And now, another tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.
The fortune is there, and they'll kill to get it.
Truck stop.
Written for suspense by Peter Fernandez.
Hey Maggie, what do I owe you for the coffee and damage?
I tell you, you should know by now you've been stopping in here almost every night for months.
Just leave how much you think it is.
Sure, sure, I know. I just wanted to have a word with you.
Oh? Anything wrong with me?
Wrong? Oh no, no ma'am. Everything's right. Right as gold, huh?
Yeah, if you say so.
Now we might as well clear off the counter.
Looks like he's coming again tonight, huh?
What do you mean?
Your boyfriend. It's ten minutes after midnight. That armored truck of his rolls in about 12.15, don't it?
Yeah, that's right. But how'd you know tonight was one of his regular stops?
Are you kidding, Maggie, with you all dolled up?
Now look okay, huh?
Maggie, he's a lucky guy. You know what I'd do if I was him?
Tell me, Benno.
I'd ask you to come along in that truck of his. You and maybe a couple hundred thousand bucks. We'd have a time with me.
Well, we might, Benno, before the police caught up with us.
Uh-uh. I'm smart to say they'd never catch us, Maggie.
Better.
Well, I'd better get rolling before your boyfriend comes in and finds we've been making plans behind his back.
Okay, see you.
Yeah, yeah.
All right, Benno, get in.
Yep. Yeah, sir.
What time is it?
Quarter after 12.
The truck should be coming in now.
Yeah, where is it, Benno?
It'll be coming every night for six weeks. I've been casing this. The time's out, I swear.
Then where's the truck?
Will you wait?
Okay. Okay, I don't hear from you for too long.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
Okay.
I don't hear from you for two years, ever since Juliette.
Now this, an armored truck job, of all things.
An armored truck?
I tell you, if we start small, it's something easy.
No, but you got to have an armored truck.
Will you shut up?
Now, just look.
Coming up the highway now, the turnblaker's on.
That's it, so.
That's 200,000 bucks minimum.
Sure, sure.
And two guards and a driver all behind bulletproof glass and three-quarter inch heavy steel.
How are we going to get into an armored truck like that, Benno?
With a can opener?
Will you just watch, just watch everything and I'll show you just how two nights from
tonight, when they stop at that diner the next time, we're going to get that truck.
Oh, where's them binoculars?
Here.
Okay, the truck stopped.
Yeah, just keep watching through them binoculars.
Maybe you'll see for yourself how we're going to do it.
Boy, am I stiff.
That's a long haul from Greenville to here.
Maggie's coffee better be good.
And when hasn't it been?
But when will I give her this before you even order?
A ring?
Uh-huh.
Really going to ask you tonight?
What do you think I bought it today for?
I don't want some other guy trying to grab Maggie before I can stake her claim.
Well, good luck, son.
She's quite a get-out.
Do you want me to wait out here until you ask her?
Oh, no.
Come on in.
We're used to having you around on these stops.
You're part of the family.
Well, okay.
Hello, Maggie.
Hello, Frank.
Hiya, honey.
Hey, Charlie, don't come behind this counter if the boss sees us.
Oh, by midnight, old man Duncan's fast asleep.
What are you doing out here, huh?
Give me a kiss.
Charlie, I...
Maggie, I've got something for you.
I hope you like it.
The store said that exchange it if you don't, but...
Something for...
Hey, you've got a real romantic look in your eyes, Charlie.
Maybe I do, Maggie, because I...
Now, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Let me give Frank his coffee and take Simmons' soup out to him.
But, Maggie, I want to...
That's okay.
We can wait, Maggie.
No, I'd rather do it this way, Frank.
I think maybe Charlie's going to ask me to marry him,
and this will give me a minute to think up my answer, you see?
Excuse me, Charlie.
Sure, honey.
Take your time.
I want you to give it as much thought as you need.
Would you like a Danish with your coffee tonight, Frank?
With my waistline?
No, thanks, Maggie.
Okay.
Here's yours, Frank.
Knowing you were coming in any minute,
I got Simmons' bullion cubes ready in the cup here.
So I'll just pour the hot water over them.
I noticed your hands shaking, Maggie.
Does the thought of getting married scare you?
You kidding?
Listen, I'm 23 years old, Charlie, and I want to get married.
Maggie, does that mean you...
It means give me a minute to bring Simmons his soup,
and then we can talk, okay?
Okay, okay, but will you hurry up, honey?
Here we are.
All my soup's ready.
Boy, I think he'd get tired of this stuff.
He probably is by now.
He's been drinking bullion ever since I met him years ago.
But a doctor once told him beef bullion
is the best thing in the world for him.
Honey, we got a schedule.
