Now, the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents...
Suspense!
Tonight, Roma Wines bring you Mr. Lee Bowman as star of I Won't Take a Minute,
a Suspense play produced, edited and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear.
Suspense! Radio's outstanding theater of thrills is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines.
That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines.
Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live,
to your happiness and entertaining guests, to your enjoyment of everyday meals.
Yes, right now a glass full would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you Mr. Lee Bowman
in a remarkable tale of...
Suspense!
She was very good to look at, which is why I waited till I was 25 and met her.
Here's how she went.
First, a lot of gold all beaten up into a froth and poured over her head
and allowed to set there in crinkly little curls.
Blue eyes and a mouth with real lines.
And in addition, well, she had everything just about right.
And believe me, I was going to throw away the sales slip
and not return the merchandise once it got to my house.
That's why I nearly went nuts every evening waiting for her to come out of the building where she worked.
She was always the last one out and this particular evening she was later than usual.
It got dark, the streetlights came on,
and the rush hour was over before she put in an appearance.
Kenny? Oh, oh gee, Kenny, I'm sorry.
You've been waiting long?
Oh, no, no, I just nearly got run in for picketing the place, that's all.
I hurried all I could. Please don't be mad at me, Kenny.
I'm not mad at you, but slave driver you work for.
Why do you always have to be the last one out?
Oh, it's only for another week.
Yeah. Come on, let's go.
I got to deliver this package on the way home for his nibs.
But you're not going home. We're going to Philharmonic. Thursday, remember?
Oh, it won't take any time at all, honey. It's just around the corner.
415 Martin Street.
Okay. That guy nerves me up, making you play messenger girl after hours.
Oh, let's don't talk about Mr. Heston. Let's talk about us.
Been counting the days?
All day. Thirteen left.
And a half. Don't forget the half if it's to be a noon wedding.
Why all the fuss about the half?
Oh, I don't like thirteen by itself.
I'll be glad when it's tomorrow and only twelve days left.
See, you're cute. The more I know you, the cuter you get.
I bet you won't say that a year from now. You'll be calling me your old lady then.
You'll always be Steffy to me. Just Steffy.
Not even Stephanie?
No, too sophisticated, too foreign sounding.
Steffy, that's you. Hey, what number are you supposed to deliver that package to?
415. That must be it.
What a dump. Your boss have many customers in dumps like this?
I don't know. Hold a mask on me. What are you counting?
I can't see the name.
There, that's better.
Yeah, uh-huh. But I still don't see it.
What was the name?
Muller, apartment 4B.
Oh, here it is. Name cards fall now that it's split and gotten lost. No wonder I couldn't find it.
Maybe they're not home.
I'll ring it again.
Ah, there it is.
I don't like those automatic door latches. You never know who's up there.
Ah, don't be silly. Wait here, honey. I won't take a minute.
I never timed a cigarette. I suppose they take around five minutes.
This one seemed to take longer, but then, uh, look who I was waiting for.
I punched it out with my foot and lit another. I thought, won't take a minute. Yeah, I might have known it.
I thought, what's she doing, saying a T up there? I counted my change just to give myself something to do.
I took off my hat and looked it over like I'd never seen it before.
Five cigarettes later, she still hadn't come back.
Things happened. Nothing much. Little things that were to last so long.
A stout lady in a ratty-looking fur coat came in holding some candy in one hand and a little boy by the other.
I want a Hershey bar. I want a Hershey bar.
Oh, you shut up or I'll smack you good.
I'll clove your head and put it in the garbage can.
Now, drudgy, I don't want to hear another word if you don't hush up her.
After they'd gone, more waiting started in. I commenced tracing patterns with my feet.
Circles, diagonals, Maltese crosses. Finally, I got fed up.
I stepped over to the bell panel, picked out 4B, and nearly sent the button through to the other side of the wall.
I could hear it ringing away off somewhere. A quiet house. Too quiet.
I leaned on a bell till my thumb joint got all white down to my wrist, and something did happen.
I heard the door of the automatic elevator open.
I waited, nonchalant, like filing my fingernails. I thought I'd play a little heard when she arrived.
I could see it was her, all right, walking toward me.
She opened the door and then walked past me like she never saw me before.
I let her go on. Figured she'd turn around by the time she got to the door.
But no.
Steffi. Hey, Steffi, wait.
Steffi. Hey, Steffi, what's the big idea?
I beg your pardon.
