1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,000 Roma wines, R-O-M-A, made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Roma wines present Suspense. 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Tonight, Roma wines bring you the MGM star, Miss Marsha Hunt, as star of Pink Camellias, 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:31,000 a Suspense play produced, edited and directed for Roma wines by William Spear. 5 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented for your enjoyment by Roma wines. 6 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:46,000 That's R-O-M-A, Roma wines. Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live. 7 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,000 To your happiness and entertaining guests, to your enjoyment of everyday meals. 8 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:59,000 Yes, right now a glass full would be very pleasant, as Roma wines bring you Miss Marsha Hunt as Martha in Pink Camellias. 9 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,000 A remarkable tale of Suspense. 10 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:14,000 It's not often a woman can look back and see the events of her life like tiny, confused pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 11 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 Meeting, finally and neatly, to form one picture. 12 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:24,000 I can do that tonight. I can see so clearly and I must make you see too. 13 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000 If only I have time, if only I have enough moments left. 14 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:35,000 The years I spent with Aunt Abby were long and dull. 15 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:42,000 She was an invalid, her heart was bad, so she lay in her bed day after day, making the most of it. 16 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Ordering and complaining. Well, I was an orphan. Help us, so what could I do? 17 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000 Aunt Abby took me in and I worked for my keep. Worked hard. 18 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:02,000 It was I who kept the house running. I who went into the village two miles away to buy the cakes and candy she grew fat on. 19 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:07,000 It was I who sat by her bed and read the sickening love stories to her. 20 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:12,000 I bore the brunt of her frenzy at being old and ill and unwanted by men. 21 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 And it made her happy to see me grow more afraid and less attractive. 22 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:22,000 Then, about a year ago, one afternoon when we were having tea. 23 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:27,000 Martha, these aren't the cakes I like. Really, you are stupid. 24 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:33,000 It was the little chocolate ones I wanted, the ones with the center scooped out and the frosting inside. 25 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,000 They didn't have any, Aunt Abby. I asked for them. 26 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:41,000 If they can't do better than this, we'll change to another pastry shop. Caramelizing. 27 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,000 Shall I begin reading now, Aunt Abby? 28 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:50,000 I don't think much of this candy either. Oh, here's the piece I like at last. 29 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:57,000 Read? Oh, no, Martha, not now. I have some news for you. 30 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:58,000 News? 31 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Yes. We're going to have a guest. A young man. Does that excite you? 32 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:06,000 Oh, Aunt Abby. 33 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:09,000 Oh, Martha, you are a cold fish. 34 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,000 Well, as a matter of fact, he's a relative of yours. 35 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:16,000 A very distant one and not really a blood relative at all. 36 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,000 He's my second husband's sister's son. 37 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,000 And, let's see, what does that make him to you? 38 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,000 Why, I suppose... 39 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,000 Oh, never mind figuring it out. You are so literal. 40 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:29,000 When is he coming? 41 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,000 Just a minute. I'll look in his letter again. 42 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:39,000 Let's see now. Oh, yes, I thought so. It's the day after tomorrow he'll be here. 43 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Shall I tell John to see that there's a room ready for him? 44 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:48,000 Yes, do. Oh, dear. This silly boy, Neil. 45 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:53,000 He says he and my second husband talked about me all the time. 46 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,000 I guess poor Walter never did get over me. 47 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,000 How old is he, Neil? 48 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:04,000 35ish, I'd say. He was about 20 the last time I saw him. Too handsome to believe. 49 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,000 But don't you go getting ideas about him, Miss. 50 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:11,000 Whether he's handsome or not, I don't want you making a fool of yourself. 51 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:17,000 Anyway, Martha, you're just not the type of woman he'd look at twice. 52 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,000 She went into detail. 53 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:31,000 She compared me to herself and told me no man who had known her had ever forgotten her. 54 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:39,000 And I looked at her, lying there, fat and old, with a fleck of chocolate on her chin. 55 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,000 Neil came two days later. 56 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,000 I watched him make over Aunt Abby. 57 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,000 I watched him hold her hand too long and smile too sweetly at her. 58 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:57,000 And I knew from the first moment that Neil Garson was weak and without a shred of principle. 59 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:05,000 I knew he wanted something from Aunt Abby and that he would flatter her and fawn on her until he got what he wanted. 60 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:10,000 But I also knew that for the first time in my life I was in love. 61 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:18,000 As foolishly in love as a heroine and one of the cheap love stories I had to read aloud. 