Autolite and its 96,000 dealers present Suspense.
Tonight, Autolite brings you the story of a woman who finds a letter warning of death
and has only three hours to deliver it.
A transcribed tale we call The Death Parade, starring Miss Agnes Moorhead.
Before our play begins, here is a word about Autolite from our good friend, Harlow Wilcox.
Hi Harlow, you got the time?
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an hour.
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engineered Autolite spark plugs, you'll get smoother performance, quick starts, gas savings.
Oh, three o'clock.
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engineers who designed the complete ignition system for many leading makes of our finest
cars.
And that's why Autolite spark plugs are world famous for quality and dependability.
And now with The Death Parade and the performance of Miss Agnes Moorhead, Autolite hopes once
again to keep you in suspense.
Some parade, eh?
I'll say.
Something about a parade.
Yeah, you can say that again.
Well, I guess it's all over.
Sure has been a nice day for it.
Yeah.
Not a cloud in the...
Hey, hey, look up there on the roof.
Where?
The Benson building.
Hey, look out, look out!
She's gonna fall!
She's gonna fall!
Go back!
No!
No, don't!
Don't!
All right, now, Miss Johnson, let's try and talk about this.
This girl fell or was pushed off a roof this morning?
You say you were the only other person there at the time.
I was.
I told you.
Oh, what do you mean?
What do you mean, pushed?
You think that...
Oh, can you?
I can't even...
I know you're upset.
Just take it easy.
I'm upset.
I'm nearly out of my mind.
I don't see how you can expect me to tell you anything.
First you accuse me and now...
How can you believe me so unfeeling?
All I was trying to do was just...
Oh, it's freezing in here.
You've no right to keep me in here.
Here, try some coffee.
It'll make you feel better.
You've told us you know something about this accident.
Something more than we already know.
Yes, I do, Lieutenant.
I mean, it never would have happened, don't you see?
Oh, sure.
Well, come on, Donna.
This will help.
I'm so nervous.
Oh, no, it spills.
Oh, that's all right.
We'll clean it up later.
That's how it started.
That's how it started this morning, just like that.
The coffee.
That poor girl wouldn't have died if the coffee hadn't spilled.
That's just how it started.
My name's Ellen Johnson.
Oh, I told you that.
I work at the Farnsworth Chemical Plant.
For 12 years, I've been there and never missed an hour of work.
That is, until today.
It was so unnecessary.
That horrible, rude little man.
He was the one.
I'm very precise about my daily habits.
Very.
When you live alone, you arrange things that way.
In the morning, I get up and allow myself time to take coffee
and toast at the cafe on the corner.
I've always disliked cooking in the morning.
I leave the cafe at 8.15 precisely in order to be at my desk exactly at 9.
Well, this morning, it was the same.
It was just the same, except that horrible man.
He was just awful.
As I sat at the counter, you know, I could feel him there.
He was two seats away, thin and dark,
making a nasty noise as he drank his coffee.
It was all his fault.
Are you going to see the parade this afternoon, miss?
I'm afraid I'll be working.
Too bad.
It should be good for business.
I imagine so.
Anything else?
No, thank you.
Hey, you.
25.
Coffee and toast, right?
Yeah, that's right.
Hey, you.
Thanks.
Pass the sugar with him.
Good morning.
See you tomorrow.
What's the matter?
I asked for the sugar.
You want it?
I beg your pardon.
Yeah, yeah, sure.
Oh, why, look at that.
You deliberately spilled that coffee all over my...
Oh, gee, ain't that a shame.
What a clumsy gee.
Am I sorry?
He wasn't.
He wasn't in the least sorry.
He'd done it on purpose, on purpose.
I was wearing a gray silk dress and it's probably ruined.
And he just stood there and wiped it to stay with his napkin, smiling, his dirty, crooked
teeth.
I pushed him away and I walked out.
I knew I was going to be late because I had a change, so I went home again.
Well, if I hadn't gone home, this awful thing might never have happened.
It took me 15 minutes to get back to the apartment, change my dress, and leave again for the office.
Well, I'd walked three blocks when I saw the letter.
It was lying on the pavement in front of an apartment house.
It was unsealed and addressed simply to Miss Sheila Mannix, no house number or street.
Dear Sheila Mannix, you don't know me.
I just got into the city.
It doesn't matter who I am, but this is a warning.
Believe me, you better take notice.
Jack's got it in for you.
I stopped reading.
