Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Radio

Johnny Dollar - The Queen Anne Pistol Matter

https://www.solgoodmedia.com - Listen to hundreds of audiobooks, thousands of short stories, and ambient sounds all ad free! Relive the excitement of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar Radio, where each episode revisits the classic tales of Johnny Dollar, the iconic freelance insurance investigator. Discover how Johnny unravels mysteries and battles crimes primarily through sharp wit and keen perception. This series is a treasure trove for enthusiasts of vintage radio dramas and detective mysteries.

Duration:: 32m
Broadcast on:: 17 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save, too. With Medicare's Extra Help Program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or a married couple who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hi, I'm Davé Quince. One way to help manage Type 2 diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing butt sugar also takes the right. Diet. Hi. I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you want to learn more tips about diet and exercise, visit mytype2transformation.com. It's time now for Edmund O'Brien, as... Johnny Dollar. Hello, Dollar. This is Carter down a tri-state insurance. I've heard of it. How are you, Bill? Fair. Listen, we have a vice president down here who has an idiot cousin selling insurance for us in New York City. Well, he's done it again. You call me for advice or sympathy? He just sold a $15,000 policy covering a pair of antique pistols from the trip from here to a fire in Boston. Some of those old weapons are worth it. Well, these must be. That's why I want you to see this I get there. According to this Leonard Bonnie, who brought the pistols this far from England, somebody tried twice to steal them. That we learned after he bought the policy. Did you take the job? Okay, Bill. And when can I talk to this Bonnie? He's at the doctors, but he'll be back in my office in an hour. Doctors? Yeah. The last time the ducks jumped him, they put a knife through his arm. Edmund O'Brien, in a transcribed adventure of the man with the action-packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly Johnny Dollar. Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to Home Office Tri-State Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut. Attention, William Carter. The following is an accounting of my expenditures during assignment on the Queen Anne pistol manner. Expense account item one, a $0.75 cap fair for my apartment of your office. When I was introduced to Leonard Bonnie, a tallish, badly apportioned man whose pasty complexion was just a shade darker than a sling that supported his left arm. Well, it's a pleasure, Mr. Dollar a pleasure. Thanks. You, uh, you had a pretty rough garlic. That's right. And it's the truth that I'm glad to see somebody else taken the responsibility. You, uh, might tell Mr. Dollar about these attacks on you. Oh, you'll be happy to, Mr. Carter. The first time was in Liverpool before our board had shipped to come across. They came out from between two buildings near the wall, three of them. They handed me a whack on them, being an answer truth. And before they could lay another hand on me, I raced off. Did you have the pistols with you? Oh, no. And I didn't have them in New York with another gang attack. They almost killed me with that knife. The pistols are here, darling. Would you like to see them? Yeah, I wouldn't. Yeah, yeah, I'll open the case. The box he opened was leather-bound and satin lined. Two pistols nestled in it. Graceful flintlocks with ten-inch forged barrels, upon which were engraved a carnet and a name so think that I couldn't make it out. From the 18th century, there were 10,000 pounds as a collector's item. Where did they go? Old to an antique gun shop at 272 Medford Street in Boston. But prior to his name is Arthur Worthing. He's a British chap, he wears spectacles, he'll recognize him. Will you be coming with me? Me? I don't think no. I've had enough. I'll stay here and wait for Mr. Carter, the pistols have got their say. Oh, no. Are they enough? [music] The rest of the rundown was given to me before I left the office. An advantage had been hired as a messenger by the seller in London, who had explained the value of the guns, but had not mentioned any potential danger of attempted theft. With that information and the pistol case tucked into a corner of my luggage, I made arrangements to leave. Expense account item two, nine dollars and seventy-five cents airfare and incidental expenses between Hartford and Boston. [music] The address on Medford Street that Bonnie had given to me was on the brink of the retail district. There was a sign, and there were a few dusty weapons in the window. [music] Good day, sir. Hello, are you Arthur Worthing? Oh, yes, yes, I am. My name's Donald. I've been hired by the tr... [laughter] Mr. Bonnie, tell the graph me to expect you the package, sir. I say you have the package. Yeah, I have it. This is a day I have long anticipated, sir. There. There. Two masterpieces from the shop of James Freeman, Norwich, circa 1705. Sir, are you a fancier of arms? Nothing antique. Oh, that's a pity, sir. A pity. Fascinating study. These pistols have quite a remarkable history. Fashioned during Queen Anne's reign and gave service