1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers present Suspense. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:18,800 Tonight, Auto Light brings you Miss Claire Trevor in Angel Face, a suspense play produced 3 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:25,720 and edited by William Spear. 4 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,400 The flowers are blooming this spring. 5 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:33,440 Hey, you better save that for the bathtub, where consult a voice expert. 6 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,440 Seems to be an expert for everything these days, Wilcox. 7 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,160 Everything from voices to spark plugs. 8 00:00:39,160 --> 00:00:41,000 Take Auto Light spark plugs, for instance. 9 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,760 They're designed by Auto Light ignition engineers. 10 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:48,600 The men who engineer spark plugs, just as they engineer coils, distributors, wire, and 11 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,120 all the other important parts of the ignition system, work together as a perfect team. 12 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,080 Why the skill of these ignition engineers has made Auto Light spark plugs world famous 13 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:59,440 for their quality and dependability. 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:01,920 Ignition engineered Auto Light spark plugs, you might say. 15 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:02,920 Yes, sir. 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,760 And these same Auto Light engineers developed the famous Auto Light resistor spark plug, 17 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,680 one of the greatest advances in spark plug design for automotive use in the past 20 years. 18 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:13,280 Real experts, eh, Wilcox? 19 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:14,280 Right you are, Hap. 20 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:18,280 So friends, see your friendly Auto Light spark plug dealer tomorrow. 21 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,840 Have him replace worn out spark plugs with world famous ignition engineered Auto Light 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:23,840 spark plugs. 23 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,920 And whether you choose the resistor type or the regular type, you can't buy a better spark 24 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,440 plug for your car because you're always right with Auto Light. 25 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:39,400 And now with angel face and the performance of Claire Trevor, Auto Light hopes once again 26 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,400 to keep you in suspense. 27 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,400 Does that get that door? 28 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:48,400 Did he? 29 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:49,400 Wait a minute. 30 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:50,400 Wait a minute. 31 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,960 Wait a minute. 32 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:54,960 Wait a minute. 33 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:55,960 Wait, Madame, whom did you wish to see? 34 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,320 I see her already if you don't mind out of my way. 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:01:59,320 But Madame. 36 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,580 They've got a doorman downstairs in this building. 37 00:02:01,580 --> 00:02:05,280 You're supposed to get yourself announced, honey. 38 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:06,280 The name is Wheeler. 39 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,560 Does it mean anything to you? 40 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:09,680 Wheeler. 41 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:21,640 I had caught Ruby Rose Redding, the noted burlesque queen at breakfast time, hers not 42 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:25,240 mine, quarter to three in the afternoon. 43 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,840 Breakfast was a tomato and lettuce, untouched, and a glass of bromo salsa. 44 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:34,340 She banged her cigarette to death against an ashtray and looked me up and down like 45 00:02:34,340 --> 00:02:36,880 auditioning me for her chorus line. 46 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:37,880 Wheeler. 47 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:38,880 What's it supposed to mean? 48 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:39,880 Are you his mother? 49 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:45,280 I'm a little young for the part, but I'm the only one he's ever had. 50 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:46,760 Oh, now I get it. 51 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:48,320 The big sister act. 52 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,440 Okay, run through it once and get out of here. 53 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:52,440 Sure. 54 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,240 I don't mind coming right out with it in front of your maid if you don't. 55 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:56,240 Yeah. 56 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:57,240 Suzette. 57 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,240 Take Fufu around the block a couple of times. 58 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:02,240 Madame, I've seen him once already. 59 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:03,240 Well, take him again. 60 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:04,240 Maybe you can get him tomorrow already. 61 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:05,240 But Madame. 62 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:06,240 Get out of here. 63 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:07,240 Where's Madame? 64 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:09,240 Madame, come on, fool. 65 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,240 You're done with him. 66 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,480 Well, I'll give it to you short. 67 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:17,600 I want you to lay off my brother. 68 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:18,600 Your brother? 