Death by Proxy

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:19] Speaker B: Now for the best in mystery. Tonight on Masters of Mystery, an exciting melodrama entitled Death by Proxy. [00:00:31] Speaker C: Sure I can prove I'm Bart Lane. What are you getting at, Cobb? [00:00:35] Speaker A: Nothing much. Just that you're dead. Dead? That's right. Take a look at this. You, my friend, were buried in New Lawn Cemetery a year ago. [00:00:58] Speaker B: Good evening. This is Don Dowd, your host for Mystery Time again to introduce another in ABC Radio's great Monday through Friday lineup of mystery dramas. Every night at this time, a new and different story. Our drama tonight on Masters of Mystery, presented live from New York, is written by Jerry McGill. Listen now to the story of a man who confronted his wife with a ghost of the past himself. As Masters of Mystery brings you Death by proximity. [00:01:38] Speaker A: Death by proxy was plenty offbeat. It started in night court after Bart Lane got out of a disorderly conduct charge with a $50 fine and cost. He was a big, handsome guy, sunburned the color of copper. I was curious. I latched onto him and got him into a neighborhood bar. He had trouble. [00:01:59] Speaker D: Lots of [00:02:03] Speaker C: Jeff Cobb. So you're a newspaper guy? [00:02:06] Speaker A: Yeah. What's your line? [00:02:08] Speaker C: Mining engineer? Prospector? [00:02:11] Speaker A: What were you looking for in that apartment you crashed? [00:02:14] Speaker C: My wife. [00:02:16] Speaker A: Oh, so that's why you slugged the guy that opened the door. [00:02:19] Speaker C: No. He thought I was after his wife. He got nasty, and I lost my temper. The Amazon jungle makes you jumpy, huh? [00:02:26] Speaker A: How long were you there? [00:02:28] Speaker C: Five years. I got lost. [00:02:30] Speaker A: And you came back and expected to find your wife in the same apartment? [00:02:33] Speaker C: Yeah. It was foolish, considering we'd almost called it quits before I left for South America. But, you know, some women are like jungle fever. You never really get over it. It goes, but usually comes back. I gotta find her, find out if I'm cured. Let me buy a drink, pal. [00:02:51] Speaker A: Maybe I can help you find your wife. [00:02:54] Speaker C: Thanks. A bartender. Two more doubles. [00:02:57] Speaker B: Okay. [00:02:58] Speaker C: How can you help me, Jeff? [00:03:00] Speaker A: Well, it's a lot harder for people to get lost in the city than in the jungles of the Amazon. You leave her any money when you went prospecting? [00:03:10] Speaker C: 5,000 in joint savings and bonds. She closed the account and sold the bonds. [00:03:16] Speaker A: Any chance she could have used it to get a Mexican divorce? [00:03:18] Speaker C: Maybe. [00:03:20] Speaker A: And you still want to find her? [00:03:22] Speaker C: I was reported missing, probably dead. [00:03:24] Speaker A: But you want to find her. [00:03:26] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:03:27] Speaker A: Okay, Bart, we won't find her here. Skip the drinks. Let's go dig the morgue file and see what gives. I took Bart Lane to the News Leader office and left him in the reception room to cool his Heels. While I dug through the MOG File for a lead on his wife. I found it, all right, but with a twist that sent me out to the reception room for a fast double check on his story. [00:04:02] Speaker C: You find anything, Jeff? [00:04:03] Speaker A: Yeah, plenty, boss. [00:04:04] Speaker C: Where is she? [00:04:05] Speaker A: Well, first I want to know when you got back in the States. [00:04:09] Speaker C: Yesterday, by plane from Rio. Why? [00:04:11] Speaker A: Under what name? [00:04:12] Speaker C: My own name. Say, what is this? [00:04:15] Speaker A: Can you prove that you're Bart Lane, the mining engineer who was lost in the Amazon jungle five years ago? [00:04:21] Speaker B: Sure. [00:04:21] Speaker C: I can prove it by my passport. [00:04:22] Speaker A: All right, let's see it. [00:04:25] Speaker C: Picture doesn't look much like me anymore. Yeah, the