Suspense.
This is the Man in Black, here again to introduce Columbia's program, Suspense.
We meet our stars from Hollywood, Miss Virginia Bruce and Mr. John Loder.
Miss Bruce appears as a beautiful and adventurous young lady who went in search of the bright face of danger,
and risked her life while finding it.
Mr. Loder's role is that of the smooth and charming gentleman who granted her employment in a perilous enterprise.
The story called The Cross-Eyed Bear by Dorothy B. Hughes is tonight's tale of Suspense.
If you've been with us before, you will know that Suspense is compounded of mystery and suspicion and dangerous adventure.
In this series, her tales are calculated to intrigue you, to stir your nerves, to offer you a precarious situation,
and then, withhold the solution until the last possible moment.
And so it is with the performances of Virginia Bruce as Lisanne Steffen and John Loder as Bill Fulker.
We again hope to keep you in Suspense, The Cross-Eyed Bear,
The Subway Train, Midtown New York, a tall blonde girl reading an item in her newspaper,
reading it over and over, an advertisement, a personal advertisement.
A beautiful girl, no special training required, but must not be afraid to look upon the bright face of danger.
Full wardrobe and liberal expenses, good salary.
Apply in person, room 1000, the Lorenzo Hotel, East 51st Street.
Fifty-five, fifty-five street.
How do you do?
I came to answer an ad.
Oh.
Is this the place?
Yes, this is the place, I should think.
Am I the only one?
Not quite, but just now you're the only one.
I see.
I thought...
Listen, miss, whatever your name is.
Lisanne.
Lisanne Steffen.
Take my advice, Lisanne, before it's too...
Lydia, about that...
Oh, someone to see me.
This young lady came in answer to the ad, Mr. Fokker.
Miss Lisanne Steffen.
I see.
Well, won't you come in, Miss Steffen?
Thank you.
In here, please, my office.
Please sit down, won't you?
Thank you.
Not bad.
Oh, excuse me, Miss Steffen, this is my associate, Mr. Hugh King.
A bodyguard, she might as well know these little things, Bill.
Hugh's not really rude, Miss Steffen, it's just a mannerism.
Well, Bill did advertise for a beautiful girl.
I've always considered myself sort of an authority on that subject.
I see.
Perhaps, Mr. Fokker, you'd be good enough to explain why...
Perhaps I might tell you something about the job, eh?
Well...
Why did you apply for this position, Miss Steffen?
I, uh...
I needed the work.
And you're quite sure you're not afraid of danger?
As a matter of fact, I suppose I am, but I told you I need the work.
Well, that makes two of us.
Miss Steffen, have you ever heard of the cross-eyed bear?
Yes.
Where?
Why, uh...
In the papers.
Wasn't that what they called Newt Villius, the Swedish nickel king?
Did you know he was dead?
Yes, that's how I happened to hear about him,
when they had it all in the papers about a year ago.
And did you know he had three sons?
No, I didn't read much beyond the headlines.
He did. One of them's dead.
His name was Dean, the youngest.
The oldest, Steffen, is still in Sweden.
The third, Lans Villius, is where your job comes in.
I see.
Which he obviously doesn't.
I want you to meet Lans Villius, to get acquainted with him,
win his confidence. Do you understand?
I think so.
We know where he is, who he is, but he won't admit it.
He pretends he's a piano player named Lans Vought at Jim and Jack's nightclub.
We're pretty sure that Lans Vought is actually Lans Villius,
the second son of the cross-eyed bear.
Am I supposed to know why you want this done?
You might as well tell her, Belle. She's in for it now, anyway.
In for it?
You means it seems you're hired. You are.
Oh, thank you.
You accept?
Yes, yes, I accept.
Well, then, the background, Miss Stefferson, is this.
When the cross-eyed bear, that is, old Knut Villius, died,
he left a will.
The will was consciously designed to bring about the murder of at least two people.
Murder?
Yes.
He left his estate, which included several important mines,
divided equally among his three sons.
He left a cheque for three million dollars,
one cheque torn in three pieces,
one piece for each of his sons,
and all three pieces must be presented together before the cheque is valid.
A cheque torn in three pieces?
Oh, sure, it's an old gag, but it's effective if you want a house divided.
You see, the old bear knew that one son would eventually kill the others for their shares,
and he knew which one.
Stefferson.
The one in Sweden?
Yes.
Why do such a thing if he knew?
Survival of the fittest, chum.
The fittest to run his empire.
The old boy is what is known as a rugged individualist.
And because he hated all of his sons and wanted them to hate each other,
they weren't even brought up together.
