Beat it, you two. I don't talk to strangers. Well, we're not strangers, exactly. I'm Mrs. North. Beat it, I said. Well, you don't have to get tough about it. Go on, go on. Scram and don't come back. The only place I want to see you is in the morgue. Mr. and Mrs. North, starring Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost. Listen as Pam and Jerry solve the mystery, the Death Trap. A few miles uptown from where the Norths live, in the cellar of an old brownstone apartment house, a woman sits at a table playing solitaire. Her hair is blonde, platinum blonde, and her eyes are sultry. Behind her, an anxious young man is nervously pacing the floor. You're going to wear out those shoes, Benny. It won't be the first time. What the devil is keeping Nick? Give him a chance, will you? He's got to check the whole setup before we can lift a finger. What for? Don't he think I know how to case a job? Look, Benny, Nick don't trust anybody when it comes to a kidnapping job. It's the way he works. Careful. You like it, I suppose. I like staying out of jail. I like a meal ticket that's nice and steady, too. What's the matter with me? I'd be the best meal ticket in the world if you'd only let me. I'd give you anything you wanted, Flo, anything. Sure, for a while you would. For as long as you wanted me. Ah, stop it, kid. You're dreaming. What are you doing? Using my head. When you get to be my age, you don't run off with little boys that fall in love with you. You stick to somebody solid, somebody that's been around for a long time, like Nick. How long are we going to go on like this, making love behind his back, aching to be alone together and having him put his fat paws all over the... What? He's back. That you, Nick? Yeah, it's me. Well, how'd you make out? Set up okay? Looks pretty good. Looks like you had it figured right about the old man's money, too. What kept you? He was getting worried. About me or your share of the setup? Don't say that, sweetie. You know you're the only guy in the world for me. Sure, I know. Got a kiss for Papa? Well, let's not stand around smooching all night. Let's get the car and put this show on the road. Car's outside, Bini. We're rolling 20 minutes. What are you carrying? Automatics. One upstairs and one on the hip. Ditch him. Huh? Ditch him, I said, and take the silencer. I don't think we'll have any trouble with this old guy, but if we have to shoot him, we'd better shoot him quiet. Oh, I'm glad we decided to go to the early movie, Pam. I don't think I could have sat through the late one. Well, if I'd known you were so tired, dear, we wouldn't have gone to the movies at all. Have you got your keys? Mm-hmm. Mr. North? What's that? Oh, Mrs. Roland here across the hall. Mr. North, did you happen to see my husband when you came upstairs just now? Why, no, Mrs. Roland. Is he outside? Well, I don't know where he is, Mr. North. He said he was just going down to put the car in the garage, but he left here almost an hour ago. Well, maybe he stopped off someplace on the way back. No, I'm sure he wouldn't do that. You know, he hasn't been well lately, and with all the work we've been doing these past few weeks, selling things and making arrangements to live down in Florida, he's been getting to bed very early. Oh, I'm sure nothing's happened to him, Mrs. Roland. It's only a few blocks from the garage. There. I'll bet that's him calling now. I hope so. Will you wait? I'll see who it is. Yes, sure. Hello? Mrs. Roland? Yes? Are you alone? What? Yes? Who is this? Never mind. Just listen and don't do any more talking. It's about your husband, and it's important. What? Don't talk, I said. Your husband's with me. He's been kidnapped, and as soon as we can get together on the dough, we'll let him go. In the meantime, keep your mouth shut. But he's not moving. I told you to keep your mouth shut. Don't say a word about this to anybody, and if you call in the police, we'll kill him. No. Remember what I told you, Mrs. Roland. Now sit tight and wait for my call. I'll be in touch with you later. Hello? Hello? Mrs. Roland? What's wrong? My husband... my husband... he's been kidnapped. You shouldn't have done it, Mr. North. You shouldn't have asked Lieutenant Wigand to come here. They warned me not to call the police. Well, you didn't call them. Jerry did. If they find out, they'll kill George. No, no, don't you worry about that, Mrs. Roland. I was very careful about coming here, and I made sure that no one saw me. Well, what's the next move, Bill? Tracing that phone call? No, you can't trace a local call, Jerry. Not after it's completed. That's why I was so anxious to know when your husband left this apartment, Mrs. Roland. Well, I told you as near as I could remember, Lieutenant. He left about 9.30. And the kidnappers didn't call