The Perfect Crime

[00:00:07] Speaker A: Box 13 with the Star of Paramount Pictures, Alan Ladd as Dan holiday. [00:00:18] Speaker B: My dear Mr. Holliday, I do not address you as Box 13 because having seen your advertisement, I was intrigued and found out who you are. You write mystery stories. I am a professor of criminology at the. I think I have something of enormous interest to both of us. The perfect crime. I am going to commit it. Won't you be my audience? If it pleases you, come to my room. [00:00:47] Speaker C: If it pleases you, come to my room. To the university. Sincerely, Dr. John Dobbs. @ first I wasn't sure whether the letter was on the level or not. Then when I saw Dr. Dobbs, I was sure it was. And he did commit the perfect crime. Almost. [00:01:24] Speaker A: And now Back to box 13 and Dan Holliday's newest adventure, the Perfect crime. [00:01:36] Speaker D: John Dobbs. Dr. John Dobbs? I never heard of him. Mr. Holliday. [00:01:42] Speaker C: Oh, here, read this. [00:01:43] Speaker D: Who's who in American education? [00:01:45] Speaker C: Uh huh. Dr. Dobbs is quite a personage. [00:01:48] Speaker D: Dobbs, John H. Professor of criminology and abnormal psychology. Author of over 15 volumes on crime and the criminal. [00:01:57] Speaker C: That's enough, susie. And now Dr. Dobbs says he's going to commit the perfect crime. Is there such a thing, Susie? Any unsolved crime is perfect. [00:02:05] Speaker D: Oh, maybe he's just kidding. He's a professor. He wouldn't do anything like that. [00:02:10] Speaker C: That's exactly what I'm going to find out. At least I'll have an interesting evening. Dr. Dobbs was waiting for me when I got to his rooms. He was a harmless, pleasant looking man of about, oh, 65. He smiled shyly as he greeted me. [00:02:28] Speaker B: Hi. I'm so glad you came, Mr. Holliday. How long can you stay? [00:02:32] Speaker C: All evening. My time is yours. [00:02:33] Speaker B: Wonderful. You think I'm a little crazy, don't you? [00:02:38] Speaker C: Well, aren't we all? [00:02:39] Speaker B: I suppose so. But let's discuss the perfect crime. Now, what is a perfect crime? [00:02:45] Speaker C: One that isn't solved. [00:02:46] Speaker B: Yes, yes, of course. But nine times out of ten the crime isn't planned. I'm speaking about a planned murder. Perfectly executed and perfectly hidden. [00:02:55] Speaker C: Dr. Dobbs, you're a great man in your field. Therefore you should know that no one ever gets away with it. [00:02:59] Speaker B: Oh, why not? [00:03:01] Speaker C: Because there's always some clue, some minute trace that leads directly to the murder. [00:03:05] Speaker B: Oh true. But suppose there were no clues? None at all. [00:03:09] Speaker C: Ah, but you're leaving out an important. [00:03:10] Speaker B: Factor and that is the body. [00:03:12] Speaker C: It's hard to get rid of a body. Dr. Crippen was trapped. Trapped because police found the body of his wife in the basement. [00:03:19] Speaker B: Yes, but suppose a body could be destroyed altogether? [00:03:22] Speaker C: Well, it's never been done. With today's scientific police laboratories, even the tiniest can be built up enough to convince a jury. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Yes, that's very true. But suppose the body of the murdered person were never found? [00:03:34] Speaker C: It always has been. [00:03:35] Speaker B: Well, granted. But suppose it were not? [00:03:37] Speaker C: There'd be absolutely no proof of murder. [00:03:39] Speaker B: Ah, my point exactly. [00:03:41] Speaker C: Now just a minute. First you have to find a victim, one who isn't even remotely connected with you. Then you have to kill him. [00:03:48] Speaker B: Yes, go on. [00:03:49] Speaker C: Then, having found your victim and killed him, you have to get rid of his body altogether. [00:03:53] Speaker