ANNOUNCER:

NBC presents, transcribed, Frank Lovejoy in--

MUSIC:

TYMPANI ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

(ECHO) NIGHT BEAT!

MUSIC:

THEME ... THEN IN BG ... OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

Hi! This is Randy Stone. I cover the night beat for the Chicago Star. My world is neatly divided into two parts -- day and night. Part one you can have -- with its fume-laden sunshine and noisy peddlers selling everything from eternal youth elixirs to slightly used atom bombs. Part two I'll stick with -- the neon signs that have just been turned off; the cop trying the door of Sam's We-Pay-Cash-For-Everything secondhand store. Yes, I'm happy to commit the merry sunshine hours to sleep, therefore--

SFX:

PHONE RINGS TILL ANSWERED

RANDY:

--my phone ringing at eleven o'clock in the morning can constitute a dissonant, irritating and annoying sound. [X] (SLEEPILY) Oh, wrong number.

SFX: PHONE RECEIVER UP

RANDY:

Whaddya want?

BILLIE:

(FILTER) This is Billie at the paper. That you, Randy?

RANDY:

Yeah, it's me, Randy.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Lucky I found you home.

RANDY:

(MIRTHLESS CHUCKLE) Yeah, sure.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Special delivery letter just came for you.

RANDY:

So? Who's it from?

BILLIE:

(FILTER) It doesn't say on the envelope.

RANDY:

Well, open it, if you haven't already.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Well, it's signed Dolly Graham.

RANDY:

I'm booked solid for the next two weeks.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) It's that Dolly Graham, Randy. I'll read it to you.

RANDY:

Look, Billie--

BILLIE:

(FILTER, READS) Dear Mr. Stone, You're always looking for a story. I've got one for you. I can prove that I was not responsible for Mrs. Thompson's death, that I've been framed.

RANDY: What Thompson death?

BILLIE:

(FILTER) There's more. (READS) Please come and see me today. Signed, Dolly Graham.

RANDY:

That's great. Now maybe you'll tell me who Dolly Graham is.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Try reading the Star once in a while, Randy. Dolly Graham is the girl whose car crashed into Paul Thompson's and killed his wife. She was convicted last week on a manslaughter charge.

RANDY: Which Thompson? The guy running for the state senate?

BILLIE:

(FILTER) That's him. That's why I called you, Randy. The boss thought there might be a story in this.

RANDY: Oh, fine. Well, tell him to break up a canasta game and send one of the day boys over to see her.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) As long as she sent you the letter personally--

RANDY:

Oh, I ought to take this phone and rip it off the wall. Eleven o'clock in the morning!

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Look, Randy, Paul Thompson's news these days. If the paper could hit the street with something hot--

RANDY:

Where is she?

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Women's Detention, California Avenue. Might be a good idea if you came down here first and read up a little on the trial.

RANDY: (DEFIANT) Did I say I was going?

BILLIE:

(FILTER, CHIDES) You're fighting it, Randy. But you're losing.

RANDY: Okay. I'll be right down. But I'll hate myself for it.

MUSIC:

QUICK BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

I adjusted my perspective to daytime living and a couple of hours later I was down at the paper's library reading up on the trial of the People versus Dolly Graham.

The Graham girl hadn't had a chance. According to witnesses, she'd driven her car out of her own driveway at a dangerously high rate of speed and had run straight into Thompson's car. To cinch the case against her, the D.A. pointed out that the girl had two previous reckless driving citations and at the time of the accident her driver's permit had been suspended. Public sympathy had all been with the Thompson family.

From the facts, any guy in his right senses would have forgotten the whole thing -- but then, nobody's ever been able to prove that I am. So, I went over to Women's Detention for a visit with Dolly Graham. [X] The matron, I discovered, was an old friend of mine.

SFX: FOOTSTEPS

NELLIE:

Randy Stone! Glad to see ya. Draw up a chair.

RANDY: I got a pass to see Dolly Graham, Nellie. I'll visit with you later.

NELLIE:

Graham? Whaddya wanna see her about?

RANDY:

Well, confidentially, doll, I've got a little steel saw for her.

NELLIE:

(LAUGHS) All right. Come on.

