And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tonight, we bring you a transcribed story of a man who thought the best way to commit
murder was to plan it first.
We call it Variations on a Theme.
So now, starring Parley Bear, here is tonight's Suspense play, Variations on a Theme.
Dear old girl, your head, your head is bleeding.
Hello?
Who?
Oh, no, no, she isn't here.
Well, this is Mr. Milford.
Oh, oh, Mrs. Wadwood, how are you?
Fine, just fine.
No, she left this morning.
I'm taking the train this afternoon.
No, the kids aren't going till Thursday.
I imagine so.
All right, I'll tell you a call.
Oh, I'm sure she'll write.
Goodbye.
Joe?
Joe, can you hear me?
That was Mrs. Wadwood.
I told her you left this morning.
I'll bet that old parodin is going to miss you.
But I won't.
Come to think of it, not many people are going to care one way or the other.
You're just a habit, Joe, a bad habit.
There.
That hurt your ears, Joe?
Well, that's what I've had to put up with from you yapping at me for the past 20 years,
just banging on my ears.
Bang, bang, bang.
I hope you're comfortable in there, dear.
You've got a long trip to take.
It had taken me five years to work it out and a couple of minutes to do the thing.
It was the morning we were to go up to the cabin for a month.
Beautiful Tuesday morning, July, warm, sunny.
I had the trunk all ready for her.
She was finishing packing in the bedroom and as usual nagging, griping.
Herman?
Herman!
Did you pack your hairbrush?
Yes, dear.
Oh, I don't know why you want to take all that fishing tackle.
You never catch any fish anyway.
What time are they coming for the luggage?
One o'clock. I told you.
Oh, I don't feel right taking off and leaving the children to follow.
If anything...
Herman, for heaven's sake, what are you doing with that trunk?
We don't need a trunk.
Now you get that thing put away.
Oh, it's all dusty.
Look at my nice clean room.
What are you doing with that trunk, Herman?
I need it to pack, dear.
Have you gone out of your mind? We are packed.
No, not quite, Joe. I forgot something.
Now you're not taking another thing.
Oh, yes, I am.
Oh, I...I've wanted to do that for a long time.
She wasn't dead.
I didn't hit her hard enough for that.
Just out like I liked.
I taped her hands behind her back, folded her up nicely and taped her ankles.
Particularly...oh, particularly.
I enjoyed putting two yards of electrical tape over her mouth.
She came to just as I got her in the trunk.
You should have seen her eyes.
Just before I put the lid down, I told her what was going to happen.
You've never looked better, dear.
Now, don't you worry about a thing because I have taken care of everything.
You're going on the train with the rest of the baggage.
And when we get to Pinecrest, old man Butterfield will haul you out to the cabin.
And then tonight, when it's nice and dark, I'm going fishing, dear.
And I'm going to put you in the boat, take you out of the middle of the lake, and drop you down.
It's a metal trunk. It'll sink.
If you'd ever listened long enough to hear what anybody else was saying,
you might remember that they have never found the bottom in that lake.
Oh, you're thinking that Mr. Butterfield will wonder where you are or why you haven't showed up.
That's what you're thinking, isn't it?
Well, I'm going to be worried, see.
I put you on the train this morning and had some work cleaned up in the office,
so I had to take the next one.
But I'll figure you stopped off to see your mother in Greenwood.
You said that you might, remember?
You talked to her the other night and said you might.
There were two witnesses.
That sick name Mrs. Dolman and your dear girlhood friend Louise.
If their husbands had any sense, they'd murder them, too.
And besides, even if anybody does suspect anything,
Corpus Delecti, you know, is just find the body.
And nobody's going to.
It's worth taking the chance, dear.
Have a nice trip.
Oh, incidentally, in case you're wondering why I didn't kill you just now,
I want you to have time to think for the next three hours.
Go through a little of what you've put me through for the last 20 years
and keep your big mouth shut!
I made some coffee and waited for the expressman.
Every once in a while I'd creep up quiet as a mouse,
go over to the trunk and give it a kick right where her ear was.
And every time I did it, I felt a year younger.
At one o'clock, right on the nose.
Mr. Milford?
That's right.
You've come for the luggage?
Yes, sir.
Well, it's all there.
Suitcases, trunk, fishing tackle.
Oh, going to do a little fishing, huh?
I sure am.
The trunk's pretty heavy.
Oh, would you like me to give you a hand?
Oh, no, no, that's all right.
I've got the dolly right outside.
Okay, here we go.
Oh, boy, that thing really weighs.
Well, it's all right.
There's nothing breakable in there.
It is a good solid trunk.
They don't make them like that anymore.
I guess not.
Well, I'll put the rest of the stuff on top of the trunk.
All right.
Oh, be careful of my tackle, that's all.
I know what you mean.
Okay, is that it?
