Personal notice changes my stock and trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details. Standard of California, on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and standard stations throughout the West, invites you to let George do it. Double death, another transcribed adventure of George Valentine. Dear Mr. Valentine, I'm writing for my employer, Mr. Douglas W. Groves, Groves, Gil, Dundee, and Fenwick, industrial advisors and accountants. It is Mr. Groves' desire that you report to him at your earliest convenience. Mr. Groves has sprained his ankle, so it will be necessary that you contact him at his new residence on Country Lake Road rather than in the city. Naturally, you will be reimbursed with a slight additional time and expense incurred, yours very truly, for Mr. DWG by RH. Mr. Valentine, that's what he told me to write. Please don't tell him I added this note of my own. Mr. Groves has double-checked you. He double-checks everything. He's like that. But his personal life isn't quite so well organized. Please don't be offended by him. Please see him. Please help him. Sincerely, RH. Rena Hilliard. Mr. Valentine, my wife has disappeared. Your wife has dis... That's right. She's disappeared, and I want you to find her. And I don't want you to waste any time about her. Oh, Miss Blasted Legs. Oh, Mr. Groves, you shouldn't have bothered coming outside to meet us. Stay away from the office a couple of days. That's what the doctor said when he taped up my ankle this morning. Now, the reason I sent for you, Valentine... It's a nice place you have out here, Mr. Groves. Just moved in, didn't you? What? I said the reason I sent for you... Yes, you did just move in. Why, some of the shutters are still up. Packing crates out there by the smokehouse, and so many weeds all over... Oh, but you started cleaning up the roses, haven't you? Young lady, I'll see that you get your Dick Tracy badge in the morning. Oh, how sweet of you. I guess we could do without the sarcasm, Mr. Groves. All right, if I've been rude, please forgive me. Please sit down. The important thing is, my wife's been missing from here since last night. You know, this is exactly the kind of case you could hand right over to missing persons. The police. What? Well, they do a much better job, you know. I won't have a lot of blue-coated, loudmouth stamping around. I... Well, it's not easy to talk about my personal life. Well, it isn't for anybody, Mr. Groves. I took this place alone, yes. About a week ago. My wife and I have seldom lived together. Divorced? No, no, no. There's been no reason for that. We both have money. My wife has never asked for it. And I'm certainly too busy to have ever had time for any outside interests. Like other women? Me? Really. When my company moved its offices here from New York, my wife had been in Europe. Well, I took this house because it's not far from a little cabin where we spent our honeymoon 17 years ago. You mean... You mean you still love your wife? It was an absurd bit of sentimentality, thinking we might get together again. She drove up a couple of nights ago in her latest Italian car and laughed at me. Oh. Anyway, last night there was a vulgar knockdown, drag-out fight and she left. Uh-huh. Only there's still an Italian car out in the driveway. It's broken down. I phoned the garage yesterday. No, she was so anxious to get me out of her hair, she just picked up her handbag and stormed out. Well, Mr. Groves, I don't understand why you want her back. I'm a rather important man, Mr. Valentine. My wife is the kind of person who might enjoy embarrassing me by disappearing. Uh, clear that one up, will you? Well, it's just that I've phoned and telephoned everywhere I could think of. Friends, airlines, her maid whom she might have contacted, but no one's heard of her. No one's been informed that she's dropping in on them or returning to Europe or anything like that. Just a second, Mr. Groves. I know I'm risking a remark about being a junior G-man. What's that? Well, it's another observation. Your house again. Your wife isn't here and apparently you haven't hired any servants yet and still this floor has been freshly scrubbed. She threw a drink at me last night when we were fighting. Yeah, liquor makes a nasty stain on hardwood, I guess. Mr. Valentine, that's why I didn't call the police. All they do is stare at such things. You mean wondering if it was liquor. I'm afraid the police know me, at least in another city. What? Yes, and of course that's why my wife could embarrass me so by disappearing. She knows the police would check up and find out I was once in jail. What? You, Mr. Groves? Well, not for long. It was hushed up. You see, more than a year ago we'd had a run-in at a party, my wife and I, in Cincinnati. She made some remarks and I made some and the next thing I remember I was being told by a policeman that they'd had to stop me from killing my wife. Now, Mr. Valentine, do you understand