And now, a tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.
Tonight, a well-honed accounting of a lethal impersonation.
In just a moment, stand in for murder, written especially for suspense by Gladys Gallant.
Answer it.
Kay, answer it.
Jim, I can't. I'm afraid.
My voice, it isn't her voice.
When you answer it, please, Kay, you've got to prove that Laura Morgan is still alive.
Oh, it stopped. Oh, thank God.
Jim, this is agony. When that phone rings, I freeze. I can't talk.
Kay. Kay, listen to me.
Laura's friends have to think she's leaving for Europe, and they have to hear it from her.
Her voice, I can't remember how it's supposed to sound. Don't you want...
Play the tape again, that last show she did.
Okay, we'll play the tape again. We've gone over it, and over it, and over it.
Starring Ralph Foreman as Bill, I have planned Laura Morgan as Ruth.
Pay particular attention to how she talks. All right. All right.
You please be quiet, will you? Listen.
Still shattered, Ruth dismayed, but determined. These were the fateful words they exchanged.
Listen. All right.
We're going to talk over the lovely party, Bill.
Ruth, will I see you again?
What about Marion?
I think you've got to.
What about?
The party's over.
Why, Paul? It was just an inflection.
Oh, this is ending, Bill. I have to leave.
All right. Well, let's try it. Let's say I have to leave.
I have to leave.
No, no, no. Pitch your voice higher.
I have to. Jim, it's no use. I can't do it.
Kay, you've got to. It's our only chance. Do you understand? Our only chance.
I remember thinking this must be a kind of dream, a terrible nightmare.
When I awoke, everything would be just as it was before Jim asked me for a divorce.
I would never agree. I knew there was somebody else, but I just kept hoping that someday he would come back to me.
One night...
Jim.
I've got to talk to you, Kay.
The answer is still no.
It's not about the divorce.
Oh, really? I suppose you just dropped in for a drink. Is that it?
Kay.
That's very nice. It's like old times.
Look, never mind about all that now.
No, please. Really, I insist. Oh, is this still on the rock?
Kay, please.
Just like us, Jim, huh? On the rock.
I said never mind.
Her name's Laura Morgan. Isn't that right? You know, I heard we look so much alike.
Oh, yes, I could give you a detailed description. You know, people are talking and all that jazz.
Okay, let up, will you?
Laura Morgan. Tall, blonde, sometime actress, but full-time girlfriend.
What's this? Unite out?
Kay, stop it.
Jim.
I said stop it.
I only meant...
I know just what you meant.
Kay.
She, uh...
She's dead.
Laura is dead.
Jim.
It was an accident.
You see, last night we, uh...
We had a terrible argument.
I didn't want to marry a Kay. I wanted to come back to you.
Well, she became hysterical.
She pulled out a gun. I grabbed it from her.
It went off.
She's dead.
Oh, Jimmy.
What are you going to do? Did you... Did you call the police?
Call the police?
Kay, if I call the police, I wouldn't have a chance.
Jimmy, they will find her. They'll know it was you.
No, no, no. They'll never find her.
You see, I got her out of the apartment, down the stairs,
and into the car. No one saw me.
And then, near the bridge...
Stop, stop. Please, for God's sake, I don't want to know anymore.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Kay.
Sorry for this mess. Sorry I left you. Sorry for everything.
Kay, I still love you.
Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. What chance have we got now?
There is one chance.
But it all depends on you, Kay.
On me? Yes.
Kay, would you help me set up an alibi?
An alibi? Of course, Jim.
But how?
By becoming Laura Morgan.
Twelve hours later, in a two-room apartment on a quiet street in the West Sixties,
I became Laura Morgan.
As Jim planned it, it would be for only a few days, just long enough to establish her existence.
But those few days were a lifetime of terror.
There was the constant ringing of the phone right from the start,
and the trouble I had imitating her voice.
Acting wasn't my line at all.
Tomorrow.
And Jim playing that tape recorder so I could hear Laura Morgan again and again.
Kay, you're just not getting it. Now please pay attention, huh?
Right.
All right, now we've got to get it right.
Will you be quiet?
All right, all right. Just listen.
The words, they exchange.
It was a lovely party film.
You hear her, Lina?
She's up and down.
All right, all right. Just pay attention.
What about Marion?
What about her?
The party's over.
I have a party.
Live hall.
It was just the beginning.
It's ending film.
You hear that?
Of course.
The phone is driving me crazy.
All right, answer it. I'll take the tape off.
No, no. Let it ring.
Don't be a fool, Kay. Answer it.
Hello?
Are you the lady in apartment 4A?
Yes. What is it?
I'm a reporter from the Daily Globe, miss.
We'd like to ask you a few questions about the murder Wednesday night.
My God, Jim.
What do you want?
A reporter from the Globe. He wanted to ask me about the murder Wednesday night.
Murder Wednesday night?
Jim, please.
Let it ring. Let it ring.
No, no. No, wait. Pick it up.
Jim, I can't.
Go on. Pick it up.
Now say you're Laura Morgan and let him do the talking.
