WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:05.000 And now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, Roma Wines presents... 00:06.000 --> 00:07.000 Suspense. 00:11.000 --> 00:16.000 Tonight, Roma Wines bring you Robert Taylor, in the house in Cypress Canyon. 00:16.000 --> 00:21.000 A suspense play produced, edited, and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear. 00:21.000 --> 00:28.000 Suspense. Radio's outstanding theater of thrills is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. 00:28.000 --> 00:31.000 That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines. 00:31.000 --> 00:37.000 Those better tasting California wines enjoyed by more Americans than any other wine. 00:37.000 --> 00:40.000 For friendly entertaining, for delightful dining. 00:40.000 --> 00:43.000 Yes, right now, a glass full would be very pleasant, 00:43.000 --> 00:47.000 as Roma Wines bring you Robert Taylor, star of nightly shows. 00:47.000 --> 00:53.000 A very pleasant, as Roma Wines bring you Robert Taylor, star of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's undercurrent, 00:53.000 --> 00:55.000 in a remarkable tale of... 00:55.000 --> 00:57.000 Suspense. 01:05.000 --> 01:08.000 Merry Christmas, Jerry. How's the real estate business? 01:08.000 --> 01:10.000 Kind of early with your greeting, aren't you, Sam? 01:10.000 --> 01:14.000 Well, I gotta get them in sometime. I may not see you again until next Christmas. 01:14.000 --> 01:18.000 If the real estate racket gets any crazier, I'll be dead by next Christmas. 01:18.000 --> 01:20.000 I'm glad you could get up here, though, Sam. 01:20.000 --> 01:22.000 What's on your mind, Jerry? 01:22.000 --> 01:26.000 You'll probably shoot me when you hear it, Sam, because I'm probably nuts. 01:26.000 --> 01:30.000 But, dog on it, you're a detective and you're my pal, and I just had to tell somebody. 01:30.000 --> 01:32.000 You sound like it's serious. 01:32.000 --> 01:35.000 That's just it. I don't know what it is, Sam, but... 01:35.000 --> 01:39.000 Now, listen, you know we're agents for a group of houses up in Cypress Canyon, 01:39.000 --> 01:42.000 those places that were started before the war and never got finished? 01:42.000 --> 01:46.000 Oh, yeah. All they got in were the foundations, just concrete and a couple of beams. 01:46.000 --> 01:48.000 Well, they've been finished now. 01:48.000 --> 01:51.000 In fact, I'm putting up the for rent on the last of them today. 01:51.000 --> 01:53.000 What do you want, police protection from the mob? 01:53.000 --> 01:59.000 Yeah. Listen, Sam, this house that I'm talking about, it's got a number now, 2256. 01:59.000 --> 02:03.000 But before, when the men went back to work on it about three months ago, 02:03.000 --> 02:07.000 well, they just started when the foreman on the job brought me a shoe box 02:07.000 --> 02:09.000 that he'd found up on a beam. 02:09.000 --> 02:15.000 And this box had a, what do you call it, a manuscript in it, a story kind of, all written out. 02:15.000 --> 02:20.000 Well, he gave me the thing. I read it. I didn't think much about it. I put it in my desk. 02:20.000 --> 02:24.000 But the other day, and I happened to drive by there, I saw the number on the house 02:24.000 --> 02:28.000 and what the house looked like. I thought of this manuscript. 02:28.000 --> 02:31.000 Well, I don't like it. That's all. There's something funny about it. 02:31.000 --> 02:33.000 What's funny about it? 02:33.000 --> 02:37.000 Well, mind you, this thing was found in an unfinished house in Cypress Canyon, 02:37.000 --> 02:39.000 a house that was only just started building. 02:39.000 --> 02:45.000 Well, listen, Sam, I want to read it to you if you've got the time, and you'll see what I mean. 02:45.000 --> 02:46.000 All right, shoot. 02:46.000 --> 02:48.000 Well, here's how it begins. 02:48.000 --> 02:53.000 To whom it may concern, my reasons for setting down on paper what follows here 02:53.000 --> 02:59.000 will be abundantly clear to anyone into whose possession it may fall. 02:59.000 --> 03:03.000 First, let me say that I'm a very ordinary person. 03:03.000 --> 03:08.000 My name is James A. Woods. I'm 35 years old, by profession a chemical engineer. 03:08.000 --> 03:14.000 My wife, Ellen, was a schoolteacher when I met and married her in Indiana seven years ago. 03:14.000 --> 03:19.000 There's nothing in the past life of either one of us to suggest remotely any cause or reason 03:19.000 --> 03:22.000 for the dreadful thing that has invaded our lives. 03:22.000 --> 03:25.000 Our married life has been in no way different from that of millions of other 03:25.000 --> 03:29.000 averaged, reasonably happy, and congenial families. 03:29.000 --> 03:34.000 Three months ago, I was ordered by my firm to take charge of a rather minor project 03:34.000 --> 03:37.000 in Los Angeles, Hollywood to be exact. 03:37.000 --> 03:38.000 The order was a sudden one. 03:38.000 --> 03:42.000 There had been no time to secure accommodations, and conditions being what they are, 03:42.000 --> 03:45.000 the inevitable result was that until the day before yesterday, 03:45.000 --> 03:50.000 we'd been living in the cramped quarters of one of those characteristic California motels. 03:50.000 --> 03:55.000 Needless to say, most of our spare time had been devoted to a search for something more 03:55.000 --> 03:59.000 permanent and comfortable, but the fruits of these efforts had been financially, 03:59.000 --> 04:03.000 and in every other way, a geometrical progression of discouragement. 