They have never even seen each other.
But it seems so. Can't someone bring them together? Isn't there some way?
Sure, Stefan's way. First he killed Dean, and then...
Of course there's no proof. It happened somewhere up in Vermont.
I thought you said Stefan was in Sweden.
We think he is, but there are ways of doing these things.
No, he's on the trail of Lance, the second brother, and that's where you come in.
We want to get to him before Stefan does.
But if you think you know where he is and who he is, why don't one of you talk to him?
Because he's scared. He doesn't trust anyone. He won't talk to anyone.
Now, maybe he'll trust you.
But Mr. King, may I ask just why you...
The Sweden you see is neutral, and so they're scared to do anything about it officially.
Now, Bill here is like one of those spies in the movies.
If he gets caught, his own government is the one to throw the first stone.
Besides that, my government is afraid that if Stefan gets control of the mines,
he'll turn them over completely to the Germans.
Yes, Stefan's pro-Nazi, among his other virtues.
Well, Miss Jefferson, will you be ready to go to work tonight?
Yes, I'll be ready.
I'll reserve a table at Jim and Jack's. Two, in fact.
For, say, ten o'clock.
We'll meet you around the corner from the bar. I don't want Lance to see us together.
I'll be there.
Very well, then, Miss Jefferson.
Oh, by the way, here's a little cash. You may want to buy yourself an evening dress or two.
Thank you, but...
Oh, not at all. Part of the bargain. Goodbye. See you later.
Heavens! It's a thousand dollars!
Well, so you got the job.
Yes.
You were trying to warn me about something before I went in, weren't you?
It's no use now. I only hope you have better luck with it than I had.
Will you? Oh, I'm so sorry.
Don't be. Look, Lizanne, I don't know who you are, but you must be somebody.
You must be mixed up in this thing somehow.
I must be somebody?
If you're not, get out of it while you can.
You are, of course, but get out of it anyway.
Why?
Didn't it ever occur to you that the ad you answered may have been in the papers for weeks,
and that there are thousands of beautiful girls in New York,
and that hundreds of them must have come up here and been turned away?
I wondered, yes.
And why do you think out of all those you were chosen?
That's it. I don't know.
Diary.
October 12th. Yes. Why was I chosen?
Who are they, really? And more important, what do they know about me?
There's no answer except to work with them and wait.
At least I know that at last I've found the trail of the cross I'd bear.
It's true, then, about the torn check divided among the three sons.
And one is already dead. Dean.
The second, the man I'm supposed to meet tonight, to trap.
But I'm sure now that I was right to come to New York,
and I'm sure I was right to answer the strange ad,
as for danger, I always knew it would be there.
You're sure Lance hasn't come in yet, Miss Jefferson?
Positive. I've asked the head waiter twice.
I don't think it would be wise to ask again. Perhaps not.
Does he do this often, stay away like this?
No, that's the funny part.
They say he's been at that piano every night for a year.
This is the first time...
Oh, look, Lizanne. Do you mind if I call you Lizanne?
No.
Well, you didn't by any chance trip our friend off that people were looking for him, did you?
Aye. Why should I when I'm working for you?
Oh, I'm sorry. Skip it.
Just a habit. Nobody trusts anybody in this thing anymore.
But if you don't trust me...
Of course we trust you, Lizanne.
He was a little nervous, that's all.
Me? I'm not nervous.
I like sitting around night clubs with beautiful girls.
You do look very charming tonight, Lizanne.
It would be hard not to on a thousand dollars.
Hey, don't look around now, but our boy's just come in.
Did he see us?
No. I just happened to be looking around the corner and saw his back.
He's heading for the orchestra.
All right, Lizanne, here you go.
Don't be nervous. Just talk with him, chat along, you know.
What should I not say?
Be as frank as you like. There's nothing to conceal.
All right. Oh, waiter. See you later.
Waiter, I have a table reserved for tonight. My escort will be along shortly.
Yes, madame. What is the name, please?
Stefferson. It's table number 24, I think, over by the orchestra.
Oh, well, this way, please, madame.
And here we are, madame. Do you wish to order now or later?
I'll wait. Thank you.
Thank you, madame.
Excuse me.
Yes?
May I ask you a question?
Why not?
Won't you sit down for a minute?
All right.
Well?
I wanted to ask your name.
My name is Vought. V-A-U-G-H-T, Vought.
And your first name?
Lance. Why?
It's only because you look like someone I... someone whose picture I saw on the paper once.
Yeah.
Don't you believe me?
Why should I? You're just another one of these people who've been going around here lately with a bad case of mistaken identity.
