1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Suspense! 2 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers present Miss Joan Bennett in Statement of Mary Blake, 3 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:30,000 a suspense play produced and edited by William Spear. 4 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,000 Harlow, where did you get those suspenders? 5 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Hap, my envious end man, those are Auto Light's stay full battery suspenders. 6 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,000 What queer animal's on them? Is that a camel? 7 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000 That Hap is a contented camel with a smile from hump to hump. 8 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:49,000 He knows that Auto Light's stay full batteries are the batteries that need water only three times a year in normal car use. 9 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:54,000 And that's because they have over three times more liquid reserve than batteries without stay full features. 10 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Wow, what's this dancing dervish doing? 11 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,000 He's celebrating his release from camel watering. Just got a new stay full battery. 12 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,000 This is gonna kill me. Do Auto Light's stay full batteries do handstands too? 13 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:12,000 Oh, and my suspenders they do, because Auto Light's stay full batteries give 70% longer average life than batteries without stay full features, 14 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000 according to recent tests based on SAE life cycle standards. 15 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:22,000 And remember too, Auto Light's stay full batteries need water only three times a year in normal car use. 16 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Anything else, Wilcock? 17 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,000 Just one more thing. You're always right with Auto Light. 18 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:31,000 And now with statement of Mary Blake and the performance of Miss Joan Bennett, 19 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,000 Auto Light hopes once again to keep you in suspense. 20 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,000 I found myself at the far end of a long corridor. 21 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,000 The length of it stretching before me in a winding pattern. 22 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,000 The walls of it are thick and pregnantable cement. 23 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,000 There were no windows, only a small opening high on the wall to my right. 24 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Through this a single shaft of light fell into a pattern which told me there were iron bars on that one small window. 25 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,000 At first it seemed that I was alone in this place. 26 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,000 I stood huddled and afraid, unable to move. 27 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,000 Somehow I had the feeling that soon I would not be alone. 28 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:22,000 Then faintly, from out of the darkness ahead of me, I heard him coming with slow shuffling footsteps. 29 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:28,000 The walk of a man who has not long been without his eyes. 30 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:34,000 I saw his cane first, a slim thread of white and the blackness before me. 31 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:39,000 I watched it tapping up and down in a nervous rhythm. 32 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:45,000 Tapping, coming closer, closer. 33 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000 I felt the muscles in my throat tighten in an effort to scream. 34 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000 But I made no sound at all, nor did I move. 35 00:02:54,000 --> 00:03:00,000 I just stood there and waited and watched him come toward me. 36 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:10,000 Then in the next instant his face was caught in the shaft of light and I saw him very clearly. 37 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:16,000 The searing marks of pain were there and with them the lines borne of brooding and evil. 38 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:21,000 And I looked for a long time at that face and I found myself wondering, 39 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:34,000 if I could see behind those dark glasses, would I find in his sightless eyes any sign of repentance? 40 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000 I remembered suddenly how Gregory Martin had looked the first time I saw him. 41 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 His tall form standing with casual poise in the doorway. 42 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:50,000 That handsome face creased by the broad smile had bid me welcome into his home. 43 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,000 Hello, Miss Blake. Come in, won't you? 44 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Thank you. 45 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Here, let me take your bag. 46 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,000 Thanks. 47 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Mrs. Martin isn't here just now, so I'll show you your room. 48 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Oh. 49 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,000 I think you'll find it very comfortable. 50 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,000 In fact, I hope you'll enjoy your life here and your work with me. 51 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Oh, I'm sure I will. 52 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,000 I'm a little overwhelmed to find myself actually about to work with the Dr. Gregory Martin. 53 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,000 When you've gotten your things unpacked and had the chance to catch your breath a bit, 54 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,000 perhaps you'll join me for coffee. 55 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:19,000 Wonderful. 56 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,000 I'll show you through my laboratory. 