Personal notice, danger is my stock and trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you've got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details. Standard Oil Company of California invites you to let George do it. In just a moment, we'll begin tonight's adventure of George Valentine. If you need new tires for your car, now's the time to buy and make your car safe for winter driving ahead. High quality, first line Atlas tires are backed by a written warranty that's honored by 38,000 Atlas dealers from coast to coast. And when you buy new Atlas tires, you can get budget terms and a liberal trade-in allowance too. All in all, you won't find a better quality tire anywhere than an Atlas tire. Stop in tomorrow at any independent Chevron gas station or standard station where they say, and mean, we take better care of your car. And now, tonight's story, the dead of night, a transcribed adventure of George Valentine. Oh, okay, okay, okay. Hello. Mr. Valentine? Oh, thank heaven, thank heaven I found you again. Well, at four o'clock in the morning, the chances are all with you. I must see you at your office in an hour. Please, please. Now, wait a minute, not so fast. Who are you anyway? Frank Summers. You don't know me, but I've heard about you and I must see you at your office. Tomorrow morning. Maybe too late for us. It's a matter of life or death. Us? Me and June. We're driving in from the beach and we just stopped by the phone. We're lucky we haven't met anybody. Police, I mean. Police? If you've ever helped anybody in your life, Mr. Valentine, you've got to help us. Are you going to give me some idea what this is all about or I'll just... I will. Later, I will. Well, you... Waking up someone in the dead of night. Police, a matter of life or death. The dead of night could be right. George Valentine, fire horse. Ring the alarm and off he goes. Hello? Where the thou goest, I goest. Huh? Oh, George, what? Just quoting an old friend. Meet me in the office in an hour, Bruxy. Oh, but George... Goodbye, old friend. It was horrible. That voice on the phone. It was horrible. Oh, please, June, this is no time to go to pieces. It certainly isn't. I, uh... Did I hear you say your name is Mrs. Milburn? Yes, that's right. And, uh, Mr. Summers here. A friend. A good friend in me. Oh, I see. How's the coffee coming, Bruxy? I think we can all use some. Here we are. Ah, good. Oh, huh. You start from the beginning, June. But it was about midnight. I'd just fallen asleep and the phone rang. It was a man. Someone I don't know. The voice. Do you remember anything about it? No. It was just, well, dead sounding. No emotions, no variations. Just droned on in the night. And guess what was it he said? Your husband is dead, Mrs. Milburn, and you're going to die for his murder. You have no way out. You can do nothing to stop it. Just that? Yes. And first, June thought it was some sort of weird joke. Yes, that's right. I'm separated from Mr. Milburn, but I know he has no enemies. Nobody would want to hurt him. I wonder if such a man exists anywhere. I sat there alone in the house with just the waves crashing outside and I got more and more frightened. So I telephoned Mr. Milburn's house. It's also a beach house, some ten miles down the coast, and there was no answer. He could have been out. Oh, Bert hardly ever stays out late during the week. He likes to get up early. I got more and more panicky, so I called Frank in town. I saw how upset June was, so I said I'd stop by Mr. Milburn's place and check. And did you? By the time I passed there, I saw a couple of police cars in front of the house and some men were taking pictures. I knew the voice on the phone meant what he said. So you went right past and up to Mrs. Milburn's? Yes. Have you, well, an alibi for this evening, Mrs. Milburn? Alibi? When the police determine the time of your husband's death, I'm afraid they'll want to know where you were then. Well, I was alone. It's the maid's vacation and it's a pretty deserted stretch of the beach this time of the year. Many of the houses are already boarded up. People don't usually have convenient alibis. That's true. Well, just what did you want me to do, Mr. Summers? Is there any chance of tracing that call, Mrs. Milburn? If we could only know who called, he himself is probably the murderer. Tracing a call like that would be impossible. During the evening, I called several people from my house. Would that help? Uh-uh. The police would say you could have called from your husband's place. You mean after I killed him, I would... I didn't kill him. I didn't. Mr. Valentine, find out from the police what really happened and find the man who called. We have no place else to go for help. Well, now if I get into this, Mrs. Milburn, I'll have to pass on to the police whatever I find. No matter whom, it hurts. Of course. Until I get a chance to talk to Lieutenant Johnson, that's about all we can do. This interest in Milburn's murder, Valentine, are you sure it's what you called it? Academic? By Johnson, the tone