Episode 397: The Big Thank You

[00:00:16] Speaker A: The mysterious old radio listening society podcast. [00:00:27] Speaker B: Welcome to the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society, a podcast dedicated to suspension events, crime and horror stories from the golden age of radio. I'm Eric. [00:00:35] Speaker C: I'm Tim. [00:00:36] Speaker D: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:37] Speaker C: We love mysterious old time radio stories, but do they stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out. [00:00:41] Speaker D: This week we present the Big thank you from Dragnet, an episode selected by our Patreon Supporter, Jack In 1948, actor. [00:00:51] Speaker B: Jack Webb appeared in He Walked by Night, a film noir police procedural directed by Alfred L. Worker. While on set was Webb struck up a friendship with the film's technical advisor, police detective Marty Wynn. Webb was fascinated by Wynn's tales of authentic police cases and believed the public would find these stories compelling too. [00:01:11] Speaker C: Dragnet premiered on NBC radio on June 8, 1949. Although the scripts were ostensibly based on actual cases, Joe Friday was pure fiction. Webb imbued the Los Angeles police sergeant with a stoic charm, delivering his lines in a clipped, matter of fact tone. No matter the situation, Friday's catchphrase just the facts, ma'. Am came to embody the program's mission to present the unvarnished truth of police work, at least as Jack Webb saw. [00:01:35] Speaker D: It over the course of the program. Friday had many partners, but his first was Ben Romero, played by veteran radio actor Barton Yarborough. OTR fans will recognize Yarborough as the voice of Doc Long in I Love a Mystery, as well as Clifford Barber in Carlton E. Morse's long running soap opera, One Man's Family. [00:01:55] Speaker B: Today's production is loosely based on the real life case of Louise Pete, who was arrested and convicted of a series of crimes similar to those depicted in Dragnet's version of events, but also dissimilar in significant ways. We'll discuss this in more detail after we've listened to the big thank you. First broadcast March 9, 1950 it's late. [00:02:17] Speaker C: At night and a chill has set in. You're alone and the only light you see is coming from an antique radio. Listen to the sounds coming from the speaker. Listen to the music and listen. Listen to the voices. [00:02:35] Speaker A: The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima Cigarettes. Best of all, Long Cigarettes brings you Dragnet. [00:02:59] Speaker A: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A confessed murderess is paroled from the state prison for Women. After seven months, the parole office loses contact with her. Your job. Find her. [00:03:18] Speaker A: If you want a long cigarette. Smoke the best of all long Cigarettes smoke king size Fatima. Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos superbly blended to make Fatima extra mild. And that's why Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. So enjoy Fatima the best of all long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. [00:03:56] Speaker E: It'S wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. [00:04:05] Speaker A: Dragmet the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case. From official police files, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. [00:04:29] Speaker F: It was Thursday, March 9th. It was foggy in Los Angeles. We were working a day watch out of homicide detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of detectives. My name's Friday. We're on our way back from the State Building, and it was 2:45pm when we got to the City Hall. Room 29. Handwriting analysis. [00:04:51] Speaker F: Want to have a seat, Fred? [00:04:52] Speaker A: Okay, thanks. I'll see if Don's around. Maybe in the back room. [00:04:55] Speaker F: All right. [00:04:56] Speaker A: Don Meyer. Don, you here? Yeah. [00:04:59] Speaker B: Come in. [00:04:59] Speaker A: Just a minute. [00:05:02] Speaker A: Oh, hi, Ben. Got a quick job for you, Don. Can you spare a few minutes? Thanks. So, Hi, Joe. Didn't see you. [00:05:08] Speaker F: Like to have you meet Fred Galloway, state parole. Fred, this is Don Myers, our handwriting man. [00:05:14] Speaker F: Got a couple of signatures here. I'd like to have you check them now if you can. [00:05:17] Speaker A: No, I can try. Let's see what you got. [00:05:19] Speaker F: You want to show them, Fred? [00:05:20] Speaker A: Yeah. These three sheets here, Don, Mark, November, December, January. I'd like to know if the signatures on them compare with the signatures on these two here. They're marked February and March. Let me see. Thanks. Mm. [00:05:35] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:05:36] Speaker A: Well, this shouldn't take long. Why don't you fellas have a seat? Okay. [00:05:40] Speaker F: How's this thing shape up, Fred? You figure that the Johnson woman's jumped her parole? [00:05:43] Speaker A: Got me. I don't know what to think. How long's it been since you got out of bread? Well, let me check you out on the details. I got the dope right here. [00:05:50] Speaker F: Fine, fine. [00:05:51] Speaker A: Annie Marie Johnson. She was sent up for A life term 1933. Murdered her husband John. Shot him to death. Started appealing for parole 1940. Finally won it May 14th last year. Paroled into the custody of Mrs. Laura Jean Muller. [00:06:06] Speaker F: Where does this Mrs. Muller live? [00:06:07] Speaker A: On Wilmington. Old friend of The Johnson woman. She fought for 10 years to get her released from Tehachapi. Have you been in touch with Mrs. Muller lately, Fred? Only by mail. We've been sending her monthly report forms all along. She's the person that Annie Johnson was paroled to. So the form has to be filled out, then signed by Mrs. Muller and mailed back to me. [00:06:24] Speaker F: Yeah, I know. And that's where you figured that something was wrong. [00:06:26] Speaker A: We got the February and March reports back from her on time. All the usual questions answered properly. And it was the signature writing. Didn't look like Mrs. Muller's at all. You think the Johnson woman is faking the signature? Maybe. Tried to contact the Mueller house half a dozen times past couple of days. Nobody home. There you go, man. You got it? Yeah. Let me see. These three here. November, December, January. They were signed by the same person. Yeah. Signatures on the February and March reports. They're pretty bad imitations. One person signed these two, another person signed these. No match at all. Well, then the signatures on the last two reports were forged. I'd say so. She went up for murder. That's your department. You want to run it down? [00:07:07] Speaker F: Sure. [00:07:08] Speaker A: What's it add up to? Could be a lot of things. Could be nothing. [00:07:11] Speaker F: Annie Johnson ought to know. [00:07:15] Speaker F: Ben and I checked out of the office and drove