SFX:

FOOTSTEPS ... DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES ... FOOTSTEPS IN BG

NELLIE:

I hope you're not goin' for that malarkey about her being innocent.

RANDY: Well, I got an open mind, Nellie. You know that.

NELLIE: Those wild, irresponsible kids. Put 'em behind the wheel of a car and it's murder. Plain murder.

RANDY:

Well, that's just what the D.A. said.

NELLIE: Do ya know her license had been suspended?

RANDY:

I read that.

NELLIE: Whaddya wanna mess around with her for? It's an open and shut case.

RANDY:

Well, I don't like open and shut cases.

NELLIE: (DERISIVE) Cheesecake.

RANDY: That trial read like a bad play written for the star performer only. In this case, Mr. Paul Thompson.

SFX:

FOOTSTEPS OUT ... KEYS CLANG, CELL DOOR OPENS

NELLIE:

(OVER ABOVE) You're crazy, but I love ya anyways, Randy. Maybe if you shave regularly--

RANDY:

(CHUCKLES)

NELLIE:

(TO DOLLY) Hey! Ya got a visitor, dearie.

DOLLY:

(OFF) Who is he?

NELLIE:

(DOWN, TO RANDY) Nineteen years old; she might as well be ninety. (UP) Ten minutes, Randy.

RANDY:

Okay.

SFX: CELL DOOR SHUTS

NELLIE:

If you need help, just holler. And I wouldn't be too surprised.

SFX:

NELLIE'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY

DOLLY:

(AFTER A PAUSE) Well?

RANDY:

I'm Randy Stone.

DOLLY:

What does that call for? Three cheers?

RANDY:

Well, I'm the Randy Stone, Chicago Star. The one you sent for.

DOLLY:

I sent for you? You must be nuts. (BEAT) Got a cigarette?

RANDY: Yeah. Here. Keep them.

DOLLY:

Thanks.

SFX:

MATCH STRIKES

DOLLY:

What are you starin' at?

RANDY:

You're just a kid. A frightened kid tryin' to hide it behind a cloud of cigarette smoke.

DOLLY:

All right, so I'm scared. What do you want?

RANDY:

I got this letter from you this morning, Special Delivery. This was your idea.

DOLLY:

I didn't write any letter. Let's see it.

RANDY:

Here.

SFX: PAPER RUSTLES

DOLLY:

It's my name, but - I didn't write this letter.

RANDY: Well, read it.

DOLLY:

I am.

RANDY: Make any sense to you?

DOLLY:

(BEAT) Just this about George Saunders. He was in the car with me when it happened.

RANDY: Not according to the testimony.

DOLLY: He beat it before the police got there. I told them about it at the trial, but they didn't believe me.

RANDY:

Why'd he run out on you?

DOLLY:

He'd broken parole, I think, in - in Kansas or Wyoming. Someplace like that. (BITTER) They tried to make a deal with me.

RANDY:

Who did?

DOLLY:

They told me if I pleaded guilty it'd be treated just like any other traffic accident. But I told them "No! It wasn't my fault." So they made it manslaughter. A politician's wife was killed.

RANDY: Well, your record made it a cinch to convict you.

DOLLY: Thompson's car crashed into mine, I tell ya!

RANDY:

A car's always been sort of a mechanical toy to you, hasn't it?

DOLLY:

Oh, not another lecture comin' up.

RANDY: I'm sorry, Dolly. That's the good citizen in me. Keeps coming out every once in a while. Go on.

DOLLY: My lawyer told me not to try and buck Paul Thompson. He said Thompson couldn't afford any unfavorable publicity on account of his running for the senate. So, here I am.

RANDY:

I'd like to know who sent this letter.

DOLLY: You're wasting your time, Mr. Stone.

RANDY: Well, you keep talking. Try to-- Well, tell me anything that you can remember.

DOLLY:

I was waiting for this car to pass. My car was standing still in the driveway. I swear it! Then his car started weaving like he was drunk or something. Next thing I know is the crash.

RANDY: Well, the Thompson car rolled over on its side. You remember that?

DOLLY:

First thing I saw was her -- the wife -- lying on the street. Dead. I heard someone trying to get out of the other car so I ran over to see if I could help.