04:03.000 --> 04:07.000 Until last Saturday afternoon, only four days before Christmas, 04:07.000 --> 04:11.000 we were driving into town on our way to a movie when Ellen saw it. 04:11.000 --> 04:12.000 Jim, look! 04:12.000 --> 04:13.000 What? 04:13.000 --> 04:15.000 That sign in front of that real estate office. 04:15.000 --> 04:16.000 Oh, yeah. 04:16.000 --> 04:20.000 Don't you see what it says? For rent, furnished, two-bedroom house, close in, immediate occupancy. 04:20.000 --> 04:21.000 Yeah. 04:21.000 --> 04:22.000 Aren't you going to stop? 04:22.000 --> 04:26.000 Oh, Ellen, you know what a sign like that would mean right out in plain sight in front of a real estate office. 04:26.000 --> 04:27.000 Oh, yeah, but Jim... 04:27.000 --> 04:28.000 Either they want $600 a month or... 04:28.000 --> 04:30.000 We'll never know until we ask. 04:30.000 --> 04:33.000 If it's any good at all, there are probably 50 people fighting for it right back there now. 04:33.000 --> 04:35.000 Well, honey, there's no harm in trying now, is there? 04:35.000 --> 04:36.000 You really want to go back? 04:36.000 --> 04:39.000 Oh, it's probably foolish, but what can we lose? 04:39.000 --> 04:40.000 Well, okay. 04:40.000 --> 04:43.000 Oh, darling, come on, cheer up. How do you know? Maybe our luck's changed. 04:43.000 --> 04:57.000 Maybe fate's going to give us a nice new house for a Christmas present. 04:57.000 --> 05:03.000 Come in. 05:03.000 --> 05:08.000 Oh, uh, we're sorry to bother you, but we just happened to see that for rent sign outside. 05:08.000 --> 05:10.000 Oh, yeah, I hung it outside just this minute. 05:10.000 --> 05:13.000 Is... is the house available? 05:13.000 --> 05:15.000 Why, sure, sure it is. 05:15.000 --> 05:21.000 Uh, let me introduce myself. My name is James A. Woods, and this is my wife, Ellen. 05:21.000 --> 05:24.000 Howdy-do. 05:24.000 --> 05:28.000 Wow. Looks like it's fixing to rain. 05:28.000 --> 05:40.000 Yes, so it does, doesn't it? 05:40.000 --> 05:42.000 Well, it was one of those things. 05:42.000 --> 05:45.000 The real estate agent had just been authorized to rent the place by mail that morning, 05:45.000 --> 05:50.000 and he'd hardly had time to look at it himself and put up his sign when we drove up. 05:50.000 --> 05:55.000 It was just an ordinary little California house about halfway up Cypress Canyon, 05:55.000 --> 06:01.000 number 2256, just an ordinary, undistinguished little house. 06:01.000 --> 06:03.000 The agent didn't know much about it. 06:03.000 --> 06:07.000 Construction on it had been stopped by the war, and it had just been completed and furnished lately. 06:07.000 --> 06:13.000 It had been vacant while somebody's estate was being settled, and now it was owned by a bank in Sacramento. 06:13.000 --> 06:14.000 Of course, we didn't... 06:14.000 --> 06:17.000 We got this key in the mail along with the authorization to rent. 06:17.000 --> 06:20.000 Only one there is. Of course, you can have duplicates, May. 06:20.000 --> 06:27.000 It seems to stick a little. Oh, no, there it is. 06:27.000 --> 06:30.000 It doesn't sound as though that door had ever been opened. 06:30.000 --> 06:32.000 Well, a little oil on the hinges will fix that all right. 06:32.000 --> 06:33.000 Oh, sure. 06:33.000 --> 06:35.000 Now, now here's your living room. 06:35.000 --> 06:37.000 Furniture's a little dusty, of course. You've got to expect that. 06:37.000 --> 06:40.000 It's good furniture, though, you see? Benson Brothers. 06:40.000 --> 06:41.000 Yes, uh-huh. 06:41.000 --> 06:46.000 Now, over here's a little den. Panel, you see? Radio, fireplace. 06:46.000 --> 06:49.000 Really a very attractive little room, particularly for a man. 06:49.000 --> 06:50.000 Uh-huh, yeah. 06:50.000 --> 06:55.000 Now, the bedroom's off the living room here. Everything's all on one floor, you understand? 06:55.000 --> 06:58.000 It's quite nice, I think. Yes. 06:58.000 --> 07:03.000 You can see you get the morning sun here. There's a view of the canyon through these fun windows. 07:03.000 --> 07:05.000 We got the cross-pens. 07:05.000 --> 07:07.000 That's about all there was to it. 07:07.000 --> 07:12.000 It wasn't the best place in the world. It was small and badly built, but what would you have done? 07:12.000 --> 07:15.000 We took it with as little inspection as that. 07:15.000 --> 07:18.000 It was the Saturday before Christmas. 07:18.000 --> 07:24.000 And the very same evening, we were struggling up the steps from the road with suitcases and boxes and armloads of clothes 07:24.000 --> 07:29.000 and all the endless bric-a-brac that people collect and never know they have until they move. 07:29.000 --> 07:34.000 Ellen began unpacking, and I began moving things around and taking the worst of the pictures off the wall, 07:34.000 --> 07:40.000 doing all the little things that everybody does when they move into a new place and try to give it something of their own. 07:40.000 --> 07:44.000 Don't be such a sourpuss. You know, it's a roof over our heads for Christmas. 07:44.000 --> 07:46.000 That's more than we ever thought we'd get, isn't it? 07:46.000 --> 07:50.000 Now, what in the world are we gonna do with those two pictures? 07:50.000 --> 07:52.000 Why don't we just leave them where they are? 07:52.000 --> 07:54.000 Jim, we can't. They're too awful. 