during one of Europe's blackest eras. Yeah, that's pretty. But I like mine with less history and more shocking power. As might be supposed, sir, the English gunsmith's prosper during those stirring times, profiting by the constant demands for muskets and pistols to supply the good Queen's armies and flanders. Oh, is that right? Well, I have a pater for your time. These weapons, sir, rode through the campaigns at the belt of an officer raised near Norwich. And if the truth were known, sir, more than one murder has been committed not only by them, but because of them. Tell me, sir, were you followed? Not that I know. All right, if I could get your thing as you're on this release. Oh, just a moment, young man. I believe that the assurance policy purges by Mr. Bunny is in effect until the pistols rest in the possession of the purchaser. Is that not correct? You're not the buyer? Well, unfortunately, sir, a price of $20,000 is a great deal to dear for me. Who is it, then, and where? Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rowland's bride. Bride? Okay. Address? Yes, I'll job it down for you, just a moment. Yes. Oh, wait, Victoria. Drive. There you are. It's a large rest. On the left flank, as you approach it from the east. I think I can find it. Now, give the pistol's bride and tell them that either Mr. Bunny or myself will contact them at the earliest opportunity. All right, I'll get back to you by phone. I'll get back to you by phone. Good afternoon, sir. I have a package to deliver to either Mr. and Mrs. Bride. Are they at home? Yes, sir. I'll take it to them. Well, my instructions are to give it to them personally. Who is it, Dean? Hey, gentlemen, it's possible for you, madam. It's possible. My name is Dolly. Are you Mrs. Bride? Yes. I don't hear any of your pistols, or Mr. Worthing. But, come in. Mr. Worthing, I don't have to stand. Well, maybe your husband knows about it. Yes, perhaps then. Madam. What's the matter? You can't. You can't. What's the matter, Mrs. Bride? Well, who's having the scare? What's the trouble? Who is this man hunting? Oh. Oh. Oh. Hey. Hey. Take Mrs. Bride to her room, Dean. No, Jack. I want to know. What does it mean, Jack? What does it mean? Hey, quiet as hell. I'll take care of it. Well, Mrs. Bride, I'll help you to your room and get you a brew bite. Now, what do you want? No, I don't want anything but just signature on this paper, acknowledging your receipt of the pistols described therein. You'll get no signature from me. Yeah, let me see that. Hey, watch it, will you? Leonard Bonnie. He's here in America. That's what he said his name was. I brought the pistols from Hertford to a man named Arthur Worthing. He sent me to you. Who's Arthur Worthing? I took it that you knew one another. He's a dealer in antique weapons. Yes. Of course. Get out of here. Take this fake form and take your pistols. Go back to your Mr. Worthing. Your bluff won't work. Now, listen, I'm here. I don't believe that Bonnie is here. I don't think he's still alive. Now, get out of here! I didn't bother to argue with him because as far as I could see there, he was either terrified, crazy, or both. For the pistols, I took the shortest route back to Arthur Worthing's gun shop on Mettford Street. I should have saved myself the anger I'd built up to let go at Worthing. The place was not only locked, it was empty of antique weapons. An Arthur Worthing sign had been replaced in the window by another which read, "Office or store for rent, enquire number 13 Groves building." I decided not to. Expensive gun item 3.70 cents dayload as a dry state reporting my lack of progress. Expensive gun item 4, same as item 2, transportation back to Arthur. My phone was ringing when I unlocked the door of my apartment at 10 that night. Johnny Dollar. Bill Carter, Johnny. Can I interrupt something? No, I just got in. Just came through the door. That's crazy business in Boston. What do you make of it? Well, the man called it blackmailed, so I guess that's what it is. But what reason there was for using me? I don't get unless they figured bride would get violent. I've been trying to reach that Bonnie. You have the phone number. What'd you get, the city pound? No, some woman with an accent, so I think we can't understand each other. No, forget it. Bonnie just made it up. He was lying in his teeth about everything. Do you have the pistols? Yeah, but not for long. I'm bringing them down to your vault in the morning. Good. Stop by my office. Aren't you curious about this thing? No, not even intrigued. I don't want any part of it. That was only half true. I didn't want any part of it, but I wasn't free. Later, after a shower and over a high ball, I took the pistols out of their case and looked them over. Except for the possibility that they were the tools of blackmailed. I could find nothing to make them worth $20,000. But under a strong light, I did make out the name engraved on the barrel that I hadn't been able to read before. It was bride, as in Mr. and Mrs. Jack Rowland's bride. And the date behind it was 1704. I wondered what there was about something out of the 18th century that could send a 20th century woman into hysterics. The next day, I saw the pistols put under lock and key, started to work on another case and try to forget the whole thing. But I was reminded of it again by the caller who was waiting for me in