RANDY: And, by this time, your boyfriend had disappeared, I take it.

DOLLY:

Mr. Thompson was helping his daughter out. He said something to her and she started running down the street.

RANDY: What did he say to her?

DOLLY:

(UNCERTAIN) I - heard it. But I - I don't remember exactly.

RANDY: Well, he testified in court that he told her to go and bring a doctor. Is that what he said?

DOLLY:

No. It was nothing about a doctor. He - he told her--

RANDY:

(BEAT) What?

DOLLY:

(EXHALES) I'm trying to think. Something about home.

RANDY: The words. Try to think of the exact words.

DOLLY:

"Go on home," I think he said. "Go on home, Ann. I'll look after things myself." That's all he said to her.

RANDY:

Uh huh. This friend of yours, George Saunders--

DOLLY:

Then Mr. Thompson kinda staggered over to where his wife was and he fainted. Then the people started comin' around. They started shouting at me and blaming me. And Mr. Bell told everybody he'd seen me do it.

RANDY: That's the next door neighbor?

DOLLY:

He lied! He told 'em it was my fault. I don't know why, but he lied.

RANDY:

I'll have a talk with him, Dolly.

DOLLY: (RESIGNED) Oh, it's no use. What did the D.A. call me? "An irresponsible, wild-eyed lady of the night." You should have seen the way the jury's eyes lit up when he said that. I knew it was all over then.

RANDY: You haven't told me about Saunders. Where can I find him?

DOLLY: He played clarinet at the Jazz Bar on Higgins Avenue. Know where it is?

RANDY:

Yeah.

DOLLY:

They wanted me to plead guilty to the accident. Well. I guess I should have. (IDLY) There's something screwy about Thompson helping the girl out of the car, but I can't think what it is.

SFX: KEYS CLANG, CELL DOOR OPENS

NELLIE:

Time's up, Randy.

RANDY:

Okay.

DOLLY: Do you believe me, Mr. Stone?

RANDY:

Yeah, I believe ya. But what does that mean? Nothing. I'm a notorious screwball about such things.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

I believed her. Maybe it was intuition, maybe it was just the frightened, pleading look in the girl's eyes. I went back to the office and read the trial records again. If ever a conviction had been pre-fabricated, Dolly Graham had gotten it. The evidence had been flimsy, the witnesses unreliable. And several times the jury had been reminded of Mr. Thompson's fine record as a citizen in the community.

I worked myself into a belligerent frame of mind and went looking for Mr. George Saunders at the Jazz Bar on Higgins Avenue. A waitress told me he hadn't worked there since the day after Dolly Graham's accident. By two a.m., I was convinced that George Saunders wasn't in Chicago.

So I went back to the office and wrote a nice vitriolic column about trials and courtroom procedures. Nothing specific, you understand. Just a poisonous bit about how many people are railroaded into jail sentences because of a willingness to find a person guilty before the trial.

Then I went home, set the alarm for one o'clock in the afternoon and I went to bed. The mechanical monster did its work and by two o'clock I was climbing the few steps to Mr. Bell's porch, Dolly's neighbor, [X] the one who'd sworn he'd seen the accident take place.

SFX:

RANDY'S FOOTSTEPS ONTO PORCH DURING ABOVE ... SMALL DOG YIPS IN BG, THEN FADES OUT BEHIND--

RANDY:

Mr. Bell?

BELL:

That's me. What do you want?

RANDY:

It's about that Thompson accident case.

BELL:

I ought to start charging for all the talkin' I've been doin' about that.

RANDY:

My name is Stone. I'm with the Chicago Star.

BELL:

I read it all the time.

RANDY:

Well, we're thinking of doing a feature story. Pictures of you and your wife. The works.

BELL: As soon as she moved into the roomin' house next door, I knew what kind she was.

RANDY: Ah, you saw the actual crash take place, Mr. Bell?

BELL:

I was sittin' right here. She came shootin' out of her driveway; she was doin' forty, I bet. Reckless. Murderous reckless.

RANDY: Your chair was right there where it is now?

BELL: Same spot. I told the missus the day that girl run over my dog, she'll kill a person someday. And she did. She killed that poor Mrs. Thompson.

