Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Gruesome Spectacles Matter (EP4900)

Carb inilanthe fragment. помог hands That is how you at heart rate, yourself electric CRV binetched сам sexus heck. Ready in therelax Ready, set, Ford School of iPads Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Orlando, Florida, 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 are enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Also, when you're making your travel plans, remember johnnydollarair.com. johnnydollarair.com is a price line affiliate, so part of your purchase price supports the great detectives of old-time radio at no additional cost to you. Again, when you're making your travel plans, remember johnnydollarair.com first. Now, from September the 28th of 1958, here is the gruesome spectacle matter. From Hollywood, it's time now for... Johnny Dollar. Johnny, this is Ed Barrett at Tri-State Life and Casualty in New York. Oh, hi, Ed. How are you? A little sick at the moment. Oh, what's the matter? I was planning to go up to the fishing lodge of a friend of mine over the weekend, Tommy Hargrave. Oh, but now you've had to call it off, and brother, I know exactly how you feel. No, Johnny, I don't think you do. Look, Ed, I'm a fisherman myself, and when something interferes with going... What was that? I just received word that Tommy had a car accident up there. Car rolled over on him. He was killed instantly. Oh, I'm sorry, Ed. Yeah. And company policy being what it is, since he carried $70,000 in insurance, double indemnity, since there was an accident involved, well, I got to order the usual investigation. Yeah, sure, I see. Who's the beneficiary? His wife, Mary. They, uh, they get along all right? No, as a matter of fact, Now, now, look, Johnny, don't get any crazy ideas. Just go on up there and help her all you can. Oh, sure, sure. Where, Ed? Place is called Shadow Hill near the little town of Bethel. New York? Yeah, up in Sullivan County. The police department is a man named Skinner. Police? If everything's okay? It was Skinner who called me, that's all. Oh, oh, yeah. Okay, Ed, I'm on my way. And if I dig up anything... Johnny, I assure you that everything's all right about this one. Oh, sure. Sure. You say that as though you don't believe it. Well, just my suspicious mind showing, I guess. Forget it. Hmm. 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. The End Hartford to New York. Item two, 50 bucks deposit on a rental car. I swung north, crossed the George Washington Bridge, then picked up Highway 17 through Goshen with its famous racetrack, through the summer resort town of Monticello, then past White Lake, a good fishing spot, to the little town of Bethel. It really isn't much more than a crossroads, a couple of filling stations, a general store and post office, and Emmer's Hotel, where I park my bags. Shadow Hill, however, turned out to be a beautiful summer lodge sitting high above the edge of a nearby private lake. From the highway, I could see the narrow winding road that led from the lodge down to the lake shore. I could also see the spot where a car had apparently taken a corner too quickly, skidded, and rolled over to where it lay on its side. Then, shortly after pulling off the highway, I could see something else, another car, just short of where the accident had occurred. It was half hidden in a clump of trees that bordered the road, and as I slowly pulled up to it, a man suddenly jumped out and leveled an old 30-30 rifle at me. Stop right there. Don't come any closer. Oh, well, now, just a minute, mister. Who are you? What are you doing around here? Stranger, huh? Yeah, I guess you'd call me a stranger, but look, you... Then maybe you're the stranger I'm looking for. Get out of that car with your hands up over your head. And don't try no funny business. Hey, what is this, a holdup? Do like I tell you to. And be quick about it. Okay, whatever you say. Come on, come on. I like it, can't it? Seem to... This door doesn't seem to want to... You trying to pull some trick? No. Open that door. Well, it's stuck, I guess. Here, I'll do it. Now then. Thanks. Yeah, now I'll take that gun. Oh, no, you won't. All right. Now, now. All right, up on your feet. Now, just a minute, son. Turn around. Go on, go on, turn around. You just look here, son. You just take it easy, old man, and remember I have the gun now. I'll lock you up with this. That's what I'll do. You'll what? Yes, sir. Interfering with the law this way. The law? You? That's right. See? Here's my badge. See? Oh, okay then. Look, Mr. Skinner. You look. You... Hey, how do you know my name? You are Mr. Skinner, aren't you? Well, sure I am. Hey, Mr. Skinner. Only