In just a moment, suspense with Ray Milan.
Say, Harlow Wilcox, do you know what day this is?
Do I know what day this is? Does a dame know what a date is?
Does a truck driver know what a spark plug is?
Well, I...
Why, listen, my auto light friend, this is the day you plague me with silly questions
when I tell you about auto light resistor spark plugs, auto light staple batteries, auto light ignition systems and 400 other auto light...
I guess I got you, Harlow. That's not the answer.
Hey, Hades, ladies, of course that's not the answer. Here's the answer.
This is SP Day, Auto Light Resistor Spark Plug Day.
And furthermore, it's the day before T-Day.
T-Day?
Sure, that's tomorrow, Trucker's Day.
The day all the American Trucking Association fellas get together in Washington
to chin, chuckle and chortle over their carefree careers
as their trucks cross the continent with no thought of trouble or terrain.
How come?
Well, my friend, I wouldn't say that auto light spark plugs and staple batteries are wholly responsible.
But, well, use your own judgment.
I'll take your word for it, Harlow.
Now let's switch to suspense.
Suspense.
Auto Light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations bring you
Radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
Starring tonight, Mr. Ray Milan
in Anton Lido's production of Night Cry by William L. Stewart.
A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Report to the captain of the Homicide Bureau, Manhattan.
From Detective Lieutenant Mark Deglin.
You know, we always say that the cat waits for the mouse to run,
the dog waits for the cat to run,
and the police wait for the killer to run.
But if he's a smart killer, a real smart guy,
he doesn't run at all but just stands and laughs,
or even walks quietly and easily away.
He can really get away with murder.
There's a lot of murder around Homicide Squad
beside the steps we work on,
like the knifing I got when they passed me up and made you
Lieutenant Knight, an acting captain and head of the squad.
Funny how a little promotion goes to a guy's head.
It was Friday that you got your promotion and that evening,
after you'd sent for me, I had to warm a chair outside
until you were ready to see me. Remember?
Captain Knight will see you now, Lieutenant.
Well, that's sweet of him.
Come on over and have a chat, Deglin. Mark?
Sure, why not? Congratulations, Captain Knight.
That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, Mark.
You know, I didn't want this. I didn't do anything to get it.
Sure. Of course, playing golf with a commissioner's brother-in-law
had nothing to do with it.
You know it didn't, Mark. The force isn't run that way.
Now, look, I've worked with you for a long time,
and there's no reason why we can't get along fine.
Sure, no reason?
I'm the first to say that you're the best man on Homicide, Mark.
And, well, it's not my place to tell you,
but I think you ought to know the reason why you didn't get the promotion
instead of me.
I'm listening.
You know, Mark, the police department has come a long way
from what it used to be. Take Homicide.
It's no longer a question of one man going out and sapping
some poor devil until he gets a confession.
All of us, detectives, identification, lab men, telegraph,
the medical examiner's office, we're all one big team.
You know, that sounds like the commissioner's
number two speech for the Rotarians.
But it's true, Mark, and that's why the police board
didn't give you this job.
In an age of cooperation, you're still a one-man force.
How many killers did I bring in during the last five years?
Every one you went after. I know that, and so does the police board.
But a lot of them had marks on them that they didn't have
before you went after them.
And some of them had to be carried in.
Sure, but I got them, and quick.
Some of them I even had booked before that team you mentioned
got around to deciding what killed the victims.
I know that, but there's always a chance that the next time
you'll bring in some guy who had nothing to do with it.
Yes? He's on his way.
It's a call. You and Riley will take it.
Now, look, Mark, Riley's a good teammate for you.
He's proud of the force, you know, and he'll be just as proud
of your work as his own. And we'll talk about this later.
Sure, after I bring in another killer.
Where's the killing, Riley?
In the 70s, near Riverside, a gambling joint.
Some guy rolled a seven the wrong way?
Could be. Say, Mark, I was sorry to hear about the...
Ah, forget about it, Dan.
If I'd wanted a desk job, I wouldn't be a cop.
I'd rather bring them in than look at them after they're brought in.
Go on, let's go.
And for a minute, I didn't mind not getting the captain seat.
There was something about being on a job,
about starting out to look for a killer that beat everything in the world.
We got to the big brownstone that was the gambling joint.
Riley and I walked up the front stairs through the rain.
The patrolman on the door let us in.
There were three guys in the foyer.
One of them was a good-looking guy in a dinner jacket,
with a look in his eye that probably came from watching a lot of guys
try to make a four the hard way.