RANDY: Well, maybe you just heard the crash, Mr. Bell. Could that be?

BELL:

I seen it, I said. She run over and killed my dog. And did it deliberate. You think she was sorry? (DARK LAUGH) Not her.

RANDY: Mind letting me sit in that chair for a minute?

BELL:

Go ahead.

RANDY:

Thank you.

SFX:

THEY CHANGE POSITIONS

BELL:

Whaddya wanna do that for?

RANDY:

I'm just tryin' to figure out how you could've seen the driveway from here. All I can see is a brick wall and two big trees.

BELL:

Well now, you wouldn't make me out to be a liar, would ya? I seen it all!

RANDY: You must have yourself a trick set of eyes, then.

BELL:

I told 'em in court I seen it and they believed me.

RANDY: Well, maybe you saw it because you wanted to see it. You weren't exactly fond of that girl, you know.

BELL: That's nothin' to do with it. If I hadn't seen it, I'd have said so.

RANDY:

You'd have had to be hanging a foot over the railing before you could have seen the accident.

BELL: Well, maybe that's what I was doin' then. You can't make no liar outta me. You go talk to Miss Marks. She lives in the same house as that Graham girl. She seen it, too.

RANDY:

Uh huh. I'm going to. Oh, is it all right if I send somebody around here later to take some pictures?

BELL:

Why, sure thing, and-- Oh, say, if you're writin' somethin' in the paper, don't forget to say that the missus is a fine dress maker. Ohh, she's one of the best in this section.

RANDY: (CHUCKLES, DRY) Well, we'll headline that fact.

MUSIC: TO A FINISH

ANNOUNCER:

NBC is bring you NIGHT BEAT starring Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone.

This is a call to service for fifty thousand young women. That figure, fifty thousand, is the number of student nurses needed this year -- and the need is acute! Women trained in the nursing profession are wanted because of increased requirements in serving the Armed Forces. And there is also a demand for nursing services for the civilian population. Hospital admissions throughout the country have increased from ten million in Nineteen Forty to nearly seventeen million yearly. It is estimated that one out of every ten girls graduating from America's high schools this year must enter nursing schools if the fifty thousand student nurse quota is to be met.

Student nurses pursue interesting, vital subjects in well-equipped classrooms and laboratories. After completing their training, they can choose between work with the Armed Forces, work in hospital service, private duty, research, teaching, public health or some other interesting field.

Now, to qualify as a student nurse, a young woman must be a high school graduate or college student of good health and character. To answer this call, go to your nearest hospital or collegiate school of nursing, or talk with your school advisor.

MUSIC:

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

ANNOUNCER:

And now back to NIGHT BEAT and Randy Stone.

RANDY:

This thing was beginning to scare me. Mr. Bell couldn't possibly have seen that accident, and yet the Supreme Court couldn't have shaken his testimony. The girl had killed his dog and since that day he'd carried around enough malice in his heart to be able to send her to prison on a phony charge. I went next door to the rooming house where Dolly had lived. Miss Marks, another one of the witnesses against the Graham girl, lived in one of the upstairs rooms. [X]

SFX:

MUFFLED RADIO PLAYS A TUNE ... KNOCK ON APARTMENT DOOR WHICH OPENS ... RADIO MUSIC UP

MARKS:

Yes?

RANDY:

I'm a newspaper reporter. I'd like an interview with you.

MARKS:

Oh, come on in.

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES

MARKS:

I'll turn the radio off and you sit down.

RANDY: Thank you.

MARKS:

Care for some wine? Sherry?

SFX:

RADIO MUSIC SWITCHED OFF

RANDY:

No, thank you.

MARKS:

Sherry's good for ya. The other stuff's poison.

RANDY:

(CHUCKLES) So I've heard.

MARKS:

Makes ya feel better if you're -- ill. And it helps time go quicker. You were talkin' to Mr. Bell next door about Dolly Graham. I heard ya through the winda. You know Dolly? She had more boy friends--

RANDY:

No.

MARKS:

A good-looking girl. Hair just like mine was. Mine was natural, though. Would you think it to see me now? I was very pretty, too.