it's Chief Skinner to you. Police Chief Skinner. And if you think you're going to get away with this, what's the idea? Chief, it looks like you're just the man I came to see. Only, maybe you'd better have your gun back here. Well, all right. All right, now. You just put your hands up and say, now, just a doggone minute. Who are you? Johnny Dollar. Johnny Dollar? Is that what you said? That's right. The Johnny Dollar? I'm an insurance investigator. Well, praise be the Betsy. Well, I might have known him or someone like you, the way you outsmarted me. Banging the car door against me that way. I'm sorry about that, Chief. Well, Johnny, I'm real proud to meet you. And believe me, son, I'm just mighty glad you're here. Oh? Why do you say that? Just you look here, Johnny, over the edge of this road. Look. You see it down there? That car? Is that the car in which Mr. Thomas Hargrave was killed? Oh, you know about that. That's what I came here to investigate. Well, all right, then. Now, you listen here to me, Johnny. Well? I'm the one that telephoned down to Mr. Hargrave's insurance company down to New York. So I understood. I did it as a favor to marry. That's his wife. On account of she was so broke up and all. Never did like her, but she was, well, she was pretty upset. Very considerate of you, Chief. And I told the insurance company just what I told everybody else, that Tommy Hargrave took this turn in the road too fast. Now, you see the turn right above here? Yeah, that's a sharp one. Well, he took this turn too fast and skidded off the side, and the car went over and pinned him underneath it, and that was that. Killed him. Wow. Well, all right. Now, Johnny, I just come over here from old Doc Walton's. It was down to the dock that I took Tommy body yesterday just after it happened And you know why I come back here Well I can think of one good reason Yeah From something you just told me Yeah From what I can see of the car down there Yeah well it was because I suddenly started thinking how could a man who knows this road so well ever make the mistake of... Hey, what were you going to say? Well, Chief, that car was coming down the road, down from the lodge, wasn't it? That's right. That means he made a left-hand turn right here. Correct. The car went off the road, fell on its side, and leaned right where you landed, right where you see it. Right on top of Tommy Hargrave. That car is a sedan. That's right. And even from here, I can see that the windows are all closed, except for the one next to the driver's seat. Correct. But now... Then it's obvious it didn't roll completely over. No, sir. It just flipped over on its side and slid down there. And yet you say that Tommy Hargrave's body was under it. That's right. Under the right side of the car, where we practically had to dig it up. Hey? Uh-huh. Can you tell me how he could have fallen under that side of the car, windows closed? Johnny. Yeah. Tommy was murdered. That's what. And the car pushed over on him to make it look like an accident. And, Johnny, you proved it. A couple of other things we've got to prove, Chief. Hey? Like what? Who murdered him. And why? Act Two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. Our flag now numbers 50 stars, and behind each star there stands yet another flag, representing one of the 50 states. Rhode Island's state flag is white with an anchor, first used as a colony symbol in 1647. The motto, Hope, was added in 1664, when the government was organized under a charter from King Charles II. A circle of 13 gold stars were added for the original 13 colonies. This is the flag of a unique colony and state, which carried out a most noble experiment in freedom. The Royal Charter of 1663 reads, To hold forth a lively experiment, that a most flourishing state may stand and best be maintained with full liberty and religious concernments. Rhode Island's state flag, the flag of the 13th state to enter the Union, was adopted on May 19th, 1897. And now, Act II of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, and the gruesome spectacle matter. All right, Chief, tell me this. When and how did you learn of this so-called accident that killed Tommy Hargrave? Well, for Mary, his wife. Oh? It was like this journey. I was sitting down at Bob and Ernie's and... Who are Bob and Ernie? Well, they run that mobile gas station down the highway you pass on the way. Oh, go on. Well, we were just sitting there talking about the Hamiltonian and all the money. What do you mean, the Hamiltonian? Well, you know, the big harness race that run down the ocean every year. Oh, yeah. Why, it's world famous. Bigger than the Kentucky Derby. Yes, I know. Go on. Well, we was talking