Stand by for crime. Hi. Chuck Morgan speaking. Newscaster and radio station KLP here in Los Angeles. You know it's an interesting job, this newscasting. Sure, most days are like routine stories, routine happenings. But every once in a while something comes up that's different. This was a half a million dollars different. I mean that jewel robbery out in Beverly Hills last week. They got away with a huge diamond clip and other trinkets which belonged or had belonged to Oscar Tennant the movie mogul. You probably read that Oscar had passed into the great beyond a month before. Well his widow, Dora Tennant, a wheelchair invalid, had decided to have a private showing for a small group. I was invited, as was my boss, Pappy Mansfield, owner of KLP. And of course, Carol Curtis, my blonde secretary, had to tag along. So directly after my seven o'clock broadcast, the three of us had dinner at the Plaza Hotel and then headed out for Beverly Hills. What's the purpose of this show, Chuck? The old lady won't ever want to know how rich she is? No, Pappy, I think it's a release of a long period of frustration. Frustration? How can anybody who owns a half a million dollar diamond be frustrated? That's the point, Clamor Bus. The well remembered Oscar Tennant was kind of a screwball about his money. He started with nothing, you know, made a lot fast. That's right. He began buying things he could never afford before and stashing them away. He got a bang out of knowing he had the stuff even though he never used it. Do you mean Mrs. Tennant was never allowed to wear the diamond clip? That's it, exactly. All her friends heard she had the clip and were asking to see it, but Oscar never let her take it out of the safe. People began to wonder if the oversized diamond really existed. So now she's going to prove to everybody that it does exist, huh? That's the way I figure it, Pappy. Golly, I can hardly wait to see a rock that size. Chuck, do you suppose... No. But Chuck, you don't even know what I was going to say. Oh, yes, I do. I can't afford even the little one. But Chuck, after all, we are engaged and Pappy would be... No, I said. You tried having Pappy deduct payments from my salary once before and I was broke for six... But Chuck, look, I'd be very... No, no, no, no, no. The Tennant estate was one of those rambling one-story deals with a lot of rolling lawn and shade trees. Must have been about 8.30 when we turned into the drive. Oddly enough, the house was almost dark. As a matter of fact, it looked to us as if only one light were burning and that in the rear of the house. That's funny. The place looks deserted. Yeah. You sure you haven't got your dates mixed, Chuck? Oh, Mrs. Tennant said the sixth. Today is the sixth, isn't it? That's right. I happen to know because yesterday was the fifth and tomorrow is the seventh. Right, girl. Okay, you two stay here. I'll go up and find out what the score is. Maybe it was crazy, but as I walked up to that darkened house, I had a feeling that something was very wrong about all this. No reason, except for the darkened house and the fact that there were no other cars parked in the drive. But it turned out that those reasons were enough. I pushed the doorbell button, heard chimes way inside the house. For a minute nothing happened. Then I heard a step-by-step sound. I felt something all too familiar pressed into the small of my back. All right, mister. Get your hands up. What? Who the devil are you? Never mind who I am. You're under arrest for stealing the Tennant jewels. It was dark on the veranda. The man with the gun was only a vague shape. The gun barrel was still an uncomfortable pressure in my back. So I decided not to make a hero out of myself, but do as I was told. All right, so I'm a jewel thief. I came back to give myself up. What do I do now? Get inside. Sure, sure, honey. Don't get trigger happy with that gun. I bruise easily. This was crazy. In the pitch darkness of the room we entered, I could have at least grappled with the man with the gun. He must have known that. I took a chance, swung wildly, and connected with thin air. Then there was a snap of the switch. The room was suddenly flooded with light. Across the room, one hand still on the wall switch, the gun in the other, was a small gray-haired guy of about 50. In the middle of the floor was a woman in a wheelchair. She too was gray-haired, about the same age. She was leaning slightly forward. There was a bright gleam in her eyes, a sort of eager, anticipatory look as though she were enjoying the situation. So, this is what a jewel thief looks like. Upon my soul, you look exactly like a human being. All right, I'll go along with the gag I am a human being. Oddway, don't let this man's innocent appearance deceive you. Keep him covered. One false move and he gets it. Well, you tell me what a