Speaker 1: Welcome to the Detectives of Old Time Radio from Voice Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of Yours truly
Johnny Dollar. But first I do want to encourage you.
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Johnny Dollar air dot com first. Well now from July six,
nineteen fifty eight, here is the Blinker Matter.
Speaker 2: From Hollywood.
Speaker 3: It's time now for Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 2: Fred willis a Surety Mutual Limited.
Speaker 4: Johnny.
Speaker 3: Oh, hi, Fred, what's on your mind at the moment?
San Francisco. Oh? Nice, down to have on your mind?
What's new out there? That's what I hope you're going
to tell me?
Speaker 5: What do you mean, Johnny doesn't a porter out there
name of Andrew Foreman.
Speaker 6: We're carrying a fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3: Policy on his life. So have you ever heard of
an importer getting exported? I don't get your Fred. I'm
afraid that's what's happened to Foreman last night.
Speaker 2: He disappeared.
Speaker 3: I'm on my way.
Speaker 2: Bob Bailey and the Exciting Adventures of the Man with
the Action Pact expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance.
Speaker 3: Investigators, Truly Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 2: And now Act one of yours, Truly Johnny.
Speaker 3: Dollar expense account submitted by a special investigator, Johnny Dollar,
to the Home Office Surety Mutual Limited, Hartford, Connecticut, following
his an acount of expenses incurred during my investigation of
the Blinker Matter expense account at a one one hundred
and seventy eight dollars fifty cents transportation and incidentals to
San Francisco. On the flight out, I studied the dope
Fred Wills at Sampay Andrew Foreman Age fifty one occupation
and porter health good. Judging from the hefty premium he
had to pay, his importing business must be okay. Wife
Marsha Foreman aged thirty five, sixteen years younger than her husband,
and Marsha was the sole beneficiary. My plane landed about
eight in the morning. An hour later I was at
the Farman's apartment. It was spacious, modern, with a lot
of glass and the kind of view of the bay
that you had to pay plenty for. Yeah, there was
money written all over the place, and marsha Foreman looked
right at home.
Speaker 7: I'm just having coffee on the terrace, Mitter Dollar. Won't
you join me?
Speaker 3: Oh? Thanks, I could use some out here. You sure
you got a beautiful view here?
Speaker 7: Yes, I never get tired of watching the bay, the ships.
There's always something going on. Oh, here you are, thanks.
Speaker 8: What is it, mister Dollar? Oh I'm just looking at
the pay Alcatraz. Yeah, such a grim looking place.
Speaker 3: Ah, it's a real exclusive club, but I managed to
get a couple of no members into it.
Speaker 7: I don't think I care for the kind of job
you have, mister Dollar. Trouble wherever you go.
Speaker 3: Suppose we talk about your troubles.
Speaker 7: All right?
Speaker 8: I told the police all I know when I filled
out the missing person's report.
Speaker 7: But I'll go over it again for.
Speaker 3: You, if you don't mind. Your husband disappeared the night
before last.
Speaker 7: Yes, that's right.
Speaker 3: What time?
Speaker 8: I'm not sure around nine o'clock that night, somebody came
to see him of a strange sort of man.
Speaker 3: How do you mean strange?
Speaker 8: Well, he was dressed in rough clothes, a seaman's jacket.
Speaker 7: He said he was an old friend of my husband's.
Speaker 3: Did he give you his name, missus Farman, only blinker? Blinker?
Speaker 8: Yes, he said that's what everybody called him. I guess
because he kept blinking his eyes very rapidly.
Speaker 3: I see.
Speaker 5: Well.
Speaker 8: I showed this this blinker person into the den where
my husband was, and left the two of them together
a few minutes later, my husband came out and told
me he was going to drive Blinker downtown and find
him a hotel room. So I went to bed. I
was tired and went right to sleep. And well, my
husband and I have adjoining bedrooms. When I went in
to call him yesterday morning, he was gone the bed.
It hadn't been slept in. I called his office, thinking
he might have decided to work late, but they hadn't
seen him.
Speaker 3: Then you call the police, yes, missus Foreman, had your
husband ever mentioned this man Blinker before?
Speaker 7: No, I'm quite certain he hadn't. Can you describe him? Well,
he wasn't.
Speaker 8: Above medium height, age, oh maybe in the forties. A
scar on his right cheek, his thin nose, and dark,
rather beady eyes.
Speaker 7: I'm afraid that's the best I can do.
Speaker 3: Well, considering that you only got a brief look at him,
I'd say that was a pretty complete description.
Speaker 7: Mister Dollar. Do you think this person Blinker could have
done anything my husband?