Okay, I'm on my way.
Just hold on to that ring,
and don't change your mind before I get back.
You see, Zoe, just like I said,
there she comes out of the diner.
Yeah, yeah, I got her in the glasses.
She's carrying a cup and saucer, ain't she?
Yeah, I can see him in her hand.
All right, now you watch your certain to the guard
that's got to stay in the back of the truck.
What good's that does?
The guy's still behind them steel walls.
The only way to get at him and get the dough
is to blast our way in or roll that truck over
using a settling torch right up to...
What's it there doing now?
She's not going to steal away the back door.
Hey.
That's how, huh?
She gets the guy to open the door,
then we move in, huh?
That's how, Zoe.
That's how.
Simmons, it's me, Maggie.
Hey there, Maggie.
Here's your soup, Simmons.
Oh, thanks. How are you, Maggie?
Oh, I'm happy.
Tonight I'm very, very happy.
Oh, Charlie's proposed, huh?
Well, it took the big boy long enough to get up to Nare.
But now he hasn't yet, Simmons.
But as soon as I go back in there,
he's going to give me an engagement ring.
Well, then you go ahead, then, girl.
Don't wait for me to finish this soup.
You go on in there and accept the man.
That is, if you want to.
Oh, I want to, all right.
I'll see you in a few minutes, Simmons.
Yeah, you bet.
Maggie, Maggie, congratulations in advance.
There it is, Zoe.
There it is.
Just like I said, the door's open
and the loot's sitting right in there.
So when are we hitting tonight, right now, Ben?
What are we waiting?
We're waiting till I say we're going to hit.
I wanted you to see the whole setup,
know just how and what minute we hit it.
Okay, sir, now I know.
So now I want to grab that door while the grabbing's good.
When, Ben, when?
On their next regular run.
That won't be so long to wait.
We'll hit that truck two nights from tonight.
Oh, two whole days from now?
I told you.
I've been planning this for six weeks,
and I ain't going to have you loud set up.
Now we play this real safe.
The night after next is when?
The night after next.
Okay, Ben, you're the boss.
Night after next it is.
Okay, so we're coming to the diner now.
Yeah, I see the neon blinking up ahead.
Okay, now remember, stay in the kitchen.
Don't you come out for nothing unless I tell you to come out.
Yeah, yeah.
I'll tell you what, if I go out in that garden,
the truck spots what's going on,
it'll never open up for us.
You've been over this a hundred times already.
I just want to be sure you got it straight.
That's it, park under these trees.
They'll kill the lights.
Oh, look at that place, will you, Ben?
Two trailer trucks, a carload of teenagers.
How are we going to pull this off with them?
They're clearing out, you see?
Man, business comes and goes.
Chances are it'll be empty by the time that baby pulls in.
I hope you're right.
That other truck is leaving now, too.
All right, now just remember,
we don't start shooting unless we got it.
I know, I know.
Just make sure you know.
I heard how you lost up that Zanesville job
eight years ago with your quick trigger.
All right, go smooth with me.
All right, I'm going in now.
And when you see her serving me my coffee,
and not until then,
you sneak in the back through the kitchen.
I told you, I know.
Just remember.
Good luck, Ben.
Yeah, the way I figure this setup,
it's going to be neat luck.
You kids want anything else?
No, that'll be all, Maggie.
How much we owe you?
Well, boy, soda pops, 40 cents.
Here's half a buck.
Keep the change.
Oh, thanks, Jimmy.
I'll see you.
Come on, fellas.
Hey, I'll let you watch where you're going.
Sorry, Dad.
Stupid bunch of kids.
Hello, Benno.
Right on time, I see.
Yeah, yeah, right on time.
Give me a cup of coffee
and a slice of that pie there.
Coming right up.
Well, you're dressed fit to kill, Maggie.
Boyfriend's stopping here tonight, huh?
Boyfriend nothing.
Get a look at this, Benno.
Wow, the ring.
Good for you.
Here's your coffee.
Yeah, thanks.
Yeah, finally managed to hook the guy.
Now if you could just hook a few of them
thousands he hauls in his truck,
you'd really have it made, huh?
Charlie and me don't need money like that.
We'll work for what we get.
Here's your pie.
It's peach.
Yeah, thanks.
What's that?
Hey, some guy just came into the kitchen.
I never saw him before.
Oh, forget him, Maggie.
Hey, you, what do you want?
I said forget him, Maggie.
Just come here and clean up this corner
from them customers that just left, huh?
If my boss comes here
and finds some guy in the kitchen,
he's going to...
Your boss is almost asleep and you know it.
Everything okay back there, Zell?
Okay.
Yeah, I know.
I've covered the whole joint through this little window.