RANDY:

Sure. And you're not out of it yet. Uh, about the crash--

MARKS:

Oh, I'm tired of talkin' about that accident.

RANDY: You heard her leaving her room?

MARKS:

Laughing. He was kidding her.

RANDY:

Well, in court you said that she came out alone.

MARKS:

I said I wasn't sure if she was with somebody else.

RANDY: Oh. But you heard a man's voice?

MARKS:

Maybe. Oh, there were no long empty evenings for her. (SADLY) Not like some people have. She used to rib me about it. Said she'd fix me up with a date. Stuff like that. It hurt.

RANDY:

You were looking out of the window when it happened?

MARKS:

Yes.

RANDY:

There was nobody in Dolly's car with her?

MARKS:

No. She said he ran out on her. I didn't see him. That's a laugh, isn't it?

RANDY: Yeah, it's hilarious.

MARKS:

When it came right down to a pinch, she was alone, too. Even the young, pretty ones are alone. (GIGGLES) I had a time of it when the reporters and police started comin' around. (UNHAPPILY) But even that didn't last long.

RANDY: Did you see--? Aw, never mind.

MARKS:

Oh. I'm not much good to you, am I, mister?

RANDY: (PLEASANT) Well, thanks anyway.

MUSIC: QUICK BRIDGE .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

I checked into the office about three o'clock. Billie, the managing editor's Girl Friday, collared me. [X]

BILLIE:

(OFF) Randy -- come into the office for a minute.

SFX:

RANDY'S FOOTSTEPS TO OFFICE DOOR WHICH CLOSES

RANDY:

What's the matter, Billie? You look very unhappy about something.

BILLIE:

Not me; the managing editor. It's, umm, this morning's column of yours. It's directed against Paul Thompson, isn't it?

RANDY:

Well, generally speaking, yes. Specifically, no.

BILLIE:

Well, you know the Star is supporting him in his bid for the senate.

RANDY:

Yeah. If I insinuated the trial left a pretty foul odor behind, it's because I think so.

BILLIE:

A judge tries her, a jury convicts her, but Stone the Avenger thinks she's been railroaded.

RANDY: Like a rocket-powered express.

BILLIE: Thompson's attorney phoned. The M.E. wants no more of it.

RANDY: Oh, I see.

BILLIE: As a matter of fact, Thompson wants to talk to you.

RANDY: Since when is the Star influenced by politicians?

BILLIE:

Proof's one thing, Randy, conjecture is another. Give the boss proof and he'll print it.

RANDY:

The girl is taking a phony rap, I'm sure of it.

BILLIE: (SIGHS) All right. All right, get yourself fired.

RANDY: I sent one of the photographers down to take some pictures from the neighbor's house. Those pictures are gonna prove the guy was lying. He said he saw the accident; he couldn't have.

BILLIE: You're going to need something a lot more conclusive than that before you can make a story out of it, Randy.

RANDY:

I know it, I know it. I'm working on two more angles. First, to find out who wrote this letter. Then, to find Dolly's boyfriend -- the missing musician.

BILLIE:

You believe there was guy with her?

RANDY:

Yeah.

BILLIE:

Let me look at that letter.

SFX: PAPER RUSTLES

RANDY:

A friend of mine, Alf Harriman, is on the board of the local musician's union. He's trying to trace this Saunders for me. If he phones while I'm out, will you take a message?

BILLIE:

Mm-hmm. Umm, this is a girl's handwriting, Randy.

RANDY:

You sure?

BILLIE:

Pretty sure. It was mailed from Wilmette late last night. That's about thirty miles from here; high-class residential section.

RANDY:

I - I live here, remember?

BILLIE:

The boss told Mr. Thompson you'd call him as soon as we heard from you.

RANDY:

It's late, Billie.

BILLIE:

He said no matter what time it was, he wants to see you.

RANDY:

Well, I'll go see him now. Don't forget, if Harriman phones, take the message.

BILLIE:

Harriman?

RANDY:

The guy from the musician's union, about Saunders.

BILLIE:

Oh!

RANDY:

Now, how about Paul Thompson?

BILLIE:

Uh, he lives in the Nelson Apartments on Lakewood Terrace.

