# Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Henderson Matter Omnibus (EP4930s)

An episode of [The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/335549005), 15 Mar 2026, 1 h 08 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdrl.fm/997ffb/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70561692/gd4930s.mp3

Today's Mystery: Johnny goes to a small Nevada mining town to investigate the death of an insured elderly man married to a twenty-seven year-old woman. Original Radio Broadcast Date: Originated from Hollywood Stars: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar. Lillian Buyeff, Irene Tedrow, D. J. Thompson, Herb Ellis, Marvin Miller, Forrest Lewis, Bob Bruce, Russ Thorson When making your travel plans, remember http://johnnydollarair.com Become one of our Patreon Supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net Thank you to our Patreon Supporter of the Day: Rodger, Patreon supporter since July 2024. Take the listener survey…http://survey.greatdetectives.net Give us a call 208-991-4783 Become one of our friends on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @radiodetectives Join us again tomorrow for another detective drama from the Golden Age of Radio.

## Transcript

[0:28] Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
[0:35] Speaker 1: This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
[0:39] Speaker 1: going to bring you our final listener support and appreciation
[0:43] Speaker 1: campaign special. This one is a yours truly Johnny Dollar omnibus.
[0:49] Speaker 1: But first I do want to encourage you. If you're
[0:51] Speaker 1: enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software.
[0:57] Speaker 1: And if you're enjoying the podcast, on you to be
[1:00] Speaker 1: sure to lock the video, subscribe to the channel, and
[1:04] Speaker 1: mark the notification bell, all those great things that help
[1:08] Speaker 1: YouTube channels to grow.
[1:10] Speaker 2: Well.
[1:10] Speaker 1: This is the second and last serial that had a
[1:15] Speaker 1: commercial sponsor, but they were only involved in two of
[1:20] Speaker 1: the five episodes, so we will preserve one of those.
[1:24] Speaker 1: But beyond that just stick to the story. But now,
[1:29] Speaker 1: from November twenty eighth to December second, nineteen fifty five,
[1:34] Speaker 1: here is the Henderson Matter.
[1:37] Speaker 3: From Hollywood. It's time now.
[1:39] Speaker 2: For Johnny Dillar, Tim Conners, John Boy, congratulate me.
[1:45] Speaker 3: Congratulations Tim Well. Four.
[1:48] Speaker 4: I just had another boy seven bonds twelve oss Hey
[1:51] Speaker 4: like cigars?
[1:52] Speaker 3: Sure well, come on down, pick one up.
[1:54] Speaker 2: Oh maybe you better pack a suitcase. Two. I got
[1:56] Speaker 2: one for you in Culver, Montana.
[1:57] Speaker 3: Where is that?
[1:58] Speaker 4: I just told you in Montana somewhere. We have a
[2:01] Speaker 4: debt policy holder there named Henderson.
[2:03] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[2:04] Speaker 4: Now, we don't know if he was murdered, committed suicide,
[2:06] Speaker 4: or had an accident.
[2:07] Speaker 3: What does it look like?
[2:08] Speaker 2: All three?
[2:09] Speaker 3: Ok? Tim, be there in an.
[2:10] Speaker 5: Hour tonight and every weekday night. Bob Bailey in the
[2:21] Speaker 5: transcribed Adventures of the Man with the Action Packed Expense Account,
[2:24] Speaker 5: America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator.
[2:27] Speaker 6: Does truly Johnny Dollar expense account submitted by special Investigator
[2:41] Speaker 6: Johnny Dollar, the paramount insurance Adjuster's Hartford, Connecticut. The following
[2:45] Speaker 6: is an accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the
[2:48] Speaker 6: Henderson matter. Whatever it's going to be. Expense account item
[2:54] Speaker 6: one dollar in a quarter for a detailed map. I
[2:57] Speaker 6: had an idea that Culver, Montana was a place in
[2:59] Speaker 6: all only Ran mcdealley might know about.
[3:01] Speaker 3: They did.
[3:03] Speaker 6: I found it tucked up in the high northern corner
[3:04] Speaker 6: of the state near Great Falls.
[3:09] Speaker 3: Hey, where's your bag home? I told you to pack
[3:11] Speaker 3: it now looks cigar. Tim. Tell me about the new
[3:14] Speaker 3: boy in the new case. Okay, have a chair here,
[3:17] Speaker 3: You are. I wouldn't smoke it if I were you terrible.
[3:20] Speaker 3: It cost me two bucks of bucks. Hey, you know
[3:22] Speaker 3: something I'm thinking of naming the new boy John. Oh
[3:25] Speaker 3: tough case. Huh yeah.
[3:27] Speaker 7: Look look we're in the same sweet old sponge onny,
[3:30] Speaker 7: same old problem. One of our policy holders is dead,
[3:33] Speaker 7: and for looking into the circumstances of his death, the
[3:35] Speaker 7: insurance company is no longer a friend of the widow
[3:38] Speaker 7: an orphan, but a big bad monster trying to.
[3:40] Speaker 3: Wheeze a lot of a just claim. All claims are
[3:43] Speaker 3: just claims? Or are they? Well, of course they are.
[3:46] Speaker 3: No one ever tried to pull a fast one on
[3:47] Speaker 3: an insurance company. Well, the world's full of nice on
[3:51] Speaker 3: a straight playing people. Now tell me about getting sandbagged
[3:54] Speaker 3: and I'm poking.
[3:55] Speaker 7: Look, I want to get this out of the way
[3:56] Speaker 7: and get back over to the hospital and see my wife. Now, John,
[4:01] Speaker 7: This claim came into the insurance office yesterday afternoon air
[4:03] Speaker 7: mail special. The insurance company turned it over to me today.
[4:07] Speaker 3: What company Western?
[4:08] Speaker 7: The policy's worth twenty five thousand dollars face value, double
[4:11] Speaker 7: indemnity if death was by accident, no payment for suicide.
[4:15] Speaker 3: You say the man's name was Henderson.
[4:17] Speaker 7: Yeah, it says here George Walter Henderson, Montana rancher last
[4:20] Speaker 7: Thursday fell four stories out of a hotel window and
[4:23] Speaker 7: Culver and died instantly. At least that's what we have
[4:25] Speaker 7: in this report here. Somebody could have shoved him, or
[4:28] Speaker 7: he could have taken the leap.
[4:29] Speaker 3: Now we have to know for certain. Oh what's on
[4:31] Speaker 3: the claim report accidental?
[4:32] Speaker 7: There was no inquest, no police investigation, and that's not
[4:35] Speaker 7: good enough for us.
[4:37] Speaker 3: This Henderson prominent and he was big enough, Johnny, cattleman, rancher.
[4:41] Speaker 7: It was also a major stockholder and the only newspaper
[4:43] Speaker 7: in Culver. So I doubt if his paper suggests suicide
[4:46] Speaker 7: or anything else.
[4:47] Speaker 2: Do you.
[4:47] Speaker 3: I don't know, sim I never met the editor.
[4:49] Speaker 7: Well meet him if you like, talk to him, talk
[4:51] Speaker 7: to anybody in Culver, find out what was what.
[4:53] Speaker 3: This is a lousy cigaret, Johnny, you know how to
[4:56] Speaker 3: handle these things. We have to have more information than
[4:59] Speaker 3: this if you try to do anything on it at all.
[5:01] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[5:02] Speaker 3: I've phoned the Sheriff's office long distance to talk to
[5:04] Speaker 3: a man named Holton, Eth Holton. He said he'd be
[5:06] Speaker 3: happy to cooperate.
[5:07] Speaker 7: Noone else I've phoned the beneficiary to get some information.
[5:09] Speaker 3: Names Pauline Henderson, his widow. Is she going to cooperate too?
[5:13] Speaker 3: I don't think so, pal huh. She hung up on me.
[5:21] Speaker 8: We will continue with the Henderson matter in a moment.
[5:25] Speaker 5: Friends, how'd you like to thrill your favorite youngster with
[5:28] Speaker 5: some of the most exciting toys of the year. Picture
[5:31] Speaker 5: the breathless excitement of any child surrounded by six gaily colored,
[5:35] Speaker 5: balloon like giant animals up to three feet long, and
[5:38] Speaker 5: all for the lolo price of just one dollar. First
[5:41] Speaker 5: you get bounce O, the clown with round pot belly
[5:43] Speaker 5: and funny nose. Mex comes Hoppy the Australian kangaroo. Third,
[5:47] Speaker 5: there's Rusco the ruller skating bear. He's two feet tall
[5:50] Speaker 5: and looks almost like real. Fourth, there's Whitey the fat
[5:53] Speaker 5: indoor snowman. And fifth Mortar with the giant mouse eighteen
[5:55] Speaker 5: inches long and sure to scare the whiskers off any cat.
