And now, a tale well calculated to keep you in...
...suspense.
You nearly ready, honey?
Yes, darling, it takes time to put on lipstick properly.
Well, I'm sure the natives will love you as you are.
What natives?
Where are we, Charlie?
You mean to sit there making up that utterly provocative lower lip...
...after we arrive at the biggest motel in the only town...
...on 150 miles of desert highway and not know where we are?
Well, I suppose I could find some postcards or envelopes in one of these drawers.
Nah, you just stick with the decorating.
I'll fill you in from this folder.
You see, this is the Beat Taddecan.
Beat Taddecan Motel is located on the outskirts of Red Mountain, Arizona.
So that's where we are.
That's where we are. Red Mountain, Arizona is 485 miles east of Los Angeles.
What's more, the temperature is now 20 degrees.
It's expected to drop to five below tonight with snow before morning.
Well, now it doesn't say that in the folder.
Nah, the manager told me that when we registered.
Five below?
I've never been where it got that cold.
Ah, you California gals, all you've got going for you there is climate.
You never have weather.
I'm sorry I failed you so early in our marriage.
Better to know the worst right away.
Come on, let's eat.
I'm ready.
Now how do I look?
You look fine to me.
But the Indians may think white men go on warpath again.
Huh?
Whites will all wear a heap much war paint.
Funny man.
Got the key.
I got it. Let's go.
Ooh, it's cold.
Twenty degrees and dropping.
Hey, be careful. There's ice there.
Oh.
Don't come out here, hang on to me.
Uh-huh.
What's that?
It's a train. That's what it is.
Look, over there across the road.
A train? Out here in the middle of nowhere?
Sure. It's the main line from L.A. to Chicago.
Runs alongside the highway out here for hundreds of miles.
Look at them eating dinner in that dining car.
I'll bet they're nice and warm.
Want to change places?
Uh-uh.
Well, they look so safe.
I don't want to be safe.
I want adventure.
You picked a great place for it.
Red Mountain.
The hot spot of northern Arizona.
Just look at it.
One main street and 52 motels, 87 gas stations.
And six restaurants featuring chill mac and canned soup.
And the manager shills for the kachina doll down toward center town.
Watch out for that little truck, Charlie.
I see him.
He's far enough away, I think.
Oh, that's so-and-so.
What's Maddie doing?
I don't know. He waited till I pulled out in front of him,
and then he let me have his bright lights.
Nearly blinded me in the rear vision mirror.
Oh, maybe he's signaling he wants to pass.
Let him.
Oh, that's it. He's blowing his horn.
There he goes.
He's being an awful hurry.
Oh, look out. He's putting on his brakes.
He's nearly piled into him.
He's drunk, that's what.
Oh, crazy.
Well, now he's slowed down to 20.
He'll have to pass him.
He won't let you.
What is this?
I speed up, he speeds up.
Well, let him go then, Charlie.
It's a good thing nobody was coming toward us.
Watch out, he's slowing down again.
When?
15.
Do you suppose he's doing that on purpose?
I don't know.
Hey, hey, come on. Get going.
I'm going to have to try it again.
He won't let me by.
He is doing it on purpose.
Well, there's the restaurant, the Cochin Adal.
Where?
Over there, there on the left.
Well, there's one way of losing our comedian.
I'll just peel off to the left and let him have a highway to himself.
He doesn't seem to want the highway, Charlie.
Hmm?
Look, look up the road. He's turning into that gas station.
He's coming back.
I'll let him. Come on, let's eat.
Charlie, you better lock the car.
Why?
Him.
There's nothing for anybody to take.
I'd feel better if you locked it.
Oh, all right.
Look, look, he's cruising by, looking us over like he was a cop and we did something.
Yeah, maybe he is.
It occurred to me when he first swung in front of us.
Well, he isn't in uniform.
Well, there, the car's all locked.
Let's go.
Charlie, down the road, he's turning around again.
What's the matter with him?
Whatever it is, it's his problem.
Let's eat.