about how much money Barney Marson has made taking bets on those races, and we... Oh, Chief. You mean you have a bookie here in Bethel? Well, now, John... And that you, as chief of police, condone such goings-on? Well, now, we... Oh, I'm surprised at you, chief. Oh, well, it's just a little sort of harmless betting is all. Oh, sure. Every man's entitled to a little... Well, you know how it is. Yeah, I sure do. Now, let's get back to the subject. Yeah, sure. Well, like I say, we was sitting there talking, and we seen Mary Hargrave driving by on her way back from New York, where she'd gone to do some shopping that day. She wasn't here when it happened? Well, no, sir. She couldn't have been. You're sure? Well, like I told you, she was in New York. Anyhow, she drove on up here, saw what had happened, and drove right back to tell us at the gas station. We came up here, dug Tommy's body out from under, took it down to Doc Watland's office, and that was it. How carefully have you inspected that car down there? Well, that's what I was about to do when you come. All right, come on. Let's take a look at it. Why, sure. Sure. Have you any way of proving Mary Hargrave was actually in New York? Proving? Well, no, I guess not. Hey, look here, Chief. Huh? Keys are still in the ignition, but the ignition's turned off. You're right, Johnny, you're right. This car wasn't rid over the side of the road. It was pushed. Here, let's see if we can get this door open. Yeah, yeah, I'll give you... Now, let's see if some of this... Yeah, very good. Well, what are you doing to that handful of dust? Well, it's not very professional, but some of this fine dust ought to bring out any fingerprints on the steering wheel. No prints there that I can see. Now, you're right. Chief, this wheel has been carefully wiped off. So whoever did it? Huh? What did you find? Did Tommy Hargrave wear glasses, spectacles? Tommy? No, sir. What? Come on, Chief. First thing I want is a look at his body. If Doc Walton should say... That's right. Then let's go. Well, as a matter of fact, it was I who suggested to Amos, to Chief Skinner, I should say, that he go back and have another look at that car, Mr. Dollar. Just why, Dr. Walton? Because a couple of things about this body made me, well, made me wonder. Look here. The way the clothes are torn, as though it had some kind of a struggle. scratches and contusions on his hands. But more important, here. Yeah? Here at the base of the skull, this mark. Up where that car is, there are no rocks, no stones, no anything that could make a mark like this. And there's another on the face below the eye. You know what that looks like to me, Doctor? Oh, what, sir? The mark from the butt of a 38 automatic. And I've seen plenty of them. My Betsy, Johnny, you're right. and that would indicate Hargrave was murdered. And the car pushed over on him to make it look like... Yes, sure. And Johnny and me found a few other things around that car that would indicate the same thing. Doctor, I understand Tommy Hargrave did not wear glasses. No, not that I know of. Of course, Mary, his wife... She wears them? Yes, she does. Can't do without them. What kind? Well, just regular tortoiseshell, you know. Something... Something like these, maybe? Well, I don't know. Granted, one lens is smashed and part of the frame is broken, but is this the kind she wore? Yes, Mrs. Dollar, I'd say so. Of course, a great many people... Johnny, surely you don't think his own wife... They didn't get along too well, did they? Well, no, but after all, when any couple's been married 10, 11 years... Also, she just happens to be the beneficiary of his sizable insurance policy. Good heavens, Mr. Dollar. Yeah, I think we'd better pay a little visit to Mrs. Mary Hargrave. Act Three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, in a moment. Many times in the history of mankind, nations have pooled their forces to exert a greater strength against a common aggressor. This happens not only in the face of a world war, but between such giant holocausts. as during the boxer uprising in China in 1900. Six nations combined their forces to come to the aid of their citizens. In the thick of the fight, undaunted by devastating enemy fire, Chief Bosun John McCloy of the United States Naval Contingent distinguished himself by meritorious conduct above and beyond the call of duty. For his valorous action, he was awarded his first Medal of Honor. But a man of action doesn't get the job done because of possible awards. It is the spirit of his code of conduct that guides him. John McCloy was guided by that code again and again. In June 1914, during the Mexican campaign, when the government of the United States was