1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,440 And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 2 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,280 Tonight the story of a man who sets out to prove that he cannot be murdered, only to 3 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,840 find there was a slight error in his calculations. 4 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:29,920 So now, starring John Danaer, here is tonight's Suspense play, The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson. 5 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:47,840 My dear Dr. Mosher, forgive me if I dash this letter off rather hurriedly. 6 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,120 There are but a very few minutes remaining for me. 7 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:57,520 The few minutes between now and midnight. 8 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,640 You have always protested my fascination with the subject of death. 9 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:06,040 It irked you to hear me discuss the latest electrocution or hanging. 10 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:11,680 You alone, Mosher, will know how this fascination has led me to this terrible moment. 11 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,000 I should like you to have all the facts. 12 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,920 First of all, let me recall a conversation which we held here in my study a little over 13 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,960 a year ago. 14 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:24,240 Death and murder. 15 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:25,640 There you go again, Bronson. 16 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,120 Really, you're unhealthy. 17 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:28,120 No, no, no, no. 18 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:29,680 Now, now, wait, Mosher. 19 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,560 I've been studying the question for some time and I have concluded that there are five basic 20 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,760 checks which serve to restrain man from murdering his fellow man. 21 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:38,760 An interesting theory. 22 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,320 No, it's, it's more than a theory. 23 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:41,840 I can and I intend to prove it. 24 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:43,360 Oh, come on now, Bronson. 25 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:48,880 I shall select five men, each of whom I shall supply with a motive to commit a murder, greed, 26 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,560 revenge, jealousy, whatever. 27 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,800 I shall encourage each man to kill and then restrain him from the act by means of the 28 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:57,840 particular check which I'm testing. 29 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:04,160 You forget, of course, that a murderer requires a partner in crime, the victim, the man to 30 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:05,160 be killed. 31 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,080 Well, I shall supply one. 32 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:13,160 You will ask this victim to face five men, each standing to derive satisfaction or profit 33 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:14,520 from murdering him? 34 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:15,520 Correct. 35 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,760 And his only chance of survival being the validity of your theory of checks? 36 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:21,560 Yes, yes, yes, yes. 37 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:26,200 Do you seriously imagine you will persuade any man to have such utter confidence in your 38 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:27,200 reckonings? 39 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,160 There is one such man. 40 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:30,160 Who? 41 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:31,160 Myself. 42 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,680 Bronson, this is insane. 43 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:35,840 Why? 44 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,280 Why should I hesitate to risk high stakes on a sure thing? 45 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:40,280 But your life... 46 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,480 No, no, I tell you there's no danger involved whatsoever. 47 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,440 When will you begin your experiment? 48 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:52,000 Well, why don't we begin right now? 49 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,160 Mosher, I invite you to kill me. 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:56,160 What? 51 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,480 There's a revolver right here in my desk. 52 00:02:58,480 --> 00:02:59,480 I... 53 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,280 You're joking, Bronson. 54 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,800 I'm not. 55 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:08,480 What possible motive would I have for murdering you? 56 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:09,480 Motive? 57 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,720 Why, we're associated rather closely in our work. 58 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,680 You'll come naturally into my entire practice. 59 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,880 I'll put that in writing for you. 60 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:16,880 It's preposterous. 61 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:17,880 Oh. 62 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,080 Why won't you kill me, Mosher? 63 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:21,080 Why? 64 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:22,840 There are dozens of reasons. 65 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,520 In the first place, I'd go to the electric chair for it. 66 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:26,520 There, there. 67 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:27,520 There you are. 68 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,020 A perfect illustration of the first and most obvious check. 69 00:03:30,020 --> 00:03:35,640 Man refrains from killing because he himself will be killed by law. 70 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,560 All right, Bronson. 