Speaker 3: I don't know, but I'm sure the police are looking
for him. Just one more question, missus Foreman. Suppose Blinker
had nothing to do with your husband's disappearance.
Speaker 8: I'm afraid I don't follow you.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 3: What I mean is, can you think of any reason,
any reason at all, why your husband might want to disappear?
Speaker 7: No, mister Dollar, absolutely not.
Speaker 3: Mascha Foreman sounded pretty certain of that last answer. Maybe
just a little bit too certain. Expense account had him
to a toleraty cabfait to the office of an old
friend of mine, Detective Lieutenant Scappella. John If Foreman took
this character Blinker to a hotel, it's no hotel we
ever heard of. We've covered them all. You think Blinker
could have killed Foreman? It's possibility. What's another Maybe there
is no Blinker? Yeah, it's capella. I thought about that too.
Speaker 4: General, didn't it hit you? There was something strange about
missus Foreman's story. She said she let Blinker in the apartment,
she showed him to the den. Now, she could have
only seen him a couple of minutes, yet she rattled
off a complete description. Yeah, she rhythm me scapella right
between the eyes and the way she described. Yeah, I
know seaman's jacket, beady, blinking eyes, scar on the right cheek,
or he sounds real distinctive, real distinctive or real fake.
The trouble is smelling of Fake's one thing. Proving it's another.
What do we got for a motive?
Speaker 3: For one thing? Fifty thousand bucks? She was former soul beneficiary.
That's interesting, that's real interesting. Excuse me, the gentle capella?
Oh oh yes, what.
Speaker 6: I see?
Speaker 4: Yes, okay, yes, all right, thanks miss Ronald. John looks
like we've got to back up and start all audiom.
That was Wayne Arnold. That's Foreman's attorney. He had a
telephone call this morning from Foreman. Now, but from somebody
just as interesting. Blinker, yeah, blinker.
Speaker 2: Fact two of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 3: In a moment.
Speaker 2: Many of us on the job are clockwatchers and time
clock punchers just waiting for time to quit. When is
it really time to quit? The man with a set
day of work as a schedule to adhere to. But
the fighting man quits only when the job is done,
and to him, capture by the enemy does not mean
the end, but perhaps only the beginning of the most
important part of his job. One of the points of
the Code of Conduct for the American fighting Man says, quote,
if I am captured, I will continue to resist by
all means available.
Speaker 3: I will make every effort to escape and aid others
to escape.
Speaker 2: I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
Speaker 3: On quote.
Speaker 2: The strong ideals set forth There are the same ideals
that gave great determination to one young officer of the
United States Navy. Half an hour after Lieutenant Edward VM.
Eazak's ship was sunk by three torpedoes in the Atlantic
Ocean in May nineteen eighteen, at the height of World
War One, he was taken prisoner by the commander of
the German submarine U ninety. During the U boat's trip
back to Germany, Lieutenant Eazac learned a great deal of
vital secret information about U boat moving. Determined to make
this information available to the United States and Allied naval authorities.
Lieutenant Eazac, while on his way to a prisoner of
war camp, risked his life by jumping through the window
of a rapidly moving train.
Speaker 3: Severely injured by his fall, he was again captured months later.
Speaker 2: Aided by several American Army officers who short circuited the
prison lighting system, Lieutenant Eazac escaped through barbed wire fences
and amid heavy rifle fire from the guards. After seven
days and nights of rugged travel over the mountains and
with only raw vegetables for food, he swam the swift
current of the Rhine River right under the noses of
the enemy sentries. Evading many enemy soldiers. He reached the
American legation in Berne, Switzerland, and completed his self assigned mission.
For risking his life many times above and beyond the
call of duty, Lieutenant Edward Eazac was awarded the Medal
of Honor his personal code of conduct. It made him
realize that war doesn't end with confinement as a prisoner
of war. That is when the real responsibility may begin.
And now act two of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar, and
the Blinker matters. Like Scapella said, we had to back
up and start all over again, just when we talked
ourselves into thinking Marshall Foreman's story about Blinker was funny.
Her missing husband's lawyer phone and told us he just
heard from Blinker. It him three of dollars seventy camp
Ford of the office of Wayne Arnold, Foreman's attorney.
Speaker 3: I met him just coming out his door. Did you
wish to see me, mister Arnold. Yes, I'm Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 4: Oh yes, the insurance investigator, Missus Foreman told me you'd
been questioning her. Look, I'm sorry, but I'm in rather
a hurry. I have an appointment and I'm late.
Speaker 3: Sorry, but this will only take a minute or two.