Oh, I thought you were... I mean, you're dressed just like...
I would advise you to be sure to whom you are talking before you go to grab a strange girl by the coat.
Oh, no kidding. You look a lot like her, even the clothes. That little tan and the red shoes.
Really, I don't find this amusing.
Okay, sister, pardon me for living.
Next time, make sure it's one of the girls that live here.
It was a shock. I didn't like the looks of the place from the beginning.
Up to then, I was just sore. Now I began to get scared.
Maybe there's some guy up there trying to get funny with her, I thought.
I better get up there fast and find out what this is.
So I laid my hand flat over all the bells in the place so somebody would open up.
Open up in there. Open up or I'll bust the door down, do you hear me?
Steffi, are you in there, honey? Baby, why don't you say something?
Yeah, what's this, what's this, what's this?
Oh, that's what I want to know. Who are you?
Building superintendent.
You got a passkey to this flat?
I have. What do you want in there?
My girl. She took a package up. I've been waiting for her downstairs.
I don't know how long. She never came down again. Now they won't answer the bell.
Oh, wait a minute, young fella. She couldn't be in this flat.
Don't try to tell me.
Hey, don't you try to tell me. I say she couldn't be.
Why?
I'll show you why.
Hey.
Now, you see why?
It's empty.
Empty.
Nobody lives here. But there was someone here a while ago.
She rang the bell and they let her in.
Mister, this place ain't been rented for six months.
Listen, she came in here, I tell you.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe you and the little girl had a quarrel.
Maybe she figured to play a little joke on you.
Give you the slip.
We never had any quarrel. We're getting married.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why don't you go to her place?
You'll probably find her there.
She didn't come out again, I tell you. I was there at the door the whole time.
What about the back way? Is there a back way out?
Not a back way. There's a delivery entrance.
But that goes right past my quarters. Nobody went out that way.
Muller. The name was Muller.
If he doesn't live in 4B, where does he live?
Muller.
We never had anyone with that name in the whole 12 years I've been working here.
For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you a star, Mr. Lee Bowman, in I Won't Take a Minute,
Roma Wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines.
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That's why more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine.
And now Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood Sound stage
Lee Bowman as Kenny in Cornell Woolrich's story of a vanishing lady,
I Won't Take a Minute, a play well calculated to keep you in suspense.
The cop on the beat was a nice guy.
He rang every bell in every flat of the building and questioned the occupants.
No one had heard anything. No one had seen her.
Finally, a single plainclothes man was dropped off at the door.
Lieutenant Gilman. He kept calling me Bud.
He looked around the empty flat, and then he looked at me.
Bud, there's nothing to show that this girl or anyone else came in here.
I tell you, she rang the bell at this flat, and someone released the door catch for her from up here.
All right, all right. Assuming she got in here, how'd she get out?
I don't know. I don't know. Maybe the fire is good.
Look at those windows. Look at the dust on these frames.
A person can't move in a place like this without it showing.
Listen, don't do this to me, will you?
I'm telling you, she didn't come here with me at all.
That's what it does sound like, Bud.
Look, I was taking her to the concert tonight. We go every Thursday.
Here's our ticket.
I think we better build this thing from the ground up and see what we've got.
Now, what's this girl's name?
Stephanie. Stephanie Rizka.
Address?
120 Farragut.
Uh-huh. What's she look like?
Well, she... she comes up to about here next to me.
Blonde, little curls close to her head, blue eyes.
I'm no good at descriptions.
Don't let it get you, Bud.
I'm not scared because she's gone. I'm scared because she's gone in such a crazy way.
I can't get a grip on it.
Now, you say you met her at 615 outside the Bailey Goodwin building with a package to be delivered here.
Who'd she work for?
A press clipping service. The Green Star, it's called. It's operated by a guy named Hessen.
Big outfit?
Just him and a secretary and an office boy. She was getting 22 a week.
All right, Bud. You've given me something indefinite. We'll do some checking.
But first of all, we go back to the place she worked.
Oh, what a telephone booth.
She told me the place was small, but I never figured on this. Not even a window.
All right, all right. Let's have a look.
Desk, filing cabinet.
Yeah, clippings.
Well, so far, your story checks.
Except for one thing.
What's that?
There's no file for anyone named Muller.
Oh, this must be her desk.
Yeah.
Shears, glue, clips.
Not much of a personal touch here, not even a hairpin.
Uh-oh. Find something?