57 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,000 I felt no fear at all that first day. 58 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:36,000 My room was luxurious and beautiful and the laboratory is beyond anything I'd ever imagined in its completeness. 59 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,000 I didn't meet Lorna Martin during that first day as a member of the household, 60 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,000 but in the evening her husband invited me to join the intimate group of friends 61 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:47,000 that were gathered in front of a glowing fire in their living room. 62 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,000 And how about you, Professor? 63 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Yes. 64 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,000 Let me fill your glass. 65 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,000 I have my customary toast to make. 66 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Yes, my boy, indeed. 67 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,000 I want to join you on that one. 68 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Attention, everyone. 69 00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,000 A toast. 70 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,000 The toast. 71 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,000 To the lovely Lorna. 72 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:10,000 A woman of such abundant charm that it's unfair, really, for one man only to call her his. 73 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:16,000 But three years ago she made her choice and I found that it was such a commendable one 74 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,000 that I, for one, think we should forgive her. 75 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:26,000 And so here's to the lovely Lorna, my wife. 76 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,000 I joined in Dr. Martin's toast to his wife and at the same time studied the faces of the people 77 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,000 who were gathered in a semicircle around the room. 78 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:47,000 There was a glint on the glass of one man's pânes nez that gave his face a weird, somewhat supernatural look. 79 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,000 He was smiling broadly in the direction of Mrs. Martin 80 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,000 and his teeth in the light of the fire seemed to be made entirely of gold. 81 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000 I looked then at Lorna. 82 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,000 She was looking past the others at her husband 83 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,000 and although she was smiling I saw that there were tears in her brown eyes. 84 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:10,000 Beneath her polish and exquisite breeding she was insecure and afraid. 85 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Late that night after the party I was thirsty so I put on my robe and went quietly down the carpeted stairs. 86 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,000 The big double door that led into the living room was closed 87 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,000 but I could see that a lamp was lit inside the room. 88 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,000 And then as I passed by I heard her. 89 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,000 She was sobbing softly. 90 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,000 I turned quickly to go back to my room. 91 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,000 I didn't want to be placed in the embarrassing position of hearing something I shouldn't. 92 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,000 But before I'd gotten out of earshot I heard her sobbing stop suddenly 93 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:47,000 with a noise that sounded like the flat of a palm hand hitting hard against a cheek. 94 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,000 Next morning I was working with Dr. Martin and loving every minute of it. 95 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,000 We worked silently swiftly with no regard for anything outside of the task immediately at hand. 96 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,000 That is, save for one little thing. 97 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:10,000 Dr. Martin seemed fascinated with a little vial of amber liquid which he kept on a desk. 98 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,000 Twice he abandoned his work to walk over to it. 99 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Lift the glass container up to the window and study its contents. 100 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,000 His lips forming a strange half smile. 101 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,000 Why yes, yes that's it of course. 102 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,000 What I beg your pardon Dr. Martin were you speaking to me? 103 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,000 No, no Miss Blake. 104 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Talking to myself I expect. 105 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,000 Scientists frequently do I understand. 106 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:34,000 Yes I've heard so. 107 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:40,000 My foreman Miss Blake, I just realized it's almost the color of her hair isn't it? 108 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,000 The lawners I mean. 109 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,000 My wife has very pretty hair don't you think? 110 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,000 I think Mrs. Martin is a beautiful woman in many ways. 111 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:51,000 That's a rather generous opinion to form in so short a time isn't it? 112 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,000 Do you always analyze people so quickly and so flatteringly? 113 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,000 How about me for instance? 114 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,000 I don't think you're being fair doctor but since you asked, 115 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,000 I'd say you're a man of great charm and certainly a scientist of remarkable ability. 116 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,000 I should be pleased I suppose. 117 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,000 However it sounds like generalities. 