Well, you're wrong, too.
You know about it, then.
About the cross I'd bear? Of course I do.
It's been following me long enough.
They think I'm Lance Villiers, that I'm heir to a lot of Swedish dough.
Well, I'm not.
You still look like the picture I saw on the paper.
Who are you working for, Stefan?
No. No, that's just it, don't you see? Your life's in danger.
Not as long as I keep my face shut, it isn't.
Look, you must trust me. I can help you.
I don't need any help.
Are you sure you don't?
Say, who are you working for? I noticed you ducked that one.
No, I didn't. I don't have to lie.
Well, who is it?
His name is Bill Foker.
I never heard of him.
He's working for the Swedish government. He wants to help you, too.
A lot of people seem to want to help me.
Won't you talk to him?
I might.
Tonight? They're here at another table.
They?
Bill and his bodyguard, Hugh King.
Since when do representatives of neutral governments need bodyguards?
Apparently, when they become involved with the cross-eyed bear.
Please come.
All right. For a couple of minutes.
I'll admit, I'm rather curious.
Over here.
I didn't tell you my name, did I?
It's Lisanne. Lisanne Stefferson.
Nice.
Here we are. Mr. Foker, Mr. King. This is Mr. Lance Fort.
How do you do?
Won't you sit down, Mr. Fort, please?
Thanks.
Uh-huh.
I thought perhaps I'd recognize you.
Oh, yes. I've been in here several times.
Pleasure or business?
A little of both.
Look, Mr. Fort, I'll speak frankly.
You can save it. Your Miss Stefferson has told me all about it.
My name is Bort.
You're barking up the wrong tree.
Got a birth certificate?
Why should I show it to you?
It might... Uh-oh.
Here comes something.
Well, hello, Hugh.
Hi, Toby.
Oh, don't let me disturb you.
But you better make some introductions, Hugh.
Well, this is Inspector Tobin of the homicide squad.
Miss Stefferson.
Mr. Falk.
How do you do? Mr. Falker.
How do you do?
What's up, Toby?
Oh, I just thought I'd like to ask a few questions.
Well, I'm sure you don't want me.
I've got to get back.
You better stick around, son.
Oh.
I don't suppose any of you can give a satisfactory account of your movements
between, say, eight and ten this evening with witnesses.
I thought so.
How about you, Miss Stefferson?
You're a new one. I thought you might at least.
Well, it took me quite a long time to dress.
It looks as though it might have.
Well, it's better to have too many suspects than none, I guess.
Come on, Toby, give.
There's been a murder.
A murder?
That's right.
A certain Lydia Vinton.
Your secretary, Mr. Falker.
Lydia?
You're surprised?
Why? Of course.
Where do I come in on this?
Well, now, Mr. Vaught, the New York police know a lot more about what's going on in the world than you think.
All sorts of things.
Like the cross-eyed bear, for instance.
I've got nothing to do with a cross-eyed bear.
Maybe you have, maybe you haven't.
But there are a lot of people who think you have, including me.
But Lydia, poor Lydia. She was only my secretary. She had nothing to do with it.
Had nothing to do with the cross-eyed bear?
Whether you knew it or not, Mr. Falker, Lydia Vinton was in the cross-eyed bear thing up to her neck.
She knew the Villiers' setup, she knew the Villiers' family.
In fact, she was one of the heirs to the Villiers' fortune.
Lydia was?
Lydia, Mr. Falker, was the wife of Steffan Villiers.
That's why she was killed.
October 14th. Lydia, poor Lydia, who tried to warn me.
And no wonder. Lydia was an heir to the cross-eyed bear's estate.
And she is dead.
Vinton was the youngest son-in-law, and he is dead.
In the next... land.
Of course he is land-spirited.
His disappearing is as good as signing a confession that he is land-spirited.
He disappeared not because he was a murderer of Lydia or anyone else.
But he is afraid of being murdered because he is the second son of a cross-eyed bear.
That means I've got to find him before they do.
Falklands Falk? No, I don't know anybody by that name.
He might be using some other name, but he's a piano player.
That isn't him over there, is it?
No. You don't have any other piano player, one who's just recently come with you?
No, ma'am.
Sure, he belonged to the Musicians' Union. They all do, but he hasn't worked for over a week.
And, well, if he didn't leave any forwarding address at his hotel, I'm sorry.
Some of these piano players are funny guys.
Oh, yes, yes, I know who you mean all right.
He used to go by this corner every evening.
Well, but that fellow's wanted. You don't think you're going to find him before us cops do, do you?
