Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Double Trouble Matter (EP4905)

Welcome Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Boise, Idaho, 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 do want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And remember, as you're making your travel plans, check johnnydollarair.com. JohnnyDollarAir.com is a Priceline affiliate link. So part of your purchase price supports the great detectives of old time radio at no additional cost to you. So remember when making your travel plans, check JohnnyDollarAir.com first. Now, we find ourselves actually in the middle of one of the biggest gaps through Johnny Dollar. After last week's program, 10 of the remaining 12 1958 episodes are missing, which makes it the single biggest block to have missing episodes. The only one rivaling it is the 1952 hole in the Edmund O'Brien era when 10 of 11 are missing. Today's program actually aired on November the 16th, 1958, and it's the Double Trouble Matter. A little wild one trying to get rid of $65,000. That's a problem? It's insurance on a policy bought and paid for by one Albert Schuyler Kingman. Well? He died and left the money to his only child, his son, Henry. What's the matter? Can't you find him? Find him? That's just the trouble, Johnny. I've found two of them. Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator Yours truly Johnny Dollar And now act one of Yours truly Johnny Dollar Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Tri-State Life and Casualty Company, Sarasota, Florida. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the double trouble matter. Expense account item one, 8320, Plain Fair and Incidentals, Hartford to Tampa to Sarasota, Florida. Item two, a buck 75 for a cab to Earl Poorman's office in the Conroy building. That's right. After waiting 20 years for this sole beneficiary to show up. 20 years? Well, like I told you, the insured was Albert Schuyler King. 65 grand. Yes, he was a widower, lived up near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. And he had a son named Henry. Henry was his sole heir and beneficiary of his policy. Okay. And you say that Kingman died 20 years ago. Yes, during that big hurricane back in 38, remember it? Did about $40 million damage up and down the coast. Earl, I was a mere child at the time. Oh, sure. How old was Henry? Well, he was 10, just a kid. Anyhow, it was several days before the old man's body was found. And the boy? No trace of him disappeared. In due course of time, because of the statute of limitations, the old man's estate was... Well, I guess it went to the state. But not his insurance, sir? No, no. We kept the matter of the insurance open, company policy. Requires a lot of legal finagling, but in the company's history, they've turned up beneficiaries as much as 15, 18 years after death. How? By advertising. And that's what accounts for the sudden appearance of two Henry Kingmans, each claiming to be the beneficiary of Albert Kingman's policy, and each having a logical, legitimate story. Each saying he didn't know about the insurance until he saw the ad. Where are these boys, Earl? Right here in Sarasota. They arrived yesterday. They arrived together? No. A couple of hours apart, unknown to each other, they say. I hope you made it perfectly plain that one of them has to be a phony and that when he's found out, it's going to go pretty rough with him. Naturally. But, Johnny, I can't find anything wrong with either of their stories. You know, their background, where they've been, and so on. Where are they staying, Earl? A couple of dingy little motels on the edge of town. Now, look. Here's the file on them. Or rather, on the old man. Well, I don't know that that's going to be much help. There's information about not only Kingman, but his wife, who died before him. There's a lot of miscellaneous information about the boys. I mean, the boy, where he went to school and Sunday school, who his teachers were, the names of some of his friends. There's a lot of stuff here. Well, then, maybe I'd better go through it. Sure. Now, look, it's getting late. You're going to stay with Gertrude and me as usual. Oh, that isn't necessary, Earl. Well, she'd kill me if I didn't bring you home. So, come on, we'll drive on out to the key, have cocktails and some dinner. You can spend the evening poring over that material. Come on. Cocktails and dinner were great. They always are with the poor ones. Only poor man is a misnomer. That homer there on St. Armand's Key is not only big and new, but beautiful. They have their own private dock and speedboat on the bayou directly back of the house. Yeah, and they own a couple of spanking new fancy air-conditioned cars. I decided that if I ever get enough to retire, this will be the kind of a setup for me. It was nearly 10 o'clock by the time I got around to the folder on Henry Kingman. But by 2 a.m., so help me, I knew more about him than he himself could. Yes, I was all set to expose one of these claimants as a phony, a fraud. Had the whole situation right in the palm of my hand. I thought. But, brother, I