The second was a patrolman still writing in his notebook.
And the third was a guy on the floor, dead.
He was partly on his side, and there was a knife in his back.
He was wearing a suit that had cost plenty
before he spalled up a bleeding all over it.
The patrolman saluted as we came up.
Corker, sir, the doorman called me off the beat.
The dead man's name is L.O. Morrison.
Mr. Carlstrom here is the owner of the club, and he says...
Save it, Corker, until we ask for it.
Yes, sir.
What do you think, Riley?
He's dead, all right.
Take another look at that stiff.
He's got a fresh cut over one eye,
which he must have gotten before he was killed.
You're right.
It wouldn't be that bruised if he got it when he was killed.
Well, let's find out how he got it.
All right, you.
Yes, inspector.
Not inspector, lieutenant. Lieutenant Deglin.
Oh, yes, I've heard of you, Lieutenant Deglin.
Well, stick around. You'll get some first-hand knowledge.
What kind of a joint is this?
This is a private club.
The members have their own keys and let themselves sit.
Oh, a key club, huh?
That's right.
Who'd the dead man have a fight with?
Well, I don't like to say this,
but he had a fight with Kendall Payne.
I asked Mr. Payne to leave.
Kendall Payne, isn't that the guy who was a war hero?
Yes, that's right.
War hero, huh? And he's still fighting the war.
Well, having a key, he could come back after you threw him out.
Yes, he could have come back.
Was he alone?
No, Miss Morgan Taylor was with him.
Where does Payne live?
Well, here's his address book, Lieutenant. Payne is in here.
Thanks.
Okay, Dan, you can finish up here.
I think I'll look up this war hero.
Mark, don't you think you ought to wait for the medical examiner and the ID boys to arrive?
Why, I don't need the ME to tell me this guy is dead
and no identification to tell me he had a fight with Payne.
This murder is tailor-made,
and I'm going down and try Payne on for size.
It was a short street just off the Hudson River
where a lot of artists and duck wallopers live.
There was a dim light in the hall and I went up the stairs.
The light spilled out from under the door that had Payne's name on it,
and I knocked.
All right, it's open.
He was sitting on the bed.
He had an army kit bag open and partly packed.
There was a white bandage over his right eye,
and the drawers of the bureau were open.
Now, what do you want?
A little talk. Your name, Payne?
Yeah, but you're not anyone I know. Beat it.
We'll get acquainted. This badge will introduce us.
You know what you can do with that badge?
You know, I almost forgot you were a hero.
How long you been here, hero?
Maybe an hour. Now go on, get out.
How'd you get to be a hero, Payne, with a knife?
Look, I don't know you or your badge. Now go on, get out.
You're a tough little punk, aren't you, hero?
Especially tough for a boy who's just killed a man.
What are you talking about?
Where's the dame you were with?
Maybe she can tell you about the guy you had a fight with,
then went back and killed.
Look, you keep her out of it.
Look, sonny, you were maybe tough overseas,
but back here you're just another meatball. Now talk.
What are you, a tough cop?
Well, let's see how tough...
Sure, I'm a tough cop.
I hit him three times. No more than that.
He fell. His head hit the edge of the bed,
then he slumped to the floor.
His breathing was heavy for a minute, and then it...
And it stopped.
I stood looking at him, rubbing my knuckles.
Then I reached down and felt his wrist.
He was dead.
Well, it was another trial the taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for.
I got up, went to the phone, and seen him in the hall.
Night talking.
Daglin here. Look, I just...
Oh, wait a minute, Mike. Hey, close that door, will you?
Now that the case is broken, they're talking their heads off.
Case is broken? Yeah, it was Carlstrom.
He got panicky and started to run.
You know, Riley, when they run, he shoots.
He nailed him in the shoulder,
and Carlstrom thought he was gonna die and confess.
The dead man was into the gambling house for 50 grand and wouldn't pay,
so Carlstrom stuck the knife into him.
Hello? You still on? Yeah.
I just dropped some change. Did you find pain?
I... I think he's cleared out.
Clothes and the bathroom stuff's all gone.
He has? He probably saw something.
He didn't want to get mixed up in it.
Well, we can always put out an alarm on him.
Go home and get some sleep, Mike.
Sure. I'll get some sleep.
Well, I hung on, hung up, walked back into Payne's room.
I looked down at him, thought what a lousy time to make a mistake.
Well, I was only one smart way out.