62 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:24,000 Well, that'll do for today. I do wish, Martha, that you could learn to read with some expression. 63 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,000 I'm sorry, Aunt Abby. I'm no actress. 64 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:27,000 You're the dullest girl. 65 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,000 I think she does very well, Abby, and I don't think she's dull. 66 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,000 Of course she is. 67 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,000 No, I think she has great depths, unexpected depths. 68 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,000 You're talking like a fool, Neil. 69 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Do you want me to do anything else for you, Aunt Abby? 70 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,000 No, you can leave now. You do get on my nerves sometimes. 71 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:46,000 Oh, just a minute, Martha. Why is it you always wear your hair pulled back so tightly? 72 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:47,000 My hair? 73 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,000 It would look wonderful falling to your shoulders. It's a beautiful shade of red, you know. 74 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,000 Like a mother's, isn't it, Abby? 75 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,000 Neil. 76 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,000 My mother? How do you know anything about my mother? Why, even I never... 77 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,000 Abby told me about her. Showed me a picture, too. 78 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,000 But Aunt Abby, you never showed me a picture of her. Where is it? 79 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Back in the trunk where it belongs. 80 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:12,000 Now, Neil, my dear, would you please leave us alone? I have something to discuss with Martha. 81 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,000 But please, I'd like to see it. 82 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,000 Certainly, Abby. 83 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:15,000 I've never seen... 84 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:21,000 Now, Missy, I have something to tell you that I don't expect you to like. 85 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Yes? 86 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,000 You know that Neil is a writer? 87 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,000 No, I didn't know. 88 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,000 His things are very artistic. He's read some to me. 89 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:35,000 Oh, but of course it's hard to make a living when you write things that most people are too stupid to appreciate. 90 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,000 Yes, I guess it would be. 91 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:44,000 Well, I've decided that he shall have his chance to do what he wants to do without having to worry about scrabbling for a living. 92 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 I've left him half my estate. 93 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,000 Only half? 94 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,000 Don't be sarcastic, Martha. There'll be plenty for you. 95 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:56,000 Of course there will. I don't need much. I'd have no way to spend a great deal of money. 96 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:06,000 I do believe you mean it. But you're right. You'll just go along the same way after I've gone. You'll certainly never marry. 97 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:15,000 No. No, I won't marry. Aunt Abby, my mother wasn't plain like I am. She was beautiful, wasn't she? 98 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Why are you going to start that again? 99 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,000 But why won't you tell me about her? 100 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:25,000 Because she wasn't like us. She didn't fit into our family at all. 101 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:37,000 No, you're not like her, Martha. And you can get down on your knees and thank heaven that you're not. 102 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,000 It was after dinner that night, Neil asked me for the first time to walk in the garden with him. 103 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:50,000 I wasn't fool enough to believe that it was for any romantic reason, but I snatched at the chance to be alone with him. 104 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Let's sit on that bench by the birch tree. 105 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000 All right. 106 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,000 There. Nice night. Cigarette? 107 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,000 No, thank you. 108 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 Well, don't mind if I smoke. 109 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Ah, this is a nice spot. 110 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:08,000 Yes. 111 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,000 Abby tells me you know about the will. 112 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:12,000 Yes. 113 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000 How do you feel about it? 114 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,000 Well, I hadn't thought. There's enough left for me. 115 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Is that all you want? Just enough? 116 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,000 What else would I want? 117 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,000 You could be beautiful, you know. 118 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,000 Oh, you're teasing me. 119 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:31,000 If only I had money, or if you had, or even better, if both of us had. I'd teach you how to get some fun out of life. 120 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:32,000 You would? 121 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Would you like having me teach you, Martha? 122 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:43,000 Oh, I, I, there's no use talking about it. Neither of us has any money and probably won't have for years. 123 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,000 How bad is her heart, really? 124 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:53,000 As bad as it's been since I've known her. She could die any minute, or she could live for years. 125 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,000 Yes, I suppose she could. 126 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Flowers are lovely out here. Garden is good. 127 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Yes. Bennett's worked for Aunt Abby for years. He loves the place. 128 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:12,000 I was in the greenhouse the other day when Bennett was getting out some of that stuff to put around the rose bushes. Arsenic compound, it was. 129 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:18,000 That's why the roses are so perfect. Seems the poison kills all the worms. 