118 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:17,000 I think I'll have to see what I can do toward creating a more specific impression. 119 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Yes. 120 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,000 Truly beautiful color isn't it? 121 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,000 I've never seen anything quite that shade of amber. 122 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:25,000 What is it doctor? 123 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,000 It's a mixture of my own. 124 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,000 I'll let you in on it some day, soon. 125 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,000 But meanwhile I'd advise you to keep clear of it. 126 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,000 I think I could safely claim it to be the fastest acting poison in existence. 127 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,000 A new experiment doctor? 128 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,000 The most exciting experiment to which a scientific mind can apply itself. 129 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,000 And I have every confidence that I'll be able to work it out to a successful conclusion. 130 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,000 Sounds challenging doctor. I hope I'll be allowed to work on it too. 131 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:57,000 I assure you my dear Miss Blake, I wouldn't attempt this particular experiment without you. 132 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,000 Neither of us made mention of his poison again. 133 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,000 And indeed it seemed that the doctor had quite forgotten it. 134 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,000 We were both working hard on the completion of his current project. 135 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,000 Lorna Martin worked with us part of the time. 136 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:17,000 It was only then that I learned she had previously always assisted her husband with his work. 137 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:23,000 It was in fact Lorna who suggested the final step that led him quickly to the result he had been striving for. 138 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,000 We worked from early morning until late at night. 139 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,000 And on the third day towards midnight the project was completed. 140 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:30,000 We had a late supper. 141 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,000 And after a glass of liqueur I left the doctor and his wife and went to my room. 142 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Yes? 143 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,000 I'm sorry. Were you asleep? 144 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:46,000 Oh no. No I was just sitting here relaxing doctor. I'm still too excited to do any sleeping. 145 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Well that's exactly how Lorna and I found ourselves feeling. 146 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,000 So we decided to sit up and talk a bit over another glass of liqueur. 147 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,000 We wanted if you'd join us. 148 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,000 After all this has been a three way victory Miss Blake. 149 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,000 We want you in on our triumphal toast. 150 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,000 That's a generous thought. I'm afraid I wasn't much more than a spectator in this instance. 151 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,000 Oh nonsense. Come along. 152 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,000 Well I am certainly eager to talk with Mrs. Martin. 153 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,000 I had no idea she was an active colleague of yours in the laboratory. 154 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,000 Oh yes. Lorna's been of tremendous help to me. 155 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,000 In the past I would say she's been quite indispensable. 156 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Lorna's brilliant mind amazed me from the first moment I met her. 157 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Here we are. 158 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,000 Lorna my dear. Miss Blake and I were just having a most engrossing conversation. 159 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,000 Wholly about you. 160 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:35,000 It seems Miss Blake has been greatly impressed by the work you've done on this idea of mine. 161 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,000 Oh Dr. Martin you're making it sound as if I had minimized your own work. I didn't mean... 162 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,000 Of course you didn't. I do understand. 163 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,000 And you needn't make apologies in my direction for your appreciation of my wife's talents. 164 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:47,000 Here now. 165 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,000 Liqueur for you Miss Blake. 166 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:50,000 Same as earlier? 167 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,000 Please. 168 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,000 There you are. 169 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:53,000 Thank you. 170 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,000 Lorna dear. How about you? 171 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 Your glass can stand a little replenishing I should imagine. 172 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,000 Let me see. 173 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,000 No. 174 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,000 Why you still have some that you haven't even touched. 175 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,000 In the few seconds that had passed since Dr. Martin and I had entered the room, 176 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:15,000 three distinctly sharp and clear thoughts had crossed my mind in sudden quick succession. 177 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,000 And each of them struck at my insides like the painful puncture of a thin sharp blade. 