B: Those are the conditions. Yes. [00:03:55] Speaker C: So after those conditions were fulfilled, you'd have to escape detection and final punishment. [00:04:00] Speaker B: And your argument is that with those conditions the perfect murder would have been committed? [00:04:04] Speaker C: Yes. [00:04:05] Speaker B: Suppose I told you I can do it. [00:04:08] Speaker C: You're asking me to believe the impossible. First, you're a famous man. It's hardly likely you'd risk everything you've worked for just to satisfy an insane wimp. [00:04:17] Speaker B: Go on. [00:04:17] Speaker C: Secondly, I. I don't believe you're serious. [00:04:21] Speaker B: But I am, Mr. Holliday. I'm a very sick man. My doctor gives me three months to live. [00:04:28] Speaker C: Oh, I'm very sorry. [00:04:29] Speaker B: It's no matter. [00:04:30] Speaker C: Perhaps he's wrong. [00:04:31] Speaker B: No, I know he's right. [00:04:32] Speaker C: Then what does it have to do with what we're talking about? [00:04:35] Speaker B: Perhaps nothing, except that I'm very tired. I spend a lifetime with books and study and students. I'm a crusty old bachelor, I suppose. Now I want some excitement. Even my name is prosaic John Dobbs. [00:04:50] Speaker C: Dr. Dobbs, I still don't think you're serious. Maybe you're kidding me for some reason I haven't been able to see or even guess at. No, I. I think I refuse to believe you. [00:05:00] Speaker B: Ah. [00:05:02] Speaker C: What are you laughing at? [00:05:03] Speaker B: At what you said. [00:05:04] Speaker C: I don't understand. [00:05:05] Speaker B: You refuse to believe me? [00:05:07] Speaker C: That's right. Is that funny? [00:05:08] Speaker B: Yes. Because you see, Mr. Holliday, the fact that you refuse to believe me is part of my plan. It makes me even more certain that I can commit the perfect murder and win. [00:05:22] Speaker C: Well, I stayed with Dr. Dobbs until after 3 in the morning. We talked. He had a marvelous knowledge of crime and I left him with a great admiration of his intellect. Then three days went by, I heard nothing from him until one day at the office. [00:05:39] Speaker D: Hello? [00:05:39] Speaker B: Mr. Holliday, please. Dr. Dobbs calling. [00:05:42] Speaker D: Oh, oh, just a minute, Mr. Holliday. Dr. Dobbs calling. [00:05:46] Speaker C: Oh, okay, thanks. [00:05:47] Speaker B: Hello, Mr. Holliday. How are you? [00:05:49] Speaker C: I'm fine, and you? [00:05:50] Speaker B: Oh, pretty well. You remember our conversation the other night? [00:05:53] Speaker C: I certainly do. Why? [00:05:55] Speaker B: Would you care to be in on the start of my plan? [00:05:57] Speaker C: Now, look, I refuse to take you seriously. [00:06:00] Speaker B: That's wonderful. But are you free this afternoon and evening? [00:06:03] Speaker C: Oh, yes. Why? [00:06:04] Speaker B: I want you to fly to Chicago with me. [00:06:07] Speaker C: What? [00:06:07] Speaker B: Will you? I have the tickets on the plane. You're my guest. [00:06:10] Speaker C: But why to Chicago? [00:06:12] Speaker B: I'll tell you why when we're on the plane. Will you go with me? [00:06:16] Speaker C: Yes. Yes, I think I will. [00:06:26] Speaker B: Do you like to fly, Mr. Holliday? [00:06:28] Speaker C: Oh, I love it. Do you? [00:06:29] Speaker B: Oh, yes. It gives me a great sense of exhilaration. I am untouchable up here. [00:06:34] Speaker C: Why are we going to Chicago, Dr. Dobbs? [00:06:36] Speaker B: Here, read this newspaper. Account of a murder. [00:06:41] Speaker C: Police are at loss for clues in the Caroline Standish murder case. All leads have come to dead ends. And why do you want me to read this, Doctor? [00:06:50] Speaker B: Because I'm going to Chicago to confess to the crime. [00:06:54] Speaker C: You're what? [00:06:55] Speaker B: I'm going to confess that I killed Caroline