Good.
Now stay back there out of sight.
You're together, Benno?
You and him?
That's the setup, Maggie.
Now you just stay behind that counter
and do your work like usual.
What's going on?
What are you up to anyway?
What do you think, Maggie?
It's a stick up.
That's what it is.
A stick up?
Oh, come on, you're kidding.
Just look through that window at Zell.
You see what he's holding?
A gun.
Now I don't want nobody pulling into the parking lot
and see what's going on,
so just act normal, huh?
And just remember, Zell's got his gun on you.
One wrong move and you're dead, Maggie.
There won't be no wedding or nothing.
You know what, Mr. Duncan, my boss,
he left orders in case of a stick up.
He said just to give you the money.
What money?
The lousy few bucks you got in that cash register keep it.
But you just said it was...
We're after the truck.
The truck?
You mean Charlie's truck?
That's the one.
Then we'll let you get near it.
What time has it been off?
And quarter after, exact.
Quarter after, exact.
They'll be pulling in any minute.
Now, you just listen, Maggie,
and listen real careful.
When they get here,
when the driver and your boyfriend come in here,
and when they're serving the guy in the truck,
I'm gonna drop this in it.
You're gonna poison Simmett?
Will you just shut up and listen?
Now, this here pill will only knock him out.
And when you serve him,
he's gotta unlock the door into the truck.
And this will make sure he leaves it unlocked.
I bet I would, son.
Okay.
Now, stop mopping the car out, Maggie,
and act like nothing's wrong.
That's better, that's better.
Now, you just remember,
Zella and me will start shooting
if anything goes wrong.
Please listen to me.
Mop the counter.
Go on.
Hello, Maggie.
Hi, honey.
Charlie, don't come back here.
Are you kidding?
Old man Duncan's home sleeping.
He won't know,
and I want a kiss from my future wife right now.
Charlie, Charlie, sit down, please.
Hey, what's the matter with you tonight, honey?
I thought you'd be real glad to see me, but...
Is it because that guy's sitting there?
What difference does it make if a stranger sees us?
We're official now.
It isn't that.
Well, what then?
I can't tell you.
Oh, okay, but I don't know what to...
Go around the counter and sit down, Charlie.
Yeah, all right, Maggie,
but at least you owe me some kind of explanation.
I mean, after all, I can...
Maggie, I'll...
I'll take a cup of coffee.
Okay, Frank.
And a Danish tonight.
Never mind my diet, I'm starved.
Coming right up, Frank.
And, uh...
Simmons in the truck, Maggie.
Don't forget Simmons.
No, no, I won't.
Have I ever?
Here's your coffee, Frank.
And the Danish.
Okay, now that I'm sitting, Maggie,
will you tell me what's bothering you?
Hey, you haven't changed your mind, have you?
If there's some other guy...
I can't tell you right now, Charlie.
I, uh...
I'll bring this to Simmons.
Simmons?
Oh, you're taking that outside?
Well, good, I'll walk with you so as we can talk.
Because I want to find out what suddenly come between you and me.
No, Charlie, you stay right here.
No, let's get this straightened out. Come on.
Charlie, I...
Sit down, Charlie.
Huh?
What did you say?
I said sit down.
What business is it of yours?
Just take a look through that window into the kitchen
and then sit down and shut up.
Hey.
What is it, Charlie?
Just both of you stay right where you are.
There's a guy in the kitchen, Frank.
He's covering us with a submachine gun.
Yeah, okay.
I'm gonna trap here. I'm holding this pistol
so as the guy in the truck can't see it.
What do you guys want?
You know what we want.
Well, you better call him off.
Simmons won't open up for you.
He'll open up for her.
We got it all arranged, right, Maggie?
Charlie, I tried to stop him, but they wouldn't...
Bring that cup and saucer over here to me, Maggie.
I... I changed my mind. I won't do it.
I'm warning you, Maggie.
Listen, Maggie, what happens to us in that truck is no concern of yours.
Do just what he says.
I don't need no help from you, Charlie.
Bring me the cup and saucer.
Okay, Ben.
Here.
Okay.
Now just drop this into it.
There.
Charlie, I'm sorry.
I tried to make him change his mind.
Now take that out to the guy in the truck, just like usual.
And Maggie, remember this.
You say more than a couple of usual words to him
and we ain't gonna wait to see what happens.
We blow these two guys' brains out.
Yeah, I won't say anything I shouldn't.
I promise.
Okay.
What are you waiting for?
Maggie, when you get out there, get in that truck with Simmons.
Tell him to lock it up. You'll be safe inside.
One wrong move out there, Maggie, and we kill Lover Boy.
You're keeping us thinking of that, aren't you?