178 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,000 One that Dr. Martin professionally was insanely jealous of his wife. 179 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:28,000 Two that it was totally unlike Lorna Martin not to speak to us as we entered the room. 180 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:34,000 And three that Dr. Martin had just gone over to his wife to make absolutely certain that she was dead. 181 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,000 AutoLite is bringing you Miss Joan Bennett in statement of Mary Blake. 182 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:58,000 Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 183 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,000 Say Harlow, can I get a pair of those AutoLite stay full battery suspenders? 184 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,000 Ah, Hap, there's a catch to these suspenders. 185 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000 Of course, wouldn't be suspenders without a catch. 186 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:17,000 Well, to get a pair of these, you'll have to rave about that special feature of the AutoLite stay full battery. 187 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:23,000 The fiberglass retaining mat that protects every positive plate to keep the power producing material in place for longer life. 188 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:27,000 70% longer life in fact than batteries without stay full features. 189 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:31,000 And this is proven in recent tests based on SAE life cycle standards. 190 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Doesn't anyone but you have a pair of those wonderful, wonderful suspenders? 191 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:41,000 No, no, these suspenders were made for me by a happy car owner who recently bought an AutoLite stay full battery. 192 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,000 The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use. 193 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,000 Said he couldn't thank me enough for telling him about it. 194 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,000 So friends, see your AutoLite battery dealer tomorrow. 195 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,000 And remember, you're always right with AutoLite. 196 00:12:53,000 --> 00:13:01,000 And now AutoLite brings back to our Hollywood sound stage our star, Miss Joan Bennett in statement of Mary Blake. 197 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:06,000 A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. 198 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 I stood there unable to speak. 199 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:17,000 Dr. Martin looked at me. He was amused, amused at my reaction to his wife's murder. 200 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:22,000 I rather think I could read your mind quite accurately at this moment, Miss Blake. 201 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,000 Why? Why? 202 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000 Why? Why does one do anything? 203 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,000 What motivates any action of man? 204 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:35,000 There is a need, a desire, a want behind every action. 205 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,000 I wanted to kill my wife. 206 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,000 It's as simple as that. 207 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,000 The poison. 208 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,000 Yes. Come into the laboratory. 209 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,000 The poison. 210 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000 We'll look for it. 211 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,000 It isn't on your desk. 212 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,000 You did kill her with it, but I don't see it. 213 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000 And why have you made it a point to have a witness? 214 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,000 I remember now. 215 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,000 You talked of this as an experiment and you told me I would work with you on it. 216 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:04,000 Just what, what you... 217 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Patience, my dear girl, patience. 218 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,000 And what is the next step, Doctor? To call whom? The police? And tell them what? 219 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:15,000 When one discovers that one's wife has been murdered, one naturally calls in the authorities. 220 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Oh, yes, Sergeant. Listen carefully, please. 221 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000 This is Dr. Gregory Martin. 222 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,000 My address is 12448 Pilgrim Drive. 223 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Would you send some men over immediately, please? 224 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000 My wife has just been murdered. 225 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,000 The complete realization of what he had done seemed to come upon me all at once. 226 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,000 A sudden delayed shock that hit me with the impact of a hammer blow. 227 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,000 I looked at him and he seemed a total stranger. 228 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,000 A maniac whose next move I could not predict. 229 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,000 I was laughing and while he laughed I reached desperately behind me. 230 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000 Closing my fingers tightly around the glass container I felt in. 231 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,000 And I prayed that it contained something that would serve as an effective weapon against the murder. 232 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,000 With one quick move I could have killed him. 233 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:02,000 And I watched it eat away his skin like a sheet of tissue paper in a soaring flame. 234 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:17,000 When the police arrived they found Lorna Martin seated erect and beautiful in the chair in the sitting room. 235 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,000 While her husband was in the chair, she was sitting on the floor. 