And now, Auto Light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present...
Suspense!
Tonight, Auto Light brings you the Academy Award nominee, Miss Jane Wyman, in a dramatization of the outstanding mystery novel, Catch Me If You Can, a suspense play produced and directed by Anton M. Leader.
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And now, Auto Light presents Jane Wyman, in a tale well calculated to keep you in... Suspense!
Let me tell you, let me talk as long as I can. It's my last chance to explain about Phil and all the trouble I had afterwards. Phil got me into this mess the night he died.
I sat near his bed waiting for him to fall asleep and he said...
Margo, was there anything in that milk you gave me tonight?
Well of course darling. Dr. Landers prescribed it, a sedative.
Oh? You're a beautiful woman Margo, very beautiful. Yes.
He was taking so long to fall asleep. It was already after three in the morning.
I listened to the wind. Phil and I were all alone, stuck in that god-forsaken mountain inn, ever since he fell ill just before Labor Day.
There we were, ten thousand feet above sea level, not a soul for miles.
The fall season was over and all the other guests were gone and even Joe, who owns the inn, had gone down to Leadfield to get his winter supplies.
Oh, I shivered thinking of the dark, ragged, lonesome mountains outside and Phil opened his eyes again.
You're a good actress Margo, better off the stage than you were on I expect. But I know you're fed up with our marriage. Have been ever since I became ill.
I haven't complained Phil.
No, it wouldn't fit the part. But you feel trapped out here in Colorado don't you? You'd rather be in New York.
I wonder Margo, those pills you put on my lunch tray last week, they weren't my regular vitamin pills. Maybe you want your freedom and my money enough to poison me.
Don't be ridiculous Phil.
Well anyway I didn't take them, I hid them with a note saying that you tried to give them to me. Then I called a friend of mine, long distance, an old friend.
Who?
A detective named Rocky Rhodes. Rocky and I both stayed at this inn one summer.
And what did you tell this Rocky?
Never mind what I told him. Just remember he's due here tonight or in the morning.
A detective? Phil you're a fool.
I want a divorce Margo.
You do?
Yes, without any strings. Those pills are exhibit A if they're poison.
Blackmail. Phil darling if you want a divorce, you can have it without threatening me.
You'll sign the papers tomorrow?
Of course darling. I only want to make you happy. But now go to sleep Phil. You need a good rest. Go to sleep.
I stroked his forehead and the sedatives finally took effect. His breathing became very heavy and even.
I looked at him and thought he was smart not to take those pills. Ah but not smart enough. He shouldn't have told me about that detective.
He thought he was protecting himself and that I wouldn't dare do anything now. Ah but he was wrong because I had to now.
I couldn't afford to wait and lose everything when he divorced me. And besides I'd find those pills in the letter before the detective got here.
There was practically no risk the way I'd planned it this time.
Outside it had started to rain. A heavy downpour. And the only other sound in the world was Phil's breathing.
I picked up the extra pillow and put it down carefully. Carefully over his face.
He didn't move. I pressed the pillow down on the side so that no air could get in. No air at all. And held it there a long time.
Once the pillow shook a little when Phil's head moved. Once there was a gurgling sound. And that was all.
When I lifted the pillow and took it back in its place the job was done. Everything I ever wanted. Money and freedom was right in my hands.
Phil was dead.
Dead of a heart attack Dr. Landers would say. Oh but wait a minute. Unless someone found those pills with a note from Phil.
Phil hadn't died of poison so I was safe. But there would be questions. Questions I didn't want to have asked.
I had to find those pills myself. I started to search. First the pillow under Phil's head.
No. Then the nightstand beside his bed. And the desk under the window.
No. Where could he have hidden it? After all.
The bell. Could it be Phil's detective already? Rocky. Rocky Rhodes. I'll have to be very careful.
Just a minute. I'm coming. Just a minute.
Yes. Well don't stand there. It's raining in. Oh I'm sorry. I think I'm lost. I'm looking for Pine View Lodge.
Well you are lost. This is Fisherman's net. Yes I know. I saw the sign. It's closed for the winter.
Well could you put me up? The manager's away. There's only me and my husband.
Well the luck of the Irish. They meet a beautiful blonde and she's married every time.
You wouldn't turn me out in this storm. I'm soaking wet. I'm afraid I...