down to Wilmington. We located the home of Mr. And Mrs. Joseph Muller. On Seaboard Drive just off Anaheim Street. Was an old fashioned two story house set back on a big corner lot along with plenty of shrubbery. It was a faded gray with lots of Victorian gingerbread hung all over it. Fancy carved gables. Carriage driveway with hitching posts and pieces of thick colored glass set in some kind of a design in the window of the front door. Out in the harbor beyond Terminal Islands, you could hear the foghorns. [00:07:51] Speaker A: They sure get the fog out here, don't they? [00:07:53] Speaker F: It's pretty thick today. My aunt used to live just above here. Grand Avenue. Oh. Couldn't take the fog, so she moved out. [00:08:00] Speaker A: The valley garden could stand some taken care of. [00:08:04] Speaker F: Yeah, Weeds are doing fine. [00:08:10] Speaker F: Want to try it again? [00:08:16] Speaker A: What do you think? [00:08:17] Speaker F: Let's try the neighbors, huh? [00:08:19] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:08:19] Speaker F: All right. [00:08:21] Speaker A: That house across the street. Must be somebody there. I saw a woman shaking a dust mop out the window when we drove up. [00:08:27] Speaker F: All right. Kind of a bleak looking spot up here on the hill, isn't it? Not many houses around. [00:08:33] Speaker A: Yeah, and this fog's doing nothing for me. Chills you right down to the bone. [00:08:41] Speaker F: What's the name on the mailbox here? [00:08:42] Speaker A: Let's see. [00:08:45] Speaker A: Miss Flora Carpenter. [00:08:47] Speaker F: Well, maybe she can tell us something. [00:08:58] Speaker E: Are you the sewing machine man? [00:09:00] Speaker F: No, ma'. [00:09:01] Speaker E: Am. [00:09:01] Speaker F: We're police officers. Like to ask you a few questions. [00:09:03] Speaker E: Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you came about my finger. [00:09:07] Speaker F: No, ma'. [00:09:07] Speaker E: Am, I can't do any more work on my peasant skirt until the machine is fixed. And it has to be done by Saturday. Our folk dancing group's having a big jamboree Saturday night. We step inside. [00:09:19] Speaker F: Thank you. This is Sergeant Romero. My name's Friday. [00:09:22] Speaker E: How do you do. [00:09:25] Speaker E: Folks? So refreshing, isn't it? Very vitalizing. [00:09:29] Speaker A: Yes, ma'. Am. [00:09:30] Speaker F: Are you acquainted with Mr. And Mrs. Muller across the street, Miss Carpenter? [00:09:34] Speaker E: The Muellers. Yes. I've known them for years. [00:09:37] Speaker F: And they have an Annie Johnson living with them? [00:09:40] Speaker E: Yes, one of my very good friends. [00:09:42] Speaker A: She's employed as a housemaid for the Mullers. Is that right? [00:09:45] Speaker E: Well, I guess you could call it that. Actually, she's more of a companion than Mrs. Mueller. Since poor Mr. Mueller got sick. [00:09:53] Speaker F: What's his trouble? [00:09:55] Speaker E: His mind. Poor man just lost his senses. He's at the state hospital at Norwalk. [00:10:03] Speaker F: When did they send him there? [00:10:05] Speaker E: Let me see. This is March. Must have been last November. [00:10:11] Speaker A: Yes. [00:10:11] Speaker E: Became violent. [00:10:13] Speaker F: Do you know where Mrs. Muller is now? [00:10:15] Speaker E: In the sanitarium out near Pasadena. Not well at all. [00:10:19] Speaker A: And Annie Johnson, is she still living at Muller's house across the street? [00:10:23] Speaker E: Oh, yes. She went downtown to do some shopping today. [00:10:27] Speaker F: Did she say when she'd be back? [00:10:28] Speaker E: No, she didn't. But we have a meeting of our book appreciation club at 8:30 tonight here at my house. And I certainly don't think she'd miss the meeting. [00:10:37] Speaker A: I see. Miss Carpenter, do you happen to know the name of the sanitarium where Ms. Muller stays? [00:10:42] Speaker E: Garways. That's what Annie told me. Garaway's Rest Home out by Pasadena. [00:10:50] Speaker F: Have any of the neighbors been out to visit her? [00:10:52] Speaker E: Well, no, we haven't. And you said the duck thought it'd be better if Mrs. Muller didn't have visitors. [00:10:59] Speaker F: I see. Wonder if you'd tell us where we could find a public telephone in the neighborhood? [00:11:03] Speaker E: You can use my phone. Sergeant's right back there in the hall. [00:11:07] Speaker F: Fine. Thank you. [00:11:08] Speaker A: I'll call them, Joe. I'll have the operator charge it to our office. [00:11:11] Speaker E: You sure you can find your way back there, Sergeant? It's right under General Pershing's picture. [00:11:18] Speaker D: Yes, ma'. [00:11:18] Speaker A: Am. [00:11:18] Speaker C: No trouble. [00:11:21] Speaker E: I was just thinking, Sergeant Friday. [00:11:24] Speaker F: Yes, ma'? [00:11:25] Speaker D: Am? [00:11:25] Speaker E: Would you know anything about repairing sewing machines? [00:11:29] Speaker F: No, I'm afraid not. [00:11:30] Speaker E: Oh. [00:11:33] Speaker E: Fluffy, there you are. This is Anna Johnson's cat, Sergeant. Isn't he simply gorgeous? Look at that fur. [00:11:43] Speaker F: Yes, ma'. Am. [00:11:44] Speaker E: Genuine curses. And they brought him with her when she came to live with the mule. [00:11:50] Speaker F: Did Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Muller always seem to get along fairly well together? To you, I mean, no arguments? [00:11:55] Speaker E: Oh, my, no. Anna's the easiest person in the world to get along with. All us girls in the neighborhood just adore her. [00:12:04] Speaker F: Now, Joe, did you talk to Sanitarium? [00:12:06] Speaker A: Yeah, I double checked the name. Yeah, Mrs. Muller's not there. They never heard of her. [00:12:13] Speaker F: Ben and I left and interviewed some of the other people in the neighborhood. They all had the same high opinion of annie Johnson as Miss Carpenter did. They all had the impression that Mrs. Muller was under doctor's care at the Garraway Rest Home in Pasadena. Annie Johnson told them so. We found out that Mrs. Muller had one other living relative besides her husband. A niece, Lorraine Muller. She lived out on Norwich Drive in Beverly Hills. 5:30pm Ben and I drove back to the office and made a spot check of every private rest home and sanitarium listed in the Los Angeles area. Mrs. Muller wasn't at any of them. We called the State Hospital at Norwalk and they informed us that Joseph Muller was there, having been committed the 2nd of November the previous year. He was critically ill. We put in another call to the Muller home. Still no answer. 