the car outside my apartment that night. It's the bride's buttlet. I hope you applaud my intrusion, sir. You must know why I've come. I can guess. I shalln't take up much of your time, but if I could just talk to you. All right, we'll go inside. Oh, thank you, sir. Go down. I'll stand, sir. Did you possibly give me the pistons, Mr. Dollar? No. But why not, sir? Well, the main reason is I don't have them. Bride didn't seem to want them when I tried to give them to him. Oh, but he did, sir. He thought of putting his signature on the form which described them would have become an admission that he'd received them. What they're afraid of? I couldn't say, sir. He told me that he wouldn't be able to answer for the consequences if I failed to bring them back. What does that mean? Mr. Bride is a very violent and sudden mad. Look, I'm through with the case. I turned the guns back to the company that ensured them. And he can get them by going down there and signing that release. I beg of use to get them tomorrow a molding and give them to me. I can't. Possibly because they aren't there. It felt like a beastie. Then I got a look at the violin in his hand and the needle. His expression with face watching me became the fuse in the street with flashes of red. I try to reach for the face, but it's worth playing out of sight. I took one stumbling step after it. That was the best I could do. We will return you to the second act of yours truly Johnny Dollar in just a moment. But first, we Americans have a valuable heritage. A heritage of individual freedom that includes the freedom to worship as we wish at the church or synagogue of our own choice. By attending church regularly, we can gain the moral and spiritual strength to meet the many problems which confront us today. Help support your church and attend regularly with your family. Now with our star Edmond O'Brien, we return you to the second act of yours truly Johnny Dollar. Come on now, letting open your eyes. You can do it now. You can do it. You feel it? You can feel it all down here. Come on now. You're all better now aren't you? Now hold on now. Don't slip away again. Wake up. That's busy. Oh, I'm Mr. Bonnie. Remember me? Darling, none of that. You're all right. I'll put you in your bed. You're flat. Well, where'd you come from? It's a good thing I came from somewhere. I've been playing touch and go with you since six o'clock. First you'd come to and then you'd go again. Which time? What time is it? Part nine. Yeah, you bring service. I'll look with some tea but I couldn't find any. I'm not too angry at making coffee. Fair, is that hot enough? Yeah. What happened to you? I don't know. Dope. He got me in the oven. Who was he? Broadway? Oh, come on, leave me alone with it. Oh, no, you don't. I've had enough of this. You stay awake. Come on now. That treatment went on for another 45 minutes. That and the coffee. From the bed, I could see that my apartment has been torn to pieces. I was too sick for the angry at all of it. When I could sit up and put my feet on the floor, I realized without surprise that Bonnie's arm was no longer in a sling. In fact, there was a webley automatic in his hands. Oh, that. Well, the surgeon said I wouldn't need to sling anymore. You are lying. Stand up now, come on. Didn't he get those people? Oh, fried. Well, if it was caught up, you're flat looking woman. No, he didn't get them. And you aren't going to get them either. Oh, yeah, no. You've got an head on you. How did you use it? Where are they? You'll have to do more than ways that automatic around to get them. They're in a vault downtown. How do you want to share for yourself? It was your idea to ensure those things. Bride wouldn't receive them. And the company wants to protect them until he does. You must have known that. Why did you ensure them? That it was Werthing's plan. I'll call them. It was too tricky. Man, a fine mess now. I've got to tug you to him. Why? I can't do anything. Don't you ask so many questions. You just come along. He gun-muscled me out of my apartment and into a car. If I'd been in better shape, I might have been able to break away from. But with my system still full of dope, I didn't have either the will or the energy for a try. I only have to remember the trip. But the end of it was a shabby hotel with an e-shot of the harbor in Boston. It's Bonnie. I've brought Mr. Dollar. A capital about a capital coming. Hey, you're right as a ghost, Mr. Dollar. Oh, you will. Yeah, and you don't help. They put a needle into him trying to get the pistol. Oh, what a pity. What a pity. Sit down, sir. Sit down. Please, by all means. Did they get him? Well, he says no. And if he's telling the truth, we're in a mess. In a mess, Bonnie. He says the pistols are locked up at the insurance company in Oxford. Well, no. Is that the truth? I don't see why that should be hard to believe. Now, what do you say to that? I told you it wouldn't work. You and your complicated plans. Now, we've lost the old thing. Nonsense, Bonnie. Nonsense, why actually the pistols sort of no consequence whatsoever? Well, they weren't important, but they're not in London when we first talked about coming here with them. Of course, they were, Bonnie, but now they've served their purpose. The brides have seen them. You have spoken to them on the phone. It all remains for you to collect the money. The end of