Hello?
This is the reporter from the Globe again.
Are you the lady I was just talking to?
Yes, this is Laura Morgan. We were disconnected.
How about that murder, Miss Morgan?
We understand you saw the killer's face as he passed you in the lobby.
Well, I didn't see anything. Who was killed?
Well, if you don't know, miss, then I guess you didn't see anything.
Sorry to bother you. We were just checking all the tenants.
Thank you.
Somebody was killed, but he doesn't know about Laura Morgan.
Somehow I carried it off. Somehow I went on to establish the fact that Laura Morgan was still alive.
The next day...
This is the Jiffy cleaning service, Miss Morgan.
Yes, what can I do for you?
About that powder blue wool suit you sent back to us.
Our very best men worked on it to get that spot out that you complained about, Miss Morgan.
Oh, the spot. Yes, did you get it out?
Miss Morgan, if you go out of your way to look for it, there's still the faintest remains.
Frankly, any more solvents and you'd wind up with a hole instead of a stain.
But if you don't know it's there, it isn't. You know what I mean? It's the best we can do.
I'm sure it'll be good enough, miss...
You mean it'll be okay? The other day you nearly took my head off that it didn't come out right.
Even when I explained, there's just some things that you just don't...
Yes, we'll just send it right back today, please.
Yes, sure. Right away, within the hour.
That afternoon wearing Laura's powder blue suit, I left the apartment.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw the doorman looking my way.
I hurried past him, my face turned away.
Afternoon, Miss Morgan. What a lovely day it is.
That's nice.
Jim's plan seemed to be working.
To kill time, I went to a movie and then decided to walk home.
It was a relief to be caught up in the anonymity of New York with its crush of people at 6 o'clock.
I was just turning west on 64th Street when...
Look out, lady!
Hey, you all right, lady?
What?
What happened? What was it?
A block of concrete, a cornice or something.
Fell right from the top of that brownstone.
If you're by an inch, you better call a policeman.
No, no. Please, I'm fine, really.
You ought to file a complaint, lady. You could have been killed.
No, I have to hurry. I'm very late.
Hey, lady!
Well, you never can figure a dame.
She's almost killed and she has to hurry because she's late for her hair appointment.
What?
Hello?
Laura Morgan?
Yes, this is Laura Morgan. Who is it?
That concrete block that dropped a few minutes ago.
Concrete block? What about it?
I just want to tell you. That was no accident.
No accident?
No accident. Just a little warning, Miss Morgan.
Who is this? What do you want? Who are you?
Next time we won't miss.
If you say one word about the murder, you're dead.
No!
I stood there trembling in the darkness of the room.
The crash of concrete on the pavement, the ominous threatening voice on the telephone still ringing in my ears.
Oh, I wanted to scream out, Laura Morgan is dead.
But I had to protect Jim's alibi.
I tried not to panic.
I asked myself if I were Laura Morgan, what would I do?
I would call the police and tell them someone was threatening to kill me.
Why not? Jim would still be safe.
He needed a live alibi, not a dead one.
I reached for the phone.
Operator, get me the police department in hurry, please.
Police department, this is Laura Morgan.
Hang up the phone, lady.
Do you hear what I said on the phone, Miss Morgan? One word about the murder, you're dead.
Who are you? What do you want?
Look, I'm not Laura Morgan. You're making a very big mistake. She's dead.
I tell you, she's dead.
What are you trying to pull? You're Laura Morgan, all right? You just sold her to the police.
Well, don't go left me alone, please. I'm not Laura Morgan. Laura Morgan is dead.
You know what she's gonna be, because she'll talk too much.
It's out the window.
Police!
Where did they go, Miss Morgan?
The windows are fired.
They won't get fired. We have a squad car downstairs.
He tried to push me out the window.
Take it easy, Miss Morgan.
Come on, take it easy.
That's it. All right, all right.
Look, I'm from homicide, Lieutenant Kelly.
We've been watching this building all day.
Why me?
Found you witnessed a gang killing a Clint Toback Wednesday night.
Were they... were they racketeer?
Yeah, your late neighbor. He was shot right in his lobby.
The doorman said you were coming in when it happened.
What were you?
When it...
Well, that must have been just before it happened.
Now tell me, did you get a good look at the killer's face?
Sorry, I really can't remember.
There were several people past me in the lobby.
You know what? I really didn't notice.
He noticed you, all right.
Where did you disappear to Wednesday night?
We've been looking for you for two days, Miss Morgan.
I know. It seems a lot of people were looking for me.
Police, the newspapers, and...
Oh, a killer.
Oh, I'm getting out of here.
Now, it's safer to stay put until we apprehend that killer, Miss Morgan.
I stay here and take another chance at my life? Oh, no.
Don't leave this apartment, Miss Morgan.
If you do, you'll wind up as dead as your late hood neighbor, Clint Toback.
Who... who is it?
It's me, Jim.
Oh, Jim.
I got here as soon as I could.
What happened, Kay? I couldn't make out what you were saying on the phone.