Standish. [00:06:59] Speaker C: I don't believe that. [00:07:00] Speaker B: We'll be in Chicago in exactly one hour and 20 minutes. Half an hour after we step off this plane, you and I will be at police headquarters. And then you will see. [00:07:09] Speaker C: But you couldn't have killed it. [00:07:11] Speaker B: Oh, yes, I could have. She was killed the day before yesterday. That was Sunday. Sunday's a holiday. It's not too long. A plane trip from our city to Chicago. And Caroline Standish is a complete stranger to me. [00:07:22] Speaker C: And being a complete stranger, she satisfies the first condition of the victim. That he should not even remotely be connected with him. [00:07:28] Speaker B: Exactly. Now, settle back, Mr. Holliday. We'll be in Chicago very soon. [00:07:39] Speaker E: All right. Now let me get this straight, Dr. Dobbs. You say you killed Carolyn Standish? [00:07:44] Speaker B: Yes, I killed her, Lieutenant. [00:07:45] Speaker E: And you, you say your name is Holliday? [00:07:48] Speaker C: That's right. [00:07:49] Speaker E: Mm. Well, Dr. Dobbs, we've checked on you since you first came in here an hour ago. We've got quite a bit on you. Your books, for one thing. I've enjoyed those. Now, suppose you tell us how you killed Carolyn Standish. [00:08:04] Speaker B: It's very simple. I shot her. [00:08:06] Speaker E: Oh. What kind of a gun? [00:08:08] Speaker B: A.38 caliber. [00:08:09] Speaker E: That was in the newspaper. [00:08:10] Speaker B: I know. [00:08:12] Speaker E: Mr. Holliday. What do you know about this? [00:08:14] Speaker C: Oh, Nothing, except that Dr. Dobbs asked me to come here with him. [00:08:17] Speaker E: I see. Well, you can both go home. [00:08:21] Speaker B: Thank you, Lieutenant. It's not very often that a murderer is sent home scot free. [00:08:26] Speaker C: Why are you letting him go? Lieutenant? [00:08:28] Speaker E: Look, Carolyn Standish was killed with a.38. Yes, but two hours ago we found the killer. He had the gun in his possession. [00:08:38] Speaker B: Then I am free to go. [00:08:39] Speaker E: As fast as you can get out the door. [00:08:41] Speaker B: Thank you. Come along Mr. Holliday. I'm afraid the lieutenant has his killer and it doesn't seem to be me. So we'll go back home and then I'll get in touch with you again. [00:09:01] Speaker C: Hello? [00:09:02] Speaker B: Mr. Holliday, this is Dr. Dobbs. [00:09:04] Speaker C: Oh you. [00:09:05] Speaker B: You don't sound pleased to hear from me. [00:09:07] Speaker C: Where are we going this time? [00:09:09] Speaker B: So you guessed that. [00:09:10] Speaker C: Guess? Guessed what? [00:09:12] Speaker B: That I'm going to Philadelphia to confess to a murder there. [00:09:15] Speaker C: You're going to do what? [00:09:17] Speaker B: The same thing I did in Chicago. Will you come along? [00:09:19] Speaker C: Oh no, no, no thank you. [00:09:21] Speaker B: Very well, very well. But I suggest you keep reading the newspaper. You may see some very startling developments. Goodbye Mr. Holliday. I'm leaving for Boston this evening to confess another crime holiday. I don't suppose you'd care to go to Hartford with me? It's San Francisco this time. Mr. Holliday, I would like your company. [00:09:54] Speaker C: Well it went that way for two solid months. Dr. Dobbs confessed to every murder that hit the newspapers and every confession was laughed at. His name gradually became as well known to the police departments of the country as those of the public enemies number one through 20. Then he came to see me at my apartment. [00:10:10] Speaker B: Well Mr. Holliday, what do you think? [00:10:12] Speaker C: Now look Mr. Dobbs, I don't know what you're doing but please, why don't you cut it out? [00:10:17] Speaker B: Oh, are you feeling sorry for me? [00:10:20] Speaker C: Look, every one of these newspapers has