jungle does things here. What's the big idea? [00:04:33] Speaker A: You're dead. Dead? Yeah, dead. Killed. [00:04:38] Speaker C: Oh, that. Sure. Missing and presumed dead in the jungle. Not many get out once they're lost. [00:04:43] Speaker A: No, no, I don't mean that. [00:04:44] Speaker C: What do you mean? [00:04:45] Speaker A: Here, look at this. Martin Lane, a mining engineer, only recently returned from South America, was instantly killed when his car went out of control on West T Highway. [00:04:56] Speaker C: That's impossible. I never came back. I don't own a car. [00:05:00] Speaker A: In spite of the fact that his body was partly destroyed by fire that followed the crash, the remains were positively identified by his widow, Mrs. Mildred Lane of 10 Highwood Avenue. [00:05:11] Speaker C: That's my wife's name. Mildred. [00:05:13] Speaker A: Then you are legally dead and buried in New Lawn Cemetery. [00:05:17] Speaker C: When did I die? [00:05:18] Speaker A: May 10, 1956. [00:05:20] Speaker C: About a year ago. [00:05:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Now, what goes? [00:05:23] Speaker C: I don't know, but I'm gonna find out. What was that address where Mildred was living? [00:05:28] Speaker A: Oh, now, wait a minute. Hold it. You're in a spot. [00:05:30] Speaker C: What do you mean, I'm in a spot? [00:05:31] Speaker A: Well, stop and think. Somebody was killed driving a car registered in your name, and your wife identified the body and buried it. [00:05:40] Speaker D: Why? [00:05:41] Speaker C: That's what I'm gonna find out. [00:05:42] Speaker A: Were you carrying any life insurance when you left five years ago? Yeah, 30,000. Who was the beneficiary? [00:05:49] Speaker C: Mildred, my wife. But the policies must have lapsed. [00:05:52] Speaker A: She could have kept up the payments. Couldn't wait seven years to have you declared legally dead. [00:05:57] Speaker C: Yeah, but who was in that car? Somebody was killed. [00:06:00] Speaker A: Ah, now you're getting it. If you're Bart Lane on a line, somebody else died for you by proxy, and it was probably murder. [00:06:10] Speaker C: It wasn't Mildred. She wouldn't have the nerve to try it. [00:06:13] Speaker A: Well, she may have had help. 30,000 would buy a lot of help. [00:06:17] Speaker C: I gotta find her, talk to her. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Yeah, and I'm going along for the interview. But you keep your shirt on. If you Don't. You're liable to trade it in for a sheet on a slab in the morgue. And I don't mean our newspaper file. I got my car out of the garage and drove Bart Lane over to the last known address of his wife. Number 10, Highwood Avenue. Turned out to be a fairly plush apartment building. I questioned the switchboard operator. [00:06:51] Speaker D: Well, I'm sorry, but there isn't anyone by the name of Mrs. Mildred Lane Living here. [00:06:55] Speaker A: How long have you been working here? [00:06:57] Speaker D: About six months. [00:06:58] Speaker A: Mildred Lane's husband was supposed to have been killed in an auto accident about a year ago. She gave this address when she claimed the body. [00:07:05] Speaker D: I heard about that from the girl who ran the switchboard before I took the job. [00:07:09] Speaker C: What did you hear? [00:07:10] Speaker D: Oh, just that her husband was killed right after he came back from South America. Been lost in the jungle or something. [00:07:15] Speaker A: That's the woman. What happened? Did she move out? [00:07:18] Speaker D: No, she's still here. [00:07:20] Speaker A: Well, under what name? [00:07:22] Speaker D: Well, I'm not supposed to give out information about our tenants. [00:07:26] Speaker A: How about making an exception to the rule and just giving us her new name? [00:07:30] Speaker D: Well, who are you, anyway? [00:07:32] Speaker A: Well, I'm a reporter following up the story of her husband's death. [00:07:35] Speaker D: Who's the other gentleman? [00:07:37] Speaker C: I'm Mildred Lane's dead husband. [00:07:39] Speaker D: Dead husband? Oh, you're joking. [00:07:42] Speaker