69 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:19,600 Now let's see. 70 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,600 What am I supposed to have done to him? 71 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:24,000 He's been spending money like wild. 72 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,080 Money that doesn't come out of his salary. 73 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:27,240 And another thing. 74 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,200 He started wearing a gun about two weeks after you started wearing him. 75 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,120 Did I teach him to shoot at two? 76 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,480 No, but I think some of your friends may have. 77 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:37,520 Oh, you've been reading the gossip columns. 78 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,520 Well, I read them too. 79 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,600 Some big gun from Philly is supposed to be paying my rent. 80 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:43,720 Forget it, honey. 81 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:44,720 That's my publicity. 82 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:48,240 Now will you get out of here and let me get my massage? 83 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:49,600 Look. 84 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,960 Give him a break, will you? 85 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:53,440 Pick on someone your own size. 86 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,000 Well, I'll bother. 87 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,040 Hey, I've heard of wives pulling this bit and even mothers. 88 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,520 And once in a picture it was the old man. 89 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:02,520 Now it's his sister. 90 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,520 Well send grandma around tomorrow. 91 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:07,520 I'll beat it. 92 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,520 I walked out past her. 93 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,520 If she'd touched me, I think I'd have murdered her. 94 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:27,520 Oh, it's this. 95 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:28,520 Where you been? 96 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:30,520 Oh, I went for a walk. 97 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:31,520 Why aren't you at work? 98 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,520 I quit my job. 99 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:35,520 You did? 100 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:39,520 Chick, you aren't going to Chicago with that dame, are you? 101 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:40,520 Why Chicago? 102 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:41,520 Well, it's in variety. 103 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,520 Ruby Rose is opening a club there. 104 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,520 It also says a big shot gangster from Philly is backing it. 105 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:48,520 Oh, what? 106 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:49,520 Well, does he know about you? 107 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,520 What are you trying to do, scare me off? 108 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:52,520 Oh, no. 109 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:53,520 You're such a big shot. 110 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:54,520 That wouldn't work. 111 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,520 All that about that guy. 112 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,520 That's nothing but publicity. 113 00:04:58,520 --> 00:04:59,520 Ruby told me all about it. 114 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:00,520 Oh, yeah, sure. 115 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,520 Oh, look, sis, you don't know her like I do. 116 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,520 Oh, Chick, I'm not going to let you get mixed up with this. 117 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:06,520 No, no cracks, Jerry. 118 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,520 Look, Ruby Rose Redding makes good money, all right, 119 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,520 but the rent on that plush line grap trap she lives in, 120 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,520 if you can call it living, is around $3,000 a month. 121 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,520 Now, somebody's paying those bills and... 122 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:18,520 Oh, nuts. 123 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:19,520 What do you really know about her? 124 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:20,520 More than you ever will. 125 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:21,520 Oh, please. 126 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:22,520 I'm in show business, too, you know. 127 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:23,520 All lay off, will you? 128 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:25,520 Chick, wait. Listen. 129 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:26,520 I heard enough. 130 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:27,520 Chick, please. 131 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,520 Get away from the door, Jerry. 132 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,520 I never raised a hand to you in my life, and I don't want to now. 133 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:33,520 I won't let you go, Chick. 134 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,520 Not for her, not for something that ought to be washed out of your hair with gasoline. 135 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:38,520 Get out of my way, Jerry. 136 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:39,520 Oh, don't go, Chick. 137 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,520 You're heading straight for the eight ball. 138 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:43,520 Chick. 139 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:44,520 Chick. 140 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,520 Don't go to her. 141 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:58,520 Dissolved two girls sitting at kitchen table playing very solitary solitaire 142 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:02,520 About four that morning, I was looking for an aspirin. 