your name in it. You've made a laughing stock of yourself. [00:10:25] Speaker B: Does that concern you? [00:10:26] Speaker C: Yes it does. I admire you. I've read your books and I've talked with you. Why are you so intent on breaking up a brilliant career? [00:10:32] Speaker B: Because I intend to go through with what we discussed that first night in my rooms. [00:10:36] Speaker C: I don't know whether you're trying to make a fool of me or not Dr. Dobbs, but I'd rather you didn't count me in on your little escapades. [00:10:42] Speaker B: It's no fun committing a perfect crime without an audience. [00:10:46] Speaker C: What? [00:10:46] Speaker B: I need you Dan. You're very intelligent. You could appreciate what I'm going to do. [00:10:51] Speaker C: Look Doctor, forget all this and go back to the university. Say you say you did it as an experiment. [00:10:55] Speaker B: Oh well I've already been given a vacation from the university. [00:10:59] Speaker C: What do you mean? [00:10:59] Speaker B: The publicity was bad for the school. The president suggested that perhaps I'd been working too hard and needed a rest. [00:11:07] Speaker C: Well, you brought it on yourself. [00:11:08] Speaker B: Oh, yes, I know. Now, I want you to do me a favor. [00:11:12] Speaker C: What do you want? [00:11:13] Speaker B: There's a small city about 300 miles from here. Go there with me. [00:11:16] Speaker C: So you can put in another phony confession? [00:11:18] Speaker B: No, no, no. So I can point out my real victim to you. [00:11:22] Speaker C: Say that again. [00:11:23] Speaker B: I want to show you my victim, the man I am going to kill. The man whose body will never be found. And a crime to which I am going to confess, this time legitimately. [00:11:31] Speaker C: I. I don't believe you. [00:11:33] Speaker B: Please, now, go to the town with me. I'm now supposed to be a little cracked. Humor me. [00:11:40] Speaker C: And if I do? [00:11:41] Speaker B: Well, we'll have a little mental chess game, you and I. I'll give you the opening gambit. Murder. From then on, it will be your job to checkmate me. Agreed? [00:11:51] Speaker C: All right, Dr. Dobbs, I'll go with you. But this will be the last time. Understand? [00:11:57] Speaker B: Yes, I understand. This will be the last. [00:12:15] Speaker A: Now, back to the perfect crime. Another box 13 adventure with Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. [00:12:25] Speaker C: Well, I went with Dr. Dobbs to the small city. He took me to a restaurant. He seemed to be looking for someone when suddenly. [00:12:33] Speaker B: Look, Dan, there he is. [00:12:35] Speaker C: Who? [00:12:35] Speaker B: The man I'm going to kill. [00:12:37] Speaker C: The one who just came in? [00:12:38] Speaker B: Yes. Look at him. Describe him to me. I want you to be able to recognize him any place, under any conditions. [00:12:43] Speaker C: What for? [00:12:44] Speaker B: Please, please, just do as I ask. [00:12:45] Speaker C: Well, I. I see a man about your build. [00:12:48] Speaker B: Yes? [00:12:48] Speaker C: A little younger, perhaps. Nondescript. [00:12:50] Speaker B: Ah. His name is Alexander Ferris, and he's a buyer for one of the department stores here. [00:12:55] Speaker C: How do you know all this? [00:12:56] Speaker B: I looked all over for a victim. And then one day, I saw him in our city. I followed him, found out he lives here. Hmm. Oh, he doesn't even know he's going to die. [00:13:06] Speaker C: Dobbs, let's cut out this nonsense. [00:13:08] Speaker B: But it's not. Ferris is a bachelor. He lives in a boarding house. Once a month, he takes a trip to our city to buy for the store here. [00:13:15] Speaker C: Go on. You're not finished. [00:13:16] Speaker B: No, I'm not. I was going to add that Mr. Ferris is going to make one more trip to our city, and that