RANDY:

Good. I'll call you as soon as he's had me bounced out on the street.

MUSIC:

QUICK BRIDGE .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

Half an hour later, a nurse ushered me into Thompson's study. She'd warned me that Mr. Thompson was a pretty sick man and that I shouldn't say anything to excite or disturb him. She closed the door behind me. [X]

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES ... RANDY'S FOOTSTEPS BRIEFLY BEHIND--

RANDY:

He looked old and tired and he waved me to a chair near him.

PAUL:

I'm sorry I can't rise to receive you. I haven't been very well.

RANDY:

I'm sorry to hear that. You left a message you wanted to see me.

PAUL:

Obviously, we had to meet very shortly, so I took the initiative.

RANDY: Yeah, I'm told you were disturbed about my column in this morning's Star.

PAUL:

Both its tone and contents were clearly directed against my family.

RANDY:

I was attacking a series of principles, not any individuals.

PAUL:

Running as I am for the senate next month your insinuations must have an adverse effect on my campaign. I have learned that you are conducting a private investigation into the - the tragic death of my wife.

RANDY:

Well, to deny that would be stupid.

PAUL:

In the face of such overwhelming evidence as was presented in the court, do you mean to say that further inquiries could serve any useful purpose?

RANDY:

Well, that remains to be seen. I'm interested in facts only, Mr. Thompson. I think you can help end my investigation here and now.

PAUL:

How?

RANDY:

Well, let me talk to your daughter. Is she home?

PAUL:

She's in no condition to see anyone. Poor child is on the point of a serious breakdown. She's never recovered from that horrible night.

RANDY: A few words with her -- that's all I want.

PAUL:

It's impossible. She's not in the city, at any rate.

RANDY:

Well, where is she?

PAUL:

(BEAT) Mr. Stone, I've wanted nothing so much in my life as I want that seat in the senate.

RANDY: That's a laudable ambition, sir.

PAUL:

I shall let no obstacle stand in my way.

RANDY: In time, you should get the presidency.

PAUL:

I have thought of a solution which might be - compatible to both of us.

RANDY:

Well, nothing would suit me better.

PAUL:

I've long been searching for a young, aggressive man to - run my campaign for me.

RANDY: I'm afraid I'm losing you.

PAUL:

You are that man, Mr. Stone. Whatever your present salary is, I will double it, under contract for three years.

RANDY:

I see.

PAUL:

These attacks on my family must stop. I can't fight it, so I'll buy it.

RANDY:

You've got this figured out for some high-class journalistic blackmail, haven't you, Mr. Thompson?

PAUL:

There must be no more unfavorab-- (STOPS SHORT, STRUGGLES TO SPEAK) --unfavorable publicity on--

RANDY:

What's the matter, Mr. Thompson? What is it?

PAUL:

(GASPS) Diabetic. Insulin on the table. Do you know how to administer it?

RANDY:

No. What can I do?

PAUL:

(GASPS) The nurse. Call her quickly.

SFX:

RANDY'S QUICK FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR WHICH OPENS

RANDY:

(CALLS) Nurse?! In here! Quick!

MUSIC:

AN ACCENT .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

The nurse gave him the insulin and I watched life come back to him. He tried to talk to me but the nurse insisted that I go -- an order I lost no time in carrying out. I got to a phone as fast as I could and called Billie at the paper. [X]

SFX:

PHONE RINGS (CALLER'S PERSPECTIVE)

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Hello?

RANDY:

Billie, I want you to do something for me in a hurry.

BILLIE: (FILTER) Wait a minute! Your friend from the musician's union phoned.

RANDY: Well?

BILLIE:

(FILTER) He's located Saunders -- at the Exeter Hotel, downtown, room three-twelve.

RANDY:

Oh, good, good. Now if I can get to him tonight--

BILLIE:

(FILTER) He's in his room; I checked with the clerk. And I sent one of the boys down to follow him in case he leaves.

RANDY:

Thanks, Billie. It's nice to have you on the team.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) I saw the pictures taken from Bell's porch. He couldn't possibly have seen the accident.

RANDY:

Yeah. I'll go and talk to the musician right away. Now here's what you gotta do for me.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Yeah.