07:54.000 --> 07:56.000 Well, all right. Put them in the closet, then. 07:56.000 --> 07:58.000 I can't. Both the closets are jammed full. 07:58.000 --> 08:00.000 No, I mean the other one in the little alcove off the den. 08:00.000 --> 08:03.000 At least there's a door there. I suppose it's a closet. I don't know. 08:03.000 --> 08:06.000 That isn't a commentary on the housing problem, huh? 08:06.000 --> 08:09.000 A woman moving into a house without even knowing where all the closets are. 08:09.000 --> 08:12.000 Take the pictures down, will you, honey? Bring them in here. 08:12.000 --> 08:14.000 Okay, okay. 08:14.000 --> 08:17.000 Guess you'll have to help me with this door. I can't get it open. 08:17.000 --> 08:19.000 Let me see it. 08:19.000 --> 08:21.000 Of course you can't, silly. It's locked. 08:21.000 --> 08:23.000 Where are those keys we found in the desk? 08:23.000 --> 08:25.000 Here they are. 08:25.000 --> 08:27.000 Hmm. 08:27.000 --> 08:29.000 Nope. Not this one. 08:29.000 --> 08:31.000 Sure, this one won't work. 08:31.000 --> 08:35.000 Well, feels like an awful solid door for a closet. 08:35.000 --> 08:37.000 Oh, and that's one solid door in the house. 08:37.000 --> 08:39.000 Well, this one won't do it either. 08:39.000 --> 08:42.000 Well, we'll just have to get a locksmith up here on Monday. 08:42.000 --> 08:44.000 I'll put the pictures behind the desk, okay? 08:44.000 --> 08:46.000 Yeah, yeah, all right. 08:46.000 --> 08:48.000 Jim, if you could just help me move this armchair, huh? 08:48.000 --> 08:51.000 Oh, Ellen, will you let it go until tomorrow? You know what time it is? 08:51.000 --> 08:53.000 Oh, but, honey, I'd like to get the place looking just a little bit. 08:53.000 --> 08:56.000 Yeah, but it's almost midnight. In fact, it's exactly... 08:56.000 --> 08:58.000 What was that? 08:58.000 --> 09:01.000 Tomcat, I guess, out in the brush somewhere. 09:01.000 --> 09:03.000 Sounded near. 09:03.000 --> 09:06.000 Oh, hope that doesn't go on all night. 09:06.000 --> 09:08.000 There's much we can do about it. 09:08.000 --> 09:10.000 Come on, Ellen, I'm dead tired. 09:10.000 --> 09:12.000 All right, Jim, all right. 09:12.000 --> 09:14.000 Where'd you put the toothpaste, honey? 09:14.000 --> 09:16.000 It's right in the medicine cabinet. 09:16.000 --> 09:18.000 Oh, yeah. 09:18.000 --> 09:20.000 Jim, we ought to get some firewood tomorrow. 09:20.000 --> 09:23.000 You know I fire in that living room and make all the difference in the world. 09:23.000 --> 09:25.000 Make can, Sunday. 09:25.000 --> 09:27.000 Well, Monday, then. 09:27.000 --> 09:29.000 Jim, I think red curtains are what we need, don't you? 09:29.000 --> 09:31.000 Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 09:31.000 --> 09:33.000 You know, just at least for the living room. 09:33.000 --> 09:35.000 Anyway, the ones in there now have just got to come down. 09:35.000 --> 09:37.000 Yeah, I suppose they do. 09:37.000 --> 09:39.000 What do you think of red? 09:39.000 --> 09:41.000 Well, I guess it's all... 09:41.000 --> 09:43.000 Jim. 09:43.000 --> 09:45.000 That's some Tomcat. 09:45.000 --> 09:47.000 Jim, it... 09:47.000 --> 09:49.000 it sounded in the house. 09:49.000 --> 09:51.000 Oh, now, how could it be in the house, Ellen? 09:51.000 --> 09:53.000 We've been over every inch of the house. 09:53.000 --> 09:55.000 Except the closet. 09:55.000 --> 09:57.000 Now, how could a cat or anything else be in a closet 09:57.000 --> 09:59.000 that's been locked up for over a year? 09:59.000 --> 10:01.000 Oh, I don't know. 10:01.000 --> 10:03.000 It's probably under the house of a wildcat or mountain lion or something. 10:03.000 --> 10:05.000 I hear they have them in California. 10:05.000 --> 10:07.000 Jim, I don't like it. 10:07.000 --> 10:09.000 Well, neither do I like it, 10:09.000 --> 10:11.000 but there's nothing we can do about it tonight. 10:11.000 --> 10:13.000 Well, maybe we ought to call somebody, the police or some neighbors. 10:13.000 --> 10:15.000 Oh, don't be silly, Ellen. You act like a kid. 10:15.000 --> 10:17.000 Come on, let's go to bed, huh? 10:17.000 --> 10:19.000 Well, all right. I suppose it is silly. 10:19.000 --> 10:21.000 Jimmy, did you lock the door? 10:21.000 --> 10:23.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 10:23.000 --> 10:25.000 Can I turn out the lights now? 10:25.000 --> 10:27.000 Yeah, all right. 10:27.000 --> 10:29.000 Good night, Ellen. Sleep tight. 10:29.000 --> 10:31.000 Good night, Jim. 10:31.000 --> 10:33.000 I don't know what time it was. 10:33.000 --> 10:35.000 Perhaps an hour, perhaps only a half hour later. 10:35.000 --> 10:37.000 My mind was in that hazy borderland 10:37.000 --> 10:39.000 between sleep and a dream. 10:39.000 --> 10:41.000 It's still part of consciousness. 10:41.000 --> 10:43.000 Then I was awake. 10:45.000 --> 10:47.000 Ellen, are you all right? 10:47.000 --> 10:49.000 Yes. 10:49.000 --> 10:51.000 Did you have a nightmare or something? 10:51.000 --> 10:53.000 No. 10:53.000 --> 10:55.000 I heard it, too. 10:55.000 --> 10:57.000 Well, that didn't sound like any cat. 10:57.000 --> 10:59.000 Put on the light. 10:59.000 --> 11:01.000 Yeah. 11:01.000 --> 11:03.000 It seemed to be out there, Jim, 11:03.000 --> 11:05.000 in the house somewhere. 11:05.000 --> 11:07.000 I'm going to look into this. 11:07.000 --> 11:09.000 Jim, you be careful. 11:09.000 --> 11:11.000 Come on. Where's my shotgun? 