6:15pm we drove out to Beverly Hills to the home of Mrs. Muller's niece, Lorraine. She was a tall, good looking girl with blond hair and a bad cough. [00:13:09] Speaker E: I don't think I can help you, Sergeant. I moved out of my aunt's house three months ago. [00:13:15] Speaker E: I haven't seen her since. [00:13:17] Speaker A: Were you staying at the house when Annie Johnson came to live there? [00:13:20] Speaker E: I was raised in that house. Mother and dad died when I was a baby and Uncle Joe and Aunt Laura took care of me. They're wonderful people. [00:13:26] Speaker F: Would you mind telling us why you moved? [00:13:28] Speaker E: I don't mind. [00:13:31] Speaker E: Everything was fine until Annie Johnson came. I didn't get along with her. We fought all the time. [00:13:36] Speaker F: Is that so? [00:13:37] Speaker E: I don't know why, I just didn't like her. [00:13:41] Speaker E: When Annie moved in, she took over the whole house. [00:13:43] Speaker A: Well, what's the connection between your aunt and Mrs. Johnson? Any blood relationship there? [00:13:48] Speaker E: No, no. Annie was a school chum of Aunt Laura's. When they sent her to prison for killing her husband. [00:13:53] Speaker F: She wrote for help and your aunt helped her. [00:13:55] Speaker E: She worked for 11 years at it. I don't know how Much money she spent. Lawyers, you know. [00:14:00] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:14:01] Speaker E: She finally got Annie parole, and then. [00:14:05] Speaker F: She took Mrs. Johnson on as a housekeeper. Is that right? [00:14:07] Speaker E: Yes. And she never did any work? She acted like she owned the house, like my aunt and uncle owed her. Everything they'd done for her. [00:14:14] Speaker F: When's the last time you heard from your aunt? [00:14:16] Speaker E: It was a few months ago, around Christmas time. I called her up to wish her a merry Christmas. [00:14:20] Speaker F: You have no idea where Mrs. Muller might be now? Some friends that she could be staying with, maybe? [00:14:25] Speaker E: No. Aunt Laura only has a few friends. They all live in the neighborhood. [00:14:29] Speaker A: She's not in the habit of going off without telling anyone, is she? [00:14:32] Speaker E: No, never anything like that. I don't understand it. Something must be wrong. Annie, do you think she's done something? [00:14:42] Speaker A: Do you? [00:14:43] Speaker E: No, she couldn't have. She owes everything to Aunt Laura. Her freedom, good home, nice clothes, money. Everything my aunt could give her. [00:14:52] Speaker F: Some people are like that if it's free. They never get too much. [00:14:58] Speaker F: Before we left Lorraine Muller's house, we got the name of her aunt's lawyer. We had dinner at a lunch counter on La Cienega. And then we drove back to Wilmington to the Muller house. Lights were burning in the front windows. The fog was thick now. [00:15:16] Speaker A: Guess that's her singing. [00:15:18] Speaker F: Yeah. You want to ring the bell? [00:15:23] Speaker A: Can you see in through the curtain, Jill? [00:15:26] Speaker F: Yeah. She didn't hear it. Let's ring it again. [00:15:34] Speaker F: Here she comes. [00:15:39] Speaker E: Yes? [00:15:40] Speaker A: Are you Mrs. Johnson? [00:15:41] Speaker E: Yes, that's right. What is it? [00:15:43] Speaker F: Police officers. Identification? [00:15:45] Speaker E: Oh, yes. Won't you come? Come in. [00:15:47] Speaker A: Thank you, ma'. [00:15:48] Speaker F: Am. [00:15:50] Speaker E: We'll go in the parlor, shall we? [00:15:52] Speaker B: All right. [00:15:56] Speaker F: Now, we're February and March. [00:15:58] Speaker E: Yes. [00:15:59] Speaker F: We think the signatures on those two reports are forged. [00:16:01] Speaker E: Oh, those. Oh, yes. I. I don't know what to say. I really didn't think it was that serious. I knew the reports had to be sent in. [00:16:11] Speaker A: Did you sign Mrs. Muller's name on? [00:16:13] Speaker E: Well, yes, I did. You see, Laura Muller's at a sanitarium now, resting up. I didn't want to bother her with all this business, so I signed them and put them in the mail. But forgery? I didn't think it was that serious. [00:16:25] Speaker F: Which sanitarium is Mrs. Muller staying at? [00:16:27] Speaker E: Garraway's. A very nice place. It's near Pasadena. She's been there about two months now. [00:16:32] Speaker F: Have you been out to visit her yet? [00:16:34] Speaker E: No, I haven't. I'm a little ashamed of myself. I've just been too busy keeping up the house here. It's lots of Work. [00:16:40] Speaker F: Yes, I understand. I suppose you drove Mrs. Muller to the sanitarium. [00:16:44] Speaker E: As a matter of fact, I didn't. You see, we don't have a car, so she took a taxi cab. [00:16:48] Speaker A: Have you telephoned Mrs. Muller at the sanitarium? [00:16:51] Speaker E: It's just once, the day she went in. She's there for a good rest. I don't feel that anyone should bother, not even myself. [00:16:59] Speaker F: Does she have any other relatives besides her husband, that is. [00:17:02] Speaker E: None at all. Poor Mr. Marr. We had to send him away, you know. To Warwick State Hospital? [00:17:08] Speaker A: Yes, ma'. [00:17:09] Speaker B: Am. [00:17:09] Speaker E: Got out of hand. Just terrible. He almost murdered poor Laura once. And those were awful days. He's much better off where he is. [00:17:17] Speaker F: Yeah, it's too bad. Well, that's about all, Ms. Johnson. [00:17:22] Speaker E: Oh, here, let me show you to the door. [00:17:24] Speaker F: Thanks. You'd better contact your parole officer the first thing in the morning and clear up this matter of the reports. [00:17:30] Speaker E: I'll do that. Thank you. [00:17:32] Speaker F: Good night, Miss Johnson. Thanks again. [00:17:34] Speaker C: All right. [00:17:35] Speaker E: Good night. [00:17:40] Speaker F: What time you got? [00:17:42] Speaker A: 20 minutes after eight. [00:17:49] Speaker A: The light just went on in the attic. [00:17:51] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:17:52] Speaker A: What do you think? [00:17:53] Speaker F: We better go take a look around. [00:17:55] Speaker A: What do you think we'll find? [00:17:56] Speaker F: I don't know. Maybe a reason for some of those lies she told us. [00:18:03] Speaker F: 8:35Pm Annie Johnson left the house and crossed the street to Miss Carpenter's place in the Muller house. In a small desk in one of the rear bedrooms on the first floor, we found a file for Mrs. Muller's business papers. In the file we located three of her insurance policies. There was one for 5,002 for 3,500. Each policy had a rider attached changing the beneficiary from Joseph Muller, the husband, to Annie Johnson. [00:18:27] Speaker A: $12,000 worth of insurance. Yeah. [00:18:29] Speaker F: Let's get them back in this folder. Did you get the policy numbers? [00:18:32] Speaker A: Yeah. What's this? [00:18:34] Speaker F: We'll see. Phone bill, light bill. [00:18:39] Speaker F: Here's one. [00:18:40] Speaker A: Labor bill, dollar an hour, paid to Tom McCrae. Charge Danny Johnson. [00:18:45] Speaker F: Uh huh. Let's go. [00:18:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I want to get this address here. Tom McCrae, East Jefferson. [00:18:54] Speaker A: There's your cat. [00:18:55] Speaker F: Yeah. Let's go see what we can find upstairs, huh? [00:18:57] Speaker A: It's a pretty cat. [00:18:59] Speaker F: We went upstairs to the second floor of the