Just about the gayest couple in detective fiction are Nora and Nick Charles.
Nick Charles is really the detective, but Nora makes a beautiful and able assistant.
You'll hear all about the Charles family when you listen to the Adventures of the Thin Man
every Friday beginning January 8th over this station at 8.30 p.m. Eastern wartime, and
for the Pacific time zone at 9.30 p.m. Pacific wartime.
Suspense.
Tonight, Columbia brings you as guest stars two deaf players from the movie
Laps of Hollywood, the stages of Broadway. Mr. Lesser Landy and Mr. George Caloris,
they are here to spend with us a half hour of suspense. Suspense is compounded of mystery
and suspicion and dangerous adventure. In this series of stories calculated to intrigue you,
disturb your nerves, to offer you a precarious situation, and then withhold the solution until
the last possible moment. Tonight, for instance, Miss Landy plays for us an agreeable young lady
who is on the trail of some hot money, and Mr. Caloris plays for us a disagreeable young man
who may or may not know more about the money than he says. We trust that with this tale we
shall keep you in suspense. For Suspense tonight, CBS presents Alissa Landy and George Caloris
in Nothing Up My Sleeve by John Dixon Carr.
It's New Year's Eve, remember? Times Square is celebrating. The fiery lights flash no longer,
but the crowds are still the same, thronging, jostling, singing, drowning out a voice at the
street corner when it says, fatal gun battle at Jamaica, read all about it, fatal gun battle at
Jamaica, read all about it. But would that cry perhaps reach as far as a large and sedate
country house some 20 miles from New York? Out there the earth is sealed up with snow.
The white pillars of the house rise up high and ghostly against it, showing no outward lights.
A lonely house, this mansion in fir woods. Just the place for a murder, I've always said.
It wouldn't surprise me either. These ralphs are a funny lot. And alone in that house tonight,
apparently alone, is a man practicing shots in a billiard room, a long and paneled room
at the back of the house. Now look at Mr. Derrick Ross, as tall and lean and well tailored as ever.
Many people don't like him. He's a little too supersillient, a little too short of himself,
too suggestive of the lifted lip and the glazed eye. There he stands in the billiard room,
under the snow covered skylight, leaning over the green cloth under brilliant lights when...
Just a moment please.
Good shot. Yes, come in.
Excuse me, Mr. Ross. Oh, not at all.
Wait, wait, aren't you... I'm Dorothy Dale, your aunt's social secretary.
Surely you remember that. Oh, of course, of course.
Forgive me for forgetting your name. You surprised me, Dorothy.
Yes, I thought I surprised you a little. No, I mean you surprised me by being in the house at all.
Why? Why? Well, this is New Year's Eve. Shouldn't you be out getting drunk and blowing cardboard
horns and doing the other fantastic things that people do? I haven't much heart for that tonight.
Please don't become emotional, Dorothy. I detest emotion. If you're shivering, go over by the radiator.
Mr. Rolfe, may I ask you a question? Of course.
Did you ever feel sick at heart? Physically sick, I mean, so that your insides turned over
and you couldn't get your breath and... Did you? No, no, I can't say I did.
May I move you aside for just a moment? Thank you.
Ah, not bad. Can't you guess why I came here to see you tonight?
No. Because I'm in terrible trouble, Mr. Rolfe.
Desperate trouble. And I think you can help me. I can help you? How?
For one thing, you're making quite a name for yourself as a lawyer.
Yes, and that's what others have told me. For another thing,
do you know a man named Shark Morgan? Shark Morgan? Shark, did you say?
Shark Morgan. No, I'm sure I've never heard that name before.
You ought to know him. He's a little dark-faced man with most of his upper lip cut away in a knife
fight so that you can see all his teeth. That's why they call him Shark.
Oh, he sounds like an unpleasant-looking person.
He is or was a ghastly-looking person. You don't know him? He's not a client of yours?
No. I don't believe you.
Just a moment, Miss Dorothy Dale. I must put down this cue and say a few words myself.