RANDY:

Go down to the motor vehicles license bureau; get me all the information you can on the Thompsons' driver's licenses. Both the old man's and the girl's.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) What's on your mind, Randy?

RANDY:

I don't know yet.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) Well, I don't know if they'll give me any information this time of night.

RANDY: Well, give them a spiel about the Public Records Act. That'll work.

BILLIE:

(FILTER) When'll I see you?

RANDY:

As soon as I can bring Saunders back to give us tomorrow's front page story.

MUSIC:

QUICK BRIDGE .. THEN IN BG

RANDY:

Tommy Sullivan was one of my colleagues on the Star and he was waiting for me in the lobby of the hotel. The musician was still in his room, he told me. I climbed two flights of stairs of dingy firetrap. Saunders was in his room, all right.

MUSIC:

CHANGES TO MUTED SOLO JAZZ CLARINET, IN BG

RANDY:

I knew it as soon as I stood outside his door.

MUSIC:

CLARINET FILLS PAUSE ... THEN OUT WITH--

SFX:

KNOCK ON HOTEL DOOR

GEORGE:

(FROM BEHIND DOOR) Come on in.

SFX:

HOTEL DOOR OPENS ... RANDY'S FOOTSTEPS IN

GEORGE:

Hi! Be with you in a minute. I don't wanna let go of this lick.

MUSIC:

FIVE SECONDS OF JAZZ CLARINET ... THEN OUT

GEORGE:

How'd ya like it?

RANDY:

That sounded great.

GEORGE:

I don't think I know you. What was it you wanted?

RANDY:

It's about Dolly Graham.

GEORGE:

You a policeman?

RANDY:

No.

RANDY: Oh.

MUSIC: ANOTHER FIVE SECONDS OF JAZZ CLARINET ... THEN OUT

GEORGE:

What was it you wanted?

RANDY:

I talked to her yesterday. She said that you were in the car with her when it happened.

GEORGE:

Does the jury believe that's important now?

RANDY:

You were with her in the car? Just give me a yes or no.

GEORGE:

Yeah. I guess I was.

RANDY: And you wouldn't step in and help the girl out?

GEORGE:

I thought about it lots of times. I didn't have the guts. I'm wanted out west. I jumped parole and if they ever get their hands on me, it'd be too bad. Too bad, don't you see?

RANDY:

Oh, you're a nice boy. You're coming with me now.

GEORGE:

I can't. I thought for sure she'd beat the case. We were just sitting there. I said, the guy who's driving, he's drunk.

RANDY:

The GUY who was driving?

GEORGE:

Sure. It was a man. I saw him.

RANDY: His daughter said she was driving the car.

GEORGE: Well, she wasn't.

RANDY:

Come on. We're going places.

GEORGE:

You don't understand. I just can't do it.

RANDY:

Well, I'll help you.

SFX:

FOOTSTEPS AS RANDY DRAGS A RELUCTANT GEORGE OUT OF ROOM ... CONTINUES BEHIND--

RANDY:

Now get moving.

GEORGE:

They'll get me on that Kansas thing.

SFX:

HOTEL DOOR SHUTS ... THEIR FOOTSTEPS TO STAIRS

GEORGE:

The stairs are kinda narrow, you better walk ahead of me.

RANDY:

So it was man driving--

BIZ:

GEORGE GRUNTS WITH EFFORT AS HE CLOBBERS RANDY WHO MOANS

SFX:

RANDY IS STRUCK AND FALLS

MUSIC:

QUICK BRIDGE .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

I don't know what he hit me with. If it was a fist, it had been milled by the American Steel Company. I went down and he got away from me. Couple of aspirins and a cab ride later, I was back at the office. [X]

SFX:

OFFICE DOOR OPENS ... RANDY'S FOOTSTEPS IN ... DOOR SHUTS

BILLIE:

What happened to you?

RANDY:

The musician hit and ran. He got away. What did you find out about the licenses?

BILLIE:

Thompson's daughter Ann -- she had a license issued to her, all right. A day after the accident.

RANDY: After the accident? It's beginning to gel.

BILLIE:

That isn't all. Thompson's own license had been revoked over a year ago for reasons of health. That's all they'd tell me. How's it look to you, Randy?