Listen to me, Maggie. Running a fat armored truck is our job.
That's the chance we take.
If I don't do what he says, he'll kill you, Charlie.
But you've got to think of yourself.
She's got to think of you, Charlie. She loves you.
Forget that, Maggie.
If I do as he says, then nothing will happen to you, Charlie.
Don't you believe that, honey?
If they can get into that truck, they'll shoot all of us.
They'll have no witnesses, Ben.
Will you shut up, Mac?
Come on, make me.
You and your friend start shooting now, and Simmons will know,
and you'll never get into that truck.
Well, come on, let's get it over with.
Maggie!
She went out to Simmons. She's going through with it.
I told you. She loves you.
She'll do what she's supposed to.
Charlie, if we rush him, we might have a chance.
We wouldn't get two feet. That guy in the kitchen had nailed us.
That's right. Both of you.
But just keep sitting right there like nothing's wrong.
There. She's at the truck.
So now we just wait.
Simmons, it's me, Maggie.
How are you, Maggie?
Fine. Here.
Wait a minute, Maggie. Don't go yet.
Tell me first, have you set a date for the wedding yet?
No, no.
Simmons, I've got to get back inside.
What's the matter with you, Maggie?
Nothing, nothing at all. It's just that, well, there's another customer,
and I've got to get back to him.
Excuse me.
Ben, I swear, I didn't say anything about you.
I didn't think you would.
I got behind that counter.
She did what she wanted. Now you can let her go.
Let her go?
Wait, a warrant to cops? She's in this all the way.
What are we supposed to do now?
We wait just a little more.
That stuff I put in this cup works fast.
Thirty seconds maybe, but we've got to be sure.
We'll give it a minute.
You won't get far without money. There'll be roadblocks.
Beno, let's go.
All right. I told you we ain't rushing this, and I netted.
All right, so we wait a few more seconds, but no more than that.
It's my fault, Frank.
You're breaking the rules, stopping here every time we made the run.
You're in love.
Well, we didn't have to stop.
We're just as much to blame, Simmons and me.
I'm coming out, Beno.
All right, then come on. No, Frank, as soon as he comes out of that door, we rush him.
No, you don't.
That's it. Just freeze both of you.
I got him covered too, Beno.
You guys are lucky I didn't pull his trigger just now.
I'm warning you. You ain't no spot to warn nobody.
Just keep him covered, Zelt, till I get inside the back of that truck
and give you the okay.
And you know what to do. I know.
You hear that, Maggie?
You should have gotten the back of that truck with Simmons.
Now it's too late.
Maybe it isn't, Charlie.
He's going to kill us. You heard him.
Suppose Simmons knows what's going on.
Suppose he's just waiting out there for Beno to reach the truck.
Yeah, but how could he know, Maggie?
Did you tell him?
No, but he might know anyhow.
He just might.
What are you talking about?
He's reached the back of the truck out there.
He's got the door open.
Hey, grab him, Frank!
Listen to him too. He's out cold.
Are you all right, Maggie?
Yeah, I'm just kind of shaky, I guess.
Simmons got the other guy. He's splashing a torch on him.
Maggie, how could Simmons have known?
Did you warn him after all?
Charlie, I was afraid to say anything to him.
I just brought him that cup of tea with the pill in it.
In how many places did he find out these guys were sticking us up?
Wait a minute.
Tea?
Maggie, did you say you
bought Simmons a cup of tea?
Yeah. Yeah, that's what I said.
And Simmons expected his bullion as usual.
He hates tea.
Sure, he wouldn't touch his stuff.
And he knew you wouldn't make a mistake like that, Maggie.
Beno told me he'd been watching this place
and planning the robbery for months.
But in all that time, I guess he forgot to notice what I served.
Oh, Charlie.
Charlie, if he ever found out...
What matters now, honey, is he didn't know
Frank, will you call the police?
Yeah, sure.
We'll have to forget our schedule tonight,
at least till the cops make out their reports.
Listen, while we're waiting, let me get you
fresh cups of coffee.
Those must be cold by now.
Okay, if you feel up to it, Maggie.
Oh, you kidding?
For a few minutes there, I was scared,
really scared that I'd never have the pleasure
of waiting on you ever again.
Coming right up.
Suspense.
You've been listening to Truck Stop,
written for suspense by Peter Fernandez.
Heard in tonight's story were Terry Keen as Maggie,
Larry Haynes as Beno,
Mandel Kramer as Zell,
Frank Butler as Charlie,
Dan Occo as Frank,
and Bob Reddick as Simmons.
Listen again next week,
when we return with
The Girl in the Powder Blue Jag
by Walter Black.
Another tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.