A: No, he's not. Now, do you want to give us her new name, or do you want to tell the police [00:07:49] Speaker D: she's married again? [00:07:50] Speaker C: What's her husband's name, Mr. Dean. [00:07:52] Speaker D: Malcolm Dean. They live in the penthouse now. [00:07:55] Speaker A: What's his business? [00:07:56] Speaker D: He's a builder. He has a new development out on Sunset Heights. [00:07:59] Speaker C: Are they in now? [00:08:00] Speaker D: Well, Mr. Dean hasn't come in yet. But Mrs. Dean. I mean, your wife is. [00:08:05] Speaker A: Do you know when Dean moved into this building? [00:08:08] Speaker D: Oh, about two years ago, I think. [00:08:10] Speaker A: I see. Thanks. [00:08:16] Speaker C: Well, what do you make of it? [00:08:19] Speaker A: Oh, it could mean that your wife knew this Dean guy before you died. And it could also mean that he was in on your accidental death. [00:08:29] Speaker C: So what? [00:08:30] Speaker A: Well, that would mean that we're dealing with two murderers, not just one. [00:08:34] Speaker C: I don't give a hoot. I'm going up to her apartment. [00:08:37] Speaker A: Sure, sure. But just let's play this smart. Let's get some proof, then let the police handle it. [00:08:44] Speaker C: How? [00:08:44] Speaker A: Well, you go up there like these. The prodigal returning for the fatted calf. Like you didn't know that you're supposed to be dead. [00:08:52] Speaker C: What good will that do? [00:08:53] Speaker A: You might find out a lot of things. Try it. Keep your shirt on. See how she reacts, what she says, what she wants to do about it. [00:09:02] Speaker C: I don't know if I can carry it off. [00:09:04] Speaker A: Try it. You can always call the cops. And I'll be waiting right here. Well, okay, I'll try it. [00:09:29] Speaker D: Yes? What? [00:09:32] Speaker C: Hello, Mildred. [00:09:34] Speaker D: What? Is it really? You. You're supposed to be dead. [00:09:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I know. Lost in the jungle. [00:09:44] Speaker D: How did you find me? [00:09:46] Speaker C: Compared to getting out of the upper Amazon, it was a cinch. [00:09:50] Speaker D: When did you get back in the States? [00:09:52] Speaker C: Yesterday. Mildred, you don't seem very glad to see me. [00:09:57] Speaker D: I am. Believe me, I am. Bart, it's such a shock. I thought you were dead. [00:10:04] Speaker C: The report was exaggerated, as they say. Well, aren't you going to ask me in to your swank apartment? [00:10:11] Speaker D: Oh, yes, of course. Come in for a moment. But. [00:10:15] Speaker C: But what? [00:10:17] Speaker D: Bart, it's awful. I had to tell you. I'm married again. [00:10:24] Speaker C: So I gathered from a new name in this place. You did? All right. [00:10:28] Speaker D: Bart, I've got to talk to you, explain, but not here, not now. [00:10:32] Speaker C: Afraid of this new guy you married? Dean? Malcolm Dean? [00:10:35] Speaker D: No. But he's coming home in a while. [00:10:37] Speaker C: Good. I'd like to meet him. [00:10:38] Speaker D: No. Please, partner. Let me talk to him first, alone. [00:10:42] Speaker C: Why? [00:10:44] Speaker D: Well, explain to him. [00:10:46] Speaker C: It'll be the same gal. The same, Mildred. How much time until. [00:10:55] Speaker D: Until tomorrow. Where are you staying? [00:10:58] Speaker A: Nowhere. [00:10:59] Speaker C: I've been looking for you ever since I landed. [00:11:03] Speaker D: Do I still mean that much? Dupard. [00:11:06] Speaker C: What do you think, baby? [00:11:09] Speaker D: Bart, please, give me time. [00:11:12] Speaker C: Well. Well, this Dean guy must be pretty good. [00:11:16] Speaker D: Not like you, Bart. Older and different, but he's very kind. I don't want to hurt him. [00:11:23] Speaker C: You've changed, honey. [00:11:25] Speaker D: Bart, tell me, have you any money? I mean, enough to stay somewhere near here until I can settle things with Malcolm. [00:11:31] Speaker C: Yeah. I guess I can manage to live a few days. [00:11:35] Speaker D: Well, there's a motel down on the highway at the end of the