the path, Bonnie. Well, I think we need it. Well, Mr. Dollar, it suddenly occurs to me that I have spilled the beans as you yak so quickly, but I've told you the truth. I don't want to know the truth. Why don't you keep quiet working? That's a good idea until I get out of here anyway. Bonnie, stop him. Look, I have no place in this. Just leave me alone. Bonnie, stop him. Oh, everything is lost. No, all right, me bucko, come on back. You gotta get away, Bonnie. Come on, come on. You don't feel so good. I hate to make you feel... Whoa! Yeah. That's right now. Back in the chair. What do you want? You want me to know what's going on? I do blackmail. Yes, of the grossest sort, sir. We shall be handsomely paid by the brides to keep secret of two-year-old murder of which they are guilty. I don't care. Why don't you keep quiet working? Well, Mr. Dollar. If you expect me to be surprised, I'll have to disappoint you. What else could it be? But why were you stupid enough to think that he'd sign at release? Yes, I shall have to admit that my sights were too high, but a signed admission. It was such a devilishly clever scheme. I was supposed to have a triad. Why keep me involved in it? Because you are the witness, so to speak. Now, be patient, sir. After being dragged into the lives of people I don't know and don't want to know, after being drugged and knocked around by your gunman? Enough of that. Now, Bonnie. The hour to strike has come. I will meet the brides. Here. Oh, by the way, let me have your weavily. What about me? You, at the same time, will be at the bride residence waiting for them to return and make the initial payment of our $20,000. The contest is won, Bonnie. I hope you're right, Worthing. It's been a long one. Yes, it has. A splendid quest. You made a phone call to the brides and Bonnie left. Worthing concentrated on the weavily automatic while we waited, and I concentrated on my head. At the time the brides arrived an hour later, I was almost able to stand without staggering. Well, well, well, well. Mr. and Mrs. Bright, late at college. Our paths at last cross. Please come in. Come in. I am Arthur Worthing. You don't know me, but I assure you that you will. Oh, you remember, Mr. Dollar? Yes. We should hardly forget him. You're not alone there. I'm afraid I have most distressing news for you, Mr. and Mrs. Bright. I should be unable to make deliveries since Mr. Dollar has gained possession of the pistols and steadfastly refuses to part with him. He is a veritable thorn in my side. Do you expect sympathy from us, Mr. Worthing? Well, indeed, I expect nothing of the sort. No more than your uncle, the Duke of Pimbroke, would have expected from you had he known your true thoughts before you had him murdered. Are you lecturing, Worthing? You're planning a prophet from the same death. Yes, quite a profitable death to everyone but the poor Duke. The estate fortune to the brides and to the others of us who nibbled at the edges of small share. Even you, Mr. Dollar, and the penny or two cut this short. Well, it's a little too thick for me. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Bright, you both understand the terms that Leonard Barney and I have decided upon. We, in turn, agree to maintain complete silence in regard to your part in the murder of the Duke of Pimbroke between six and seven PM, eight October 1948, at which time, according to knowledge shared by us, a killer hired by yourselves did chupt said Duke to death. How can we be sure, if there's your tethers, dollar diffuses to give up the pistols? Mr. Dollar, leave me analyst. Hmm. An unfortunate situation but one of minor importance. The theft of the pistols has become according to your plans, the generally accepted motive for the murder in view of their extreme value and since they did indeed disappear. But, who? Who would correlate them to the true story? Oh, Jack, we could never be sure. Quiet, sir. My word will be kept. But, Barney, I'd readily admit I do not know. The proof of your guilt lies with him, and he may decide that he needs more money one day. But, in negotiations of hand, the cost is $20,000. 5,000 to be paid tonight to Barney, who now awaits your residence, the rest within the next seven days. Oh, I didn't see how it's going to be possible. Oh, I'm now surely rather than sacrifice the gracious life the Duke's fortune is affording you. I don't know. The time is so short. We'll manage this too. We'll have to be away. We have the 5,000. Barney will be waiting for you. Now, Mr. Dollar has heard the story. What good is buying your silence, but first he knows then someone else knows and someone else is like, "Oh, I got it." Tell him, in Heaven's name, bride, do you want the police to descend upon us? Then we all would be lost. Oh, but Leonard, Barney. I'm going to the police. I want them to know. Stop it, Estelle. Take her now and go meet Barney. Come along, Estelle. You've got help. Convince her bride that there is no reason to fill Dollar's knowledge. I have my own plans for him. Worthy success made him careless, calling his orders to the bride. He was a quarter-turn away from him. As soon as the door closed, I knew it. All right. As far as I was concerned, there was a toss-up between being a good citizen and phoning the police or using my head and leaving. I decided on a compromise, an anonymous report. I leaned over him to