[5:59] Speaker 5: That's five giant animals. But now hold your breath for
[6:02] Speaker 5: the most sensational toy of all, the star of the
[6:04] Speaker 5: whole Christmas season, the jolly giant talking Santa Claus, guaranteed
[6:09] Speaker 5: to make everybody's Christmas a merrier one.
[6:11] Speaker 3: He's a big, roly poly, happy Sata.
[6:13] Speaker 5: He stands erect on two legs, is actually over three
[6:15] Speaker 5: feet tall and thirty two inches around. Best of all,
[6:18] Speaker 5: he actually talks. Just pull the tape and he says
[6:21] Speaker 5: Merry Christmas for all to hear. He's the biggest, merryest
[6:25] Speaker 5: talking as Sata ever. Sure to please your youngsters and
[6:28] Speaker 5: spread good cheer. Yes, Giant Sata proves there really is
[6:31] Speaker 5: a Santa Claus. That's a total of six giant animals
[6:34] Speaker 5: made of brightly colored, preformed, sturdy latex which the kids
[6:37] Speaker 5: can easily inflate. And the cost just one dollar, not
[6:41] Speaker 5: for each, just one dollar for all six of these
[6:43] Speaker 5: lovable giants who'll turn your home into a circus parade.
[6:47] Speaker 5: And here's a surprise. Mail your order today and you'll
[6:49] Speaker 5: also receive absolutely free Peter the Rabbit, actually over two
[6:54] Speaker 5: feet tall with big red ears almost nine inches long.
[6:57] Speaker 5: But you must send now rush one dollar plus ten
[7:00] Speaker 5: cents for packing and mailing for each set you want
[7:03] Speaker 5: to Giant Animals, Box ninety Grand Central Station, New York City.
[7:07] Speaker 5: If not delighted with every one of your seven giant animals,
[7:10] Speaker 5: return them to the Super Animals Company for a full refund,
[7:13] Speaker 5: but keep the Giant Talking sat as our gift order.
[7:17] Speaker 3: Now supplies are limited.
[7:18] Speaker 5: Rush one dollar and ten cents for packing and mailing
[7:20] Speaker 5: for each set and cash check or money order to
[7:23] Speaker 5: Giant Animals Box ninety, Grand Central Station, New York City.
[7:27] Speaker 5: That's one dollar plus ten cents with your name of
[7:29] Speaker 5: the dress. Mail to Giant Animals Box nine to Oho
[7:33] Speaker 5: Box ninety, Grand Central Station, New York City. Giant Animals
[7:37] Speaker 5: Box ninety, Grand Central Station, New York City.
[7:43] Speaker 6: Expense account Item two one hundred and eighty five dollars
[7:46] Speaker 6: and sixty five cents. Air Fair Hertford, Connecticut. The Great Falls, Montana,
[7:50] Speaker 6: the nearest point I could make to Culver by air.
[7:52] Speaker 3: Item three three bucks. I took the train to Culver.
[7:57] Speaker 6: Sometimes when I'm having nightmares, I dream about the Smeller
[8:00] Speaker 6: stacks standing up against the cadaverous hills that lined the
[8:02] Speaker 6: south of town. Everything, including the three or four feet
[8:05] Speaker 6: of snow covered with a uniform dinginess, made Culver an
[8:09] Speaker 6: ugly little town set in an ugly notch between two
[8:11] Speaker 6: ugly mountains. The only hotel in town was the Butte.
[8:14] Speaker 6: It happened to be four stories high. It also happened
[8:17] Speaker 6: to be the place where George Henderson had met his death. Okay,
[8:27] Speaker 6: just a minute.
[8:33] Speaker 3: Mister dollar. Yeah, I'm Eve Holton, sheriff here. Huh. You're
[8:37] Speaker 3: from the insurance people, aren't you. Yeah, that's right. I've
[8:41] Speaker 3: been expecting that you'd be in sooner.
[8:43] Speaker 2: E La.
[8:43] Speaker 3: Well, I'm glad to meet you, mister Holton. Call me
[8:45] Speaker 3: Eve's son.
[8:46] Speaker 6: Everybody did, and hey, got drink on you, and no
[8:50] Speaker 6: I haven't. Well, I got one on me, nice and
[8:55] Speaker 6: chilly too. Well, i'll see if there's some glasses around
[8:58] Speaker 6: his here. He didn't waste any time looking me up. No,
[9:02] Speaker 6: I guess I didn't. Son started to save a little
[9:04] Speaker 6: time this way. Knew you'd be looking me up sooner
[9:07] Speaker 6: or later. I really thought we ought to have this
[9:09] Speaker 6: drink together. Private may not have any more together while
[9:13] Speaker 6: you're here. Well, health and happiness, boy, h same deal.
[9:26] Speaker 2: Yah.
[9:28] Speaker 6: Now this drink we're having this is in your room,
[9:31] Speaker 6: and I'm just a fellow welcoming you to Culver in
[9:33] Speaker 6: my office or on that street out there. I'm a
[9:36] Speaker 6: sheriff and I'm going to be real official. All right,
[9:38] Speaker 6: come on, I want you to notice I'm not asking
[9:40] Speaker 6: any questions of you, son, I'm just answering anything that
[9:43] Speaker 6: you might want to ask me. Right now, you're going
[9:46] Speaker 6: to have to plow ahead yourself on this one pretty
[9:48] Speaker 6: much alone. And let me tell you what kind of
[9:51] Speaker 6: plowing you got in.
[9:51] Speaker 3: The store for you. Excuse me how?
[9:57] Speaker 6: First off, this is a little burg like we ain't
[10:00] Speaker 6: used to. We got thirty five hundred four thousand people
[10:03] Speaker 6: living here, some of them working that mine you've seen
[10:05] Speaker 6: on your way into town. Others hire out to work
[10:08] Speaker 6: on the ranches around here. Some in business. H very
[10:12] Speaker 6: tight little place. We hardly ever fool around with anybody else. Sure,
[10:17] Speaker 6: now you're here because your insurance company don't like to
[10:20] Speaker 6: pay off on a policy without knowing why and wherefore it.
[10:24] Speaker 6: They don't like the word accident without knowing some of
[10:26] Speaker 6: the details.
[10:27] Speaker 3: No, they don't.
[10:29] Speaker 6: There's a lot of people here, most people who don't
[10:32] Speaker 6: care about those details. As a matter of fact, Son,
[10:35] Speaker 6: they'd all just as soon put old George Henderson down
[10:37] Speaker 6: on the ground and said it was an accident and
[10:39] Speaker 6: let it go with that. Well maybe it was sheriff.
[10:42] Speaker 6: I don't know, but I'm gonna find out.
[10:44] Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, now let me go on.
[10:46] Speaker 6: Those people who don't like the details, don't like detailed getters,
[10:50] Speaker 6: you understand, h Yeah, scare you any not yet?
[10:55] Speaker 3: You too, alright, So maybe you'd kind of like to
[10:59] Speaker 3: get your coat on and come to your funeral with me.
[11:01] Speaker 3: Start to three and listens.
[11:03] Speaker 6: Yeah, give you a chance to look around, get the
[11:05] Speaker 6: layer of the land.
[11:06] Speaker 3: Okay, good idea.
[11:08] Speaker 6: I wondered what kind of bullworkers insurance companies turned out.
[11:12] Speaker 3: I like you Dollar, You're all right.
[11:15] Speaker 6: You ain't bothering with any questions till you've got some
[11:17] Speaker 6: worthwhile asking.
[11:19] Speaker 3: You're tired a little? Well, this won't take too long.
[11:29] Speaker 6: A half hour later, I was standing beside Sheriff if
[11:31] Speaker 6: holding on a flat top hillside that served as a cemetery.
[11:35] Speaker 6: The snow was white and gleaming under the winter sun
[11:37] Speaker 6: of the mid afternoon skies, the air cold and crisp.
[11:43] Speaker 7: Did he are heavenly Father, who knoweth all things? We
[11:46] Speaker 7: commit the body of our beloved today eternal care. I
[11:49] Speaker 7: will be done, trusting everand th mercy, we up the
[11:52] Speaker 7: consolation of.
[11:53] Speaker 3: Thy children wing er start to ashes, dust to dust.
[12:02] Speaker 7: It's sure and certain hope of resurrection into eternal life
[12:06] Speaker 7: in the name of her father and.
[12:09] Speaker 3: The Holy Ghost. Amen. Yeah, oh that's that. Yeah, poor George.
[12:21] Speaker 6: If which one is missus Henderson, that's Pauline Henderson.
[12:28] Speaker 3: Yeah, that's her. Well, she can't be more than twenty.
[12:31] Speaker 6: Five, twenty six to be exact daughter. I went to
[12:35] Speaker 6: her birthday party two months ago. How old was George
[12:38] Speaker 6: Henderson fifty nine? Went to his party too? Yeah, pretty thing.