till about 10.30. Which means that it took them almost an hour to get where they were going. If they called as soon as they got there. Wouldn't you? Now, if you wanted to keep Mrs. Roland from getting anxious and going to the police about her husband, wouldn't you call as soon as you could? Yes, I suppose so, Bill. But I still don't know what your driving is. Well, figure it out, Pam. The call was local. The driving time was at least a half hour more. And with a kidnapped man in the car, they wouldn't dare risk going over any big bridges. Well, so what does that mean? Their hideout is probably in the Van Cortland area or upper Manhattan. That sounds like a good lead, Bill. Well, it's only a hunch right now. But bright and early tomorrow, my men are going to check every public phone booth from Dyckman Street up. What are you doing, Nick? Why don't you turn the light off and let the old man get some sleep? He'll get sleep when the ransom door is in. And so will we. Well, what are you fitting him with those bandages for? You taking off the adhesive tape? I'm not taking anything off. I just want to make sure he can breathe underneath the gag. You all right, Grandpa? Sure, he's OK. Well, he don't look so good, Beanie. Maybe that thing's choking him. Oh, quit babying him, will you? You shut up. You want this old guy to croak on us? OK, OK, I'll take it off for a while and give your whiff of fresh air. There. You better pop. Yes. Yes, thank you. Maybe we ought to give him a drink of water. Oh, for crying out loud. Oh, look, why me? Huh? Why me? Why did you have to pick an old man like me? I'm sick. I've worked hard all my life, and now that I've got enough money to live on for a few years, you're going to take it away from me. Listen to him. I just want a little place where we can take it easy for a while and have a little fun until we die. All right, Pop, that's enough talking. We sold everything we own. He said that was enough talking. No, I've got to tell you, because I don't care what happens to me anymore. If you take that money, there won't be anything left. Are you going to shut up? No, I'm going to fight you. Even if you kill me, I'm going to fight you everywhere I'm going to. Hey, hey. You had it coming to him. Now maybe he won't talk so much. Darling, I wish you'd tell me what you expect to gain by all this snooping around. We've been in every diner, bar room, stationery store, and soda fountain. Now, don't be discouraged, dear. We've got to cover all the public phone booths in this uptown area. Why? Bill Wigand has 30 policemen out doing this job. Well, it won't hurt to have 32. Oh, don't you see, darling, there's so much territory to be covered, and there's so little time to do it in. If anything should happen to Mr. Rowland, I'd never forgive myself. Okay, let's try the next one. Only if we keep going into all these bars, pretty soon I'm going to have to have a drink. Not in this one, dear. It doesn't look sanitary. Pam, he heard you. Cleanest bar in the town, lady. I wash every one of these glasses with my lily-white hands. We didn't mean to... I'm not kidding you, mister. I'm a bug on killing germs. I've got disinfectant all over the place. Yes, I smell it. It smells good, don't it? Nice and clean. I put it in the mop water all the time. Believe you me, this place, this place here, gets a good going over. Well, as soon as I close up at night, I chuck all them bums out of here, I wipe off the tables with ammonia, sprinkle cockroach powder in all the corners. You'd be surprised at all the dirt and filth that accumulates in just one day. And if you don't do nothing about it, you get mice. Now, what do you have to drink? We don't care for anything to drink, thank you. We're looking for some information. About a phone call that might have been made from here about 10.30 last night. Do you happen to remember if anybody walked in here and used your phone about that time? A man with a slight accent, Greek or Italian. Gosh, you got me, lady. At 10.30 last night, we was all watching the fights on television. Wait a second. Was this bird a short, stocky guy with black hair? We don't know what he looks like. We just know that he speaks with an accent. Now that you mention it, I think this guy did talk kind of funny, and he acted kind of funny too, like he didn't want nobody to see him, you know? No kidding. Do you know where we can find him? No, no, I don't even know what his name is. Hey, wait a minute. What's the matter? That guy looking in the door, you see him? He's the one I was just telling you about. The one who made the phone call? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Quick, Jerry, we've got to find out who he is. Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to bump into you. That's okay. You looking for someone, mister? No, are you? Well, not exactly. Hey, where are you going? What business is it of yours? Well, we're strangers around here. We thought you might... Sorry, later, I'm in a hurry. Oh, wait a minute. Take your hands off me, bud, or you won't have any. Well, you don't have to get tough. Don't I? I don't like your looks, mister. Now, beat it and beat it fast or you'll wind up with a slug in you. Nick should have been back by now. It don't take this long to walk down the block and put in a phone call. What's he telling that old lady? Oh, we want the ransom, I guess, and when to have it ready. Even so, it don't take no 40 minutes. Oh, sit down, will you, beanie, or wearing out the floor again. What else is there to do? Want me to play nice maid, old man, roll it? You might go in there and see if he's okay. There's a pretty hard sock you gave him last night. Ah, he got over it. Yeah, he got over it. I mean, you didn't. You're just as jumpy as you ever were. Well, you can that stuff. The old man had nothing to do with it. I'm jumpy on account of you. What did I do? What do you always do? Sitting there with that tight dress on, blowing smoke rings in my face. I'll jump right out of my skin if you don't put your arms around me. Don't, darling. Nick'll be back in a minute. Oh, you're a great one. You say you're nuts about me when we're alone. You say I make love to you like nobody in the world, but you still won't run out on him. We need him, beanie. For what? We'll net at least 15 Gs from this hall, and with that kind of roll, we can go anywhere we want, baby. Just the two of us, we could burn up the whole world. Oh, honey, if you get me started... Oh, don't push me away, sweetie. You know you've got a yen for me. And you know you're going away with me, too, just as soon as we finish this job. Oh, baby, if you just wouldn't lose your head all the time. Don't worry, Flo. I'll take care of you. Good. What took you so long, Nick? I thought you were coming right back. I couldn't. I ran into trouble. What kind of trouble? With the old lady? No, I didn't call the old lady. I didn't get a chance to. What are you talking about? The job. The whole job. It's no good. Somebody's on to us. Are you kidding? Sure. I'm laughing my head off. Now, get ready. Pack up some of your stuff, Flo. We're all pulling out of here. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What's going on here? Try to make a phone call on Dyckman Street. You'll find out. Cops? All over the place. Ask a million questions, too, every bar, drugstore, and soda fountain. I almost got picked up. That don't mean nothing. Don't be a chump, kid. They're too close for comfort. We're getting out of here. What about the old man? Leave him. Let him go back to his wife. I don't care where he goes as long as we get away. Nick, you're crazy. This job is practically in the bag. All we gotta do is set up the... Stop arguing, will you? We gotta beat it, I tell you. And lose all the dough we could get from the old lady? You'll lose a lot more if we don't get a move on. Dough ain't important to us right now. No, huh? Well, it is to me. It's the most important thing there is, and I'm gonna get it, too. You'll get it in the neck if you don't do like I tell you. Put your head on it, go on down and get the car. I ain't leaving the old man. Okay, then stay. Come on, Flo, you ready? She ain't going, Nick. Huh? She ain't going. She's staying with me. What did you say? Ask her. What's this all about, Flo? What do you mean, you're staying with him? Well, I didn't want to tell you this way, Nick. If you're walking out on the job, maybe me and you can swing it ourselves. I'm not talking about the job, Flo. I'm talking about us. Well? Four and a half years, Flo. Four and a half years, and you'd split up with me on account of... Nick. Get away from me, you lovey. Take it easy, Nick. Yeah, I'll take it easy, all right? I'll take it so easy. Ah! Put that gun down. Ah! It's okay, Flo. He just wanted to make it plain to me. Now I know you ain't going with me. That's him, Bill. I know it is. I'd recognize that face anywhere. Are you sure, Pam? Are you sure this is the same man you bumped into at that bar uptown? Because this picture was taken several years ago. It's the same man, all right. Have you got a record on him? Oh, yeah, we got a long record. His name's Hadris, Nick Hadris. Alias Joe Nicholas, alias Nick Haynes. Well, if you've got a line on him, the rest ought to be easy. We know he's in that uptown area somewhere. And if you pick him up, you can make him tell you where they're holding Mr. Rowland. That's right, Bill. All you have to do is locate Nick Hadris. I'm afraid that's not enough, Pam. We've located Nick already. Oh, and he won't talk? He can't talk. By the time my men got to him, he