130 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,000 Yes. 131 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:25,000 You ought to wear flowers, Martha. You'd be lovely with camellias in your hair. 132 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:33,000 I must get you some. Oh, but then that would be silly, wouldn't it, for me to go all the way into town to buy you flowers when the greenhouse is full of them. 133 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,000 But I'd like to see them in your hair. 134 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,000 Maybe, maybe I'll wear some someday, Neil. 135 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 You'll be lovely, Martha. 136 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:02,000 For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you a star, Marsha Hunt, in Pink Camellias by Charmian McGurk. 137 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:08,000 Roma Wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 138 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines. 139 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:25,000 If any week in the year deserves the name of Hospitality Week, this is it. 140 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Christmas to New Year's, the golden days of the year, when welcome is the watchword and gracious hospitality is everywhere, says famed hostess Elsa Maxwell. 141 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,000 I keep the festive spirit bright by entertaining with Roma California Wine. 142 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:56,000 Whether I serve glorious amber Roma Sherry, warm heartening Roma Port, rich golden Roma Muscatel, or flame bright Roma Toquet, I know I have chosen the wine my friends thoroughly enjoy. 143 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:06,000 Like all Roma Wine, these Roma dessert wines are true wines, crushed from choicest grapes, grown in California's finest vineyards. 144 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:15,000 Then unhurriedly guided to glorious taste perfection by Roma's ancient winemaking skill, bottled at the winery. 145 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:23,000 So to add warmth to your welcome or for a perfect ending to your holiday dinners, serve a fine Roma Wine. 146 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:29,000 Get Roma Wine tomorrow. Only Roma gives you so much taste luxury for so little. 147 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:39,000 Remember, because of Roma's uniformly fine quality at low cost, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. 148 00:11:39,000 --> 00:12:00,000 And now Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood sound stage, Marsha Hunt as Martha in Pink Camellias, a play well calculated to keep you in suspense. 149 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:06,000 I've never felt so alive as I was planning my first murder. 150 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:12,000 Neil noticed the change in me, the new confidence in myself. He was fascinated. 151 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:21,000 He was afraid of me and yet he had to be with me. He was weak, Neil was. He was too weak to do his own murder. 152 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:25,000 But I was strong enough. 153 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,000 About time you showed up. Sent for you a half hour ago. 154 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,000 What did you want, Ann Aggie? 155 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:38,000 For heaven's sake, take these roses and put them over on the other table. Oh, that's better. They were smothering me. 156 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:44,000 Bennett brought them in this morning. Really, we must get rid of him. He's so old, he depresses me. 157 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:50,000 I hinted to him this morning that it was time for him to go, but you'd better make a definite the end of month. 158 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,000 I like young people around me. 159 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,000 All right, Aunt Aggie. 160 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:59,000 And if it's not too much trouble, Miss, I wish you'd go into town this morning and get me some of my little cakes. 161 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,000 I intended to. 162 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Well, I'm surprised to hear it. You've been mooning around here lately like a lovesick calf, never doing anything for me. 163 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:10,000 Yes, Aunt Aggie. 164 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:16,000 Any funny business and you can get out and get a job where you'll really have to work. I've made things too easy for you. 165 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,000 Yes, Aunt Aggie. 166 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:22,000 And when you go into town, try to get the cakes I like for once. 167 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:29,000 Oh yes, I'll be very careful to get them, Aunt Aggie. The little chocolate ones with the icing in the center. 168 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:42,000 The cakes she loved best. The icing in the little hole in the center was soft and chocolate brown. 169 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,000 The arsenic lightened it hardly at all, but then it took so little. 170 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:52,000 Hardly more than enough to kill one of the worms on the rose bushes. 171 00:13:52,000 --> 00:14:00,000 I dressed carefully that day. I wore a dress that made my eyes green and brought out the red of my hair. 172 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,000 I have never looked so well. 173 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Just before I got the tea tray lunch, I walked out to the greenhouse and picked two camellias of the faintest pink. 174 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,000 They looked lovely in my hair. 175 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,000 Well, where have you been? 176 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000 Here's your tea, Aunt Aggie. 177 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:24,000 I've waited long enough. But you got so few cakes. Only enough for today. 178 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:30,000 Honestly, Martha, I have few enough pleasures in life. I should think you'd show me some consideration. 179 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,000 What's in that dish? 180 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:33,000 Strawberries. 181 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,000 Yes, Bennett sent them in for you. They're the first of the season. 182 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:43,000 He's trying to get around me so he can stay. Well, it'll do him no good. But put plenty of cream on them. 183 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,000 That's it. And a cake, Martha. 