The Adventures of Frank Race starring Paul Dubov with Tony Barrett as Mark Dunneman. The war changed many things, the face of the earth and the people on it. Before the war, Frank Race worked as an attorney, but he traded his law book sets. And when it was over, his former life was over too. Adventure had become his business, the Adventures of Frank Race. Now we join Frank Race for the adventure of the Lady in the Dark. It had been a hot day in Paris, hot and clammy. And now with the coming of night, a thunderstorm crouched above the city, smiling and slashing at everything beneath it. It was a storm worth watching. So Mark Dunneman and I had satisfied ourselves with the shelter of an awning that covered a sidewalk café on Rue Marcadette Poissonnier. Oh brother, ain't this something? Not a cab in sight. There just aren't very many cabs in Paris these days, Marcus. Particularly around the Marché-Puce. Hey, look at the lights. That one must have hit a power station. Holy cow, it's blacking the coma in his pocket. Well, the rain's beginning to slacken. I almost hate to see it stop. Race, did you get up? No, why? Then somebody just sat down at this table. Somebody who ain't saying a word. Oh? Click on your cigarette lighter. You'll get a gander at this party. No, no, do not make a lag. It would be dangerous. Dangerous? To whom? To a man who thinks you are his friend. If your name is Race. I'm Race. Who's the man? Dr. Amarand. Amarand? Of course I'm his friend. Where is he? Across the street, lying in the doorway. He saw you stop here while it was still light. You and your companion. He's hurt. They shot him. He cannot walk. He thought that maybe you would help him get to his hotel. Of course I'll help him. I wouldn't wait. Hey, what do you know? The lights are on again. You know... Whistle. Marcus' whistle was for the girl. And it takes plenty of pucker to to pucker the down of a lips. But this one had it. Dark hair, cut short and curling. Full lips. A breathtaking sort of face. You will go to him now? Yes, and you? I thought I would find a fiac to move him. Go with her, Mark. Oh sure, sure. What's a fiac? A carriage. Go along with her. Wait a second. What is it? Your name. I don't believe I heard you mention it. Janine. Janine Renaud. Across the street to the doorway she had pointed out. Dr. Amarand. It was a name that brought back a poignant memory. Who is it? It's alright, Amarand. Reis. Yes. Reis, thank heaven. I thought... I thought I knew you when I saw you stop. I told myself it had to be you. Because, Reis, I'm in trouble. As I remembered, Amarand, we've been in trouble before. You talked to Janine? She and Mark Donovan have gone for a fiac. Where are you staying, Amarand? Squire, Cligny and Co. Well, we shouldn't have too much difficulty getting you there. Even without... What is it, Reis? Someone outside. Several men. Then they fund me. Who are the Amarand? I don't know, Reis. I don't know. They must be hounding me because of something from the past. What are they doing now, huh? They seem to be talking it over. They... No, no, they're coming up the steps. A gun. Do you have one, Reis? No gun, unfortunately. Help me out. We must get into the house before it's too late. It is already too late, Amarand. In the shadows behind his flashlight, he could have been an ape. An ape in a Chesterfield coat. There were three more behind him. Silent lethal barriers to anyone's peace of mind. I told you, I do no good to run, Amarand. Perhaps not, Loca. But this time the odds are more in my favor. This time, I have a friend. We are taking you, Amarand. Friend or no friend. Loca meant what he said and the other means to carry it through. So instead of trying to dick her, I ground a shoe into his shin and slammed a short-lived hook to his jaw. He went back against the others and I tried jamming to shut the door, but they piled back against me with a lot of weight, a lot of slugging, until finally... That takes care of him. And now, Amarand, we take care of you. I came out of it to the realization that someone was bending over me. Someone wearing a perfume that for the moment made me forget the big throb that was my head. You are going to be a good friend of mine. Jeanine, how is Amarand? He is not here. There is no one here but you and me. What about Mark Donovan? Still looking for a carriage. When we could not find one, I got worried and came back. What happened here? There were just too many of them. Let me try sitting up. What is it? You have not been shot? No, I have an idea. I was kicked after I was knocked cold. Perhaps some cognac would help. There is a bar in Square-Clin-Yoncourt. We could walk to it from here. You could lean on me if you like. Merci. Merci beaucoup. Merci beaucoup. Looking at her across the table in the bar took some of the fog from my brain. And this was not by candlelight but in the uncompromising glare of an electric bulb right above us. It is good to sit down, no? This is not much of a place. It is very good. I cannot even talk straight. It is very good to sit down. I am quite contented being here. Grace, who is Liesel Kruger? Oh, a beautiful woman. She is no longer alive. Oh, and you are in love with her? Yes, she died trying to help me. What was she like? Lovely and warm and she was a lot like you. Thank you, Grace. What has Amaranth been doing? He has a small hospital for the poor. A sort of settlement. He is a wonderful surgeon. He could make a lot of money on the other side of the city but he would