of your voice cuts me to the quick. You'll hear... I saw the story in the morning paper and it sounded real fascinating. Which part of it? Well, the setting. You know, deserted stretch of beach, fog rolling in from the ocean, violent stalking, to coin the phrase, in the dead of night. A man's as dead at noon as he is at midnight. Oh, is that when the coroner set the time of death? No, no, ten o'clock. Somebody shot Milburn four times. Two bullets went into him, one lodged in the wall and the fourth smished at death's clock. Stopped at one minute at ten. The doc says that's about right. The murder weapon found yet? No, under the ocean's so handy it may never be found. You'll find Mrs. Milburn, though, won't you? How'd you know that she wasn't? Oh, yeah. Yeah, the papers. Hey, look, any special reason for such hot interest in Mrs. Milburn's whereabouts? The paper... I know, the paper didn't say. Now, Johnson, if I knew a little more, I might help a little more. And if we needed your help, we'd ask for it. Oh, Lieutenant. I... Heck, I guess there's no reason you shouldn't know. Why, thanks. Mrs. Milburn left her house in a hurry for a darn good reason. The D.A. had a letter in the mail this morning. It was from the late Mr. Milburn. What? If anything ever happened to him, it said he wanted his wife picked up. Cute. So, if that's all you want to know, Valentine, if there's nothing else you want to confide in me. Oh, no. No, thanks. You've been a pal, Johnson. Yes, Mrs. Milburn, I know I'm late, but I had some dodging and weaving to do. What's that? What are you talking about, George? Well, Lieutenant Johnson is developing a very suspicious streak, Brooksie. He had a man following me. I had a real job losing him. Do the police suspect you of helping me, Mr. Valentine? I wouldn't be surprised. Mrs. Milburn, why should your husband have written to the district attorney accusing you if anything happened to him? Well, Bert wouldn't do that. There was no reason for it. But that's what he did do. What? George, your Lieutenant Johnson thinks that you're trying to- So you'd better think and think fast, Mrs. Milburn. Anything you can think about for an alibi. Well, I have none. I told you I called a few people, but I- Frank Summers, just what does he mean to you? Well, he was Bert's secretary and I- Is he the reason why you and Mr. Milburn separated? Just one of the reasons. Bert was mean and jealous. We'd been drifting apart for a long time. Whoever killed Mr. Milburn must have been very sure you wouldn't have an alibi. Did Frank Summers know you'd be home alone last night? I guess so, but you don't think so. Well, I'm just thinking out loud. Did Frank call you last night? Early. About eight o'clock. Oh, wait. What? Mrs. Raleigh, the judge's wife. Yeah, Judge Paul Raleigh, yes. Oh, we're on the same committee on the charity meeting. She telephoned me at ten o'clock last night. Are you sure? Yes. Yes, she said she'd check with me about a meeting. She was going to the theater. Said she would call me during the intermission. That could do it. Huh. Well, a call coming to my number can be checked, can't it? I can sure enough find out. Take it easy, Mr. Valentine. It'll take a few minutes more before I can give you the answer to your question. Sorry, Mr. Vani. We're pretty efficient here at the telephone company, but within limits. Oh, within limits, yes. Frankly, when you first mentioned Mrs. Milburn's name, I thought, my goodness, not another change. I beg your pardon. I'm afraid Mrs. Milburn is a lady, let's say a little difficult to please. Oh, in what way? Her phone is a two-party line. We have a few out there in the beach area. As a matter of fact, some of our older instruments are out there. Obviously, we replace them as quickly as we can, but the congested city areas get first preference. Then we got... About Mrs. Milburn. Oh, yes. Well, she's had her party changed several times. In one case, she said she was sure the other party was listening in on the conversations. In another, the party was using the telephone too often and she had no chance to use it. Well, that's understandable. Then she also had us change the phone from her bedroom to the living room and from the living room to the hall. To send a maintenance truck all the way out to the beach each time she was there. Yeah, I see your point. The lady's been, to put it bluntly, an expensive pest. Of course, we're anxious to give whatever service we can to our subscribers. Oh, there we are. Excuse me. Yes? Oh, yes, I see. Total call Beach View 4586. Ten-oh-five. And one at three minutes after midnight. Yes, indeed, thank you. And thank you. Thanks a lot. Yes. Uh-huh. Well, it was very kind of you to phone me back, Mrs. Rowley. No, no thanks. That's all I wanted. You did call Mrs. Milburn last night from the theater at ten. Oh, you've been a great help. More than you know. So your interest was academic, eh, Valentine? We went through that, Johnson. I couldn't betray the confidence of my client. Ah. Please try to understand, Lieutenant. He