Please do. I don't want to be offensive to you,
but it seems to me that for a paid employee of my aunt practically a servant, you're taking a great
deal on yourself. If you're trying to hurt me that way, you're succeeding. Go ahead.
You come to me at 11 o'clock at night. You come rushing into this billiard room. Observe,
I call it a billiard room, though this is actually a pool table.
Just as everything in life gets its wrong name. I entirely agree.
Yes, but you agree about what? That everything gets its wrong name.
Honest men are called thieves and thieves are called honest men.
Would you mind explaining that remark, please?
I can explain it very easily. I'm engaged to be married to Jerry Winton.
Well? Don't say you don't know who Jerry Winton is. He was in college with you.
I played on our extremely second-rate baseball team with him, yes.
You never liked him, did you? Liked him? I'm afraid I never noticed him.
Jerry Winton works at City and Provincial Bank on 51st Street. He's a teller there.
Does that mean anything to you? No. You see, it's not my bank.
I was at the City and Provincial Bank yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ralph, just before closing time.
It was a dark day and the lights were on. There weren't many people in that big marble hall.
I went up to Jerry's window, if that's what you call it.
Can you cash a check for a million dollars? Hello, darling.
Hello, Jerry. You glad to see me? I am not pleased to see you here, darling.
I'm never pleased to see you here. And why not?
Because I can't make love to you. Can you imagine anybody making love in a bank?
We might sneak into the president's office. As a matter of fact, I've dreamed of holding a party in there.
But it'll never happen unless I'm fired, which is very likely.
Jerry, sometimes I wish you weren't so easy going. I'm not easy going with the bank's money,
darling. Otherwise, I'd be shoving it out to you through the window in double handfuls like this.
Jerry, for heaven's sake, no. Baby, state your business, madam.
The convict in the next cage is watching us already. I want to cash a check. Here it is.
Twenty dollars. That is, if my account can stand it.
Yes, I think we can manage that. How will you have it?
Oh, it doesn't matter anyway. Jerry. What's wrong?
Look over there. Where? Over there by that marble table with the pens and ink on it.
The little man with no upper lip to his mouth and all his teeth showing.
The ugly looking devil I've met. He's carrying something like a violin case.
Hold on. I've seen that fellow someplace before. Of course you have. Don't you remember where?
It was... It was out at Mr. Rolfe's house in the country when you came to visit me last Sunday.
The man with the teeth and five other men were coming out on the porches. We were going in.
Wait a minute, darling. That's not all. What is it?
There's some very funny looking customers in this bank right now.
Where? At Mr. Wallace's window. At Mr. Robinson's window.
And up by the guard at the front door. They don't seem to make any sound.
As though they all wore rubber-soled shoes. Jerry, something's going to happen.
I know it is. Unless I can get off this stool and walk...
That was just to call your attention, folks. Just to call your attention.
Now, just stand where you are, all of you. And nobody at get height.
Darling, I'm scared. What should I do?
Stand where you are. Just stand still.
I don't dare turn around. Was that the man with the teeth?
Yes, he's got the machine gun.
We don't want any funny business about alarm bells, see?
One of the boys has already gone behind to take up the collection.
Just stay where you are. That's all you gotta do.
You can't get away with this.
Oh, look, boys. Here's a guy at the front with a nice mahogany desk and a plate with his name on it
who says we can't get away with it. That's your hand.
No, it's not. That wasn't in our order.
We can't get away with it.
Oh, he's crazy.
I hear somebody else talking.
Jerry!
I thought I heard somebody over here.
Oh, it's you, kid.
Move to one side of the window, darling. Move to one side of the window.
Don't worry, kid. I ain't gonna height you.
No?
Not a bit of it. Thanks for helping us. You'll get your cut later.
What do you mean, my cut?
It's what I said. You'll get your share when we divvy up.
Well, I don't know anything about this, Robert.
Don't worry, kid. We'll take care of you.
I tell you, I don't know anything about this robbery.
Jerry!
Now, six ball in the end pocket.
Got it.
Are you listening, Mr. Ralph?
This shark Morgan must have been quite a fool. I grant you that.
He was a fool. He must have been crazy.
But they've held Jerry at police headquarters just the same.