71 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,880 Maybe that proves your point, the first one at any rate. 72 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,160 But what about next time? 73 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,160 And the next? 74 00:03:46,160 --> 00:04:03,520 That, my dear doctor, remains to be seen. 75 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,880 And so, my dear doctor, you yourself illustrated the first of my five positive checks which 76 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,720 restrain man from murder, fear of the law. 77 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,200 Now, that was more than a year ago. 78 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,480 The remaining checks have not been so simple. 79 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,040 I had to locate my four subjects. 80 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,720 I had to cultivate the friendship of each so that when the time should come to confront 81 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,520 him with my proposition, I would be certain of how he would act. 82 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:33,400 Now, the first of my four potential murderers was a clerk named Tutton. 83 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:37,120 We frequently went to church together on Sunday evenings at St. Stephen's, right around the 84 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,480 corner of my apartment. 85 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:43,640 One Sunday evening after the service, I asked him at my apartment. 86 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,000 And as we walked along, we talked. 87 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,320 You know, Dr. Bronson, I was talking about you to my wife the other day before they took 88 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:52,320 her to the hospital. 89 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:53,320 Oh? 90 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,160 I was saying what a great comfort it was to be with you these Sunday nights. 91 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,160 Oh, now, come, Mr. Tutton, you embarrass me. 92 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,120 Oh, no, no, I mean it. 93 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:08,040 In the world today, too many people seem to feel that they no longer need their God. 94 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:13,200 Yes, yes, their lives seem to be void of the great thing you have in your faith. 95 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,160 And the church is a great comfort to me. 96 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:21,400 And I do need something to cling to in times like these. 97 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:23,240 Isn't this your apartment that we're passing? 98 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,480 Oh, I wonder about the side way. 99 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,480 We should be unobserved. 100 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:29,480 Unobserved? 101 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,480 Yes, yes. 102 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:47,280 Won't you step into the study, please? 103 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:49,280 Yes. 104 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:55,200 Now, if you will take this chair opposite my desk. 105 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,200 Thank you. 106 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,200 Good. 107 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,560 Now, Tutton, you could make rather good use of $5,000. 108 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,480 Now, couldn't you? 109 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:06,840 I beg your pardon. 110 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,120 No, I'm quite sincere. 111 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:13,320 You know what even $100 would mean to me with my wife in the hospital. 112 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:14,320 Exactly. 113 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:19,000 And so here in this desk, I have this little package containing $5,000. 114 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,480 Now, it's yours if you will do me one service. 115 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,600 What could I do for you that would be worth all that money? 116 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:27,920 Let me explain. 117 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:33,440 My doctor called on me yesterday and he told me, well, to be quite frank with you, Tutton, 118 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:37,200 he said that I was slowly going mad. 119 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,520 No, that couldn't be. 120 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:44,480 No, I'm quite all right at present, but it's only a matter of time and I'd rather not have 121 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:45,480 to face it. 122 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,920 And so if you will take these rubber gloves. 123 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:49,920 I don't understand. 124 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,520 Put them on, please. 125 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:52,520 But why? 126 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:57,080 Now, as soon as you have them on, I shall hand you this small bottle. 127 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,200 It contains cyanide potassium, one of the deadliest poisons known to man. 128 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:06,400 Now I hold it firmly thus and clearly impress my fingertips on it. 129 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:11,720 Finally, here on the desk, I'm leaving this note explaining that I have committed suicide. 130 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:12,720 Suicide? 131 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,920 Now, when the bottle is in your hand, I want you to remove the stopper and empty the contents 132 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:19,720 upon my outstretched tongue. 133 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:23,040 You see, I will be dead within a few seconds. 134 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,360 Then you may leave by the same way we came in. 135 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:30,320 You will be quite unnoticed and with $5,000 in your pocket. 136 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:31,760 What do you say? 137 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:37,120 Well, you can't take the matter of life and death into your own hands. 138 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:38,120 Precisely. 