There was some more, but I didn't want to go on.
It frightened me a little.
And well, I'm not one to pry into other people's business, but this wasn't prying, really.
It wasn't.
The letter was important.
Whoever had written it must have forgotten to put the address on it and it had fallen
out of their pocket.
I made up my mind then I would go into the apartment house.
It was possible that the writer lived there and on his way out had dropped it.
Janitor.
Oh, Janitor.
Yes, he was.
Yeah.
Are you the janitor?
Yeah, I'm sorry.
We've got no vacancy.
No, I don't want...
Look, this letter, it's not addressed.
Do you know the handwriting?
I thought maybe you might...
No, nobody by that name living here.
I didn't ask you that.
All I want you to do is to tell me if you recognize the handwriting.
It might belong to someone living here.
How come you opened it?
Well, it was lying on the pavement outside.
So give it to the mailman.
It's important.
I mean, what's in the letter is important.
I think she ought to get it.
So the post office will forward it.
Well, can't you see there's no address?
How can they forward it?
How stupid.
Listen, you don't have to get nasty.
I told you she don't live here no more.
I'm sorry.
Who doesn't live here anymore?
Mannix.
She had to wait about six months ago.
Sheila Mannix lived here?
Where did she move to?
Can you tell me?
No forwarding address.
But I must find her.
I'm sorry, lady.
I can't find her.
But I must find her.
I'm sorry, lady.
I can't help.
Then I thought of the police.
I should have told them about the letter, but I didn't.
I didn't know what else was in it then.
So I went back to my own apartment and I looked through the telephone book.
There were two Sheila Mannix's lists.
The first lived on Maple Street and the second on South Tower.
I rang the Maple number first.
Hello?
Hello?
Is this Miss Sheila Mannix speaking?
Mrs. Sheila Mannix, who is this?
My name is Ellen Johnson and I found a letter this morning addressed to Sheila Mannix.
I thought it was important and I wanted to make sure it got to the right party.
Who is it from?
Well, that's it.
I don't know.
Well, why don't you open it?
Well, I have, but I only read a few lines.
Oh.
Do you know someone named Jack?
Jack?
Yeah, I have a nephew.
Well, then perhaps maybe...
But he's in Colorado, though.
Well, it seems to be some sort of a warning.
Warning?
Yes.
I'm afraid I don't understand.
Well, the letter says that Jack has got it in for you.
It's a, well, a warning from...
Oh, well, I'm afraid the letter isn't for me.
My Jack is ten years old.
Oh.
Oh, well, I'm sorry to have troubled you.
It's all right.
Goodbye.
As I hung up, I looked at my watch.
It was nine o'clock.
There was my job, but I just had...
The second Sheila Mannix listed in the directory lived on South Tower.
I dialed the number and I waited.
I got the letter out of my purse and read it.
This time I read all of it.
Dear Sheila Mannix, you don't know me.
I just got into the city.
It doesn't matter who I am, but this is a warning.
Believe me, you better take notice.
Jack's got it in for you.
He was drunk one night and told me about it.
Somebody you knew pretty well died last year.
He didn't fall off that building.
He was pushed and Jack did it.
He said he was going to get you, too.
I would have told the police, but they'd start to get nosy about me.
Jack's on his way here and from the way he talks,
he better not find you around.
He talked crazy about a parade, the corner of Maine and Thomas,
and 12 o'clock.
That's when he's going to do it.
A friend.
I sat there holding a piece of paper that carried a death warning
for a woman I'd never seen,
and I knew where and when she was going to be killed.
The Death Parade
All the light is bringing you Miss Agnes Moorhead
in The Death Parade,
tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
The second Sheila Mannix's address was 317 South Tower Street.
I got my car out and I drove there.
It must have been nearly a quarter to ten when I drove up outside.
It was an old rooming house.
Oh, hurry up. Come on, come on, come on.
What do you want?
I'm very sorry to trouble you. Is your name...
You have to talk louder. I can't hear you.
I'm sorry. I wonder if you could tell me, is your name Sheila Mannix?
No, it's not.
But the phone book has a Sheila Mannix listed at this address.
Oh, it's her phone. She pays for it. I never have no cause to use it.
She does live here then.
Yes, she has a room upstairs. What's the matter?
Does she work? Is she at work now?
Well, how should I know? I never ask her where she goes. What's she done?
You mean you don't know where she works?
Do you know where she lived before she moved here?