[12:46] Speaker 6: Very Any other family Nope, No, other wife nope. Quart
[12:53] Speaker 6: to meet her, No, not right now. Shoot yourself kind
[12:57] Speaker 6: of thought. You might start thinking when you got to
[12:59] Speaker 6: look at her, and I just keep on the way
[13:02] Speaker 6: you're doing. You're doing fine. When there's something you gotta know,
[13:06] Speaker 6: you find out. Well, if I already know one thing,
[13:11] Speaker 6: yeah that I'm going to ask for a corner's inquests
[13:14] Speaker 6: just from seeing her, just from seeing her. Mm hm,
[13:20] Speaker 6: you're a sly one, Johnny.
[13:39] Speaker 3: Johnny Dollar.
[13:40] Speaker 2: How are you this morning?
[13:42] Speaker 3: Oh? Pretty good, sheriff. How about yourself?
[13:44] Speaker 2: Oh, I'm fine, dandy. You were over at the city
[13:47] Speaker 2: hall this morning.
[13:48] Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right.
[13:48] Speaker 6: I requested the coroner to conduct an inquest unto the
[13:51] Speaker 6: death of George Henderson.
[13:52] Speaker 2: I know a corner lifted up to me. Huh, Yeah,
[13:55] Speaker 2: came into my office and asked me if I had
[13:57] Speaker 2: any reason to conduct an inquest into the day to
[14:00] Speaker 2: George Henderson. I totally might. I didn't have any reason,
[14:02] Speaker 2: but I do it if I was ordered to. What
[14:05] Speaker 2: happens now, Well, somebody will have to decide whether there's
[14:08] Speaker 2: going to be an in question or not. Oh, mayor
[14:11] Speaker 2: I guess I don't know. Anyhow, you stirred up some
[14:14] Speaker 2: action and you'll be getting it.
[14:16] Speaker 3: Yeah, where Just stay.
[14:17] Speaker 2: Where you are, son. My guess is it'll come right
[14:20] Speaker 2: to you.
[14:30] Speaker 6: Expense accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to Paramount
[14:34] Speaker 6: Insurance Adjusters, Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of
[14:38] Speaker 6: expenditures during my investigation of the Henderson matter. The death
[14:44] Speaker 6: of George Henderson of Culver, Montana, where I am today.
[14:48] Speaker 6: A casual certification announced that death is accidental, having been
[14:51] Speaker 6: received by a fall from a hotel window. No one
[14:54] Speaker 6: in Culver seemed to be too worried about any of
[14:56] Speaker 6: the details, but details are my job. That's why I
[15:00] Speaker 6: request at the coroner's office to conduct an inquest. I
[15:03] Speaker 6: took Sheriff Holton's suggestion and waited to see what my
[15:05] Speaker 6: request flushed up in the dingy colored mountains of Culver.
[15:09] Speaker 6: An hour later, my first bird winged up to my
[15:11] Speaker 6: hotel room. He was a tall, gray haired man and
[15:18] Speaker 6: a stetson ear muffs in the western version of a Chesterfield.
[15:21] Speaker 3: His Honor Mayor Newton.
[15:24] Speaker 9: Mister Dollar, I want to talk to you about this
[15:27] Speaker 9: request you made for an inquest into George Henderson's death. Yes, sir,
[15:31] Speaker 9: mister Mayor, you are aware, of course that George's death,
[15:35] Speaker 9: and he was one of my beloved and personal friends
[15:38] Speaker 9: for many many years, was a great blow to the
[15:41] Speaker 9: entire community.
[15:42] Speaker 3: No, I didn't know that Mayor Newton.
[15:45] Speaker 6: Only the smallest part of the community were at his
[15:47] Speaker 6: funeral yesterday afternoon, his widow, and I'd say not more
[15:50] Speaker 6: than half a dozen other people.
[15:54] Speaker 9: And I understand that your insurance company is not quite
[15:57] Speaker 9: satisfied with the certifications at more or less. What would
[16:02] Speaker 9: they need to be satisfied, sir.
[16:04] Speaker 6: An exact knowledge of how mister Henderson fell out that
[16:07] Speaker 6: hotel window.
[16:09] Speaker 9: I would rather no inquest were held into mister Henderson's death.
[16:13] Speaker 9: Why why, Sir, George Henderson is dead and buried. It
[16:17] Speaker 9: should remain that way. If an inquest were to be held,
[16:20] Speaker 9: it would only prove that George fell out of a window.
[16:23] Speaker 9: I beg you to consider that, mister Dollar.
[16:25] Speaker 6: You seem very certain that an investigation would prove that
[16:28] Speaker 6: death was accidental.
[16:29] Speaker 3: There it was accidental, George fell out the window.
[16:32] Speaker 6: Well, I can't just tell that to my insurance company,
[16:35] Speaker 6: can I.
[16:38] Speaker 9: We are a small community with a rudimentary police force,
[16:42] Speaker 9: not equipped in any way for an exhaustive investigation, nor
[16:46] Speaker 9: for the financial burden of such an investigation. I strongly
[16:51] Speaker 9: urge you to reconsider this request for a corner's inquest.
[16:54] Speaker 3: You do, I do.
[16:55] Speaker 9: Indeed, his untimely death was an unfortunate occur outside the
[17:01] Speaker 9: pail of any of our poor abilities to foresee a terrible,
[17:07] Speaker 9: terrible accident. I'd like proof of that proof, an inquest,
[17:12] Speaker 9: mister mayor.
[17:15] Speaker 3: In quest. All right, we.
[17:23] Speaker 8: Will continue with the Henderson matter in a moment.
[17:27] Speaker 5: Friends, how'd you like to thrill your favorite youngster with
[17:29] Speaker 5: some of the most exciting toys of the year. Picture
[17:32] Speaker 5: the breathless excitement of any child surrounded by six gaily
[17:35] Speaker 5: colored balloon like giant animals up to three feet long,
[17:39] Speaker 5: and all for the lolo price of just one dollar.
[17:42] Speaker 5: First you get bounce of the clown with round pot
[17:44] Speaker 5: belly and funny nose. Next comes Hoppy the Australian kangaroo. Third,
[17:48] Speaker 5: there's Rusco the ruller skating bear. He's two feet tall
[17:51] Speaker 5: and looks almost like real. Fourth there's Whitey, the fat
[17:54] Speaker 5: indoor snowman. And fifth Mortarmer the giant mouse, eighteen inches
[17:57] Speaker 5: long and sure to scare the whiskers off any cat.
[18:00] Speaker 5: That's five different giant animals. But now hold your breath
[18:03] Speaker 5: for the most sensational toy of all, the star of
[18:05] Speaker 5: the whole Christmas season, the jolly giant talking Santa Claus,
[18:09] Speaker 5: guaranteed to make everybody's Christmas a merrier one. He's a big,
[18:12] Speaker 5: roly poly happy Santa. He stands erect on two legs,
[18:15] Speaker 5: is actually over three feet tall and thirty two inches around.
[18:19] Speaker 5: Best of all, he actually talks. Just pull the tape
[18:21] Speaker 5: and he says Merry Christmas for all to hear. He's
[18:25] Speaker 5: the biggest merriest talking is Sata ever, sure to please
[18:28] Speaker 5: your youngsters and spread good cheer. Yes, Giant Santa proves
[18:31] Speaker 5: there really is a Santa Claus. That's a total of
[18:34] Speaker 5: six giant animals made of brightly colored, preformed, sturdy latex
[18:37] Speaker 5: which the kids can easily inflate. And the cost just
[18:40] Speaker 5: one dollar, not for each, just one dollar for all
[18:43] Speaker 5: six of these lovable giants who'll turn your home into
[18:46] Speaker 5: a circus parade.
[18:47] Speaker 3: And here's a surprise.
[18:49] Speaker 5: Mail your order today and you'll also receive absolutely free
[18:52] Speaker 5: Peter the Rabbit, actually over two feet tall with big
[18:55] Speaker 5: red ears almost nine inches long. But you must send
[18:59] Speaker 5: now Rush one dollar plus ten cents for packing and
[19:02] Speaker 5: mailing for each set you want to Giant Animals, Box
[19:04] Speaker 5: forty six, Grand Central Station, New York City. If not
[19:07] Speaker 5: delighted with every one of your seven Giant Animals, return
[19:10] Speaker 5: them to the Super Animals Company for a full refund,
[19:13] Speaker 5: but keep the Giant Talking set as our gift. Order
[19:16] Speaker 5: Now supplies are limited. Rush one dollar and ten cents
[19:19] Speaker 5: for packing and mailing for each set in cash, check
[19:21] Speaker 5: or money Order to Giant Animals Box forty six, Grand
[19:24] Speaker 5: Central Station, New York City. That's one dollar plus ten
[19:28] Speaker 5: cents with your name of the address. Mail to Giant
[19:30] Speaker 5: Animals Box four to six, Grand Central Station, New York City.
[19:34] Speaker 5: Giant Animals Box forty six, Grand Central Station, New York City.