was dead. No. Murdered? Mm-hmm. They found his body on the bank of the Harlem River. I don't know why, Lieutenant. I don't know why you can't find out where their hideout is. With all the men you've got working on this case, you'd think... Well, now, we're doing the best we can, Mrs. Rowland. I don't know how I can make you understand that. Bill, let me talk to her. No, you're talking, Mrs. North. They've done something to my husband. Something must have happened to him. Otherwise, they would have called me. Almost a whole day has gone by, and they haven't even tried to reach me. Well, you did get that postcard this morning telling you how much money they wanted. And they asked you to draw it out of the bank and have it ready. I know, but that postcard was mailed last night. Mrs. Rowland, let me call the doctor. No, no, please, I'm all right. It's just that I keep thinking about him. If he's warm enough, they let him rest. They give him enough food. You know, there's certain things that he can't eat. Starchy things. They just don't agree with him. Well, I'm sure that they... Wait a second. Don't answer that phone yet, Mrs. Rowland. I want to switch on the recording machine. Flash my boys on the line downstairs. Now, if that's one of the kidnappers, keep talking as long as you possibly can. We may be able to trace the call. All right, you can pick up the receiver now. Hello? Mrs. Rowland? Yes? Did you get the money in small bills like we told you on the postcard? Yes, I... I went to the bank this afternoon. Okay, then get this straight. Follow these instructions and nothing will happen to your husband. Is he all right? You haven't heard him, have you? Listen, you. I'll run a knife through his back if you don't get these orders right. Now, this is your last chance, lady. All right, all right. I'll do anything you say. Okay, listen and listen careful, because I'm only going to say it once. Stick that money of yours in the shoebox and take the White Plains subway out to the end of the line. And come alone, do you hear? After you get off the subway, go two blocks north and one block west. Wait there on the corner for me. I'll drive by in a car at two o'clock this morning. Now, you got it? Well... Two o'clock sharp. End of the White Plains line. Two blocks north, one block west. But my husband, how do I know that he's... Hello? Hello? No, it's no use, Mrs. Rowland. He's hung up. What about the call bill? Was there time to trace it? Just a minute. I'll check with the boys on the other end of this line. Hello, Eddie? That tracer come through yet? Was there time? Oh, good for you. Have they got it, Bill? Do they know where the call came from? Yeah, but I'm afraid it won't do us much good. This call was made from Grand Central Station. Now, look, men, this is a big job, but it's got to be done to protect Mrs. Rowland. I'm staking out this entire area around where she'll be meeting the kidnappers. Now, no cars are to be stopped, but if anybody drives past this red line on the map after a quarter of two, nail him. If we don't catch him going in, we'll grab him going out. What are we gonna do about the old man, Bean? He looks to me like he's getting ready to pass out. Why do I care what he's getting ready to do? As long as his old lady shows up with that dough. You think she will? She better, or there won't be nothing left of him. All right, come on, kid. Time to get ready. Ready for what? It's only 12 o'clock. You don't have to meet Mrs. Rowland till two. Well, I'm gonna change the plans around a little. Just be on the safe side in case there's cops around. She's expecting me to drive up to that corner at two o'clock. Only, uh, I'm gonna fool her. I'm gonna have the car parked there instead an hour ahead of time. Hey, that's a pretty smart dodge. I got another one, too. I ain't even gonna be there to pick up the dough on account of they might be expecting me. Huh? Well, if you don't pick up the dough, how are we gonna get it? That's simple. You're gonna get it for me. Pam, we're going to get soaked waiting out here in the rain just to see what's going to happen. Did Bill tell you we could stand on the side of the street? If we keep him close to the building, we can. We can't be seen from the corner. Well, I hope that kidnapper shows up early. I'd like to get the sober with me. So would Mrs. Rowland. Is she there yet? Yes, she's just coming up to the corner. Where's Bill? He's down the street away. If we see anything funny going on, we're to call him. Say, there is something funny. What? That parked car over there. I never knew there was a woman sitting in it. Neither did I. She must have been slumped down in the sea to... We'd have seen her. How long do you suppose she's been there? I don't know. But I'm going to find out. Hurry, Jerry. She