Mystery House Mystery House That strange publishing firm owned by Dan and Barbara Glenn Where each new novel is acted out by the Mystery House staff Before it is accepted for publication Mystery House Well Barbie, I don't know that I understand the title of the story we're trying out for a Mystery House novel this week You mean the composite killer, Dan? Yeah, does it refer to several different people who combine forces to commit a murder? No. Haven't you ever seen a composite picture? Well to be honest with you, I don't know Oh of course you have. In the movie magazines Well, I'm not a movie magazine reader Detective stories are more in my line Well, an artist takes maybe Dorothy Lamour's eyes and Alexa Smith's nose and Anne Sheridan's hair and Hetty Lamar's ears And Betty Davis's mouth Put them all together to make a composite picture of someone who never existed Oh, I see what you mean Mrs. Glenn. The pictures are fake Well, not exactly. Every part of it is true to life, but But put together it doesn't spell truth Well, I'm a solid fact man myself. I like authentic information. For example, listen to this Okay, places everybody and set the scene for tonight's story, will you Tom? The composite killer. Tonight's story opens in the office of Captain Hedges, police detective A slender, aesthetic, if cynical young man sits across the desk from the captain, sizing him up I suppose you wonder why I asked the Chronicle to send an artist over to headquarters, mayne? Mine not to reason why, mon capitain. Where the Chronicle points its finger, there go I And your paper's yelling at us about not solving the Dorothy Lattaman murder Don't tell me you're sensitive, mon capitain. I always thought only artists were sensitive Artists who aren't quite good enough to make the grade and end up by hacking away on a newspaper They said you were the best man in their art department They damn with faint praise They said you have imagination, mayne A severe criticism. I tried to hide it We're pretty close to solving that murder Now I know. The police are working on secret clues and feel that the murder will be apprehended within the next 24 hours The Chronicle carried that one day before yesterday There's nothing secret about our clues. This killer ought to be a cinch to catch He left so many clues, he might just as well have left his calling card And you're just holding off to make it look like a hard catch? Mayne, we've got everything except our man Now the Lattaman girl was a beauty. She had so many boyfriends, we know we're never going to get to all of them From what we've learned, she was a gold digger Sounds like a sweet kid Beautiful apartment, fine clothes, good jewelry She had a string of jobs you could write pages about None of them requiring any real work I've been looking for that kind of a job for years, Captain Hedges She was as cold and heartless as any human being could be She was playing for big game. She finally found it You mean the letters you uncovered that showed she was going to marry Wilton Morris III? Yeah Has it ever occurred to you that she might have been in love with a boy in spite of all his money, mon capitain? Sure. We found a couple of her girlfriends who said that she told them that Wilton Morris was strictly a dope But in the right money bracket I love mystery stories, Captain Hedges, but how does all this concern me? We've narrowed things down, Mayne The logical assumption is that Dorothy Lattaman was killed by a disappointed or disgruntled suitor Somebody who couldn't stand to see her marry Wilton Morris III Well? We start with the assumption that the murderer was, well, an attractive looking person If he didn't have as much money as Wilton Morris, he had to be attractive to be in the running Captain, you amaze me. A detective who's a student of human nature The murderer got into the girl's room from the fire escape through a very narrow window He had to be thin to make it Hmm. Attractive thin Now, we've tested the street level part of the fire escape and you'd have to be at least 6'2 to reach it and pull it down I think I see what you're driving at Several people saw a man loitering near that fire escape at 1 o'clock the morning of the murder Couldn't they give you a description? Altogether too much description. We've talked to three people and they disagree on most points But their descriptions checked in a couple of respects The man had a long thin face. There were all three positive of that Yes, I know the type His hair was dark. We can't be sure what color, but dark Go on And all through the people who saw him were a little frightened at one thing The way this man stared at them 1 o'clock in the morning? I don't blame him I get the idea that he had small deep set sharp eyes. Eyes with a brazen look Two of the people said that they... Pardon me. That they might have known more of what he looked like, but his stare got their goats They looked the other way. He looked them in the eye and he made them turn their heads the other way The eyes are important. Always The marks on the girl's throat indicate that he had a stubby hand as hard as iron She fought like the devil and never had a chance The fingers don't tell me much No. Well, to me, hands like that on a tall slender man indicate a tough muscular neck, too Smart boy, mon capitaine. I'd have missed that While he was strangling her, she clenched at his face At least that's the only reason I've been able to figure for the bite on her forearm Here. Here's a print of the marks Hmm. Small mouth, but big teeth Right. Now you're catching the spirit Here are