why I need someone to find her? Someone who won't waste time staring at stains on the floor? I've been up-vising that new Mr. Groves, eh? Yeah, maybe. Why? A friend of yours? Oh, no, not so you notice. You don't know I'm alive, I guess, except maybe some dogs have barked at him out burning his incinerator. Neighbor, next door neighbor, takes time to get acquainted. Oh. Jose Williams, my name. Pleased to meet you. Nice weather we're having. Yeah, sure. See you again sometime. Besides, he's not the type to be forward. Businessman, you know. Gets you the first real visitors out here. Well, wait a minute, George. What did you say? Well, casual visitors, that's what I mean. Outside, the real estate man rent him the place. That's Mr. Benson, drives 37ish. Good condition, though. Then, of course, the wife. You saw Mrs. Groves? Most painted up Italian car, ever laid eyes on. Stayed inside, I guess, short time she was here. You noticed a good deal, don't you, Mr. Williams? Mmm, student of human nature. What's wrong with that? Well, did you happen to notice Mrs. Groves leave? No. Well, then how did you know she was only here a short time? Ha ha ha. That's called conversational pitfall, you know that? That kind of question? Oh, but I overheard a bit of your talk up there on the porch just now. You did? Just snatches, mind you. Yes, I was shaving. Didn't want to cut myself. Oh, no. I suppose you heard that Mr. and Mrs. Groves didn't get along so well. Hmm, not like Mr. Groves and that other one. Oh, oh, naturally not. Oh, no, not like the other one. I know, I know. Come on, come on, let's have it. Well, I only saw her a couple of times. This whoever she is, pretty as a picture. Only a good deal more third dimension. That is if you know what I mean. Now, we'll struggle with it. Yeah. Once in the evening, Mr. Groves met her out there by the grababa. Secret-like. Yes, indeed, eh, just like a movie. Mushy, mushy. That's right, right. Just like a kid of sixteen. Never can tell about a businessman, you know. And one day saw them out on the highway together, away from the place. And last night, too, inside the house, that time before they remembered the blinds being open. Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, hold it. You saw some other woman inside his house last night? Man doesn't act like that with his wife. So I guess I ain't so dumb saying Mr. Groves couldn't have been around here a very long time. Oh. No, you're not so dumb, is there? What else did you see? What else did you hear? Snooping around the way you do. Hmm, a student of human nature, that's all. Nothing much. But he likes to garden, I guess. He likes to what? Yeah, you know, up at six this morning he was, hopping around, burning things in the incinerator out back. Leaves, I suppose, don't you? Oh, excuse me. Oh, no, I'm sorry. Didn't expect anybody to be coming out. Mr. Groves is taking a nap now. He's resting. You must be Mr. Valentine and Miss Brody. I'm Brooks. I'm Rena Hilliard's secretary. Well, how do you do? I'm just on my way back to the city. I've been getting a signature on some business papers and things. Of course, I did. Only I wanted to ask you, that note you tagged onto the letter to me. What? Oh, yes. Yeah, you sounded so worried about your boss. What did you think had happened? Please let me go. There's no way I can help you. You know, George, if Miss Hilliard took off her glasses, and she does have quite a third dementia. Sure, Rachel, she's not bad. Only right now I'm interested in another subject of gossip, the incinerator. Oh, shirt, hair and trousers. George, they're so badly burned. Look here, Angel, pair of canvas shoes. I know you can't tell much from ashes, but these might... Yeah, there was some kind of dark stain on them. Well, George, there's still a shovel standing there by the roses. Hurry up, George. Can't you hurry? Well, this is the only spot we've noticed that's been freshly dug, isn't it? Yes, of course it is, and he's no gardener. I know, I know. Mr. Valentine, what in the name of blue places do you think you're... Take it easy, take it easy, Mr. Groves. I'm doing you a favor, that's all. Digging up the roses I spaded last night? Oh, cut the comedy buster. I'm not the police. I work for you, remember? Yes, yes, so you do. But it's the stain on the living room floor all over again, isn't it? It is, unless you do some very fast explaining, Mr. Groves. I would rather I did some more fast digging. You may dig if you like. Okay, buster, there's not much more looser to go. Yes, you may dig if you like. You may be suspicious. You may listen to that old gossip Williams if you like. You may think whatever you wish, and I won't interfere, Mr. Valentine. Yes, you may dig. You may dig all you like, all you... Well, go on. What's the matter with you? Dig, Mr. Valentine, go on. Okay. Okay, you win, buster. No more loose dirt. Only goes a foot down. Yes. The proper depth for cultivating roses. Now get out of