Yep, that's it.
One trunk, three suitcases, fishing tackle.
Will you sign here, please?
Sure.
There you are.
Thank you.
What time will they be at the station?
Oh, about 20 minutes.
Oh, fine, I'm catching at 2 o'clock.
Oh, they'll be there.
That's fine.
Thanks a lot.
You're welcome.
Thanks again.
Well, have a good trip.
Catch a fish for me.
Yeah, I will.
Well, that's that.
I went in the kitchen, had another cup of coffee,
and didn't wash the cup and saucer or the coffee pot.
I didn't have to when there wasn't anybody to tell me
I was messing up the kitchen.
It was about 10 after 1 when the doorbell rang again.
Mr. Milford, can I use your phone?
What's the matter?
Oh, I can't get the pickup started.
It's that distributor again.
I told them at the garage.
See here, I've got a train to catch.
You've got to get the luggage to the station.
Oh, I'll have them send out another pickup.
It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes.
I'm awful sorry.
Well, couldn't you fix it?
Try again.
I just can't miss that train.
I've tried, Mr. Milford.
Believe me.
All right.
I suppose you'll have to.
But please, tell them to hurry, will you?
Sure.
Tug on distributor.
I told them, I told them.
Sure hate to put you out, Mr. Milford.
Hello?
Let me have the routing desk.
Okay, I'll wait.
Oh, Mr. Milford, it never fails.
When you're in a hurry, it never fails.
Do you think it's safe leaving the things out there?
Maybe you ought to bring them in.
Oh, no, no, no.
It's all right.
As soon as I'm through, I'll go out and sit in the pickup.
Say, look, it's almost 1.15.
Don't you worry.
We'll get your stuff there on time.
Come on, come on.
Hello.
What's happening, honey?
Well, I got a customer here.
He's got to catch a train.
My truck's walking down.
In 45 minutes.
Well, he says in 45 minutes.
Okay, okay.
Oh, boy, it's some service.
I work for the mister, and it's a good job,
but I tell you, sometimes, boy.
Oh, for heaven's sake.
Hello, Herman.
Joe's still here.
No, no, she's gone, Louise.
She caught the 11 o'clock train.
Oh, that's funny.
She said she was going to stop by for a minute.
Well, she was late.
Listen, I can't talk now.
The expressman's here, and I've got to...
My, is that all your luggage on the truck?
Yes, yes, it is.
Oh, I think that's very sensible, taking the trunk.
I told Joe she ought to.
Things don't crease so much.
Nothing annoys me more than having all my nice summer things
all creased when I take them out of the suitcase.
You're going to have to excuse me, Louise.
I'm trying to get this express...
You're going to be so nervous, Herman.
Goodness, you make a body nervous, being so nervous.
You men, you and Jack.
I'll bet Joe did all the packing,
and all you have to do is see it gets to the station.
You men, honestly, talk about nervous.
When are Julie and William going up?
The day after tomorrow, Louise.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
They're spending a couple of days at the beach
with the Buford kids, huh?
Yeah.
Honestly, I don't know how you let them go there alone.
I've heard.
Well, there's been talk of pretty wild parties.
Of course, it's none of my business, but...
Thanks for stopping by, Louise.
Goodbye.
Well, I think you're being very rude, Herman.
I think you're being very rude.
What did they say?
Well, it's nothing to worry about, Mr. Milford.
The other pickup will be on its way in a couple of minutes.
Oh, my, look, it's 20 past 1.
Now, you just take it easy.
I'll go out and see if I can't get that pile of junk started.
You just take it easy.
You'll make it all right.
Now, remember, take it easy.
Don't worry, Louise, I could have killed her.
No, let Jack kill her.
I had my own problems.
I tell you, those women, she would notice the trunk.
Oh, well, that wouldn't mean too much.
I had the other one, a duplicate,
already up at the cabin to bring back.
Nobody'd see me take it there.
I was safe on that.
I don't mind telling you, I was a little nervous
waiting for that truck to come.
Of course, there was some consolation.
The sun was nice and hot, shining right on the trunk outside.
Joe must have been roasting nicely.
It was like that lamb she was always cooking.
Every Saturday for 20 years, roast lamb.
She knew I hated it.
That's why she made it.
No more roast lamb ever.
Oh, the truck.
Hi, Dad.
Hi, Pop.
Julie, William, what are you doing home?
Oh, Mac Buford got sick, appendix or something.
Real square.
We all got thrown out.
No beach party, nothing.
So we decided to go up to the cabin with you.
Yeah, we put our suitcases on the truck outside
and we're all set.
Let's go, Pop.
You are listening to Variations on a Theme,
tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding
Theatre of Thrills, Suspense.
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And now we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage
Parley Bear, starring in tonight's production,
Variations on a Theme, a tale well calculated
to keep you in suspense.
