Mr. and Mrs. North, starring Alice Bost and Joseph Curtin. Like most people who've spent the summer losing golf balls, finding a sun tan, and getting over poison ivy, Ham and Joey North are happy to vacate their vacations and return home at last. And on the September day, as they tread their way through New York City traffic after a long drive from the country, Pamela looks forward to the humble joys of home. Oh, it's going to be so good to get back to my own little bed again. And a mattress that doesn't go uphill in the middle. Didn't you like the one at the hotel there? Oh, it was all right, Jerry, but I like a mattress that just lies there and gives in instead of fighting your back in the wrong place. Well, if I'd known that, I'd have given you mine. I had a mattress that was so limp it sagged from the weight of the pillow. Well, it doesn't really matter now. Now that we're practically home. Oh, which reminds me. Of what? As soon as we get to the apartment, we've got to call them. Who? The Ferguson's. Who are they? Don't you remember, darling? That wonderful couple with the ptomaine poisoning? They spent two whole weeks at the hotel getting it out of their system. Well, I must have gotten them out of mine because I don't remember anybody by the name of Ferguson. Well, you must, Jerry. He's a tall, good-looking man who dances so well. I never had the pleasure of dancing with a deer. Well, you must have danced with her. Don't you remember the fuss you made over that low-cut evening dress of hers? Never seen anybody stare so. Oh, Ferguson, why, has caught. Nice fellow. Yes, wasn't she? Oh, Jerry, look after that woman. What woman? In the red dress. Oh, my glory, you've hit her. Let me go, Pam. I've got to see if she's hurt. She must be, Jerry. Goodbye, miss. She's still. Oh, well. Quick, we've got to get up to a doctor. No, no, I don't need a doctor. The car didn't hit me. I just fell. I'm terribly sorry, miss. Let me help you up. No, no, I don't have to be helped. I'm perfectly all right. Well, just to be on the safe side, we'll take you home. Yes, get in the car, and we'll drive you right over. Where do you live? Where I live? That's funny. I can't remember. Well, don't worry about it. Well, if you eat, you just give us your name. We'll find out for you later. But I can't remember my name either. You don't remember anything? Well, just that I put on this red dress, and wait a minute. Somebody was chasing me. Somebody with a gun. Who? It's Jesse. I can't remember. Just so fast, Redman. You seem to forget that I'm a man of considerable weight. Well, the Texas side doesn't agree with me. Well, it's not going to agree with me neither, boys. But if you want to keep track of that thing in the red dress, we'd better get a move on. I'm moving. Yeah, but you lost me up with that slow walk of yours. Now I lost the day. Well, find it again. Be quick about it. Yeah, that's funny. I could have sworn to come around this corner. And wait a minute, get back. You see her? Yeah, yeah. Over there in front of that car, talking to that blonde damon guy. Are you sure that's the girl? Well, that's the one we've been following from the hotel. Then keep your eye on her. She's getting into their car. That young lady's worth a million dollars to me. Literally a million dollars. She went to bed over life. That all depends on what she does. Now, quick, get her car. The car she's in is starting up. Yeah, don't worry. Don't tell me not to worry. Follow that car and make sure that girl doesn't get to the bottom of his office. You just leave it to me, boys. That girl won't get nowhere. You still can't remember what your name is or where you live? Nothing, Mrs. Norris. My mind is just a blank. I can't remember anything before the accident. What did you find in her bag, then? Nothing yet, sir. Nothing. There must be something in there that will tell us who she is. If somebody with a gun is after her, we'd better find out in a hurry. Nothing in here, but odd man. Lips dead, sweat. Wait a minute. Here's something. What is it? A hotel key. Room 203, Jason Park Hotel. Does it mean anything to you? No. No, I don't think so. Well, we're not going to take any more chances in your life, young lady. As soon as this life changes, we're taking you straight