Well, that's very unfortunate if he's innocent.
You know he's innocent.
I'm afraid I don't know anything about it.
Don't you even know what happened today?
Haven't you read the newspaper?
No.
The police trapped that whole gang in a Long Island farmhouse.
There was a gunfight.
Oh, is that so?
Oh, no casualties, I hope.
You hope?
I must tell you again, darling, don't be emotional. I detest emotions.
The whole gang were killed, every last one of them, including shark Morgan.
So there's nobody to talk, nobody to tell, but...
But, as you were saying?
They didn't find the money.
What money?
The stolen money.
$88,000 taken from that bank, and yet the police can't find a cent of it.
Shall I tell you why, Mr. Ralph?
Because it was passed on to somebody else for safekeeping.
Oh, passed on to somebody else.
That's what I said.
Well, perhaps your friend Jerry Winton could tell us where it is.
That's what the police think. Can you imagine what he's going through tonight?
It's not a pleasant way to spend New Year's Eve, I admit.
Excuse me.
But, you know, after all, the late shark Morgan did accuse Winton.
Now, if he isn't guilty, why should Morgan accuse him?
Meanness.
I don't think I understand.
Meanness. The sort of meanness that some people call a sense of humor.
Morgan saw Jerry in this house.
Oh, be careful, young lady, that's an actionable statement.
I've already made it to the police, thanks.
Oh, and did they believe you?
No.
They're a very intelligent crowd down a center street.
And after all, your story isn't very credible.
Why not?
Well, shark Morgan sees your friend Winton,
sees him for perhaps 10 seconds coming out of this house,
and then accuses him of complicity in a bank robbery.
Now, is that very likely?
Yes, very likely. If somebody put him up to it.
Again, I don't understand you.
Somebody deliberately told Morgan to accuse Jerry
and get him into as much trouble as possible.
Tell me, Mr. Roth, why do you dislike Jerry so much?
You know, now that you mention that fellow, I can recall who he is.
Thanks for condescending to.
Yes, yes, indeed.
Why, he was the man in our class voted most likely to succeed.
Now, let's see, where did you say he is tonight?
He's just where you put him.
You know, you're trying my patience to the very limit, young woman.
And out in a Long Island farmhouse,
there are five bodies full of bullet holes,
five men you'll never speak again, and somewhere else.
And somewhere else, maybe not very far from here,
is the man who engineered the whole robbery,
planned it and staged it and got his accomplices killed.
My goodness, he must have supernatural powers.
No witnesses, nobody to testify.
Oh, if I could only find the money.
$88,000, I think you said.
I could only find the money and prove who had done it
and prove Jerry innocent and just for one second
get past that devilish smug mask of yours that's driving me.
Anything wrong, Dorothy?
No, no, nothing at all.
You've been following me around and around this table.
Have you been looking at something?
Only admiring your billiard room, that's all.
Oh, you haven't been looking at the suitcase, for instance?
Oh, well, the suitcase.
No, over on the bench under the cue rack.
The suitcase that contains legal papers.
I hadn't even noticed it.
Mr. Rall.
Yes, Dorothy?
I'm afraid I've taken up a lot of your time
and not done myself any good
and made something of a spectacle of myself.
Frankly, young woman, you have.
Well, if you won't help me, you won't.
That's that.
If you don't mind, I'd like to go now.
Suppose, my dear, I didn't choose to let you go.
But why, why shouldn't you?
What harm can I do?
Now, who was it, who was it?
Was it Meredith who remarked that the last thing
to be civilized by man will be woman?
Will be woman? I think it was, yes.
And you know, and a slanderous woman
can do a great deal of harm.
But I, I haven't done you any harm so far.
We're all alone in this house.
There's not even a servant here.
Now, if I chose to get between you and the door like this.
Keep away from me.
Oh, I'm not coming near you, Dorothy.
I'm merely standing between you and the door.
Now, I suppose you realize that
I could turn very nasty in my life.
What are you going to do?
Do? Why, well, I'm going to open the door for you like this.
I'm going to say, God bless you, my child.
As befits a New Year's greeting.