Where do you want to sit?
Good evening. How are you folks tonight?
Cold. We're not too late for dinner, are we?
Oh, no, we can take care of you.
Right this way, please.
Well, here's a nice booth for two.
Good.
Care for a little drink?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
No, I don't think we do.
I'm pretty hungry. Let's just have some food, because we're starved.
Let's see the menu.
Okay, coming right up.
Charlie.
What?
The driver of that pickup truck. He just came in.
So? It's a public place.
But he's coming over here.
Let him.
Hey, you.
Don't pay any attention to him.
Hey, you.
Were you speaking to me?
That blue 61 Chevy outside, that belonged to you.
It does?
Well, I want to talk to you.
What's on your mind?
Outside.
Charlie, don't go.
I said, what's on your mind?
Now, look, bud, I don't like people cutting in front of me.
You mean when I drove out of the motel?
Yeah, that's what I mean.
Well, I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize you were coming on so fast.
Yeah, well, I could have killed you. I could have run you down and killed you.
Yes, you could.
It was stupid of me not to realize the danger I was in.
Well, I don't like people doing things like that.
Well, I'll blame you. And believe me, it won't happen again.
Yeah, better not.
Because the next time, brother, I'll kill you.
I'm sure you will.
Yeah, I'll kill you next time.
I'll remember that.
Yeah, you do that.
I don't like that kind of jazz.
And I don't blame you.
Yeah, well, I accept your apology.
And only you remember the next time.
I remember. Next time, you'll kill me.
Yeah. And don't you forget it.
Believe me, I won't.
He was drunk, Charlie.
At least.
I could smell it all the way across the table.
Well, that's why I agreed with him.
You were wonderful.
I was afraid you'd think I was chicken.
No, no.
There's no point arguing when they're that far gone.
No wonder he drove the way he did.
I'm proud of you.
You left him with nowhere to go but out.
Hey, did he give you any trouble, Sam?
No, not really.
But he might have.
He might have killed us out there on the road.
Oh, Leroy don't mean no harm.
You know him?
Ah, sure.
Everybody knows Leroy.
He talks rough, but he don't mean no harm.
Well, you folks decided?
I'm not very hungry now.
Oh, but you must eat something, hon.
You order for me.
Gracious, I'm afraid I've lost my appetite too.
Fried pork chops is nice tonight with flour gravy.
No, I think not.
Have you any soup?
Oh, yes ma'am.
Vegetable, tomato, green pea.
In cans?
Well, as a matter of fact, yes.
Good.
Good, I'd prefer it that way.
You do?
Yes, if then the cook can't get at it.
Huh?
We'll have vegetable soup.
Well, okay.
Two vegetable soups.
And what else?
That's all.
Yes ma'am.
And listen, don't let Leroy upset you.
He's just a big kid, that's all.
Oh, who put that on?
Another folk song.
Charlie.
Hmm?
Are you sure you locked the car?
I'm sure.
Maybe you better go look.
Why?
I don't know.
Maybe he's done something.
Broken a window, flinted tire, I don't know.
Well, I was thinking the same thing.
Okay, I'll go look.
Well, be careful.
Everything okay?
Yeah, everything's okay.
I've been thinking, Hunt.
I think we ought to report him to the police.
Maybe.
We could have been killed, you know.
If anybody had been coming the other way,
when he wouldn't let us past him, we'd have been killed.
I know.
If he tried the same thing on somebody else
and they were hurt, or worse, I'd never forgive myself.
Well, here we are, folks.
Two vegetable soups.
There.
Say, are you sure you don't want to try the fried pork chops?
Quite sure, thank you.
Miss, can you call the police for me?
The police?
What for?
I ask you now, can you call them for me?
Now, look, if it's on account of Leroy,
well, I wouldn't do that if I was you.
You're not me, are you?
No.
Well, I'll call them if you say so, but, you know,
I'm kind of glad I'm not you.
What kind of a crack is that?
Leroy.
You don't bother me.
