a I'm looking for a miss Mary Smith.

I'm Mary Smith, old war horse.

Believe me, I'd guessed wrong, because when it comes to describing Mary Smith, well.

There's only one word that does justice to her.

Wow.

She was in the mid twenties, tall, blonde and beautiful.

Yeah, she looked as though she just stepped out of charms of the writs.

And I say it again, Wow, just stand there.

Who are you, oh, Johnny Dollar, I'm an insurance investigator.

Oh see, I've heard of you, Johnny.

You know something even better looking than I.

Thought you'd be on you can?

Yeah?

Thanks?

Why is he think you here?

There's no question about my getting money's insurance, sister, Well.

It's just that the company always demands a routine investigation, and where it's such a large.

Summers involved, No kidding, sit down, yeah, thanks, no thanks?

Oh, come on, have one with me?

And so glom around here since Monty died and nobody here except a lot of crape hangers, little one.

Well, okay, okay, they can't.

Just sit around and look grief stricken.

Have you been grief stricken?

Marrying you?

What the truth?

No?

What good was doing Maty living that way?

Now, able to tear around like he used to, putting on shows and having a big time here Johnny, his July love and the pursuit of happiness school.

Oh that's better.

I really needed that.

She's got a lot of money, Johnny.

I, oh no, not much.

No, I never had any either, but I will now plenty.

And you know your la Mont's skill feels fair.

You got your life.

I do.

I hadn't work for it long enough, feeding him and nursing him, taking care of him and sending off a lot of old biddies from the old days who were trying to get their claws on him.

But you managed to get your claws on him.

Wouldn't you have done the same thing?

See not staid off.

Took him a long time to die, though, didn't they, Johnny.

I've been on twenty four hour duty here for two years, for two solid years, and I make no bones about it.

There were times when I thought he was going to live forever.

There were times when I wished.

I could help him out of this world.

So finally it did, Johnny, Hey, let me freshen your drink.

Mary, I think you'll kill le Monscofield.

Well, i'd like to see you prove.

I don't think i'll have to.

Oh why not?

Isn't that why you came here?

No, I can't to make sure you don't try to slip off when the autopsy report comes.

Oh is that scary?

No, of course not.

Let's face it, Mary, when somebody shows an attitude like yours, it means you're completely innocent.

Sure, Oh, Killy is the devil the linked It makes it very confusing for you and for the police.

Don't so you're having a ball, of course I am.

Listen, Johnny, I don't blame your.

Bit for thinking I killed many.

I wanted it and did.

I wanted his money.

Did what I had to do to get it, and then I'm going to get it.

Yeah, did what you had to do.

So if the autopsy shows he was given poison, don't worry it wrong, or that he was given an overdose of digital tell us or whatever.

It is he was getting.

Now that would be stupid.

But nobody here but me, nobody but you, that Minnesotan says, except me, for over a week until last time doctor Foot came to see.

You're sure that?

Of course?

Then if somebody did kill him, it would have to be you, nobody else.

Remember that, marrying Would you like.

Me to put it down on paper for you and sign it?

Yeah?

Sure, I'll do anything, Johnny.

If it'll confuse all right, then start writing?

Why not?

Now, let's see I marry T Smiths.

That all right for Scott?

No?

No, no, no, keep keep writing.

I'm taking right, I marry Smith Oh.

Yes, doctor, yes, ah, I see, not even the possibility of too much of.

I see.

And you're sure, prissy, sure, okay?

Doctor?

He disappointed Johnny because they found no poison, no overdose of sedilis.

I guess you know the answer, don't you?

Of course I do.

The autopsy showed nothing.

You can't build the case out of thin air.

So here, gus your little.

Paper all signed and see you, Johnny, I don't want it, and you said you did.

You're far too smug married, I have a right to be.

You're barking up the wrong tree.

You cannot build the case on nothing.

That thin air.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

So what do I do, Johnny?

Just sit here and wait until your company pays you the money, until the estate is settled, or can I collect?

Yeah?

Yeah, Mary, you stay right here, and thanks for saying that.

Huh, johnnybody, you mean.