false move is so I won't make one, huh? My, such impudence. You'll be singing a different tune, my fine young friend, when you're languishing in the local Bastille. The local Bastille? Oh, don't try begging for mercy. I intend to be absolutely heartless in this matter. Well, are you going to make a full confession or shall we, uh, what's the word, Oddway? Sweat. Yes, sweat. Or shall we sweat it out of you? Mmm, I'd like to be sweated. You would? Oddway, did you hear? He wants to be sweated. Oh, I'm afraid you'll have to. Mother, did you? What in the world is going on here? Come in, my dear. I want you to see what a real live Jew thief looks like. A Jew thief? Who? Where? Surely you don't mean Mr. Morgan. What was that, Isabelle? The man Oddway is pointing the gun at is Chuck Morgan, a radio newscaster. I know him anywhere. Oh, no. Mother, this is absolutely the last straw. I should think you'd be ashamed of yourself. How in the world are you going to apologize to Mr. Morgan? What if he uses the story on one of his broadcasts? We'll be the laughing stock of everyone in town. Mmm, that must be the rest of my gang now. Shall I let them in? I'll go. Yes? We're looking for Chuck Morgan, is he here? Come on in, Pappy. Carol, I was just about to be sweated. What do you mean, sweated? Yeah, and what's the idea of leaving us sitting out there in the car? Please, Mr. Morgan, do you mind? No, we'll keep it our secret. Mrs. Tennant, this is my secretary Carol Curtis, my boss Pappy Mansfield. Mrs. Tennant, her daughter Isabelle and, uh, Oddway. How do you do? Well, when does the show start? I've got to get back to the station. But I don't understand. It was tomorrow night that I planned to put the duels on display. So you did get the dates mixed after all, Chuck. Well, then my memory's taken a bad turn for the worse. I was positive you said the sixth, Mrs. Tennant. She did. But, Isabelle, darling. Mother, I was sitting right beside you when you called Mr. Morgan. You asked him out for the sixth. Oh, dear. Oh, I'm so sorry. Will you ever forgive me, dear people? Well, where's the harm? Now that we're here, why can't we have a look at the duels? Why, that simple. They've been stolen. Stolen? What? Do you mean you were actually serious when you thought that I had... But of course, dear boy. Why shouldn't we think that you were the culprit? Mother, I don't believe it. It's another of your wild attempts to be dramatic. Well, then look for yourself, my dear. I will. I don't get this. Seems as though something's wrong someplace. Oh, I assure you, my dear, there's not a thing wrong. The duels were stolen about 15 minutes before Mr. Morgan arrived. 15 minutes before? Have you notified the police? No. Audeway and I planned to capture the thief ourselves. We almost did, too. I mean, we... Mrs. Tennant, pardon us if we all seem a trifle confused, but just why did you think the thief would return? Because he didn't get the diamond clip. Huh? Audeway and I knew that when he discovered that fact, he'd return. So we turned off the lights and waited. Uh, I mean, we doused the glim. Oh, I'll be darned. Where is the clip now? Right in the safe in a separate package where I placed it last night, ready for the showing. It's true. The jewels are gone. Of course, dear. All but the diamond clip. That's still in the safe. I'm afraid you've overdone it this time, Mother. The diamond clip's gone, too. There wasn't any doubt about the sincerity of Mrs. Tennant's concern when she heard that the half-million dollar diamond had actually vanished. If she'd been playing a dramatic up to now, the show was over. The old lady practically threw a fit. Still, for my money, nothing much tied together about this gruey affair. However, I smelled a story, and a good one, so I decided to stick around. Pappy went to call the cops. Isabelle did what she could for her mother, who by now was having genuine hysterics. While Audeway, Carol, and I went into the room where the wall safe was located. And it wouldn't take a very smart safecracker to bust that one open. How many know the combination, Audeway? Just Mrs. Tennant and her daughter. I see. What do you fit into the picture, by the way? I've been chauffeur, gardener, and general handyman for the tenants for years. There's only one window in this room, Chuck. Up there. It's too small for anyone to get through. A small man might be able to do it. What's outside, Audeway? A flower garden, sir. You suppose you could scare up a flashlight so we could have a look? Oh, yes, sir. There's one right here in this drawer. Good. Carol, take a look at Mrs. Tennant the way she made you the doctor. If the police arrive... Oh, hello, Pappy. Get through to the police? No. Chuck, this may be a screwy deal, but there's a lot about it that isn't screwy. The telephone wires have been cut. No kidding. No