Yes, officer, I wrote down the license number, 880...
008.
Yes, that's right, officer.
It was an international harvester pickup, painted red and shiny.
That's Leroy, all right.
That's his horn.
No, lady, that ain't Leroy.
That's the Orange Empire Express.
It goes through here every night at 942.
Oh, well, anyway, this Leroy was drunk.
Mm-hmm, more than likely.
He's driving in a fog.
And you want me to arrest him?
Don't you think you should before he causes an accident
or hurts or kills somebody?
Oh, that ain't likely.
Well, how do you know?
I know Leroy.
Look, I know my rights.
I hope you know your duty.
I want you to swear out a warrant for the arrest of this Leroy.
I want you to go out and pick him up and put him in jail till he sobers up.
Oh, Leroy's the same, drunk or sober.
It makes no difference.
Then maybe he should go to another kind of institution.
You sure you want to make a formal complaint?
What's going on here?
Is this Leroy the son of the mayor or the nephew of the governor or something?
What kind of a conspiracy is this?
Your boy Leroy could have killed me and my wife,
and yes, I do want to make a formal complaint.
That's what I thought I was doing.
Look at it this way.
You're just passing through town.
Chances are you won't be back this way for months, years, maybe never.
But me, I got to live here with Leroy and all the other Leroy's in town.
We get quite a few of them.
They're just big kids.
They don't really mean no harm, but they get restless.
There ain't enough to do in this burg, only one movie show.
The TV don't come through good.
That leaves a bar.
So they get their kicks on 66 scaring the pants off of tourists as they pass through.
Sounds kind of silly when you put it that way, but that's about the size of it.
Tell you what I'll do.
I'll have a talk with Leroy next time I see him.
Well, I want you to put him behind bars now, tonight, before he kills someone.
Gee, mister, I sure would like to bladger,
but I wouldn't know where to begin looking for him at this hour of night.
With the weather kicking up a blizzard,
I just wouldn't know where to begin.
That's a fact.
I didn't mean to invade your privacy, hon,
but haven't you already filed the nails on that hand?
Huh? Oh, yes.
Charlie, I'm so nervous I don't know what I'm doing.
And I keep hearing noises outside.
Ah, your imagination's playing tricks.
I suppose so.
But just a minute ago, I thought I heard them again.
Oh, Charlie, I know it's silly.
But would you please check the car again for me?
Oh, come on, Flo.
Please.
Then I promise I'll get ready for bed.
All right.
Flo.
What is it?
Somebody left the air out of the back tires.
LeRoy.
Come on, come on, answer the phone.
Hurry, Charlie, hurry.
They don't answer.
No wonder.
What?
That's this card here.
It says the motel switchboard is closed after 10 p.m.
Oh, but we've got to get air in those tires.
Couldn't it wait a morning?
No, Charlie.
I will not stay in this place a minute longer
with that crazy man out there beeping his horn at us
and I don't know what all.
Next thing, he'll murder us in our beds.
I can't get anybody to answer the phone.
Then we'll just have to wake up the manager.
I'm going to like it.
I couldn't care less.
I hate it when I can't do it for you, Mac.
I'm all alone here.
Can't you come out and...
I'll call up in the morning.
Somebody will take care of you then.
Same thing?
Same thing.
I could have told you.
Nobody's coming out in this weather to fix a tire.
How do you get the police?
They ain't coming out either.
Number, please.
Operator, will you give me the police?
Look, you folks are keeping me up.
I'm sorry.
This will only take a minute.
Red Mountain Police.
Listen, did you pick up Leroy?
Oh, you.
Yeah, it's me.
You got Leroy in jail?
No, I ain't run into him.
I didn't think so.
Well, he's just let the air out of my tires.
Sure it was him.
See him do it.
Of course I didn't see him do it.
But my rear tires are flat.
And what's more, I can't get anybody to come out here
and pump them up for me.
I'm sorry.
That ain't a police matter.
You can get somebody in the morning, no doubt.
Well, I don't want to wait till morning.