house and searched the rooms. We went up another flight of stairs to the attic. For a full half hour we searched through dozens of corrugated cartons crammed with souvenirs and picture postcards. [00:19:14] Speaker A: Joe, come here. [00:19:17] Speaker B: Yeah? [00:19:18] Speaker A: Take a look. Wrapped in newspaper. [00:19:23] Speaker F: 3220 Colt. [00:19:24] Speaker A: Three empty cartridges. [00:19:26] Speaker F: We got a Gun and we got a suspect. [00:19:28] Speaker A: Those insurance policies could be the motive. [00:19:31] Speaker F: Let's pray to God there's no victim. [00:19:43] Speaker A: You are listening to Dragnet for the step by step solution to an actual police case. Here, step by step, are the reasons why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers from coast to coast. Step one, the name Fatima has always stood for the best in cigarette quality. Long cigarette smokers discover Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Step three, Long cigarette smokers find Fatima extra mild. Fatima is the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make Fatima extra mild. And that's why more and more smokers every day agree it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. [00:20:32] Speaker E: It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. [00:20:36] Speaker A: Yes, the name Fatima on that golden yellow package is your insurance of an extra mild smoke. So enjoy King size Fatima, the best of all long cigarettes. [00:20:56] Speaker F: 10Pm an immediate stakeout was placed on the Mueller residence in case Annie Johnson made an attempt to leave during the night. Ben and I took the gun that we'd found to the crime lab for analysis. The next morning, we checked with the Mueller's family attorney. He had no idea as to the whereabouts of Mrs. Muller. But he told us that about three months ago she'd ordered him to draw up a new will for her. Under the new provisions, Annie Johnson was to be the sole heir of the Muller house and property, plus an additional $1,500 in bonds. Friday, March 10, 11am While Ben checked with the insurance company, I met with Captain Elliot of Homicide. [00:21:33] Speaker A: You got everything but a victim, huh? Where are you looking? [00:21:35] Speaker F: We'd like to shake down the Muller house again before we look anyplace else. Didn't have a chance to give it a thorough going over last night. [00:21:41] Speaker A: You're sold on the idea it's a Johnson woman? [00:21:43] Speaker F: Looks like it. [00:21:44] Speaker A: Sure couldn't be a freak disappearance. [00:21:46] Speaker F: No, sir. Not in my book. Annie Johnson's got some big reasons for lying to us. I'd like to find him. [00:21:51] Speaker A: How do you figure on doing that? [00:21:52] Speaker F: Well, if we could pull her in and question her, just to get her away from the Mueller place. I'd like to take a detail of men out there and shake the house from top to bottom. [00:21:59] Speaker A: Mm. Just checked with the insurance companies that issued Ms. Muller's policies. Yeah, and we got it right. Annie Johnson gets a door if Mrs. Muller dies. Something else. The changes in the policies were made during the last two months at her home. It doesn't jive. Why not? [00:22:12] Speaker F: Well, Annie Johnson told us that Mrs. Muller's been in the sanitarium for more than two months. [00:22:16] Speaker A: Here's a gapper, Joe. [00:22:17] Speaker F: What's that? [00:22:17] Speaker A: Gill and Cenis went out to State Hospital at Norwalk to talk to Mr. Muller. Yeah. Joseph Muller died at 8:00 last night. Death from natural causes. What's that prove? Wait a minute. When? When Joseph Muller was committed to the institution. Annie Johnson figured prominently in that commitment. She had a lot to do with sending him away. [00:22:37] Speaker F: Didn't take any chances, did she? [00:22:39] Speaker A: Annie Johnson is left with the house, the bonds and the insurance money. She had all the answers. Yeah, all but the right one. [00:22:48] Speaker F: While Captain Elliot called in Annie Johnson and questioned her, Ben and I, together with a detail of men From Homicide and Lt. Lee Jones from the crime lab drove out to Wilmington and a thorough search of the Muller house. We took it floor by floor, starting with the attic. By 4 o' clock that afternoon we had searched the attic and the second floor completely without finding any additional physical evidence. 5:30pm still nothing. The fog was coming in thick now. Captain Elliott called and said the Johnson woman was on her way home. The search went on. [00:23:20] Speaker A: Anyone check the cellar yet? [00:23:22] Speaker F: Let's give it a look, huh? [00:23:28] Speaker A: Joe, come on down please, with me. We're checking some stains. [00:23:35] Speaker F: What do you got, Lee? [00:23:36] Speaker A: Picked up this line of stains here, Joe. They run down from the top of the stairs, pretty faint. [00:23:41] Speaker F: Let me see. Mm. [00:23:44] Speaker A: Try a few drops of benzadine. [00:23:46] Speaker F: See what happens. Okay. Let's have a look around, Gil. See what doing we're can find. [00:23:50] Speaker A: There's no lights down here. You'll have to use your flash. I got one. [00:23:57] Speaker F: Not much of anything, is it? [00:23:59] Speaker A: I guess they use the attic for this storage place. [00:24:01] Speaker F: Yeah. Wait a minute. Put the light over this way, will you, Gil? No, in the corner. That's it. [00:24:08] Speaker A: See something? I don't know. [00:24:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:12] Speaker F: Have a look here. [00:24:14] Speaker A: New patch of cement. Looks pretty new alongside the rest. [00:24:17] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:24:18] Speaker A: There's a sledge and a couple of shovels back in the garage. [00:24:20] Speaker F: Get them, will you? [00:24:21] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. They just turned blue. Blood. [00:24:32] Speaker F: Lee Jones took some sample scrapings and went back to the crime lab to give them a precipitant test to determine if the stains were made by human or animal blood. We broke away the patch of new cement work in the cellar and we began digging. 6:30pm Annie Johnson came home. We met her in the living room. [00:24:50] Speaker E: Sergeant, I wonder if you'd mind explaining this intrusion. [00:24:52] Speaker F: No, not at all. Will you sit down? [00:24:54] Speaker E: I believe I'm the one to Offer hospitality here? It's my house. [00:24:57] Speaker A: Is it, Ms. Johnson? [00:24:58] Speaker E: Well, it's in my charge. It's my responsibility. [00:25:01] Speaker F: Yes, ma', am, it is. We'd just like to clear up a few things, that's all. [00:25:04] Speaker E: I think the police department's taking up enough of my time. I spent half the day at the City hall answering silly questions. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment at the beauty shop at 7 o'. Clock. [00:25:12] Speaker F: Maybe you better cancel it. [00:25:14] Speaker E: I don't see any reason why I should. What is that noise coming from the cellar? Someone's down there. [00:25:22] Speaker A: They're police officers, Ms. Johnson. We're searching the house. [00:25:25] Speaker E: Searching this house? With whose permission? [00:25:27] Speaker F: Maybe they didn't make it clear to you downtown. We've got a good reason to believe that a crime's been committed. Why Ms. Muller, she's missing. [00:25:33] Speaker E: I told your Captain Elliot this afternoon. Laura could have left the sanitarium. She might have gone east to visit some friends in Cincinnati. I think she has some friends in Cincinnati. [00:25:43] Speaker A: How could Mrs. Muller leave the sanitarium? She was never there. [00:25:47] Speaker E: Maybe she didn't stay at Garraway's. Could have been another rest home. [00:25:50] Speaker F: But you said you phoned her at Garraway's. You said you talked to her there. [00:25:54] Speaker E: Those men downstairs, they gonna dig up the whole house. [00:25:57] Speaker F: I tried. [00:26:00] Speaker F: This, Bill. Mrs. Johnson, would you mind telling us what it was for? [00:26:03] Speaker E: There was a section of the cellar floor. It had never been cemented. I decided to have it done while Laura was away. [00:26:09] Speaker A: The men are Digging it up, Ms. Johnson. [00:26:11] Speaker E: Why are they digging it up? What right have they? [00:26:13] Speaker F: Investigation. We'll see that the cement work is redone when we're finished. [00:26:17] Speaker E: This is impossible. I forbid it. This house is is my responsibility. [00:26:21] Speaker F: No need to worry. Everything will be left exactly the way it was. We'll leave the house as soon as the men are finished. [00:26:26] Speaker E: Oh, well, then perhaps I can keep my appointment with the hairdresser. I won't be long. She'll be back around nine. [00:26:33] Speaker A: I'm sorry. I think you better stay. [00:26:34] Speaker E: But I've told you everything I know. [00:26:37] Speaker F: Did you kill Laura Muller? [00:26:38] Speaker E: Did I kill. I can't take any more of this. Why would I want to kill Laura? She's done everything for me. She's given me a new life. [00:26:47] Speaker B: Did you kill her? [00:26:48] Speaker E: Why, no. Of course I didn't kill her. [00:26:49] Speaker F: Oh, and there's no need to be upset. [00:26:55] Speaker E: Oh, my nerves. I got to have something. Glass of sherry? Yes. [00:27:03] Speaker E: Diggy. How long is it gonna take them? [00:27:06] Speaker A: It all depends. [00:27:07] Speaker E: Ma', am, there's no reason for this. You don't know that anything's happened to Laura. [00:27:11] Speaker A: That's right. [00:27:13] Speaker E: Laura's the best friend I have in the world. 11 years. That's how long she fought to make him let me out of prison. She's the only one who believed in me. Yes, ma', am, she is. She's given me everything. She wants me to have everything. Everything I want. I wouldn't have a reason for killing her. My clothes, my home here, money. They're all Laura. She's given them to me. Would you like a glass of sherry, Sergeant Friday? [00:27:39] Speaker F: No. No, thanks. [00:27:41] Speaker E: You know, Laura was much older than I, Sergeant. [00:27:44] Speaker F: He. [00:27:44] Speaker E: She could have taken her own life. She didn't have much to live for. Old and sick. But I got everything to live for. Laura used to tell me that. So she gave me everything. Laura was much older than I. [00:27:59] Speaker E: Would you care for a glass of sherry, Sergeant Romero? [00:28:02] Speaker A: No, thank you. [00:28:04] Speaker E: This whole thing's so silly. Laura's away on a trip. [00:28:08] Speaker E: She's much older than I am. You know, I'm 38. You wouldn't take me for a woman 38 years old, would you, Sergeant? [00:28:16] Speaker A: No, ma'. [00:28:16] Speaker D: Am. [00:28:17] Speaker E: I know I'm not really young anymore, but I'm still attractive. Don't you think a lot of men prefer mature women? Women with experience, background. [00:28:27] Speaker E: I'd know how to take care of a man. [00:28:35] Speaker A: Joe. [00:28:36] Speaker F: Yeah? [00:28:44] Speaker A: Joe, come here. My. Will you. [00:28:49] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:28:50] Speaker A: We found her. [00:28:54] Speaker E: Laura. No, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. She didn't have anything to live for. She wanted to die. [00:28:59] Speaker F: All the corn and gil, you know. [00:29:01] Speaker A: Let's go, Ms. Johnson. [00:29:03] Speaker E: Laura wouldn't want this. She knows I didn't mean it. She's the only one who knows what I went through. Years in prison. Laura understood me. She gave me everything. Everything. [00:29:12] Speaker F: Yes, she did. [00:29:13] Speaker E: Ask anybody. They all know how Laura felt about me. Ask anybody. [00:29:17] Speaker F: We can't ask her. [00:29:27] Speaker A: The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On July 14, trial was held in Superior Court, City and county of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. It's amazing how many long cigarette smokers are changing to Fatima. Here is the actual report from coast to coast. King size Fatima has more than doubled its. Yes. More and more smokers every day are discovering that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. Long cigarette smokers find Fatima has a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Long cigarette smokers find that Fatima is extra mild. Because it's the long cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos. Superbly blended to make it extra mild. So enjoy Extra mile. Fatima Best of all, long cigarettes it's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima it's. [00:30:32] Speaker E: Wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. [00:30:44] Speaker A: Annie Marie Johnson was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. She was executed in the lethal gas chamber at the state penitentiary, San Quentin, California. [00:30:59] Speaker A: You have just heard Dragnet authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the office of Chief of Police W.A. [00:31:08] Speaker D: W.H. [00:31:08] Speaker A: Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department. [00:31:14] Speaker A: Dragnet wishes to thank the editors of radio television Life magazine. They have judged Dragnet the outstanding new program of the past radio season. [00:31:26] Speaker A: Fatima cigarettes, the best of all. Long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet from Los Angeles. Tomorrow, hear the Ronald Coleman's charming series the halls of Ivy on NBC. [00:31:40] Speaker D: Foreign. [00:31:45] Speaker B: That was the big thank you from Dragnet here on the mysterious old radio listening society podcast once again. I'm Eric. [00:31:53] Speaker C: I'm Tim. [00:31:53] Speaker D: And I'm Joshua. [00:31:55] Speaker B: And that was a request made to us by our Patreon supporter, Jack. And thank you for not only being a Patreon supporter, but thank