to police headquarters for your own protection. I think we'd better, Jerry. I've got a feeling. Golly, where did those shots come from? I don't know, but I'm getting out of here fast. Jerry. What's the matter? Those shots. They came through the window of the car. And they hit her. What? She's dead, Jerry. She's dead. The shots we heard are the ones that killed her. All right, Jerry. Now the body's been taken away. You can show me exactly where she was sitting. Well, we told you, Bill. We were right here in the car waiting for the red light today. And the woman was nearest to this window. Then we heard the shots. And if Pam hadn't told me she'd been hit, I wouldn't have known anything had happened. Didn't see who fired the shots, of course. No. And you don't know the woman's name or who it was after. No. The only clue we've got is this hotel key. Uh-huh. Well, hang on to it for a minute until I figure something out. No, let's get over to the Jason Park Hotel and find out what this key means. Pam, will you let me play detective for a minute? The key won't run away. But the man who committed the murder will. Why do we have to stay here? Well, I've got some witnesses to question. Now, there are six people over there who were on the sidewalk when the shots were fired. And I've got to talk to every one of them. Well, you talk to the witnesses and we'll go to the Jason Park Hotel. That's right. No, no, no, wait a minute. I can't have you running off and getting into trouble. What's the matter, Bill? Are you afraid we'll find the murderer? No, no. I'm afraid he'll find you. Well, if he does, we'll call the police. No, no. Pam, come back here. See you at the hotel, Bill. Room 203. Oh, all right, all right. Go ahead and get a kill. See if I care. But for Pete's sake, be careful. Here it is, ma'am. Room 203. Well, what shall we do? Knock or just use the keys? Well, I'd say knock, but from that look in your eyes, I can tell we're going to use the keys. Not so loud, Jerry. He's going to sneak in. He's going to keep it a secret. Well, that's not much of a secret, Jerry. Darling, I'm not a second story man. And the door is no help either. Is everybody in there? Not as far as I can see. Room's in perfect order. Well, let's go in and disorder it. See anything? A bed and a dresser and a phone tape. My goodness, I just remembered. I was supposed to call the Ferguson's as soon as we got to New York. The who? The Ferguson's, Jerry. Don't you remember? Those people with the low-cut evening dress. Pam, will you stop thinking about evening dresses at a time like this? I promised we'd call them the naked day. Well, you can do that later. Now see if you can find anything that... Uh-oh. Here's something on the dresser. What? A picture. Jerry. It's a picture of the woman who was murdered. Oh, it is. Look at the dress in the drawer. A package of letters. And a photostatic copy of it, too. What's the name on it? Um, Olivia Ward. The letters are addressed ahead, too. Then that's who the dead woman is, Olivia Ward. We'd better get hold of Wagon and tell him her name. Before we open these letters? Now, Pam, you leave those letters alone. Yes, I think you're better. Huh? Get your hands up, both of you. I want those letters. And I want that birth certificate, too. But you can't have it. Can I? You don't seem to realize that I have a loaded gun in my hand. And I'm not afraid to use it. To get hold of these letters? Are they that important to you? That's my business. And I don't like people interfering in it. Now give me those letters and be quick about it. Oh, no, we're turning these over to the police. They'll be here any minute. Who are you kidding? What do the police know about this? More than you think, young lady. And if you don't believe me, just have a look out this window. What for? For this. Let go of me. Good, Pam, grab a gun. All right, Kelly, I got it. What kind of media? Let go of me, you crazy fool. What do you think you're trying to do? I'm trying to find a murderer. And the way it stands right now, you're a very likely suspect. Are you out of your mind? I don't even know who's been killed. Why do you want these letters? What do you know about Olivia Ward? Olivia Ward? Yes, she was murdered about an hour ago. And you killed her, didn't