Oh please. Just tonight. In the morning I'll get my bearings. Well if it's only for one night. Yes that's all. Thank you.
Oh what a vacation. Where are you from? Chicago. Newspaper man. My name is Mike Sheldon.
How do you do Mr. Sheldon? I'm Mrs. Weatherby. How do you do? Where do I bunk? Upstairs?
Yes you can take the trout room. Every room is named for a different kind of fish.
It's the second room on the right from the top of the stairs. Thank you.
It's great of you to let me stay. Would you like some hot coffee? Fine. It's no trouble.
Not at all. I was going to make some for myself. I can use some all right. No. No wait.
What? No not that room. No. What's wrong Mrs. Weatherby?
Well I said the second door on the right. The salmon room not the trout room. I made a mistake.
Forgive me but this is my husband's room and he's not well. I was afraid you'd wake him up.
Oh that was bad. Very bad. Making a slip like that in front of Phil's detective Rocky Rhodes.
Because of course Mike Sheldon was Rocky Rhodes. Who else could he be?
And I had to find those pills before he did and started making trouble.
Before I could get back to the search two more unexpected guests popped in at Fisherman's Net.
A small dapper man with a black mustache and slick black hair.
But I'm Charlie Miller. I got a reservation here and I'm staying.
But the manager is away. He didn't mention any reservations.
He must have forgot then. I made it by telephone from KC. That is I mean I asked a friend of mine to make it.
A friend of his? Was it Phil? Was Charlie Miller Rocky Rhodes?
He couldn't be a detective. He was too stupid. No. No. Mike Sheldon was Rocky Rhodes.
There was a girl with Charlie Miller. I thought she was Mrs. Miller.
No. I'm Susan Quinn. Mr. Miller and I met on the bus.
Yeah. And we were great pals right off. I call her Susie Q. You get it?
Yes.
But the initials on your suitcase are S.R. Miss Quinn.
Oh. Well I borrowed my sister Sheila's suitcase. Sheila Riley. She's married.
Sheila and I always borrow each other's things.
Was it true? Or was her name Susan Rhodes?
Nicknamed Rocky Rhodes. Things are getting more complicated every minute.
Two men had arrived and Sheldon seemed the most like a detective.
It was too late for me then to go on hunting for the pills.
It was morning. In case questions were asked later I had to be able to say I had done what a wife with a sick husband ought to do.
I had to take Phil his breakfast on a tray.
Well Mrs. W. Hey you're an early bird.
Here let me help you. Oh thank you Mr. Miller. This is my husband's breakfast. If you'll open the door.
Sure thing. There you are.
Thank you.
Phil. Phil dear. I brought you.
Something wrong Mrs. W.?
My husband. He looks. He looks.
Anything I can do? Say. He does look pretty green at that.
Mr. Weatherby. Hey Mr. Weatherby.
You'd better sit down Mrs. Weatherby. It looks to me like your husband has passed away.
Oh no. No no no. Here now. Just sit down.
Alright now you just cry on Uncle Charlie's shoulder. It'll do you good.
You're very kind.
Morning. Oh say Sheldon. Got a little trouble here. Trouble? Mrs. Weatherby?
Well her husband's passed away and is asleep it looks like.
I brought his breakfast. I thought he was asleep. Will somebody phone Phil's doctor. Dr. Landers and Salisbury Gap.
Well of course but. Excuse me I'm afraid I've got to go to my room.
Mrs. Weatherby. Mrs. Weatherby.
Oh Miss Quinn. What happened? Have I been asleep?
When you got to your room you fainted. I still feel rather faint.
I brought you some brandy. Could you drink a little? Not now. I couldn't.
Where's Mr. Miller and Mr. Sheldon? They're moving your husband's body. No they mustn't.
Well Dr. Landers told Mike to on the phone. The rain turned to snow during the night and he won't be able to get here because of the storm.
Not until the snow plow gets through. So he thought it best we put Mr. Weatherby. Not outdoors.
No. There's a hillside cellar out back. Oh yes. What else did Dr. Landers say about Phil?
He said it must have been a heart attack. And that you have nothing in the world with which to reproach yourself.
He's sure you did everything you could.
For Suspense, Autolite is bringing you Miss Jane Wyman in Radio's outstanding theatre of thrills, Suspense.