rather spend his time with the poor. How long has he been doing this? Oh, it must be a year now. And you? You are his? Secretary. Simply his secretary. Amaranth told me he lived on this street. Do you know where? No. I wonder if they would know him here. Is it important? I have an idea it might be quite important. Then I shall ask for you. She left me and moved to the bar. A slim figure oblivious of the masculine comment she drew from the crowd. She came back frowning slightly with concentration. The bartender knows him and so do some of the others. And his lodgings? Number 27. Only a few doors away. If you mind, I think I should go there at once. You are still pale. Perhaps I'd better come with you. We moved toward the door. To get out of the place you went up a short flight of steps. It was here we were stopped by two men. One of whom I recognized as Lurker. You do not seem to know when you had enough. I've had quite enough, Lurker. Don't try to give me any more. Where do you want to know where Amaranth lives? Amaranth is my friend. Well, we know where he lives. We take you there. I prefer to go without you. I said, we take you. He stood two steps above me and plainly intended to have his way. So I doubled up clutched a handful of his chest afield and heaved him down the stairs. I leaned against the wall spent from the exertion and his partner lunged for me. But Janine bless her threw out a slim tripping leg and both of them were down. Come race before they get out. You think they might have brought him here? It's possible. From the sound of it there's someone in there. You are going in? Here then, take this. I picked it up when that man dropped it. Pistol, good girl. Stand back now while I open. All right. Don't move any of you. Good heavens. There were three of them. Two men and a girl standing there frozen. Catching a glimpse of myself in a glass on the opposite wall I could understand their concern. My hair looked as though I just clambered out of bed. I had a badly battered eye and there were streaks of blood down my face. To top it off I had the pistol level in their direction. Is there something wrong? I'm sorry. I expected to find someone else here. I'm looking for Dr. Amaranth. We've been waiting for him too, but not with a gun. I put the pistol away. She wasn't the type of person you wanted to threaten. She was a blonde with a pretty face and delightful contours. I mentioned my name and the girl made herself known as Sally Clayton. She introduced the younger man with the nearsighted stare as Glenn Young and the Puggy older man as Dr. Holker. I told them about Amaranth and they stared at me anew. He might be dead. They may have murdered him. Yes. How well do you people know him? We know him very well. We all work with him at the hospital. Any ideas as to why he's in a jam like this? No. Can't tell you a thing, but we've got to get him out of it somehow. Yes, not only for his own sake, but there's the hospital and there's Pierre-Philippe. Pierre-Philippe? He's our worry patient right now. Poor child. He was knocked down by a runaway horse yesterday. Amaranth must operate on him tomorrow. Dr. Holker can tell you that. Well, I'm afraid that even if we do get Amaranth back, he's going to be in no condition to handle surgery. Isn't there someone else who can do the job, Dr. Holker? The boy's skull was fractured, a critical injury in the Rolandic area. There are three men besides Amaranth who could operate successfully. Michel Fontaine, Miss Indo Rivière, Jacques Vissi, Miss Hill, and Dr. Boniface. No, no, no. Tomorrow is Sunday, and no one can find Dr. Boniface on Sunday. It will have to be Amaranth. It will have to be Amaranth, or the boy will die. We'll return to the adventures of Frank Race in just about one minute. And now we return to the adventures of Frank Race. My feeling about the affair was a reaction of physical and mental depression. A friend needed help, and I had let him down. Even the presence of attractive females offered no lift at the moment. But something needed to be done. So I went back to the bar on Squire Clignancourt and bumped into Mark Donovan. He shook his head when I told him about what had happened. I can say just how this deal is going to turn out. You can. Yeah, I can. No profit, lots of bruises, and maybe a heartache for a hangover. What do we do next? What we should have done in the first place. Start asking questions. Oh, that's fine. Where? Well, I'd say this was a likely place. The place is congenial anyway. Tell me something. What are we trying to find out? I want to contact a lad called Lurca. I have the feeling that a chat with him could be quite productive. Where liquor flows, tongues are usually free. I got nowhere and took a couple of hours doing it. But Mark became the confidant of a lady of the evening, and as a result we presently paid a visit to a nearby pension. A hotel exuding an atmosphere that could only have come from decades of dust. Flavored, not delicately, by garlic. All right, all right. What is it? Hello, Lurca. What do you want? Thought we'd come in and have a talk. Yeah, yeah. Just friendly conversation. I got nothing to talk about. We think you have quite a bit to talk about, and we're prepared to extract it from you. What happened to Amaran? I tell you this much, but nothing more. We did not keep him with us. The police came as we were walking him away. We had to drop him. What made you attack him in the first place? I saved. I say nothing more. You're going