you? Don't be insane. How could I have killed her? I'm Olivia Ward. Hello, boss. Goodman, why in the world did you come to my apartment? Didn't I tell you not to let that girl out of your sight? All right, stop blowing your top, boss. There's no harm done. No harm done? Suppose that girl goes to Bartholomew's office. Suppose she shows him her birth certificate and those letters from her aunt. Well, if she does have been a trick of the century, boy, she's dead. Deceased? Deceased, dead, and laying in the morgue. Then the police are out looking for the murderer. Then you killed her. Why, why, yes, but it's no question, Mr. Skinner. I was hired to keep that girl away from Bottomley's office, and now that she ain't ever going to get there, my job is done. OK, murder, cold-blooded murder. What difference does it make what the temperature is? I want my dope, boss. I want it right now. Oh, well, before I pay up, I want to make sure you're telling me the truth. What's the matter? Don't you believe me? My dear boy, in matters of money, I make it a habit not to believe anybody. Well, what are you going to do? Well, I'll put her on the course and take on your story. news is today special, missing your true identity. No impure… Oh, no. Find her. Yes, itís the 16 we want. How would you know this isnít her? Whom are you talking about? Bresíchabn. Fine. Why do you need her? I'm no woman. With a man, a girl, Hello? Uh, I wish to speak to Miss Ward, please. Where is Miss Ward? What? Is Mr. Bottomley? Uh, yes, but excuse me, I can't talk. Just now I'll call you back. Confounded Redmond, you did lie to me. Oh, don't be crazy. She's dead until I saw her. You didn't see Olivia Ward dead. He was just on the phone. You killed the wrong girl. What? Come with me. I hate to trust you with a plan that requires intelligence, but I haven't any choice. You know, what's the plan? You're going up to Miss Ward's hotel room and tell her you're Mr. Bottomley's chauffeur. Why? I'll be waiting downstairs in the car, and if you can get her to come down there, the rest will be easy. Once I get my hands on Olivia Ward, I'll never let go. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] I can understand that, Mr. Norris. But that was Mr. Bottomley on the phone. Why did he act so strange? Maybe he's a strange man. Well, I've never met him, but he's a well-known lawyer. And if there's something wrong, I want to know what it is. Easy now, Miss Ward. As soon as Lieutenant Wiley can arrive, we'll get to the bottom of this whole thing. But you don't understand. My life has been threatened. That's why I came in here with a gun. I was afraid I might be killed. Really? Why? Because I'll have a chance of inheriting an enormous fortune. Unless I'm killed before I can prove my identity. What do you mean? Well, my aunt was a very rich woman, Mr. North. Her name was Agatha Pierce, and when she died, she didn't leave a will. So her entire estate goes to her nearest of kin. And that's you? Well, that's what Mr. Bottomley thinks. That's why he wrote to me out in Seattle and sent me the money to come east. But even out there, I... I received threatening phone calls. From whom? I don't know. But I was afraid to make that long trip alone, so I brought a friend along. The woman whose picture you have on your dresser? Yes. Miss Ward, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. Your friend is dead. Dead? Yes. She was murdered in our car this afternoon. Oh, no. I just left her here. About an hour ago. Well, she must have gone out after you left. We saw her in the street. Yes? Is that your bill? That's not, sir. This is Mr. Bottomley's joke. Who? Mr. Bottomley's joke. Is Miss Ward in there? Well... Open the door, Jack. All right, all right. It's Miss Ward and Mr. Bottomley. Want to see her right away. About what? Well, well, he says it's dangerous for her to stay here any longer. She might be killed. By whom? By the man who tried to kill him. That's why he had to ring off on the phone to save his own life. Well, where'd he go now? He's out there in his car, in his wait, you see. And he wants Miss Ward to come down right away and bring all her identification papers. All right, all right. I'll go. Now, wait a minute. If there ain't time, sir, the killer might be