does. He's just saving up ammunition for next time. Miss Brooks, what would I do without you? And why don't you give me a chance to find out? All the huffing and puffing is, well, academic at this point anyway, isn't it, Johnson? Well, a telephone call does give Mrs. Milburn a pretty good alibi. A telephone call from the wife of the judge gives her a darn good alibi. I just think it was just a piece of good luck that this happened. There's one more thing that helps prove you and the clear, Mrs. Milburn. Yes? A letter from your husband. What about it? It's a forgery. Oh, what? A forgery. Our handwriting expert compared the handwriting with that of Mr. Milburn. Nothing like it. Besides, the letter was mailed from a post office station not far from Mr. Milburn's house some time after Mr. Milburn was murdered. The man? The man who phoned. He sent the letter, too. No, no, Mrs. Milburn. Oh, I'm afraid, Mr. Valentine. You have no way out, he said. You're going to die for it. Let's go, Johnson. We have work to do. If you'll stop sputtering, Mr. Doremus, I'll explain to you why Sergeant Collins detained you here. I'm an attorney, Lieutenant, and I assure you I know my rights. I left orders that anyone who showed up here at Milburn's place be held for me to see. And so, here we are. I was Mr. Milburn's attorney. Attorney and friend, I might add. So obviously, I came out to see if I could be of any help in finding his murderer. Well, then that's just fine. You can tell me what you know. Well, that... You have suddenly become a bit close-mouthed, Mr. Doremus. Because I find it unpleasant to implicate anyone, even anyone I haven't particularly liked for a long, long time. It better be more specific. I mean Mrs. Milburn. What is your particular reason for pointing a dainty finger in her direction? Well, she stood to benefit greatly by Mr. Milburn's death at this particular time. Meaning? Mr. Milburn was about to change his will and leave his wife completely out of it. However, there is one thing that puzzles me, to be completely honest. To be completely honest is very desirable. Milburn told me I'd be the only one to know of his plans. He would tell nobody else, especially Mrs. Milburn. You're sure? I'd swear to it. Milburn spoke to me on the telephone only, and I told nobody. So, Mr. Doremus, there's really no reason for you to think that Mrs. Milburn's an ambitious driving woman. She made Mr. Milburn's life miserable. She had an eye on young Frank Summers. It became so obvious that Mr. Milburn and Summers had a big fight. Go on. That's very interesting. Yeah, I might be prejudiced. But in this case, I'd nominate Mrs. Milburn first, Frank Summers second. And yourself third, Mr. Doremus? Why? How dare you? There are only three people involved in this big industry. For the time being, we can't leave any of the three out of our thinking. How can we? We'll return to tonight's adventure of George Valentine in just a moment. For a minute, think back to the last time you bought a quart of motor oil for your car. Can you remember what prompted you to buy that particular brand? Was it because that just happened to be the only brand sold, or was it because you really thought it was the best brand of oil for your car? Motor oil is mighty important to you. It can save you money, or it can cost you money. That's why I'm sure you'll be interested in these performance reports on heavy duty RPM motor oil. A fleet of taxicabs was able to reduce engine wear 71 percent and greatly increase the time between overhauls. In another performance report, a fleet of cabs using another oil had to be overhauled every 35,000 miles. Now, using heavy duty RPM motor oil, these same cabs average 100,000 miles between overhauls. And heavy duty RPM gives extra protection against gum, acid, and corrosion. If you want top protection and top performance in your car, if you want to increase time between overhauls and reduce repair bills, if buying the best brand of motor oil is important to you, then switch over now to heavy duty RPM motor oil at any independent Chevron gas station or standard station where they say and mean, we take better care of your car. A brutal murder in the dead of night, a lonely beach house in which violence flares up for a brief moment and then like a stone thrown in the nearby ocean leaves whitening circles of suspicion. The leading actors, the widow who has an unbreakable alibi but still has a very good motive. An earnest young man who has come between her and the husband. And the dead man's attorney who seems to be an enigma. In one breath he admits he hates the widow. In the second he defends her by saying she couldn't have known about the all important change in the will. Yes, even if your name is George Valentine, you find the case a real challenge. Well, I told you Frank wouldn't be home, Johnson. And not too luxurious a home. A bed, chair, a chest of drawers. Me never so humble. You can have it. Well, as I get it, Frank's only been out of college a couple of years. Syracuse. The army had it for three