started the motor. Hey, wait a second. Just a minute, young lady. What's the matter? Well, that's what we'd like to know. How long have you been parked here? Just a little while. I had a dizzy spell while I was driving, so I pulled over to the side to rest for a minute. Is this your car? Of course it's my car. Who are you? Why are you asking me all these questions? Because there's a police officer down there. Police officer? Hey, what are you doing? Get away from that car! Jerry! Oh, brother, she almost knocked us down. Don't stand there, Jerry. Get Bill Waggon. Hey, Bill! That car, Bill! Go after that car! Hiya, baby. Did you get the dough? Dough, nothing. We're hot, beanie, red hot. What are you talking about? That place up there was a trap. Cops were waiting for us. What cops? How did you get through them? How do you know they didn't tail you here? I don't. I just drove as fast as I could and left the car right out front. You crazy half-ass. What's the idea of leaving them to me? What the devil did you come back here for? I don't know, honey. I was scared. I wanted you to help me. How can I help you if you bring the cops? I ought to bust you in the nose. Beanie! Shut up and get out of the way. What are you doing? Looking outside. Got to see if we can make a break for it. Anybody out there? I don't see anybody. Not yet. Hey, wait. Wait. Two cops coming around the corner. Two more up the street. I told you, you shouldn't have come back here. Well, where else could I go? What could I do? Anything, anything, anything. I'm going to get you out of here. Hold it up. Hold it up in there. They got us, Beanie. They got us for good. Not me, they ain't. I still got an ace in the hole. The old man. Roland. You heard me. Go on back in the kitchen. Bring him out here, quick. Hold it up, I said. Hold it up or we'll break right through. Get away from that door, copper. You try to bust in here and I'll kill the old man. I'll blow his head off. You better stop. Pam, get back here. I'm warning you, copper, if you want the old man to live in the house, you better get out of here. I'm warning you, copper, if you want the old man to live in the house, you better get out of here. I'm warning you, copper, if you want the old man to live back up from that door, get your men out of here. Don't be crazy. I haven't got a chance. Get them out, I tell you. Get them out or I start shooting. Flo, where are you? Coming. Where are you? Where are you? I haven't you done enough already. Shut up. You're like Mr. Roland. Come on, copper, quit stalling. Either you get your men out of here or I plug Roland. Now which is it? Make up your mind. Wait. I'll wait three seconds. One. Now look. Two. Beanie. Three. Four. Five. Mr. Roland. Okay, lady. It's Beanie that ain't so good. Good heavens, what happened? Listen, no, she shot him. Shot him again and again. I'll take that gun, young lady. Go ahead. I don't need it no more. Mr. Roland, are you all right? Here, let me help you. No, no, no. I just want to get out of here. You will, Mr. Roland. We'll all get out. Bill, is it all right if we take Mr. Roland out to the car? Sure, sure as much as you want. I'll take you to the car. I'll take you to the car. I'll take you to the car. I'll take you to the car. I'll take you to the car. Bill, is it all right if we take Mr. Roland out to the car? Sure, sure. His wife must be worried sick about him. Well, we'll see you out there, Bill. Yeah. I just want to talk to this young lady for a minute before we go down to headquarters. He was no good, copper. No good at all. Is that why you killed him? Yes, it must be. Funny thing about Beanie, he could just touch me and I'd feel like I was on fire. But he was just no good. No good at all. Polly, we're on the front page of this morning's newspaper, Jerry. Oh, really? Does that say something about the kidnapping? Of course. Tells the whole story, dear. About the way we tracked down the first clue up in that bar room where we bumped into Nick? Well, no, it doesn't say anything about that, dear. No? Oh, I suppose it plays up the car angle, the way we found that flow woman and tipped off the police about it. Well, no, it doesn't say anything about that either. That's funny. Let me see that paper. No, don't be disappointed, darling. After all, they had to give the police some credit. Some credit? Well, I don't see our names mentioned at all. Oh, we're there, darling. Where? Down at the bottom. See? Oh. After a harrowing experience which lasted some 32 hours, the victim, George P. Rowland, and his wife, Margaret, returned to their apartment at approximately 3 a.m. They were driven home by some neighbors across the hall. Next week, more adventure of Mr. and Mrs. North, starring Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service. Thank you.