I was in Lieutenant s. Capella's office when you phoned
a while ago about this man Blinker. Mister Arnold, Oh, yes,
what did you hear from him? Just a little while ago?
Speaker 4: I called marsh Woman right away, and she thought I
ought to calls Capella.
Speaker 3: What did Blinker say on the phone.
Speaker 6: There's a strange conversation.
Speaker 4: Sounded nervous, excited, almost out of breath, said he wanted
money ten thousand dollars. If he didn't get it, he'd
and that's as far as he got. He stopped suddenly,
said he'd contact me later, then hung up. What do
you make of it, mister Dollan, I don't know. Could
be he's holding Foreman for ransom, That's what it sounded
like to me. I take it you don't know this blinker.
I never heard of him until Marsha told me about
him showing up night before less.
Speaker 3: Okay, just one more thing, mister Arnold. How long have
you been Foreman's attorney? Three four years? Why any reason
you know of why he might want to disappear? None
that I can think of. Another woman?
Speaker 4: Maybe I doubt it very much. How about his importing business?
As far as I know, it's an excellent shape.
Speaker 3: Okay, thanks, mister Arnold. Mister Dollar, huh, it's man blinker?
Why would he have it in for Andrew Foreman? Good question.
I don't sorry, I don't have an answer to it.
I went down the elevator and outside, I stopped at
the corner to get some cigarettes, and that was my
first lucky break, because just as I was leaving the counter,
I saw Arnold come outside, and the way he looked
up and down the street made a plane. He wanted
to see if anybody was watching him. He got into
his car and drove off. I grabbed a taxi that's
signed him fore and trailer. He drove into Golden Gate
Park and stopped. I got out down the road and
worked my way toward and behind some bushes. Pretty soon
a woman came over and got into his car. I
couldn't hear what they were saying, but I didn't need to,
because when I saw the kiss, I got the message.
The woman was Marsha Forman. I went back into town
and waited for Marsha outside her apartment door. She showed
up about half an hour later.
Speaker 7: What hi, mister dollar is it's something wrong?
Speaker 3: Yeah, something's real wrong. This is Foreman. I want to
talk to you.
Speaker 7: All right, come in, but I've already told you all.
Speaker 3: I know the story you told me about this man Blinket.
There's no such person as there. What you and Ronold
made it up?
Speaker 7: I know that's not true.
Speaker 3: What about you and Arnold?
Speaker 7: Missus Foreman, I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 3: Well and tell me did you enjoy your visit with him?
At Golden Gate Park an hour ago.
Speaker 8: Oh that yeah, Well all right, mister Dollar. Wayne Arnold
and I have we been in love for some time.
Speaker 3: Did your husband know?
Speaker 8: I'm not sure you were trying to find the right
time to tell him. I don't think he'd really have
cared very much. My husband and I haven't gotten along
very well the last year or two. I guess I
really didn't know him when I married him. Mister Dollar,
this has nothing to do with my husband's disappearance.
Speaker 3: You must believe that that's all.
Speaker 7: I didn't make up the story about Blinker. I didn't
kill my husband. If that's what you're thinking.
Speaker 3: Has he been killed? I don't know. You got me
confused if you didn't do it. How about Arnold?
Speaker 7: No, you'd have no reason. Said he wasn't even in
town the night before life.
Speaker 3: I can check that.
Speaker 8: I know you can.
Speaker 3: Missus foreman, Maybe you're telling me the truth and maybe
you're not. Sooner or later, I'm going to find out which.
Speaker 7: I am telling you the truth?
Speaker 3: And can you give me any reason at all why
your husband has disappeared.
Speaker 8: There's there's one possibility, mister Dollar, it might have something
to do with his importing business. What's that means my husband, Well,
he seems to have made a lot of money out
of his importing business, more than the kind of thing
he usually imports with warrant.
Speaker 3: What does he imports?
Speaker 7: Oh, drinkets, curios from the Orient. Mostly.
Speaker 3: Have you a kay to your husband's office?
Speaker 7: Yes, let me have it.
Speaker 3: I want to take a look around. I went over
the papers in Foreman's office and found out his last
ship and had come in three days ago on the
Indian Princess. Missus. Foreman had said Blinker was wearing a
seaman's jacket. I had it for the waterfront, but the
ship was gone. The other pier was a beat up
eating place called Gus's Cafe. A woman with an apron
came over. She was about six feet tall and almost
that wide. What can I do for you, buddy? I
want to talk to the owner, Gus. That's me your
Gus short Forgutsie.
Speaker 6: What's on your mind, buddy.
Speaker 3: Johnny Johnny Dollar? I want some information?
Speaker 6: You a cop, Betty?