No, ma'am, I'm sorry. Nobody answering that description ever registered here.
I know you feel mighty bad about not finding that man. I can see that.
Do you want a little advice?
Oh, yes, yes, I do.
You ever hear of the 48 Club up in Harlem?
No.
You go up there. Now, I'll tell you how to get there. And you just hang around.
You'll show up there one of these nights.
But why?
Because nobody that's a real musician, and I know that boy is a real musician, nobody could stay away from that very long.
They got a piano team up there. You just got to hear them ever so often.
Now, you just go on up there like I tell you.
Are you sure?
I think I know who you mean. I've been keeping my eye out ever since you told me.
I see. Well, thank you.
The man you want wouldn't have a beard, would he?
Beard? I don't know.
There's the gentleman right over there.
Where? Oh.
Is that him?
I'm not sure, but I think I'll take a table for a while anyway.
Lance, Lance.
Quiet, you little fool. Come here. Sit down.
Oh, Lance, I'm so glad I found you. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. And the beard.
I had to do something.
Not very good. I recognized you.
All right. What are you here for? Put the finger on me?
Oh, Lance, no, that isn't true.
Why not?
You trust me, don't you?
Well, yes, for some reason.
I know why. Because I trust you when you know.
You trust me?
Oh, don't you see? We're all in this together. We're all in danger.
How does that apply to you?
Well, I'll tell you. First, listen. Don't you see what you've done?
By running away, you've all but made an open confession that you are Lance Davis.
The police may think you ran away because you killed Lydia,
but whoever did kill her knows why you ran away. Don't you see?
Yeah, I know. I thought of that after a couple of days, but it was too late then.
You are Lance Davis, aren't you?
Why should I tell you?
Because we can help each other. Because if we don't, we're both helpless.
How do I know you're not with them?
I'm not with anybody. I'm trying to find out just as much as you are.
Look, sister, I don't know if you are or not, but I'm gambling with my life.
Listen, if you're Lance Vilius, you have a torn piece of a check made out by your father,
Canute Vilius, the cross-eyed bear, for one-third of his estate.
There are two others exactly alike, and all three must be presented together before any are valid.
If I show you another of those pieces of that check, then will you believe me?
Yes.
I will. But first, we've got to find a place for you to hide.
Where did you get part of that check?
Never mind that now. Where have you been staying?
Oh, here and there. One broken down hotel after another.
I know. My place. It's got two rooms, and you can have one of them.
Isn't that risky?
No, don't you see? It's like the story of the man who left the valuable letter in plain sight on his desk.
The simplest place to find you is the last place they'll look. Come on.
Here we are. How do you like it?
Well, it's a lot better than I've been used to lately.
And there are bolts on the doors. I had that done the second day I got mixed up in this thing.
Which room do you want me to take?
Oh, you might as well have this one, I guess. The phone's in the next room.
You won't want to be answering that anyway.
Well, this is all right.
We can work and plan here. It'll be our headquarters. We can...
Well, there's the phone now.
Make yourself comfortable. Why don't you try the piano?
Okay.
Hello? Hello? Hello, who is it? Hello, hello?
That's the one, isn't it? There was no...
Trent! Trent!
Bill, how'd you get here? What happened?
You can see for yourself.
You killed him.
Bill, don't follow me. He's right behind me.
I can't help that.
Come on, open up.
Come in, come in. The door's open.
Where? What happened here?
I don't know. I walked in and found them like that.
Lovers' quarrel, I guess.
Bill, what are you saying?
Well, this is where he's been hiding out.
No, no!
You better take her in, Inspector.
Come along, Miss Jefferson.
Here we are, Miss.
Don't fret now. It's no use.
Try to get a good night's sleep.
Can I call a lawyer?
Sure you can. You want me to get in touch with someone for you?
Who do you want me to call?
I don't know.
I don't know who to call her.
Or who to tell her.
October 28th.
At least they will let me write.
But what?
I've been such a fool.
They asked Jefferson's agents, Bill Falker and Hugh King,
and I walked into the trap.
They must have followed me.
Seen me locate Lance.
Perhaps even heard what we said.
Now Lance is dead.
The police believe I killed him.
And they will switch with all the power of money,
even foreign governance behind them.
But worst of all, they must know who I am.
They must know where the third piece of the cross I bear's check is.
That is why I am to be next.
Dean, Lydia, Lance, and now Lisanne.
Here she is, Mr. Falker.
Bill!
Lisanne, I'm so sorry.
I couldn't come to you sooner.
It was a matter of your life and mine too.
Your life?
