MUSIC:

THEME ... THEN BEHIND ANNOUNCER--

ANNOUNCER:

SUSPENSE! And the producer of Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills, the master of mystery and adventure, William N. Robson--

ROBSON:

Mrs. Rogers was the kind of a lady to whom nothing ever happens -- a quiet widow, living in a quiet town, among quiet friends. But dear Mrs. Rogers hardly expected to become involved in murder when she put that innocent little classified ad in the evening paper. Things weren't that quiet. Listen-- Listen, then, as Miss Lee Patrick stars in "My Dear Niece" which begins in just a moment.

2ND ANNCR:

Welcome, William Bendix!

BENDIX:

Nobody can act up to par with a nasty cold. I check my cold distress the fast way -- with Four-Way Cold Tablets.

2ND ANNCR:

Yes, tests of four leading cold tablets proved Four-Way fastest-acting of all! Amazing Four-Way starts in minutes to relieve aches-pains-headache; reduce fever; calm upset stomach. Also overcomes irregularity!

BENDIX:

Four-Way's the fast way to relieve those cold miseries. Then you feel better quickly.

2ND ANNCR:

Four-Way Cold Tablets -- only twenty-nine and fifty-nine cents.

3RD ANNCR:

Here's a word about another fine product of Grove Laboratories. Yes, you can get rid of embarrassing dandruff while you improve the appearance of your hair -- with Fitch Dandruff-Remover Shampoo. Its special dandruff-removing lather reaches right down to the scalp -- gently, thoroughly. So effective, it's guaranteed to remove itchy dandruff with just one lathering. And yet Fitch can brighten your hair -- actually make it as much as thirty-five percent brighter. See shining highlights you didn't even know were there. For remember this about Fitch Shampoo -- it positively removes dandruff as it definitely acts to brighten your hair. Use it regularly.

ANNOUNCER:

And now--

MUSIC:

THEME BEHIND--

ANNOUNCER:

"My Dear Niece" starring Lee Patrick, a tale well-calculated to keep you in ---- SUSPENSE!

MUSIC:

BRIEF GENTLE INTRODUCTION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) My dear niece. I'm writing you this letter in explanation of certain recent actions of mine about which you are probably curious. You will recall that it was upon your advice that I placed the advertisement in our local paper. And you will probably recall its text. "Widowed woman, genteel, some secretarial experience, drives own car, desires position of interest with reliable business house. Address Mrs. Emily Rogers, Box Two-B or phone Hilton Two-Two-Four-One-Two."

SOUND:

PHONE RINGS ... RECEIVER UP

MRS. ROGERS:

Hello?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Mrs. Emily Rogers, please.

MRS. ROGERS:

This is she speaking.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) I'm calling about the ad you ran in yesterday's paper.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, yes.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) I think I can offer you a position you'd be interested in, Mrs. Rogers. My name is Bruce.

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes, Mr. Bruce?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) We're a very small publishing house, Mrs. Rogers, and we need someone to take care of any of the contacts we might wish to make in your part of the country.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, you aren't from Hilton, then?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) No, our offices are in Los Angeles. We'd pay you fifty dollars a week providing you could use your home as an office -- although, there wouldn't be much office work required. And, as I say, the position primarily would be one of establishing contacts.

MRS. ROGERS:

Why, it sounds fine, Mr. er--?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Bruce.

MRS. ROGERS:

It sounds fine, Mr. Bruce.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Good. Then consider yourself under salary beginning immediately, Mrs. Rogers. I'll phone you again as soon as there's something more definite for you to do.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) And that's how I got the job. I assumed, naturally, that I would immediately receive instructions from Mr. Bruce as to how I should go about "establishing contacts." But the first word I had after the telephone conversation was when the postman arrived the next Saturday with an envelope for me containing a check for fifty dollars. There was no return address on the envelope, and the check was a personal one, bearing no company name. It was signed R. L. Bruce.

Three weeks went by in this fashion. Each Saturday, I would receive the fifty dollar check in the mail. And I began to wonder what I was being paid for when at last I heard from Mr. Bruce.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) I have your first assignment for you, Mrs. Rogers.

MRS. ROGERS:

I was beginning to wonder, Mr. Bruce!

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Getting impatient, were you?

MRS. ROGERS:

(CHUCKLES)

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Well, this will keep you busy for a while.

MRS. ROGERS:

Really?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) A Mr. Paul Stevens will arrive in Hilton this afternoon. He's one of our most promising new authors.