I knew they'd be better off without her, but what could I say?
Kids, I got your mother outside in the trunk,
I'm going to drop her in the lake when we get up to the cabin.
They liked me, maybe they liked me better than her,
but she was their mother.
They might be sympathetic, because she nagged them
almost as much as she did me.
Still, murder, I didn't think they'd go for that,
so of course I didn't tell them.
But I was in a mess.
How was I going to get rid of her with the kids around?
Well, they were all excited to get going and called a taxi,
and by the time it got to the house, the other express truck had arrived
and taken off at the trunk and the cases.
We made it to the station with five minutes to spare.
I guess I'm a fatalist, what's done is done, what's to be is to be.
I figured I'd get rid of the kids long enough when we got to the cabin
to take care of Joe.
As we walked along the platform past the baggage car,
I saw them loading the trunk.
I must admit, I got a kick out of the way they banged it around.
It's funny how you get a kick out of something like that.
You want the sports section, Pop?
Oh, no thanks, I read it.
You look tired.
I do.
You need a good rest.
Right.
You and me will do some fishing.
Maybe this evening, huh, Pop?
No, I don't know, maybe.
You know Mother, she'll have a million things for us to do when we get there.
I can hear her now.
Let her stew.
It's vacation time.
How was she this morning, Dad?
Oh, all right, her usual self.
Your mother's a rather nervous woman, you know.
Nervous?
Pop, you know, this year I've been studying some psychology,
and, well, Pop, she's your wife and our mother.
But boy, if I've ever seen a psychotic, that's it.
No, no, no, no, you really shouldn't talk about your mother that way.
Oh, Dad, sometimes I wonder how you put up with it.
I'll bet right now she's complaining.
All to herself.
It's either too hot or too cold.
I imagine it's the heat more than the cold right now.
You know, I hope I find a man like you to marry.
The patience of a saint.
He'd need to be if he married you.
Oh, hearty, hearty.
No, no, no, don't quarrel, children.
Hey, Julie, you remember last year that fellow, what was his name?
Well, you remember, he was at the dance.
Something was bothering me.
I mean, aside from the fact that my wife was doubled up in a trunk
a few cars away from where we were sitting.
It had been bothering me ever since we left the house,
and suddenly I knew what it was, the heat, the heat.
You know what happens to tape when it gets warm, wet,
particularly if it's in contact with flesh.
Well, I can tell you, it gets loose.
And I had a horrible vision of that electrical tape over Joe's mouth slipping.
Oh, I got almost here.
Dad?
I felt pretty warm myself.
Dad? Dad, are you all right?
Oh, I was daydreaming.
Very Freudian, Pop.
Very Freudian.
Yes, look, I feel a little restless.
I'm going to walk up to the smoker.
Hey, swell, we'll all go.
Well, I'd kind of like to go alone.
Go ahead, Dad.
I won't be long.
We had about ten minutes before the train pulled into Pinecrest.
I thought that if she had made a sound, and when she made it, she made a lot of it.
Somebody would have heard her by now.
There'd have to be some kind of a commotion at the baggage car.
When I got to the connecting door to the baggage car, there wasn't a soul.
Still, I wanted to be sure.
If I was going to be caught, I might as well be caught right then.
It really wouldn't make any difference.
So I pounded on the door.
Yes, sir?
Oh, I was a little worried about my fishing tackle.
I wanted to be sure it was on the car.
I'm sorry, no, no admittance.
Oh, yes, well, I suppose it's there.
Where are you getting off?
Pinecrest.
There's a metal trunk, some suitcases, and tackle to be put off there.
Yes, that's mine.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
Just before he closed the door, I caught a glimpse of the trunk.
It was standing on end.
Her head down, I hope.
I felt better.
Twenty minutes later, we were loading the suitcases on Old Man Butterfield's pickup truck.
He was mighty glad to see us and mighty worried about Joe not having arrived yet.
I explained about her visit to her mother.
Well, sir, mighty glad to see you folks anyway.
My stars, Mr. William, you've grown a lot.
We'd better get the trunk on.
William, you take this corner and I'll get on the other side.
And you push in the middle, Mr. Butterfield.
Okay, Pop.
Now, all together, one, two, three, four.
Oh, that's a mighty heavy trunk, Mr. Milford.
Oh, we're going to be up here for a month.
Well, folks, fishing has been a mite slow, just a mite, but it should be picking up any day now.
Fellas have been getting some nice strikes with bug-eyed poppers.
Mighty nice strikes.
Oh, that's fine.
How's your wife, Mr. Milford?
Just fine, just fine.
Oh, proud piece of woman that, Mr. Milford, proud piece.
Miss Julie, you favor her.
Thank you, Mr. Butterfield.
You say she'll be up around seven, eh?
It depends on how long she stays where she is.