184 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Here you are, Aunt Abby. 185 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,000 Where's Neil? 186 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000 He's working. He'll be in later. 187 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,000 Is this all the strawberries? 188 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:04,000 Yes, but Bennett said there would be more in a few days if you want them. He has them set up in boxes in the greenhouse. 189 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Just one more cake, Martha. That's it. 190 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000 Why are you all dressed up? 191 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,000 I'm not. 192 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:19,000 It won't do you any good. You'll never get him. 193 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:20,000 You... 194 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,000 Martha. 195 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,000 I... 196 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,000 I... 197 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:46,000 You see, Aunt Abby, you didn't run out of your cakes. There were plenty there. All you'll ever want. 198 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:55,000 There was no investigation into Aunt Abby's death. It was surprising, the doctor said, that she hadn't been carried off by a heart attack before. 199 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:04,000 There were no surprises in the will. She had left small bequests to the servants and the rest of the estate to be divided between Neil and me. 200 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:16,000 Very soon now we'd have our money. And I'd have Neil. I had a hold over him now, for the knowledge of murder shared is as strong a bond as love. 201 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:24,000 For a while, Neil was in the best of spirits. But gradually, as we waited for the money, he changed. 202 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:30,000 Few odd days in this house now go off my head. Nothing to do but sit around these gloomy rooms and read musty old books. 203 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000 You're jumpy, Neil. 204 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Well, what if I am? There are things that would make anyone jumpy. 205 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,000 I know. 206 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:40,000 You don't know. You like remembering. When that little smile comes in your face, I know you're remembering. 207 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:41,000 John's coming. 208 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,000 What do you want, John? 209 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,000 I've got tea, sir. 210 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,000 Well, put it down here. 211 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,000 Big pardon, Miss Martha. 212 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,000 Yes, John. 213 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,000 I thought I'd better speak to you about Bennett. 214 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,000 Bennett? What about him, John? 215 00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:05,000 Well, he hasn't been himself, you might say, since your aunt died. I don't know the last time I saw him eat a mouthful of food. He just sits and stares into space. And today he's down on his back. 216 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:06,000 Really sick? 217 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000 How starved, I'd say, Miss. And brooding about something. 218 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,000 Brooding? 219 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,000 I don't know what about, Miss. He doesn't talk. 220 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:17,000 Oh, I'll call the doctor. And I'll go out and see him myself. Thank you, John. 221 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,000 Yes, Miss. I'll tell him you're coming. 222 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:21,000 Bennett knows. 223 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:22,000 Shh! 224 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,000 Don't be a fool. Of course he doesn't know. No one saw me in the greenhouse. 225 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,000 He knows, I tell you! 226 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,000 I'll go and talk to him. Maybe I'll take him some hot soup. 227 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,000 You're kind, Martha. You're so kind. But he won't drink your soup. He knows. 228 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000 I'm sorry. I can't get up, Miss. It was good of you to come. 229 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,000 The doctor will be in to see you tomorrow, Bennett. 230 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,000 But can't I do something for you now? Is there something you'd like to eat? 231 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,000 Oh, no, no, thank you, Miss. No, thank you. 232 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,000 Is something bothering you, Bennett? Would you like to tell me about it? 233 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:11,000 Your... your aunt was going to let me go. After all these years. She as good as told me I was through. 234 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,000 Oh, but she left you enough to live on. 235 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:21,000 She was going to take my flowers away. But she didn't manage it. She died before she could get rid of me. 236 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,000 Yes. 237 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:31,000 Yes. That... that poison works fast on bugs in the garden, don't it, Miss? 238 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,000 Yes, it does. 239 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:38,000 Did it work fast on her too, Miss? 240 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,000 Bennett! 241 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:44,000 It... it just came to me all at once. The stuff was out in plain sight there. 242 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:51,000 Bennett, you can take care of the flowers for as long as you live. I won't sell the house. 243 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:58,000 I am too tired, Miss Martha. But I feel better for talking to you. 244 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:04,000 You and I are the only ones that know. Oh, your aunt was a mean woman, Miss. 245 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:10,000 I didn't care much for her. She never paid any attention to how pretty the flowers was. 246 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:16,000 The only time she was ever nice to me was when I... I took her something I'd grown for her to eat. 247 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:34,000 Oh, don't feel bad about her, Miss. Her and the bugs... they should have been killed. 248 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:43,000 I sat up with Bennett all night until he died. He didn't speak of my aunt or the poison again, and I never knew how he had guessed. 