236 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:26,000 When the police arrived they found Lorna Martin seated erect and beautiful in the chair in the sitting room. 237 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000 While her husband writhed in pain on the floor of his laboratory. 238 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,000 I was at Dr. Martin's desk, they said. 239 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,000 I remember lifting my eyes to follow mutely the movements of the men who streamed into the room. 240 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,000 Through the door I could see them bending over the body of Lorna Martin. 241 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,000 And I watched with a strange detached curiosity. 242 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,000 As two interns administered temporary treatment to Dr. Martin's injuries. 243 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,000 Then they took us away. The three of us. 244 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000 I don't remember much about it. 245 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,000 Do you want to talk now? 246 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,000 Come now, Miss Blake, we realize that you've been under a great strain. 247 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:14,000 We want to find out exactly what happened and we must know exactly what part you played. 248 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:19,000 You know, in view of what has happened to Dr. Martin and his wife, a man so revered and well known. 249 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:23,000 We will be subjected to a great deal of pressure to bring someone to justice for this thing. 250 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000 Justice? How can Lorna Martin ever know justice? 251 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,000 Let's hear your story, Miss Blake, from the beginning. 252 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,000 There were three people alone in that house when this happened. 253 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000 And of them, only you were able to speak. Now let's hear what you have to say. 254 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,000 How about it? 255 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,000 All right. You'll talk on the stand. 256 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Will the witness please take the stand? 257 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,000 I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God. 258 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,000 He was like a dream still. The setting now is a court of justice. 259 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,000 And I sat numbly among strange faces and gesturing hands and questioning voices. 260 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:13,000 Please tell the court not to sit here. How long and how well you have known Dr. Gregory Martin, please. 261 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:18,000 Dr. Martin has been my close friend and associate for over a dozen years. 262 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:23,000 His fine character cannot be questioned. He and his wife were an unusually devoted couple. 263 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,000 This thing that has happened is shocking. 264 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,000 You were a frequent visitor in the Martin home for many years, Dr. Lee. 265 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,000 Yes. 266 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:34,000 Can you relate to the court any scenes you witnessed in the Martin household, 267 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000 which might have an important bearing on this case? 268 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:41,000 I attended a gathering at the Martin home on the very night that Miss Blake first came there. 269 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:49,000 She sat with us in the living room and throughout the evening I was aware of her studying, Dr. Martin, with a peculiar intensity. 270 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,000 It was extremely odd. 271 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:58,000 As the medical examiner on this case, will you please tell the court your findings, which revealed the cause of Lorna Martin's death? 272 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Mrs. Martin was poisoned. The poison was in liquid form, taken internally. 273 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:08,000 It was obviously expertly prepared by someone well acquainted with scientific formulas, 274 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,000 someone who had access to an excellently equipped laparot. 275 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Can you please tell the court whose fingerprints were found on the liquor glass from which Lorna Martin drank the poison that killed her? 276 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:24,000 We found on the glass the prints of Mrs. Martin and those of Mary Blake. 277 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,000 And no others? 278 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,000 No, sir. No others. 279 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:32,000 Did you discover any more of the poison like that which was used to kill Mrs. Martin? 280 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:37,000 There were several drops of it left in the glass from which Mrs. Martin drank. 281 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:43,000 Later, during our investigational search of the entire house, more of the poison was found. 282 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,000 And will you please tell the court where the remainder of that poison was found? 283 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,000 Yes, sir. In a perfume bottle on the dressing table in the room of Mary Blake. 284 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,000 The voices floated in and out and around the room. 285 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,000 And some of the words hit against the walls and echoed back at me. 286 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,000 Then I rode on them to the front of the room and the voices were loud and strange and my senses seemed blocked by them. 287 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:08,000 And by a hand that pointed towards me and a face that swung down at me like an inflated comic balloon. 