I had to bring Candle Payne back to life long enough
to be seen taking a run-out powder.
I needed some good, reliable witnesses.
That way, I could get away with murder.
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Okay, Harlow, here is suspense.
And now autolite brings back to our Hollywood soundstage
Mr. Ray Mland as Detective Lieutenant Mark Deglin
in Night Cry, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
As I said before, Captain Knight,
the cat waits for the mouse to run, the dog waits for the cat to run,
and the police wait for the killer to run.
Only I wasn't going to run.
I stood there and tried to figure how to have Candlepane seen running away.
After that, Pane would be just another guy who got scared and beat it.
I'd still be Lieutenant Mark Deglin, the guy who didn't make mistakes.
It took me a while in the night and the rain to do what I had to do,
quite a while.
But I finally got to my own apartment.
I still had Pane's kit bag with his name stenciled on the side,
but I could get rid of that later.
I tossed it on the floor behind my desk and went to sleep.
When I got to headquarters the next morning, it was late.
Pane's disappearance had the DA demanding we find him.
Dan Riley was already out trying to trace Pane,
and I could just imagine what he was doing.
He was already out trying to trace Pane,
and I could just imagine him bulldogging along from one witness to another.
And then you said...
Suppose you go up to Connecticut, Mark,
and talk to Pane's girl, Morgan Taylor.
Just routine.
Just routine?
Okay, I'll take care of it.
I found where Morgan Taylor lived from the Greenwich Post Office.
It was a low, rambling White House set back from a tree-lined road.
The girl who answered my ring had dark hair,
that came down around her shoulders,
and wide gray eyes that were sure and young and lovely.
Yes?
You Miss Morgan Taylor?
Yes, I am.
I'm Lieutenant Mark Deglin of the New York Police.
Oh?
You know where I can find Kendall Pane?
Oh, the silly fool.
He said something about leaving last night,
but I thought he was just being dramatic.
When was this?
Well, I...I went down to his place with him last night
after we left the gambling club.
I've been seeing a lot of Ken,
but I just couldn't keep on.
He was always getting into fights and picking arguments.
So I told him I wouldn't see him anymore.
That's when he said he'd leave.
And that's the last time you saw him?
Yes.
But there's something else.
Well, yes.
It wasn't time for my train yet,
so I walked around in the rain.
Then I remembered that I had a date to meet Ken in town tonight,
and I went back to tell him I wouldn't be there.
But he wasn't in his room.
I had no idea he'd really left.
You think he might have gone back to the gambling club?
Why do you ask that?
Well, after he left the club last night, a man was killed.
The man Pane had a fight with.
And you think he ran away because of that?
He might have.
Ken was, well, pretty neurotic.
You in love with him?
Oh, I'm very fond of Ken.
But that's all, Lieutenant.
But I'd hate to think that anything happened to him.
You've no idea where he is now.
If you'll wait a minute, I'll go with you.
I was just getting ready to leave myself.
He might show up to keep that date with me tonight
at Mourney's on Bleecker Street.
We can wait for him there.
She rode back to New York with me.
And after the first few miles, we stopped talking about
Kendall Pane and talked about ourselves.
She was really a beautiful gal.
I kept glancing sideways at her profile.
Maybe this case was going to turn out better than I thought.
When we hit town, I called you, Captain Knight.
Remember?
I was doing, not mentioning what nice work
it was turning into.
Then Morgan and I went on to the restaurant.
Since then, I've just played around, I guess.
I know what you mean.
Look, it's past eight, Morgan.
What time was Pane supposed to meet you, seven?
Yes. It looks as though I've been stood up.
Well, he must be pretty scared to stand you up.
If it were me, I'd risk even a murder
after keeping the date.
Thank you, Mark.
You made it, didn't you?
Well, it's a good thing you asked me.
I was just about to put my handcuffs on
so you couldn't get away.
I got into headquarters early next day.
I just finished calling Morgan to say good morning
and make a date for that night.
And the desk sergeant said that you wanted to see me.
I went in and Riley was with you.
Well, we got a couple of things on Pane, Mark.
You were keen on him?
Sure. Dan, that was a nice job on Colstrom.
He was certainly a scared guy.
You know, one thing about killers,
they always make a break for it sooner or later.
Yeah, most of them do.
What's doing on Pane, Knight?
I'll let Riley tell it. It's his story.
There's nothing much except I talked to a number of people
who think they saw him. I got a couple of them outside.
Might as well bring them in, Riley.