photographs of three suspects. Three men that we've connected with the girl Any one of them who could answer what little description that we have Hey, my apologies, mon capitaine. I'd always thought the gendarmerie were rather stupid You know what I want, then You want a composite sketch of these three guys. A blend of all three Right. With enough of each one in it so that when he sees the picture in the paper, he thinks it's close to being him Hmm. Could be done, I guess. But it'll be quite a trick I've talked to your managing editor. They'll start a buildup on the picture in tomorrow's paper It'll run in three days if you can have it finished by then Every day until it runs, the paper will carry a front page box saying, Coming. An artist conception of the Dorothy Latimer Killer Created in cooperation with the police department See what the Latimer murderer looks like. Don't miss it You think this will do any good, aside from publicity? This was an emotional murder. And I'm going to grate the killer's nerves to the breaking point With your help, Manny It's a deal, mon capitaine Oh, it's you, honey. I thought... Oh, Jed, you don't need to be so fussy about your old picture Covering it up like that when I came in I don't care about seeing it anyway Oh, it's not that, honey. It's... Well, I've had orders from headquarters. Nobody's to see it till it's ready Going to eat midnight lunch with me tonight, Jed? You haven't asked me Why, uh, matter of fact, honey, I'm not going out to lunch tonight I'm working right through on the picture But it isn't supposed to run till day after tomorrow Sorry, honey. That's the way it is This thing's important and, well, kind of dangerous Oh, you. Drawing a portrait dangerous To the dear young artist, Jed Manny Go ahead and laugh, but I'm working under orders and I'm going to follow him But, Jed, you're really serious about this stunt, aren't you? You're always poking fun at everything we do around the Chronicle I've got to hurry, honey. If I expect to get this thing done by closing time, I... All right. I won't bother you I never thought I'd have a picture for a rival Oh, it's not that, honey. It's just... Oh, nuts. Can't you give a guy a break when he's busy? Well, if that's the way you feel about it... Oh, don't be sore. Tomorrow night I'll give you loads of attention I'll scrape and bow and... You do nothing of the kind Not after the way you've acted the last couple of days As far as I'm concerned, you'll still be busy. Good night Oh, just a minute Well, why didn't you go ahead and kiss her, Manny? I wouldn't have minded I never did like an audience, Mo Capitan Isn't it pretty stuffy in that clothes closet? Yeah, stifling. I'm dying for a smoke Why not go ahead and have one then? No. I'm going to go back into hiding Sooner or later, the murderer's going to call on you And I'm going to be here when he does So, back to my hole I think I'll use suspect number three's ears. They're the largest Who the devil are you? Wilton Morris III I read about this composite picture thing and I thought I'd drop in and see how you're getting along Maybe I could help you Well, well, well. Wilton Morris III I've always wanted to meet a real, live millionaire And you're so young and tender, too Isn't it a little late for you? No need to be nasty. I thought maybe I could help you Dorothy was going to marry me, you know So they tell me You mind if I take a quick glance at how you're coming along? Get away from that drawing board, Third What? Really? Don't give me that high hat either. I've had orders Nobody's to see this thing till it's finished But I'm not a suspect man Great Scott, I was going to marry the girl If there's anybody in Kingdom Come wants their murderer caught, it's I Sorry, mister The publisher of the Chronicles, a good friend of Dad's I could get permission to look, I imagine Guess again, Buster. The publisher doesn't have a doggone thing to say about this Oh, but hang on. I'm just trying to help I'm from the lower classes, Third Having a millionaire help me would knock my nerves all to pieces Very well. Have it your way But if you don't want my advice, what was the idea of calling me? I left a rather charming party to come down here Calling you? I didn't call you Your secretary did though She said you wanted to see me if it was convenient I don't have any secretary, mister Third That's a pretty bum stall Stall? But I'm quite serious, Maynard Oh, I get it You got me down here to get a good look at me You're going to try to work some of my characteristics into your picture Well, there are libel laws to cover such Huh? Say, you aren't nervous, are you, mister Third? Nervous? Oh, why should I be? I simply dislike the idea of notoriety And if that picture bears the slightest resemblance to me You're scaring me half to death But if you're all through, I wish you'd tattle back to your party I'm busy Very well But I'd be careful if I were you Huh. Well now, what do you think of that, mon capitain? I'm down. You might hear it I've practically owned the building by now I'll close the door so you can come on out and stretch Oh, oh, you again You don't need to act so disappointed Wasn't that Wilton Morris who just left? The Third Well, that's odd My phone rang a few minutes ago and a girl asked if he was here I thought it was some crank, but she must have known A girl? Look, honey Would you recognize her voice if you heard it again? Maybe. Why? The guy claimed somebody called and asked him to come in here My secretary But you don't have any secretary Hey, hey, just a minute Hello. Looking for