143 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,520 When the doorbell buzzed, Chick, I... 144 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,520 Chick, I... 145 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,520 You're Jerry Wheeler, aren't you? 146 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:16,520 He was nice. 147 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,520 I found out his name later. 148 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:20,520 Lieutenant Nick Burns. 149 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:26,520 The other one had a face like one of those cobblestones they dug out of Eighth Avenue when they tore up the trolley tracks. 150 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,520 Your brother. What time do you leave here this evening? 151 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,520 I really couldn't say. My clock's out of order. 152 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:38,520 Miss Wheeler, your brother was going to Chicago with Ruby Rose Redding, the dancer. You knew that, didn't you? 153 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,520 Oh, now why would he go anywhere with anyone with a name like that? 154 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,520 Your brother went to the Alcazar Apartments at 8.15 tonight and beat up this Redding dame. 155 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:48,520 What? 156 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,520 Then he put his two big thumbs on her throat and throttled her until she was dead. 157 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:59,520 You're just saying that. He's just saying that, isn't he? 158 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,520 That's the way it is, Angel Face. 159 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,520 Well, he didn't do it. Please, please, he didn't do it. 160 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:11,520 All right, I did know about him and Ruby Rose, but he couldn't have done that. 161 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:17,520 I've been on the squad eight years, Angel Face, and we never in all that time caught a guy as dead to rights as your brother. 162 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:22,520 He showed up with his valise in the foyer of the Alcazar at exactly 12 minutes past eight tonight. 163 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,520 He said to the doorman, what time is it that Miss Redding sent her baggage down yet? We've got to make a train. 164 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:32,520 Well, she had sent her baggage down and then she changed her mind. She had it all taken back upstairs again. 165 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,520 There's your motive right there. 166 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:36,520 Well, that doesn't prove anything. She might... 167 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:43,520 The doorman rang her apartment and said through the intercom, Mr. Wheeler's here, and she gave a dirty laugh and sang out, I can hardly wait. 168 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,520 I don't see that. So what? 169 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,520 So she was alive at 13 minutes past eight. The doorman went out for coffee at 815. 170 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,520 At 820, Ruby Rose asked the operator to give her the police. She was shrieking with fear. 171 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:59,520 At 832, I arrived. Your brother was crouched over, shaking her, and she was dead. 172 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,520 Oh, no. 173 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:05,520 There were two thumb prints on her neck as well as the marks of a big signet ring where she'd been pummeled. 174 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:11,520 The initial, W, for Wheeler. Is that a case or isn't it? 175 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,520 Was... was Chick wearing that ring when you arrested him? 176 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:21,520 No, but there's a ring mark on his right third finger where he got rid of a ring he'd been wearing a long time. 177 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,520 He pawned it. He needed money. 178 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,520 So thus he lost it. 179 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:34,520 Well, even if he did hit her, how do you know somebody else wasn't in that apartment just before Chick showed up? Where was that French maid of hers? 180 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:39,520 Discharged. Got her notice in two weeks' pay and left around six story checks. 181 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:40,520 Did Chick confess? 182 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:45,520 Oh, no, no. He was crouched over, shaking her, trying to restore her, he said. 183 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,520 All right. All right. I'll tell you everything. Write it down. 184 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:51,520 That's more like it. 185 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:57,520 I went there this afternoon and told her if she didn't lay off my brother, I'd kill her. 186 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:04,520 I came back home, found Chick packed up, ready to leave. I... I tried to stop him. He hit me. 187 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:09,520 Asked the neighbors. They heard his rowing. He struck me and I couldn't stand it. 188 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:18,520 I beat it up to her place in a taxi, got there first, went in the back way and... and gave her one last chance to leave him alone. 189 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:28,520 She wouldn't take it. She was all soft and... and squashy and I... I just grabbed her by the neck and pushed hard. 190 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,520 I've got big thumbs, too. 191 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,520 Mm-hmm. Got all that, Kohler? 192 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:36,520 Uh... yup. 193 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,520 Well, that about puts a lid on it. Let's go. 194 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:40,520 Yeah, let's. 195 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:41,520 Hey, wait a minute. 196 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,520 Yeah, Angel Faith? 