No. You see, she never says nothing. She's quiet and keeps to herself.
But where can I find her? It's important that I learn where she is right away.
Well, she'll be home prompt by seven. She always is, you know.
You come back then if you got to see her.
Well, seven will be too late. I've got to find her now before twelve.
There ain't no you shouting at me.
Well, I can't tell you no more than I already have.
I'm sorry.
I don't know nothing about Sheila Mannix.
I'm sorry. Good morning.
Now, I knew that I'd wasted far too much time. I had to call the police.
There was a drug store in the corner and I ran down the block to it.
Good morning. Can I help you?
Yes. Do you have a phone?
One over there, but it's out of order.
Oh, then could I use yours? It's an emergency.
I'm sorry. I don't have a private phone.
I've got to call the police. I've never been mixed up in anything like this before.
It's a letter I found this morning, a warning about somebody being killed.
Oh, there's a phone in the next door. You can use that.
Maybe you know her. She lives down the block.
Who?
Sheila Mannix. She's the one. At least I think so.
Mannix? Sure, sure. She comes in often to have a prescription filled.
Very nice young woman.
Do you know anything about her? I mean, where she works?
I've got to find her right away.
No, I...
Please, it's urgent. I asked her, landlady. She didn't know.
Well, it seems to me she did mention it once, but...
Think you must think, please.
Well, now, it was just the other day we were chatting while I filled her prescriptions.
She said something about work...
Was it a restaurant? A cashier, maybe?
No, no.
Department store elevator operator? Cats? Clothes? Shoes?
No.
Telephone operator, maybe?
No, no. Doesn't hit. I'm sorry.
You're not thinking. Try to think.
Listen, ma'am, if I could help you, I would, but...
Oh, my. I have to keep friends in the neighborhood. Somebody you might know.
No, never mentioned them.
Can't you remember? Maybe she worked in an office, huh?
Excuse me a moment. It's a customer. You better go next door and call the police.
But can't you remember?
I'll be back.
Maybe a chorus girl. Does she work in a bookstore?
Oh, well, I can't wait. I'll come back after I've called.
Oh, a bar. What will they think a woman going into a bar...
Hey, ma'am, wait a minute.
Huh?
Look, I remember. You said bookstore. It's a book company.
Simmons Book and Stationery Corporation.
Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Simmons Book and Stationery Corporation.
Thank you. It's on Main. Yes, I know the place. Thank you very much.
Simmons Book and Stationery. Why, I had been there dozens of times.
She might even have waited on me. I looked at my watch. It was 10.30.
I really meant to call the police from the bar, but I didn't know how long it would take to explain.
And even then, they might not investigate without seeing the letter first.
I thought of the corner of Maynard and Thomas, the parade at 12 o'clock.
An hour and a half. I ran to get my car.
I knew that once I found Sheila Mannix and gave her the warning, she'd be safe.
Good morning. May I help you?
Yes, please. I'd like to speak to Miss Mannix, Miss Sheila Mannix.
I understand that she works here.
Yes, of course. Is there anything I can help you with?
No, no, thank you. It's personal.
Oh, yes. One minute, please.
I'd found her and it was going to be all right now.
While I waited, I looked at the books lining the walls.
I was standing in front of the mystery section.
You know the first title that caught my eye was Time for a Murder.
I'm very sorry, ma'am, but one of the other girls tells me that Miss Mannix had an appointment.
She's not here.
I'm sorry. Now, perhaps I should...
But where did she go? Let me talk to the girl.
I think to the doctor.
What doctor? Where? When did she leave?
Well, if you'll wait here, I'll find out for you.
Oh, I could have cried. It was almost 11 o'clock and that silly precious little salesman, he took forever.
How long does it take to get in the dress?
I started to walk to the back of the store when he came down the aisle toward me.
I'm sorry to have taken so long. A customer on the phone, you know.
It's all right. I don't care. Just give me that doctor's address.
Oh, yes, yes. I have it right here.
Dr. Morton, 101 Flowers Street.
101 Flowers, Dr. Morton. When did she leave?
Oh, I forgot to ask if you'll...
No, no, I'm going there now. Listen, if she comes back, if I miss her, you tell her to stay right here.
Don't let her leave the store again until I come back. It's a matter of life and death.
Oh, well, all right. Is something wrong?
Something wrong? I ran to a telephone booth.
I knew that I'd done as much as I could alone to save that poor girl.
Police Department, Sergeant Leonard.