Didn't you see through it?
Oh, you poor child, I've been so blind.
But it's all right now. We're safe.
Are we?
Come along and I'll tell you about it on the way.
Everything's in order, isn't it, Matron?
Certainly, Mr. Falker.
You didn't really think I'd done such a thing to you, did you?
Didn't you see him standing there?
Who?
King, Hugh King.
Don't you see it now?
Is he?
Of course.
He's been Stefan's man all the time.
Watching me, protecting me,
waiting for me, for us, to lead him to the answer, and then strike him.
This way, please, and then you can get out right through the courtyard.
Thank you.
You see now why I had to do it?
I didn't actually see him kill, Lance. I got there a second later.
If I'd accused him, he'd have denied it.
They wouldn't have arrested him for a few hours at least.
And in those few hours, with the power of Stefan behind him,
it would have been you and I next, Lisanne.
But why did you let me be sent to jail?
To make him think I believed him.
But chiefly because I knew you'd be safe here.
And only if I knew you were safe could I do what I had to do.
What?
You won't trouble us again, Lisanne.
It's finished, at last.
Oh, I can still hardly believe that Hugh King has been so horrible.
I know, my poor child.
Come along. I'm going to take you home.
Taxi!
Lisanne, you should have told me who you were.
Go on in. Just relax for a while.
Like a drink?
No, thanks.
You don't mind if I do?
As a matter of fact, there are still a few things I haven't told you
about this little business of the cross-eyed bear.
There must be quite a lot of things.
For instance, you never knew I had a wall safe behind this bar, did you?
No.
And of course, you didn't know what I kept in it.
Perhaps you'd be interested to see.
The cross-eyed bears check all three pieces.
Yes.
Lance's, who had his part in his pocket, the fool, yours and my own.
You are so...
You know, I rather marvel that my poor brother Dean managed to marry such a naive girl.
You believed in me all the way, haven't you, Lisanne?
Even this afternoon.
When did you know?
Really, my dear, you don't think you were that beautiful, do you?
I knew my younger brother had a wife, someone.
And I knew she'd turn up eventually if I used the right bait.
The ad.
But you weren't quite as innocent about that ad as you pretended, were you?
The beautiful girl went looking for danger.
You were trying to find the man who killed Dean, weren't you?
Yes.
Didn't you realise that he'd only married you for protection,
so there'd be one more heir to the Vilius fortune,
so they couldn't all be killed, or so he thought?
Yes, I realised that after I'd married him.
Lisanne, I have a private plane waiting for me, and I have the cheque.
By the way, I got your part out of your safe deposit vault, copies of your keys.
So there's no use prolonging the agony.
You understand?
You're going to kill me.
I'm afraid I must.
Dean, Lance, my poor silly wife Lydia, who became a little too panic-stricken,
and now, since as Dean's wife, you're the last heir to the Vilius fortune...
You can't! You'll never get away with it!
I will. Oh, it'll look like suicide, naturally.
I've even forged a little note in which you confess to the other murders.
Remorse.
Do I make myself clear?
No.
My poor child, you mustn't think you can deceive me
by that ancient trick of staring over my shoulder at an nonexistent intruder.
Drop it, Bill.
Hugh!
I said drop it!
Hugh! Hugh, are you all right?
Sure I'm all right.
There was a close one for you, though, baby.
I told Tobin to keep you there till I got back.
I'll call the doctor.
Oh, that can wait.
But this can.
Oh, Hugh!
November 17th.
This is the end of you, darling.
I'm a married woman now.
And the most appropriate end I can think of is this clipping from today's time,
posted on the last page.
Jefferson King.
Viljes Eris weds FBI agent Hugh King,
who shadowed notorious Stefan Viljes for six months
to break international murder mystery.
By special dispensation of justice and war departments,
couple will honeymoon in Sweden.
And so closes The Cross-Eyed Bear, starring Virginia Bruce and John Loder.
Tonight's tale of Suspense.
This is your narrator, the man in black,
who conveys to you Columbia's invitation to spend this half hour with us again next week,
when Orson Welles will begin a four-week engagement
as our very welcome guest on Suspense.
During the next weeks, Mr. Welles will star in three unusual and spectacular suspense plays.
The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell,
The Lost Special by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,
and Donovan's Brain by Kurt Siodmak,
the last of which will be done in two parts on successive weeks.
The producer of these broadcasts is William Spear,
who with Ted Bliss the director, Bernard Herrmann and Lucian Marowick,
conductor and composer, and Robert L. Richards, the radio author,
collaborated on tonight's Suspense.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.