Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar - The Baltimore Matter

From Hollywood.

It's time now for John Lunnon as Johnny Daller.

This is orn vance. Set me up to Austining seven years and you'll.

Remember or in vance? Oh the Zeman case. How that I do it a lot.

About coming out and killing you. Instead, I'm gonna do you favor.

What's on your mind? Advance?

I did all my time, and people don't like to hire X cons. I think maybe you and I can work out something.

I haven't got any jobs advance, not asking for the job. It sounds like double talk to me. How don't think you've dog you'll.

Give me any routine?

Dell, I've for them all.

You can help me and make yourself some money. It's legitimate.

You say, I don't know what it's all about.

I suppose I can over and tell you.

Okay, I'll be waiting for you, John lud In a transcribed adventure of a man with the action packed expenser count America's fibulous freelance insurance investigator, Yours truly, Johnny Dollar expense accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Doller to All States Insurance Company, Wilmington, Delaware. Attention, mister Don Freed, Chief investigator. Since your office authorized me to conduct certain inquiries based on information supplied by oron Vance, I am billing you accordingly.

Expenser count Item one two ninety five.

A phone called a prisoner dismissal board at Sing Sing Prison, where I was informed that oron Vance had been released three days before the above date. He had completed seven years of a seven to fifteen year term for grand theft.

It was non parole release.

The chaplain described him as a model prisoner with a better than average chance of remaining out of prison for the rest of his life. For that reason, I was willing to listen to his story when he showed up an hour later.

Hello, Odella, you haven't changed a bit. Come on advanced.

Yeah, sure, nice. It's a nice place you get.

I like it.

Sit down, tell me what's on your mind, Della. Look, don't treat me like a con even if I am one. I'll sit down, I'll have a smoke with you. I'll talk with you.

Forget the other part for a while, will you please?

Okay?

That one nice? Just everybody's doing that. My wife went over to see you the first day I got out. You know what what, Kitty wouldn't let me in the house. She get me forty dollars, told me to go out and get a decent job. Tell you she had it all worked out, work hard, she said, six months. If everything's okay and you're not in any trouble, you can come home to me and the kids.

If not, she said, I'm gonna divorce you.

What do you want me to say?

Want you to offer me a seat, invite me to sit out it?

Sure?

Thanks again. No thought about it a lot. If you hadn't been out to getting me seven years ago, i'd have had you over for dinner. Maybe we would have been friends.

Maybe.

Look, I can't get a job and I'll have to go in business for myself. I need a steak. That's why I'm here to see you.

I talked to you maybe twenty.

Times while you were working on that Zeeman case, and I think I got to know you. I call you today because of what I saw of you then.

I think you're an honest man. Thanks you ever.

Hear the town A case in Bornemore Towner Loan Company in nineteen forty six, Yeah, everybody's heard about that million dollar theft.

The insurance companies still have a reward for information leading to the arresting.

Commission was never solved. I suppose they do.

I can help you help them solve it the half of that reward, can you.

I know two of the men.

Who did it, two of the six men. I talked to one of them yesterday. I'll tell you who they are. Wake and pick them up. But I want my name out of the picture.

Could get fixate, yeah, probably, but I have to talk to the police sooner or later.

Oh look, this is a good thing dollar and all I'm asking is your promise to keep my name out of it. Tell me how good before I make any promises. That's fair enough. They had some of the serial numbers on part of the take here. This is one of the bills. Why don't you check it with him? Then we'll take it from here.

Spencer con item too, fourteen dollars and eighty five cent it's a long distance phone called the chief investigator, Don Freed, All State's Insurance, who verified that the serial numbers and the ten dollar bill or on vance had me tied in with the townter Loan company theft. I explained the information I had at hand and the source from which it had come, leaving out any mention of names. Freed talked with his boss and pulled me back half an hour later, giving me the go ahead.

Okay, vance here in business. All right, how does it work? You tell me who they are. I'll handle it from here.

I mean the money part, and we have something, you'll get paid for it. All I've had so far is talk. This bill could have come from anywhere. You might have picked it up at a cigar county.

Look.

I got it from a man named Leonard Torpie.

He lives in New York.

He's one of them.

Leonard Torpie.