to tell me, and you're going to tell me who you're working for. You have the answers, and I want them as of... Why don't you try asking me, chum? I got all the answers, too. I'd never seen this one before. He was young and looked as though he should be selling insurance. He wasn't holding a gun visibly, but both hands were in his coat pockets, and I got the feeling he hadn't been reaching for a cigarette lighter. I had a hand in one of my pockets, too, gripping the pistol Janine had given me, and I thought that made it a standoff until two other men sidled into the room. What's the matter? Cat got your tongues? So Lurker's working for you? Yeah, Lurker's working for me. And guys that work for me don't talk. Not more than once they don't. An American in Paris. Must be an interesting story, the effect you've been having on foreign relations. I'm Tommy Janice. It's no pleasure. No? Well, I get worried that you was here, Race, so I thought I'd tag along, too. Lurker's one of my boys, and I never leave my boys on a hook. You shouldn't have come here bothering him, Race, because it makes me think that if I let you go, you'll just come back and bother him again. So I can't let you go, can I? I told myself I could start shooting, but I knew that that could have but one result with three other guns against us. Mark and I just wouldn't be around anymore. There was only one other out, but knocking off an electric bulb from your coat pocket by feel and nothing else, well... What are you, the strong silent type? Guess I'm not very glib tonight. Had a hard evening. And you're still having a hard evening, ain't you, Race? Kind of makes you sweat, don't it? I get kicks out of seeing guys sweat. Yeah, but you're supposed to be a tough boy, and you've got beads of this stuff running down your forehead. You misconstrue the significance of my perspiration, Tommy. You're right about my being under his strain, but it isn't for quite the reason that you... I'm clear, Race! Be right with you! Let's go! Amaran's Hospital turned out to be quite a setup. Recently built, all new equipment, a costly installation. Even though it was Sunday afternoon, there were a number of people waiting outside its consultation rooms. Oh, Mr. Race. Hello, Miss Clayton. I came in to see if you had any news concerning Dr. Amaran. News? Well, we'd something much better. Come with me. With an air-suppressed excitement, she took me along the corridor to one of the rooms. Here, propped up in a hospital bed, his left arm in a sling was Amaran. Race, you're all right. You were not badly hurt, huh? Nothing a good night's sleep couldn't handle. But how are you doing? He just finished surgery on little Pierre-Philippe. Successful surgery. Surgery? Oh, it had to be done, Race. And I think we were lucky enough to bring off a fairly decent job. I learned last night that you'd been able to get away from those thugs. But I never thought you'd be doing surgery this morning. Oh, I'm deeply grateful for last night, Race. Really. If, well, if you had not delayed them, who knows what might have happened, eh? This institution, Amaran, it's a revelation. Ah, yes. It has been the greatest thing of my life, Race. I, uh, I hope it can go on being so. But... If you're thinking of these attacks that are being made on you, they can be stopped. Oh, well, I wasn't thinking of that alone. You see, there is something else. Something that threatens the existence of the hospital itself. Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, don't go away, Glenn. You're not intruding. Race, this is Glenn Young, another mech and who is my good friend. We met last night. Hello, Race. Hello, Young. Oh, tell me. Any luck with Madame Doucet, Glenn? Just finished talking to her, and I'm sorry to say it was a very unhappy conversation. Glenn Young seemed tired. His eyes had a staring look and his brows were arched high, giving his forehead deep furrows. He took out a handkerchief and wiped his face. Glenn, tell Race about our problem, eh? It concerns the settlement race hospital. Oh? It was founded for Dr. Amarande and presented to him by a wealthy old lady, Madame Doucet. Since we don't operate on a profit basis, she also puts the cost of maintenance. But she's become upset because of what's been happening to the doctor. How she heard about it, I don't know. Well, there was a reporter at the police bureau when they took me there last night. He probably called her. You see, Race, Madame Doucet is very devout, and she seems to have seized upon the idea that I've gone wrong or something, that I've become involved with underworld characters. So she just indicated that she intends to alter her will, eliminating the trust clause and dowing the hospital with permanent maintenance. Which you could see would make it impossible for us to operate more than a few weeks. Tell me, Glenn, how did she sound? Completely adamant? Completely. I don't think we've got a prayer. Well, stop thinking about it, Glenn. You've done your share. Go out and relax. I'll try that. I shall go and see Madame Doucet this evening. Doctor, you can't. You're not well enough. I'll have to be well enough. I cannot wait. Race, if you can make it, I would like you to come with me. But we weren't able to make the visit that evening. By late afternoon, Amaran's arm began to hemorrhage, a circumstance that combined him for the night. Nevertheless, he appeared at my hotel early next morning, and we reached the Dessert home about 10.30. An ancient-looking