kidding. Tell you what, suppose you stick around here while I drive down and report this. That's a good deal, Pappy. See you later. So Pappy went off after the cops. Carol went in to lend a hand with Mrs. Tennant. And Audeway and I went out the back door and around the house toward the flowerbed. There were no trees on the side of the house. The stars were bright, so Audeway didn't switch on his flashlight, which turned out to be a lucky thing. And maybe it wasn't. We were within five paces of the flowerbed when Audeway suddenly yelled, Look out, sir! It was too late. Something hit me behind the ear with the force of a pile driver. I went down and out and stayed down and out for a long time. It used to seem that way to me. Then I saw the stars up above dancing around like pinwheels. From a long way off, a voice kept saying over and over again, Mr. Morgan, are you all right? Mr. Morgan, are you all right? Mr. Morgan? Mr. Morgan? Shall I get a doctor, Mr. Morgan? Oh, no, never mind a doctor. Who? What hit me? I don't know who it was, sir. He jumped from behind that shrub. He had something in his hand, a club of some sort. I yelled, but he was too quick for me, sir. Yeah? What happened? Well, he ran off, sir, like a flash. Why did you go after him? By two reasons, sir. I thought you needed attention, and I knew he couldn't get away. What do you mean he couldn't get away? Well, because he ran in that direction, sir. There's an eight-foot wall that nobody could get over without a ladder. Now, the only other avenue to escape is through the house or right past here, which means the man who hit you must be hiding on the grounds right now. Now, the conclusion of Stand By for Crime. Well, if the man who belted me was still on the grounds, I intended finding him. My head was pounding like a voodoo drum. I wasn't very steady on my feet as Ordway and I started out in the direction he'd indicated, which accounts for the fact that I stumbled into the general handyman when he suddenly stopped. Sorry. What's the matter? Oh, careful, sir. I just saw a movement behind that shrub. Yeah? Well, turn your flashlight over that way. Yes, sir. I'm confounded. The battery seems to be dead. Oh, no. Oh, there it is again, sir. Look, he just moved. Yeah, there is something there. Come on, Ordway, let's move in. Ordway and I began moving cautiously toward the shrub. There was a vague shape beside it, a shape that stood motionless until we were almost up to it then. Come on, Ordway, after him. The man, whoever he was, must have held a track record. He was away from us like a streak of light. We kept after him, spreading out a little so that when he came to that eight-foot wall, he'd have to turn back and run into one of us. Well, he came to the eight-foot wall and he turned back right into my arms. I made a flying tackle, grabbed him around the knees, brought him to the ground. Ordway, coming over, frung himself across a guy's chest, pinning him to the ground. We've got him, sir. We've got him. Yeah, we've got him. Get up on your feet, Jena. Keep your hands off of me. How do you think you're throwing around? Who do you think you're belting behind the ear with a baseball bat, huh? I didn't belty anybody with anything. Ordway, tell this jerk whoever he is who I am. So you know the young man, do you, Ordway? Why... why it's Mr. Avery, sir? Yeah, who's Mr. Avery? Mr. Paul Avery, he's a... he's a friend of Miss Isabel. I see. This is the way he does his courting, eh? Well, Mr. Paul Avery, let's get back to the house so we can take a look at you and ask a few questions. Paul Avery, a kid about 20, 21 years old, was sullen and defiant. He didn't want to go back to the house, but he went with my help. When we got there, we found Carol and Isabelle alone in the living room. The latter took one look at our prisoner and let out a cry. Paul? Oh, Paul, what have they done to you? It's okay, Isabelle, I'm all right. They came charging at me and I ran. I guess I thought I was some kind of prowler. Oh, the idea. I thought it was more than that. In fact, we're practically sure he was the man who socked me behind the ear with a pile driver. Socked you? Well, you big bully. Chuck, are you all right? Of course I'm all right. I've already told you I didn't sock anybody. I was just coming here to see... Paul Avery, what are you doing here? Haven't I forbidden you this house? Haven't I told you a hundred times... Mother, please. No, Isabelle, I made up my mind about this young man some time ago. He's not to be trusted. Audway, what is Paul Avery doing in this house? I'm sorry, Mrs. Tennant. We found him prowling about the grounds. Mr. Morgan had been attacked and we thought that... Naturally you thought that it was Paul Avery who stole my jewels. I just examined the safe myself and I'm sure of it. Audway, will you please search