139 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:39,960 That's why I'm asking you to do this for me. 140 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,040 Well, I'm very sorry. 141 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:43,040 I can't oblige you. 142 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:44,640 Well, now, if it's the law, you feel... 143 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:46,560 No, no, no, it's not that. 144 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,760 You seem to have arranged that perfectly. 145 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,440 Then what is it? 146 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:59,360 If you don't understand why I can't do this monstrous thing, I suggest you look up the 147 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,840 Sixth Commandment. 148 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:10,320 Good night. 149 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:20,120 So, Mosher, my second point was proved. 150 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:28,160 No one refrains from killing because it is against his religious principles. 151 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:33,120 The hands of the clock now read 15 minutes to midnight, one quarter of an hour in which 152 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,080 to complete this report. 153 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:39,440 Now, my third proposition called for an entirely different sort of man. 154 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,200 One night I came upon him very unexpectedly. 155 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,840 I was walking along one of the darker streets of the city. 156 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,680 There was no one in view. 157 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:53,800 He was slumped down beside an ash can. 158 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,000 He had been shot in the chest and left arm, severing an artery. 159 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:58,160 He was bleeding profusely. 160 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:03,240 I tore off his shirt, made a tourniquet for his arm. 161 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:04,240 Never mind me. 162 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:05,240 Get away. 163 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,880 Now, who did this to you? 164 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:11,240 What difference does it make? 165 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:12,240 You're going to a hospital. 166 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,240 No, they'll call the cops. 167 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:15,240 There, there. 168 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:16,240 Now, come on. 169 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:17,240 I'll help you to your feet. 170 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:18,840 Come on. 171 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,080 No, thank God. 172 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:23,080 I'm a doctor, man. 173 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:24,440 You'll die if you're not treated quickly. 174 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:26,440 Go on, I tell you. 175 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,120 They'll call the cops. 176 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:32,760 I don't want no cops. 177 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,720 His name was Matt Doyle, a small-time hoodlum. 178 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,720 I visited Doyle in the hospital almost every day. 179 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,240 Several months later, I was ready to put him to the test. 180 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,180 I found Doyle in one of his hangouts and brought him to my apartment. 181 00:09:46,180 --> 00:09:50,480 And for the third time, I carefully explained my proposition. 182 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,400 Oh, that's the angle. 183 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,880 Here, here are the gloves. 184 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,840 Here is the suicide note and here is a.45 caliber automatic. 185 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,880 You're familiar with this type of weapon, I take it? 186 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:04,880 Familiar. 187 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:05,880 Yeah. 188 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:06,880 Is this on the level? 189 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:07,880 Absolutely. 190 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,640 And this water door is mine if I kill you? 191 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:12,640 That's right. 192 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:14,280 Nobody will know I've done it. 193 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:15,280 No one. 194 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:16,280 Yeah. 195 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,280 These gloves, they're kind of small for me. 196 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:21,280 That's all right. 197 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:22,280 They'll do. 198 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:23,280 Yeah. 199 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:24,280 You want me to put on the other one? 200 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,280 It's safer, yes, yes. 201 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:27,280 Yeah. 202 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:28,840 I guess it is. 203 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,880 Now, I want you to understand exactly what you're doing, Doyle. 204 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:38,280 Without any justifiable cause, merely for the sake of money, you are going to murder me. 205 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,040 Now, you understand that. 206 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:41,040 Yeah. 207 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,280 You've been hired to do this before. 208 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,680 Well, yeah. 209 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:49,280 But you've never killed a friend, have you? 210 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:50,280 Yeah. 211 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,280 Yeah, I have. 212 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,840 Anyway, they were my pals until they got in the boss's way. 213 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:04,200 But when the boss would say, see to a mat, then there was just another job to me. 214 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:09,120 Whatever the boss said was always right, you see. 215 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:12,280 But you, well, I don't know. 216 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:16,520 No, no, I can't do it. 217 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:17,520 But I thought you said that you... 218 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:18,520 No, here, here. 219 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:19,520 You take the gloves. 