street. Could you go there and wait till I phone you when? [00:11:45] Speaker C: Okay. Okay, Mildred. [00:11:48] Speaker D: Oh, you darling. [00:11:49] Speaker C: Let's save that. [00:11:50] Speaker D: All right, Bart. Tell me, do any of our old friends know that you're back? [00:11:58] Speaker C: Just you, honey. I wanted it to be a surprise. [00:12:03] Speaker D: I'm glad. Please go now, Bart. Please. I'll call you at the motel later tonight. [00:12:23] Speaker A: Okay, Bart. You're all set. I told the motel manager you're expecting an important call, and he'll switch it to this cabin. [00:12:31] Speaker C: Thanks, Jeff. I don't know that I want to go through with it. [00:12:35] Speaker A: Why not? [00:12:35] Speaker C: I don't know. It isn't the way I thought it was. Going to be? [00:12:39] Speaker A: Well, how did you think it was going to be? [00:12:41] Speaker C: I thought I'd want to get Mildred back at any price. [00:12:44] Speaker A: Or kill her. And how do you feel? [00:12:49] Speaker C: Sick. Tired. [00:12:51] Speaker D: Old. [00:12:53] Speaker C: Almost as if I were really dead. [00:12:54] Speaker A: Oh, come on, snap out of it. You can't stay dead all your life. [00:12:58] Speaker C: Why not? [00:12:59] Speaker A: Look, aren't you forgetting that you didn't just die a natural death? It looks like you were murdered for your insurance. It looks like your wife and this guy Dean are parlaying your money into a fortune. [00:13:11] Speaker C: I don't care about the money. [00:13:12] Speaker A: Well, then think about the guy. They must have killed to take your place. You owe him something. [00:13:16] Speaker C: And I owe you a story, don't I? [00:13:19] Speaker D: No. [00:13:19] Speaker A: There'll be a story no matter what you do. I know enough already to be certain a crime has been committed. Now, if you don't want to help, find out how and why I'm calling the cops. [00:13:31] Speaker C: Okay. You're right. Besides, I would like to know what Mildred's gonna do. [00:13:37] Speaker A: And I've got a pretty good notion. And I don't think we'll have long to wait. [00:13:57] Speaker B: Hello? Sunset Heights Development. [00:13:59] Speaker D: Malcolm. [00:14:01] Speaker B: Oh, hello, Mildred. [00:14:02] Speaker D: Why haven't you come home? [00:14:03] Speaker B: Well, I'm busy. I told you I'd be late. [00:14:05] Speaker D: You. You've got to come home right away. Something terrible has happened. [00:14:09] Speaker B: What? [00:14:09] Speaker D: I can't tell you over the phone, but I'm afraid to leave the apartment. [00:14:14] Speaker B: What's happened? [00:14:15] Speaker D: He. He's alive. He didn't die in the jungle. He's back here in the States. Found me somehow. Came here just a while ago. [00:14:26] Speaker B: Alone? [00:14:27] Speaker D: Yes. [00:14:28] Speaker B: Does he. Does he know about the accident? [00:14:32] Speaker D: He didn't act as if he did. [00:14:34] Speaker B: How long has he been back? [00:14:36] Speaker D: Only since yesterday. [00:14:37] Speaker B: Where is he now? [00:14:38] Speaker D: I persuaded him to give me a chance to talk to you first, alone. He'd gone to the Highway Motel and promised to wait until I called him later tonight. [00:14:46] Speaker C: Well, good girl. [00:14:46] Speaker B: Good girl. That was using your head. [00:14:48] Speaker D: What are we going to do? What did he find out about? [00:14:50] Speaker B: How did he act? What did he say? Does he want to meet me? [00:14:53] Speaker D: Yes, he wants to talk to you. He acted strange. Not at all surprised. I'm married again. [00:14:59] Speaker C: Good. Good. [00:15:00] Speaker B: That gives us time. A chance to do what? To sound him out, maybe buy him off. [00:15:06] Speaker D: He said he had money. He looked plastered. [00:15:08] Speaker B: Does he want you to get an annulment, go back to him? [00:15:11] Speaker D: No, he didn't say. I made him leave. Go to the motel until I could talk to. [00:15:16] Speaker B: Okay, okay. That was smart. Now, listen, you call him and get him to come up here to the development. Get your car out of the