Mr. Avery's pockets? Yes, ma'am. Now, wait a minute. I didn't rob any safe. I only came here to see Isabelle. We were going to meet out there... All right, steady, son, steady. It'll only take a minute and it'll be painless. Oh, this is ridiculous. He certainly doesn't look like a safe cracker to me. Now, let's see here. Oh, what's this? What? Paul? It's one of Mother's rings. I knew it. I knew it the minute I laid eyes on that young man. He's a thief. Paul Avery, where's my diamond clip? I don't know. I don't even know what a diamond clip looks like. Let's start with the ring then. How did that happen to be in your pocket, son? I don't know. I never saw it before. Oh, that's rich. That's very rich indeed. Never saw it before. Then how did it get into your pocket, I'd like to know. Well, someone must have put it there. Yeah, that's it. Someone had to put it there and who else had the chance but Audway and this guy here? The idea. The very idea accusing Audway or Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan, I demand that you arrest Paul Avery at once. Well, I'm not a policeman, Mrs. Tennant. If I were, I'd think I'd ask a few more questions and search a few more pockets before I arrested anybody. Well, there wasn't anything to do but hang around until Pappy got back with the police. At my suggestion, Paul Avery agreed to remain at the house. It looked pretty bad for him if he didn't. That was all right with Dora Tennant. She was positive the kid had the diamond clip and she kept ranting on about how she was going to have him arrested the instant the cops arrived. I looked around for a flashlight, but to work, couldn't find one, so I got a handful of matches from the kitchen. Carol and I went outside and started around to the flower bed. Pappy's been gone long enough. I wonder what's keeping him. I was wondering myself. Chuck, do you think Paul Avery is a thief? Could be. Or how about Audway? Could be. You didn't slip the ring into Avery's pocket, did you? Oh, that's a bright question. Okay, okay. But I've known you to do such crazy things when unraveling one of these mysteries. What's this here? The flower bed beneath the window of the room of the safe-lock, get it? What do you expect to find? I don't know. Let's have a look. Oh, get down here. Yeah, looks like a freshly planted bed. There certainly aren't any flowers. As a matter of fact, there isn't anything. Wait a minute. Here's something. This rounded mark in the dirt near the edge of the lawn here. It looks like... what's the imprint of the toe of a man's shoe? That's exactly what it is, Glamourpus. Someone came up to the edge of the bed, leaned over to pick up something. But what? There's nothing there now. We'll have another match. There we are. Now look, I'll be the man. I stand on the edge of the lawn like this with the toe of one shoe on the flower bed. I lean forward and... hey! What is it? I still don't see anything. That depression in the soft dirt over there. Chuck, that's it. Someone threw something. Yeah. The box containing the jewels out of the window and then picked it up right here. No, no, no, no. That's wrong, Glamourpus. The diamond clip was in the package by itself, remember? A diamond clip wouldn't weigh enough to make a mark in the dirt that deep. Wouldn't be shaped like that either. About three inches long and rounded. Then what did make it? I don't know. Let me think. How much a drop is that from the window? Just eight feet, maybe? Yeah. Now how much would an object dropping eight feet have to weigh to make an impression that deep and soft dirt? The consistency of which... I know a good one like that too. If a boat is traveling due west at a rate of 25 miles an hour, how old is the captain? Sorry, Glamourpus. I was trying to figure something out. Oh, you were just showing off and I'm not impressed. So let's get back to the business at hand. Okay, let's go. Go where? Aren't you going to try and figure out what was dropped from the window? I did. Didn't you hear me? Do you mean you weren't kidding with all that double talk? Of course not. Didn't I ever tell you school hours are pleasant mathematics? I remember once my teacher said... Oh, Isabelle. Oh, Isabelle. You looking for someone? Yes, I'm looking for you. May I talk to you a minute? Sure, go ahead. Shall I leave? No, stick around, Glamourpus. Isabelle doesn't mind. Or do you, Isabelle? Of course not. Mr. Morgan, Paul didn't steal mother's jewels. Huh? I'm sure of it. What makes you so sure? Well, because I love him. My figures. Oh, quiet, Glamourpus. Isabelle, is the reason your mother doesn't want you to marry Paul because she thinks he doesn't have enough money? That and because she doesn't want me to leave her. Since father died, she leans upon me heavily for companionship and comfort. As I recall, your father died of a series of heart