Say, Hap, look at that stack of valentines. Quite a pile, child. In fact, flocks, Wilcox.
No, they're not for me. They're valentines to Autolite resistor spark plugs. Listen to this one.
You've won my heart with your kisses and your hugs and a set of Autolite resistor spark plugs. How's that, Hap?
Ah, the spark of love. Why, sure. Everybody loves Autolite wide gap resistor spark plugs. Replace your narrow gap plugs with these beauties to make your car idle smoother.
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Oh, valentine, will you be mine and will you make me happy? Put Autolite resistor spark plugs in my car. Help make it smooth and snappy.
Boy, that's hitting on all six. Oh, naturally. Here's another valentine that touches this old heart of mine.
Oh, Autolite resistor spark plugs. With me, you are a fixture. You help my car run smoother far and go on lean gas mixture.
Say, Hap, that's the best yet. But right now, here's suspense.
And now, Autolite brings back to our Hollywood sound stage, Miss Jane Wyman as Margo in Catch Me If You Can.
A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
I kept up my act all that day and I didn't overplay it. I'm not the type for floods of tears, so I adopted a one gentle sadness,
which made the others think me very brave. But all the time, there were two things on my mind driving me crazy.
Who was Rocky Rhodes? And where had Phil hidden the pills? And I couldn't hunt for them.
Somebody was always in my room fussing over me. Finally, in the late afternoon, I managed to get away.
I just started to look through Phil's clothes when... Oh, there you are. I was looking for you.
No snowplow will get through here today. I'll just have to put up with Charlie Miller's jokes another evening.
Are his jokes that bad? Well, you heard him ragging Susan, calling her Suzy Kew.
Oh, nicknames. Lots of people have the nickname habit. My husband had a friend named Rhodes. He nicknamed Rocky Rhodes.
It's a change from Dusty Rhodes, at any rate. By the way, where are you from?
Boston. Why do you ask? Oh, just idle curiosity. You know what they say about curiosity.
Would you excuse me, please? I was going over my husband's things. Yeah, go right ahead. I'll just keep you company.
Looking for something? No, I want a pack so I can leave as soon as possible. I want to get back to New York.
I don't blame you. Need any help? No, thank you. As a matter of fact, I... Would you mind? I'd rather be alone.
No, no, it's not good for you to be alone. I'll just stay here and keep you company.
Nosy. Did you say something? No, I...
Here's a book of Oscar Wilde's. Why don't I read to you while you work? Let me see.
Did your husband own all these shoes? He did. Wealthy man, apparently. How nice for you.
Now, how about some poetry? Let's try this one.
The poor dead woman whom he loved and murdered in her bed.
Shall I go on, Mrs. Weatherby?
But I couldn't let Sheldon unnerve me. I had to keep cool.
I went on packing and he went on reading on and on endlessly about blood and poor prisons and hangings.
While I tried not to miss anything of Phil's, I had to have those pills.
An hour later in my room, I knew I didn't have them. But Rocky Rhodes didn't have them yet either.
Otherwise he would have said something. But the pills didn't have to be in Phil's room.
Which one was Rhodes? Miller or Sheldon? I would have to find out by elimination.
After dinner that night, I went into the main parlor.
And Charlie Miller grabbed me and danced me over to the fire.
Ah, here you are, Mrs. W. Now you just sit right here and have a highball, see?
And we'll have a nice little cozy chat with little old Charlie.
Oh, you're so formal, Charlie. Call me Margo.
Margo? I'll bet your mother called you Maggie. You thought up Margo to use on the stage.
On the stage? How did you know I was an actress? This was the clue I'd been looking for.
Oh, a guy with my experience can always tell.
You can? Sure. And I know how you actresses operate.
You all take different monikers. I'll bet you were great, baby.
Oh, I wasn't very good. There was only one way that Miller could have known about my being on the stage. From Phil.
You weren't very good. I know different, baby.
So what if you only played Tank Towns? I sure wish I'd seen you.
You didn't miss much, really. Tank Towns? That was Phil's story, all right.
Miller was Rocky Rhodes. And he was just drunk enough to handle.
Hey, look, how about you and me going up to my room where we can be alone, huh?
That wouldn't look right, Charlie. We could go out and sit in my car. It's in the garage.