I'm going to show you out and wish you good night.
You.
Would you, you, you, you don't mind?
Mind? Certainly not.
You've got something to hide, haven't you, Mr. Rolfe?
No, no, nothing, young woman, that I can't hide.
Good night.
Operator.
What number are you calling, please?
Operator, I want to get to police headquarters in New York City.
No, no, no, no, that that would take too long.
Wait, wait, wait.
Get me the local police station.
This is Mallingford eight, eight, nine, one.
The local police station?
Yes, yes, that's right.
The number you want is Mallingford three to six.
I will ring them.
Thank you.
Why is he so confident?
What has he got up his sleeve?
Mallingford police station.
Oh, let me speak to the chief of police, please.
You're speaking to him, ma'am.
Nobody else is stay up here on New Year's Eve.
My name is Dale, Miss Dorothy Dale.
I'm speaking from Green Acres, Mr. Derek Rolfe's house,
about two miles off the post road.
Do you know it?
Yes, I know it, but can't you talk louder?
I can hardly hear you.
I don't dare talk louder.
I'm speaking from a phone just outside the post road.
What about it?
You want to recover the city and provincial bank money, don't you?
I sure do, Miss.
That money's hot, but...
It's here.
It's in this house, in this billiard room now.
Oh, who's got it?
Derek Rolfe himself.
Look, Miss, is this on the level?
I swear it's true.
I've seen the money.
Rolfe's a prominent people, you know.
I can't help that.
There's a big suitcase completely full of money in packages
fastened with the paper label of the city and provincial bank,
and that's not his own bank.
Take it easy now.
The lid of the suitcase wasn't quite closed.
He thought he'd be alone here tonight,
and that's why he was careless.
Does he know you saw the money?
Did I see the money?
I... I... I'm not quite sure.
You're not sure?
No, I could almost have sworn he knew I saw the money,
but he didn't seem to care.
He... Be careful.
The billiard room door's opening.
I thought I heard someone using the telephone out here.
Excuse me, Mr. Rolfe, I... I only...
What's this about the door, Rolfe?
These doors are rather thick, Dorothy,
but I was under the impression that I heard somebody say police.
Yes. Well, uh...
Yes, you did.
You weren't phoning the police by any chance, were you?
Yes, I... I was.
Why?
I, uh...
Go on, go on, go on. Why?
As a matter of fact, I was trying to get in touch with Jerry.
That's it. He's at police headquarters in New York,
and I was trying to get in touch with him
to see if they'd let me talk to him on New Year's Eve.
You know, I thought it would cheer him up.
Look, Miss, this is the Mellingford Chief of Police.
Are you still there?
What's that? What? Mellingford?
Well, it's a New York call relayed through the local station.
You... You don't mind?
Not at all. Please go right ahead.
Oh, by the way...
What?
I don't think you'll find that money, young woman.
Good night.
Listen, Miss, are you still on the end of the wire or aren't you?
Yes, but I couldn't talk to you. He was here.
Who was there?
Derek Rolfe.
He said I'd never find the money.
You mean he admits he's got it?
Well, no. He just smiles and smiles.
He's got some trick up his sleeve. I know it.
Oh, it'll have to be a good one.
Please never mind that. Can you come over now?
Oh...
All right, Miss, I'll... I'll take a chance.
Who else is in the house with you?
Nobody. I'm all alone with him.
What are you going to do if he tries to light out with the money?
I don't see what I can do.
That's all the more reason for you to get here quickly.
I swear you'll find the money in that billiard room only. Hurry.
Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes.
It can seem a very long time to a waiting girl
crouching in a cold and dim lit hallway
outside a closed door, hearing only...
...a voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
A voice.
Shh.
Miss Dale, I'm Joe Hollister, chief of police.
Yes, I recognized your voice.
The front door wasn't locked, so I just walked in.
I hoped you would. I didn't want to leave here.
Has Mr. Rolfe come out of that room since you talked to me?
No.
Then according to what you claim, he's still in there with a suitcase full of money.
That's right, Mr. Hollister.
Now, look, Miss, before we go any further, there's something I ought to tell you.