had no idea of what was coming. Believe me. Act Two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. And now for another episode in the life of Sergeant Donald Bellwether, my husband. Reba! Reba! What is it, Donald? Confound it, Reba. I can't find the fountain pen. I've looked all through this desk. Here it is, dear. You must have used it as a marker when you were reading this book. Let's see. This great literary classic, Six Oats. All right, never mind about my reading habits. Just look at the coverage we're going to get with this new auto accident policy. Let's see. Collision. $50 deductible. Fire, theft, public liability, property damage, medical benefits. In other words, we have complete coverage. That's right. Of course, it's going to cost us money. I'm sending the company a check right now. Gee, it's too bad we don't live in Rhode Island. Rhode Island Why Oh because then our rates would be lower Rhode Island has less accidents per capita than any other state Oh Well which state has the highest Let me see Oh here it is Nevada No, by golly, Nevada's second highest. Alaska has the most. Really? I didn't know that. Mm-hmm. You know, it's just too bad we can't eliminate traffic accidents completely. Not only would it save life and limb, but it'd be a lot less strain on the pocketbook. Yeah, that's for sure. These automobile accident policies get more expensive every year. just because there's so many costly accidents. Well, I'm glad we've got some good insurance coverage, Donald, but just remember one thing. Oh, what's that? Well, some auto accidents ruin a fender, and some ruin a family. Yeah, that's true, very true. But as far as I'm concerned, I don't want any of your old insurance money. I want you, here at home, safe and sound. You'll always drive carefully, won't you? Yes, I will, dear. That's my Donald. That's my doll. And now, act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, and the double trouble matter. By 9.30 the next morning at a cheap little motel on the north edge of Sarasota, I'd spent nearly an hour carefully questioning Henry Kingman, number one. and I was getting nowhere. Obi O'Brien? Sure, Mr. Dollar. He was one of the kids I used to play with back in Elizabeth City. He and Bobby Tank. Yeah? You see the scar on my arm right here? That's where Obi hit me with a stick one time when we were playing caddy. Yeah, I see. If you know where Obi is these days, you ask him and he'll probably remember. Scared him to death. He thought he'd busted my arm. Now, let's see. How about Miss Albertus? Albertus? Yes. Gee, I don't remember any Miss Albertus. Your Sunday school teacher there in Elizabeth City. Listen, I was only ten years old then, but I remember my Sunday school teacher real good. Her name was Miss Griswold, and she was, uh... Look, are you trying to trick me or something? Yes, I am. Because Henry... Why don't you call me Hank? Everybody else does. The fact remains, Hank, that one of you two claimants to the insurance is a phony. Well, believe me, it's not me. Everything you've told me about your childhood checks perfectly with the information I have. Oh, of course, Mr. Dollar. Almost too perfectly. Listen, where did you live and go to school after the hurricane? Well, I'll be honest. I didn't have much school. Where did you live? Mr. Dollar, I wandered around more than little orphan Annie. All over North Carolina, then up north. Did you live anywhere long enough to be, well, really be recognized as Henry Kingman? I'm afraid I was just a bum. And all anybody ever knew me by was Hank. You saw the ad about the unclaimed insurance in New York? Yes, sir. I was working on the dock. Steve Adoring. Saw that ad in the Times. And I decided that if I had that much money coming to me and I could get a hold of it, maybe I could amount to something. Get an education, maybe, or... Well... Hank, all the insurance company has to go on is your memory. Or what you say is your memory of your childhood. What I've told you is true, sir. But if the other claimant comes up with the same kind of a story... But he can't. Because, don't you see, sir, I'm really Henry Kingman. I've told you all about my father and the house and the hurricane and the people I knew. About what's happened to me since... Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. It's because I am Henry Kingman. Uh-huh. We'll see. I tried to trip him up in a dozen ways, but with no success, he had a logical, reasonable answer for every question about his past and present. As for not being able to produce anyone who could identify him as Henry Kingman, But it was simply because of his rather aimless life spent wandering from city to city, never having any close friends because he chose to go alone. He was a tall, well-built lad with a mop of blonde hair and clear blue eyes. And I must confess, I kind of liked him, his open frankness. But you know something? I could have been awfully wrong. Although most men by nature don't feel in a combat mood much of the time, there are some who just can't get enough of a good fight, particularly if there is good sound reason for it. In July 