mansion had brought to mind the incongruous thought of a Rococo mausoleum. The elderly servant eyed us as though we had come to sack the place. I hesitate to disturb Madame. She has not yet informed me. This late? I had the idea that Madame Doucet was always an early riser. She is, she is. But this morning she is probably indisposed. But we never disturb her. Well, perhaps you'd better this time. She's a very old lady, and... Monsieur, Monsieur, you may be right. I shall go to her at once. We were left waiting in the tremendous hall. It wasn't but a few minutes before a startled wail came from above. I helped Amaran mount the stairs, and we moved into a gigantic bedroom. Oh, Monsieur, Monsieur, something has happened, something terrible. Madame, she has been strangled. It had been done with a cord. She'd been garroted. The open French windows, the thick vines up the masonry, it was obvious how the killer had entered. The old lady had struggled. Bedclothes were awry, a tray of medicines had been tipped off her nightstand. I picked up two or three vials, a thermometer, a small rubber plunger, and a hypodermic needle. Monsieur, shall I, shall I call the police? I'm afraid that there is nothing else to be done. The Grace, we ought to get out of this hotel for a little while. You've been coiled up in a chair all morning. I've been overlooking something on this case, Mark. I feel it, I feel it, something obvious, something right in front of me. Yeah. Look, how about this pistol that Dame gave you? You want we should keep carrying it? You know something, the gendarmes don't like people toting rods, you know, especially foreigners. Hey, how about it? What's that, Mark? Oh, brother, you want a fuck. Look, you need a glass or something to peppy up. Glass? That's it, Marcus. Mark, you've given me the key to the whole thing. Yeah, I have? What do you know? Come on, let's get over to the hospital. We were on our way through the lobby when I was tagged for a phone call. It turned out to be Amaran. Grace, I think I'm in trouble again. It seems to be the same group. I spotted some of them just outside the hospital. I think they're waiting for me. You're at the hospital now? Yes. I came in the back way through the cellar. I'm calling for my office. I could call the police, but that would solve nothing. No, those boys would just drift away and get back to you later. We'd better take care of it ourselves. I'll be there. I'm around in a few minutes. There were two of them standing just inside the hospital entrance as Mark and I went in. I sense that Tommy Janice must be around somewhere and lurk her. With Amaran in his office were Glenn Young and Jeanine Renault. Oh, it's good to see you, Race. I cannot seem to make this. Well, I just can't take this sort of thing as I used to. If Glenn and Jeanine hadn't been with me, I'm afraid I'd have to shout. What do we do, Race? Try to sneak him out or make him run away? I don't know. I don't know. I just can't take this sort of thing as I used to. I believe the place to settle it is right here. I wish I knew what they were after. They simply want your hospital, Amaran. His hospital? Glenn, those eyes of yours are bothering you again, aren't they? Here, this might help. The suction cup from my lenses. Where did you find it? Well, you dropped it beside Madame de Serre's dead body. You're one of those people who can't wear contact lenses for more than a few hours, aren't you, Glenn? Get pretty uncomfortable, don't they? Make you stare, make you stop blinking. What are you getting at, Race? Amaran, I'll give good odds that Glenn Young has some sort of a power of attorney from you concerning this hospital. Yes. After all, he is the manager. And should anything happen to me... That's right. He's your good friend. He intended to have something happen to you, Doctor. You were all set to be put out of circulation, so friend Glenn in a hood by the name of Tommy Janis could take over. Then this wouldn't have been a free clinic any longer, would it, Glenn? And you'd have cleaned up, particularly with Madame de Serre's trust fund taking care of expenses. That's why you murdered her, isn't it, Glenn? Because she told you she was going to cut that off? Tommy! Listen, this fella... Don't bother explaining. I heard it all from the other side of the door. Nothing's going to make any difference, Glenn. We just take care of all of them, that's all. We're all going down the hall, people, nice and quiet. Keep your hands away from your pockets, or I'll start blasting... Oh, bridge, bridge! Thank you again, friend Marcus. It was really nothing. I don't think any of those other lads are going to come in here. Not now, with the boss out of action. Stay where you are, Glenn. Don't get any ideas about running. But Tommy Janis... look at him. There! He's going to be all right. You know something? What, Marcus? That guy is really a smart cookie. He is? Yeah. What do you think of this? He picks a hospital to get shot in. The Adventures of Frank Race, starring Paul Dubov with Tony Barrett as Mark Donovan, comes to you from Hollywood. Others heard in tonight's cast were Gene Bates, Michael Ann Barrett, Gerald Moore, Wilms Herbert, and William Johnstone. This series is written and directed by Buckley Angel and Joel Murcott. The music is composed and played by Ivan Ditmars. Be sure to be with us again this time next week for another dramatic chapter in The Adventures of Frank Race. Art Gilmore speaking. This is a Bruce Elves production. .