Got a heater? And a radio. The hotel radio's broken.
We can say that's why we're going, to listen to the music.
Wonderful. Hey, you're a wonderful little woman, Maggie. Full of ideas.
Ah, not a bad little wagon, baby, but this front seat is so full of steering wheel.
Oh, let's get in the back. Oh, it doesn't heat as well in the back.
How about a drink? You first. OK, right out of the bottle.
Oh, boy, this is what I call living. Music, plenty of bourbon, and a beautiful blonde.
Never saw such a beautiful blonde. Can I give Charlie a kiss?
Oh, wow. Sweet as molasses. It's getting warm enough now, baby. Plenty warm.
Could turn off that heater. I'm still a little cold, Charlie.
Just stay close to me. In a minute, we'll turn it off.
Then slowly he sagged against me, and his head fell on my shoulder.
And when I pushed him away, he fell forward against the steering wheel.
I hope nobody heard that.
I've got to get out of here before it gets me too.
I kept on my feet going around the car. I was dizzy, getting numb.
Then a few feet from the garage door, I keeled over.
For a minute or more, I could move.
Then I crawled toward the door. It took forever to get there.
I opened the door somehow, pushed it shut, and half fell out and lay in the snow.
Breathing the clean air.
Thanking my lucky stars, I've been smart enough not to drink.
That's why it got Charlie sooner, because he was drunk.
I looked at my watch and decided to wait 15 minutes.
What a wonderful thing that carbon monoxide is. No smell, no nothing.
It just creeps up on you.
In 15 minutes, Charlie Miller, alias Rocky Rhodes, would be good and dead.
He was dead all right. When they found us, they carried me into the house and gave me a drink and put me to bed.
I had right to sleep knowing Rocky Rhodes was dead.
When I woke up, I remembered the car key.
I had said Charlie started the car, but somebody might think to check the key for fingerprints and find mine.
I put on a fur coat over my nightgown and ran all the way to the garage.
I got in the car, reached for the keys, and they weren't there.
Why? Why would anybody take my keys? And who would take them?
The Rhodes? No, he was dead. But was he? Had I killed the wrong man?
I don't know how I ever got through breakfast.
That's too bad about Charlie, Margot. Stop worrying about it. It wasn't your fault.
You look tired. You want to take a walk, get some fresh air?
I don't feel up to it.
I was planning to go up to that lookout cabin on the peak.
No, no, no. I'm too lazy for that. I mean a short walk.
Is it a long climb, Mrs. Weatherby? Long and steep, believe me.
I only made it up there once, but my husband used to go there often.
I guess a good climb will do me good. I think I'll try it alone.
Bye. I'll be back before dark. Bye. Be careful, Susan.
I didn't even hear her leave. I was thinking about Phil's walk to the lookout cabin.
There was where he'd hidden the pills. I knew it. I knew it in my bones.
Why hadn't I thought of it before? Oh, I'd have to hurry.
I couldn't let anyone find those pills except me.
I managed to get away from the men and slipped out by the back door without being seen.
A ladder goes up from the trail to the lookout door.
The door of the cabin stood open.
I climbed the ladder quietly and stepped in and saw Susan on the other side of the room near the door to the balcony.
She was holding an envelope attached to a card, and she was reading the card.
And suddenly, definitely, I knew. Miss Rocky Rhodes, I presume.
Oh, you scared me, Mrs. Weatherby.
I see you found what you're looking for. The pills my husband hid.
You want to know if they're really poisonous?
I read this card. Is it some kind of a joke?
Oh, no, it's no joke. One of them would kill a man. But that's not what killed Phil.
I smothered him with a pillow. You didn't know that, did you?
Oh, you shouldn't be telling me this.
Phil told me you were coming, but I was expecting a man. I never dreamed Rocky Rhodes was a woman.
You've mistaken me for someone else. Really?
Oh, come off it. You're already responsible for Charlie Miller's death, coming here under an assumed name.
I killed him because I thought he was Rocky Rhodes.
You killed him? Oh, no, you didn't. Oh, you're ill, Mrs. Weatherby. You're imagining things.
Stay where you are! You think you'll get out of here alive?
I wouldn't go out that door if I were you. You'd step right off into blank space.
But you can't do these things. They'll catch us.
Who? How? Those pills are the only evidence against me, and I'll destroy them as soon as you're gone.