you for your request and thank you for Dragnet as your request as a listener of this podcast. Y' all know I love me some Dragnet. I will start this, though, with, yep, that was an episode of Dragnet. Nothing stood out to me. It was awesome. Right? Let's be clear. It was awesome as I find 90% of the dragnets, especially the ones with Yarborough, who I think is phenomenal. It's too bad he passed away because he was just great in these, and him and Jack Webb are. Have great chemistry in these. So, yeah, it was great. However, nothing about this stood out. Like, oh, that was fascinating or interesting or unique, I should say. But that's not really a condemnation. It's more of an observation. How's that? [00:32:58] Speaker D: Good show was good. [00:32:59] Speaker B: Good show was good. [00:33:02] Speaker D: I would say it's out of the ordinary, at least from the Dragonet episodes. I've heard to have a murderess, as the announcer calls her, so make sure we need to make murder sexy, too. [00:33:19] Speaker C: I want to make sure she gets paid a certain percentage lower than the murderers do. [00:33:22] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:33:24] Speaker D: So that's out of the ordinary. And I will say this has to me a classic Dragnet scene for me. And that is her slow unraveling in that final scene with the police downstairs with a pickaxe digging. And the sound doesn't stop. And she keeps talking nervously and she is goes from being insistent and confident to scared, back to confident and then defensive. And it felt 12 minutes long to me in the best way possible. And then on my second listen, I timed it. I was like, it's only about a six minute scene, but because of the discomfort, it really feels longer. [00:34:07] Speaker B: I couldn't agree more. It was a phenomenal scene. In fact, I was going to ask you guys. To me, the digging in the basement from the police was the ticking clock trope. [00:34:20] Speaker D: Oh, the clock in the background. Yes. [00:34:22] Speaker B: Only a matter of time till we find out or that this unravels. It's a really unique use of the ticking clock idea of your time is running short. And then when it stops and he says Ben. And he goes, mm. [00:34:42] Speaker B: And then her shriek, Right? Yes. [00:34:44] Speaker D: I did not expect that. No. [00:34:46] Speaker C: The other scene that I adored, and it seems kind of a little like a little exotic indulgence from Dragnet is the handwriting analysis, like, totally unnecessary. [00:34:55] Speaker D: Mm. [00:34:56] Speaker C: Hey, we're setting up a little exposition here. Let's have some interesting police procedural work going on in the background. [00:35:02] Speaker D: Yes. Nothing more pulse pounding than a handwriting expert, but it's classic Dragnet. Even as they enter that scene is a nice Dragnet touch where Dan's in the other room, in the other room and they have to call and then they say a few things and then he walks out like any other radio show would. Just do a edit to them all sitting together in a room stating the facts. [00:35:28] Speaker B: I still get caught off guard in anything pre, oh, I guess 1990. Now when they collected the blood and I go, oh, now they got them to realize, oh, right, they can't do with blood what we can do now. [00:35:44] Speaker D: No, they're just like, that's blood. [00:35:45] Speaker B: That's blood. And it's either male or female or animal or human. [00:35:50] Speaker D: They can identify those things. But yeah, but then they sprayed it. [00:35:53] Speaker C: At the end and it turned. Turned blue. [00:35:54] Speaker D: So like Smurf blood. [00:35:56] Speaker B: Yes, Papa Smurf. So it was a boy. [00:36:02] Speaker C: I thought like, wow. I did not realize that they had that advanced sort of chemical forensics. [00:36:09] Speaker C: Tools at their time. [00:36:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:36:11] Speaker D: And in He Walks By Night, the film, which I can't recommend enough that Jack Webb was on, he plays a very different character than Joe Friday. He is the nerdy pencil necked forensic guy in that movie. So he's in the police lab doing all this kind of stuff. So I think that's partly what inspired him to include all those elements in Dragnet as a radio series. [00:36:35] Speaker C: It was a really interesting arc of asking all the neighbors that they all love her. And it really paints the picture of this character without ever actually seeing that picture firsthand. The neighbors all love her. She's so sweet. They never fight. And then they visit the niece. Like, that woman is a monster. [00:36:56] Speaker D: Yeah. The woman who plays I can't remember her name or maybe I never knew it. The little old lady neighbor is the same actor who plays Joe Friday's mom later in the series. [00:37:07] Speaker A: Oh, nice. [00:37:08] Speaker D: She just did little old lady roles for Dragnet Gets a Living. [00:37:15] Speaker D: The other nice Dragnet touch. The randomness of reality is just giving Louise a cough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In any other show that would be a clue. [00:37:26] Speaker B: Right. And here it's just nothing. It's who she is. [00:37:30] Speaker D: Yeah. It's just a little bit of real life color. [00:37:33] Speaker B: The steps that they go through to put you there and make it real. I mean, we've talked about this before, that. [00:37:41] Speaker B: Webb used to say, okay, here is a rough map of the building that we're in. Here's a rough idea where that room is. And then we say we're going to this room. I believe that to be 25 steps. So I want to hear 25 steps of Foley to that room. You know, the detail of that, no matter how long it takes. And not cutting to now we're in that room. I love it so much. And that's a great example of it. [00:38:09] Speaker C: She's got a cough. [00:38:11] Speaker B: And it's also why a lot of people hate this show for that reason. [00:38:17] Speaker D: Well, I always argue that David lynch is one of the most naturalistic filmmakers to have ever made a film. Because life is that weird if you're going around living it so vivid. [00:38:29] Speaker C: The Twin Peaks scene where they trying to sit by the hospital, they'd have to keep adjusting the little science benches they're on. Right. [00:38:37] Speaker D: You know, or they're trying to do an autopsy. And of course the light bulb's going out, so it's got this strobe light flickering effect. No reason. It just adds mundane similitude. Right. Because life is full of random, weird stuff. [00:38:49] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:38:50] Speaker D: Most fiction is trying to make order out of that random chaos of life. [00:38:54] Speaker B: Right. And also, again, you have 30 minutes. It's really tempting to exclude all of that stuff so that you can get to the meat and potatoes of a 30 minute story. [00:39:05] Speaker D: Yeah. And it's a strange combination because from a social point of view, Jack Webb is very much a law and order