197 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:44,520 Aren't you going to take me? 198 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:46,520 Who wants you? 199 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:53,520 Oh, you think this is one of those phony confessions? Well, maybe the newspapers won't think so and they'll be right. 200 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:57,520 Maybe you did do it at that. Maybe I'm underestimating you. 201 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:58,520 What was she wearing? 202 00:09:58,520 --> 00:09:59,520 Pajamas. 203 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:09,520 You're right. That was a good guess. See you later, Angel Faith. 204 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:15,520 The way he said it, I couldn't tell whether it was a threat or a promise. 205 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:33,520 I never saw him again until after the jury had found my brother guilty of murder in the first degree. 206 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:48,520 Auto Light is bringing you Miss Claire Trevor in Angel Face, tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 207 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:49,520 Harlow, speaking of experts... 208 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:56,520 Experts, did you say? That reminds me of Auto Light Ignition Engineers, the men who design and build complete ignition systems, 209 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,520 used as original factory equipment on many makes of America's finest cars. 210 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:08,520 They're ignition experts, so naturally they know how to build Auto Light spark plugs so they'll work as a perfect team with all the other important parts of the ignition system. 211 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:14,520 That means they know how to build into spark plugs the best in quick starting, smooth performance and gas mileage, Harlow. 212 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:25,520 Righto, and say it's the skill of these same Auto Light engineers that made possible the development of the Auto Light Resistor spark plug, one of the greatest advances in spark plug design for automotive use in the past 20 years. 213 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:26,520 Edgewise. 214 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:27,520 How's that again, Harlow? 215 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,520 I'm just trying to get a word in, Edgewise, Harlow. 216 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:39,520 Well, here's the last word, Hap. See your friendly Auto Light spark plug dealer tomorrow. Have him replace worn out spark plugs with Ignition Engineered Auto Light spark plugs. 217 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:45,520 Whether you choose the resistor type or the regular type, you'll be right, because you're always right with Auto Light. 218 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:54,520 And now Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage our star, Claire Trevor in Angel Face, a tale well calculated to keep you in... 219 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:59,520 Suspense! 220 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:05,520 I was coming out of the courtroom in a wet hen frame of mind and guess who had an umbrella? 221 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:06,520 Hello, Angel Face. 222 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:08,520 Get away from me, you butcher. 223 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,520 That girl feeling better already, huh? 224 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:11,520 Just keep out of my way. 225 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:13,520 Wait a minute, Angel Face. 226 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:14,520 Let go of me. 227 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,520 You need help, baby. I'm trying to give it to you. 228 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,520 All right. Tell me the name of the little man who wasn't there. 229 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:20,520 Wasn't where? 230 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:27,520 In that courtroom, standing trial for her murder in place of Chick. Can't you see it's got to be another... 231 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:29,520 Oh, what's the use of trying to sell you? 232 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:34,520 Oh, go on. Sell me. Convince me your brother didn't do it and I'm with you up to it. 233 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:36,520 Well, why did you wait till now to say that? 234 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,520 You didn't give me anything to go on. Nothing but that phony confession of yours. 235 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,520 Well, it was better than the purgid testimony of that doorman and that phony French maid. 236 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,520 And you, you sat up there with your face hanging out and put in your two cents worth. 237 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:53,520 Look, Angel Face, I was sent by my superiors in answer to the patrolman's call that night. 238 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,520 Question Chick and put him under arrest. Don't hold that against me. 239 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,520 Why do you care whether I hold it against you? 240 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:00,520 You really don't know? 241 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:01,520 No. 242 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,520 Look in the mirror sometime and find out. 243 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,520 Right then I decided to stop holding it against him that he was a detective. 244 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:22,520 I kind of liked the guy and maybe, just maybe he could find a way to help clear my brother. 245 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:27,520 And over a couple of Manhattans in a cheery little bar I told him so. 246 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:32,520 Uh-huh. Well, you got a planned Angel Face or are you going into it blind? 247 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:34,520 I think I'll start with that French maid. 248 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,520 Why her? She left two hours before the murder. That's level. 