one will be his last. [00:13:23] Speaker C: Tell me one more thing. Why did you pick him? [00:13:25] Speaker B: Because he seems the logical one. He does things by routine. He stays at the same Hotel in our city. He takes the same train there and back home here. Oh, I hate monotony. [00:13:35] Speaker C: Uh huh. Now suppose I should walk over to Mr. Farris and tell him that a madman is going to kill him. [00:13:41] Speaker B: Go on, try it. You know what he do? [00:13:45] Speaker C: Yes, I think I do. He'd look at me as though I were the madman. Then he'd call for the police and I'd be stuck in a nice cell until the police decided I was harmed. [00:13:53] Speaker B: Exactly. All right Dan, we're finished here. You've seen the victim. Now we'll go back home and I'll let you know when the game begins. Hello, Mr. Holliday please. [00:14:14] Speaker D: Oh, just a second. Mr. Holliday. It's that man again. [00:14:18] Speaker C: Dobbs. [00:14:19] Speaker D: Uh huh. [00:14:21] Speaker C: Okay, give me the phone. [00:14:22] Speaker D: Here. [00:14:23] Speaker C: Hello? Look doctor, let's call off this race. I'm getting tired of it. [00:14:27] Speaker B: Mr. Holliday, Alexander Ferris leaves his town this afternoon. He will arrive here at 7:30 this evening on the Lake Shore Limited. He will go to the Barrett Hotel. He will never leave there alive. Goodbye. [00:14:40] Speaker C: Hello? Hello Dobbs? Hello? [00:14:44] Speaker D: What'd he say this time? [00:14:45] Speaker C: Same thing. Still happening on the Perfect Crime. [00:14:48] Speaker D: Do you think he means it? [00:14:49] Speaker C: I. He's got me over a barrel. I don't want to believe him. Sometimes I don't but. [00:14:55] Speaker D: But what? [00:14:56] Speaker C: There's something earnest about him when he talks about it. Well I can't take a chance. I'm going to keep my eyes on Alexander Ferris. I decided to warn Ferris. So that evening I met the Lakeshore Limited. I tried to get to him but before I could he hurried into a taxi. I grabbed the first empty cab I could find and went to the Barrett Hotel. Farris had already registered and was disappearing into an elevator. I ran across the lobby but the elevator door closed and Farris was gone. I got his room number, 708. Took an elevator. We were just passing the fifth floor when those were shots and they came from the seventh floor. I missed my guess. I didn't miss it because on the seventh floor. [00:15:37] Speaker E: All right, all right, back to your rooms. Go on everybody, go on. You too. [00:15:42] Speaker C: You're the house detective? [00:15:43] Speaker E: Yeah. Who are you? [00:15:44] Speaker C: My name's Dan Holliday. Did those shots come from this room? [00:15:47] Speaker B: Yes they did. [00:15:48] Speaker C: Dobbs. [00:15:48] Speaker B: Hello Dan. What's happened? [00:15:50] Speaker E: Look, I'll take care of this of. [00:15:52] Speaker B: Course, but the shots came from that room. I know because my room is next door. [00:15:56] Speaker C: You, you're next door? [00:15:57] Speaker B: Yes. Since I left the university I've been living here. The house detective will verify that. [00:16:03] Speaker E: Sure but that's got nothing to do with this. [00:16:05] Speaker C: Hadn't you better get inside the room and see what's happened? [00:16:07] Speaker E: This is my job. But since you stuck your nose in, stay right with me. [00:16:11] Speaker C: Have you got a pass key? [00:16:12] Speaker E: Yep. [00:16:16] Speaker B: You can still smell the powder from the shots. [00:16:18] Speaker E: Yeah. And where's the guy that came in here? [00:16:22] Speaker C: Look in the bath. [00:16:23] Speaker E: Close that door. Now, you two stay right there. I'm going to give this place a look. See something fishy here. [00:16:31] Speaker B: So your curiosity got the better of you, eh? [00:16:33] Speaker