[19:43] Speaker 6: My interview with Mayor Newton had convinced me that I'd
[19:45] Speaker 6: get no real help from him in the Henderson matter.
[19:48] Speaker 6: Quite the contrary expense account item three twenty cents coffee
[19:52] Speaker 6: myself and Sheriff E.
[19:53] Speaker 3: Holton. Well you got it, huh.
[19:55] Speaker 6: At the direction of mister Jackson, that's our corner. He
[19:59] Speaker 6: deputized temporarily to conduct an inquest. It's going to take
[20:02] Speaker 6: place tomorrow morning, nine o'clock to the Hall tomorrow, Sheriff
[20:06] Speaker 6: Room two o seven. Well, if you won't have time
[20:08] Speaker 6: to do anything, I guess I won't not much anyhow,
[20:12] Speaker 6: Brother the mayor pitched me pretty hard for not having
[20:15] Speaker 6: the inquest.
[20:16] Speaker 3: Knew he would any idea? Why Nope? You think somebody
[20:20] Speaker 3: asked him to stop it? Yeah, who don't know, Johnny honest.
[20:31] Speaker 6: The next morning I struggled my way against a belligerent
[20:34] Speaker 6: north wind the city Hall and the inquest, if you
[20:36] Speaker 6: could call it that. I sat in the back of
[20:38] Speaker 6: the room and listened while a doctor Horace Nam assured.
[20:41] Speaker 3: The six man jury that George Henderson was.
[20:42] Speaker 6: Quite dead when he was called out of his office
[20:45] Speaker 6: and examined him on the street. Doctor Nam reckoned George
[20:48] Speaker 6: had died from a broken neck. An ancient bell hop,
[20:51] Speaker 6: a desk clerk, and a chamber maid gave their versions
[20:53] Speaker 6: of what had happened the day Henderson fell out the window.
[20:56] Speaker 6: I you sed, swear to tell the truth, to hold truth,
[20:57] Speaker 6: So help you God, I do share it. I'm the
[21:01] Speaker 6: acting coroner today, Miss Cupley, sit down. Now, when did
[21:08] Speaker 6: you see mister Henderson.
[21:09] Speaker 10: Last last Thursday morning? Where was this miss Cubley at
[21:13] Speaker 10: the Butte Hotel?
[21:15] Speaker 3: You know what time of the morning.
[21:17] Speaker 10: It was about ten o'clock. I went in to make
[21:19] Speaker 10: his bed and straighten up his room.
[21:21] Speaker 3: I see.
[21:22] Speaker 10: I made his bed while he worked on some papers there.
[21:24] Speaker 10: Then I left.
[21:25] Speaker 3: Did you see him after that?
[21:26] Speaker 6: No, sir, you didn't see him come downstairs for breakfast
[21:30] Speaker 6: or anything.
[21:30] Speaker 3: No, sir, do you know if anybody went up to
[21:33] Speaker 3: see him?
[21:34] Speaker 10: I believe I saw missus Henderson in the lobby after that.
[21:37] Speaker 3: Do you see missus Henderson in this room?
[21:40] Speaker 10: Yes, sir, I believe that's Missus Henderson over there.
[21:43] Speaker 3: No, that's missus Henderson. Now do you know if Missus
[21:47] Speaker 3: Henderson visited mister Henderson in his room?
[21:50] Speaker 10: No, sir, I don't know that.
[21:52] Speaker 6: Missus Cubley did you happen to notice if anyone else
[21:55] Speaker 6: went up to mister Henderson's room that morning? No, Sir,
[22:00] Speaker 6: on all morning, long Sheriff Houlton, acting in the coroner's position,
[22:03] Speaker 6: questioned person after person all had more or less the
[22:06] Speaker 6: same vague knowledge concerning George Henderson's death. I was most
[22:10] Speaker 6: interested in Pauline Henderson's testimony. Now, then, Missus Henderson, when
[22:14] Speaker 6: did you last see your husband?
[22:16] Speaker 10: Thursday? I went to see him about noon, maybe a
[22:19] Speaker 10: little before.
[22:21] Speaker 3: Where did you see him, miss Henderson?
[22:22] Speaker 10: At the Butte Hotel? In his room there?
[22:24] Speaker 6: The same room he occupied prior to his death, of course,
[22:28] Speaker 6: the same room from which he fell.
[22:30] Speaker 11: Yes?
[22:32] Speaker 3: Were you alone when you went to see him, Missus.
[22:33] Speaker 10: Henderson, Yes, I must have left before twelve thirty I
[22:37] Speaker 10: had an appointment of the dentist.
[22:39] Speaker 3: That was the last time you saw your husband alive.
[22:42] Speaker 10: Yes, I was still in the dentist's chair when they
[22:45] Speaker 10: told me he'd fallen out the window.
[22:47] Speaker 3: What did you and your husband talk about, Missus Henderson?
[22:51] Speaker 10: Must I answer that.
[22:53] Speaker 3: Well, we're trying to determine something here. I appreciate it.
[22:57] Speaker 10: George and I discussed our divorce.
[23:00] Speaker 3: Would you tell us about that.
[23:02] Speaker 10: George and I decided to part about a month ago.
[23:05] Speaker 10: He moved out of the house and moved into the.
[23:06] Speaker 3: Hotel outside of the divorce. Were you on good terms?
[23:11] Speaker 11: Oh?
[23:11] Speaker 10: Yes, we've always been on good terms.
[23:14] Speaker 3: Missus Henderson.
[23:15] Speaker 6: Do you think there's a chance that he might have
[23:17] Speaker 6: thrown himself out that window? Missus Henderson, do you think
[23:23] Speaker 6: he might have thrown himself out that window?
[23:25] Speaker 10: No, at least not over us, if that's what you mean.
[23:28] Speaker 3: As far as you knew, was your husband in good health?
[23:30] Speaker 10: Yes he was.
[23:32] Speaker 3: You happen to know when he was examined last, oh.
[23:34] Speaker 10: A month or so ago, he was in perfect health.
[23:37] Speaker 3: One more thing, did mister Henderson drink?
[23:41] Speaker 10: Yes?
[23:42] Speaker 3: Did he drink that morning with you?
[23:44] Speaker 10: I think he had a couple of drinks? Yes, Yes,
[23:47] Speaker 10: he had a drink or too while we were talking.
[23:49] Speaker 10: He could have stumbled at that window.
[23:52] Speaker 3: The closes were New York, the perfumed Paris.
[23:54] Speaker 6: The jewelry Tiffany is the look you might expect it
[23:57] Speaker 6: on the riviera, where everybody tries to wag board with
[23:59] Speaker 6: too many good things in life. Her dress, blank for
[24:02] Speaker 6: the occasion of death, was cut too well and too
[24:04] Speaker 6: carefully for her to pass as a grieving widow. She
[24:07] Speaker 6: answered the questions without hesitation or emotion. Fifteen minutes later,
[24:11] Speaker 6: the jury brought in the expected verdict. Therefore, it is
[24:15] Speaker 6: the opinion of this jury that the sad deceased George
[24:18] Speaker 6: Walter Henderson came to his death as a result of
[24:21] Speaker 6: injuries incurred in the fall from the fourth floor of
[24:23] Speaker 6: the Butte Hotel at her about twelve forty five pm
[24:26] Speaker 6: on the nineteenth day of this month.
[24:28] Speaker 3: No evidence to the contrary.
[24:30] Speaker 6: It is deemed and declared that the manner of death
[24:32] Speaker 6: was accidental, adjourned, and that was that as far as
[24:38] Speaker 6: Culver's people, it's police, and it's mayor were concerned. Yeah,
[24:42] Speaker 6: the mayor.
[24:44] Speaker 3: Well, mister Dollar, I hope you're satisfied.
[24:47] Speaker 6: It was a pretty good inquest, Maya Newton, I trust
[24:50] Speaker 6: the official verdict of the jury will answer any questions
[24:53] Speaker 6: your insurance company might have had on their minds and
[24:56] Speaker 6: clear this whole matter up. All forward to them and
[25:00] Speaker 6: tell them the circumstances under which the inquest was conducted.
[25:03] Speaker 3: Mister Mayor, satisfactory. I trust no, But it served a purpose.
[25:08] Speaker 6: Now that everybody thinks it was an accident, everybody will
[25:11] Speaker 6: breathe easier, certainly.
[25:13] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[25:14] Speaker 6: If everybody's relaxing like that, somebody is going to get careless.
[25:19] Speaker 6: See you, mister mayor, Johnny Dollar defe Holton John Hi Sheriff.
[25:41] Speaker 2: You put in the call for me, did you.
[25:42] Speaker 3: Yes?
[25:43] Speaker 6: I'm ready to go to work. Now that the inquest
[25:45] Speaker 6: has been held in George Henderson's death is officially an accident,
[25:48] Speaker 6: I might be able to move around your little town
[25:50] Speaker 6: a little easier.