man. Yet he presents it in a really disorderly way. A precisely constructed disorderly way. [00:39:23] Speaker C: It was the one thing, the one detail in this, that seemed odd to me. [00:39:29] Speaker C: In response to that version of like, we do things in orderly way is like, if you're looking for a body, start in the basement. I thought instead of starting in the attic and working your way down, but I guess I'm not a cop. [00:39:41] Speaker B: Well, that's the Arsenic and Old Lace theory. Start in the basement. [00:39:45] Speaker D: Attics leak. [00:39:49] Speaker D: Yeah. Oh, and also, it's always. [00:39:52] Speaker D: Strange to go back in time and see how loosey goosey the Fourth Amendment was. [00:40:00] Speaker C: There's a lot of things here that make that not so shocking. [00:40:05] Speaker D: Lack of warrants. [00:40:06] Speaker C: The lack of warrant. [00:40:07] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:40:07] Speaker C: Like forged signatures on parole papers. Parole papers, yeah. [00:40:12] Speaker D: But there were infamous evidence that you would take to a judge to say, that is why I need a warrant. [00:40:18] Speaker B: Right. [00:40:19] Speaker D: Well, first of all, it's not until the 1960s that the Supreme Court decides that the Fourth Amendment applies to the states. Before that, it only applied to federal level. However, many states, and I found out, including California, included their own search and seizure amendment that was pretty much verbatim from the Constitution. However, it wasn't until, I think 1955 in California, that a Supreme Court adopted an exclusionary rule as a matter of state law, meaning evidence obtained in violation of the state search and seizure protections had to be thrown out in criminal cases. And that's when warrants become a thing, when there is an actual disincentive. Because technically they had to, but no one really called them on it. [00:41:11] Speaker C: Right. Oops, I found evidence. [00:41:13] Speaker D: If they found the evidence, they're like, well, that's reason to have searched for it. So, yeah, you skipped the warrant, but you vindicated by finding the evidence. Inevitable discovery five years later, this all that would have been thrown out. [00:41:25] Speaker B: The gun, the body. [00:41:27] Speaker D: The body. [00:41:28] Speaker B: So now explain 1970s how Columbo got away with it. [00:41:32] Speaker C: Well, if you just let him in. [00:41:34] Speaker D: You'Re charming and wearing a trench coat. [00:41:37] Speaker B: Every episode of Columbo would have been thrown out. [00:41:40] Speaker C: Oh, that's true. [00:41:42] Speaker C: And that was another. Just a little detail of going through an episode of Dragnet is like going through a smorgasbord of like, ooh, this is nice. I'll have a little bit of this. Well, this is interesting, but the idea that this one kept the gun. Fair enough. You don't. If it's out in the wild, anybody can find it. Kept the shells, which is odd, but wrapped it in newspaper, put it in the attic. [00:42:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:06] Speaker D: And I wonder if that was a detail from the actual case that they threw in, because there's a lot of times in Dragnet they don't really give you any context. We're telling you, this is what criminals do. It's weird, isn't it? [00:42:20] Speaker C: Interesting thing again, that I enjoyed about this was the character of this woman is behind the scenes. Her crime, her motivation, all of that is guessed at and suggested, but it's really not until the body's actually revealed and she starts. Even then, she's still squirreling around it and dancing around like she would have wanted this. [00:42:46] Speaker B: The idea of, well, why would you keep the shells in the gun and wrap them in newspaper and stick them in the attic? Every time I see or hear the date line or in fictional things like this or whatever, I'm struck and reminded of the quote from the detective that I heard on NPR once in some story, unrelated story, he said, well, why would they do that? That would just lead to their arrest. And he paused and said, because criminals are stupid. I'll never forget that. He's like, right, right. [00:43:23] Speaker C: Because we all ditched our guns. Right. [00:43:26] Speaker B: But when you hear it in fiction and you go, okay, that's a big stupid loophole. No one would do that. I have a tendency. Yeah, that would happen. [00:43:33] Speaker D: You gotta compare that to their closure percentage in crimes. [00:43:37] Speaker C: Right. [00:43:38] Speaker D: Because if you go by that, most criminals are really smarter. Cops are dumb because they solve a slim percentage of open cases. [00:43:49] Speaker C: Yeah. And you can't know how many murders are out there with a gun in their attic. [00:43:51] Speaker B: They don't get caught. [00:43:52] Speaker D: Yeah. Speaking of murder, do you want to hear about this? Hold on. [00:43:58] Speaker B: That's a great name for a show. Speaking of murder. [00:44:01] Speaker D: Just like a talk show with murderers. [00:44:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:44:05] Speaker D: So Louise Pete was quite a wild woman. [00:44:09] Speaker B: So the real person who committed these crimes. [00:44:12] Speaker D: Committed these crimes. She had a criminal career that spanned decades. Guilty of fraud, theft, and two confirmed homicides. And they mentioned that there were two homicides in this story. She was born into an affluent family, but was expelled from school for theft and sexual misconduct. And she began just drifting through cities using different aliases. Was a high paid call girl for a while. She had a series of marriages marked by infidelity and scandal. [00:44:47] Speaker D: She had several men, including two husbands and a wealthy lover who died under suspicious circumstances, like long before her first murder conviction. So they left a lot out. [00:45:01] Speaker C: Very popular. [00:45:02] Speaker D: Yeah. But the murder that she was originally convicted for, that she was paroled for in Dragnet. This was in 1920. Pete moved into the Los Angeles mansion of a mining engineer named Jacob C. Denton, who vanished shortly afterwards. And she went on to forge his signature, withdrew his money, pawned his possessions invented a series of stories explaining his absence, including. [00:45:30] Speaker D: Claims that his right arm had been amputated after he was shot by an angry and mysterious Spanish looking woman, which she used to explain the unconvincing signatures. Denton had to write checks and sign his name with his left hand, which was the only hand remaining after the mysterious, angry Spanish woman. She later expounded on this, including one version where the mysterious woman cut Denton's arms and legs off using a sword. [00:46:01] Speaker B: Okay. [00:46:02] Speaker D: And finally declared that Denton was just so ashamed of his amputated state that he remained in seclusion. And that's why, as a favor, she signed