Nothing special.
You found something here. I saw you drop it in an envelope and stick it in your pocket.
Listen, Bud, who's running this investigation? You or me?
Sorry.
You, I guess.
Okay, let's keep it that way.
Our next stop was one of those bungalow-type places in the outskirts.
That was where Hessen lived, the guy she worked for.
Oh, good evening.
Good evening. You Mr. Hessen?
That's right.
I'm from police headquarters. May I come in?
Oh, why, certainly.
Won't you sit down, gentlemen?
We won't take up much of your time, sir.
First of all, do you know anyone named Muller at 415 Martin Street?
No, I don't know anyone by that name. I think we have a Miller.
Mrs. Elsie Miller on our list, who divorces and marries quite frequently.
Will that do? She owes us $29.
You didn't send a package over to Muller, Apartment 4B, 415 Martin Street at 615 this evening?
No, I'm sure I didn't. But wait a minute. It's easy enough to confirm that.
Oh, Stephanie.
Stephanie?
Did you call me, Mr. Hessen?
Yes, my dear. Oh, this is my assistant, gentlemen, Miss Stephanie Riscov.
That isn't Stephanie. She's calling somebody else by her name.
My dear young man.
She came out of that building while I was waiting. I spoke to her.
We'll discuss that later.
Now then, Miss, how long have you been working for Mr. Hessen?
Since October of last year. About eight months now.
And your name is Stephanie Riscov?
Why, yes, of course.
Have you any identification on you?
I don't know. Maybe there is something here in my handbag.
Do you mind if I look?
It's all right, my dear. He's from the police.
Oh. Oh, well, in that case.
Thank you.
I don't know what these two are trying to pull, but she's not Stephanie.
You've got to believe me. She came out of that building dressed like Stephanie.
The way Stephanie was dressed when she went in.
Stop that, will you?
Thank you, Miss Riscov. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
It's quite all right.
I noticed you have quite a supply of chewing gum there.
That's hard to get these days.
I make a hobby of it. Have some?
Oh, thanks. My mouth's kind of dry.
Well, Mr. Hester...
It's quite all right.
I don't know what this young man has got himself mixed up in, but if we were able to help...
Oh, you did help a lot, sir.
Come along, bud. I've got some more checking to do.
This time it's on you.
Okay, bud, now stop talking. Spill it. What's your pitch?
I told you the truth. That girl wasn't Stephanie. I never saw her before.
Was the man Hesson?
He looked just like him.
This girl of yours, what kind of gum did she chew?
She didn't chew gum. She hated it.
You ask me what it was I picked up back there in the office.
Well, here's what it was.
A wad of gum stuck under the edge of the desk.
That girl back there at Hesson's place belongs in that office, bud.
She had a letter addressed to herself in that handbag and her initials on the outside of it.
It wasn't a new one and it wasn't fake.
What's your racket, bud?
Are you a pushover for mental observation?
Or did you do something to some little blonde blue-eyed number?
And are you trying to pass the buck before we even found out about it?
I don't know. I don't know. Maybe I am nuts.
Things like this... things like this just don't happen. They can't.
One minute she walks into a building...
You haven't produced a single person, even in the long, that actually laid eyes on this girl of yours.
Where's her folks? Where'd she come from?
Wisconsin, I think. Her folks are all dead.
Ha ha. I thought so.
Well, I'll give you one more spin for your money, bud.
You stand or fall by the place you say she lived.
Have you been there?
Yes.
Could you describe it?
Okay.
Sticking in the mirror of the dresser, she's got a list of the Holy Mother.
On the radiator, she's got a rag doll that I won for at Coney Island.
On a little shelf against the wall, she's got a gas ring with a tube running up to the jet.
From the light fixture to the jet, there's a string attached.
And she'll have stockings hanging here to dry. Are you listening?
Yeah, yeah. Go on, go on.
Will you remember those things?
Yeah, bud. We'll see.
Now listen, bud. Get this straight.
I don't want one word out of you the whole time we're here. You hear?
I won't say a word. So help me.
Yes?
You got a girl named Stephanie risk living here?
Second floor front. She ain't home now.
I'm from the police. I think you'd better let us in.
Oh, well, certainly.
Let's see her room, please.
Yeah, follow me.
She's a nice clean roomer. I'd hate to lose her. I hope she's not in any trouble.
No trouble.
Now, Gilman, right over there.