Fact three of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar.

In a moment, times have changed, and so has the man.

In the year seventeen seventy five, a patriotic, enterprising American by the name of David Bushnell invented a strange craft.

It was constructed of two oak beams resembling two platters, clapped together and propelled by a water screw attached to a hand operated crank.

Another water screw regulated the depth to which the craft could descend.

This was the American Turtle, the first United States submarine.

One hundred and.

Seventy nine years later, nineteen hundred and fifty four, the United States came up with another first.

This time, however, it.

Was a three thousand ton, fifty five million dollar vessel powered by an atomic reactor.

It was the Muscles, the world's first had empowered submarine, and wealthy American Turtle was a one man operation dependent on courage and brawn.

The Nautilus is a complicated network of advanced electronics, the operation of which is dependent upon a team of highly trained, skilled navy men know their jobs and do them well.

Yes, times have changed, so has the man, and.

Now act free of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar and the nutious needle matter expense account out of four to three seventy for a monk called my own doctor back in Heartred, a man very much interested in criminal medicine.

I asked him about a couple of ideas I suddenly had for committing the so called perfect crime.

I got some enlightening answers, then hung up and drove into the car in his office.

I told you over the phone, Dollar, we found nothing to indicate this.

Excuse me, doctor Foot.

You're a toxicologist who did the autopsy, Doctor Stanley, Yes.

Mister Dollar, and as doctor Food to listen, Kudla.

Monsco Field possibly have died of an embo, of an emboless in the brain.

Maybe Wall, Yes, I suppose.

Can you find out by further examination?

Then go to it?

What is this?

Dollar?

Are you trying to play?

Doctor?

Now?

I told you in the beginning, I don't like your attacking.

You are right, mister Dolla.

An embolis in the brain.

What should have led you to sus?

All right now listen, I don't know where the equipment is that Mary Smith used to give the medication to mister Scofield.

I have it all here, Dollar, the remains of the bottle of cadillanid that I prescribed, the hypodermic with which he administered, all in this kit which needled at g us doctor foot.

The small one, of course, he only received two ccs.

One of these others, this big one, simply part of a set.

Only the smaller one ever had anything in it.

We checked.

The others never contained anything more substantial than air.

That's right, air, mister, yes, doctor safety, forty fifty species of air clean air injected into a vein.

Yes, of course it would cause a nimbush.

And if you had to find traces, microscopic traces of the flesh of Lamont Scofield in that hypo that contained nothing but air.

Yes, yes, of course I'll go to work or it immediately.

If he does find traces of dermal tissue on that needle, I can't believe it.

A case built on nothing but thin air.

Yeah.

And the ironic part of it is the tip off came from Mary Tisse Smith.

Yes, the microscope showed that needle had been used on Jay Lamon's schofield recently.

Pretty slim evidence, I know.

But when Mary was faced with it, and I'm still not quite sure why.

Maybe we scared, but she broke down and confessed the murder.

Yeah, She's been wrong.

Sometimes you can build a case on nothing but thin air.

Expense account total sixty cents.

Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, Yours truly.

Johnny Dollar is coloring.

Bob Bailey originates in Hollywood and is written, produced and directed by Jack Johnstone.

Heard in our cast where Virginia Gregg, Margaret Robinson, Marvin Miller, and Junius Matthew Be shorted you and the next week, same time and station for another exciting story of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

This is Roy Rowan.

Speaking Welcome back.

This episode shows Johnny's strengths and weaknesses as an investigator.

His weakness, of course, is unnecessarily antagonizing so many people with murder allegations without any evidence, just to see if he can get a reaction.

His biggest strength is his ability to draw inspiration from random statements to solve the case.

I think I would call the murderess's confession implausible, given how cocky she was, but the show avoids having to deal with that so much by following the old rule.

If you can't make a scene plausible, just expositive.

But I don't know, maybe it wasn't so implausible.

She did every action when he got excited, and if she heard of him, I assume it was from the radio show and she was aware how this worked, and she was like, what random thing did I just say?