C: Dad, you're next door, huh? [00:16:35] Speaker B: Yes. Convenient, isn't it? [00:16:37] Speaker C: Where's Ferris? [00:16:38] Speaker B: He's dead. [00:16:39] Speaker C: You shot him, I suppose I killed him. [00:16:41] Speaker B: Yes. [00:16:42] Speaker C: I saw him get on the elevator and come up here. [00:16:44] Speaker B: All right, you saw that? [00:16:45] Speaker C: What? [00:16:46] Speaker B: Then where is he? [00:16:47] Speaker E: I don't get this. There ain't a sign of the guy any place. But there's his hat, topcoat and valise. [00:16:53] Speaker B: On the bed which proves he came in here. [00:16:56] Speaker C: The bell boy will verify it if he came in here. [00:16:58] Speaker B: All right, let's ask the bellboy. [00:16:59] Speaker E: I'm running this until the police get here. [00:17:01] Speaker B: Well, by all means, call the police. [00:17:03] Speaker C: Dr. Dobbs, would you mind if your room was searched? [00:17:06] Speaker B: I was going to suggest it myself. [00:17:08] Speaker E: There ain't no fire escape. Nobody fell out the window and nobody's here. [00:17:14] Speaker B: Please, let's look in my room. Then you can question the other guests on this floor. [00:17:18] Speaker E: Okay. Come on, you two, out of this room. [00:17:22] Speaker B: Well, Dan, what do you think now? [00:17:26] Speaker C: I don't know. Maybe I've stopped the. Well, the case was a sensational one. Two shots fired. No body and no Alexander Ferris. Two days later, Dr. Dobbs visited me in my apartment. [00:17:41] Speaker B: Well, Dan, have you made any headway? [00:17:43] Speaker C: I'm not trying. [00:17:45] Speaker B: Oh, yes, you are. It intrigues you, doesn't it? [00:17:47] Speaker C: It's a hoax. The whole thing is a hoax. [00:17:49] Speaker B: Not the whole thing, Dan. I give you my word of honor that I killed Ferris. [00:17:53] Speaker C: Will you tell the police that? [00:17:54] Speaker B: I already have. I confessed. [00:17:57] Speaker C: You what? [00:17:57] Speaker B: But they laughed at me. You see, I am known now as a crank. I confess to all murders. Where is Ferris? Body. Holiday. How did I get it out of the room? [00:18:08] Speaker C: You. You didn't. You couldn't have. The other guests rushed to the doors after the shots. The only stairways are at the ends of the corridor. You couldn't have carried his body without being seen. [00:18:15] Speaker B: Correct. And the bellboy verifies the fact that Ferris entered his room next to mine. [00:18:20] Speaker C: And yours was empty. [00:18:21] Speaker B: So what have you got, Dobbs? [00:18:23] Speaker C: I. I don't believe he killed Fitz. Right. [00:18:25] Speaker B: Then where is he? [00:18:26] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:18:26] Speaker B: So I fulfilled two of the conditions we talked about our first night. Remember what they were? [00:18:31] Speaker C: Yes. The victim had to be a stranger to you and the body had to disappear. [00:18:34] Speaker B: And the third condition? I escaped detection and punishment. Dan, why don't you tell the police about me? What? You know, what I've told you. [00:18:43] Speaker C: They wouldn't believe me. [00:18:45] Speaker B: No, they wouldn't. But, Dan, I swear to you that I killed Ferris. If you figure out how I did it, I'll admit it and take my punishment. [00:18:53] Speaker C: I am not the police. [00:18:54] Speaker B: No. No, you're not. But you know more about this than they do. I swear to you again, Dan, you have the whole solution in your head. All you have to do is put together the pieces of the puzzle. It's really very simple. Well, goodbye, Dan. [00:19:15] Speaker D: Mr. Holiday. Mr. Holliday. [00:19:19] Speaker C: Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, Susie. [00:19:21] Speaker D: I was daydreaming about Dr. Dobbs. [00:19:24] Speaker C: Dobbs? [00:19:25] Speaker D: Gee, I think it's some kind of a jokes. There just isn't anybody that they've been looking for almost a week now. [00:19:32] Speaker C: That's what bothers me. Ferris is missing. He left his hometown, took the train, came here. I saw him, Susie. I saw him. Then no Ferris. [00:19:43] Speaker D: And the Police won't believe Dr. Dobbs or me. [00:19:46] Speaker C: Kling thinks I'm in the same class as Dobbs. [00:19:49] Speaker D: I know. [00:19:50] Speaker C: Oh, well, thanks. It's got to be an answer, though. No one, not even an admitted genius such as Dobbs, could kill a man and do away with his body. But there isn't a trace. Look, Dobbs had about 15 seconds to kill Ferris and then hide the body. He. [00:20:07] Speaker D: Yes. What were you gonna say? [00:20:10] Speaker C: I'm not sure. Dobbs said I had the whole solution in my head. Susie, ever see a magic act? [00:20:18] Speaker D: Magic act? Oh, you mean a magician. Sleight of hand. [00:20:22] Speaker C: That's right. Sleight of hand. Illusions. Now you see it, now you don't. Watch the little lady disappear from under your very eyes. Keep your eye on the magician and miss how the trick is done. [00:20:31] Speaker D: I don't know what you're talking about. [00:20:33] Speaker C: I'm not sure I do. But I've got an idea, Susie. We're going to send a telegram. [00:20:37] Speaker D: Where to? [00:20:38] Speaker C: To Alexander Ferris, hometown, to the chief of police. [00:20:41] Speaker D: But that's been done. You know that. [00:20:43] Speaker C: Sure, sure I do. But the other telegrams were about and concerning Ferris. [00:20:48] Speaker D: Well, what's. What's yours gonna be about? [00:20:50] Speaker C: A perfect stranger? Well, I was shooting in the dark, but I hit the answer I received to my telegram made me sure I had the solution to Dr. Dobbs. Illusion. Smart police work in Ferris hometown. So that night I went to see Dobbs. [00:21:10] Speaker B: It's nice of you to come to see me, Dan. I was wondering if you'd forgotten me. Everyone else seems to have done so. [00:21:17] Speaker C: No, you're not forgotten, Dr. Dobbs. Quite the contrary. [00:21:21] Speaker B: Oh? How do you mean that? [00:21:23] Speaker C: Just the way I said it. May I sit down? [00:21:26] Speaker B: Certainly, please do. [00:21:28] Speaker C: Thanks. [00:21:28] Speaker B: May I offer you a drink? [00:21:29] Speaker C: Oh, no, thank you. [00:21:31] Speaker B: Mind if I have one? [00:21:32] Speaker C: Please do. [00:21:34] Speaker B: You've come to see me for a very special reason, haven't you? [00:21:38] Speaker C: Yes, I have read this telegram. It's from the police in Ferris hometown. Huh? [00:21:45] Speaker B: Hmm. Did you guess or did they? [00:21:50] Speaker C: I did. [00:21:51] Speaker B: I'm glad. Glad? You were my audience. It was fun playing to you. [00:21:56] Speaker C: Yes. You were the magician. I was the kid in the audience with his mouth open and his mind closed. [00:22:01] Speaker B: Magician? Not quite. [00:22:03] Speaker C: Oh, yes. Like the trick where the magician shows the audience a nice big red ball. He gets them used to seeing it. He conditions them to its size, its shape. Then he covers the ball with a handkerchief, makes a mystic pass, and the ball is gone. [00:22:17] Speaker B: Go on. What then? [00:22:18] Speaker C: Ah, but the ball never disappears. It never goes under the handkerchief. All the audience sees is a similar shape outlined under the silk. [00:22:26] Speaker B: Yes. I'm very happy I chose you as my audience. [00:22:30] Speaker C: I'm not. I don't like to be the one to catch you. [00:22:34] Speaker B: Why not? I took the risk. [00:22:35] Speaker C: Ferris never came to the city. You got off the Lakeshore Limited that night. [00:22:39] Speaker B: And what else, Dan? [00:22:41] Speaker C: You called me and