249 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:42,520 Yeah, maybe so, but she was greased plenty to soft pedal the one right name that belongs in this case. 250 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,520 She may not have been there, but she knew who to expect around. 251 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:50,520 She may even have tipped him that Ruby Rose was throwing him over for Chick. 252 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,520 But if she's been paid off enough to commit perjury, what makes you think she'll tell you anything? 253 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:56,520 I'll club it out of her if I have to. 254 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:01,520 One second, here. Try this first. Use a little intimidation with it. It may work. 255 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:07,520 A hundred and fifty bucks? Hey, aren't you married or anything? 256 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:15,520 Not yet, Angel Face. Now here's her address. Suzette LeBlanc, real name Susie White, 435 West 54. 257 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:29,520 The street had been roped off and there was a block party or something going on. 258 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:36,520 Anyway, it was noisy. I elbowed my way up the steps of 435 and found Susie White's name on the bell panel. 259 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:43,520 I broke my best fingernail on the button. No response. I pushed into the hall past the drunk falling out. 260 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:45,520 Oh, pardon me. 261 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:50,520 Then fought my way through the fumes to the stairway. Her door was standing open. 262 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,520 The lock was broken and the molding was a mess of splinters. 263 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,520 This was the point where the private eye always finds the dead body, but I didn't find anything. 264 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:08,520 Somebody had taken the room apart. I wondered if they had found what they were looking for. 265 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:14,520 When I hit the street again, the ugly-faced drunk I had passed coming in was standing by the front steps. 266 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:18,520 And there was a fresh wood splinter clinging to the elbow of his coat. 267 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:25,520 I remembered the splinters on the broken door upstairs. I stopped next to him and made like straightening my seams. 268 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,520 I looked good that way. Then I started walking. Fast. So did he. 269 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:36,520 I paused in some steps leading down to a basement apartment and waited for him. 270 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:38,520 Hello, beautiful. 271 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:40,520 Well, how are you? 272 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,520 Just fine. Is this your house? 273 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:44,520 Yes, indeed. 274 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:48,520 I'll buy a little drink, baby. You'll fight me in. 275 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:59,520 Sure. You go first. 276 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:04,520 He hit the unrailing with his head on the way down and the paving stones at the bottom to the rest. 277 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:09,520 It was right there in the first pocket I looked in behind his wallet. 278 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:14,520 A letter addressed to Ruby Rose Redding and postmarked Philadelphia. 279 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:25,520 Nick, here I am, over here. 280 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:31,520 Hello, angel face. I know, I know you didn't find her. I may as well tell you why. She doesn't live there anymore. 281 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:32,520 What? Nick? 282 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,520 They fished her body out of the Hudson about a half hour ago. 283 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:39,520 Oh. Well, what are you smart detectives calling it? Suicide? 284 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,520 It might as well. 285 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:45,520 Listen, she was being paid off to keep quiet about a certain friend of Ruby Rose's. 286 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:49,520 He must have decided he didn't dare leave any bets uncovered. 287 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,520 What certain friend, for instance? 288 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:56,520 This certain friend, for instance. 289 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,520 I watched his face as he read it. I knew every word of it by heart. 290 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,520 It said, Dear Ruby, I hear you've been running around with some punk. 291 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,520 I don't believe a word of it, but you better get rid of him before I hit town. 292 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:13,520 We'll be in New York Friday night. Milt. P.S. The Chicago deal is off. 293 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,520 I'm giving you featured spot at the Calcutta instead. 294 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,520 About that punk, drop him or I drop you. 295 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:27,520 Milt? So that's her missing name. Milt Meletus. Plays rough, too. Runs a Calcutta club. 296 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,520 And Friday night, Nick. The night she was killed. Meletus. 297 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,520 The initial on that ring could have been M as well as W. 298 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,520 I never thought of that. But Meletus spells real dough, baby. 299 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,520 Your brother wasn't even car-fair to Ruby Rose. 300 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,520 Oh, maybe she was scared of Meletus. And maybe she wanted out. 301 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,520 Could be. He could sell me, but I can convince easy from you, baby. 302 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:51,520 You're not selling it to the grand jury. 303 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:56,520 She had something on Meletus, and that's why he couldn't afford to lose control of her. 304 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:01,520 Well, what Ruby Rose Redding could squeeze out of a man, I can. 305 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:06,520 Yeah, what he squeezed out of her, he could also squeeze out of you. Namely, your breath. 