Yeah, I met him my second year. Asked me he was up on an old petty theft charte. She did eighteen months. Told me to look him up when I got out. This part may sound crazy, but we had a few drinks together in his place yesterday. I was weeping on his shoulder out all my hard luck, and he said, you think you'll got hard luck? Then he marched me into the bedroom, showed me a stack of money and a bureau drawer. He said he couldn't spend it, and he gave me one of the bills. Must have

We'll see you say, you know two of them? Who's the other one?

Harold King lives in Reno, Nevada, now runs a filming station there. He used to come see Torpy in visiting days. I saw him several times.

It makes you think he had a part in the town.

I think just what top he said while he was drunk, and the general description of the other hole up men in the story say, while Thorpe was drunk, he mentioned his old partner, Harry King told me where he was living.

So for you say anything about the hold up.

No, I told you I found that part for myself. But King is the other man, I'm sure of it. King have a record. I don't know anything about him. Okay, where'd he be Alphoni?

Two days? Oh? I should know something by then.

Remember my name's out of it. The police or anybody else. Sure you're afraid, Yeah, I'm a stool pigeon.

Well, haven't you noticed.

I'd noticed, and I worried me, so I followed him when he left my place. I was buying a package of cigarettes at the corner drug store while he bought the street car for downtown. I tagged along in a taxi to the main business section, watched him get off and head for the bus terminal. I bought another package of cigarettes while he bought a one way ticket to New York. In a half hour before departure time, I telephoned a private detective friend of mine, Pete Florian.

He appeared at the bus terminal fifteen minutes later. What's the rumble, Johnny. That man over there in a gray overcoat. His name's ed Vance. Uh huh.

He's on his way to New York right now. Maybe you better tag along. See that nobody killed him. Oh, if what he told me is true, somebody might try to do just that.

Stay close till he settle somewhere.

And she I haven't got any more to tell you, Pete, because I'm just starting to look into it. Find out where he's living there, and contact me at this number. I'll let you know what to do then, all right, anything else, don't let him out of your sight Pete Spencer con Item three one hundred bucks retainer for private

Randall, who gave you this tip dollan.

I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Lieutenant. Why not because I promised not to disclose any names. I can tell you that the source is a man who couldn't possibly have had anything to do with the case since he was in president at the time of the hold up.

But you want me to stick my neck out and get up a search warrant and maybe take this word Torpi into custody.

On your say, so, you have plenty to start with with. That ten dollar bill should be enough for you to look into it.

And why you looked into it?

Frankly, yes, prima facie evidence, but no name, No name I've told you all there is no believe me.

Let's get busy. The mug folder on.

Leonard Torpey showed a balding, forty year old man with a long record of thefton burglary.

There was no record for a Harald King, although he was listed as an associate of Torpee's. Lieutenant.

Randall wired Reno authorities requesting they locate King and hold him for part possible questioning. Once these preliminaries were accomplished, Randall and I went out to the address or a dvance had given me. This turned up a blank. The landlady informed us that mister Torpey had lived there, but it checked out the preceding morning, no forwarding address. The good Lieutenant and I parted company outside the apartment house,

A call had just come in. Johnny Dollar paid Johnny how to go when your boy getting down at.

Trailing to a place on one hundred and fifty fifth Street.

He's got a room with a view.

He's up there now alone. You think so any visitors.

Oh like one out about an hour ago, might be sleeping.

What's the number six?

Eighty rumps in the back first fall? Number ten?

Who are you?

Drug store? Right across the street?

Expense account items one sixty cab fare to the drug star where Pete Floyan was keeping a watchful eye on my nervous informer or in vance. I found the drug store, but Pete was nowhere in sight. The girl behind the soda fountain recognized him by my description and said he'd stepped out a few minutes before. I glanced up and down the block and then spotted him standing just outside the shadow of a street light across the street.

I walked over, Hi, Johnny, that's the room back there, lights on. He's got a couple of visitors in there with him. Showed up about five minutes ago, car taxi. What they looked like once thin, medium sized dark suit, the other stocky dark suit too, both in the early forties. Chopin wears glasses. Didn't make either one.

Here, that's one of them. Let me see. Yeah, he's in there. What's his name?

Leonard Talpee? We better go in Okaya right back there?

Yeah, who's uh? Leonard torpie. That's somebody who might wanna kill Vance. I wish I knew more about what this is all about, Johnny. Yeah, I said, Oh, it's all talk, so far better cover me. I'm over there.

Okay, okay, Oh, mister Vance.