288 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,000 I almost laughed. Perhaps I did. 289 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:19,000 Can you, Mary Blake, in any way account for the fact that only Mrs. Martin's and your own fingerprints were found on the liquor glass? 290 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:27,000 Can you give the court any explanation for the perfume bottle containing the remainder of the poison being found in your room? 291 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:38,000 Mary Blake, can you in any way explain the testimony we have heard repeatedly during this trial of your unusually strong personal interest in Dr. Martin? 292 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:46,000 The words were strung like beads on a string and wound round and round until I felt them so tight it that I could not even breathe. 293 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,000 Then suddenly the voices strangling me with the words came through to me clearer and louder than ever before. 294 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:56,000 And this time the words were built in a big stick and it was carefully aimed and swung straight towards me. 295 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,000 The prosecution at this time is able to bring forth its most important witness. 296 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:07,000 We ask, however, that due consideration be given him by all those present in this courtroom as his condition is still very serious. 297 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:13,000 He has suffered from extreme shock and as a result of the injury he is now in a state of shock. 298 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:22,000 He has suffered from extreme shock and as a result of the injuries he recently sustained he is and will forever remain totally blind. 299 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:27,000 Now, clerk, will you please inform the nurse outside that she may now bring the doctor into the courtroom? 300 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:32,000 The prosecution calls to the stand Dr. Gregory Martin. 301 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:40,000 He came in seated in a wheelchair. His hands and almost all of his face save an open slit across his mouth, swathed in thick white bandages. 302 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:45,000 There was something about seeing so handsome and powerful a figure so completely incapacitated. 303 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:50,000 An involuntary gasp escaped from my own lips as well as from those of every person in the crowded courtroom. 304 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:55,000 Without a word being spoken the prosecution had easily scored its most effective point. 305 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:02,000 And after Dr. Martin had finished his spoken testimony the big stick of words came down upon me with full force. 306 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Mr. Foreman, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, how do you find the defendant? 307 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,000 We find the defendant guilty as charged. 308 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,000 Then more words. Words coming at me with final, slashing blows. 309 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:42,000 This court hereby sentences you to the Women's State Penitentiary for a period of not less than 99 years. 310 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:49,000 I found myself at the far end of a long corridor, the length of it stretching before me in a winding pattern. 311 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 The walls of it are thick and pregnantable cement. 312 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,000 There were no windows, save for a small opening high on the wall to my right. 313 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:04,000 Through this a single shaft of light fell into a pattern which told me that there were iron bars on that one small window. 314 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:11,000 At first it seemed that I was alone in this place. I stood huddled and afraid, unable to move. 315 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,000 Somehow I had the feeling that soon I would not be alone. 316 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:24,000 Then faintly, from out of the darkness ahead of me, I heard him coming with slow, shuffling footsteps. 317 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,000 The walk of a man who has not long been without his eyes. 318 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:35,000 I saw his cane first, a slim thread of white in the blackness before me. 319 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:45,000 I watched it tapping up and down in a nervous rhythm, tapping, coming closer, closer. 320 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:52,000 I felt the muscles in my throat tighten in an effort to scream, but I made no sound at all, nor did I move. 321 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:57,000 I just stood there and waited and watched him come toward me. 322 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:05,000 Then in the next instant his face caught in the shaft of light and I saw him very clearly. 323 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:12,000 Mary, Mary, please wake up. Come on now, get hold before you rouse the whole block. Come on now. 324 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,000 We can't have this every night. 325 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:22,000 Oh, how's that dream? I can't stop dreaming. It isn't fair, it isn't fair. I don't belong here. I didn't do anything, but I'm here. 326 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,000 He still won't leave me alone, not even in my sleep. 327 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,000 There you see, Warden. That's the way it is every night. We can't seem to do anything. 328 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,000 That's enough, Matron. We're releasing Mary Blake. 329 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,000 What did you say? 330 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:57,000 You're free, Miss Blake. The nightmare is over. Come with me and I'll tell you what has happened. 331 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:02,000 Miss Blake, the state has no way of returning these weeks of freedom it wrongly took from you 332 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,000 or of erasing the shock and heartbreak you've been forced to suffer. 