306 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:09,520 Oh, yes, but I have a friend on the force. 307 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,520 Well, maybe Ruby Rose had a friend on the force, too. 308 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,520 Why do you say that? 309 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:16,520 If she didn't, it would be the only department she missed. 310 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:18,520 Well, what now? 311 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:31,520 Come and catch my act at the Calcutta Club. 312 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,520 Go on, lift them a little higher. Don't be coy. 313 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,520 Look, I sing and dance, and that's all. 314 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:37,520 Got any numbers with you? 315 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:42,520 Numbers? Look, what are we wasting time for? Let's meet the guy who does the hiring. 316 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,520 Hey, wait a minute. Mr. Meletus wants you. 317 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,520 Where? 318 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:48,520 She says she wants to meet you, Mr. Meletus. 319 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,520 Sure, why not? 320 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:52,520 Well, hello. 321 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:53,520 Hello yourself. 322 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,520 Oh, Mr. Meletus, you know, I've always wanted to work for you. 323 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:03,520 Oh, okay. We start in Calcutta tomorrow night. 324 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,520 Oh, thank you. 325 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:18,520 Buy yourself some up-to-date lyrics, get yourself a dress. Mack will tell you the kind I like. 326 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:22,520 The silver dress they put on me fit like a wet compress. 327 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,520 I wore it for two nights, and Milton Meletus sat at its table. 328 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:34,520 On the third night, after my last spot, after the orchestra had gone away, I got the message from Garcia. 329 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,520 Hello, baby. 330 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:39,520 Hello. 331 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:41,520 Angel face, huh? 332 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:47,520 Yeah, mm-hmm. My name is Faye Angel, so I call myself Angel Face. 333 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,520 Good, thanks. Sit down, Angel Face. 334 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:58,520 I gave him my warmest high-voltage smile and took out my compact. 335 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:04,520 I saw my eyes in the mirror, and in each iris there was a little electric chair with chicks strapped in it. 336 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,520 That made it a lot easier to keep the high voltage running through Milton Meletus. 337 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:14,520 He was good-looking in a swarthy, loose-lipped sort of way, nothing that tagged him as a gangster except his name 338 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:19,520 and a habit of keeping his right hand in his coat pocket all the time as if he were holding a gun. 339 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:23,520 We talked through the bottle of champagne, and he ordered another. 340 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:28,520 I kept smiling because somehow I had to get into his apartment. 341 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,520 We went back to what we'd been talking about, and I said, 342 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:37,520 Well, some night I might just feel like changing the scenery around me. 343 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:42,520 Yay! 344 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:48,520 Dissolve to girl entering the Meletus apartment on Park Avenue. 345 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:55,520 It was a duplex with a two-story living room and a bedroom opening off a balcony. 346 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:00,520 I decided to start at the top and work down in case I needed to get out of there fast. 347 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,520 I gave his bedroom the suspicious wife treatment. 348 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:09,520 In the night table I found the nine letters to Ruby Rose and a bunch of treasury certificates, 349 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,520 the kind doctors have to make out to get narcotics. 350 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:20,520 In a box containing studs, cufflinks, and 132 caliber bullet, I found what I was really looking for 351 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:30,520 and never really expected to find, a signet ring with the initial M on it. 352 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:32,520 And I got the bell, I thought, fast. 353 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,520 If Meletus was out of town, everybody who knew his private number would know better than to ring it. 354 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,520 If he was checking up on me, I had nothing to lose, so... 355 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:42,520 Hello? Angel Face? 356 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,520 Oh, Nick. Oh, what a scare you gave me. 357 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:49,520 Listen, I've got all I need, some dope certificates, the rest of the letters, 358 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:53,520 and best of all, a signet ring with his initial. How am I doing? 359 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:55,520 Not so good. Meletus just got back. 360 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,520 Sore as the devil, over a phony wire somebody sent her would decoy him out of town. 361 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,520 Well, that was me. Only I thought he'd stay overnight at least. 