Or in Vance, you must have the wrong number, buddy, nobody by that name lives here.

Well, are you sure positive? Why don't you try the manager? I did. He said, mister Vance had this throw and he's all wet. Good night. Just a minute.

Before I went down, I heard a go up a couple of more times, must have been six inches from my head. My eyes couldn't see and my feet wouldn't move, but I could hear.

There was someone very close to me, and he was dying.

Johnny, Johnny Chunny.

We'll return to yours truly, Johnny Dollar in just a moment. Sign up enroll now join the seven million strong who buy United States Defense bonds through the Payroll Savings Plan, where they work The bonds you buy help keep America strong and now Series E bonds earn more. They give you a quicker return on your investment through the Payroll Savings Plan, and you will save the sure way before you spend so sign up invest more in United States defense bonds. Now with our star John Lunn, we bring

Yeah, well thanks. Florian died right there in the hall. Four slugs dances on the floor beneath you, still hanging on.

You're giving track of all this? What about Torpie? Did you get him? We didn't, but Thorian did. Torpy's in the morgue. The other man got away quite a night.

Yeah, look, Donny, you're the only one who can give me the story.

Now.

Dance isn't able to talk and won't be for another three days. If then everybody else is dead. Or Gone.

What happened? I don't know. I didn't see anything, Lieutenant.

I was trying to push into the room past Torpeye and the whole world caved in.

And he uh and he lied on the man who was.

With Torpy good descriptions, with no luck so far. He hoisted a car outside a Dvance's place. He found it two hours later, no prints on it, some blood he might have one of Fourian slugged his him. Yeah, we gotta land that bird.

Hey, you all right?

I felt awful, and Lieutenant Randall left me alone for the rest of the day. At three point thirty the following day, or Advance regained consciousness long enough to relate what had happened. I was wheelchaired down to his bedside, statement and clothes.

That was Harry King with Toby King flew here three days ago, Marino. It came to my place to find out what I'd done with a ten dollar bill. Torby give me that when he was drunk. I told him I spent it, but they didn't believe me. It was King shot me.

I've got reward money coming. I'm not gonna die.

He was still hanging on two days later when I left the hospital Spencer con item seven fourteen dollars ambulance ride from emergency hospital to my hotel. The doctors told me to take it easy for a month and I'd be all right. I had a phone call a half hour after I started to take it easy, Johnny Dollar, are.

You interested in finding Harry King?

Hos?

This?

My name's Milvi King. I'm Harry's wife.

Oh do you want him? Or don't you sure?

I'm a trash restaurant on forty second off Broadway. Can you meet me?

Yeah? How I know you?

You won't, but I'll know you. She's been in the paper for the last three days.

Hello, mister Dollar, missus King.

Yes, and you look pretty weak. I feel that way every bit a sit down.

The small, pretty brunette woman and the nice clothes look like anything but the wife of a bank bandit and murderer. She looked more like a housewife on a shopping tour or a school teacher on a New York vacation.

I listened while she cleared up some questions I had in mind.

There's a reward posted, isn't there for that hold up in Baltimore?

Ten thousand dollars? Yeah?

Well, I get it if I turn Harry over to the police.

Sure how much? Half?

Well, that isn't much for You've enough your husband.

They'll get him sooner or later. Missus King the other half spoken for on.

This dvance man.

Yes, wait em, just.

Trying to figure what about you. I'll pass it up five thousand dollars.

For Harry, providing he was tied in with the Baltimore hold up it. That's what the insurance company's interested in.

He was in it, all right.

I want to get something else straight. What happens to me?

What do you mean?

I'm his wife know he had a part that hold up for the last six months. I haven't said anything. Does that make me a party to it or something?

Head?

You could have informed, but you couldn't have testified being his wife.

I'm a rain I don't want to spend all the money hiring lawyers to keep me out of jail.

My company, I've covered that. Where's Harry? Oh not yet? What now?

I better get something in writing from you, Something that says your insurance company'll pay me the reward and give me help if I get in any trouble.

All right, I'll talk to him this time.

I'm thinking of the future. I'm going to have one.

Once this is over, I hope so, missus.

King, I know so, mister dollar.

Did Harry have money? He couldn't spend two.

Forty five thousand dollars?

Where is it?

I can give you that when I give you, Harry, Well, it's thought of everything I tried to Harry and a torpie man were fools. O Lee ever got out of it was the mark bills worthless money.