on his way up here right now. He's right, Mr. North. I can't afford to stay here any longer. Okay, we'll take you down to the car. Mr. Jerry. Come on, Pam. We've got to hurry. Have you got your papers and all? Yes, I got them. Then let's go. Soon we'll get out of here. Wait a second. What's the matter? Somebody's coming down the hall. Quick, open the door and get back in the room. What for? That guy in the hall. Quick, get back. Why, that's Bill Wagon. The man you're with is Charlie Redmond. Grab him, Jerry. He's an escaped con. Watch it, Bill. He's trying to get away. Oh, no. You don't... Oh. What the... I just thought... It is to keep you quiet for a while until I find out what you're up to. I'll tell you what he's up to, Bill. Kidnapping Miss Ward. He may believe that he was trying to help her. Jerry. What? Miss Ward, she's gone. Holy mackerel. We've got to find her, Bill, before she gets killed. Who? The woman who was just here. They tried to kill her this afternoon. Only they made a mistake and shot the wrong girl. She couldn't have disappeared, Pam. She must have taken the elevator at the end of the hall. No. The back stairs, Jerry. Over there. Open the door, quick. Oh. Ow. Oh. I beg your pardon. Who are you? Why, uh... I'm the manager of this hotel. I just came up the stairway to investigate the disturbance up here. Well, I'm Lieutenant Wagon Homicide. Anybody pass you on those stairs? Why, uh... Yes. Miss Olivia Ward. She was going down while I was coming up. Oh, for goodness' sake. Why didn't you stop her? Well, I tried to, madam, but... a great big fat man pushed me out of the way. A fat man? Come on, Bill. We've got to find him. Oh, it's no use, sir. They ran up through the lobby and drove off in his car. Where are you taking me? Why are you driving so fast? Uh, patience, my dear. We'll be there in a moment, now. My summer cabin is just off the main road here. And you see, it's back there, amongst the trees. Alton. But why are you taking me to your summer cabin? And why'd you rush me out of the hotel? Well, my dear child, I was protecting you from those ruffians in the hallway. A fight of harm's deal. What is it? Olivia, please, we're here now. And, uh, some of your questions are so fatiguing. I'll answer them when we get inside. This way, please. No, I'm not going in. You're not what? Come along, young lady. There's no time for femininity. I'm not going in, I tell you. No? I'll have to offer you a little inducement. Make this done. Put that down. I will, when you do precisely what I tell you to do. I'll come along, therefore. Be quick about it. Very well. You'll have a lot of explaining to do when we get back to New York, Mr. Bottomless. We're not getting back to New York, my dear. And I hate to disillusion you this great day, but I'm not Mr. Bottomless. I just told you that to keep it quiet and away. You didn't. I'm afraid I did, Miss Ward. You see, I'm rather an evil man. Oh, no. My name is Skinner. And your dear departed aunt Agatha Pierce is a third cousin of mine. But if not for you, I would be the uncontested next of kin. And the air, too, are considered a fortune. Oh, that's the way it stands. In a word, yes. Now, get inside. I have a great deal to talk to you about. Haven't you said enough? Not quite. I brought you here because deep down in the potty-podes of my heart, I have a spark of generosity. I'm willing to let you live. Live? On one condition. To furnish me with the proof of your identity, accept $20,000 in cash, and vanish from the face of this earth forever. And give up the million that belongs to me? Don't be greedy, Miss Ward. Look what greed has done to me. A very good creature like yourself would be unpalatable. I won't do it. You won't give up a million dollars for your own life? No. You wouldn't kill me anyway. Wouldn't I? One girl has died already for that million. Your death can be taken in stride. Let me go. What's your answer, Miss Ward? You do as I say, do you? No, I won't. Then you shall have to suffer the consequences. Let me go. Let me go. Why, you miserable little wretch. By instinct, I'm not a violent man. No. But through the years I've learned to overcome my gentle nature. No. No. No. Look. Step on it, Bill. If Skinner's got that girl up here in his cabin, he'll kill