362 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:04,520 How did you know I was here? 363 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,520 Angel Face, did you really think I'd let you go into this alone? 364 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,520 I'm downstairs now. I've been watching every minute. 365 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,520 Oh, I wish I'd known. I wouldn't have been so scared. 366 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:15,520 He ought to be scared. He left the club five minutes ago. Must be half. 367 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:16,520 Oh, all right, Nick. 368 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:18,520 Now, look, Angel Face, if you... 369 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:20,520 Nick, someone just came in. 370 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,520 Take it easy, baby. Sergeant Colleen, I'll be right up. 371 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,520 I went out onto the balcony that overlooked the living room. 372 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,520 Meletus was there. He looked surprised and pleased when he saw me. 373 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:40,520 Then the man with him looked up and I... I nearly plunged over the rail. 374 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,520 It was Ugly Face, the masher I had kicked down the flight of stairs. 375 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,520 Meletus turned to him. 376 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:48,520 Get up, Rockall. Can't you see I have company? 377 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,520 Wait a minute, that's her. The dame I was telling you about. 378 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,520 Don't be calling my lady friend dame. 379 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,520 I'm trying to tell you, Mel. 380 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,520 Come here, Angel Face. Come on down. Don't be scared. 381 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:03,520 Oh, sure, Mel. Why should I be afraid of you? 382 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,520 At last, huh? Finally, you wanted a change of scenery. 383 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:08,520 Hey, look, boss. 384 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:10,520 Get out, Rockall. 385 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:11,520 Yeah, but... 386 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:12,520 Get out! 387 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,520 Okay, Mel. It's your party. 388 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,520 Come here, Angel Face. 389 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,520 Now, now, now, wait a minute. 390 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:21,520 What for? 391 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:26,520 Well, a girl likes some soft lights and a little sweet music, you know. 392 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:31,520 Okay, I'll go mix us a drink. 393 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:41,520 He came back from the bar on tiptoe with a drink, looking like a cat stalking a bowl of cream. 394 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:46,520 I threw up my first line of defense. I picked up my purse and made like making up my face. 395 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:48,520 Well, honey, what's the big idea? 396 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:49,520 I'm just putting on my face. 397 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,520 Oh, you don't need it. 398 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:53,520 My purse. 399 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:54,520 Leave it there. 400 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,520 Oh, I will not. Those are my things. You haven't any right... 401 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:58,520 Hey, hey, hey, what's that? 402 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,520 Just things of mine, some letters. 403 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:01,520 Let me see, though. 404 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:02,520 No! 405 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:03,520 Let me see. 406 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:08,520 Oh, ho, ho. What else did you lift out of my room? 407 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,520 I... I was jealous. Her letters. 408 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:12,520 Sit down. 409 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:19,520 You are plenty jealous. Jealous of the whole United States Treasury. 410 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:21,520 Mel! Mel! Open up! 411 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,520 Stay where you are. 412 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:25,520 What's up, Rocko? 413 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,520 I tried to tell you about the dame she's trying to frame you. She's Wheeler's sister. 414 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:30,520 You weren't at the trial. You weren't filled. 415 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,520 Shut up about Wheeler. What's got you so excited? 416 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,520 There's cops all around the building. Two detectives coming up. 417 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,520 Okay, Rocko. Cheap little... 418 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,520 I'll fix you. Even if they get me, I'll fix you. 419 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,520 You're wrong, Milt. I took those things because I knew they were coming here. I did it for you. 420 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:46,520 Oh, for me, she says. 421 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:51,520 No! No! 422 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:02,520 I looked up at Meletus. There was blood running down the part of his hair. 423 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:07,520 He dropped down to his knees beside me like he wanted to apologize, but he didn't say anything. 424 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:11,520 Then he fell over on his side and didn't get up anymore. 425 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:17,520 His right hand, the one he always held in his coat pocket, was grabbing at the rug. 426 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,520 There wasn't any thumb on it. 427 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:24,520 And there'd been two big thumb marks on Ruby's throat. 