It was a pretty narrow washboard road from the station to our cabin, about eight miles.
I could hear the luggage bouncing around in the back.
The kids talked about everything the kids talked about when they started vacation, and it made me feel good listening to them.
Well, we got to the cabin and loaded.
Mr. Butterfield took off, and there we were, the four of us, including Joe in the trunk.
My, it was a beautiful afternoon.
Boy, the old place hasn't changed.
Pop, let you and me go down to the lake. What do you say?
That's a good idea. I'll get things done.
No, no, you kids go on down. I'd feel better putting everything away myself. It'll make your mother happier.
Oh, Pop.
We'll all do it together. Might as well start with the trunk. Yours and mother's clothes in that, Dad?
Well, you kids take your suitcases up to your rooms. I'll take care of the trunk.
Okay.
We'll still have time to fish before dark, Dad.
They went upstairs. I had to be very fast now.
I dragged the trunk into the storage room, left it there in a corner, draped an old sheet over it, and brought out the empty duplicate trunk, which I'd driven up to the cabin six months earlier.
I was afraid they'd hear me, but they were too busy chattering to each other as they unpacked.
The old Joe would have been proud of me if she'd seen how quickly I got the clothes out of the suitcases and put away.
When the kids came back downstairs, the trunk stood open and empty in the middle of the floor.
Hey, that was quick work.
Here, I'll help you put the trunk in the store room.
All right, son.
I'm going to lift it.
Careful.
Very careful.
Look out for your foot.
All right.
Pop, can I use your spinning outfit? I'd like to feel a bass on it.
Oh, of course, I'm not saying it'd be as much fun as the old fly rod, but can I try?
Sure you can.
Thanks. Gee, this is going to be a swell vacation, Pop.
I hope so.
What time do you think Mother will be here?
Well, she must have stopped off at Greenwood to see Grandma, so I imagine it ought to be around seven.
She said it'd be about then.
All right. Why don't you two do some fishing for an hour, and I'll start dinner.
Fine, dear, fine.
This is a wonderful steak, Julie.
Thank you, Dad.
Great.
Don't talk with your mouth full.
You know, I'm getting worried about Mother. It's almost half past seven.
Oh, I wouldn't worry, dear. She's probably...
What was that?
What was what?
I heard it. Like a knocking.
Oh, woodpecker, probably.
Hey, that's no woodpecker.
What is it?
I don't know.
Oh, dear.
Where's it coming from?
It's not outside. It's...
Pop, a rat, maybe?
I think it's coming from the storeroom.
Sounds like a woman. Listen.
It is in the storeroom.
I'm scared.
You stay here. Come on, Pop.
Be careful.
Pop, it's coming from over there, under the sheet.
It's...
It's your mother, William. The tape slipped. I was afraid it would.
Pop?
Come on.
Mother's in there?
Mother?
Help me unstrap it, William. Don't just stand there.
What's she doing in there?
That's a pretty stupid question. She'll answer.
Oh, my house, she'll answer.
Pop. Oh, stop saying Pop.
All right. Stand back.
Mother.
Mother.
Ma, here, I'll get the tape off.
Ma.
I'll have to think of something else.
This won't work again. That's for sure.
He tried to murder me. He tried to murder me.
He tried to murder me.
Herman? Herman, did you pack that hairbrush?
Yes, dear.
I don't know why you want to take all that fishing tackle.
You never catch any fish anyway.
What time are they coming for the luggage?
One o'clock, I told you.
Oh, I don't feel right taking off and leaving the children to follow.
If anything, for heaven's sake, what are you doing with that trunk?
We don't need a trunk. You get that thing put away.
Oh, phew. Oh, it's all dusty.
Look at my nice clean room.
What are you doing with that trunk, Herman?
Nothing, dear. I decided not to.
Not to? Not to what?
What's the matter with you, Herman?
Nothing. Just a little idea I had.
I'll think of something else.
Suspense, in which Parley Bear starred in tonight's presentation of Variations on a Theme.
Next week, the true story of a daring escape through the Iron Curtain of Czechoslovakia.
We call it Listen Young Lovers.
That's next week on Suspense.
Suspense is transcribed in Hollywood by Anthony Ellis, who also wrote tonight's script.
The music was composed by Rene Gerrigan and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.
Featured in the cast were Paula Winslow, Helen Quibb, Sam Edwards, Barbara Fuller, George Walsh, and Peter Leeds.
Joan Loring, Young Broadway star and winner of both the Donaldson and the Critics Circle Awards,
will be adding to her prestige as a dramatic actress tomorrow night when she stars in The Payoff Girl,
tomorrow night on The FBI in Peace and War.
Stay tuned for five minutes of CBS News to be followed on most of these stations by The Jack Carson Show.
The Radio Workshop presents the new and unusual Friday nights on the CBS Radio Network.
Thank you.