here, Mr. Valentine. Get out of here and never come back again. You're fired, do you hear me? Fire! All right, I was going to quit anyway, Mr. Groves. You don't want a guy working for you who believes that you murdered your wife? We'll return to tonight's adventure of George Valentine in just a moment. If you're planning a trip up into the mountain country, you're no doubt going to make sure your clothes are right for the climate. But did you know that Chevron Supreme gasoline is also climate tailored? That's right. This premium quality gasoline is specially blended for each different altitude and temperature zone in the west, and it's further tailored according to the season. Try a tank full of Chevron Supreme tomorrow. Right away, you'll notice how much better your car responds. Faster starts, faster pickup and traffic, ping-free power on hills. Wherever you drive in the west, count on top performance in that area when you've got Chevron Supreme in the tank. In fact, you can't buy a better gasoline for today's high compression engines. Ask for it at standard stations and at independent Chevron gas stations where they say and mean we take better care of your car. And now back to tonight's adventure of George Valentine. You're hired by a man who never got along well with his wife, but who wants you to find her. She could have left his house afoot or by bus or by train, but she didn't. You try looking for Mrs. Groves in the place you finally decide she most probably is, the Rose Garden. Only you're wrong. Well, if you're anything like George Valentine, it doesn't bother you to be wrong, except when you've called in Lieutenant Riley and he keeps harping on it. The trouble with you, Valentine, is you always jump for conclusions. All right, Riley, all right. Well, what would you have done, Lieutenant? What would you have thought? That's not the point. The point is- Never mind, will you never mind. What's missing persons say about her? They can't find her. Of course they can't find her. Groves told us she might want to disappear to embarrass him. Yeah, and if she wanted to disappear, the police will have a tough time. Well, what about her car? That story told us about her car being broken down. It's true. The garage says- They couldn't turn up anybody else who might have seen her. I might have seen her leave. Ah, she didn't leave by bus or train. We checked that. Hot dogs stand at the crossroads. Local doctor- Wait a minute. What doctor? Local doctor. Groves said he called him to come out and tape up his ankle. No, George, that was after his wife had already gone this morning. Sure, Valentine, sure. You're all mixed up. We talked to that doctor and he said he'd never even met Groves, ever. Oh. So the ankle's bumped two ways, huh? A phony, maybe. That's what I mean. There's holes in Groves' stories. George, Mrs. Groves wasn't seen by anybody out there. Well, suppose she never even arrived at that house. That we have proved, Miss Brooks. She arrived at the house, all right, just the way he said she did a couple of nights ago. And hasn't been seen since. Well, sure, sheh, the other farm. Come on, Angel. Let's see what the nervous secretary has to say. Wait a minute. Hello, Riley speaking. What? Yeah, yeah. I might have thought so. Yeah, okay, sure. Oh, Valentine, why do you get in such cases? Look, who was it? Every time you do... You know, the trouble with you... Sure, sure, that's why we came in. Only when you... I said the trouble with you is you dig in the wrong place. Huh? What? There's a smokehouse on Groves' property. Yes, yes, next to the garage. Well, Sergeant Richie found a bloody handprint on the door of the smokehouse. Groves' handprint. What? Now, wait a minute, wait a minute. Inside the smokehouse, there's a dirt floor, and it's been freshly dug. Only I don't mean just one foot deep. Now you're coming there, Sergeant. Don't take long, sir. You know, Mr. Groves, we're running those blood samples down to the laboratory for tests. I know, Lieutenant. How about the tennis shoes and the clothes out of the incinerator? They're pretty badly burned. But we got some pressure blood off some of their loose dirt there. Well, Mr. Groves? I have nothing to say, Mr. Valentine. You seem to specialize in saying nothing, don't you? Lieutenant! Yes, Sergeant? You're pretty pale, Mr. Groves. Here we are, Valentine. This is it, all right, Lieutenant. It's a grave, all right. Take it easy now, man. Take it. Now, come on. Up with it. There we go. The body of a dog. Yes. Dog. A dog. Wait a minute. Now, wait a minute. That's all you'll find there, just the dog. What kind of a runaround do you think you're pulling here? Of course I haven't explained why should I incriminate myself. I killed the dog last night. He went for my leg, and I swung with a stick, and I hit him too hard. I started to bury him in the roses when it occurred to me that other dogs might... Well, anyway, I brought him in here. I even burned the clothing I'd been