I don't want to spend another minute in your crummy town.
I want to get out of here right now.
Then you're going to have to pump up your tires yourself.
That's a good idea.
I just might do that.
That's about all I could suggest.
And don't you fret.
I'll speak to Leroy as soon as I see him.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
Come on, Flo.
Let's get out of here.
Just a minute.
You owe me for those phone calls.
Yeah, here.
Keep the change.
Have a trip to the moon.
How's it going, honey?
The last one's nearly up.
Is the car packed?
Everything's ready to go.
Oh, listen.
That's him.
That's his horn.
Hurry, Charlie.
No, no, no.
Don't let's panic, Flo.
What can he do?
No, I don't know.
I don't know.
What's he done, really?
Charlie, just don't let him get away.
He's got to get out of here.
Charlie, just don't try to reason with me.
Get that tire pumped up and take me away from here.
Please.
Please, Charlie, please.
Please.
What's the idea of parking out in front of a police station
blowing that horn?
You're giving this town a bad name, scaring them tourists.
They wanted me to arrest you.
Oh, you wouldn't do that to an old friend.
I didn't want to, but then you had to go
and let the air out of their tires.
You know, I do the darnedest thing sometimes.
No, you're going home.
I'll lock you up for being ornery.
You better do that, Pete, because I never make it.
You know, I can't see to drive home.
All right, climb out then.
I'll give you a cell to sleep it off in.
Yeah.
I said knock off that horn.
Oh, but it sounds so pretty.
Pete, you know, you're a real pal, just a real pal,
putting up a pal for the night in the jailhouse.
See that sign, hon?
City limits Red Mountain.
Come back soon.
Sure we will.
Oh, Charlie, I never was so glad to get out of any place in my whole life.
I didn't exactly enjoy it too much myself.
Turn on the radio, huh?
It's funny how a little thing like that can work on you.
Grow and grow to the, on the edge of panic, you know.
Oh, those snowflakes are so big.
They come straight at you.
What a duck, because they seem to be coming through the windshield.
What the best driving conditions, I can tell you that.
Can't do much better than 20.
Oh, I don't care if you have to crawl.
We're getting further away from that dreadful town every minute.
That's all I need.
What?
Some idiot behind me with his high beam on.
Only one headlight.
He is murder.
Charlie, you don't suppose...
Charlie, it's Leewo.
He's overtaking us fast.
You can't let him pass.
You can't let him box us out here in this blizzard.
I can't drive much faster.
You've got to, Charlie.
Charlie, you've got to.
But I can't see.
The snow is just a white wall.
Faster, Charlie.
Charlie, he's gaining on us.
Yeah, but that one headlight in the mirror, it's blinding us, though.
He's gaining on us, Charlie.
Faster, faster.
Slow, I can't see.
I can't see a thing.
A Bajanican motel.
This is Pete over at the police station.
You woke me up.
I'm sorry, Sam.
I thought it was a black tourist who was beefing about Leroy.
He's still there?
I wouldn't know.
I was trying to get some sleep.
Yeah, well, well, if you see him, tell him I picked up Leroy.
Tell him Leroy's sleeping it off in the jail.
Suspense.
You've been listening to Snow on 66, written especially for suspense by William N. Robeson
and starring Grayson Hall and Jimmy Blaine.
Have a nice trip.
Don't forget your phone.
Planning your vacation or a weekend trip?
Well, long distance can be a big help.
You decide where you want to go, then just pick up your phone and call ahead for reservations.
Make sure of a good place to stay.
And while you're away, it's so easy to keep in touch with home by telephone.
Well, have a good trip and don't forget to phone.
Suspense is produced and directed by Fred Hendrickson.
Music supervision by Ethel Huber.
Heard in tonight's story were Gwen Davis, James Dimitri, Bill Mason, and Sam Raskin.
Sound Patterns by Walter Otto.
This is Stuart Mett speaking.
Listen again next week when we return with the next murder, written by Joseph Cochran.
Another tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.