[25:51] Speaker 2: What can they do for you?
[25:52] Speaker 6: Help me to move around? Far as I'm concerned, Eve,
[25:56] Speaker 6: what's the matter with you? That inquest was a farce.
[26:00] Speaker 6: For all I know, Henderson could have been pushed out
[26:01] Speaker 6: of that hotel window. The attitude of different people in
[26:04] Speaker 6: this town makes that whole thing.
[26:06] Speaker 2: Hold on now, Son, hold on. I meant to say
[26:08] Speaker 2: it's closed as far as my office is concerned, personally,
[26:12] Speaker 2: I think it needs investigating. We can help each other.
[26:15] Speaker 3: Maybe you and me can I come over?
[26:17] Speaker 2: Oh? I better come there. You know how folks are
[26:19] Speaker 2: around here.
[26:29] Speaker 6: Expense account submitted my special investigator, Johnny Dollar, location, Culver, Montana,
[26:34] Speaker 6: to Paramount Insurance Adjusters, Hertford, Connecticut. The following is an
[26:38] Speaker 6: accounting of expenditures during my investigation of the Henderson matter.
[26:42] Speaker 6: The question accident, suicide or murder expense account item four
[26:50] Speaker 6: three dollars and forty eight cents. One day later to
[26:52] Speaker 6: Tim Connor's office in Hartford, explaining the situation in Culvert.
[26:58] Speaker 12: I'll read it back to EMUs Dollar, mister Tim Conner's
[27:02] Speaker 12: Paramount Insurance Aggesters Hartford, Connecticut Coroner's inquest in the death
[27:08] Speaker 12: of George Henderson policy number EMP Dash one nine six
[27:14] Speaker 12: six sixty seven found death to be accidental. In my opinion,
[27:19] Speaker 12: the inquest was not thorough. Have decided to stay on
[27:23] Speaker 12: in Culver and conduct my own investigation. If any change,
[27:27] Speaker 12: please advise via Western Union Beautif Hotel, Colver, and forwarding
[27:33] Speaker 12: copy of coroner's verdict this date best regards Dollar correct okay, Oh,
[27:40] Speaker 12: mister Dollar, good luck?
[27:45] Speaker 3: Yeah sure.
[27:49] Speaker 6: Expense account item five sixty eight cents postage. I mailed
[27:52] Speaker 6: a copy of the corners ready to Hartford airmail special.
[27:56] Speaker 6: After that, I went back to my hotel to wait
[27:58] Speaker 6: for the sheriff, Eve Houlton.
[28:03] Speaker 2: Come on in.
[28:05] Speaker 13: Oh hello, hello, mister Dollar. My name's Porter. I'm the
[28:10] Speaker 13: manager of this hotel.
[28:11] Speaker 3: Oh well, come, mister Porter.
[28:12] Speaker 8: I can't right now. I've got some other things to
[28:14] Speaker 8: attend to.
[28:16] Speaker 13: Well, anything I can do for you, mister Porter, I'm
[28:21] Speaker 13: going to have to ask you for your room.
[28:22] Speaker 3: Mister Dollar. Oh when today any particular reason?
[28:28] Speaker 8: We're all filled up. The room's been reserved for six
[28:31] Speaker 8: weeks by home.
[28:33] Speaker 3: What who reserved it? Why?
[28:35] Speaker 8: A man from Bozeman. It's a sort of convention.
[28:38] Speaker 6: Sort of convention. What kind of convention is that, mister Porter.
[28:42] Speaker 13: Look, mister Dollar, you'll have to leave this room today.
[28:45] Speaker 13: The man's coming in tonight.
[28:47] Speaker 3: Aha.
[28:47] Speaker 6: And there's no other hotel in town. That's the way
[28:50] Speaker 6: it is, mister Dollar, no other place to stay. No,
[28:53] Speaker 6: So I have to pack my bags and get out
[28:55] Speaker 6: of town.
[28:56] Speaker 3: Is that it?
[28:57] Speaker 8: I must have the room, mister Dollar?
[28:59] Speaker 3: Who I asked you to say you wanted the room?
[29:01] Speaker 3: Mister Porter? Who asked you to come here and kick
[29:03] Speaker 3: me out? Why no one? Will you go back to
[29:06] Speaker 3: no one, mister Porter?
[29:07] Speaker 6: And you tell no one that I'm staying right here
[29:08] Speaker 6: in this room here in Culver until I finished what
[29:10] Speaker 6: I have to do here.
[29:12] Speaker 3: You tell that to no one, will you.
[29:14] Speaker 8: Mister Dollar. I'd hate to call the police.
[29:16] Speaker 6: Go ahead, mister Porter, be sure and tell them about
[29:18] Speaker 6: the sort of convention you're having and how all the
[29:20] Speaker 6: rooms are sold out.
[29:22] Speaker 3: Tell him about mister No. One and tell him I
[29:24] Speaker 3: called your bluff.
[29:26] Speaker 6: Anything else, mister Porter, I was at the stage where
[29:32] Speaker 6: I was beginning to take notes for myself. Note One,
[29:35] Speaker 6: the mayor didn't want to have an inquest into the
[29:37] Speaker 6: death of George Henderson.
[29:38] Speaker 3: No.
[29:38] Speaker 2: Two.
[29:39] Speaker 6: When they did have an inquest, they didn't want to
[29:41] Speaker 6: really find out anything.
[29:42] Speaker 14: No.
[29:42] Speaker 6: Three, mister hotel manager wanted me to keep on not
[29:46] Speaker 6: finding out anything by getting me out of town. I
[29:49] Speaker 6: explained all of this to Eve Holton when he showed
[29:51] Speaker 6: up a half an hour later. I have kind of tied,
[29:54] Speaker 6: isn't it. I don't know what that means, Sheriff, it's
[29:56] Speaker 6: pretty stupid. Yeah, it's stupid, son, but it could be effective.
[30:02] Speaker 6: I'll tell you what. If Porter calls the police, I'm
[30:05] Speaker 6: the police, so don't worry about that. I'll hem him
[30:09] Speaker 6: and Hawey all right, thanks, now, then tell me how
[30:12] Speaker 6: much your insurance company's stuck for fifty thousand dollars if
[30:15] Speaker 6: Henderson's death goes by as an accident.
[30:18] Speaker 3: The Good Book says that's what it was.
[30:20] Speaker 6: I know, I know there's a chance too, we had
[30:23] Speaker 6: a heart failure and fell out of that window.
[30:25] Speaker 3: No sure, always a chance. We might have to dig
[30:28] Speaker 3: him up and find out, Sheriff.
[30:29] Speaker 6: Wo hold on Autopsyason. Digging people up is one thing
[30:33] Speaker 6: you'd have a hard time doing around here.
[30:35] Speaker 3: I might insist on it. I don't know.
[30:36] Speaker 6: We'll let that go for now. Say tell me about
[30:40] Speaker 6: missus Henderson. Where's she from?
[30:42] Speaker 9: Here?
[30:42] Speaker 3: Right here in Colder?
[30:44] Speaker 6: Now, she didn't get that mink coat and those diamonds
[30:46] Speaker 6: she was wearing at the end quest in Culver. More important,
[30:49] Speaker 6: she didn't get that continental look here either. So what's
[30:53] Speaker 6: the story. Her name was Pauline Underwood before she married George,
[30:57] Speaker 6: Born and raised right here in Culver. Of course, she
[30:59] Speaker 6: went school in the East, and she's been in Europe
[31:01] Speaker 6: a couple of times, but most of her life's been
[31:04] Speaker 6: right here.
[31:05] Speaker 3: She is a mighty pretty widow and mighty rich one too.
[31:10] Speaker 3: Henderson had it. That's divorce she talked about at the
[31:13] Speaker 3: inquest yesterday.
[31:15] Speaker 6: Everybody in town knew they weren't getting along, never did
[31:18] Speaker 6: get along.
[31:19] Speaker 3: How could he?
[31:20] Speaker 6: Pauline's twenty six and George's fifty nine. He could have
[31:23] Speaker 6: been her father as a matter of fact, he almost.
[31:26] Speaker 3: Was tell me about that. You got a drink? Oh yeah.
[31:30] Speaker 6: But George raised Pauline from the time she was fourteen.
[31:33] Speaker 6: He paid for all her schooling growing up. She didn't
[31:36] Speaker 6: have any folks after an old man died. George was
[31:39] Speaker 6: pretty good to her.
[31:40] Speaker 3: He sure was. Was he a friend of her parents.
[31:44] Speaker 6: Tom Underwood worked out at the ranch for George. When
[31:47] Speaker 6: he died, there was Pauline standing there. Oh thanks, And
[31:52] Speaker 6: she eventually married him and his money. Eh, well, I
[31:59] Speaker 6: wouldn't put it that way exactly. I think she liked him.