1900, when American fighting men were protecting the rights and liberty of their fellow countrymen during the boxer uprising, the battle was a furiously fought affair. Army Private Robert H. von Schlick, serving with Company C of the 9th United States Infantry Division, was in the thick of the fracas. Although he had been wounded previously while carrying a wounded comrade to a place of safety, he rejoined his command, which partly occupied an exposed position on a dike. Private von Schlick remained there after his company had been withdrawn, and in spite of the hail of bullets around him, single-handedly continued to fire into the enemy ranks. Oblivious to the fact that he was a conspicuous target, he refused to leave the fight until he was literally shot off his position by the enemy. Private Robert von Schlick earned the Medal of Honor for valiant devotion to duty and added heroic background to the code of conduct of American fighting men. And now, Act III of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. I got into the car that Earl Poorman had loaned me and drove to the motel east of town to see Henry Kingman number two. Tall, dark, and well-dressed, he was terse and to the point. And he answered all my questions with the same ease and conviction as the other boy. In only one major respect, did his story differ? Oh, sir, I can't name you a single person who can identify me as who I really am, Henry Kingman, and for a very simple reason. What's that, Hank? It's Henry, Mr. Dower. And the reason is that right after the hurricane, I was adopted by a family that just moved into nearby Bridgeton. Their name was McGovern, so I took their name. Come up to Bridgeton, ask them. Show them my picture, anything you like. They'll all tell you I'm Henry McGovern, only my foster parents knew that I was really Henry Kingman. You? They both died about seven years ago. And they told nobody else who you really were? No, not even the preacher. They'd wanted a son for years, now they had a son. And they didn't want anyone to come along and take me away from them. Then how did you find out that you're Henry Kingman, if you are? I'll ignore that last part of your question, Mr. Dollar. They didn't tell me until my 21st birthday. Bridgerton, isn't that the little town up near Currituck that was completely destroyed by fire a couple of years ago? Oh, yes, of course. I've forgotten. There isn't a living soul up there anymore. Oh, but I'm sure a man like you could track down some of the people who live there. When were you last in Bridgestone? I went up north right after my parents, my foster parents, died. As I told you, I've been living and working in New York. Now look here, Mr. Dollar. Well? Hasn't everything I've told you checked perfectly with what you know about my father, my childhood, everything? Hasn't everything I've told you proved to be true? Isn't it proof that I'm Henry Kingman? There's only one trouble. What's that? You're not the only one who has that kind of proof. Here. Here, Johnny. Have some more of this baked sea trout. Oh, no thanks, sir. Johnny, you've hardly touched a thing. Yeah, I know, Gertrude. I'm sorry. I will have another cup of coffee, though. Sure. So you haven't gotten very far in your investigation. No, I'm afraid not. I told you, Johnny, the stories of those two boys check out perfectly. Unless the information the company been collecting for the last 20 years is all wrong But both of them can be Henry Kingman So one of them must be lying But which one Well suppose just for example that the blonde is Henry Yeah? Then how would the other have got hold of all that information? Unless... Well? Do you suppose they've known each other sometime in the past? They certainly don't like each other. I mean, each other's being here. I asked them, Earl, and they both deny having ever seen each other until they came here within a few hours of each other. I didn't see the blonde boy, but the other came here to the house. I just didn't like him. The dark-haired one, I mean. Hey, wait a minute. Yeah? What is it, Johnny? The description of the father in that folder. Excuse me. Can I help you? No, no, no, thanks. I got it right here. Huh. What? Hey, listen. Does Dr. Crutcher still live up the street? Sure. Do you want me to drive you over? No, thanks. I'll walk. Johnny, what'd you find? in that folder. Walking out that street and there was no moon turned out to be a big fat mistake. In the first place, I almost bumped into a palm tree in front of the house. In the second place, I didn't see what stepped out from behind the next palm tree until it was too late. Huh? What do you want? Let's go! Times have changed, and so has the man. Through the ages, man has advanced both physically and mentally. Prehistoric man's concept of war and living is like that of an animal. His implements were crude, his knowledge simple. It was survival of the fittest. From his club and stones to bows and arrows and spears, from muskets and sabers to atomic rifles and missiles, man has progressed in the art of attack and defense. With each new phase, man's knowledge has developed. Today, the