220 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:20,520 Are you afraid of the law? 221 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:21,520 No. 222 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:22,520 What's the matter then? 223 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:23,520 It's... 224 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,880 Well, the boss always told me what to do, you see. 225 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:34,560 And then afterwards, he'd always come around and slap me on the back and he'd say, good 226 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:36,960 boy, Matt. 227 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,440 But if I took care of you, well, you couldn't come around later to tell me that I'd done 228 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:41,440 a good job. 229 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,080 And you see, well, that's important to me. 230 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:46,440 Yes, but look, Kyle... 231 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,520 No, no, I'm sorry, Doc. 232 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,040 But if there's somebody else that you want me to take care of... 233 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,880 No, no, no, there's no one. 234 00:11:53,880 --> 00:12:00,040 Thank you just the same. 235 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,640 That was my third proposition. 236 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:08,380 Even a criminal of low intelligence, a professional killer, cannot bring himself to murder unless 237 00:12:08,380 --> 00:12:23,160 the act follows the code of his society, unless it is approved by some voice of authority. 238 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,320 My next subject was altogether different in temperament. 239 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:30,800 I first encountered Judith Ainsley about five years ago when I operated on Barrett Sheffield, 240 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:31,800 the actor. 241 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,920 You will recall that Sheffield was brought to the hospital with a lung abscess. 242 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:40,680 As I prepared to do the rib resection, I noticed that the nurse standing beside me was greatly 243 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:41,680 agitated. 244 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:42,680 Retract his doctor. 245 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:43,680 Thanks. 246 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:46,680 Doctor, do you think this is advisable? 247 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:47,680 What? 248 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:48,680 His dyspnea is more pronounced. 249 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:49,680 Listen. 250 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:50,680 Miss Ainsley, another hemostat, please. 251 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:51,680 But he's getting blue. 252 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:52,680 Doctor, do you think you really should? 253 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:53,680 He's cyanotic. 254 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:54,680 Miss Ainsley. 255 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:55,680 I'm sorry, Doctor, but if... 256 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:56,680 Doctor, Doctor, I'm sorry. 257 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:57,680 I'm sorry. 258 00:12:57,680 --> 00:12:58,680 I'm sorry. 259 00:12:58,680 --> 00:12:59,680 I'm sorry. 260 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:00,680 I'm sorry. 261 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:01,680 I'm sorry. 262 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:02,680 I'm sorry. 263 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:03,680 I'm sorry. 264 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:04,680 I'm sorry. 265 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:05,680 I'm sorry. 266 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:06,680 Doctor. 267 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:07,680 Catherine, quickly please. 268 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:08,680 Quickly! 269 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:13,020 Well, that's that. 270 00:13:13,020 --> 00:13:18,760 You killed him. 271 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:23,740 You killed him. 272 00:13:23,740 --> 00:13:35,280 You should never have gone ahead. 273 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:36,720 You know that, I warned you. 274 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:38,520 What does it matter with you, Ainsley? 275 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,880 Have you never seen a pulmonary before? 276 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:41,920 Yes, I have. 277 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,560 Well? 278 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:46,080 We were going to be married next week. 279 00:13:46,080 --> 00:14:02,280 If ever I saw hate, cold, undying hate, 280 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,600 it was in that girl's eyes. 281 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:11,240 I had made the most implacable enemy of my life. 282 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:13,600 A few months ago, I inquired about Miss Ainsley 283 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:15,600 and learned that she had done four years of medical 284 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,720 and was now interning in the hope of picking up a residency. 285 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:22,080 I went down to the hospital and sat in the doctor's lounge, 286 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,200 waited for her. 287 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,600 Presently, she came in with another intern. 288 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,480 I stood up, walked towards her. 289 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,040 Oh, I would say about three months ago. 290 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:33,120 Miss Ainsley. 291 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:33,480 Huh? 292 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:34,880 Could I speak with you, please? 