Speaker 3: Oh, I'm not a cop.
Speaker 6: You look like I got now.
Speaker 3: Listen that freighter that shoved off from this pier, the
Indian Princess. That's the regular you know any of the
sailors from her.
Speaker 6: It's about all of them. They all come in here.
Speaker 3: Look, Gussie got okay, Gus, you ever happened to hear
of a sailor named blinker?
Speaker 2: Sure?
Speaker 3: You know him? Sure about medium height? Scar in the
right sheet blinks his eyes all the time.
Speaker 6: I said, I know him?
Speaker 5: Do you want napadavit?
Speaker 3: Oh, Gussie, are the most beautiful thing that's happened to
me all day.
Speaker 5: That's what they all tell me, buddy, flattery. Don't get
them A thing might help you though you're kind of cute.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Look, did blink your sale on the idiot princess?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 3: Then where is he?
Speaker 6: Act is? I don't know? Blinkers disappeared?
Speaker 2: Fact three of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar in a moment.
Times have changed, and so has the man. Through the ages,
man has advanced both physically and mentally. Prehistoric man's concept
of war and living was like that of an animal.
His implements were crude, his knowledge simple. It was survival
of the fittest. From his club and stones to bows
and arrows and spears, from muskets and sabers to atomic
rifles and missiles. Man has progressed in the art of
attack and defense. With each new phase, man's knowledge has developed. Today,
the warrior, if he can be called such, is not
a stone thrower, a bowman, or a swordsman. He's a
technician who needs knowledge of all that science has developed.
He's a sonar man, a radar man, a rifleman, or
a torpedo.
Speaker 3: Man, a missileman, or a pilot.
Speaker 6: Whatever his job, he needs the skill.
Speaker 3: And the technical know how to do the job and
do it well. Yes, times have changed, so as the man.
Speaker 2: Now act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the
Blinker matter.
Speaker 3: And you don't have any idea where Blinker is now?
Speaker 6: Gus not the slightest study.
Speaker 3: Oh great, and I'm right back where I started from him.
Speaker 5: Blinker was mixed up in something, all right, what do
you mean the Indian princess docty other night? Blinker come
in here for a cup of coffee. That's one thing
the sailors around here all miss when they're on to
see my coffee.
Speaker 6: Is no one makes coffee like me. Why there's nobody
on the hole.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know about Blinker now, well.
Speaker 5: Seemed pretty pleased with hisself, said he was onto something good.
Speaker 3: Did he say what he meant by that?
Speaker 6: No? He sit there looking pleased with hisself.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, he.
Speaker 5: Showed me the elephant, that it was gonna make him
a lot of money.
Speaker 3: What elephants?
Speaker 1: He had?
Speaker 5: A carved elephant about six inches high. Might have picked
it up somewhere.
Speaker 6: Maybe he was gonna sell it. I don't know.
Speaker 3: M Foreman imported curios from the Orient. His last shipment
came in on the Indian Princess. That elephant could have
been part of it.
Speaker 6: Foreman, who's he?
Speaker 3: And never mind? Well, I wonder where I go from here.
Speaker 5: I wonder what I'm gonna do with all Blinkers stuff
if you don't show up or it?
Speaker 3: Maybe? What did you say about Blinker's stuff? What stuff?
Speaker 5: I got a back room where I let the boys
keep their gear when they're a show.
Speaker 3: You've got Blinkers things there? Now, why didn't you tell me?
Speaker 6: You never asked me?
Speaker 3: In the back round, I went through a blinker seawag.
Near the bottom, I found the carved elephants. An ordinary
looking elephant until I twisted one of the legs loose.
It was hollow and inside a little paper packet full
of white powder. Suddenly the whole deal slid into place,
and just as suddenly, the whole deal made me slightly sick.
Now I wanted to see the rest of those elephants
real bad. According to the records informant's office, the shipment
was in a warehouse. I went outside, No to.
Speaker 6: The pier, Johnny, oh Cus, come here, I am minute, Johnny.
Speaker 3: Look, look, I'm in a hurry. Thanks for everything. I'll
see you later.
Speaker 2: You got time to see this over here near the beer.
Speaker 3: Wait a minute, yeah, good body, all right.
Speaker 6: One of the boys just fished it out of the
water and sent.
Speaker 2: Him to call the cops.
Speaker 3: Looks like it's spent in the water quite a few hours.
Guess yeah, it's blinker all right. I knew I had
to work for us now. I headed out on the
pier for the warehouse. Once I thought I heard footsteps
somewhere behind me. I stopped and listened. No sound. It
was dark inside the warehouse. With the help of matches,
I located foreman shippment. I took a crowbar and opened
one of the crates. It was full of carved elephants.