11:11.000 --> 11:13.000 In the den, I think. 11:13.000 --> 11:15.000 Jim. 11:15.000 --> 11:17.000 What? 11:17.000 --> 11:19.000 There's something wet. 11:19.000 --> 11:21.000 What? Wet? 11:21.000 --> 11:23.000 Running from under the closet door. 11:23.000 --> 11:25.000 Sticky. 11:25.000 --> 11:27.000 Ellen, don't. Don't touch it. 11:27.000 --> 11:29.000 I had to. 11:29.000 --> 11:31.000 Jim, 11:31.000 --> 11:33.000 it's blood. 11:43.000 --> 11:45.000 For Suspense, 11:45.000 --> 11:47.000 Roma Wines are bringing you Robert Taylor 11:47.000 --> 11:49.000 in the house in Cypress Canyon. 11:49.000 --> 11:51.000 Roma Wines presentation tonight in radio's 11:51.000 --> 11:53.000 outstanding theater of thrills, 11:53.000 --> 11:57.000 Suspense. 12:01.000 --> 12:03.000 Between the acts of Suspense, 12:03.000 --> 12:05.000 this is Ken Niles for Roma Wines. 12:05.000 --> 12:07.000 These days before Christmas 12:07.000 --> 12:09.000 are busy ones indeed. 12:09.000 --> 12:11.000 Yet smart hostesses everywhere 12:11.000 --> 12:13.000 find time for shopping 12:13.000 --> 12:15.000 and distinguished home entertaining later. 12:15.000 --> 12:17.000 The secret? 12:17.000 --> 12:19.000 Magnificent grand estate wines. 12:19.000 --> 12:21.000 Presented by Roma, 12:21.000 --> 12:23.000 America's greatest vintner, 12:23.000 --> 12:25.000 grand estate wines add distinction 12:25.000 --> 12:27.000 to your hospitality on a moment's notice. 12:27.000 --> 12:29.000 Make your holiday welcome, 12:29.000 --> 12:31.000 effortless, and in perfect taste. 12:31.000 --> 12:33.000 The brilliant clarity, 12:33.000 --> 12:35.000 full fragrance, and mellow taste 12:35.000 --> 12:37.000 of grand estate wines 12:37.000 --> 12:39.000 please discriminating people everywhere. 12:39.000 --> 12:41.000 For grand estate wines, 12:41.000 --> 12:43.000 limited bottleings by Roma 12:43.000 --> 12:45.000 are born of choicest grapes, 12:45.000 --> 12:47.000 then patiently guided to 12:47.000 --> 12:49.000 superb taste richness 12:49.000 --> 12:51.000 by Roma Vintner Skill, 12:51.000 --> 12:53.000 necessary time, and America's 12:53.000 --> 12:55.000 finest winemaking resources. 12:55.000 --> 12:57.000 Delight your guests 12:57.000 --> 12:59.000 with grand estate California wines 12:59.000 --> 13:01.000 for entertaining, medium sherry, 13:01.000 --> 13:03.000 ruby port, or golden muscatel. 13:03.000 --> 13:07.000 For dining, burgundy or sotern. 13:07.000 --> 13:11.000 So insist on grand estate wines 13:11.000 --> 13:13.000 and enjoy the crowning achievement 13:13.000 --> 13:15.000 of Vintner Skill. 13:15.000 --> 13:17.000 And now Roma Wines 13:17.000 --> 13:19.000 bring back to our Hollywood sound stage 13:19.000 --> 13:21.000 Robert Taylor as James A. Woods 13:21.000 --> 13:23.000 with Kathy Lewis as his wife Ellen 13:23.000 --> 13:25.000 in the house in Cypress Canyon. 13:25.000 --> 13:27.000 A tale well calculated 13:27.000 --> 13:29.000 to keep you in suspense. 13:29.000 --> 13:43.000 It cannot be too difficult to understand 13:43.000 --> 13:45.000 from the foregoing 13:45.000 --> 13:47.000 why I've taken the pains to set down 13:47.000 --> 13:49.000 in writing the events related here. 13:49.000 --> 13:51.000 To find in one's newly rented house 13:51.000 --> 13:53.000 a closet which cannot be opened 13:53.000 --> 13:55.000 is in itself certainly no great cause 13:55.000 --> 13:57.000 for alarm. But to be awakened 13:57.000 --> 13:59.000 in the stillness of the night by unearthly 13:59.000 --> 14:01.000 cries within that house, 14:01.000 --> 14:03.000 to find oozing from under that 14:03.000 --> 14:05.000 closet door something that is 14:05.000 --> 14:07.000 unquestionably blood, 14:07.000 --> 14:09.000 that's another matter. 14:09.000 --> 14:11.000 Perhaps others might have been braver 14:11.000 --> 14:13.000 than we. Suffice it only to say 14:13.000 --> 14:15.000 that we got out of the house in something very close 14:15.000 --> 14:17.000 to a panic and only returned when we 14:17.000 --> 14:19.000 had the moral support of two stalwart 14:19.000 --> 14:21.000 Los Angeles policemen. You just moved in here 14:21.000 --> 14:23.000 you say? That's right officer. You can see we're 14:23.000 --> 14:25.000 still unpacking. And the place has been 14:25.000 --> 14:27.000 empty right along before that? Yeah, I don't know much 14:27.000 --> 14:29.000 about that part of it. You could check all that with a real estate 14:29.000 --> 14:31.000 agent though. Well, where is 14:31.000 --> 14:33.000 this closet? Oh, it's right 14:33.000 --> 14:35.000 in here officer. 14:35.000 --> 14:37.000 And the blood, the blood is... 14:37.000 --> 14:39.000 Where? Where's the blood? 14:39.000 --> 14:41.000 Jim? 14:41.000 --> 14:43.000 Sir, I swear to you there was blood on the floor less than an hour ago. 14:43.000 --> 14:45.000 I saw it. 14:45.000 --> 14:47.000 It was running out from under that door. 14:47.000 --> 14:49.000 We heard that noise and we got up and then we saw it. 14:49.000 --> 14:51.000 The door was locked. Locked huh? 14:53.000 --> 14:55.000 Well, it seems to be alright now. 14:55.000 --> 14:57.000 Hey, 14:57.000 --> 14:59.000 you folks aren't trying to be funny are you? 14:59.000 --> 15:01.000 Isn't there 15:01.000 --> 15:03.000 anything in it? No ma'am, 15:03.000 --> 15:05.000 there is not. Look officer, we're 15:05.000 --> 15:07.000 reputable people. You can call my firm, they'll tell you all about me. 15:07.000 --> 15:09.000 There's nothing wrong with this closet. 