You don't happen to know who the other phone man were, do you?

No?

I suppose that's what you'll ask Harry when you get him.

That's the idea, Poor Harry.

How long will it take you to get things arranged?

Not more than an hour. I can do it by phone. I'll call you, okay.

I gave her a fifty second start before I left the table and went out on the street. I was just in time to see her climb into a cab. I was trying to hair one to follow her when a black coupe.

Pulled up to the curb.

Heyst it little change?

How he feel terrible? What is this? The vance told us it was King.

We checked the airlines and found out that Ed's wife with him when he flew in from Reno. That is missus King up there in that cab, isn't he?

That's who she said she was.

She wants to sell you were a husband for part of that reward, doesn't she yeap?

What's the delay? She wants to make sure she'll be handled alright. The money and all sold advance. Don't need me, I don't mean to. It's all figures. I thought she might try to get in touch with you for just that reason.

I don't get it.

Well, that's why I put a man on your hotel followed you when you came to meet her today, and he phoned me. We looked her up. Her name was Melville Thayler before she married King. Her old man had a lot of money in Minnesota, but she couldn't keep herself out of trouble and got disinherited on his own.

Has been her problem. It's everybody's problem, not the way it is.

With her now. King's worth a lot of dodo or if you pay off. He's no good door now, lying somewhere with a slug in him. And he hasn't been any good door with the marked money he got in the town or hold.

Up, there's something else?

Random?

What she's starling me. I think she said she didn't know who they were.

But if she was lying and she does know who the others were, and that towner hold up King, it'd be worth even more money. They'd want him dead instead of with the police talking his head off.

That's right.

We followed melvil King's taxi for better than forty five minutes, all the way through the Holland Tunnel and into Jersey. She finally left it at a train station in Bucks County. We watched her buy a magazine and sit down in the waiting room and begin to read it. Fifteen minutes later, she stepped into the phone booth. When she came out, I went over to the filling station phone to see if she'd phoned my hotel.

Well, she wasn't trying to get me.

Well, that's Saturday's contact with the others, going to sell to you or them whoever pays most for.

Him, some operator, isn't he.

Well, when you have time, look at the file we picked up on her sixteen arrests, one conviction for narcotics since she was eighteen.

Well we will see what we will see. Didn't take long.

When a green Cadillac pulled up at the station, malver King stepped out on the platform and greeted the two men who were in it. She sat in the car with him and talked for a short time, then got back out. When the Cadillac rolled away, lieutended Randall was on the radio ordering a pickup Yale.

Five nine six. I don't pick him up right away. We'll stay with her.

When malver King caught another taxi, we were right behind her. She took her to an auto court about a mile from the station. We saw her go into the cabin.

Mark D. Randall radioed in our location.

We were about to check the auto court office when the door to Cabin D opened. Standing beside melvil King in the doorway of the cottage was a pale, stocky man.

It looked as though his legs wouldn't support him another minute. Then she saw us get out of the car.

He'll kill me.

He's gotta gun on me. Don't do anything, don't do anything that's right.

He gets you the anybody gets you my way.

You're hurt king.

You can't go far. I'd come this far and I'm still gonna keep fool uh me he.

Was all ready for her when she got back.

Yeah, oys, no ice, shower do especially if you be good.

That's funny. I thought the same thing about you, King Kang, bless your reason. I can tell you're hurt bad, you need help. Why don't you give it up?

How much were you gonna give it for me?

I wasn't how much telling half of it?

How much?

Wolf?

Would you?

Yes? You did? I passed out this morning. You've got real fussy. How much for your feet?

Who told me you're dying on your feet?

King?

Yeah, that's a good place to die on your feet? Maybe I will make it.

It'll steals gonna hurt nor King?

No yell if you want o King, don't add another one in the God that's one too. Let's get this old man.

Spencer count itam made same as Item two transportation back to Hartford, Item nine eighty five dollars, doctor bills, Item ten miscellaneous forty eight dollars while in New York. Spenser count total two hundred and ninety four dollars and sixty cents remarks. As you know, the two men melvil King contacted were also part of the six who had held up the town a loan company. They made a full confession and named the other parties involved.

As far as the reward money goes, I think oron Vance deserves his five thousand dollars and I think Pete Florian's widowed.

As there's my five thousand. Here's trun me Johnny Dollar from Hollywood.

It's time do