warrior, if he can be called such, is not a stone thrower, a bowman, or a swordsman. He's a technician who needs knowledge of all that science has developed. He's a sonar man, a radar man, a rifle man, or a torpedo man, a missile man, or a pilot. But whatever his job, he needs the skill and the technical know-how to do the job and do it well. Yes, times have changed. And so has the man. And now, Act Four of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Decided maybe I'd better drive him over anyway, Doc. And that's when I found him lying out there by the palm tree. Well, it's lucky you did, Earl, but I think these smelling salts will bring him around. Whoever attacked him must have seen you coming. Hold it. What the? It's okay, Johnny. Yeah? Now once Doc Crutcher... Who socked me? You don't know, Johnny? I sure don't. But brother, I have a suspicion. A couple of them. Here, Earl, I brought him a cup of good hot tea. Tea? Sure. Get him a slug of brandy. Oh, well, sure. Only make it scotch. Good man, Doc. You feel okay now? Yeah. Earl, listen. Yeah? Get on the phone. Call the motels where those boys are staying. Tell them to get over here immediately. Better still, I'll drive over and get them. Meantime, Doc. Yeah? Here. Here's your scotch, Johnny. Thanks. And if you want some more, I'll... Just a minute, woman. Where's mine? Of course, Doc. I'm sorry. You like me, huh? Hey, listen, Doc. I want to ask you a couple of questions. What about... Heredity. Heredity? Yes. Okay. Shoot. All right. Just to keep things straight, I'll call you Hank. Sure, Mr. Dollar. And you, I'll call Henry. Well, it does happen to be my name. Now, Earl tells me he found you both in Hank's motel just now. That's right, sir. Comparing notes? I went over there to tell him that he's a phony. But if he doesn't get out of town... Oh, sure, sure. Hank, let me see your hands. Huh? Oh, sure. Here, sir. What about them? Look, Doc. By golly, you're right. Right about what, sir? How did you bruise these knuckles? Well, it was kind of clumsy, but my hand slipped trying to open one of the windows in that cheap motel. Don't you believe it, Johnny. He's the one who slunked... Wait a minute. This one has a bruised knuckle, too? Oh. Now, what's your excuse, Henry? Well, you can believe it or not suit yourself, but exactly the same thing happened to me. What? You ask me, Johnny, they both attacked you. On the other hand, Earl, they may both be telling the truth about this. I told you the truth, sir. What did you mean about this? I mean that at least one of you was lying about being the son of Albert Schuyler Kingman. Well, it wasn't me. All right, all right. Just pipe down for a minute. I suddenly realized that the laws of heredity could solve this case a lot quicker than detective work. What's heredity? So I checked with Dr. Crutcher to make sure I was right. Then I checked descriptions of Henry Kingman's father and mother. Did you, sir? Both of them had brown hair and brown eyes. So what? Where both parents have identical color hair and eyes, any offspring will have the same. Hank, your hair is so blonde it's almost white, and your eyes are blue. Now, Mr. Dollar... Henry, your hair is almost black. Your eyes are also blue. Henry, you crazy fool. I told you this wouldn't work. Crazy fool, huh? If you'd let me come here alone... Yeah? Then you'd never have cut me in. Of course, I got suspicious. Oh, I... You get out of the way. I got here first, didn't I? Well, I was late to know you were coming. Why didn't you get out of the way? All right, boys. All right. No, it isn't all right, Dollar. Come on, now. Put that thing down. You make one move and I'll kill you. Come on, Hank. No. Go ahead and kill him. If you... No. No. Get back. Get back. Johnny, you outdrew that Henry like... Oh. Yeah. Take a look at what happened to Hank. Huh? Is everything all right, boys? Holy... Gertrude, what did you hit him with? Well, I never did like that old bass anyhow. Yeah, my heredity gag was just that, a gag. But it certainly brought things to a head in a hurry. How did they know so much about the real Henry Kingman? Well, listen. As soon as we locked them up, I called the National Press Services, had them put the story of this attempted fraud in the headlines all over the country. Result? A phone call from the head of an orphanage where the real Henry had been taken in as a child, where he still lived. And, yeah, the phonies were a couple of kids who'd run away from that orphanage after he'd palled around with them, told them all about himself. As for why they both appeared to make the claim, sure, each of them saw the company's ad and tried to get in ahead of the other. Well, they're in all right. For a long time. Expense account total, including incidentals and fare, back to Hartford. One saving the $8.70. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is written, produced, and directed by Jack Johnstone. Heard in our cast were Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin, Sam Edwards, James McCallion and Parley Bear Be sure to join us next week same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly Johnny Dollar This is Dan Cumberly speaking. The End Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, has been a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. Welcome back. Some interesting twist on a pretty typical plot for the era of someone claiming to be a long lost heir. With two claimants and neither actually being the rightful heir. And Johnny solving the case through one of his favorite methods, bluffing. Which means there's nothing to fact check because Johnny was making it all up. and probably knowing that the argument wasn't correct after talking to the doctor. And just making the case, you know, I thought that this was the way it worked, and if I thought it, they might think it. And if they think it, then I might find out who's lying without having to go digging into someone's background in great detail. I found the Bellwethers episode interesting, and out of curiosity, I tried to locate similar stats. I could not find a reliable source for just accident rates, which was what they were comparing. However, I did find a reliable source for traffic deaths. And even though much has changed over the past 70 years, But Rhode Island was still, as of 2024, the lowest or the next to the lowest for rates of road deaths, depending on whether you were measuring by deaths per billion miles, in which case Massachusetts came out ahead. But if you were measuring for deaths per 100,000 people or per 100,000 drivers, Rhode Island came ahead. So it's fascinating to me that they apparently rank so consistently for so many, I guess, decades now. Well, now we turn to listener comments and feedback, and we've got a comment from Harrison regarding the Johnson payroll matter over on Spotify. I swear I've heard this script before for Johnny Dollar. Is this a review script from a John Lund episode? Either that, or I've heard this in the feed at some point, perhaps at a special anniversary show. Either way, I quite enjoyed the episode as much as I enjoy the fun adventure episodes. Some of the best Dollar plots are the ones where he has to be on the hunt for someone or something. That's the one thing every Dollar iteration does well from what I've seen so far up to Bayley. Well, thanks so much. This was not a reused script. At least not from the Lund era or Johnny at all, or don't know if the writer ever wrote anywhere else. But I will say that the payroll robbery is a relatively common crime for Johnny to investigate, and there have been multiple payroll robbery cases across different iterations of the character. And of course, the reason this is used so much is it's probably the thing of all possible crimes, the one that you're most likely to call in a high-priced insurance investigator on. Because these are huge robberies that you may be thinking of another story. Joey writes, I think the killer's small talk was feasible. He had to distract Johnny at the time. How is he supposed to know Johnny would actually find out the truth about the fish around there? Well, that's a fair point. And when I went back and listened, Johnny started the conversation. And really, the answer about bass was probably given somewhat casually. But then Johnny called up the point about catching bass off the pier. And he probably realized, oh, this guy's a fisherman. I got to cover. yeah, yeah, there's kelp around here. And that was enough to allay Johnny's suspicion. So the guy knew a little bit about fishing, just not enough about local conditions because he hadn't been fishing there. So I guess an interesting interaction. And then we also have some comments on YouTube. These are regarding the wayward diamond matter. Sarge says, love yours truly, Johnny Dollar. and James, shout out to our heroes from the Boxer Rebellion. And that was a nice little piece of history. And I do really enjoy the bits of educational content we get with those Armed Forces Radio Service, or I should say at this point, Armed Forces Radio and Television Service recordings. Well, now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. And I want to thank Phillip, Patreon supporter since December 2019, currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. Thank you so much for your support, Phillip. 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 as we give way to the great adventurers of old-time radio and we introduce you to Counterspy, where... It's a clear-cut case of suicide, Mr. Harding. You're the chief and what you say goes, but it's just the case of a wealthy bachelor in poor health. I admit, Mark, William Terrace probably did commit suicide. but remember this we're at war the Gestapo or experts at making a murder appear to be a suicide then you're really going to investigate it? I think I'll at least ask a few questions yes sir now the note terrorist left Mark said he was committing suicide because of ill health I think I'll drop in on his doctor and see how bad his health really was I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on Twitter, Radio Detectives, and check us out on Instagram, instagram.com slash greatdetectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.