[32:03] Speaker 6: I've gone over what you're thinking, son. Those two were
[32:05] Speaker 6: talking about divorce for some time. The papers had been
[32:08] Speaker 6: drawn up for a settlement. She's got a lot of
[32:11] Speaker 6: baalomoning so on. Oh, Pauline had no call to push
[32:14] Speaker 6: him out that when hav him pushed out, at least.
[32:17] Speaker 3: Not for money, all right. Suppose he didn't want a divorce.
[32:21] Speaker 6: Suppose he loved her, and she came to the hotel
[32:23] Speaker 6: room that morning and he pleaded with her to try
[32:25] Speaker 6: all over again.
[32:27] Speaker 3: Suppose she said no.
[32:28] Speaker 6: Suppose she said no in a great, big, cold way,
[32:31] Speaker 6: and George Henderson sat there and thought about it. After
[32:33] Speaker 6: she left, and he got sick all over, and he
[32:36] Speaker 6: walked over to that window and suicide. What do you
[32:40] Speaker 6: think you know him? He wasn't the suicide type. Oh,
[32:43] Speaker 6: nobody's the suicide type until they come to the end
[32:46] Speaker 6: of the line.
[32:46] Speaker 3: Eve.
[32:47] Speaker 6: Then it's too late to interview them and ask them
[32:49] Speaker 6: how they got there. Everybody seems to think it was
[32:52] Speaker 6: an accident, So I'm just throwing words around. You have
[32:55] Speaker 6: a right to do that if you aren't satisfied. Son, Hey,
[32:57] Speaker 6: getting back to this hotel again. Who might want me
[33:00] Speaker 6: to get out of town and not ask any questions anybody? Well,
[33:05] Speaker 6: no idea, but it's somebody who has some feelings in this. Hey,
[33:09] Speaker 6: who owns this hotel? Hef Noah Baxter.
[33:11] Speaker 3: Who's Noah Baxter?
[33:13] Speaker 6: Rancher got a place about fifteen miles from here, pretty
[33:16] Speaker 6: big man, Huh?
[33:17] Speaker 3: Friend of Henderson's.
[33:18] Speaker 6: Yeah, and let me put that question a little different
[33:23] Speaker 6: banks to a friend of missus Henderson's.
[33:26] Speaker 3: I don't know. Can you find out? I can try.
[33:28] Speaker 6: We'll find out about him and any other friends, if
[33:31] Speaker 6: friends that might be younger, that might have gone to
[33:33] Speaker 6: Europe or a school in the east.
[33:35] Speaker 3: Yeah. Sure, what are you thinking now? Son.
[33:39] Speaker 6: Well, Now, if I were a missus Henderson and my
[33:41] Speaker 6: husband fell out of a window and this hotel and
[33:43] Speaker 6: killed himself, I'd hire a lawyer, and I'd sue the
[33:45] Speaker 6: hotel for damages. If the insurance company didn't pay off
[33:48] Speaker 6: my claim, I'd hire a lawyer and insists that they
[33:50] Speaker 6: pay that claim. I'd do those things right away, Sheriff,
[33:54] Speaker 6: especially if I thought it was all legitimate.
[33:57] Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah.
[34:03] Speaker 6: Two hours later, I received a wire from Tim Conners.
[34:06] Speaker 6: He requested me to look up a man named Thurber,
[34:08] Speaker 6: an insurance proper living.
[34:09] Speaker 3: In great Falls.
[34:12] Speaker 6: Expense of count Adam six four dollars and ninety two
[34:15] Speaker 6: cents tank of gas. I borrowed Sheriff Holton's car and
[34:18] Speaker 6: drove the idyodd miles to great Falls.
[34:19] Speaker 3: That afternoon. Mister Thurber bought lunch. My lord, I hope
[34:23] Speaker 3: there isn't anything to all this, mister Dollar. I just
[34:25] Speaker 3: hope there isn't.
[34:26] Speaker 6: George Henderson, Ah, well, there isn't anything to anything yet,
[34:30] Speaker 6: mister Thurber.
[34:31] Speaker 3: I'm still trying to find out the fact. Oh I
[34:33] Speaker 3: knew you were over in Culver. I tried to call
[34:35] Speaker 3: you there a couple of times. You were out.
[34:36] Speaker 7: Both times Finally I put in a call to the
[34:38] Speaker 7: home office in Hartford. I talked to this man Connor's
[34:40] Speaker 7: with the Adjustment agency. Yeah, you see, mister Dollar's like this.
[34:44] Speaker 7: I've been over in Jackson Hope for five days now,
[34:46] Speaker 7: hunting duck. We were way in and I didn't hear
[34:48] Speaker 7: about Henderson's death until I got back yesterday.
[34:51] Speaker 3: Ah.
[34:52] Speaker 7: Now, oh, look, mister Dollar, I don't know what reflection
[34:55] Speaker 7: this will have on your attitude toward this case. But
[34:57] Speaker 7: two days before I left, mister Henderson telephoned me here
[35:00] Speaker 7: Great Falls. He said he wanted to change the beneficiary
[35:03] Speaker 7: on his policy.
[35:04] Speaker 3: In other words, he was going to cut his wife off. Yes,
[35:07] Speaker 3: I suppose, so. I know they weren't getting along. They'd
[35:10] Speaker 3: been talk of divorce, Yes, I guess.
[35:13] Speaker 14: So.
[35:13] Speaker 2: Uh huh?
[35:14] Speaker 3: Did he name a new beneficiary?
[35:15] Speaker 7: Yes, a school teacher in Culver named Mantila Nickerbocker. Everybody
[35:19] Speaker 7: calls her Maddie. What was his connection with her, None
[35:23] Speaker 7: that I know of. I think it was just a
[35:24] Speaker 7: name from the throw in until he could decide on
[35:26] Speaker 7: another beneficiary. Why he didn't have Maddy Nickerbacker just a
[35:30] Speaker 7: school teacher. Everybody knows her. He was awful mad. When
[35:33] Speaker 7: he talked to me that day, I could tell it
[35:35] Speaker 7: in his voice. Now here's what might interest you just
[35:38] Speaker 7: a little more. The day I left in my hunting trip,
[35:40] Speaker 7: mister Henderson phoned me again. He said, to never mind missus.
[35:43] Speaker 7: Henderson was still his beneficiary.
[35:45] Speaker 3: Did you change the policies yet? No? Are you sure
[35:48] Speaker 3: it was Henderson or telephoned?
[35:50] Speaker 14: Well?
[35:50] Speaker 2: Yes, I.
[35:53] Speaker 3: Think it was him. Do you remember when you got
[35:55] Speaker 3: the call? Somewhere around noon? A little later? I guess
[35:59] Speaker 3: he died between twelve thirty and one. It must have
[36:02] Speaker 3: been just before he fell out the window. He phoned
[36:04] Speaker 3: your long distance from cover.
[36:05] Speaker 6: Huh, yes, sir, Well, he was supposed to have been
[36:07] Speaker 6: in the hotel all morning, so he had the phone
[36:09] Speaker 6: from his room.
[36:11] Speaker 3: You can check that, can't you. Huh huh.
[36:13] Speaker 6: She'd be surprised how hard it is to check simple
[36:15] Speaker 6: things like that around the Butte Hotel. Did you know
[36:18] Speaker 6: Henderson very well, mister Thurber.
[36:20] Speaker 3: He was a customer. I wrote a lot of insurance
[36:22] Speaker 3: for it. Now his wife, Oh yes, Well tell me
[36:24] Speaker 3: about them. But go ahead, mister Thurber.
[36:29] Speaker 6: Now, look, accidents rarely have reason behind them. Suicides and
[36:34] Speaker 6: murders always.
[36:35] Speaker 3: Do you don't think it was an accident. Well, let's
[36:38] Speaker 3: say I've heard enough and seen enough to make it
[36:40] Speaker 3: a draw. So far, go ahead. Tell me about them.
[36:45] Speaker 7: And I wish I was married to missus Henderson. I
[36:47] Speaker 7: mean I wish she could see me. I think most
[36:50] Speaker 7: any man who's ever met her hope the same thing,
[36:52] Speaker 7: young men, old men, any kind. But she picked George.
[36:57] Speaker 7: George was as tough and leathery as these mountains are.
[37:00] Speaker 7: Is exactly her opposite. Pauline married him, He.
[37:03] Speaker 3: Raised her, He was close to her all her adult life.
[37:06] Speaker 7: Yes, mister Dalla, you know and I know she didn't
[37:10] Speaker 7: have to marry him. She could have married anybody here
[37:12] Speaker 7: in Culver, or anybody in London or Paris.
[37:14] Speaker 3: You see what I mean?
[37:15] Speaker 7: And not quiet well, I always had the idea that
[37:19] Speaker 7: after she married him, she kept letting him know she
[37:22] Speaker 7: could have had anybody else she wanted.
[37:25] Speaker 3: Go ahead, Therver.