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Mr. Stevens has some rewriting to do on a novel we plan to publish in a few months. Too many people interrupt him here in Los Angeles. I wonder, could you put him up at your home until he finishes?

MRS. ROGERS:

Why, I don't know--

BRUCE:

(FILTER) He'll be no bother, Mrs. Rogers. He has an awful lot of work to do.

MRS. ROGERS:

Well-- Yes, I suppose I could.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) That's fine! It's just a place for him to get away. Oh, uh, one more thing.

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes?

BRUCE:

(FILTER, CAREFULLY) Just so we're sure he's not bothered, don't tell anyone he's staying with you.

MUSIC:

FIRST ACT CURTAIN ... THEN ACCOMPANIES CHORUS--

CHORUS:

(SPEAKING IN UNISON) When a cloud bursts
And fresh clean rain
Falls on a grove of rich, green pines,
It's -- Mmmmmmm! -- so nice!
And now that same clean scent of pine is in
New Pine-Scented Lysol!

4TH ANNCR:

Right! Now the one and only genuine Lysol brand disinfectant comes in a new pine scent. It disinfects, deodorizes, as nothing else does. Kills diseased germs on contact. In laboratory tests, Lysol's anti-germ action kept working for seven full days. A bottle costs as little as twenty-nine cents and it's so easy to use. Just add new pine-scented Lysol to your suds when you clean in bathroom, kitchen, nursery, sickroom. Use pine-scented Lysol because Lysol deep-cleans! Make your home--

CHORUS:

(SINGS) Pine sweet and Lysol clean!

4TH ANNCR:

You can still get regular Lysol, too.

MUSIC:

TWO NOTES FOR PUNCTUATION

ANNOUNCER:

And now--

MUSIC:

THEME BEHIND--

ANNOUNCER:

Starring Lee Patrick, Act Two of "My Dear Niece."

MUSIC:

BRIEF GENTLE INTRODUCTION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) And that's all I knew of the job, my dear niece. A Mr. Paul Stevens would phone me when he arrived in Hilton and I was to let him stay at my home until he had finished a novel he was writing. It seemed ridiculously easy, but at least I would be doing something for my pay. It was quite late in the afternoon -- almost five o'clock -- when the telephone rang.

SOUND:

PHONE RINGS ... RECEIVER UP

MRS. ROGERS:

Hello?

BRUCE:

(FILTER, FAKE MID-ATLANTIC ENGLISH ACCENT) Mrs. Rogers?

MRS. ROGERS:

This is Mrs. Rogers.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) This is Paul Stevens, Mrs. Rogers.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, yes, Mr. Stevens. I've been expecting your call.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) I wonder if you could pick me up?

MRS. ROGERS:

Of course.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Oh, that's very kind of you.

MRS. ROGERS:

Where are you?

BRUCE:

(FILTER) I'm at the corner of, um-- Just a minute. (BEAT) Corner of Brookside and Sierra Madre.

MRS. ROGERS:

Fine. The corner of Brookside and Sierra Madre. I'll be driving a black Buick Coupe.

BRUCE:

(FILTER) Black Buick coupe. I'll be waiting. Bye.

MRS. ROGERS:

Goodbye, Mr. Stevens.

SOUND:

RECEIVER DOWN

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) When I arrived at the corner of Brookside and Sierra Madre, the usually quiet intersection was filled with people and an ambulance was just pulling away.

SOUND:

AMBULANCE PULLS AWAY ... CROWD MURMURS IN BG

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) For all I knew, Mr. Stevens could be in it! Then I saw Officer Barnes in the police car. He would know.

BARNES:

Oh, good afternoon, Mrs. Rogers.

MRS. ROGERS:

What happened?

BARNES:

Hit-and-run accident; few minutes ago.

MRS. ROGERS:

Who was hit?

BARNES:

Man, about thirty five. No identification yet.

MRS. ROGERS:

Was he badly hurt?

BARNES:

He's dead.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, how awful.

BARNES:

Yep.

MRS. ROGERS:

Well, I was supposed to meet someone -- a gentleman -- here. A Mr. Paul Stevens.

BARNES:

I'll be glad to call you when we get an identification on him.

MRS. ROGERS:

Would you? I'd be very grateful.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) I went slowly back to where I had parked. I was confused, and frightened a little that the hit-and-run victim might be Paul Stevens and, if so, how would I get in touch with Mr. Bruce to tell him what had happened to his young author?