her for sure. I'm going as fast as I can, Jerry. Hey, hey, hey, take it easy. There's the turnoff right there. Oh, gosh. We made it out on two wheels. Well, two's better than none. Where's the cabin, Redmond? Yeah, right up ahead in the woods. You're not kidding us, are you? Because if you're leading us on a wild goose chase, you'll do 10 more years. Well, for what, for what? This is his cabin, I tell you. And there's his car. All right. And you stay with us. You don't try any tricks. We're all going in here together. Hurry, Bill. We'll be too late if you don't hurry. OK. Let's go. Remember what I told you, Redmond. If you try to get away, I'll nail you. All right, Jerry. Open the door. I'm going in first. All right. Who's there? Take your hands off that girl, Skinner, and get him up in the air. Oh, my throat. He tried to kill me. I'm glad we got here in time to prevent him. You, Redmond. You told them where to find me. Well, I couldn't help but tell them there was committed type of great. Well, I'll give you the force. Hey, hey, cut that out. Are you all right, Mrs. Ward? Yes, I think so. Well, I'm sorry you had to go through all this trouble, but you made it easy for us to find out who murdered your friend, Sally Fuller. Mrs. Skinner, you're under arrest. Oh, don't be upset. You haven't done a case against me. We'll see about that when we get to court. Just a minute. You can't railroad me into a crime I didn't commit. The man who killed Sally Fuller is standing right over there. Oh, may I? Yes, you, Redmond. You practically had murdered in my apartment this afternoon. Why, you're full of baloney. I didn't admit nothing. But you were at the scene of the crime when the murder was committed. Yeah, and who knows where you were when the murder was committed? Just a minute. Just a minute. I think we can settle this thing once and for all. How, then? Through the Ferguson's. Oh, not them again. Well, I just remembered, Jerry. The Ferguson's are related to Mrs. Ward's aunt. Herkut the Pills? Yes. And when Mrs. Ferguson was out in Seattle this summer, she paid a visit to... Oh, come to think of it, she paid a visit to you, Mrs. Ward. Me? Yes. I think she said you went to a concert together. You remember Mrs. Ferguson, don't you? Oh, yes, of course. We did go to a concert. Oh, for crying out loud, Pam, what in the world has this got to do with the murder of Sally Fuller? Everything, Bill. Everything. Because Sally Fuller wasn't murdered. This young lady is Sally Fuller, and the dead woman is Olivia Ward. What are you talking about? I'm talking about you, Miss Fuller. You were so anxious to prove your phony identity, you walked right into the trap I set for you. What trap? About Mrs. Ferguson. Mrs. Ferguson never went to Seattle, and she isn't related to Agatha Pierce. Oh, you dirty little skunk. I'm so sorry, Miss Fuller, but I had to find out what your game was. And now I know. You killed Olivia Ward, so you could take her identification papers and impersonators for a million dollar inheritance. What the lie? Is it? The real Olivia Ward would have known that Mrs. Ferguson never took her to a concert this summer, and the real Olivia Ward would have denied it. But you couldn't afford to, because you were afraid it might reveal you as a faker. Bill, grab on. Bill, please go. Please go. I'll let you go, all right. But where you're going, you'll never inherit a million dollars. Oh, home. Home at last. And a pretty grisly looking sight it is, too. Pamela, dear, did you forget to have the cleaning woman come here during our vacation? Yes. And did you forget to cut off the newspapers and the milk and the electricity? Yes. You forgot to defrost the refrigerator, too, dear. Looks like the Arctic Ocean in here. Oh, but it's home, Jerry. And now that we're here, I'm going to call up the Ferguson's. The Ferguson's? Well, I promised to call them as soon as we got in, Jerry. Okay, okay. Go ahead and call them. Hello? Hello, operator? Operator. Oh, for goodness' sake. What's the matter now? The phone, Jerry. The only thing I remembered, I had it disconnected when we went away. Next week, more adventure of Mr. and Mrs. North, starring Alice Frost and Joseph Kirsten. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service. Thank you.