Well?
Well, I... I checked with New York about you.
And what did they say?
Yes, Miss Hollister. And what did they say about her?
Mr. Rolfe!
I'm rather interested in knowing that myself.
So you could hear everything through that door?
Of course I could hear everything through the door,
including our conversation with our friend, the chief of police.
Good evening, Mr. Hollister.
Good evening, Mr. Rolfe.
This young lady says that...
I know, I know what she says.
Will you come into the billiard room, please?
Both of you?
Oh.
Thank you.
Just what trick are you up to now?
Trick? You talk of tricks?
Now, just a minute now. Take it easy.
What I want to know is, where's this suitcase Miss Dale was talking about?
There it is.
What, you mean that empty suitcase on the bench beside you?
Empty suitcase?
Yes, that's what I said.
It wasn't empty when I left this room.
Chief, do you mind seeing for yourself?
Well, it isn't empty. It's empty now, Miss.
Hollister, it would gratify me to clear this matter up here and now.
It would gratify me, too.
I'm tired of this slanderous nonsense, and I'm going to end it.
This young woman told you that I had...
What was it?
Some $88,000 in this room only a few minutes ago.
I still say you had.
Curb your temper, please, while I ask you some straight questions.
Can you do that?
You better answer her, Miss.
All right, I'll try.
Did I or did I not leave the billiard room at any time?
No, you didn't.
Good.
Now, there's only one door and no window.
Only a skylight covered with snow.
So I didn't leave that way, did I?
No, I suppose you didn't.
Therefore, unless you're lying, the money must still be in this room.
Yes.
Then where is it?
I don't know. You must have hidden it someplace.
Where?
I'm afraid Mr. Raoult's right, Miss.
Take a look around you.
One pool table.
Comes apart so you can examine it.
One radio.
Go on, examine that too.
One overhead light, one standing lamp, one bare bench,
one rack of cues, one rack of pool balls.
Now, that's everything.
Now, can you tell me where I could hide enough money to fill a suitcase?
No, I can't.
It's impossible, Miss. The stuff's not here.
It must be here. It's either here or else...
Or else what?
Or else it vanished.
Oh, Mr. Hollister, haven't we had quite enough of this?
Yes, I guess we have.
Now, look here, Miss Dale.
I like the way you talked and I thought you were talking straight.
Will you just tell me why you try to string me along like that?
You know, I think I can tell you, Chief Hollister.
I wasn't exactly asking you, Mr. Raoult, but...
Well, go ahead.
You know, perhaps, that she's engaged to a man who was mixed up in the city and provincial robbery?
He was not.
It was neither a very clever nor a very far-sighted attempt.
I'm inclined to think that she'll not have a job when my aunt returns.
But as I say, it was a case of any old attempt to shield Jerry Wynton.
Did somebody mention my name?
Jerry! Oh, Jerry!
Dear Dolly, steady. I'm alive. I'm not a ghost.
You needn't dive at me like that.
But how did you get here? How did you get away?
I was trying to tell you, Miss, when our host parted in.
The D.A. has convinced you a young man had nothing to do with this.
That's right, Dolly.
And I thought I'd better come out and take you back to New York with me.
I was never so bad to see anybody in my life.
Put your arms around me.
Dolly, I suppose you'd mind if I picked up this cue and went on practicing.
Let's try the eight ball all the way down the table.
Come on, Dolly. It'll be New Year's in a few minutes.
There's nothing to worry about.
There is something to worry about.
He's got the money, the whole 88,000.
I know it. I'm sure of it.
Only we can't find it. It's hidden somewhere in this room.
As I said before, haven't we had just about enough of this?
The chief of police there won't believe me, but it's true.
I've heard a lot about that money myself.
I'll bet you have sons for nothing but hot money, hot money, hot money...
and where is it, where is it, where is it...
until I thought I was going off my nut.
If I could prove Derek Rolfe had anything to do with this, I'd...
Dolly, what's the matter?
Mr. Hollister.
Yes, Miss?
I think I know now where he's hidden the money.
Well, that was a bad shot, Mr. Rolfe.