15:09.000 --> 15:11.000 The walls are solid. 15:11.000 --> 15:13.000 No trap doors. You think I'm lying? 15:13.000 --> 15:15.000 I didn't say that mister. 15:15.000 --> 15:17.000 Oh, you probably 15:17.000 --> 15:19.000 did hear some sort of a noise and you got a little 15:19.000 --> 15:21.000 panicky and... What about the blood? 15:21.000 --> 15:23.000 It got on my hand. 15:23.000 --> 15:25.000 It isn't there now, is it? 15:25.000 --> 15:27.000 Yes. 15:27.000 --> 15:29.000 Why? 15:29.000 --> 15:31.000 I feel it. 15:31.000 --> 15:33.000 Now you folks just take it easy. 15:33.000 --> 15:35.000 You know you're liable to hear all kinds of 15:35.000 --> 15:37.000 noises up in these canyons at night? 15:37.000 --> 15:39.000 You're from the East you say? 15:39.000 --> 15:41.000 Yeah, 15:41.000 --> 15:43.000 I'm sorry officer. 15:43.000 --> 15:45.000 That's alright, that's alright. 15:45.000 --> 15:47.000 If you have any real trouble, call on us anytime. 15:47.000 --> 15:49.000 Alright. Well, good night. 15:49.000 --> 15:51.000 Good night. Good night. 15:51.000 --> 15:53.000 Hey, 15:53.000 --> 15:55.000 you ought to have this door 15:55.000 --> 15:57.000 fixed. That's enough to scare 15:57.000 --> 15:59.000 you. Yeah, we're going to have it 15:59.000 --> 16:07.000 fixed. 16:07.000 --> 16:09.000 We didn't say much 16:09.000 --> 16:11.000 about it after that. There wasn't much that could 16:11.000 --> 16:13.000 be said. The next 16:13.000 --> 16:15.000 day I went down to a lot and bought a little 16:15.000 --> 16:17.000 Christmas tree and some trimmings and we tried 16:17.000 --> 16:19.000 to pretend we were cheerful, but 16:19.000 --> 16:21.000 there was an uneasiness between us that had never 16:21.000 --> 16:23.000 been there before. Ellen 16:23.000 --> 16:25.000 seemed tired and listless. 16:25.000 --> 16:27.000 Several times during the day I noticed 16:27.000 --> 16:29.000 her washing her hands with a 16:29.000 --> 16:31.000 brush, scrubbing the one that had 16:31.000 --> 16:33.000 touched the blood. 16:33.000 --> 16:35.000 That night we each took a sleeping pill and 16:35.000 --> 16:37.000 went to bed. 16:43.000 --> 16:45.000 It was sometime after midnight when 16:45.000 --> 16:47.000 I was suddenly wide awake and staring 16:47.000 --> 16:49.000 into the darkness. In 16:49.000 --> 16:51.000 some way I knew at once and instinctively 16:51.000 --> 16:53.000 what had awakened me. Ellen 16:53.000 --> 16:55.000 was not in her bed nor in the room. 16:55.000 --> 16:57.000 The nameless thing I feared 16:57.000 --> 16:59.000 gripped at my heart until I could scarcely breathe. 16:59.000 --> 17:01.000 I 17:01.000 --> 17:03.000 opened the bedroom door and started through the house putting 17:03.000 --> 17:05.000 on every light that I could find. 17:05.000 --> 17:07.000 There was not much to search but I searched thoroughly. 17:07.000 --> 17:09.000 The living room, the kitchen, bathroom, 17:09.000 --> 17:11.000 day and even the garage. 17:11.000 --> 17:13.000 And all the time the dread of looking 17:13.000 --> 17:15.000 where I knew at last I must look. 17:15.000 --> 17:17.000 For I think I knew from the 17:17.000 --> 17:19.000 very first time where I'd find her. 17:21.000 --> 17:23.000 It must have been a full minute that I 17:23.000 --> 17:25.000 stood before that closet door. 17:25.000 --> 17:27.000 Then 17:27.000 --> 17:29.000 I opened it. 17:29.000 --> 17:31.000 She stood there 17:31.000 --> 17:33.000 rigid, her arms at her sides, 17:33.000 --> 17:35.000 the fingers extended like claws. 17:35.000 --> 17:37.000 Her hair was over her face, her eyes stared out 17:37.000 --> 17:39.000 of it. Her lips were drawn back in 17:39.000 --> 17:41.000 a grin like an animal at bay. 17:41.000 --> 17:43.000 For a moment I was frozen with the horror 17:43.000 --> 17:45.000 of it. I 17:45.000 --> 17:47.000 stretched out my hand. 17:47.000 --> 17:49.000 Very deliberately she turned her 17:49.000 --> 17:51.000 head and sunk her teeth until they met into the flesh 17:51.000 --> 17:53.000 of my forearm. 17:53.000 --> 17:55.000 I'd raised my hand to strike at her 17:55.000 --> 17:57.000 but already she'd relaxed her 17:57.000 --> 17:59.000 hold and gone utterly limp. 17:59.000 --> 18:01.000 She would have fallen unless I'd caught her. 18:01.000 --> 18:03.000 I carried her 18:03.000 --> 18:05.000 into the bedroom and laid her on the bed. 18:05.000 --> 18:07.000 Strangely at that moment my only 18:07.000 --> 18:09.000 thought was how I might revive her. 18:09.000 --> 18:11.000 Until I saw that it was 18:11.000 --> 18:13.000 not a faint but a sleep that she'd 18:13.000 --> 18:15.000 fallen into. Sleep as 18:15.000 --> 18:17.000 deep and heavy as though she'd been drugged. 18:17.000 --> 18:19.000 And so I left her. 18:19.000 --> 18:21.000 But for me 18:21.000 --> 18:23.000 that night there 18:23.000 --> 18:25.000 was no sleep. 18:35.000 --> 18:37.000 Jim? 18:37.000 --> 18:39.000 Yes, Ellen? 18:39.000 --> 18:41.000 Oh, 18:41.000 --> 18:43.000 what are you doing up so early? 18:43.000 --> 18:45.000 Oh, I got a little restless. I'd make some coffee. 18:45.000 --> 18:47.000 Oh. 18:47.000 --> 18:49.000 Oh. 18:49.000 --> 18:51.000 I had the most wonderful 18:51.000 --> 18:53.000 sleep. 18:53.000 --> 18:55.000 And I feel so rested. 