SOUND:

CAR ENGINE STARTS ... IDLES IN BG

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) And then, just as I started my car, I heard someone tapping on the window.

SOUND:

TAPPING ON WINDOW ... WINDOW ROLLED OPEN

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes?

BRUCE:

(STILL USING FAKE MID-ATLANTIC ACCENT) Mrs. Rogers?

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes?

BRUCE:

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Paul Stevens.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, Mr. Stevens! I'm so relieved! Please get in. The accident upset me. I was afraid for a minute it was you.

BRUCE:

It wasn't me.

MRS. ROGERS:

Please get in.

BRUCE:

Thank you.

SOUND:

CAR DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) I tried making conversation with Mr. Stevens on the drive home, but he seemed tired and not inclined to talk, and so we drove quietly back to my house. We went inside and I showed Mr. Stevens to his room, and then went into the living room to tidy up. The telephone rang as I was setting out some ash trays.

SOUND:

PHONE RINGS ... RECEIVER UP

MRS. ROGERS:

Hello?

BARNES:

(FILTER) Hello, Mrs. Rogers? This is Officer Barnes.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, yes, Officer, I'm glad you called. I wanted to tell you that I met Mr.--

BARNES:

(FILTER) I checked that identification for you--

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes, well, that's what I wanted to tell you, Officer--

BARNES:

(FILTER) The name was Paul Stevens, all right.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh?

BARNES:

(FILTER) We had a flyer on him; that's how we knew. He was wanted for a payroll robbery in L. A. -- and he wasn't hit by a car, he was thrown from a car. He was murdered.

MUSIC:

STING! ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) I stood there -- frozen with fear, the telephone receiver in my hand -- looking at the door to the hallway, where the man who had called himself Paul Stevens stood smiling tightly, holding a gun in his hand. A gun that was pointed right at me.

MUSIC:

UP, FOR SECOND ACT CURTAIN

5TH ANNCR:

Often on Thanksgiving, we're inclined to eat too much and the result-- Well, acid indigestion can very quickly spoil the pleasant holiday. So remember this!

MUSIC:

FOR JINGLE--

WOMAN:

(SINGS) Do you know about the little white tablets
In the little green pocket roll?
Just a-waitin' for the moment when you need 'em
To bring your acid indigestion under control!
TUMS are the little white tablets
In the little green pocket roll.
TUMS for the tummy, T-U-M-S,
Bring relief quicker than you'd ever guess.
Best for any kind of acid distress,
Keep 'em handy in the pocket roll!
Keep your tummy under TUMS control!

MUSIC:

CONTINUES BEHIND ANNOUNCER--

5TH ANNCR:

Get TUMS, ten cents. Three-roll pack, a quarter. Or get the new six-roll pack with free metal carrier, only forty-nine cents.

MUSIC:

TO A FINISH

ANNOUNCER:

And now--

MUSIC:

THEME BEHIND--

ANNOUNCER:

Starring Lee Patrick, Act Three of "My Dear Niece."

MUSIC:

BRIEF OMINOUS INTRODUCTION ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) Have you any idea, my dear niece, what you do when a man points a gun at you? Well, I'll tell you. You do what he tells you to do.

BRUCE:

(NO ACCENT, GRIM, LOW) Hang up the phone.

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) I hung up the phone.

BRUCE:

Sit down.

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) I sat down. And I said-- [X] (TO BRUCE) Who are you? Why did you pretend to be Mr. Stevens?

BRUCE:

I'm stupid.

MRS. ROGERS:

What?

BRUCE:

I didn't think they would find out who he was. I didn't know he was hot.

MRS. ROGERS:

You killed him?

BRUCE:

Yes. I killed Paul Stevens.

MRS. ROGERS:

Why?

BRUCE:

I run a very special kind of publishing business, Mrs. Rogers -- that much of the story was on the level. I print-- Well, pornographic books. For a very special clientele. Mr. Stevens somehow got hold of a list of my customers and threatened to use it for blackmail. So, I killed him.

MRS. ROGERS:

You horrid man.

BRUCE:

Get your coat on, Mrs. Rogers. You've got some more driving to do.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) He made me drive him to a restaurant on the highway out on the other side of town, a place with quite a bad reputation. All the while I was trying to remember who he was. I say "remember" because there was something familiar about him. But what that something was, I couldn't for the life of me think. There was hardly anyone in the restaurant since it was not yet dinnertime. We'd just been seated at a table when a dark-complexioned man slid into the seat next to the man who wasn't Mr. Stevens.