someone? Why, yes. Is Wilton Morris here? Uh, come on in Thank you Oh, but I thought... Why he isn't here. Why didn't you tell me that... I didn't say he was here, darling I just asked you to come in See here, what is this? The idea of closing that door? I don't... I don't know what you intend, but you're going to answer a few questions What? Oh, really? Oh, my, I never heard of such a thing. Excuse me Just a minute. You're not leaving here till you've answered a few questions Who are you anyway? I don't see that it's any business of yours But my name is Harriet Codley Just a second I haven't been a society reporter around here for two years for nothing Oh, your honey, Horace, you covered my debut for the Chronicle Yeah, and I also remember that you had yourself a man-sized crush on Wilton Morris III about that time Really, Miss Horace? If you'll excuse me... You don't deny it, do you? I won't dignify it with a denial I don't suppose you'll bother denying that you called my desk a few minutes ago to see if the boyfriend was here? I called. I like that I got a telephone call to meet him here There's something awfully funny about the telephone service around here tonight If you're insinuating that I'm lying... I know. Popple talked to the publisher, who's a friend of his, and get us canned You know, I have a hunch the police may be wrong on this business What? They're assuming it was a man who killed Dorothy Latimer, a jealous suitor But a jealous suitor would have lost every chance he had by killing the girl Wouldn't he have killed Wilton Morris instead? What are you trying to... What I'm getting at, sister, is that maybe somebody else has a yen for Wilton III It kind of makes sense You're insinuating that I... That's ridiculous. I didn't even know the girl If I were the police, I think I'd want a lot of answers from you I say, if I were the police... Jed, what are you shouting about? Captain Hedges! Captain Hedges! Who is it? It's Captain Hedges Is he dead? Just a minute For the love of heaven, stand back. Open the door in the window, quick! What's the matter with... Let me get this thing out of here What is it? A time bomb in the closet, loaded with poison gas Call the police, quick But hadn't we better... I'm staying right here with this picture Evidently, someone wants it pretty badly A poison gas time bomb Neat idea. Quiet, unobtrusive, efficient The question is, who put it in the clothes closet of Jed Mayne's office? Well, we'll find out in the second act of tonight's story The composite killer And now, act two of the composite killer The time is four o'clock in the morning and the Chronicle office is pretty much deserted A light still burns in Jed Mayne's little office The policeman who stayed here, Jed, did he do much? Asked a lot of questions, took the measurements of the clothes closet Wanted to know who could have seen Captain Hedges come into my office But how did he get in? I didn't know he was here His being here was the reason I didn't want to kiss you, remember? I was embarrassed What? You crazy goon, bashful at this late stage All right, you're forgiven When you and the charming Harriet left the police station, how was Hedges getting along, did they say? No, but they didn't seem to hold out much hope They said it was just luck he wasn't dead when we opened the clothes closet Neither Harriet nor Wilton III went near that clothes closet while they were here I can't figure out Almost anybody could have left that time bomb, Jed You're never here during the day, you never lock your office But it still doesn't make sense The police put out a lot of publicity about this picture you're doing The murderer could have walked in and planted that bomb anytime up to six o'clock last night Yes, but nobody knew Hedges was there The murderer was probably watching this place like a hawk Put yourself in his place, all this swoopty-doo about the killer's picture Captain Hedges in charge of the investigation That's easy to figure I won't rest easy till I get that picture finished and into the hands of the engravers What, Jed? You don't mean you're going ahead after what's happened? Of course I'm going ahead, it's more important now than ever What does the picture look like, Jed? Sorry But it wouldn't hurt to let me see it I know how to keep a secret Have I ever let you down? You'll see it in the chronicle But I'll just take a quick look Get away from that drawing board You heard me, I'm not fooling, honey Jed, you... you... you almost frightened me After what's happened, you should be frightened I'm not trusting anybody up to and including you Well, you surely don't need to... Somebody's committed a couple of murders, honey I'm not anxious to be added to the list I'm sorry to be so rough about it I'll probably apologize tomorrow night, but for now, that's how it stands Well, I... Well, all right, Jed, that's the way you feel Going home? No, I'm going to finish the picture What the devil's the idea of getting me out of bed to come down here at 4.30 in the morning, maybe? I didn't think you'd be in bed yet, Mr. Third And you seem so terribly, terribly anxious to see my latest work of art You see, the picture's finished But you know, I don't think you're going to like it Here Why... wait a minute Recognize yourself, Mr. Third? Well, I... it... it isn't a picture of me, and yet it is That's right, Mr. Third It takes a clever artist to make a picture like that You, and yet not you But close enough so anybody would recognize it You... you think I killed Dorothy Latimer? I know you did, Mr. Third, indirectly Oh, no, no, you're on the wrong