wearing. Dog's blood. Your own laboratory will tell you. Incriminate yourself. You said you didn't incriminate yourself. I've committed a crime, don't you understand? That dog belongs to my neighbor, Jose Williams. He has a pack of them. Now you've made me confess to something that lays me wide open to civil suit. I hope you're happy. The phony bad ankle. Come on, let's hit you. Well, I had to make up some excuse for not going to work, not facing everybody in town. Not explaining to everyone that my wife had left me. Oh, I see. Now, gentlemen, perhaps you'll look for a live wife in places where she might be found. I'm sure it won't be necessary for me to ask you to leave. George, Lieutenant, where on earth have you been? Mr. Williams called nearly half an hour ago. Oh. Jose Williams, the gossip. And he wants you to get right back out there. Oh, he does, does he? He wants us to stick out our long legs and... George, listen. Mr. Williams says she's back again. That other woman. He's positive it's the same one. Well, so what? There's no law against a businessman not sticking to businesses there. Who cares? Hold on, Riley. What else, Angel? Well, he said he saw them kissing and they were trying not to be seen. Okay, that's enough. I'm going. Oh, no, no, you're not. I said I'm going, Riley. Okay, I'll go too. Ah. Yes, yes, I'll go. And I might even make an arrest this time. I'll arrest that guy Williams for malicious gossip. That's what I'll do. Mmm, a student of human nature, that's all. I can't help what I see and what I hear. Now, you listen to me, you old-going... Now, wait a minute. You saw them out here, Mr. Williams. You saw them meet and saw them kiss, then slipped back into the house. Yeah. Same girl, all right. And you're sure the girl's still inside? She hasn't left. Don't you worry about that. All right, come on, Williams. Rooksy, wait for it, will you, Lieutenant? Hey, wait a minute. I don't need a warrant, you do. Besides, I want somebody to cover the exits, Riley. You just might be able to save a life. The cupboard is bare. They looked everywhere and the cupboard was bare. You've done it again, haven't you, Mr. Groves? Mr. Valentine, I swear I... Oh, we looked everywhere. And there's nobody here but our host. I suppose it will occur to you eventually that my gossipy neighbor here is as much of a liar as most gossips are, that he invents things for the supposed thrill there is in it. No, no, I didn't. I tell you... I said never mind. There's only one thing to do now. Hey, Riley. Yes, yes, here. I am. See anybody leave outside? Nope. Okay, I guess you can make your arrest. No, now wait a minute. See, here, I haven't done anything but tell you what I... Well, blabbermouth, it gives me the greatest pleasure to... No, no, no, no. Riley, I meant you can arrest Mr. Groves. What's that? Or murder. Valentine, are you completely out of your mind? There hasn't been anyone here this evening. I don't have any girlfriend. I don't even... Oh, excuse me. Oh, hello, Miss Hilly. I just drove up. Well, Miss Hilly. Hello, sir. I wanted to talk to Mr. Valentine. I'm afraid it's a little late, Miss Hilly. What? Oh, no. I was so upset before. I wanted to protect him. What's that? Yes, I know, Miss Hilly. You've been upset about your boss for some time, the way he's been acting. Well, the way you acted earlier today, I thought maybe you were his girlfriend. George, yes. Maybe I was. I'm sorry, Miss Hilly. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I thought maybe you were his girlfriend. George, yes. Me? Me, his girlfriend? That's a little funny, Mr. Valentine. I've been his secretary for 10 years now. He never even looked at me twice. Even if I wanted him to, I knew he and his wife didn't get along at all. How about it, Williams? Is this the girl you saw? No, no, not her. Not even without the glasses. But there is somebody, Mr. Valentine. He's been whispering to somebody on the telephone the past week. And the reason I was so upset out here earlier was I... I'd interrupted him. He was talking to the same girl again. He told her everything was perfect now. Right according to plan. They'd be happy together now. I don't care how much I like him. I can't let him get away with it. Going away with another girl when it's over his wife. Miss Hilly. Take it easy. Be quiet. There's no point upsetting yourself. Mr. Groves, I owe you a great big apology. Everybody does. Well, that's rather an understatement, isn't it? You don't have a girlfriend. Maybe you never have had one. Oh, but I just... Never mind, never mind. And when I was out here this morning, I said I thought you'd killed your wife. Well, I was wrong about that, too. You didn't kill her until maybe half an hour ago. George. Sure, Ranger. We couldn't help ourselves earlier. He gave us so many clues. We couldn't help thinking what you wanted us to think, Mr. Groves. Valentine, of course... Of course that's what you wanted, Groves. The stain on the floor, the