NEWHOLT:

What are you doing here?

BRUCE:

I had to come; it didn't work! They found out who he was.

NEWHOLT:

Why didn't you stay where you were supposed to?

BRUCE:

She knows I'm not Stevens; a cop told her.

NEWHOLT:

You could stay at her house anyway, couldn't you? Do you have to come out where you could be picked up?

BRUCE:

Al, look-- Listen--!

NEWHOLT:

What's the matter with you? Mary figures out a foolproof way for you to get rid of the guy and hide out right under the cops' noses and you go and louse up the whole deal!

BRUCE:

It's not loused up yet.

NEWHOLT:

It will be if you don't get away quick.

BRUCE:

Maybe. Oh, I don't think you've met Mrs. Rogers. Mrs. Rogers, this is Mr. Al Newholt, who owns this place.

NEWHOLT:

Hi.

MRS. ROGERS:

How do you do?

NEWHOLT:

Look, how'd the cops find out who he was? How?

BRUCE:

He was hot; they had pictures and prints on him. I dumped him on the corner just before I met her.

MRS. ROGERS:

Now I remember! You're Mr. Bruce!

NEWHOLT:

(TO BRUCE) He did the payroll job that--? (TO MRS. ROGERS) What'd you say?

MRS. ROGERS:

He's Mr. Bruce, the man who offered me the job on the phone and asked me to look after Mr. Stevens!

BRUCE:

That's right, Mrs. Rogers. How did you know?

MRS. ROGERS:

Your voice. I thought there was something familiar about you. Now I know! Your voice!

BRUCE:

Al, what are we going to do? The cops know the stiff is Stevens and she knows who I am. What do we do now?

NEWHOLT:

You don't panic. And you get out of here.

BRUCE:

But I need your help, Al!

NEWHOLT:

You're on your own, buddy. And you'd better get out of here before the dinner crowd comes in and somebody maybe recognizes you.

BRUCE:

Okay, Al. So you won't help me.

NEWHOLT:

I can't. Don't you see that?

BRUCE:

Yeah. Sure. Okay. Let's go, Mrs. Rogers.

MRS. ROGERS:

But where?

BRUCE:

Back to your house and start all over again. After that, I'm not sure. But I may have to kill you.

MUSIC:

THIRD ACT CURTAIN ... THEN A CIRCUS PARADE MARCH FOR JINGLE--

2ND CHORUS:

(SINGS) Of all leading filtered cigarettes,
Kent filters best! Kent filters best!
It makes good sense when you smoke Kents!
Kent filters best!

Of all other brands of cigarettes,
Kent tastes the best! Kent tastes the best!
For richer taste than all the rest,
Kent filters best!

It makes good sense when you smoke Kents!

Of all leading filtered cigarettes,
Kent filters best!

MUSIC:

OUT

ANNOUNCER:

And now--

MUSIC:

THEME BEHIND--

ANNOUNCER:

Starring Lee Patrick, Act Four of "My Dear Niece."

MUSIC:

BRIEF OMINOUS INTRODUCTION ... THEN IN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) You may well imagine my fright, my dear niece, as I drove back through town with this bloodthirsty man at my side. My car is not new, as you know, and although I often have trouble with it, I never before had the horn stick.

SOUND:

HORN! ... CONTINUES BLARING, WITH CAR ENGINE IDLING IN BG

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) But that night it stuck -- right on the corner of Brookside and Sierra Madre.

BRUCE:

Stop blowing your horn!

MRS. ROGERS:

I'm sorry, Mr. Bruce! I'm not blowing my horn! It's gotten stuck!

BRUCE:

All right; stop the car!

SOUND:

HORN KEEPS BLARING ... CAR PULLS OVER, CAR DOOR OPENS

BRUCE:

You stay there! Don't try to drive away, see?

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes, I see.

SOUND:

BRUCE'S HURRIED FOOTSTEPS TO CAR HOOD WHICH IS LIFTED ... BRUCE ROUGHLY DISCONNECTS HORN WHICH FINALLY STOPS BLARING ... HOOD SHUT ... BRUCE'S FOOTSTEPS BACK TO CAR DOOR ... HE CLIMBS IN ... DOOR CLOSES

BRUCE:

Let's get out of here.