years. Suits are still in the closet. The releases. He isn't running, Johnson. Why should he be? Lieutenant, lieutenant. Yeah, what is it, Finley? A call came for you on the car radio. Yeah? They want you to go over to 863 Marsden. Huh? A place rented to our Mr. Doremus. Doremus? Yes, sir. They said it was a case for homicide. No fingerprints on the other glass, huh? No, sir. White, clean. Doremus was having a drink with somebody. Then they had a quarrel. A big fight. Yeah, chairs turned over, lamp broken. Is the doc on his way? Yes, sir. I'll check again. Yeah, let's see what we can find. Uh-huh. Nothing much in the pockets. Keys, some money. Package of? Wallet? Let me see. Sure. Nothing much in his jacket. Beachview 4586, Beachview 3959. What? Mrs. Milburn's telephone number and the number of the telephone in Mr. Milburn's house. So what? He was their lawyer. So he had their numbers. I know. That's funny. They're written on a page torn out of a calendar. A page dated today. That's nice, but... Huh? What did you find? Doremus' hand. Put right in his hand. What is it? 580 Cappachee, Syracuse. Come on. Now we're gonna look for Frank Summers for real. Thanks for visiting the jail, Mr. Valentine, but it's no good. Nobody believes me. Why should you? I'm stubborn. I didn't kill Doremus. I wasn't even there. But you can't prove where you were. I was walking all by myself, trying to waste some time before I went to pick up June and take her to dinner. That's where you and Lieutenant Johnson found me. In June's, I wasn't running away. And you have no way of explaining the 580 Cappachee in Doremus' hand. Johnson insists Doremus tore it away from you in the struggle. I don't know where the key came from. I never missed it. I thought I had it. Are you playing this hand face up with me, Bustin? Yes, yes. Okay. Do you have any idea who might have phoned Mrs. Milburn that day? When that night after the murder? No. Lieutenant Johnson is sure it was me, because I was the only one who knew June would be alone that night. He said I disguised my voice. Frank, man to man, what kind of fellow was Burt Oben? Huh? Well, was he mean and nasty? Did he have many enemies? No. Makes me feel like a heel, but he wasn't. I couldn't help falling in love with June. She had me spinning on my head. I fell in love with her. Now. Okay kid, keep your chin up. George, let's get out of here. We can't just sit here in the office all evening. I gotta think, Brooksie. There's something about this case that sounds as phony as a lead quarter. The case is closed. Why, Johnson has enough evidence on Frank Summers to lock the cell and throw the key in. Sure, sure. I know. Oh, I feel sorry for Mrs. Milburn. Her first husband and then Frank. She just sat there in Johnson's office stunned. Yeah. He's not even listening to me, George. So, I guess we'll try out this new typewriter ribbon. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. Party? What? That's it. Oh Brooksie, you're wonderful. You're the smartest, the most talented. Don't argue. Just hang on. I know it's a lot of nerve dragging you down to your office at this hour of the night, Mr. Varney, but believe me, it's important. All right, young man. All right. Now just let me look through these cards. I won't ask you again what this is all about, so help me hand her. How about it, Mr. Varney? Yes, yes, here it is. Beach View 3959. It is a party line. Good, good. And who's the other party on that line? Beach View 4586. Mrs. Melbourne! Very, very unusual. A most unusual coincidence. Give and swallow, Mr. Varney. Good night. Yes, Lieutenant Johnson, we just finished the report on the Doremus case. Was it show, Doc? Cause of death, poisoning by phenylacide. Phenylacide? Something new? No, not particularly. Well, can one just, well, get it? No, I'm afraid not, young lady, but people have been known to forge prescription blanks. Oh. You know, it'll take some doing to trace down the drugstore where it might have been bought. Just a hunch, Dr. Barton. Yes? But exactly how does this poison work? What do you mean? Well, it doesn't work slowly the way some poisons do, huh? It works instantly, doesn't it? Well, yes. As a matter of fact, it does. It had to be something like that. Listen to this, Johnson. Just how quickly does it work? Every muscle in the body becomes rigid all at once. George, what are you driving at? You get it, don't you, Lieutenant? If Doremus's fist was clenched like that at the moment the poison took effect, how did that college key get into his hand? It was forced into it, and certainly Frank didn't do it. Come on, let's go to the jail and talk to him once more. I can't understand any of it, Mr. Valentine. I know I didn't put the five-bedded capakini into Mr. Doremus's hand. I told you before he was innocent. What else can either of us do? We could throw away all the fancy fodder. I'll begin telling the truth, all of us. What do you mean, George? Okay, Valentine, what's on your mind? Spill it and fast. All right, all right. I suppose we start at the very beginning with a little matter of party form. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. What's that, New York? I wish I knew. Isn't it more than unusual that Mr. and Mrs. Milburn were the two parties on the party line, Johnson? Yeah, a coincidence. Yeah, but was it? There are comparatively few party lines in the beach area. Couldn't the thing have been arranged? Arranged? By someone who made sure she'd be considered by the telephone company as merely a pest, who didn't like this party on her line, or that party, who didn't stop until the two phones she was interested in were on the same line. Are you talking about me, Mr. Valentine? I wouldn't be surprised. Valentine! Mrs. Milburn, you expected a call from Mrs. Raleigh. You made sure she'd call you at a very specific time. And she did. Oh, yes, yes. The equipment on those phones is still the old-fashioned kind. Now that's important. How, for Pete's sake! Mrs. Milburn, you had your hand on the telephone box in your husband's house, and you heard the slight vibration. The phone was ringing in your house miles up the beach, and it was ringing on time. So you picked up the phone and spoke to Mrs. Raleigh, and the judge's wife provided you with a perfect alibi. You're lying. No, no. Keep talking, Valentine. What about the phone call from this mysterious stranger? She phoned her own house from her husband's place. The letter, the forged letter. You wrote it, Mrs. Milburn, and mailed it hours after you killed your husband. Oh, why would I do that? I'm not crazy. It doesn't make sense. Doesn't it? You knew you'd be the prime suspect, Mrs. Milburn. So why not make it look as though someone were trying to implicate you? Get yourself accused and get it over with early in the game. Mrs. Milburn, what about the lawyer? I'll answer that, Johnson. Doremus got wise a little quicker than I did. He knew she must have overheard his and Milburn's conversation about the will. Somehow, accidentally, perhaps. So he checked and found out about the two-party gimmick. That's why he put the two numbers down on that piece of paper. I didn't kill him. Frank did. You know that, Lieutenant. Let Mr. Valentine go on, June. You'd better all stay over there, young fellow. Was I trying to blackmail Mrs. Milburn, George? He was, wasn't he, Mrs. Milburn? It had to be you who killed him. The poison killed Doremus instantly. The college key was forced into his hand. And you were the only one who could have easily gotten that key. I... I had to kill him. After everything I did, he was going to take it all away from me. You were willing for me to be held for his murder. I killed Bert so you and I would be happy, Frank. Believe me. No. Stay away from him. But I couldn't think of anything but saving myself when I killed Doremus. I couldn't. I couldn't. Take over from here, will you, Johnson? Yeah. A breath of good, fresh air is something I really need right now. If it's peak performance you want from your engine, then it's Chevron Supreme gasoline you want in your tank. With Chevron Supreme, you get not one, not two, but all eight high performance qualities. Quick starting, fast warm-up, smooth acceleration, area blending, anti-knock, vapor lock prevention, economy mileage, and full power. Your engine needs all eight to do its best. So if driving's a chore, get the gas that gives you more. Fill up with Chevron Supreme gasoline at any standard station or independent Chevron gas station where they say, and mean, we take better care of your car. The dead of night. Oh, George, it's over. Stop thinking about it. Yeah, but this thing really hit me for once, Angel. The night can be beautiful, too. Look at the moon over the ocean. The long-range plan she made about a man she once loved and then carefully carried them out with him lying there dead. Yes, I know. And shooting at that clock to fix the time so that the telephone gag would work, making all those preparations with a phone. Go over and stop the car, George. Now, don't argue. You're tired and cynical and discouraged. You don't believe in womanhood at all, do you? You need consolation and proof that you're wrong. Well, thanks. Think nothing of it, darling. Now is the time for all good women to come to the aid of their party. Tonight's Transcribed Adventure of George Valentine has been brought to you by the University of California, Dr. Robert Daly, and is brought to you by Standard Oil Company of California on behalf of independent Chevron Gas Stations and Standard Stations throughout the West. Robert Daly is starred as George, with Virginia Gregg as Brooksie. Let George Do It was written by David Victor and directed by Kenneth Webb. Ken Christie was heard as Lieutenant Johnson. Luis Arthur as June. Roland Morris as Frank. Morris Lewis as Doremus and Stan Farrar as Varney. The Music by Gaylord Carter. Your Listen again next week, same time, same station, to Let George Do It. Let George Do It is heard overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This is the Mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System.