Please listen carefully. There's a murder going to be committed at 12 o'clock.
Who is this?
Oh, that doesn't matter. My name's Ellen Johnson. I found a letter in the street this morning.
It was to a woman called Manix, Sheila Manix.
Would you spell that, please?
Manix, M-A-N-N-I-X. There's not time for...
When did you find the letter?
I told you this morning. Oh, what difference does it make? It was at nine, I think.
Why didn't you call earlier?
I didn't because... Well, I tried to find her myself. I think I know where she is, but I...
Have you got the letter with you?
Yes, yes, I have.
Would you read it, please?
One time, you've got to send some men here. It's a warning.
Somebody called Jack is going to kill her at 12 o'clock on the corner of Main and Thomas.
There's a parade going on then. What does this woman look like? Can you give us a description?
No, I've never seen her. I don't even know her.
You say you think you know where she is.
Yes, at a Dr. Morton, 101 Flower Street.
Where are you calling from?
Simmons Book and Stationery Store. She works here.
Will you get a description of the woman, please? I'll wait.
Yes, yes, of course. Don't hang up!
I found the young man again and he told me what Sheila Mannix looked like.
I got back to the phone and told the officer, short, about five foot two, thin, possibly 90 pounds,
wearing a brown coat with a brown shoulder strap bag.
Go try to find her, Miss Johnson. Please stay there. I'll have an officer come to the store to pick up the letter.
I put the receiver on the hook and sat in the booth. I was shaking and my hands were ringing wet.
It was 1120. Somewhere outside I heard a band playing. The parade must have started.
I stayed in the shop and the minutes passed 1130, 25 to 12.
At 20 minutes two, I just couldn't stand it any longer, the waiting, you know, the awful waiting.
I had to do something. I called Sheila Mannix's house again.
There was just that chance, that slight chance.
Maybe she went home after the doctor. Maybe she's there. Two more. No, three. Let it go. Three more.
Oh, be there, be there, be there. You must. You've just got to be.
Hello?
Miss Mannix?
Who is this?
Miss Mannix?
You'll never know. Listen, you don't know me, but I...
I have to speak louder. I can't hear a thing on this thing.
Who is this? Is this Miss Mannix?
Miss Mannix ain't here. This is the landlady.
Oh, my.
I'm cleaning up. Is there a message?
I couldn't stand that story any longer, so I gave the letter to the salesman and told him to give it to the police when they arrived.
It was quarter to twelve. Main Street was alive with people. It seemed as though the whole city had turned out to watch the parade.
I pushed my way along the street towards the intersection. I just couldn't have stayed away if it were my own life, depending on it.
The crowd was so thick that it was impossible to see anything from the street, and I just had to see.
Then I thought of the Benson Building and the roof. If I was up on the roof, I could see everything that happened on that corner.
It was five to twelve when I got in the elevator and took it up to the 19th floor.
I had to walk to the roof, and I could hardly breathe as I opened the door and stepped out into the bright sun.
Instinctively, you know, I knew that this was the building, the same building that the man in the letter had been pushed from last year.
For a minute, I didn't see anyone.
And then, at the corner, standing near the edge, looking down, I saw her.
A short woman, quite thin, dressed in a brown coat with a shoulder strap bag.
Miss Mannix? You are Miss Mannix, aren't you?
I've been looking for you. It's about a man called Jack. He's looking.
It's all right. It's all right. Don't be frightened. Don't be frightened.
Don't move back. Don't. Don't. Don't the edge. Don't.
What's the matter? Get away from there. No. No, you'll just. No. No. No.
I don't know. It's just terrible.
Uh-huh. That's how it happened, eh?
Yes, yes. I tried to stop her. You spend from nine o'clock till twelve looking for her, and then you don't call us till forty-five minutes before it happens.
I told you why. I just didn't know. You know something, Miss Johnson?
I think you're lying.
Lying? How dare you say that? I was doing what I thought was the right thing.
You pick up a letter, a warning letter. You go to a janitor. You call people on the phone, but not the police.
Well, I. You visit Sheila Mannix's house, talk to the landlady, talk to the neighborhood druggists, to the salesman in the bookstore. All witnesses, all alibis.
But I wanted to find her to warn her, don't you? And then you call the police when you're sure it's too late.
How did I know she'd be up there? How? You set up a nice alibi for yourself.
You were alone with Sheila Mannix. Who's to say you didn't push her?