leaves on your wife you knew wouldn't pan out, the burying of the dog. Then burning in your incinerator when you knew you'd be seen. Really? I don't understand. No matter how many times we asked him, Williams insisted he'd only seen Billing and Coeing over there. He never mentioned the terrible fights which you described, which people a mile away would have known about. Well, perhaps I exaggerated. I'll say you did, Buster. Everything you said about your wife was a lie. Because there wasn't any fighting with her, was there? There was only... Well, suppose you named it. Mushy, mushy. Yeah, that's right, Booksy. And that's how the girlfriend gossip started. It's your wife who's been here all the time. But no one would ever suspect that a married man, let alone you, would act that way with his own wife. See, you didn't care if she was seen once or twice. Only, what did you do with her today, Mr. Groves? To get her out of the way, I mean. Nothing. Nothing, really. You do everything in pairs, don't you, Groves? The big efficiency man, check and double check. Maybe you've been pretending to your wife it was a second honeymoon. Yes. Yes, of course, your first honeymoon cottage you mentioned. That's somewhere near here. That's where she's been, isn't it? Lieutenant Riley, can you... Why didn't you tell her to get her over there, Mr. Groves? You needed a day to shake off the office. Some business needed attending to while you threw out your red herring to us. Oh, but you phoned her, didn't you, to tell her everything was getting along fine. Nice guy. Lieutenant, I've warned you before. Get out of this house. Oh, but the lieutenant's got another job here. Digging. What? You do everything in pairs, don't you? You even tried to kill your wife once before, so you knew you'd have to be pretty fancy this time. Make us accuse you so we could find you innocent and leave you alone from then on. Where is your wife? Here, of course. But where? In the place you thought nobody in this wide world would ever look for your wife ever again. Oh, no, you don't. Take it easy, bud. Take it easy, Dad. This time you do the digging groves in the same grave where you buried the dog. George, I wonder why he did it, why he killed her. I mean, if he really didn't have a girlfriend, would... Oh, golly. If you ever hear such a heel, invites his wife to enjoy a second honey moon, pretends that what it is, and then he... But if there wasn't another girl, George... Oh, I don't know why, I mean, I guess some husbands have been known to just want their wives dead. Well, it isn't necessary to exaggerate. Well, sometimes it happens, at least. Both ways. Well, but with women it's different. They have reason to be... There's a few kinds of people I know who are immune from a little exasperation now and then. Maybe immune from happiness, too, but it... What do you mean, George? Bachelors. Come here, Angel. What's the best ball tonic for the car you love? Easy answer. It's RPM motor oil. For RPM is the oil that stops 80% of wear inside your car's engine. You know what causes that wear. Acid-laden moisture which forms on cylinder walls and other vital parts the moment you cut your car's ignition. The result is corrosion and rust. But RPM prevents this high-cost wear. It's specially compounded to keep a moisture-proof film on vital parts at all times. Even though your car stood still for days or weeks, rust and corrosion couldn't get started with RPM protecting it. No wonder RPM motor oil is first choice in the West. It's the oil that stops 80% of engine wear. Get it for the car you love tomorrow and get it at regular intervals. Ask for RPM at independent Chevron gas stations and at standard stations where they say and mean we take better care of your car. And now here is Robert Bailey. Who cares where Jackie's going? He may be going to court for breaking into the drug store or to a playground where he has a normal outlet for his energy. You care when you give to the community chest, for you're helping pay for wholesome youth activities that curb juvenile delinquency like scouting and the Y. So when you give, please give enough for all community chest agencies. Enough for a full year. We're counting on your help. Tonight's Transcribed Adventure of George Valentine has been brought to you by Standard of California on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and standard stations throughout the West. Robert Bailey is starred as George with Francis Robinson as Brooksy. Wally Mayer appears as Lieutenant Riley. Let George Do It is written by David Victor and Jackson Gillis and directed by Don Clark. Also heard in the cast were Ted DeCorsia as Groves, Gene Bates as Rena, Dick Ryan as Josea, Joe Forte as Benson. The music is composed and presented by Eddie Dunstetter. Your announcer, John Heaston. Coming to you live and again next week, same time, same station to Let George Do It. This is the mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System.