18:55.000 --> 18:57.000 Do you? 18:57.000 --> 18:59.000 Jim. 18:59.000 --> 19:01.000 What? What's the matter with your arm? 19:01.000 --> 19:03.000 Oh, I just hurt it. 19:03.000 --> 19:05.000 Well, honey, it's terribly swollen. 19:05.000 --> 19:07.000 Let me see it. 19:07.000 --> 19:09.000 No, it's all right, Ellen. Oh, it isn't all right. 19:09.000 --> 19:11.000 You've got to see Dr. Wesley right away. 19:11.000 --> 19:13.000 Sure, I will. No, now you promised me, Jim, 19:13.000 --> 19:15.000 that you'll go the first thing this morning. 19:15.000 --> 19:17.000 How'd it happen? 19:17.000 --> 19:19.000 Why, uh, there was a dog. 19:19.000 --> 19:21.000 A dog? Yeah, I 19:21.000 --> 19:23.000 heard him trying to chew through the screen door. 19:23.000 --> 19:25.000 I went out to chase him away and he 19:25.000 --> 19:27.000 bit me. 19:27.000 --> 19:29.000 You mean there 19:29.000 --> 19:31.000 was all that racket and I didn't even 19:31.000 --> 19:33.000 wake up? 19:33.000 --> 19:35.000 No, Ellen, you didn't even wake up. 19:35.000 --> 19:37.000 It was clear to me that 19:37.000 --> 19:39.000 Ellen knew nothing of what had transpired 19:39.000 --> 19:41.000 the night before. 19:41.000 --> 19:43.000 I went to my office that morning and 19:43.000 --> 19:45.000 made a pretense of going over routine 19:45.000 --> 19:47.000 business, if only to restore my mind to 19:47.000 --> 19:49.000 some semblance of calm by the sight 19:49.000 --> 19:51.000 and sound of common familiar things. 19:51.000 --> 19:53.000 Pain in my arm had become a persistent, 19:53.000 --> 19:55.000 dull throbbing. 19:55.000 --> 19:57.000 I made a late appointment with Dr. Wesley. 19:57.000 --> 19:59.000 He treated my arm with something as 19:59.000 --> 20:01.000 simple as a needle. 20:01.000 --> 20:03.000 I was told that the pain was 20:03.000 --> 20:05.000 nothing. He treated my arm with something 20:05.000 --> 20:07.000 of an arched eyebrow and he said 20:07.000 --> 20:09.000 Well, I've never seen 20:09.000 --> 20:11.000 anything quite like it before. 20:11.000 --> 20:13.000 That is such a rapid onset of 20:13.000 --> 20:15.000 infection. 20:21.000 --> 20:23.000 It was dark when I left his office. I hadn't 20:23.000 --> 20:25.000 realized it was so late. 20:25.000 --> 20:27.000 Driving home my car seemed sluggish 20:27.000 --> 20:29.000 until I saw the needle on the dashboard 20:29.000 --> 20:31.000 and realized that I was pushing it to the utmost of its 20:31.000 --> 20:33.000 speed. I was racing home to prevent 20:33.000 --> 20:35.000 something before it was 20:35.000 --> 20:37.000 too late, before the darkness had conspired 20:37.000 --> 20:39.000 against me. For somehow 20:39.000 --> 20:41.000 I already knew with certainty that it was the 20:41.000 --> 20:43.000 darkness and the night that I had to fear. 20:43.000 --> 20:45.000 The curves of the canyon 20:45.000 --> 20:47.000 seemed endless. 20:47.000 --> 20:49.000 And then the cold fear leaked up inside 20:49.000 --> 20:51.000 me. My house 20:51.000 --> 20:53.000 too was dark. 20:53.000 --> 20:55.000 I went slowly up the stone steps 20:55.000 --> 20:57.000 from the road, looking, praying 20:57.000 --> 20:59.000 for some sign of light or light. 20:59.000 --> 21:01.000 There was none. 21:01.000 --> 21:03.000 The house was empty. 21:03.000 --> 21:05.000 Ellen was gone. 21:05.000 --> 21:07.000 I looked with the same 21:07.000 --> 21:09.000 self-torturing thoroughness, and in that 21:09.000 --> 21:11.000 closet first of all, knowing as I did 21:11.000 --> 21:13.000 so that was hopeless. 21:13.000 --> 21:15.000 And so, alone 21:15.000 --> 21:17.000 in that empty house, I waited. 21:17.000 --> 21:19.000 Powerless and helpless 21:19.000 --> 21:21.000 now. Deadened 21:21.000 --> 21:23.000 in thought and will, empty as the 21:23.000 --> 21:25.000 house itself. 21:25.000 --> 21:27.000 Save only for the overwhelming sense of a terrible 21:27.000 --> 21:29.000 foreboding. 21:29.000 --> 21:31.000 For some time in the early hours of the 21:31.000 --> 21:33.000 morning, I snapped on the radio, 21:33.000 --> 21:35.000 shortwave. 21:35.000 --> 21:37.000 Why, surely a minor question 21:37.000 --> 21:39.000 now. I only know that I did. 21:39.000 --> 21:41.000 And then I heard it. 21:41.000 --> 21:43.000 Car 58, Car 58, go to 21:43.000 --> 21:45.000 Laurel Canyon, the 4000 block. 21:45.000 --> 21:47.000 A report that a man has been injured or 21:47.000 --> 21:49.000 attacked. The condition thought to be critical. 21:49.000 --> 21:51.000 Ambulance will follow. 21:51.000 --> 21:53.000 That is all. 21:53.000 --> 21:55.000 I was there almost before the police, 21:55.000 --> 21:57.000 edging my way through the little crowd, staring down 21:57.000 --> 21:59.000 at the man lying there in his white uniform under 21:59.000 --> 22:01.000 the streetlight. Yeah, the milkman 22:01.000 --> 22:03.000 poor guy. I heard him scream, but when I got 22:03.000 --> 22:05.000 here, just like this, it's nothing 22:05.000 --> 22:07.000 but assault. Stand back, stand back, please, 22:07.000 --> 22:09.000 please stand back. 22:09.000 --> 22:11.000 Well, you again. I heard it on the 22:11.000 --> 22:13.000 radio. I lived just down the road. Yeah, 22:13.000 --> 22:15.000 yeah, I remember. What 22:15.000 --> 22:17.000 happened? Well, take a look. 22:17.000 --> 22:19.000 Maybe you can tell us. 22:21.000 --> 22:23.000 He was dead. And he was lying on 22:23.000 --> 22:25.000 his back. And his throat had been 22:25.000 --> 22:27.000 torn out as though by the fangs 22:27.000 --> 22:29.000 of some wild animal. 