garage, Pick him up at the motel. Bring him up here to the office. [00:15:26] Speaker D: But what if he won't take money to go away? [00:15:29] Speaker B: Well, in that case, there'll have to be another accident. Now, you call him. No matter what you have to say or do, get him up here tonight. [00:15:51] Speaker A: There's your call, Bot. Take it. [00:15:53] Speaker C: Suppose she wants to come here? [00:15:55] Speaker A: Let her come. Listen to what she has to say. I'll get out. [00:16:01] Speaker C: Yes? [00:16:01] Speaker D: Are you Mr. Lane? [00:16:04] Speaker C: Yes. Who's calling? [00:16:05] Speaker D: I'm the girl in the switchboard at your wife's apartment building. [00:16:08] Speaker C: Oh, yes. [00:16:08] Speaker D: Look, I don't know if I should be telling you this, because I. I really shouldn't have been listening, but your wife called your husband her husband. I mean, her other husband. Mr. Dean, at his office. [00:16:19] Speaker C: All right, miss. Why did you call me Mrs. Dean? [00:16:23] Speaker D: I mean, your wife is going to call you. [00:16:24] Speaker C: Yes, I know that, but she's going [00:16:26] Speaker D: to get you to go up to the new development on Sunset Heights and meet Mr. Dean. [00:16:30] Speaker C: Good. But why are you calling and telling me this? [00:16:33] Speaker D: Because. Because I think if you don't take money to go away, they're going to kill you. [00:16:45] Speaker A: Once in Blue Moon, you run into a yarn that has more twists than the rope that hangs a lot of people who think they can get away with murder. When Bart Lane told me what the switchboard operator had passed on to him, I knew it was time to call in the long arm of the law. But before I could persuade Lane. [00:17:06] Speaker C: Never mind the cops. That'll be Mildred. Let me handle this my way. [00:17:09] Speaker A: Not a chance, Lane. If you go with Mildred, it's an even bet somebody will be killed. [00:17:14] Speaker C: Maybe. Hello? [00:17:17] Speaker D: Hello, boss. Listen, I've just talked to Malcolm at the office. [00:17:22] Speaker C: What did he say? [00:17:23] Speaker D: Well, naturally, it was a terrible shock. [00:17:26] Speaker C: How did he take the news I'm alive? [00:17:28] Speaker D: Oh, Bo, he's so kind, so understanding. [00:17:32] Speaker C: What's he going to do about it? [00:17:34] Speaker D: He wants to see you at his office, meet you and talk to you. [00:17:38] Speaker C: I'm willing. When? [00:17:40] Speaker D: I'll come for you in my car. Wait for me on the highway outside the motel. I'll be there in 10 minutes. [00:17:46] Speaker C: All right, Mildred. I'll be waiting. Ten minutes. [00:17:50] Speaker A: Okay, bot. You've made your date. Now let me make mine. [00:17:54] Speaker C: Who are you gonna call? [00:17:56] Speaker A: The homicide squad. Just in case Mildred and her new hubby decide to kill you. A second. [00:18:15] Speaker C: How much farther, Mildred? [00:18:16] Speaker D: Oh, it's just ahead in the woods along the ridge. [00:18:23] Speaker C: But what are you stopping for? [00:18:26] Speaker D: Boy, let's talk for a moment. [00:18:30] Speaker C: Why? What's there to talk about? You. [00:18:33] Speaker D: I. What really happened? [00:18:38] Speaker C: I got lost. Died, remember? [00:18:41] Speaker D: I. I mean, did you find what you went after? [00:18:45] Speaker C: You mean the gold? [00:18:46] Speaker D: Yes. Did you find any? [00:18:47] Speaker B: A little much. [00:18:49] Speaker C: Enough. But what do you care? You seem to have done pretty well. [00:18:52] Speaker D: Not really. Malcolm isn't rich. His real estate development is speculation. But that isn't what I'm getting at. [00:19:01] Speaker C: What are you getting at? [00:19:03] Speaker D: Oh, but, you know. Couldn't we try again? Go away out of the country, far away? [00:19:11] Speaker C: What about Malcolm? [00:19:12] Speaker D: I can handle him. He wouldn't dare say anything. We might even be able to get some money out of him. If you haven't enough. [00:19:24] Speaker C: You'd do anything for money, wouldn't you, Mildred? [00:19:27] Speaker