MYERS:

(OFF) You got the horn fixed, Mrs. Rogers?

BRUCE:

(LOW, TO MRS. ROGERS) Who's that?

MRS. ROGERS:

(NERVOUS) Oh!

MYERS:

(APPROACHES) Good evening, Mrs. Rogers!

BRUCE:

(LOW, TO MRS. ROGERS) Tell him everything's all right.

MYERS:

(CLOSER) Want me to fix that horn for you?

MRS. ROGERS:

No, thank you, Mr. Myers! It's all right!

MYERS:

Well, it'd only take me a second to fix it so you can use it.

MRS. ROGERS:

Never mind. Uh, Mr. Myers, this is Mr. Paul Stevens.

MYERS:

How are ya, sir?

BRUCE:

Hi.

MYERS:

I see you pulled them wires to stop the horn; I usually take care of Mrs. Rogers' car myself. (CHUCKLES) Makes me feel funny when something goes wrong with it, y'know?

BRUCE:

Of course.

MRS. ROGERS:

I'll bring it in in the morning, Mr. Myers.

MYERS:

No sense your bothering, Mrs. Rogers. I'll go along with you now, if you like; take ya home. Not safe driving without a horn. Won't take long to fix it and I'll have the car back to you first thing in the morning.

BRUCE:

(CHARMING) I believe you said you wanted to show me the town this evening, Mrs. Rogers.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh--

BRUCE:

Wouldn't you need the car?

MRS. ROGERS:

Well, I--

BRUCE:

I was looking forward to the drive. You don't mind?

MRS. ROGERS:

No. Of course. (TO MYERS) You will pick the automobile up in the morning, Mr. Myers?

MYERS:

(SENSES SOMETHING WRONG) Uh, sure. Of course.

BRUCE:

Thanks for your trouble, Mr. Myers.

MYERS:

Glad to help. This is such a little town; we all know each other and like each other-- Like to help each other. (CAREFULLY) That so, Mrs. Rogers?

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes.

MYERS:

Well, good night, Mrs. Rogers. And I'm glad to have met you, Mr.--? Stevens?

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) We drove on home. I tried to figure out why he chose me -- out of all the people who must've placed advertisements that day -- as the person with whom he would hide out. But by now I was convinced that Mr. Bruce had deliberately set out to murder Mr. Stevens for some reason and hide out in my house where the police would be most unlikely to look for him. But why my house? Why had he chosen me?

When we got to the house, Mr. Bruce made me place a long-distance call to Los Angeles for him.

SOUND:

PHONE RINGS (CALLER'S PERSPECTIVE)

MRS. ROGERS:

It's ringing.

BRUCE:

All right, give it to me.

SOUND:

PHONE ANSWERED (CALLER'S PERSPECTIVE)

MARY:

(FILTER) Hello?

BRUCE:

Mary?

MARY:

(FILTER) Bud?

BRUCE:

Yeah. Look, meet me at Al's as soon as you can get here. Something's wrong.

MARY:

(FILTER) What's happened? Are you all right?

BRUCE:

Yeah, fine. I'll tell you more when you get here. And get here fast.

MARY:

(FILTER) All right, Bud.

SOUND:

RECEIVER DOWN

BRUCE:

Well, you got any pets you want to feed before we leave?

MRS. ROGERS:

Where are we going?

BRUCE:

Little trip.

SOUND:

PHONE RINGS ... KEEPS RINGING DURING FOLLOWING--

BRUCE:

Don't answer that.

MRS. ROGERS:

It - it might be the operator calling back. She'll wonder!

BRUCE:

Mm. Okay. Answer it. But I'm right here.

SOUND:

RECEIVER UP

MRS. ROGERS:

Hello?

BARNES:

(FILTER) Mrs. Rogers, this is Officer Barnes. Say, "Oh, yes, Operator."

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh, yes, Operator.

BARNES:

(FILTER) Is he still there?

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes, Operator.

BARNES:

(FILTER) Stall him a little; we're coming after him.

MRS. ROGERS:

Thank you, Operator.

SOUND:

RECEIVER DOWN

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) Dear Mr. Myers! He'd understood me -- and he'd told the police -- and they were going to save me! Well, you just can't imagine, my dear niece; I felt exactly like the heroine in a motion picture. I simply had to prevent Mr. Bruce from leaving the house. Just a few minutes, the officer had said. Just time enough for them to get here.

BRUCE:

All right, let's get going.