Will you?
Stop! Stay where you are! You fool! What good does that do you, throwing them out?
Watch where they fall. There, right on the path. They'll stay there until I go down.
But you played your last card. I'm not going to waste any more time.
Let go, Mrs. Weatherby! Let go!
You're going over the edge, Susie! You're going to be another tragic accident!
No!
Let go of that table, you fool!
Inch by inch we're getting there. Now! Out on the porch!
I'll pull you over with me! Will you? Will you really?
Someone's coming! Someone's coming in the trail! It's Mike!
You're crazy!
Mike!
Let go of that table! Let go!
Stop him! Stop him!
I remember falling. Falling, then a sharp pain. Then I don't remember anymore until I woke up here in the snow and found you bending over me.
Who are you? Where did you come from?
I just came up from the village, Mrs. Weatherby. We know the whole story.
The whole story?
Now just take it easy, Mrs. Weatherby.
I know. You must be a doctor. But doctors, they'll never hang me.
No, Mrs. Weatherby. They'll never hang you. You're dying now.
No. No, I can't die. After all I've had to do to live. Where did Mike go?
I'm right here, Mrs. Weatherby.
Like a vulture waiting for me to die. You're Rocky Rhodes, aren't you, Mike?
No, Mrs. Weatherby.
You're lying. It has to be you. I killed Charlie and he wasn't Rocky Rhodes. And Susan wasn't. You have to be. I have to know. I have to kill Rocky or I've done it all for nothing.
Rocky Rhodes mustn't find those poison pills.
Your husband didn't die from poison, Mrs. Weatherby. So you would have been safe even if the pills were found.
But, but, Rocky Rhodes.
None of those people was Rocky Rhodes. Your own guilt made you suspicious of everything they did.
There must be a Rocky Rhodes. Phil said there was. There has to be a Rocky.
Oh.
Is she dead, Doctor?
I'm afraid she is.
There I was being sorry for her husband being dead.
Just think. She killed her husband and one of us and none of us would ever have known it if she hadn't told Susan all about it in my cabin.
It was good of you to get here so fast, Doctor.
I'd have gotten here sooner if it hadn't been for the blizzard. Maybe none of this would have happened.
By the way, I'm not a doctor, Mr. Sheldon. My name is Rhodes. Rocky Rhodes.
Thank you, Jane Wyman, for a splendid performance.
Miss Wyman, would you do me a favor?
I'd be glad to, Mr. Wilcox.
Would you autograph my script?
Why, certainly. What shall I write?
Well, why not just write to ALRSP Wilcox from Jane Wyman.
ALRSP? What does that stand for?
Auto Light Resistor Spark Plugs.
Oh, of course. I should have known. A plug for plugs.
Why, sure.
Well, ALRSP it is. There. How's that?
Thank you. And did you know, Miss Wyman, that besides Auto Light Resistor Spark Plugs, Auto Light makes over 400 other products for cars, trucks, airplanes, and boats in 28 Auto Light plants from coast to coast.
Auto Light makes complete electrical systems for many makes of America's finest cars, batteries, generators, starting motors, coils, distributors, all ignition engineered to meet the highest standards of leading automotive engineers.
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Visit your local Auto Light service station listed in your classified telephone directory or the dealer who sells your make of car, and be sure to specify original factory parts.
You're right with Auto Light.
And now, in introducing again our star, Miss Jane Wyman, I wish also to extend to her, on behalf of our sponsor and all of us here on Suspense, our sincere congratulations on her nomination for the Academy Award for her splendid performance in the current Warner Brothers picture, Johnny Belinda.
And to wish her the best of luck in balloting.
Thank you very much. And may I congratulate Suspense for being one of the top radio programs on the air. Truly radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
Thank you, Miss Wyman.
And I'll be listening next week when James Mason and his lovely wife Pamela Calino appear in the Agatha Christie story, where there's a will, another gripping study in...
Suspense!
Tonight's Suspense play was adapted by Sylvia Richards from the current best-selling mystery by Pat McGeer. Music was composed by Lucian Moorawack and conducted by Lud Bluskin. The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Lieder.
Auto Light resistor spark plugs have been adopted as original factory equipment by six leading makes of cars and trucks. So, switch to Auto Light. Good night.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.