Hey, it's changed. They've changed it all around.
Shut up.
Has she always had it fixed this way, ma'am?
Well, since the first day she's here, only one thing I got to complain about.
There it is again, chewing gum. She leaves it all over.
Let's see that.
Ah, I thought so. Exhibit C, bud.
Same as the other two. She belongs in that office and she belongs in this room.
Look out. You'd better hold your frame.
Let him hold. This isn't anything to the falls.
He's going to be taking five or ten minutes from now.
What'd he do? Murder her?
Not her, but I've got a good hunch she murdered someone
and picked the wrong number and name out of a hat.
I didn't hear any more of what they said while we were going down the stairs.
The light bulbs in the place were doing funny things, turning red, spinning around in spirals.
I was still on my feet, but not so as you'd notice it.
The spinning didn't stop till we got to the foot of the stairs.
The thing that stopped it was an umbrella stand beside the front door.
It had a knotty walking stick jutting up out of it.
I grabbed it in my free hand as he walked me past it.
Watch out, Newtellen. He's going to...
Hey, you!
I didn't stop to investigate whether I'd kill him or only knock him out.
I was a block down the street before the landlady could open her mouth to scream.
I made for the Martin Street flat. That was instinctive.
The place I'd last seen her, calling me back.
When I got there, I ganged up on the janitor's bell and waited a thousand years.
Oh, it's you again. What is it? Didn't you find her yet?
What happened to that detective fellow that was with you?
He sent me back to take another look.
You don't have to come up. Just give me the passkey.
All right, son. Come on in.
My head was still spinning when I let myself into the door of apartment 4B.
I don't know what I was looking for. Some clue.
Some magic clue that would pop up and give her back to me.
I tested the walls for secret panels.
Alas, and a 50 buck a month flat.
I dug out plaster with my bare nails, cased the cracks between the floorboards.
I'd been there about ten minutes when I heard steps coming up the hall.
I held my breath.
All right, sonny. Come out of there with your hands up, or I'll come in to...
Give me a minute, please. One minute. Maybe I'll find it.
Find what?
Please, one minute.
If you aren't out of there by the time I count ten, I commit you. Can you hear me?
Yeah. Yeah, I hear you.
One, two, three.
I didn't stop the thing. I crossed the room and threw up in the window.
The one that opened on the floor escaped.
Down looked too far, so I started climbing.
Hey! Hey! I'm not out of here, you!
I'll break every bone in your body. You won't live to get into headquarters.
I didn't yell back at him. I was saving my breath.
Come on, after him. Keep that light on him.
On the roof, I took a quick look both directions.
There was about a yard-high partition wall dividing it from the next roof over.
But before I could get...
Hold it, pal. Hold it. He won't make it.
Oh.
Get that light focused on his eyes. He may be faking it.
I think I busted my leg.
Eh? Well, let's see.
Now, just bark your shin a little.
Oh, wait till I finish with you, wise guy.
Oh, what are you waiting for?
Go ahead. You promised me a beating.
Go ahead. Don't you worry...
Hey, where did that come from?
What? That package there beside you.
Package? Package.
That's it. The package you took inside with it.
Hold that light steady.
What's in it? What is it?
Newspapers. Newspapers? That's a dummy.
Look, those papers. They've had stuff clipped out of them.
That proves they came from Hessman's clipping agency.
Well, doesn't it?
Someone did bring a package here tonight.
Oh, what a sap I've been. I kept thinking about that womb.
She was never in that womb. I was right about that.
They must have grabbed her in the hall and taken her straight up here to the roof through the skylight.
But why? I don't know.
Maybe that steel-plated landlady knows, and if she does, she's gonna talk and talk fast.
All right, Grandma, come on, spill it.
You can't scare me. I've got bigger men than you on my side.
What do you mean, your side?
You should like to know. All I have to do is make one telephone call.
I have the number right here.
Let's see that number.
Take it. Call it yourself.
Who gave you that number?
Ask me no questions. I'll tell you no lies.
Who gave you this number?
The FBI man who was here.
Now you know who I'm working for. Go ahead.
I'm not a spy. I'm a spy.
Now you know who I'm working for. Go ahead. Call the number.
Oh, I get it.
Tell me, Grandma, what did this FBI man look like?
All right, I'll tell you. All you have to do is say yes and no.
The guy's about my height, bald, wears pinched glasses, right?
Maybe.