[37:27] Speaker 7: I think she married him for his money. I think
[37:30] Speaker 7: she would have killed him for his money.
[37:49] Speaker 3: Johnny Dollar, this is missus Henderson.
[37:51] Speaker 2: You asked me to call mister Donnad.
[37:53] Speaker 6: Yes, Missus Henderson, I'm with Paramount Insurance Adjusters. Oh, yes,
[37:56] Speaker 6: you probably know we asked for the inquest into your
[37:58] Speaker 6: husband's death. Yes, I know, trying to clear up the
[38:00] Speaker 6: entire matter as quickly as we can. Missus Henderson, I'd
[38:03] Speaker 6: like to talk to you. I hate to trouble you
[38:05] Speaker 6: at a time like this.
[38:06] Speaker 2: It's all right, mister Donna. When do you want to talk?
[38:08] Speaker 3: May I come out to the house this afternoon.
[38:10] Speaker 10: There's a nice restaurant called Big Horn Lodge on the highway.
[38:13] Speaker 10: How about meeting you there at say four o'clock.
[38:16] Speaker 3: Good, I'll be there.
[38:26] Speaker 6: Expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to Paramount
[38:30] Speaker 6: Insurance Adjusters, Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of
[38:34] Speaker 6: expenditures during my investigation of the Henderson matter. Expense account continued.
[38:41] Speaker 6: Item seven five bucks one pair of goloshes. Believe it
[38:44] Speaker 6: or not, it's snowed in Culver, Montana during the night
[38:47] Speaker 6: all night. By morning, fourteen inches of fine new snow
[38:50] Speaker 6: covered everything in sight. After my phone called a Missus Henderson,
[38:53] Speaker 6: I spent the morning trying to rent an automobile. There
[38:55] Speaker 6: was none to be had, so that afternoon I'd dropped
[38:58] Speaker 6: over to see Eife Holton, my sheriff friend.
[39:01] Speaker 7: Son.
[39:02] Speaker 6: You're going to catch your death unless you start wearing
[39:04] Speaker 6: this car. I'll remember that, EF, but maybe I won't
[39:07] Speaker 6: need one. Oh yeah, I think I'll be leaving Culver
[39:09] Speaker 6: pretty soon. I hope you don't mean that, son, I'm
[39:12] Speaker 6: afraid I do. I'll have to tie this case up
[39:14] Speaker 6: one way or another pretty quick. Why my company wants
[39:17] Speaker 6: me to get back home. I got a letter this morning.
[39:19] Speaker 3: Oh well, how can I help you?
[39:21] Speaker 6: Well, for one thing, he can lend me your car again.
[39:24] Speaker 6: I have a date with a lady out at the
[39:26] Speaker 6: Big Horn lot. Sure, pretty fancy. You can have the
[39:29] Speaker 6: old thing anytime you wanted, you know that, son. Who's
[39:32] Speaker 6: the lady.
[39:33] Speaker 3: George Henderson's widow?
[39:35] Speaker 2: Yeah?
[39:36] Speaker 3: Oh nah?
[39:36] Speaker 6: And I what you're gonna say? Why go after her?
[39:39] Speaker 6: Why bother her until I have something to go on? Well,
[39:42] Speaker 6: I got to do something, Ef. I'm no nearer now
[39:44] Speaker 6: to knowing whether Henderson was pushed out that hotel window,
[39:47] Speaker 6: fell or jumped. I think I have enough of an
[39:50] Speaker 6: idea of Henderson and his wife to pick up some
[39:52] Speaker 6: valuable information from her.
[39:53] Speaker 3: Any objections, Nope, Johnny.
[39:56] Speaker 6: A couple of days ago you asked me to look
[39:58] Speaker 6: up people who might have been a s Actually friendly
[40:00] Speaker 6: to missus Henderson.
[40:02] Speaker 3: You still want to know about them? Yeah, sure, well
[40:04] Speaker 3: I'm working.
[40:05] Speaker 6: On anyone so far, nobody i'd put in that category.
[40:08] Speaker 6: What time you have to be at the Big Horn
[40:10] Speaker 6: for it? Don't take you a while? When't hurt you
[40:12] Speaker 6: start right now? He's u She parked out back. Okay, thanks,
[40:17] Speaker 6: good luck, and don't let her rang angle you son.
[40:20] Speaker 6: She could do it if she wanted to. Goodbye. Ten
[40:27] Speaker 6: minutes later, I was on the road to Big Horn Lodge,
[40:29] Speaker 6: which also happened to be the same road i'd traveled
[40:31] Speaker 6: two days before to attend George Henderson's funeral. As I
[40:35] Speaker 6: drove past the graveyard, white and stark against the blue
[40:38] Speaker 6: winter sky, I noticed a car parked along the side
[40:41] Speaker 6: of the road, a little Chevy Coop about nineteen fifty two.
[40:51] Speaker 6: There was the figure of a woman, all alone, standing
[40:54] Speaker 6: by George Henderson's fresh grave. Her head was bowed. She
[40:58] Speaker 6: didn't notice me as I walked up. A gray haired
[41:01] Speaker 6: woman about forty five, slight, delicate, gentle. Oh, I'm sorry,
[41:08] Speaker 6: I didn't mean to start it.
[41:10] Speaker 11: Oh that's all right, must be getting late, dear, it is?
[41:16] Speaker 2: Uh?
[41:16] Speaker 3: Do I know you?
[41:18] Speaker 11: Why? I don't know I'm Maddie Knickerbocker.
[41:22] Speaker 3: The name had startled me. The day before, an insurance
[41:25] Speaker 3: broker in Great Falls.
[41:26] Speaker 6: Had mentioned her, told me that George Henderson had named
[41:29] Speaker 6: her his beneficiary, then changed his mind a few minutes
[41:32] Speaker 6: before he died.
[41:35] Speaker 11: Your name's not Campbell, is it?
[41:37] Speaker 3: No? Johnny Dollar?
[41:39] Speaker 11: Johnny Dollar. You remind me of a boy I had
[41:43] Speaker 11: in one of my classes once, Tory Campbell.
[41:46] Speaker 3: Oh you're a teacher, Miss Nickerbocker.
[41:48] Speaker 11: Yes, yes, everybody knows me, I think, or at least
[41:53] Speaker 11: I flatter myself that way. Well, I should be going.
[41:58] Speaker 3: Uh, mister Henderson too.
[42:01] Speaker 11: Oh he was a wonderful man, George. He was very
[42:07] Speaker 11: dear to me. I'll find it difficult getting used to
[42:11] Speaker 11: the fact that he'll never be around anymore. George had
[42:16] Speaker 11: a wonderful laugh, didn't he.
[42:19] Speaker 3: Yes, yes he did, missus Nickerboker.
[42:22] Speaker 11: I never really thought that he ever grew up. Of course,
[42:26] Speaker 11: you knew him in a business way, and I'm sure
[42:29] Speaker 11: he was very very grown up in business. But it
[42:33] Speaker 11: doesn't hurt to think of him this way, now, does it.
[42:36] Speaker 3: I don't think so, Miss Nickerboker.
[42:39] Speaker 11: I didn't come to his funeral. I didn't think I
[42:43] Speaker 11: could bear it. I thought I'd just drive out this
[42:47] Speaker 11: afternoon and say goodbye by myself.
[42:51] Speaker 3: Well, I apologize for interrupting.
[42:52] Speaker 11: You, not at all.
[42:53] Speaker 3: Please.
[42:56] Speaker 11: Funny little things, the birds in the snow, such tiny,
[43:02] Speaker 11: wonderful little things, a little bit of God in each
[43:05] Speaker 11: of them, Mister Dollar. Wouldn't you say.
[43:09] Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am?
[43:11] Speaker 11: I don't know why. I think George would like to
[43:14] Speaker 11: know they're here near him.
[43:18] Speaker 3: Miss Nickerbocker, I have to.
[43:21] Speaker 11: Tell you no, you don't, mister Dollar. I know who
[43:25] Speaker 11: you really are. Everyone in town knows you. Seem like
[43:30] Speaker 11: a nice young man. Was it curiosity that made you
[43:34] Speaker 11: stop your car?
[43:36] Speaker 3: Yeah, I suppose, so I apologize you need.
[43:40] Speaker 11: I'm just an old friend of George's saying goodbye to him.
[43:45] Speaker 11: Good afternoon, mister.
[43:46] Speaker 3: Dollar, goodbye.
[43:52] Speaker 6: Talking to Maddie Nickerbocker, I felt that, for the first
[43:55] Speaker 6: time somebody, namely Maddie, had talked frankly and truth flee
[44:00] Speaker 6: about George Henderson. I was still thinking of the frail,
[44:04] Speaker 6: drab little woman with a nice blue eyes when I
[44:06] Speaker 6: met Pauline Henderson at the Big Horn Lodge. One of
[44:12] Speaker 6: these matters you want to clear up Yesterday oh, just
[44:15] Speaker 6: some doubts in my mind about your husband's death.