That's going to lead to my undoing, and then just kind of worried about it and ended up putting herself in a state of mind where she might confess as a criminal.

You should say as little as possible to Johnny Doller, because you don't know what little random thing is going to lead him to solve the case.

I actually think this episode reminded me of a writing exercise like I might and in a writing group where you're told to do something specifically with your writing that's a little bit odd, like if you were told write a story where a detective builds a murder case out of thin air.

If that's the case, Johnstone would have done an impressive job and all the writers would have been quite happy with the result in this story.

I should note that this episode marks the end of a very significant streak of episodes with extant recordings.

The next episode, The Limping Liability Matter is Missing that aired on August thirty first, nineteen fifty eight.

With the recent discoveries of the and I say relatively recent, it's been a good six or seven years now, I think of the Fire and Paradise matter and the Froward Fisherman matter.

The previous missing episode is and I'm going to try to pronounce this harder since I have not even seen it, the win it Pesaki Wonder Matter, which aired on August eighteenth, nineteen fifty seven.

So we had about a year without any lost episodes, which is the longest amount of time without a lost episode.

While the show was airing.

Listener comments and feedback now and we go over to YouTube where Ron has a comment, and this is on our discussion of theme music.

At the end of the Wayward Killer matter a Ronsa Rites, you mentioned that David Rose wrote a theme song using a pseudonym.

You mentioned he was a prolific songwriter for TV.

I did not hear you say that he pinned the themes for Bonanza and Little House on the Prairie.

I did not.

I was just kind of addressing the question, but you are certainly correct.

I kind of stayed within the limits of the question.

But you're right.

Those were great theme tunes, probably the best known ones, although I also have to appreciate Highway to Heaven that had such a gorgeous theme and not only great for opening the show, but really accentuating some of the strong emotional moments that were such a big part of that series.

And Rose was incredibly talented.

Holiday for Strings might be best remembered for being Red Skelton's theme song, but it's a good, solid composition in its own rme.

You can hear quite a bit of David Rose in old time radio.

Of course, he did do the music for Red Skelton's radio program, and you can also hear him on many episodes of Guest Star.

But for my money, one of the most underrated old time radio music is actually a series called California Melodies, which featured the music of David Rose, and that was really the soul attraction of it, so that gave him a lot of creative freedom.

And if you love Roses themes or great instrumental music, that series is worth seeking out.

California Melodies.

But thank you so much, appreciate the comment rits and definitely worth discussing.

Now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day.

Now, longtime listeners will know that for the first Friday in the month, we thank those who have been supporting the podcast for five years this month.

But in this case, we don't actually have any Patreon supporters with an anniversary this month, but I do want to go ahead and thank Candice, who has been one of our Patreon supporters since October twenty twenty one, currently support the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of seven dollars and fourteen cents or more per month.

Thanks so much for your support, Kansas, and that will do it for today.

If you're enjoying the podcast, Please follow us using your favorite podcast software, and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from.

We'll be back next Friday with another episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.

But join us back here tomorrow for the great adventurers of old time Radio and Cloak and Dagger.

Where won't you sit down here?

Kenna?

My husband should be here soon.

He isn't home then, No, he's late this evening.

He's almost always here by dinner time.

I don't know where he could.

But wait, yes, I do too.

It doesn't matter.

I can wait.

No, I'm sure he's starting to see a friend down the street.

I'll try to find it.

Really, I hope you won't.

He'll be very eager to talk to you.

He's quite interested in me in wine?

Oh is it?

Yes?

He would not want to keep you waiting.

You'll stay right here and make yourself comfortable.

I'll get it.

Wouldn't it be easier to call your friend's house on the telephone?

The telephone, I wish I could hear teller, but we had a heavy air raided off the brook last night.

The telephone is out of order.

It was a hasty egg that she made, almost too hasty.

I sat there in that empty house for a minute or two where she had said to make myself comfortable, and somehow I wasn't very so I got up and went over to the telephone.

What do you wish?

I was under the.

Impression operator that this line is out of order.

Line is nothing out of I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime.

Send your comments to Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.

This is your host, Adam Graham.

Sign and off.