attacks which began about a year ago. Yes, that's right. And it was right after that your mother became confined to her wheelchair. Yes. I think her invalidism was due partly to the fact that the doctor told her father a little chance of recovering. Pardon me for asking a dumb question, but what's all this got to do with the stolen jewels? Everything, Glamourpus, everything. Come on, let's go inside and I'll tell you why. I can't understand why you've asked us all to gather in this room, Mr. Morgan. And I can't understand either why that man hasn't returned with the police. What was his name? Mansfield? Oh, yes, that was it. Mansfield. Or was it he who stole the jewels? Ah, perhaps I have something there. Perhaps he isn't Mr. Mansfield or you're not Mr. Morgan. Well, Mr. Morgan? Are you through, Mrs. Tennant? I'm not sure I like the tone of your voice. I'm afraid you're going to like it less when I finish. How would you like to know where your diamond clip is? What? You know where my diamond clip is? Oh, yes, I know. Well, then give it to me at once. Just a minute. Don't you want to know where the other jewels are that were stolen? Oh, I guess, of course. But it's the diamond clip that's important. It's worth more than all the others put together. Yeah, that's the point. That's the reason you forgot your dramatics and practically had hysterics when you learned that the clip was missing. Because the diamond clip, Mrs. Tennant, was the only jewel that was really stolen. Well, I was playing a hunch with only a few facts to back it up, but it looked as though it were going to pay off. Ordway was standing near the outside doorway, the flashlight still bulging in his pocket. He looked at me blandly as I walked up to him. All right, Ordway, hand it over. Hand what over? The diamond clip, of course. Are you kidding? Why, you can search every pocket in my clothes and you won't find it. That's a good deal. I'll start in this pocket containing the flashlight. Just let me remove it. Now, give me that! Give you what, Ordway? The flashlight? Why? It doesn't work. You said so yourself. But you kind of lied for such a big flashlight, Ordway. I wonder why. I'll tell you why. One of the battery cells had been removed. You took it out and threw it out of the window so you'd have a safe hiding place for the diamond clip, which you stole. You later recovered the cell from the flower bed after you slugged me. Ordway, not you. You couldn't have... Don't act so shocked, Mrs. Tennant. It was you who stole your own jewels, you and Ordway. That's why you weren't worried and you could play it dramatics until you found out that the clip was gone, too. You didn't want that stolen because there was no way of recovering it without admitting your guilt, and an insurance company wouldn't pay off without a real tough investigation. Why, the idea, the very idea. This is terrible. There's nowhere near as terrible as the fact that you're no more an invalid than I am. What's that? What's that you said? It's what you said to give away your little game. You said you examined the safe yourself for the missing clip. That safe is more than five feet above the floor. Now, you couldn't very well search it from a wheelchair, could you? Mother! Wait a minute, Isabel. You better hear the rest of your mother's selfish tale. When she knew your father couldn't live more than a year after his heart attack, she decided to make herself dependent upon you so she'd never be left alone. So she confined herself to the wheelchair and worked in your sympathy. Then Paul Avery came along and you fell in love with him. Your mother was threatened with being left alone again. So she conspired with Ordway to have some worthless jewels stolen and to plant one on Avery. Then she invited me out so the business would receive a lot of publicity. Only Ordway couldn't resist such a golden opportunity to pull a double cross and steal the clip. Am I right, Mrs. Tennant, or am I guessing? Oh, Isabel, I was so afraid of being alone. Mother, you didn't. You couldn't have done such a dreadful thing. All right, Bohin, and the rest of you, the show's over. I'll build the first one who moves. So I'd forgotten about Ordway's gun. Well, that's me. I was forgetting something important. Only this time I wasn't too worried. I'd seen something that Ordway couldn't have because of his position near the door. Outside a car had stopped at the flow of the veranda steps. Pappy Mansfield and two uniformed policemen had gotten out of it. So I only stood there and watched. I watched Ordway back up to the door, thinking this was perfect timing and that Pappy was, as is usually the case, going to have the final word. Ordway put his hand behind him and opened the door. And there were Pappy and two cops waiting. All right, Ordway, the show's over for you, too. Get your hands up.