track, Meany I didn't kill her I don't know who did, I... You don't, Mr. Third? Not even now? What? I killed her, Mr. Third Captain Hedges knew it, he knew it all along Oh, you... you're... you're joking You couldn't possibly... When Hedges told me that Dorothy Latimer had held a lot of different jobs And they had pages of dope on all of them, I knew I wasn't picked to do this picture for my artistic genius He was playing with me, waiting for me to get excited and make a slip He was a smart cookie, even if he did underestimate me What do you mean about the jobs? Dorothy was an art model at one stage of her career She quit because a certain poor artist got too serious, bothered her too much And you killed her? The only thing in the world that ever interested her was money She was responsible for my taking this stinking job To try to get enough money to rent a little apartment and get married You must have been extremely fond of her to kill her in such a brutal fashion A funny part of it is, Mr. Third, I didn't intend to kill her I couldn't believe her story about her engagement to you and I went up to talk to her She laughed at me, made fun of me, I went crazy, crazy mad I wanted to hurt her as much as she was hurting me I'd say you hurt her more, at least more permanently Oh, no, but there was real satisfaction in grinding my fingers into that lovely throat I even bit her arm when she tried to stop me Yes, but your name was never mentioned as a suspect I took every present she'd ever had from me, every letter I erased myself from her apartment I planted the fire escape business I gave the police plenty wrong clues But some way Hedges caught on He didn't have proof, but he knew Why do you tell me all this? Because I want you to understand what it's all about Why you're being framed I'm framed? Oh, you think you can convict me of a murder you committed just by drawing a fantastic picture of me? Hardly. You really are mad The picture's going to take care of you, all right You are going to be convicted I'm not much worried You've been here before tonight It's established that you came here to look at the picture and I wouldn't show it to you Yes, but what does that have to do with it? What are you up to? Those telephone calls to you and your Harriet will be checked, of course Who? A public stenographer made the calls, Mr. Third She got her instructions over the phone and was told to send a bill to me I don't know a thing about it At least that'll be my story and it'll stick You think those calls will convict me of a murder I didn't commit? You are batty Batty like a fox? Being an artist is useful in more ways than one I know my anatomy pretty well What? Try to talk sense I'm talking sense I put this drawing board over in the corner, see? Very interesting It'll get more interesting as it goes along Now, I lay this knife on the board, just so The handle presses against the wall, see? What do you think you're going to do? You... Incidentally, that knife is from your cabin up at the lake and it's loaded with your fingerprints Now I scooch down Have to be sure to hit exactly the right spot You... Look out! Oh, it's a good trick, isn't it? Yeah, it takes nerve, plenty of nerve But when you're fighting for your life, you have nerve to spare Let's see Yeah, yes, that's exactly right Now I back into the blade of the knife Firmly, steadily You fool, you'll kill yourself I can't let you commit suicide I won't kill myself, Thur, but it'll be close Close to the heart and close to the spine It worked, Thur, just like I planned You're through, you're licked Where's the telephone? Who you're calling, Thur? Doctor? Doctor or police? Both Won't do you any good Once you see me, me stabbed in the back Your knife, your picture on the drawing board Your picture, the killer I say you came in, saw a picture and stabbed me You're through But why should you try to do this to me? Why? You had nothing but money to offer You stepped in with your money and tore down all my hope I hate you But I thought you were in love with the pretty little society reporter, Honey Hawes She was... She was just around I had to cover up somewhere That was her knife Honey, honey, he got me I'm gonna die Hospital, quick He saw a picture, he stabbed me Save it, Jed, you'll need your strength Hospital, quick Get police, police to arrest him You don't seem to realize, Jed I've heard your entire scene with Mr. Morris Well, I don't think heavens, Miss Hawes After what had happened, Jed When you insisted on staying and finishing that picture I was frightened to death Frightened for you, for you, understand that? I was afraid the murderer would come in and try to kill you You've been here all the time Yes, because I thought I loved you I was standing by with a revolver I wanted to help you You, great help Go Captain Hedges Yeah, we're getting a little stuffy in that clothes closet There's nothing more to hear anyway But you, poison gas, hospital Hey, teach you how to look out for yourself on the force, Manny I looked that closet over pretty thoroughly I found the gas time bomb But no, no, it went off I watched it, when the spring was ready to release I held a match up to the jet, a lighted match You knew all the time Yeah, but I couldn't prove anything There's a lot of difference between knowing and proving I didn't figure you were strong enough or cool enough to stand up under pressure So I turned it on Hadn't we better get him to the hospital, Captain? Yeah, I suppose so Not that we're doing him any favor Quite right, mon capita I knew right from the start you were A sharp guy