put upon once more to aid its persecuted citizens, Chief Boson John McCloy was constantly risking his life. Our landed troops were in danger of being annihilated on the beach at Veracruz when McCloy voluntarily filled three picket launches with riflemen and led them along the seafront to draw the enemy fire Though badly wounded he remained at his post and gallantly directed his part of the campaign. For this action, Chief Boson John McCloy was awarded a second Medal of Honor, but he hadn't been concerned with medals. His only concern was conducting himself as a man should, and that is according to the code of the American fighting man. And now, Act III of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, and the gruesome spectacle matter. The three of us, Dr. Walton, Police Chief Amos Skinner, and I drove up to the lodge outside the little town of Bethel, New York, to see why Mrs. Mary Hargrave had killed her husband, made it look like a car accident. That is, if she did it. And what little evidence we had pointed right straight at her. The obvious fact the car had been pushed over on him after he was killed. The mark showing he'd struggled for his life had been struck with the butt of a pistol. The fact he and his wife hadn't got along too well. That she was his beneficiary. And finally, there were the glasses I'd found in the car. My bitchy, I wonder if she found out you were here, Johnny, and it's through the coupe. Isn't that her car in the yard? Oh, yes, Mr. Dollar, it is. All right, then. If she is here, well, sir, I'll arrest her right on the spot. No, no. Let me handle this. But, Johnny... I said please, let me handle this. Yes? Oh, Dr. Walton and Chief Skinner. That's right. And this here is Mr. Johnny Dollar. Oh, yes, Mr. Dollar. Mr. Barrett, if the insurance company phoned that you'd be here, won't you come in? Well, not... Surely. Thank you. I'm sorry to have been so slow in answering the door, but I seem to have mislaid a pair of my glasses. Yeah, that, Johnny. I'm blind as a bat without them. Won't you all sit down? Thank you. Yes, thank you, Mary. I've been using an old pair of steel rims with an old prescription, but they look so terrible, I hate to see... When, uh, when did you lose your glasses? Oh, I... I must have mislaid them a couple of days ago. Ha! Now, what do you mean by that, Amos? You know very well what I mean. Um, you don't seem terribly upset about your husband's death, Mrs. Hungry? Why should I, Mr. Dollar? We haven't been exactly getting along for years. All he seemed to care about was his fishing and betting on the horses day after day. Oh? And I never did care about spending every summer up in this stodgy little town with all its stodgy people and... Well, I... Oh, I didn't mean you, Dr. Walton. Oh, yes, thank you. The first thing I'll do when I collect the insurance is sell this place and go back to the city where my friends are. Where there's some excitement. Mr. Dollar, are those... Are those my glasses you have there? Are they? They look like mine. Only what happened to them? Sure, they are hers, Johnny. What? No, no, Dollar. No, I don't think they are. Let me have them, please. Sure. Here. What's going on here? Johnny, we're just wasting time. No, no, no, no, wait. These can't be hers. I should have realized. Sure they are. Gentlemen, please. I've seen your glasses, Mary, many times. Very thick at the edges, very thin in the center of the lens. Well, isn't this pair? This lens, the one that's still intact, bears no resemblance to yours at all. Oh? No, no, no, no. Wait a minute, wait. Listen, Mrs. Hargrave. Will somebody please tell me what's... Listen, will you? You say your husband was always playing the horses. Yes, of course he was. But do you mind telling me what that... Even while he was up here? Yes, all the time. Mr. Dollar, I don't see what you're driving at. I sure don't. Brother, this is probably the wildest touch I've ever had. What? Mrs. Hargrave, did your husband owe a lot of money on his bedding? Owe a lot? I should say not. Just the opposite. He's been going around for nearly two weeks boasting about the big killing he made. If he ever collected... Doctor, let me have those glasses. Oh, yes. Look here, this little mark inside the temple. Oh, that's the mark of the optometrist over in Monticello. Here, you see? The same mark is in mine. Yeah, okay. Now, just sit tight, the three of you. Oh. Now, Mr. Dollar. Now, you look here now. And Amos, don't try arresting anybody while I'm gone. But, Johnny... It might make you look a little foolish when I get back. Back from where, Dollar? I'll see you all later. Well, that's really just about all there is to this case. Oh, except, of course, for