249 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:50,000 Bennett's death did something strange to Neil. It made him really hate me. 250 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000 I've been looking for you, Neil. 251 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,000 I wish I never had to see you again. What kind of poison did you use on old Bennett? 252 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,000 I've told you a thousand times I didn't kill him. 253 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,000 You make my skin crawl, Martha. 254 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:06,000 That's too bad, because you're going to have to be around me for the rest of your life. 255 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,000 I've been thinking, Martha. 256 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,000 Yes? 257 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,000 I'm getting out now. 258 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,000 You'd better wait until things are settled. 259 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,000 I've thought things out, Martha. I had nothing to do with Abby's death. There's no way they could prove I had. 260 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000 They could prove it as well about you as about me, Neil. 261 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,000 I tell them you did it. I tell them just how you did it. 262 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:30,000 No, you're the logical one to suspect. You're the one who came here and made a hateful old woman decide to leave you a fortune. 263 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,000 If I'd been after the money, I could have killed her long ago and got twice as much. 264 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,000 Oh, no, Neil. You mustn't tell the police anything. They might hang you for it. 265 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,000 Not when they learned about your mother. 266 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,000 My mother? 267 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:50,000 Yes, that beautiful mother of yours. And you're like her, Martha. You're so like her, with your hair down around your shoulders and the pale pink camellias pinned in it. 268 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:55,000 That lovely mother who killed your father and herself. That beautiful, insane mother. 269 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,000 Even in the first moment of shock, I knew it was true. 270 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Neil wasn't lying. 271 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:17,000 That was why I had never been told about my mother. That was why murder had seemed so right and easy for me to do. 272 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Neil thought now he was the leader once again. I let him think it. 273 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:29,000 I pulled my hair tight at the back of my head and shrank back into the colorless woman who couldn't possibly be a threat. 274 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,000 Say, Martha? 275 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:32,000 Yes? 276 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,000 Come in here a moment, will you? 277 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000 What is it, Neil? 278 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,000 I wish you'd ask around and find a good doctor for me to see. I'm having trouble with my eyes. 279 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:59,000 Just enough to make his eyes burn and smart. Just enough to make a little rash come out on his skin. Not enough yet to let him know he was dying. 280 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:08,000 The night came, though, when I decided to finish my work. Tonight, I planned a wonderful meal. 281 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:13,000 Squab and wild rice and strawberries from the greenhouse. 282 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:21,000 We had coffee in the drawing room. Neil took sugar in his. Neil took sugar that was loaded with death. 283 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:25,000 I drank my coffee black. 284 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,000 Another cup, Neil. 285 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,000 Thanks. I don't expect to sleep anyway, Martha. 286 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,000 Why don't you? 287 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:37,000 I'll be thinking about you. How beautiful you look. I'm glad you made yourself lovely for me. 288 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,000 I'm happy you think I'm lovely. 289 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000 Are we friends again? 290 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,000 Of course. 291 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:46,000 I'm sorry I had to be so rough on you, but you weren't getting out of hand there, you know. 292 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000 Maybe I was. 293 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:54,000 I just want you to know, Martha, that I've never felt about any woman the way I feel about you. If things had been different... 294 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,000 I thought I sickened you. 295 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 I was afraid of you, the way you were then. You were so cold. 296 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,000 I wasn't cold. I loved you very much. 297 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,000 And now? 298 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,000 I don't feel quite the same. 299 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:16,000 It's too bad. We would have been wonderful together. But you can understand how I feel, can't you? I mean, knowing... 300 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,000 Yes, I can understand. What's the matter? 301 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,000 The pain. Nothing. 302 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,000 Oh, dear. 303 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000 What is it? 304 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,000 I knew I'd forget something. 305 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,000 Oh, what's that? 306 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:34,000 Flowers for my hair. Oh, well, there's some over here in this vase. I brought them in this afternoon. 307 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,000 Here. Do they look all right, Neil? I haven't a mirror. 308 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,000 Why, yes, they're... 309 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,000 But they're like the ones you... 310 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:47,000 They're camellias, my favorite flower. These are the last of the pink ones. 311 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,000 Pink camellias? 312 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,000 You look so strange, Neil. What is it? 313 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000 You look like you did just before... 