Oh, my God, you look awful.
Someone... someone tried to kill me.
What?
I was almost killed.
All right, all right. Now, who? I don't understand.
Laura Morgan witnessed a murder right here in this lobby Wednesday night.
Did she say anything to you about it?
Oh, we, uh... we had other things to talk about.
The killer is after her.
Even if she didn't see his face, if he thinks she can identify him.
Even if she didn't know.
All right, all right. Now, look, you've got to get out of here, Kay.
Now, you start packing. I'll try to get you on a plane tomorrow night.
No, no. Now, wait a minute.
The police said I can't go anywhere until they catch the killer.
Police?
They said I'd... I'd be safer here.
They're... they're watching this building.
Police? Kay, are you out of your mind and you get me over here?
Jim, I had to. Don't you see?
You've got to tell them the truth. Now you've got to tell them Laura Morgan is dead.
Tell them? I ruined my life, our life, Kay.
Then what does it matter with you? You didn't commit murder.
It was an accident. The police will understand that.
Oh, sure, sure. I'm sure they'll be very understanding.
Jim, don't you see? If you tell the police it will be in the papers, on the news broadcast,
don't you understand? Then nobody will try to kill Laura Morgan if she's already dead.
Oh, I see one thing. I've got to get out of here and fast.
Look. Police, Miss Morgan.
Just remember your Laura Morgan. As long as they believe that, we can get away.
I had a reporter man was seen coming up here.
Oh, yes, yes. That was just a friend, Lieutenant.
Oh, please, won't you come in?
Yeah, thanks.
This is Mr. Benson, Lieutenant.
Benson?
Uh, Jim Benson.
Miss Morgan tells me she's been having some trouble, Lieutenant.
Yeah, quite a bit of trouble, Mr. Benson.
Miss Morgan, I'm afraid I have to tell you there's more trouble.
What do you mean?
Well, it seems to be, uh, well, it seems to be some question about your identity.
Did you say my identity?
Yeah, the doorman of this building seems...
Well, come in, Brady. We can settle this right now.
Oh, this is ridiculous, Lieutenant. This is an invasion of privacy.
At the moment, Miss Morgan's life is hardly private.
All right, what do you say, Brady? Is this Laura Morgan?
No. No, that's not Laura Morgan. No, sir.
Are you positive?
When you put me back in the door today, sir, I knew she wasn't Miss Morgan.
She wore the same suit, and she even looks like her.
But that walk, and the way she kept her face turned away, they made me think, sir.
No, sir. This lady here isn't Laura Morgan.
What do you mean, I'm not Laura Morgan?
Laura, be quiet, please.
Never heard of such things.
Okay, okay.
All right, who are you, miss? Why are you impersonating Laura Morgan?
Don't say a thing, Laura. I'm calling my attorney.
And who are you, Mr. Benson?
Did you set this woman up as a decoy so you could kill the real Laura Morgan?
We haven't found her yet, but the police are dragging the river.
Cheers.
All right, just stay where you are, all of you. I'll answer it.
Hello.
Lieutenant Kelly?
Speaking.
This is Blaine.
Yes, Captain.
Don't let that woman get away, Kelly. We'll be right over.
Laura Morgan has been found and identified.
Oh, come on in, Captain.
This the woman, Kelly?
Well, this is the lady who says she's Laura Morgan, Captain.
That's very interesting. And the man?
I'm Jim Benson.
May I ask what you're doing here before I call my attorney?
Certainly, Mr. Benson.
I just came around to introduce Laura Morgan to Laura Morgan.
What?
Okay, Mac, bring her in. Miss Morgan? Meet the real Laura Morgan.
Laura, I don't understand, Jim. You said she was dead.
Laura, are you all right, Laura?
Yes, darling. But Jim, my timing was off as usual.
I guess I was at the wrong place at the wrong hour.
I did just what you said Wednesday night, but they managed to find me.
Jim, you knew she was alive. You knew somebody wanted to kill her and you made me take her place.
And you botched it. Just as you botched your marriage, Kay Benson.
Jim, you said you killed her. You said you wanted me. You said you wanted me.
Never mind what I said, Kay. And that's a fast. We want to know exactly what you said, Mr. Benson.
God, you wanted me to be killed. You wanted me to be killed so you could marry her.
I begged you. I pleaded with you for a divorce, Kay.
And when she wouldn't give it to you, you set your wife up as a target for Laura Morgan's killer.
My Jim, Jim, how could you do this?
Take him to headquarters, Kelly.
This is really one for the books. A stand-in for murder.
Suspense.
You have been listening to Stand-In for Murder, starring Terry Keene and Larry Haines,
and written especially for Suspense by Gladys F. Gallant.
Suspense is produced and directed by Fred Hendrickson. Music supervision by Ethel Huber.
Heard in tonight's story were Claire Neeson, Ivor Francis, Bob Reddick, Tony Darnay, Bill Lipton, Jack Grimes, and Joseph Julia.
Listen again next week when we return with Formula for Death, written by Jonathan Bundy.
Another tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.