double-check his name and started through his pockets. His inside coat pocket gave me a weak old receipt for the weapons with which he dressed up as phoning gunshot. His wallet held some money but no identification. I patted his side coat pockets. They were cluttered with the usual men's debris and nothing else. But I patted the empty pockets again and down at the bottom of the right one, I felt a thin, rectangular object. It was inside the coat lining. I got my fingers into the seam and ripped. The object was a card set into a plate of transparent plastic. It said Arthur T. Worthing Inspector C.I.D. Scotland Yard. The card was a devil. Hey, Inspector Worthing. Oh, I say that that was rather... Okay, here, try some of this. Thank you. Well, I must say that you're an extraordinary ally, Mr. Dollar. It would help, you know, if your allies knew they were allies instead of pigeons, do you want to try and get up? Not yet, I think. Obicious pummeling, but more about that later. Suffice it to say that I have been posing as a blackmailer for so long that I scarcely know what I am myself. I couldn't shut my disguise in front of you until the final details were arranged. What is this approach of your approach, sir? This crazy scheme here. Come on, take my hand. Thank you. Not crazy, sir. Intricate, perhaps, but I did obtain a confession, didn't I? With use, witness. During the investigation in England, no effort was enough to swerve the brides from their story of their murder. I had to turn criminal to meet them on a common level and gain the truth. And did you have in mind stopping the brides before they commit another murder or after? That's an odd question. Oh, no, not since this is making sense. Not since you bated bride with the idea that Bonnie was the only one that could prove them guilty of murder. Impeccable truth, Mr. Dollar, since it was Bonnie, they hired to commit their crime. If the brides were apprehended at the scene immediately after they had murdered that miserable little cutthroat done with Bonnie, well then, they'd be hard-pressed to find the valid reason for not confessing to the original murder of the Duke, would they not now? I think you saw from the wife up to the point where she'd spilled. Yes, my job. I believe you'll hit the nail squarely on the head. We'll phone the police to go there. I think you hit the same nail on the head when you piled up with Bonnie and talked him into coming over here with blackmail and my... Yes, yes, you're right. This has been a personal matter. The Duke of Pimbroke was my friend. As I said, nothing could be done at England, so here I am, unofficially, of course. I suggest now that I be on the police, don't you? Here you are, driver, keep it. Thank you, sir. Good night, young man. No sign of the police, Stella. L.R.I.V. quietly. We'd better get up to the house. We dropped our cab a few yards down from the bride address. When we got there, we took the driveway. There was a light in the room I'd spotted the last time I was there, a library. We angled off, taught it, but before we reached it, a look I tossed over my shoulder, stopped me. Behind us in the street, I could see a swarm of uniformed figures slipping silently toward us. They were close, but not close enough. Now, bye. Don't do it. Don't give me that. I'll come back to England. You know they found the fire. Tell him, take me a minute, come to the room. All right, come on, you got it. [music] Inspector got what he wanted, the murder of the gunman Bonnie and the arrest of the bride. Justice is supposed to move in straight formal lines. When that kind misfires, I guess it's cricket to go devious. He brought a victim as well as a motive clear across the Atlantic to set up the playoff scene. Expense account item five, same as number two, transportation back to Hertford. Item six, miscellaneous, you will have to admit I deserve something for what I went through. $150. Expense account total, $365.35, yours truly, Johnny Dollar. [music] Yours truly, Johnny Dollar stars Edmund O'Brien in the title role and is written by Gil Dowd with music by Wilbur Hatch. Edmund O'Brien can soon be seen in the Paramount Pictures production, Warpath. Beached in tonight's cast were Ben Wright, Bill Conrad, Dick Ryan, Jeanette Nolan, Dan O'Hurlahy and Tyler McVey. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar is transcribed in Hollywood by Jaime Del Vaiig. [music] This is Bob Lamond inviting you to join us next week at this time, when we will again bring you Edmund O'Brien as... Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. [music] Every Saturday night, Americans from coast to coast play Sing It Again. Do you? Well, if you don't, you don't know the front and excitement you're missing. Not to mention Radio's largest cash award if you can name the Phantom Boys. There's music on Sing It Again. Music with Alan Vale, Bob Howard, Judy Lynn, The Riddlers, Ray Block and his Orchestra. There are contestants from all over America, formed by Dan Seymour, and there are prizes. Prizes galore plus that special jackpot prize we mentioned earlier. So stay at home. Play at home on Saturday nights when over many of these same CBS stations, Dan Seymour says, "It's Sing It Again." Stay tuned now for Bob and Rose Caravan, which follows immediately on most of these same CBS stations. 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