314 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,000 Before I killed Aunt Abby? 315 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:58,000 Yes. 316 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:02,000 I seem to look my best when I'm killing someone. 317 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,000 Mother. 318 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:10,000 But of course, Neil, you're dying. You've been dying for a long time. 319 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,000 But it hurts now, doesn't it? It burns, doesn't it? 320 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,000 Mother. Help. 321 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:22,000 I can never feel this way again, Neil. I can never love anyone the way I loved you. 322 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,000 And I can never hate the way I've come to hate you. 323 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,000 It makes it more exciting to really hate the person you kill. 324 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,000 I didn't hate Aunt Abby, you know. 325 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,000 Mother, no. 326 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:38,000 I despised her, that was all. I think you have to love someone before you can hate. 327 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:43,000 Aunt Abby was the first person I killed, so I was interested in watching her die. 328 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,000 Oh, but it wasn't like this. 329 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,000 And she didn't know that I was the one who brought death to her. 330 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,000 You know, though, don't you, Neil? You know. 331 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,000 Neil? Neil? 332 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:16,000 Oh, but it didn't take very long. It didn't take long at all. 333 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:21,000 I finished eating my strawberries, then I left him, crumpled there in the drawing room. 334 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,000 John would find him and call the police. 335 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:31,000 But it was while I was walking up the stairs to my room that I knew I wouldn't be able to tell them how I had worked things out. 336 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,000 I had intended to be here to tell them. 337 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:40,000 I thought I would have years of life in a quiet little room where I could remember everything. 338 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,000 They don't execute the insane, you know. 339 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:48,000 But as I was walking up the stairs, I knew I wouldn't have years. 340 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:56,000 I knew I only had a little time. 341 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,000 Bennett. Bennett and his strawberries. 342 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,000 Bennett killed Aunt Abby, too. 343 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:07,000 Just the way I would have done it myself. 344 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:15,000 I know how he felt as he took the little green stems off the strawberries and worked the poison in where the fruit was white against the deep pink. 345 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,000 He must have been happy as he worked. 346 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:23,000 I know how he felt because I'm like him, like that frail little man. 347 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,000 And I'm like my mother. 348 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,000 All people who kill are alike. 349 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,000 I should have known Bennett was like me. 350 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,000 If I had known I wouldn't be dying now. 351 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,000 I'd have all the years to remember in. 352 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:42,000 And Abby will be pleased at the way things happened. 353 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:47,000 And Neil, Neil will laugh. 354 00:26:47,000 --> 00:27:01,000 Neil, Neil will laugh. 355 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,000 Suspense. 356 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:12,000 Presented by Roma Wines, R-O-M-A. Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. 357 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:21,000 Before we hear again from Marsha Hunt, the star of Pink Camellias, tonight's Suspense play, this is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines. 358 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:26,000 Before you enjoy Suspense again, New Year's Eve will have come and gone. 359 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:36,000 Make this the first New Year of peace in five long years, a new year to remember with the gay continental smartness of Roma California champagne. 360 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Shimmering, pale gold, brilliantly bubbling, Roma champagne adds life, distinction to any party. 361 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Serve Roma champagne with dinner or at any time. 362 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:53,000 And for a magnificent Roma champagne cocktail, try this simple recipe. 363 00:27:53,000 --> 00:28:01,000 A cube of sugar, a dash of bitters, fill with chilled Roma champagne and you have a superb taste treat. 364 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:13,000 While you can get several bottles of Roma champagne tomorrow, no other sparkling wine but Roma champagne can give you such lavish luxury of taste at such low cost. 365 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Insist on Roma, R-O-M-A, Roma champagne. Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. 366 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:28,000 This is Marsha Hunt. It has been a great pleasure to appear for the Suspense audience. 367 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:39,000 Next Thursday, Mr. Paul Henreid will appear as a man who waits for 20 years to commit a murder and then commits it in such a way that the law cannot touch him. 368 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:44,000 Sound like the perfect crime to you? Well, we'll all have to listen to find out. 369 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:49,000 In the meantime, a most happy new year to you from all of us here. 370 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,000 Marsha Hunt appeared to the courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, producers of They Were Expendable. 371 00:28:54,000 --> 00:29:06,000 Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines will bring you Mr. Paul Henreid as star of Suspense, radio's outstanding theatre of thrills. 372 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:35,000 Produced by William Spear for the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California. 373 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:52,000 This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.