all his checks for him. [00:46:16] Speaker B: That's fascinating. [00:46:18] Speaker C: Yeah, I thought you were gonna say. And I was kind of hoping she had to explain that his right arm was amputated when they discovered his right. [00:46:26] Speaker D: Arm. [00:46:29] Speaker D: Wrapped a newspaper in the attic. [00:46:31] Speaker B: Right. [00:46:33] Speaker C: I can explain this. [00:46:35] Speaker D: Wow. [00:46:36] Speaker B: I so desperately hope that my old brain remembers this, because that needs to be on stage or a radio show. That is a fascinating story. [00:46:46] Speaker D: Yeah. And the murder that is actually recounted in Dragnet is a little wilder, too, because she moved in with a family that she ingratiated herself with an elderly couple. And she did help to get the husband put away in a sanatorium and then did murder the old woman, but he claimed that the husband had gone mad and bit the woman's nose off. And so the woman was getting plastic surgery. That was her excuse as to where she was because her nose had been bitten off. And during the same time, she got married to a banker who. [00:47:28] Speaker B: And what body part did he lose? [00:47:30] Speaker D: Who she invited to live in this house with her. And then they were both arrested. [00:47:38] Speaker D: But they realized he had nothing to do with it. And he apparently walked straight out of the courthouse, went to the top floor of an office building, and leapt out the window. [00:47:49] Speaker B: Oh, my. [00:47:51] Speaker E: What? [00:47:53] Speaker B: Tim, I'm handing you ghoulish delights, Gold. This play has got to be produced, and it's already got the title. Speaking of murder, it's all laid out for you, but I want to play the banker. [00:48:10] Speaker D: Dragnet talks about how the neighbors. Right. All thought she was wonderful. The little old lady thought she was wonderful. And I read accounts of. Right up to when she went to the gas chamber. Her fellow inmates were sobbing and crying. They loved her so much as they watched her go to her death. She was incredibly popular. [00:48:34] Speaker B: Wow. [00:48:35] Speaker D: And now you know the rest of the story. [00:48:39] Speaker B: That's phenomenal. Let's vote. I vote. On that other story. That story. [00:48:46] Speaker D: That's an inner Sanctum story. I understand why Dragnet kind of trimmed that. [00:48:51] Speaker B: Still. I am not kidding about hanging onto that. That's that there's something there. Voting on this, though, I will say, yeah, this is great. It was very, very good Dragnet. And Dragnet is very, very good, in my opinion. And I thought this was very, very good. [00:49:09] Speaker C: I'm kind of on the same page of, like, sometimes a Dragnet, the whole thing comes together in some, like, cohesive. Every bit of this is working together to the same goal, and it's great. And when that doesn't happen, then, like, this is good and this is good and this is good and this is good, and they don't necessarily all go together, but it's the smartest part, and I think this is the latter. I love the structure of the ending with listening to her fall apart as they're digging up her basement. It's just great. And then lots of little things. [00:49:39] Speaker D: Yeah, it definitely stands the test of time. I don't think it's a classic Dragnet. It's still fairly early Dragnet, and it's amazing how recognizably Dragnet this is in the beginning of its second year. [00:49:53] Speaker B: Yep. [00:49:54] Speaker D: I think as it goes on, they get better at, to Tim's point about the smorgasbord or kind of buffet style of scenes, they get better at cohesion. But that last scene, I'm gonna cheat in my boat and say, that's a classic scene. I loved it. And it's so fun to then look up the actual crimes. Jack. [00:50:19] Speaker B: Jack. Yeah. [00:50:20] Speaker D: Gave me the lowdown on the real crime. [00:50:23] Speaker B: And Jack, thank you so much because it was so worth doing that just to hear the rest of the story. Tim, tell him stuff. [00:50:31] Speaker C: Please go visit ghoulishdelights.com you'll find other episodes of our podcast there. You can leave comments. Of course, you can find our episodes wherever you listen to your podcasts, [email protected] you'll find some bios about us. Like, do you want to read a paragraph about who we are? No, but you can. [00:50:51] Speaker C: You can also go. [00:50:53] Speaker D: You should put a lot of crazy crimes committed in there. [00:50:57] Speaker C: You can also find a link to our store if you want to buy a T shirt, show some support with some merchandise. We'd love that. That'd be awesome. You can do that. And you can help support us through a link to our Patreon page. [00:51:08] Speaker D: Yes. Go to patreon.com themorals and be like, jack, thanks, Jack. We're so grateful for the patrons who do support us and a little angry at the listeners who don't. [00:51:22] Speaker B: You are so terrible at this. [00:51:24] Speaker D: So please dampen our wrath. [00:51:28] Speaker D: Can you dampen wrath? I don't know. [00:51:30] Speaker C: Nobody. [00:51:31] Speaker B: Just named our next podcast Damp Wrath. [00:51:35] Speaker B: The mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Theater company performs live on stage and audio drama of classic old time radio shows. We recreate a lot of them. We do a lot of our own original work. Come see us performing live radio shows on stage. Go to ghoulishdelights.com and there you'll see what we're performing, when we're performing and how to get tickets. And if you can't make it to our shows for whatever reason, become a Patreon because we record the audio of those shows. And it's like getting an extra old time radio show because you're a patreon. Right? [00:52:09] Speaker D: Yes. I didn't know we had to affirm. [00:52:11] Speaker B: Your, I don't know, shtick. [00:52:12] Speaker D: After almost 400 some episodes, I think. [00:52:15] Speaker B: I looked at you like, did I say that right? What's coming up next? [00:52:18] Speaker C: Okay, check it out. So the first three series that we did on this podcast, they were Suspense, Lights out, and Price of Fear. So we're counting down to episode 400. Episode 400 is going to be the third in this countdown. This is way too much. Okay, so keep going. So coming up is the first of this countdown. We're going to do Price of Fear. I brought another Price of Fear episode, not the same one we did in episode three, but a parallel sort of experience, Price of Fear. And then we're going to count down to the next one is going to be what an episode within the series we did in episode two, lights out. And then episode 400, same series we did in episode one, suspense. So next time we'll be listening to an episode of Price of Fear called is there anyone there? [00:53:06] Speaker D: But seriously, is there anyone there? After that long explanation. [00:53:12] Speaker D: Until then, the. [00:53:14] Speaker B: Rest of the story. Yeah, right. [00:53:17] Speaker D: Just Paul Harvey.