Oh, stop it. You don't know what you're talking about. You know, right? I was trying to help her. That's all. I won't listen to you. I'm going home.
Now you sit down. I'm holding you for a while. We're going to check, Miss Johnson. We're going to do a lot of checking.
Arrest me? I was a good citizen. I did my duty. I tried to save her, and you're going to.
Listen, now. Oh, yeah? Can I see you for a minute? Sure. You stay right there, Miss. We're not through.
This happened last year. Murdered? Murdered? That's what he's saying, that I murdered her.
He's saying that. To me, after all the good I did. I was only trying to warn the poor girl.
Take a look at the report. Where are they holding? He's saying it's about me. I know it. I know it. I know it.
Okay. That's all right. That does it, then.
All right, Miss Johnson. We know what happened now.
You know? What do you mean, you know? I told you that's how it happened. Every word.
I'll tell you something. I've got to believe you. There's nothing I can do about it.
Nothing you can do? Well, what should you do? Instead of frightening the life out of me, you should thank me for doing it.
You listen to me for a change. I'd like nothing better than to throw the book at you, but I can't.
We've got the man called Jack. He was picked up in the parade.
There. You see? There. I was right.
The fellow who wrote that letter you found called the police about an hour ago. He told us the story.
That's how we got our boy. Then she was safe. He couldn't kill her. She wasn't in any danger then, was she?
Oh, yes, she was. You. Because you found her and frightened her to death.
I was only telling her that there was nothing to be afraid of.
Sure, sure. That's all. Do you know that she was standing in the same place where her boyfriend was killed a year ago?
Then you come along and mention the name of the man she knew killed him.
Now maybe you know why she was afraid and backed away from you.
You didn't know a thing, huh? Well, I want you to know something, though. I want you to sleep with for the rest of your life.
If you'd called the police when you picked up that letter, Sheila Mannix would be alive right now.
You think about that. I can't see where I was wrong.
Oh, maybe I should have called sooner, but I did call if you hadn't taken so long.
Get out of here. Go on, get out. It's too bad we can't send you where the other guy's going.
He killed last year, and you did it today, just as sure as if you'd shot her.
Go on.
It's all right, Lieutenant. I understand. I can see why you're upset, and I'm sorry.
Sergeant, you understand that I was only doing what I thought right, don't you?
It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. If it got there sooner, it never would have happened.
I have nothing to reproach myself about. Nothing.
Oh, I'm so upset. A whole day's work and my gray silk dress ruined.
They'll never be able to get that coffee stain out.
Suspense presented by Auto Light. Tonight's star, Miss Agnes Moorhead.
Backward turn backward, old time in your flat, and give us a minute to talk Auto Light.
That's a good idea, Hap, but it would take us hours to tell about the more than 400 fine products made by Auto Light
for cars, trucks, planes, and boats in 28 plants from coast to coast.
These include complete electrical systems used as original equipment on many leading makes of cars,
electric windshield wipers, starting motors, wire and cable, voltage regulators, coils, distributors, generators,
all engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly as a part of the Auto Light team.
So friends, don't accept electrical parts supposed to be as good.
Ask for and insist on Auto Light original factory parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage, or repair shop.
And remember, you're always right with Auto Light.
Next week on Suspense, in answer to your many requests,
backseat driver repeated for you with its original stars, Fibber McGee and Molly.
And during the month of March, you will hear Mr. William Bendix, Mr. Ronald Coleman, and Mr. Jack Carson.
All on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with music composed by Lucian Morrowek and conducted by Ludd Bluskin.
Portions of this program were transcribed.
Tonight's cast included Joseph Kerns, Jack Crouchon, Byron Cain, Shimon Ruskin, Jerry Hausner, Lou Krugman,
Jeanette Nolan, Jane Avello, and Lou Merrill.
For some interesting backstage pictures of Agnes Moorhead rehearsing for today's Suspense play,
see the current issue of Quick Magazine.
The Death Parade was written by Shirley Gordon and adapted for Suspense by Anthony Ellis.
Agnes Moorhead is currently on tour with Charles Lawton, Charles Boyer, and Sir Cedric Hardwick
in the drama quartet presentation of Man and Superman.
And remember next week on Suspense, Fibber McGee and Molly in Backseat Driver.
You can buy world famous auto light standard type or resistor type spark plugs, auto light day full batteries,
auto light electrical parts at your neighborhood auto light dealers.
Switch to auto light. Good night.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.