MRS. ROGERS:

I wish I knew where we were going. Do I have to take anything with me? Will we be gone long?

BRUCE:

You will. A long time.

MRS. ROGERS:

Well, then I'll need several changes of clothes. Let me see--

BRUCE:

You won't need anything.

MRS. ROGERS:

Oh! The heater!

BRUCE:

The what?

MRS. ROGERS:

I left the heater on in the other room. I'd better turn it off.

SOUND:

MRS. ROGERS FOOTSTEPS BEHIND--

BRUCE:

All right. But make it fast. (BEAT) Well?

MRS. ROGERS:

(OFF) Just a second!

SOUND:

MRS. ROGERS FOOTSTEPS RETURN

MRS. ROGERS:

There. Now I feel better about it.

BRUCE:

Okay. Now, you ready?

MRS. ROGERS:

Yes. Now I'm ready.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) Mr. Bruce turned off the lights and opened the front door. It was quiet on the street; peaceful and dark. But I thought for a minute that I saw a figure move suddenly toward us in the shadow. I kept praying. I wanted the police to be there, not only for myself, but because back there in the living room, the pieces of the puzzle had fit together. Now I knew the whole story -- all of the whys and hows. Mr. Bruce motioned for me to go ahead and I walked slowly down the path toward the automobile. I could feel Mr. Bruce a few steps behind me. Midway in the walk, it happened.

BARNES:

Hold 'em high, Bruce!

BRUCE:

(CONFUSED) What?!

BARNES:

Get down, Mrs. Rogers!

BRUCE:

[What? Oh,] there you [are]--!

SOUND:

BANG! BANG! BANG! EXCHANGE OF GUNFIRE

BRUCE:

(DEATH GROAN)

SOUND:

BRUCE'S BODY COLLAPSES TO THE GROUND

BARNES:

Mrs. Rogers! Mrs. Rogers, you all right?

MRS. ROGERS:

(BREATHLESS) I'm all right! Thank you. I'm all right!

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND MRS. ROGERS--

MRS. ROGERS:

(NARRATES) And there it is, my dear niece! The explanation I promised you. I felt, as your aunt, that I should tell you, Mary, how you happen to be in the county jail awaiting trial. When Mr. Al in the roadhouse first mentioned your name I was suspicious, but not until Mr. Bruce made the phone call to you did I piece the story together. You had suggested the advertisement. Your husband answered it and employed me. Oh, if only you'd told me, my dear, that you'd gotten married while you were in Los Angeles. After all, I am your only living relative! And I could've come to your wedding. Then this whole thing wouldn't have happened, would it, dear? Because I would've known Mr. Bruce all the time. Let me know after the trial what your new address is to be and I will continue writing. As always, Aunt Emily.

MUSIC:

CURTAIN

ANNOUNCER:

SUSPENSE--

MUSIC:

KNIFE CHORD

ANNOUNCER:

--in which Lee Patrick starred in William N. Robson's production of "My Dear Niece," written by Elliott Lewis. In just a moment, the names of the supporting players and a word about next week's story of SUSPENSE.

6TH ANNCR:

More families -- far more families -- use Ex-Lax than any other laxative. In fact, today many doctors recommend trusted Ex-Lax for youngsters as well as adults. Ex-Lax is the preferred laxative for one important reason. Ex-Lax helps you toward your normal regularity -- gently, overnight. You see, Ex-Lax gives you the relief you want, the gentle way that nature wants -- without upset, without discomfort. When you take chocolated Ex-Lax at night, it does not disturb your sleep. And Ex-Lax is so effective that the next morning you'll be well on your way toward your normal regularity. Seldom, if ever, will you need Ex-Lax the next day. Little wonder that, of all the laxatives made today -- tablet, powder, or liquid -- Ex-Lax is the most popular. So the next time -- any time -- that you or any member of your family needs a laxative, make that laxative pleasant-tasting, chocolated Ex-Lax. Introductory size only fifteen cents.

ANNOUNCER:

Supporting Lee Patrick in "My Dear Niece" were Lillian Buyeff, Berry Kroeger, Barney Phillips, Jack Kruschen and Norm Alden. Listen-- Listen again next week, when we return with Cathy Lewis in "A Statement of Fact," another tale well-calculated to keep you in--

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KNIFE CHORD

ANNOUNCER:

--SUSPENSE!

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THEME ... TILL END

CBS ANNCR:

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