the fact the optometrist in Monticello had no difficulty at all in matching the glasses I'd found with the prescription of... Yeah, you guessed it. They had belonged to the bookie Chief Skinner had told me about, Barney Marston. Of course, Barney wanted to put up a fight when we faced him with the facts. But then he couldn't seem to explain the various and sundry bruises he was carrying around until we reminded him of the fight he'd had with Tommy Hargrave. Yeah, he'd killed him and pushed the car over on top of him. The reason for it all, simple. Tommy had won a cool $25,000 from him. Had threatened to put him out of business if he didn't pay, which he couldn't. So, Barney killed him and tried to fake the accident. And you know something? I have a sneaking suspicion Chief Amos Skinner isn't going to stand for any bookies operating in Bethel, New York, from here on out. Oh, and Mary Hargrave found the glasses she'd mislaid. Expense account total including mileage on the rental car on the trip back to Hartford, $148 even. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Our star will return in just a moment. Our flag now numbers 50 stars, and behind each star there stands yet another flag representing one of the 50 states. Kansas' state flag is dark blue, and in the center is the state seal, surmounted by a large sunflower, the official state flower. The seal reflects the history of Kansas, the train of ox wagons going west for most of the great roads passed through Kansas. An Indian is depicted chasing a herd of buffalo, recalling the words of the official state song, Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam. For this truly was the home of the buffalo and Indian. The east is represented by a rising sun, and the promise of future prosperity is indicated by the steamboat on the river and the farmer plowing the field. Above a mountain range are 34 stars, for Kansas was the 34th state admitted to the Union. Overall is the state motto, Ad Astra Per Aspera, to the stars through difficulties. Kansas state flag, the flag of the 34th state to enter the Union, was adopted on March 23rd, 1927. Now here's our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week? Well, listen, I promise you the most unusual case and some of the most unexpected people you ever... Well, join us, won't you? 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, Harry Bartell, Junius Matthews, and Joe Kearns. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station, for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Dan Coverley speaking. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. Welcome back Well a decent episode I think that the evidence is really well laid out and at least a good portion of the story is spent at the crime scene and really reasoning and dealing with the evidence. It's a good basic story, though, of course, there are plenty of the tropes with Johnny Dollar that can be a bit repetitive, such as the insurance agent who calls Johnny in but is determined that there is nothing wrong with the claim which is why they are hiring a very expensive well-known freelance insurance investigator because I guess. And of course we have a moment of tension and peril where our hero gets a chance to prove his worth but that it was totally unnecessary if the sheriff had just gone ahead and identified himself rather than pointing a gun and expecting that explanation to suffice. And then you had Johnny hyping the case with the dialogue that this is the wildest hunch I ever had. Not really, not even in the top 25, I don't think. I mean, the idea that once you'd established the glasses weren't the wife's. Following up on the clue that the man was a gambler with the idea that he might have incurred the wrath of a professional gambler. Just kind of common sense. So maybe that was the mildest hunch you ever had. Now of course lines like this might lead us to take his next time tease with a bit of a shrug. Sure, your most unusual case, we've heard that before. But we actually do know about that story, thanks to John Abbott. The episode itself is missing, and we'll talk about it and all the missing episodes in this sort of block of programs. But John Abbott saw the script for it, and the missing matter matter begins with Johnny getting a call from Jack Johnstone about a missing script. Now, whether this episode would qualify as the most unusual case, I think it would be near the top. So, there are many more details, and there's something about actually hearing the script that will kind of determine how you rank it properly. particularly when we now have the Glacier Ghost Matter with Johnny dropping dynamite from a small plane onto a glacier