told me Ferris would come here that day in his hometown. You pointed him out. You made me take a good look at him. About your height and build. I even mentioned that, I think. [00:22:52] Speaker B: Yes, you did. Go on. [00:22:54] Speaker C: Before he left, you came here, you intercepted him, killed him in his own hometown. You took his top coat, hat and valise. Then you dressed him in entirely different clothes, took his body to the freight yards. That telegram from the police there verifies that an unidentified man was found dead. [00:23:10] Speaker B: Yes, unidentified. Because the police weren't anxious to identify that body. [00:23:15] Speaker C: But they did this afternoon. Dental work proves the man to be Ferris. You see, Dobbs, there's always a clue. Always. There is no perfect crime. [00:23:26] Speaker B: But just a moment. There were three conditions to the action of committing a perfect murder. Now I fulfill two. Now the third. I must escape detection and punishment. How is anyone going to prove what you've just said? [00:23:39] Speaker C: By your admissions, Dobbs. The police are in the next room. And outside in the hall, they've heard every word. [00:23:46] Speaker B: Oh, there are still a few things to clean up. But there isn't time, is there? I still have to escape punishment. [00:23:54] Speaker C: I'm sorry, but you can't. Okay, boys, come on in. [00:23:59] Speaker B: Well, well, the police. But, Dan, I still say I fulfilled the last condition to escape punishment. It's a good thing you didn't take the drink I offered you. I. I knew as soon as you came in that you had me. I. Dan, explain how I did it. It's no fun doing something clever if no one appreciates it. [00:24:28] Speaker C: Dobbs. Dr. Dobbs. [00:24:29] Speaker B: So long, Dan. Don't forget to explain the rest. It's been a wonderful chess game. Now. Checkmate. [00:24:59] Speaker D: But how did he kill Mr. Ferris in the hotel? [00:25:03] Speaker C: I told you he didn't, Suzy. He killed Ferris in the man's own hometown. You see, I thought I'd followed Ferris to the hotel from the station, but I had followed Dobbs. And then, very simple. Dobbs had reserved a room next to Ferris. Then, disguised as Farris, he went into the room Ferris had reserved. Dobbs took off the top coat, hat, put the valise on the bed, fired two shots, blanks. Then slipped quickly into his own room. Do you see? [00:25:30] Speaker D: Oh, sure. Leaving the other room empty. [00:25:33] Speaker C: Right. So everyone was looking in the wrong place for Ferris. Everyone assumed he had really come to this city. Like the old trick with the ball, Susie. You think you see it, but you don't. So you look in the wrong place. [00:25:46] Speaker D: Gee, he was really smart, wasn't he? [00:25:49] Speaker C: Susie? Just remember this. No matter how smart you are, there's always somebody who'll trip you up. Everyone makes mistakes. [00:25:56] Speaker D: But Dr. Dobbs didn't. [00:25:57] Speaker C: Oh, yes, he did. He made the same mistake I did. He looked in the wrong place. [00:26:03] Speaker D: Wh. What do you mean? [00:26:04] Speaker C: You see, I had to trap him into a confession. He assumed that dental work would identify Ferris body. But the man found in the freight yards had perfect teeth and no dental work. Good night, Susie. [00:26:21] Speaker A: Listen in again next week when, through the courtesy of Paramount Pictures, Alan Ladd stars as Dan holiday in box 13. Box 13 is directed by Richard Sanville and this week's original story was written by Russell Hughes. Original music is composed and conducted by Rudy Schrager, and the part of Susie is played by Sylvia Picker. Vern Carstensen is in charge of production. Box 13 is a Mayfair production from. [00:26:47] Speaker C: Hollywood. [00:26:52] Speaker A: Watch for Alan Ladd and his latest Paramount picture.