293 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:35,640 Excuse me. 294 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:37,440 Of course, Doctor. 295 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,240 Doctor Ainsley, if you please. 296 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,640 Yes, Doctor. 297 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:44,440 I have a little proposition to make to you. 298 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,920 But first of all, there are two facts I'd like to be sure of. 299 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,080 A, you are unable to set up your own practice 300 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,720 because you don't have the money to get started now. 301 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:53,200 Is that right? 302 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:54,000 Perhaps. 303 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,360 Fact B, you still hate me and feel a strong desire 304 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:02,080 to be revenged for the wrong which you consider I have done you. 305 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,480 Yes, I'm afraid that's true, Doctor Bronson. 306 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:05,400 Good. 307 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:06,000 Good? 308 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:07,720 Yes. 309 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,480 You see, I want to pay someone to murder me. 310 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:19,200 So once again, I carefully and painstakingly 311 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,080 set forth my simple conditions. 312 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,480 I'm not sure that you're entirely sane, Doctor. 313 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:25,840 But go on, you interest me. 314 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,720 You see, it's my heart. 315 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,200 I've had considerable damage. 316 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,720 Coronary occlusion had to spend six weeks on my back. 317 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:34,040 Just got up last week. 318 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,440 So naturally, I was given digitalis and... 319 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,360 Oh, I see, Doctor. 320 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:40,920 You've been heavily digitalised. 321 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,760 And if someone were to give you an injection of calcium gluconate, 322 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,240 you would have an immediate heart block dead within a few minutes. 323 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:49,520 Exactly. 324 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,720 A simple error of judgement, unavoidable. 325 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,640 Five thousand dollars. 326 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:55,680 My own practice. 327 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:58,560 And I will say that I'm feeling badly again, 328 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,480 a recurrence of my pericardial pains. 329 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,320 I will go back to bed and ask that you be assigned to care for me. 330 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:06,520 And the rest is simple. 331 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:10,480 No one would ever expect you to know that I had been digitalised. 332 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,320 Still, if I were on my toes, I would naturally go via case history 333 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,280 before giving medication of any kind. 334 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,160 Well... 335 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,240 Yes, I suppose that's true. 336 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,600 Professional people might think you had been a little lax. 337 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,760 Doctor, I want to thank you. 338 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:28,560 You've done me a great service. 339 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,160 You mean you'll do it? 340 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,200 You've reminded me that nothing, 341 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,520 no money, no revenge, nothing, 342 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:41,680 can be worth the slightest shadow of suspicion in a doctor's career. 343 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,560 They'll never say that I lost a patient because of an error in judgement. 344 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:58,360 You see, I once knew a doctor who did. 345 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,120 There, Mosher, is my fourth check. 346 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,160 Man, or in this case, woman, 347 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:11,600 refrains from killing because of the fear of loss of reputation. 348 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,520 Now... 349 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:18,160 Now I come to the testing of my fifth subject, 350 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,520 man who would not murder because he couldn't bear the sight of blood, 351 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,160 much less the responsibility for shedding it. 352 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,560 Ladurn was my man, and I found him shortly after my search began. 353 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:37,440 On that day, I saw him turn a ghastly white as a fast-moving car, 354 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,120 ran over a small dog which had run into the street. 355 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,760 Ladurn clutched at his throat and fell in a dead faint. 356 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:48,840 Now I, of course, made it my business to become acquainted with him. 357 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,360 I hadn't seen him for more than four months until tonight. 358 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:56,320 As he took his place at my desk, I noticed he's changed. 359 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,640 He's thinner, his dark eyes seem blacker than ever. 360 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:07,920 And so now, for the fifth and last time, I explain the necessary details. 361 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,600 Uh-huh. So it will look like suicide. 362 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:15,440 Yes, that's right. Here is the knife and the suicide note. 363 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,720 You've arranged everything? Everything. 