He got you to work with him so this woman he described as one of his agents could step into the identity of this Stephanie Riska, right?
You seem to know all about him.
I know more than that.
He wasn't an FBI man, and the girl who took Stephanie Riska's place was not a federal agent.
Then who was he?
I'm not sure, Grandma, but I've got a hunch. Calhoun!
Joe!
Calhoun, get out there.
We have to spread the lab a little faster. Keep it fun until we get there.
Gilman! Gilman! You think she's already...
I don't know. Keep your fingers crossed, bud, and pray.
Where are they? I told them to keep this house covered.
Gone. Nobody here.
Yeah, yeah.
Hey, now, sir. Now, sir.
Stand back against the wall. Somebody's coming.
Gilman, you in here?
Calhoun, what's the big idea? I told you to keep this place spotted. Now they're gone.
I tailed them. They piled into a car, locked up the house and left.
Where to?
Pier 7, North River. They got in some kind of a fuzzy tramp steamer and it shoved off in less than a quarter of an hour.
I tried to reach...
Was the other girl with them?
No. Two men in a stringy blond. They call Algar. That's all.
Too late. We're too late.
We could pull them off at quarantine. I'll make them talk. Come on, let's get out of here and get some fresh air.
Thanks, Dona.
Yeah. Smells like they'd had their place fumigated or something.
Hey.
What's the matter?
That smell. That's gasoline.
Gasoline?
I hear something. A clock.
It's the basement. Come on.
Yeah, she's down here, all right. Go back upstairs, but I'll bring her up.
Tell me. Tell me now. Don't wait till you get her...
Yeah, she's alive. Come on. Get her out of here. Don't you hear that ticking?
I'd better what that bomb...
Thank you, Calhoun. You'll never make it that far.
Yeah, she'll be around in a second or two.
How's Calhoun?
Burned pretty bad. It was an incendiary.
Oh, can he?
Oh, baby, it's okay.
Yeah, sure. Everything's okay now, Stepy.
Who are you?
This is Lieutenant Gilman. We owe a lot to him, Stepy.
Thanks, Lieutenant Gilman.
Ah, I'm just a dumb flatfoot, Stepy, and I had to be conked over the head before I got wise to what was going on.
Even then, I didn't figure it right. I figured Heston and his pals were a bunch of spies or something.
Well, weren't they?
Well, Heston became an American citizen in 1929. Up to now, his record's absolutely clean.
Oh, I'm glad of that. I'd hate to be working for a spy.
But I don't get it. Why did they want Stepy out of the way?
That was all they're doing. The girl who was impersonating you, Stepy.
You see, she's Heston's sister.
She's fugitive from a couple of war crimes and figured the least her brother could do for her was to finish her with a nice, clean nationality.
Their original plan was to bump Stepy off in that empty flat and leave her there without anything to identify her.
Only, only they figured on her coming there alone.
There was no time to work out a plan on the spot, so they scrammed over the roof, taking Stepy with them.
Hey, Gilman, we're doing headquarters. You coming?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right away, right away.
Come on.
Well, I gotta go, kid.
Thanks, Gilman. Thanks for everything.
Ah, I'm glad to help you out.
Hey, another thing, bud, you weren't lying about.
She is pretty.
No hard feelings? I mean, about me hitting you over the head?
Oh, oh, say, I almost forgot. Something I meant to give you before we say goodnight.
Oh, you've done enough.
Ha ha, that's what you think.
It was a while before I knew what hit me.
It felt like a cement mixer.
When my head cleared, Stepy, I had changed roles. She was the one bending over me.
And he said to tell you no hard feelings, but when anyone socks Dick Gilman with a walking stick, they get socked back, even if they're the best of friends.
He said that, did he?
Does it still hurt?
I'm still seeing stars.
Oh, gee, Kenny, I'm sorry.
Ah, I don't care. I'm seeing you, too.
Listen, listen, it's midnight.
Yeah, only 12 days to the wedding now, baby. We've licked the 13th.
Roma wines have brought you Lee Bowman as star of I Won't Take A Minute.
Tonight's study in suspense.
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Lee Bowman appeared through the courtesy of Columbia Pictures and will soon be seen co-starring with Russell and Russell in their production, She Wouldn't Say Yes.
Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines will bring you Mr. Robert Taylor as star of Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrill.
Presented by Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, made in California for enjoyment throughout the world.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
The Skippy Hollywood Theater, KQW, San Jose, follows in just a moment.