333 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:14,000 We can only hope that it has not too deeply embittered you and hasn't totally destroyed your faith in the justice one customarily finds in our courtrooms. 334 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:22,000 There seems to be a limit to bitterness, Warden. I find that what I feel now is not a release from injustice, but a release from fear. 335 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:29,000 I know that he can never reach me again, even in my dreams. How can I be so sure of that? 336 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:34,000 Well, it's another of the things that can't be accounted for rationally about this case. 337 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:42,000 It leads one to wonder if some metaphysical force wasn't put to work in place of the erring machinery of justice. 338 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:47,000 Miss Blake, when you blinded Dr. Martin, you limited his vision to mental images. 339 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,000 And over the period of time that has lapsed since the day you received sentence, 340 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:56,000 it seems the doctor's mind would not free him from one particular visual experience. 341 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:04,000 He too suffered from a recurring dream, which, due to his impairment, was inflicted upon his waking as well as sleeping hours. 342 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,000 The dream, did he describe it? 343 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,000 Oh, he did, in detail. It seems that there was... 344 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:19,000 Slow, groping steps. I entered a narrow corridor. 345 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:27,000 With my hands, I felt that the walls were of a thick, impregnable cement. 346 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:37,000 The tap of my cane produced an echo that told me the corridor was one of interminable winding lengths. 347 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:43,000 I did not want to enter nor walk through it, yet it seemed that I was forced to. 348 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:51,000 And the walking, walking, seemed endless. I wanted to cry out, but could find no voice. 349 00:25:51,000 --> 00:26:01,000 I wanted to see a single light from a window or an open door to know that there was somewhere an end to the blackness. 350 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,000 But there was no light and no end. 351 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:13,000 I wanted to turn back, but there was no turning back and no end to my walking. 352 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:22,000 And although I had the feeling of being alone in this place, I knew that I was not alone and never would be. 353 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,000 And it was worse than being alone. 354 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:33,000 For though I could not see her, and though she did not touch nor speak to me, I knew she was there. 355 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,000 And for me, she would always be there. 356 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,000 Mary Blake, my accuser. 357 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:49,000 For she is the innocent and I am the guilty. 358 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:54,000 And for the innocent, there is always a freedom. 359 00:26:54,000 --> 00:27:04,000 And for the guilty, there is never an escape. 360 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:31,000 Suspense presented by Auto Light. Tonight's star, Miss Joan Bennett. 361 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:38,000 Hello, I just ran out and bought a Nolo Light stay full battery. Now do I get a pair of those wonderful suspenders? 362 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Well, Hap, you sway me. But let me sway, I mean say a word about the more than 400 products made by Auto Light for cars, trucks, planes and boats in 28 plants coast to coast. 363 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:54,000 These include complete electrical systems used as original equipment on many makes of America's finest cars. 364 00:27:54,000 --> 00:28:01,000 Spark plugs, batteries, generators, coils, distributors, electric windshield wipers, starting motors, bullseye sealed beam headlights. 365 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:07,000 All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly because they're a perfect team. 366 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,000 So friends, don't accept electrical parts supposed to be as good. 367 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:17,000 Ask for and insist on Auto Light original factory parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage or repair shop. 368 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:28,000 Remember from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light. 369 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:42,000 Next Thursday for suspense, our star will be Mr. John Lund. The play is called The Man in the Room. And it is, as we say, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. 370 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:47,000 That suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear and directed by Norman MacDonald. 371 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,000 Music for Suspense is composed by Lucian Morrowek and conducted by Lud Bluskin. 372 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:55,000 Statement of Mary Blake is an original play written for radio by Shirley Gordon. 373 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:00,000 Miss Joan Bennett will soon be seen in the MGM production, Father of the Bride. 374 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,000 In the coming weeks, you will hear such stars as Claire Trevor and Charles Boyer. 375 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:16,000 Don't forget, next Thursday same time, Auto Light will present Suspense starring John Lund. 376 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:25,000 You can buy Auto Light staple batteries, Auto Light resistor or regular spark plugs, Auto Light electrical parts at your neighborhood Auto Light dealers. Switch to Auto Light. Good night. 377 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:38,000 This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.