364 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,520 No-one knows I'm here? No-one. 365 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:24,440 You want me to kill you now? Yes. 366 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,720 Why do you want to die? 367 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,560 My doctor says that I am going insane. 368 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,920 That's strange. About going mad? 369 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,800 About him saying you're going mad. Oh, yes. 370 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,760 It was a shock. I don't mean that. 371 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:46,760 What do you mean? That's the same thing they told me. 372 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:52,080 They what? They told me over a year ago that I was going mad. 373 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:59,240 The sight of blood no longer troubles you? No. 374 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,360 Then there is no check. What check? 375 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:07,600 I mean, is it? No, nothing. Nothing. 376 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:11,960 Well, might as well get this over with. 377 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:16,280 Nice gloves you've got here. Nice and smooth on my hand. 378 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,160 Then you're going through with it? 379 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,840 I've got my gun right here, too. Beauty, isn't it? 380 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,240 Yes. Then if you'll give me back the knife... 381 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,400 No, no, I'll keep that. 382 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:34,760 I've used this gun a lot the past three months. Killed about 50 dogs. 383 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,320 You've done what? 384 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,800 It's very interesting. I do it after midnight. 385 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:45,400 It's fun watching the dogs. You have to know just where to hit them. 386 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,320 Kills them instantly. Yes, but the noise... 387 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:53,760 I have a silencer. I don't like to wake people up when I kill their dogs. 388 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:59,600 Now, look here, Lutern. This has gone far enough. 389 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,480 I was only joking. No, you weren't. 390 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,520 Now, listen to me. I was only joking. 391 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:07,720 Shall I do it now? No. 392 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,960 No, no, wait. You want it through the heart, don't you? 393 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,720 Not yet. Can't you wait? Just a little while. 394 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:21,680 What for? There's no use you're trying anything. I'd kill you quick. 395 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,680 Yes, I suppose you would. 396 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:27,920 Look, I have been conducting a little experiment. 397 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:33,960 I would like to write an account of it before I go. 398 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,880 What sort of an experiment? 399 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,200 I don't think you'd understand. 400 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:44,160 Okay, I'll wait till midnight. Then I've got to go. 401 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,640 There's a German police dog, a big ugly brute. 402 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,680 But I'll wait. Thanks. 403 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:54,520 The clock says 10 minutes past 11. 404 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,840 Yeah, you've got 50 minutes. 405 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:13,560 I'll wait by the window. 406 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:19,600 And so, Mosher, my experiment has ended. 407 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:21,680 Strange, isn't it? 408 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,200 The one thing I didn't count on was the choosing of a subject 409 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:30,920 who would not respond to my checks, who in fact had no checks at all, 410 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:36,680 for insanity knows no restraint. 411 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:41,560 Dr. Branson, it's midnight. 412 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:44,160 He is still at the window. 413 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:49,720 I know that I am beginning to understand exactly what is going on in his wicked mind. 414 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,480 I wonder why. 415 00:21:52,480 --> 00:22:00,160 Now I shall sign my name for the last time and lay down my pen. 416 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:05,040 Then I shall look up and say, 417 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:18,960 All right, Ladurn. 418 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:46,000 All right, Ladurn. 419 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,720 Suspense, in which John Dana starred as Dr. Branson. 420 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:57,120 Next week, the story of a man who learns far too late that in horse racing or life, 421 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:00,280 there is no such thing as a sure thing. 422 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,560 We call it the sure thing. 423 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:17,160 That's next week on Suspense. 424 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:21,240 Suspense is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald with music composed by Lucian Morawick 425 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,040 and conducted by Lud Bluskin. 426 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:27,440 The last letter of Dr. Branson was specially written for Suspense by Leonard St. Clair 427 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,400 from the story by Richard Crake. 428 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:35,520 Created in the cast were Harley Bear, Howard Culber, Paul Richards, Virginia Gregg and 429 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,120 James Nusser. 430 00:23:37,120 --> 00:24:04,520 You enjoy City Hospital every Saturday in the daytime on the CBS Radio Network.