in hopes of dislodging the body. So that top spot would take some work, but sometimes the hyperbole just, it does make it hard to really appreciate when the show is doing something very, very different. it's some stuff that's just relatively commonplace gets hyped up. Well, now we turn to listener comments and feedback. And we had a lot of comments regarding the wayward diamond matter. We start out over on Patreon where Emmett writes, Truly, this has to be one of the worst episodes Jack Johnstone wrote. And he wrote some doozies. But hearing the five-minute dialogue between the two crooks, explicitly explaining the details to the point where I just wanted Johnny to burst in and shut him up. That was too much. Over on Spotify, Don writes, the worst Johnny Dollar episode ever, and that includes the Ming Toy Murphy matter. It feels like Jack Johnstone had extra material from the Malibu mystery matter and wanted a long lunch. I'm going to go listen to a Barry Craig episode to restore my faith in writers. To be fair to Johnstone, he did have a lot on his plate with Johnny Dollar. Written, directed, and produced by Jack Johnstone. I don't think many of us have an idea of the amount of work that goes into writing an entire script. You know, as director, arranging all the casting and checking actor availability, getting studio space and everything figured out. He's wearing a lot of hats, and whenever you're doing that, you have to find ways to take shortcuts. and sometimes you find out you took one shortcut too many, which may have been the case here. Harrison wrote, did they reuse a Mr. Chameleon script? It felt more like that than a Johnny Dollar script. Ouch. Mechanic 66 responds, saying that the Hummerts wrote Chameleon, no matter how bad a Johnny Dollar is. It couldn't sink to that level, although I'll grant you this was bad. And then I also got an email from Stuart who wrote in, This email refers to the Wayward Diamond Man or episode 4890. When the insurance adjuster, Mr. Hanley, speaks to Johnny at the hotel after realizing there may be a potential claim involving the fake jewels, Mr. Hanley remarks, Later, I suppose, she decided to lose the fakes, have them stolen, and then file an insurance claim. Johnny responds, Yeah. Mrs. Merrill is already concerned that Johnny Dollar is onto the scheme. So if Mrs. Merrill does not file an insurance claim on the fake diamonds, then the discussion regarding the jewels is entirely moot. In that circumstance, there is no actionable claim, and therefore no case until a claim is formally submitted. No insurance matter truly exists. I get the point. There's no case where a company could accuse her of fraudulently filing a claim based on what they knew. But the problem for the insurance company and for Johnny is that the insurance company is on the hook for, I believe it was $100,000 that the jewels were insured for. And just because there's not fraud now doesn't mean that there couldn't be some fraud later. The insurance company has a liability and they need to know where these jewels are that they are responsible to replace if stolen. I think that from a due diligence perspective, this was very merited. I have many criticisms of the wayward diamond manner as I went into at the time. But the fact that the case was investigated, that's not one of them. But I do appreciate the comments, Stuart. All right, well, now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. And I want to thank Beverly, Patreon supporter since March 2020, currently supporting the podcast at the Shamus level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Beverly. 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 us from. We will 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, where... What have you been doing since your plane landed? I went every move. Well, I came through customs. What did you tell them? Told them I was in the watch business. Nothing else? No, I went for a cab. I didn't even let that fella take my picture. What fella? In the building at the airport. Souvenir photographs. He didn't look like the real article, so I turned away. That's it. That's your mistake. When you didn't let him take your picture, they knew you had a reason. So they trailed you. That's how they knew you saw Madame Lutter. That's why they grabbed her. That's why they put that Dawson woman on you. And I thought I was being smart. Oh, forget it. I knew it, this business. so I kidnapped her. Well, there's something we can do about it. I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives and check us out on Instagram, instagram.com slash greatdetectives. From Orlando, Florida, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.