Yeah, okay.
Morning, Gold.
This is Captain Knight, Lieutenant Daglen Gold.
He's a cab driver. He got out of bed to come down and help us.
Sure, Chief. Anything to help you guys out?
Okay, Gold, tell him the story you told me.
Sure.
Like I said, I picked up this fare downtown last night
about 1 o'clock.
Big guy with a bandage over one eye.
He was carrying one of those soldier kit bags, you know?
Wanted to go to the station, Grand Central.
He was in a bad temper.
Take a look at these pictures.
Where did I put that other... Oh, here it is.
Well, it might have been either one of these two.
They look a little alike.
Without the bandage, I couldn't swear which one.
Okay, thanks, Gold. If we need you later, we'll call out.
Sure, sure. Anytime, Chief. Anytime at all.
Well, pretty close. One of the two was a picture of Payne.
Who was the other one he thought looked like Payne?
An old newspaper picture of you, Mark.
Me? Yeah.
You didn't know I collected all your publicity, did you?
It'd been funny if he'd just identified you.
Yeah.
Yeah, very funny.
Who's your other witness, Riley?
He lives in the house across the street from Payne's place.
Will you come in now, Miss Meacham?
Miss Meacham, this is Captain Knight.
How do you do, Miss Meacham? How do you do?
This is Lieutenant Deglin.
Mrs. Meacham, Mark.
I've seen you, Lieutenant.
You have? Oh, yes.
Oh, well, maybe it was when I was over to Payne's the other night, huh?
Oh, no, I didn't mean there.
In the papers. Oh.
Your picture's been in the papers a lot.
Yeah, I guess it has. Mrs. Meacham,
I believe Riley tells me that you saw several things the other night,
things that puzzled you.
They certainly did puzzle me, Captain.
You see quite a few things in the neighborhood, Mrs. Meacham?
Well, some say that's all I do.
Well, I say when a body gets old like me,
there ain't much left but looking.
Yes, of course.
Now, what did you see the other night, Mrs. Meacham?
Let's see. Oh, that was night before last.
Well, like I told Mr. Riley, I couldn't sleep.
So I was up late and I saw Mr. Payne and his girl go in,
but I didn't see her come out.
You didn't see her come out?
I made tea. I might have missed her.
I have to have my tea, you know.
But I did see her go back in later.
How much later?
Oh, maybe half an hour, maybe more.
But before she came back, somebody else left.
Well, that must have been Payne.
Well, I don't rightly know.
He was wearing a bandage and was carrying his kit bag,
but he didn't wave to me.
Didn't wave to you?
Oh, Mr. Payne always waved to me when he went out.
So it was mighty funny he didn't that time.
Well, maybe he just forgot. What happened after that?
No, sir, he never forgot to wave.
Oh, well, anyway, about 20 minutes later,
Mr. Payne's girl came back.
She stayed just a little while and then went away.
Very interesting, Mrs. Meacham. Is that all?
Of course it is.
And that was a lot for a neighborhood where nothing ever happens.
Well, thank you very much, Mrs. Meacham.
We'll call you if we need to talk to you again.
Well, I won't remember any more than I have.
Well, let's go, boys.
Where are we going?
I've been behind this desk so long, Mark, I'm getting calluses.
I'm going to come with you and Riley.
The room was as I remembered it,
except there wasn't anybody on the floor
and the police technicians were there.
Now, let's see now.
The old lady says she saw the girl come in twice,
but never saw her go out.
Any other way out of here, Riley?
Through the window. Let's take a look.
You man through with this window?
You mean the guy, probably this pain,
a few prints of a small man or woman, huh?
Let's look at this window.
I stood watching.
They weren't going to find anything looking out of the window.
Maybe they'd see the pry marks in the wood
and find the sash weights were missing.
But that wouldn't mean a thing.
Suddenly, Riley let go of the window and...
Watch it!
It almost took my fingers off.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry.
Hey, Al, the sash cords have been cut
and the sash weights are missing.
What's that?
Ah, I see what you mean, Dan.
The river's near here, isn't it?
That's what I was thinking.
Okay, we'll call the harbor patrol and see what we get.
So Riley had finally bulldozed into something.
The walk down to the river was short.
Shorter than the last time, it seemed.
The police tug was stirring the mud
of the river bottom with its grappling hook.
When Payne's body finally came up,
the dirty water cascaded from the blanked shroud
and the sash weights dripped mud.
Well, that's that, boys.