22:39.000 --> 22:41.000 It is now Christmas Eve. 22:41.000 --> 22:43.000 Or rather, Christmas morning, 22:43.000 --> 22:45.000 for it's a little after midnight. 22:45.000 --> 22:47.000 I've been waiting here. 22:47.000 --> 22:49.000 Here in 22:49.000 --> 22:51.000 the stillness of this empty house for nearly 22:51.000 --> 22:53.000 24 hours, waiting for the end. 22:55.000 --> 22:57.000 Already once tonight, I've heard that dreadful 22:57.000 --> 22:59.000 wailing cry somewhere in the hills. 23:01.000 --> 23:03.000 I've nailed up the closet door, but that I 23:03.000 --> 23:05.000 know is childish, useless. 23:07.000 --> 23:09.000 My arm is horribly swollen and turning 23:09.000 --> 23:11.000 black, but 23:11.000 --> 23:13.000 that's nothing. It's another 23:13.000 --> 23:15.000 end that I foresee, as surely 23:15.000 --> 23:17.000 as other men foresee the rising of the sun. 23:17.000 --> 23:19.000 I hear the cry again. 23:19.000 --> 23:21.000 It's nearer now. 23:21.000 --> 23:23.000 I shall leave these notes in a sealed 23:23.000 --> 23:25.000 envelope and put it in a shoebox, 23:25.000 --> 23:27.000 in the hope that someone will give 23:27.000 --> 23:29.000 credence to these dark and terrible 23:29.000 --> 23:31.000 events, if indeed such nameless 23:31.000 --> 23:33.000 horrors can ever yield to mortal 23:33.000 --> 23:35.000 understanding. 23:35.000 --> 23:37.000 As for myself, 23:37.000 --> 23:39.000 I feel no longer any fear 23:39.000 --> 23:41.000 or even sorrow. 23:41.000 --> 23:43.000 Only a desire that the end 23:43.000 --> 23:45.000 and the thing that I must do 23:45.000 --> 23:47.000 may come soon. 23:47.000 --> 23:49.000 And it will be soon, 23:49.000 --> 23:51.000 I know. 23:51.000 --> 23:53.000 Yes. 23:53.000 --> 23:55.000 But there is someone at the door. 23:55.000 --> 23:57.000 Sam! 24:07.000 --> 24:09.000 Someone at the door. 24:09.000 --> 24:11.000 What do you make of it, Sam? 24:11.000 --> 24:13.000 It's quite a yarn. 24:13.000 --> 24:15.000 But what of it? 24:15.000 --> 24:17.000 That's what I'm for. Now listen, that's not 24:17.000 --> 24:19.000 quite all of it. 24:19.000 --> 24:21.000 Clip to it's a newspaper clip. 24:21.000 --> 24:23.000 Listen, Hollywood December 24:23.000 --> 24:25.000 the 26th. Police reported 24:25.000 --> 24:27.000 what was apparently a case of murder 24:27.000 --> 24:29.000 and suicide in Cypress 24:29.000 --> 24:31.000 Canyon, sometime in the early 24:31.000 --> 24:33.000 hours of the morning. 24:33.000 --> 24:35.000 The victims were James A. Woods, 24:35.000 --> 24:37.000 a chemical engineer, and his 24:37.000 --> 24:39.000 wife Ellen. Preliminary 24:39.000 --> 24:41.000 investigation indicates that Mrs. 24:41.000 --> 24:43.000 Woods was killed by the blast 24:43.000 --> 24:45.000 of a shotgun in the hands 24:45.000 --> 24:47.000 of her husband, who then turned the weapon 24:47.000 --> 24:49.000 upon himself. That she fought 24:49.000 --> 24:51.000 desperately for her life, however, 24:51.000 --> 24:53.000 was evidenced by the disorder of the room 24:53.000 --> 24:55.000 and the severe lacerations 24:55.000 --> 24:57.000 inflicted upon her husband about 24:57.000 --> 24:59.000 the neck and arms. 24:59.000 --> 25:01.000 This is the second tragedy to be reported 25:01.000 --> 25:03.000 in Cypress Canyon within 24 25:03.000 --> 25:05.000 hours, the other being the 25:05.000 --> 25:07.000 unexplained death of Frank Polanski, 25:07.000 --> 25:09.000 a milkman. 25:09.000 --> 25:11.000 Well, no such murders or whatever 25:11.000 --> 25:13.000 they were ever occurred, if that's what's worrying 25:13.000 --> 25:15.000 you. The clipping, well, 25:15.000 --> 25:17.000 you have those things printed up, you know. 25:17.000 --> 25:19.000 Oh, no, it's not that, Sam. That story was 25:19.000 --> 25:21.000 found in an unfinished house in Cypress 25:21.000 --> 25:23.000 Canyon. No number, no nothing, just 25:23.000 --> 25:25.000 a framework. Now 25:25.000 --> 25:27.000 that house is finished. When I drove by 25:27.000 --> 25:29.000 it today, but that's what stopped me, 25:29.000 --> 25:31.000 Sam, because it all fits. 25:31.000 --> 25:33.000 Now that it's finished, it is the house 25:33.000 --> 25:35.000 in the story, the same construction, the same 25:35.000 --> 25:37.000 vines and creepers on the lawn, even the 25:37.000 --> 25:39.000 numbers. So what, a guy who knows roughly 25:39.000 --> 25:41.000 what this house is going to be like, writes a yarn 25:41.000 --> 25:43.000 and loses it or something. Did he know the place 25:43.000 --> 25:45.000 was going to be listed for rental today, the 25:45.000 --> 25:47.000 Saturday before Christmas? Oh, Jerry, 25:47.000 --> 25:49.000 coincidence. 25:49.000 --> 25:51.000 Two bits you find the guy next door is a 25:51.000 --> 25:53.000 ghost story writer or something, and he's been wondering 25:53.000 --> 25:55.000 for a year what happened to that thing he wrote. 25:55.000 --> 25:57.000 OK. 25:57.000 --> 25:59.000 OK, coincidence. 26:01.000 --> 26:03.000 I'm sorry I bothered you, Sam. 26:03.000 --> 26:05.000 Don't be silly, I liked it. It's a good yarn. 26:05.000 --> 26:07.000 Is that the 26:07.000 --> 26:09.000 for rent sign you were talking about? 26:09.000 --> 26:11.000 Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm going to put it up outside now. 26:11.000 --> 26:13.000 Uh-huh. 26:13.000 --> 26:15.000 Well, so long, Jerry, and Merry Christmas again. 