I picked up one of them. Yeah, it had a
hollow leg and the hollow leg was full of the
same white powder. I hit the floor fast. The shot
had come from open near the door. I eased my
gun out and waited. Five ten minutes went by. I
kept quiet, and suddenly a shadow loomed up near the crates.
We saw each other at the same time. My shoulder.
Oh well, the missing man himself, Andrew Foreman, and I
found out what you were importing in those carved elephants.
He tried to blackmail. I don't know what you're talking about. Sure, sure,
you probably told him you'd pay off. That's when you
drove him downtown night before last. Then you tried to
kill him, but he must have got away. He called
your lawyer, tried to put the squeeze on through him,
but he had to hang up in a hurry. You
were probably getting close. You finally caught up with him,
didn't you. Foreman. Look, you've got no proof of anything.
Speaker 2: Why should Blinker tried to blackmail meat?
Speaker 3: Like I say, he found out about the narcotics and
those hollow elephants. It was put there without my knowledge.
You have no proof I was involved, you know, Foreman.
It doesn't much matter. You've got even bigger troubles than
that staring in the face. I don't understand Blinker's body
has been recovered from the bay.
Speaker 9: I wouldn't know anything about that.
Speaker 3: You got no proof of that either. There were two
bullet holes in Blinker five will get your ten. The
slugs in him came from this gun of yours. The gun.
Speaker 9: Yeah, this is something that can be proved. Well, yeah,
all right, Yes, didn't have any choice.
Speaker 3: I had him five one hundred and eighty three dollars
even transportation and Incidental's home expense account total four hundred
and thirty four dollars fifty cents. Remarks Andrew Foreman made
a complete statement to the police. I might a case
against him is open and shut. So it looks like
he's going to beat the narcotics rap after all the
hard way. Yours, Julian Johnny.
Speaker 2: Dallar, yours truly Johnny Dollar Is starring Bob Bailey, originates
in Hollywood and is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone.
Today's story was written by Robert Stanley. Heard in Arkas
were Paula Winslow, D. J. Thompson, Gary Bartels, Stacy Harris
Dictarn and Bob Bruce. Be sure to join us next week,
same time and station, or another exciting story of yours, truly,
Johnny Dollar.
Speaker 3: This is Roy Rowland speaking.
Speaker 2: Johnnie Dollar has come to you through the worldwide facilities
of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Speaker 1: Name Welcome back. A solid mystery that had a great
hook and then developed a lot of room to guess
at what was going on. Blinker went from being perhaps
an invention of Missus Foreman or the person who kidnapped
mister Foreman, to actually being a blackmailer and mister Foreman's
murder victim. All right, well, listener comments and feedback now,
and Ryan Sar had some feedback on that whole discussion
about carphones in the Delectable Damsel Matter writing Perry Watt
had a carphone in the Adventures of Superman in the
early mid fifties. Well, thanks so much, Ryan's appreciate the comment.
I've seen some of the Adventures of Superman, but I
might have missed the episode that has the carphone in it,
or else I'm not remembering it, but thank you so much.
Appreciate the siding there. Well, now it is time to
thank our Patreon supporter of the day, and I want
to Thank you. Go all Patreon supporter since March twenty
twenty three, currently supporting the podcast at the Shawmas level
of four dollars or more per month. Thank you so
much for your support, and that will do it for today.
If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your
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back next Friday with another episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.
But join us back here tomorrow as we take a
listen to the great adventurers of old time radio and
Cloak and Dagger. Where this on be a snap?
Speaker 10: Nothing to it?
Speaker 9: Huh?
Speaker 2: How'd I know we'd run into a chap zero? Right?
Speaker 1: Bucket up, buddy.
Speaker 6: Now he died too fast for you, Harry.
Speaker 10: I'm gonna grab more sky.
Speaker 1: Maybe I can lose him up there. It's on a tail,
maybe not for long. Hang on, boy.
Speaker 10: Most of the way up the air was thin enough
so that I could see the nose of that zero
following us. And then it's seven thousand feet. The air
became thick and we lost him, but the plane had
taken quite a beating. How bad is a lot of
your pet we're having more than fifty miles to go
and we can sit down and cutch in territory make
repairs before heading back to India. Okay, instead of dropping
that document, well delivered person, won't we get there?
Speaker 9: Huh?
Speaker 2: If we get there, what's that wing?
Speaker 5: It's coming off where he hit us.
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
send your comments to box thirteen at Great Attactives dot
net from Boise, Altah. This is your host, Adam graham
Son nor