Payne didn't run away at all.
Somebody killed him.
I think we can wrap this one up fast.
How'd you figure that, Knight?
It's easy, Mark.
The girl had a fight with him.
She's the only one seen going in the other night.
Her prints are on the window.
She probably killed him, dressed up in his clothes,
made it look like he was leaving,
then came back and dumped the body.
It's the girl, all right.
But, Mark, this Taylor girl couldn't carry a big guy like that.
Couldn't she?
She was in the ambulance service overseas, Mark,
and carried soldiers around.
Civilians aren't any heavier.
I'm putting out a pick-up on the girl.
Well, that's the way it was.
I had an out,
but it was the one out I didn't want.
I didn't want the chair getting Morgan, Taylor.
Not what I wanted.
I'd have to fix it some way.
I had to go home and think.
Well, I hadn't been there long when...
Morgan stood in the doorway,
her eyes tired and frightened,
her face white.
She went past me without speaking
and over to a chair.
When she looked at me, I knew I was right.
I had to find some way to save her.
Mark,
I just heard
they want me for the murder of Kin.
I know, honey.
Why did you come here?
Why? Why, because
where else would I go, Mark?
But you're not forgetting that I'm a cop, too.
If you want to take me in, Mark,
I'll understand.
I only want to take you one place, Morgan,
and that's not headquarters.
But I've got to take you in.
Whatever you say, Mark.
But I'll get you out, honey.
You won't be in there long enough to remember even what it looks like.
After they booked for headquarters,
I went back to the apartment.
I had to figure out some way
to save her and myself.
But first I had to get rid of that kit bag.
If she'd seen it, everything would have been ruined.
Besides, it was stupid
to leave it around.
Then,
then I had an idea.
There was one way out.
That was to write this report to you,
Captain Knight, and get out of the country.
Then when she was freed,
she could join me. She was worth running for.
Only wouldn't really be running.
I was walking away.
Well, that's that.
So long, Captain Knight.
I won't be seeing you.
I picked up the kit bag
with Payne's name on the side.
Went down the steps.
Hello, Mark.
I think I got a lead on the girl
and I thought you'd want to be in on the kill.
But I got it, Dan. I just turned her in.
Where'd you find it?
What's the bag number?
Nothing, Dan. Nothing. I had...
Kendall Payne, Mark.
Look, I found it.
Where?
In his apartment.
I was there yesterday and we were all there today.
What's the matter? You think I'm lying?
I don't know, Mark.
Say, what time were you at Payne's the other night?
Look, Dan, I got something to do.
We'll talk about this case later.
Wait a minute, Mark.
That cab driver picked out your picture as well as Payne's.
What are you talking about? Listen!
You weren't surprised when we found those sash weights gone
or even when you saw Payne's body dragged out of the river.
There's nothing worse than a couple's turn bad.
Mark!
Get out of my way, Dan!
Hey, Mark! Mark!
I had to run. Everything had been crowding in all day.
That cab driver, the old lady,
the kit bag, and now Riley.
Pushing in like a bulldog with his questions.
I had to run and keep running.
I had to get away before he could ask another question.
Mark, don't run! Mark, don't!
Oh, my God!
You shouldn't have run, Mark.
You know what happens when a guy runs.
Thank you, Ray Milan, for a splendid performance.
Mr. Milan will return in just a moment.
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And now here again is Mr. Ray Milan.
It has been such a pleasure to be here.
Tonight, with this great cast of suspense actors.
And I'm expecting almost as much pleasure
from listening next week,
when radio's outstanding theater of thrills
brings you Lucille Ball in a little piece of rope.
Another gripping study in...
Suspense.
Ray Milan may currently be seen
in the Hal Wallace production,
So Evil, My Love.
Tonight's suspense play was adapted
from the novel of William L. Stewart, Night Cry,
which will shortly be released in theaters
and will be available on the
Disney Channel Stewart, Night Cry,
which will shortly be made into a motion picture.
The music was composed by Lucian Morawak
and conducted by Lud Gluskin.
The entire production was under the direction
of Anton M. Lieder.
In the coming weeks, suspense will present such stars
as William Powell, Agnes Moorhead, John Garfield,
Edmund O'Brien and many others.
Make it a point to listen each Thursday
to Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
And next Thursday, same time,
hear Lucille Ball in
a little piece of rope.
This is the
AuroLite Suspense Show.
Drive as if your life depends on it.
It does.
Good night. Switch to
AuroLite.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.