26:15.000 --> 26:17.000 Well, thanks, Sam. 26:17.000 --> 26:19.000 I guess I was kind of 26:19.000 --> 26:21.000 silly, all right. Listen, when a 26:21.000 --> 26:23.000 guy named whatever it is Woods 26:23.000 --> 26:25.000 with a wife named Ellen comes in to rent 26:25.000 --> 26:27.000 that place from you, then you can start 26:27.000 --> 26:29.000 worrying. Yeah. 26:29.000 --> 26:35.000 So long, Sam. So long, Jerry. 26:35.000 --> 26:37.000 Come in. 26:39.000 --> 26:41.000 Oh, we're sorry to bother 26:41.000 --> 26:43.000 you, but we just happened to see that for rent 26:43.000 --> 26:45.000 sign outside. Yeah, I hung 26:45.000 --> 26:47.000 it out just this minute. Is 26:47.000 --> 26:49.000 the house available? 26:49.000 --> 26:51.000 Oh, sure, sure it is. 26:51.000 --> 26:53.000 Let me introduce myself. My 26:53.000 --> 26:55.000 name is James A. Woods, and 26:55.000 --> 26:57.000 this is my wife, Ellen. 26:57.000 --> 26:59.000 How do. 26:59.000 --> 27:01.000 Wow. 27:01.000 --> 27:03.000 Looks like it's fixed into 27:03.000 --> 27:05.000 rent. Yes, 27:05.000 --> 27:29.000 it does, doesn't it? 27:29.000 --> 27:31.000 Suspense. 27:31.000 --> 27:33.000 Presented by 27:33.000 --> 27:35.000 Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, 27:35.000 --> 27:37.000 Roma Wines, selected for your 27:37.000 --> 27:39.000 pleasure from the world's greatest reserves 27:39.000 --> 27:41.000 of fine wines. 27:41.000 --> 27:43.000 Tonight's show marks the third 27:43.000 --> 27:45.000 birthday of Suspense on the Air, 27:45.000 --> 27:47.000 and this is Ken Niles asking our star 27:47.000 --> 27:49.000 of the evening, Robert Taylor, to help us celebrate. 27:49.000 --> 27:51.000 Why didn't you tell me before, Ken, if I'd 27:51.000 --> 27:53.000 only known I'd have baked a cake. Well, Bob, 27:53.000 --> 27:55.000 all suspense parties are surprise 27:55.000 --> 27:57.000 parties. As an old hand on 27:57.000 --> 27:59.000 suspense, you know that in our 27:59.000 --> 28:01.000 plays the tables are usually turned 28:01.000 --> 28:03.000 on the star. So tonight, 28:03.000 --> 28:05.000 although it's our birthday, we're going to give you 28:05.000 --> 28:07.000 a present. Here it is, a 28:07.000 --> 28:09.000 gift basket of Grand Estate California 28:09.000 --> 28:11.000 wines from Roma, 28:11.000 --> 28:13.000 America's greatest vintner, 28:13.000 --> 28:15.000 to our distinguished anniversary guest, 28:15.000 --> 28:17.000 Robert Taylor. Thanks, Ken, you turn a nice 28:17.000 --> 28:19.000 table. And you can set a nice 28:19.000 --> 28:21.000 table with Grand Estate Burgundy 28:21.000 --> 28:23.000 in your basket, Bob, for 28:23.000 --> 28:25.000 Grand Estate Burgundy means rare 28:25.000 --> 28:27.000 dining pleasure, adds 28:27.000 --> 28:29.000 memorable distinction to holiday dinner. 28:29.000 --> 28:31.000 Even everyday 28:31.000 --> 28:33.000 meals are outstanding in taste 28:33.000 --> 28:35.000 when Grand Estate Burgundy is served. 28:35.000 --> 28:37.000 Yes, all Grand Estate 28:37.000 --> 28:39.000 wines presented by Roma 28:39.000 --> 28:41.000 are limited bottlings of outstanding 28:41.000 --> 28:43.000 taste excellence. That I know about 28:43.000 --> 28:45.000 Grand Estate wines, Ken. But did you know 28:45.000 --> 28:47.000 that for Grand Estate wines, Roma 28:47.000 --> 28:49.000 selects only the choicest grapes. 28:49.000 --> 28:51.000 Then the ancient skill of Roma 28:51.000 --> 28:53.000 master vintners, necessary 28:53.000 --> 28:55.000 time, and America's finest 28:55.000 --> 28:57.000 winemaking resources, guide 28:57.000 --> 28:59.000 the cuvee of this grape treasure to 28:59.000 --> 29:01.000 rich taste luxury. 29:01.000 --> 29:03.000 That's why discriminating wine users 29:03.000 --> 29:05.000 everywhere look to Grand Estate 29:05.000 --> 29:07.000 wines as the crowning achievement 29:07.000 --> 29:09.000 of vintner skill. Reason enough. 29:09.000 --> 29:11.000 And now, Ken, who's all set to star 29:11.000 --> 29:13.000 on Suspense next Thursday? It's that 29:13.000 --> 29:15.000 very wonderful actress and wonderful girl, 29:15.000 --> 29:17.000 Miss Susan Peters. Susan 29:17.000 --> 29:19.000 will appear as a young lady in straitened 29:19.000 --> 29:21.000 circumstances, who finds herself mistaken 29:21.000 --> 29:23.000 for a very rich young lady, 29:23.000 --> 29:25.000 and who is forced into continuing the 29:25.000 --> 29:27.000 deception with murder 29:27.000 --> 29:29.000 as a result. I'll certainly make it a point to listen. 29:29.000 --> 29:31.000 And before I go, I'd like to thank 29:31.000 --> 29:33.000 this really great company of actors who have 29:33.000 --> 29:35.000 played with me tonight, and particularly Kathy 29:35.000 --> 29:37.000 Lewis, who played Ellen. Thank you, Bob. 29:37.000 --> 29:39.000 Tonight's original Suspense play 29:39.000 --> 29:41.000 was written by Robert L. Richards. 29:41.000 --> 29:43.000 Next Thursday, same time, 29:43.000 --> 29:45.000 you will hear Miss Susan Peters as 29:45.000 --> 29:47.000 star of Suspense. 29:49.000 --> 29:51.000 Produced by William Spear for 29:51.000 --> 29:53.000 the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, 29:53.000 --> 29:55.000 California. 29:55.000 --> 29:57.000 This is CBS, the Columbia 29:57.000 --> 30:23.000 Broadcasting System.