D: But don't say that. I'm only thinking of you. Oh, how you must have suffered all these years. [00:19:33] Speaker C: Stop it, honey. You're breaking my heart. [00:19:35] Speaker D: Oh, part. Don't you believe me? [00:19:37] Speaker B: No, Mildred, he doesn't. [00:19:39] Speaker D: Malcolm. [00:19:40] Speaker B: Yes? I saw your headlights from the office. I saw you park here. In fact, I thought I'd come over and see how you two were getting on. [00:19:48] Speaker C: Great. I gather you got an earful. [00:19:50] Speaker B: Oh, yes. Yes, quite an earful. And don't bother to get out of the car. We're going on from here. [00:19:56] Speaker C: Where? [00:19:57] Speaker B: Well, I want to show you our new development. It's quite interesting. We have several excavations dug, all ready for the pouring of the concrete. One of them will make a very nice grave. [00:20:07] Speaker D: Malcolm, you said? [00:20:08] Speaker B: Yes. Too much has been said, my dear. Now start the motor. I'll get in the back of the car. [00:20:13] Speaker C: Wait a minute. What's the idea of the gun? Let's have it on the line. [00:20:16] Speaker B: It's really very simple, Lane. You're a dead man. You died in an automobile accident over a year ago. [00:20:25] Speaker C: Yeah, so I found out. [00:20:27] Speaker D: Malcolm, he knows. [00:20:29] Speaker C: I suspected as much. [00:20:31] Speaker B: I think he came here to blackmail us. Bleed us white as the price of silence. [00:20:36] Speaker C: Wrong, Dean. Dead wrong. [00:20:37] Speaker B: Well, it doesn't matter. [00:20:40] Speaker C: What about Mildred, our loving wife? [00:20:42] Speaker B: I haven't quite made up my mind, Malcolm. [00:20:45] Speaker D: I was only leading him on, trying to find out if he had any money. [00:20:48] Speaker B: Oh, well, now, that was greedy, Mildred. [00:20:50] Speaker C: Foolish. [00:20:51] Speaker B: But you've always been greedy, haven't you? Never quite satisfied with what you have. His insurance wasn't enough. [00:20:59] Speaker C: How? Well he knows you, my dear. And by the way, Mildred, who is the guy you identified who died in a car in my place? [00:21:08] Speaker B: Go ahead, tell him, Mildred. It doesn't matter. [00:21:10] Speaker D: You did it. You arranged it. Picked up that hitchhiker wrecked the car, burned the body. [00:21:16] Speaker C: Oh, so that's how it was done. [00:21:17] Speaker B: Yes. So now let's go over to the side of my first model house, shall we? Being built with your insurance. [00:21:26] Speaker A: Let's not. Dean, walk him. [00:21:27] Speaker D: Behind you. [00:21:28] Speaker A: That's right, Dean. Drop that gun. And without turning around. That was smart. I'd hate to have to shoot anybody in the back. You better get out of that car, Bart. You died in one last year, remember? [00:21:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:46] Speaker C: Thanks, Jeff. Where are the cops? [00:21:48] Speaker A: Oh, I thought they might be a little tardy, so I tagged along behind when you drove off with Mildred. They'll be here any minute. [00:21:55] Speaker D: God help me. Believe me, I didn't kill that hitchhiker. Malcolm did. He planned the whole thing from the very beginning. It was his idea. [00:22:03] Speaker B: It won't do, my dear. Murder isn't like your kind of marriage. We're in this together, Mildred. Until death do us part. This is Don Doubt Again, your host for Mystery Time. You have just heard Masters of Mystery live from New York. Tonight's play, Murder by Proxy, was written by Jerry McGill and produced by Clark Andrews in association with Ronald Dawson and Robert Arthur. Featured in tonight's drama were Everett Sloan, George Petri, Kathleen Cordell and Lyle Sudron. Next Wednesday and every Wednesday night, another presentation of Masters of Mystery. Tomorrow night, Mystery Time brings you Mystery classics, presenting Death Rides the Storm by John West. Be with us then, won't you? This is Don Dowd, your host for Mystery Time. See you tomorrow night. This program came to you live from New York. This is the ABC Radio Network.