You've made the white ball jump clear off the table.
Well, there are plenty of others on the table.
I tell you, I know where he's hidden it.
Is it in this room?
Yes.
But where? In the pool table? In the radio? In some secret panel?
No.
You'd better speak up, Dolly.
Has it ever struck you, any of you, that there is such a thing as an...
invisible piece of furniture?
An invisible piece of furniture? You mean we can't see it?
No, it's in plain sight. It's smack in front of your eyes.
But nobody ever sees it. You can't see it now.
We may not understand you, Dolly.
But by George Derek Rolfe does. Look at his face.
Yes, I'm looking at it.
What's the matter with all of you?
Please don't become emotional, Mr. Rolfe. I detest emotion.
Miss, there's a reward of 10,000 for the recovery of that money.
If you know where it is, tell us.
There's nothing easier. It's...
Before that young woman says something she may regret, please listen to me.
You've got him, Dolly. I don't know how or why, but you've got him.
Go on, Mr. Rolfe.
Tell me, Winton. You and I used to play on the same baseball team, didn't we?
That's right. What about it?
When did I play on that team?
You were the pitcher. Why?
Was I good?
You had the best control and the best fast one I ever...
Wait a minute. Why are you picking up that pool ball?
What are you going to do?
Take it easy, Mr. Rolfe.
You three are across the room from me.
I have a number of rather dangerous objects on the table here.
And I'll split that girl's skull if she says another word.
Don't be a blasted fool.
You think I can't do it?
Well, does that convince you I haven't lost my pitching arm?
You didn't even get a chance to raise that gun.
Oh, you don't.
Don't try to pick it up. I said it'd lie down the floor.
Get behind me, darling.
You stay where you are.
Move a step off First Basin.
Maybe you'd better listen to her, Mr. Ales.
Well, what are you going to do, Rolfe?
You can't keep us here forever.
I don't propose to keep you there forever.
I'm not so enamored of your company.
Now what's the game?
Well, I'll make a bargain with you.
Well?
My car's outside with a little more gas than the state allows.
Give me one clear hour to get away.
Well, what do you say?
I'm a cop, Mr. Rolfe.
I can't make any bargains with you.
No?
No, and I'm coming over there after you.
And you'll compel me to start throwing.
Down, darling, down under the table.
Hey, you missed that one, Mr. Rolfe.
I'm not missed with this one.
The shame to bust that till rack, Mr. Rolfe, but I'm still coming for you.
You've lost your control, old son. You're done for.
Let me try this.
Yeah, that was the wildest pitch yet.
Darling, look.
Don't get up, but look.
What is it?
The radiator, the steam radiator.
It's knocked the whole thing sideways.
Have you ever seen that happen to a radiator before?
Of course not, because it's a dummy radiator.
Dummy radiator?
See, I got you, Rolfe.
I'm not too old to handle a bird like you.
You haven't even got a search warrant.
I'll take a chance.
Well, what...
What was that about?
A dummy radiator?
Yes. Look.
Look here.
It's got a little oil burner inside to make it give out heat.
Yeah?
And it hinges at the back to form a lot of compartments
where you can hide as much money as you like.
I saw the hinges when he told me to go over to the radiator,
but I didn't guess what they meant.
It's really a safe that never attracts attention
because nobody ever notices it.
And the stuff's here all right.
There, Mr. Hollister.
That's what I saw in the suitcase.
I told you there was a $10,000 reward for that, miss.
Oh, did you hear that?
Turn on the radio, Jerry.
Go on, turn it on.
Welcome in the new year.
Didn't you tell me, all of you, that the money was hot?
And so ends Nothing Up My Sleeve,
starring Alissa Landy and George Koloros.
Tonight's story of Suspense.
Columbia presents these tales of mystery and intrigue
and dangerous adventure for your relaxation and enjoyment.
Next Tuesday, there'll be another in this series,
Same Hour, 9.30 Eastern Wartime.
William Spear, the producer, John Deeks, the director,
Bernard Herman, the composer, conductor,
and John Dixon Carr, the author,
our collaborators on Suspense.
This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.