RANDY:

Thompson was driving. That's why he helped the girl out of the car. He got out first. He knew there'd be no doubt of his criminal responsibility so he got the girl--

BILLIE:

Proof! We've got to prove it.

RANDY:

Well, I'm pretty sure I know how to get it. I think I know who sent me this letter.

BILLIE:

Ann Thompson?

RANDY:

Yeah. She just couldn't go along with it all the way. The old man knew it, too. That's why he kept her out of town.

BILLIE:

The letter was postmarked Wilmette.

RANDY: Shouldn't be hard to find her.

BILLIE: You gonna see her tonight?

RANDY:

Let's get busy on it.

MUSIC: QUICK BRIDGE .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

Wasn't too hard to find the girl. Postmark on the letter directed us to Wilmette, a high-class residential area forty miles out of the city. The telephone operator there knew just who I meant -- the Thompson girl, visiting with an aunt on Elm Street. I drove out there. The girl must have been waiting for me. I'd hardly started to press the bell on the door when it opened. [X]

SFX:

DOORBELL RINGS AND DOOR OPENS, SIMULTANEOUS

ANN:

Yes?

RANDY:

I got your letter this morning.

ANN:

Come in, Mr. Stone.

RANDY:

Thank you.

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES

ANN:

Have you - have you seen my father?

RANDY:

Yeah.

ANN:

Is he all right?

RANDY:

He's all right.

ANN:

I was hoping you'd come. I - I couldn't go on hiding a thing like that the rest of my life, could I?

RANDY:

No, you couldn't.

ANN: Dad didn't know mother was - was dead. He thought it was just a traffic accident.

RANDY: So he told you to say that you'd been driving.

ANN:

He shouldn't have been driving; the doctor warned him. (BEAT) Do you want me to go back to the city with you?

RANDY:

Yes, I think you'd better. The police will want to talk to you and a lot of other people, too.

ANN:

All right. I felt so bad when I had to tell those lies in court.

RANDY: Yeah, I know.

ANN:

Poor girl standing there, staring at me. I felt like crying. (SOBS) I feel like crying now.

RANDY: Come on, honey. It's a long drive back to town.

MUSIC: BRIDGE .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

RANDY:

So, what does it prove? Maybe nothing. But then look at it this way -- Dolly Graham almost served a prison term because of a chain of what amounted to perjured testimony.

Oh, nothing intentional, mind you. Mr. Bell was too righteous a man to deliberately swear falsely; he just called his shots the way he thought they should be. The same with the lonely Miss Marks who substituted bitterness and a small drop of sherry for the "truth and nothing but the truth." And Mr. Thompson, who couldn't possibly lose the senate race.

See how some of the facts became confused in their minds because first they were confused in their hearts? And that's the truth of the matter. And those are the facts. Yep. [X] (SARCASTIC) "By golly," "Honest Injun," and "sure thing."

Huh!

SFX: INTERCOM SWITCH

RANDY:

(CALLS) Copy boy!

MUSIC:

CURTAIN .. THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

ANNOUNCER:

NIGHT BEAT, starring Frank Lovejoy, is produced and directed by Warren Lewis. Tonight's transcribed story was written by Lewis and Rusoff with music by Robert Armbruster. Featured in tonight's cast were Jeannette Nolan, Howard McNear, Bill Conrad, Paul Frees, Charlotte Lawrence and Betty Moran. Listen next week at this time and every week as Randy Stone searches through the city for the strange stories waiting for him in the darkness.

MUSIC: OUT BEHIND--

NBC ANNCR:

Three chimes mean good times on NBC. Tomorrow evening, there's a favorite program for every taste on NBC. Western fans will want to hear THE ROY ROGERS SHOW, while music lovers will find enjoyable listening on THE MARIO LANZA SHOW, and to tickle your funny bone tomorrow, hear BOB AND RAY, this year's winners of the Peabody Award, radio's highest honor. Yes, Friday brings entertainment for everyone with BOB AND RAY, MARIO LANZA and ROY ROGERS.

DRAGNET brings you authentic adventure of your police force, tonight on NBC.

MUSIC:

NBC CHIMES