428 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:34,520 Hey, that wasn't necessary, Nick. You didn't have to kill him. 429 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:36,520 He let go of her when we came in. 430 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:43,520 I know I shouldn't have, but he had that right hand in his pocket always. I thought he had a gun in there. 431 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:48,520 Anyway, I saved the state some money. You got that stuff, Angel Face? 432 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:50,520 It's over there in my purse. 433 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:51,520 Good. 434 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:59,520 Nick, Ruby Rose was throttled by a man with big hands. Two big thumb marks on her neck. 435 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:03,520 Look at Meletus. No right thumb. 436 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,520 Yeah, that's bad, Angel Face. I... 437 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:07,520 Nick. 438 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,520 What? 439 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:14,520 This ring here. Isn't this your fraternity ring? 440 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,520 Don't move, Nick. 441 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:22,520 Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is. Do we have to mention all this, Coley? 442 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:34,520 Yeah, Nick. I think we'd better. 443 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:36,520 So that's about it, Captain. 444 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:42,520 Uh-huh. And as you know, sir, Nick met Ruby Rose while he was doing undercover work on Milton Meletus. 445 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,520 Yeah, but I didn't know he'd gone on seeing her after he left the assignment. 446 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:48,520 I guess nobody did, except me. 447 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,520 Yes, and Sergeant Coley clinched the whole thing with that ring. 448 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:57,520 Well, Miss Wheeler, the ring clinched the case, all right, but not against Meletus. 449 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:03,520 An M upside down, see, is a W. But an M sideways is a Greek letter. 450 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,520 And Nick planted it in Meletus' apartment for me to find, huh? It was Nick's fraternity ring. 451 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:09,520 Yeah, that's right. 452 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:14,520 He was probably afraid you were digging too deep to find the real killer, so he killed Meletus to make you drop the case. 453 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,520 Oh, his plan might have worked without Coley here. 454 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:23,520 Well, Miss Wheeler, this isn't exactly good news, but thank you for filling in some of the blanks. 455 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:24,520 Oh, Captain. 456 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:25,520 Yeah? 457 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,520 When will Chick be free? 458 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:33,520 It takes a little time, but he'll be home. I guess he learned about women the hard way, huh? 459 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:54,520 Oh, he hasn't learned anything yet. That kid brother of mine, just wait till I get him home. 460 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:59,520 Suspense presented by Auto Light. Tonight's star, Miss Claire Trevor. 461 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,520 Carlo the expert, Wilcox the bright, never will desert the cause. 462 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:11,520 The cause of Auto Light. Because, folks, Auto Light makes more than 400 products for cars, trucks, planes, and boats in 28 plants coast to coast. 463 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:17,520 These include complete electrical systems used as original equipment on money-makes of America's finest cars. 464 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:23,520 Generators, coils, voltage regulators, wire and cable starting motors, electric windshield wipers. 465 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:28,520 All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly, because they're a perfect team. 466 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:40,520 So, friends, if your Auto Light equipped car needs replacement parts, ask for and insist on Auto Light Original Factory Parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage, or repair shop. 467 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:49,520 Remember, you're always right with Auto Light. 468 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:56,520 Next Thursday for Suspense, our star will be Dennis O'Keefe. The play is called Very Much Like a Nightmare, and it is, as we say, 469 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:04,520 a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. 470 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:09,520 Tonight's Suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear and directed by Norman MacDonald. 471 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:14,520 Music for Suspense is composed by Lucian Morrowek and conducted by Lud Bluskin. 472 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:18,520 Angel Face is an original play written for radio by Cornell Woolrich. 473 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:23,520 Claire Trevor may currently be seen co-starred with Fred McMurray in Borderline. 474 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:28,520 In the coming weeks, you will hear such stars as Charles Boyer, Edward G. Robinson, and Jack Carson. 475 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:41,520 Don't forget, next Thursday same time, Auto Light will present Suspense, starring Dennis O'Keefe. 476 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:49,520 You can buy world-famous Auto Light resistor or regular spark plugs, Auto Light staple batteries, Auto Light electrical parts at your neighborhood Auto Light dealers. 477 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:51,520 Switch to Auto Light. Good night. 478 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,520 This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.