[44:18] Speaker 2: What do you drink?
[44:20] Speaker 10: I learned to like it in France.
[44:21] Speaker 3: All right, one Parnal bourbon, little water on the side.
[44:25] Speaker 10: Yes, sir, you sound like George when you order.
[44:28] Speaker 2: Hey, I like your.
[44:29] Speaker 6: Big horn lodge and I have to say when it's
[44:31] Speaker 6: elegant in the West, it's elegant.
[44:33] Speaker 10: I'd like a light please, Oh sir, sure, thank you.
[44:40] Speaker 6: Missus Henderson, do you mind if I don't stall any
[44:42] Speaker 6: longer with the drinks, the smokes and the compliments.
[44:45] Speaker 10: I'm surprised you've stole this long. I've heard you are
[44:47] Speaker 10: a very blunt and impulsive man.
[44:49] Speaker 6: I spoke to an insurance agent named Theerber yesterday in
[44:52] Speaker 6: great Falls.
[44:53] Speaker 3: Your husband's agent.
[44:54] Speaker 6: Mister Thurber told me that your husband wanted to name
[44:56] Speaker 6: a new beneficiary last week. Really yeah, he named kill
[45:00] Speaker 6: a Nickerbocker, Matty Knickerbocker.
[45:03] Speaker 10: I'm not surprised. I suppose Matty's a lovely woman. I
[45:08] Speaker 10: know George was very fond of me.
[45:09] Speaker 6: Mister Thurber also told me that mister Henderson changed his
[45:12] Speaker 6: mind about that the day he died. In fact, he
[45:14] Speaker 6: phoned mister Thurber in Great Falls and told him to
[45:16] Speaker 6: leave the policy as it was. He did that a
[45:19] Speaker 6: few minutes after you left his hotel room, a few
[45:21] Speaker 6: minutes before he died.
[45:23] Speaker 3: Can you explain any of that, Missus Henderson?
[45:26] Speaker 10: Why don't you ask Mary Nickerbocker.
[45:28] Speaker 6: Because I don't think she'd know. I ran into her
[45:31] Speaker 6: this afternoon and I talked to her or not about this,
[45:33] Speaker 6: just about other things. I'll look her up again if
[45:36] Speaker 6: I have to, But it's you I want information from now.
[45:39] Speaker 10: Then why don't you ask what you mean? Mister Donner?
[45:41] Speaker 3: All right?
[45:43] Speaker 6: Did something happen in that hotel room that made him
[45:46] Speaker 6: change his mind about you?
[45:47] Speaker 10: That's better. I do wish that ridiculous little man would
[45:51] Speaker 10: bring our drinks.
[45:51] Speaker 3: He will.
[45:53] Speaker 10: Don't misunderstand what happened in the hotel room. George and
[45:56] Speaker 10: I were going to be divorced. He moved out of
[45:59] Speaker 10: the house a month ago. We went to his attorneys
[46:01] Speaker 10: and drew a pretentative property settlement. You dunlap Eder reared
[46:04] Speaker 10: in and blake Great Falls. They have a copy of
[46:07] Speaker 10: that settlement. George was quite generous to me, so I
[46:12] Speaker 10: didn't kill him for his money. If that's what you're.
[46:14] Speaker 3: Thinking here, we are sure. I know Bourbons, Thank you.
[46:19] Speaker 10: I didn't see George for three weeks or so after
[46:22] Speaker 10: we made the settlement. Then we happened to meet one
[46:24] Speaker 10: day in Culver, and well, we had a rather bitter argument.
[46:29] Speaker 10: Was one of those ridiculous things. We quarreled and parted
[46:32] Speaker 10: very angrily. The whole thing was childish. My first impulse
[46:35] Speaker 10: was to go right back to the lawyers and demand
[46:37] Speaker 10: every unreasonable thing I could on the divorce settlement. I
[46:40] Speaker 10: guess George's first impulse was to cancel me out as
[46:42] Speaker 10: it beneficiary.
[46:43] Speaker 3: Did you go to a lawyer, missus Henderson.
[46:45] Speaker 10: No, No, I cooled off. I cooled off considerably, mister Dollar.
[46:52] Speaker 10: After all, George had been everything to me most of
[46:54] Speaker 10: my life. I was truly sorry. We never got along
[46:57] Speaker 10: as man and wife. I'm glad that we made it
[47:00] Speaker 10: up before he died that morning. He apologized when I
[47:05] Speaker 10: came by the hotel. I apologized. After I left, he
[47:11] Speaker 10: fell out the window.
[47:13] Speaker 3: Then I can assume that this business with the policies
[47:15] Speaker 3: had to do with the argus.
[47:16] Speaker 10: I assume what you like, mister Dollar.
[47:17] Speaker 6: I can understand why you're annoyed by me and my questions.
[47:20] Speaker 6: It's just that it's kind of hard for us to
[47:22] Speaker 6: believe that a man involved in divorcing his wife would
[47:24] Speaker 6: still name her as his beneficiary. I say that because
[47:28] Speaker 6: of past experience.
[47:29] Speaker 3: Oh what's happened? But as un usual.
[47:32] Speaker 10: I could have told you that we were reconciled that
[47:34] Speaker 10: day in the hotel, that we were going to drop
[47:36] Speaker 10: the whole divorce matter, that George was coming back to
[47:38] Speaker 10: the house to live.
[47:39] Speaker 6: Yes, you could have told me that, Missus Henderson. Mister
[47:43] Speaker 6: Connors in our home office in Hartford called you a
[47:45] Speaker 6: few days ago.
[47:46] Speaker 3: You hung up on him.
[47:47] Speaker 10: Why, well, I was very upset. I have never been
[47:51] Speaker 10: a widow before.
[47:54] Speaker 3: I believe you, Missus Henderson, sitting here like this, You're
[47:58] Speaker 3: a lovely person. I know it, and you know it.
[48:02] Speaker 6: And this is a pretty nice place to conduct business.
[48:05] Speaker 6: Why didn't you ask me to your home?
[48:07] Speaker 10: I preferred to talk to you here, That's.
[48:10] Speaker 3: What I thought.
[48:14] Speaker 6: I saved all the did your husband have any enemies?
[48:17] Speaker 6: And did he seem depressed? Questions for another time. But
[48:21] Speaker 6: before I went to bed that night, I read and
[48:22] Speaker 6: re read missus Henderson's testimony given her the carn His inquest.
[48:26] Speaker 6: The next morning, I interviewed all of the people at
[48:28] Speaker 6: the Butte Hotel who'd been on duty the day Henderson
[48:30] Speaker 6: fell out the window.
[48:32] Speaker 3: After that, I dropped in to see Eve Holton. Here
[48:37] Speaker 3: here it is Johnny right here.
[48:40] Speaker 6: Personal effects of the deceased included four suits of man's clothing,
[48:44] Speaker 6: fourteen shirts, five pairs of holes.
[48:46] Speaker 3: Was there a bottle in that room, sheriff liquer, Yeah, no,
[48:50] Speaker 3: no bottle, nothing like it.
[48:51] Speaker 6: Then all right, he didn't call down and have a
[48:54] Speaker 6: bell boy bring him a bottle or send him any drinks.
[48:57] Speaker 6: The chambermaids swears there was no liquor in his room
[48:59] Speaker 6: all the time time he lived at the hotel. You
[49:01] Speaker 6: say he was a light drinker, Now what light drinker
[49:05] Speaker 6: takes a nip before he has his breakfast?
[49:07] Speaker 3: Who said he had a drink that morning? Missus Henderson?
[49:11] Speaker 3: What on the witness stand under oath?
[49:13] Speaker 6: At the inquest, she testified that her husband had a
[49:15] Speaker 6: drink before she came up to the room and while
[49:17] Speaker 6: she was there. Now, mind you, she didn't say he
[49:19] Speaker 6: was drunk, but she did say he had been drinking.
[49:23] Speaker 3: You read over that.
[49:24] Speaker 6: Transcript, so so I think she threw that in, made
[49:27] Speaker 6: sure it got in because it's sometimes hard to believe
[49:30] Speaker 6: that a cold soilber man will walk out of a
[49:31] Speaker 6: hotel window and kill himself accidentally. A drunk or a
[49:34] Speaker 6: drinker might do it. You and I and everybody at
[49:37] Speaker 6: that inquest somehow got the impression that Henderson was slightly
[49:40] Speaker 6: tipsy that morning, and Missus Henderson saw to that. Now,
[49:43] Speaker 6: then if Henderson had a drink, I want to know
[49:46] Speaker 6: where he got it. Tell me if no bottle in
[49:50] Speaker 6: the room, no bottle brought up to the room, where
[49:53] Speaker 6: did he.
[49:53] Speaker 3: Get that drink?
[49:56] Speaker 6: That's a pretty good question, son, Johnny Dellar, I have
[50:16] Speaker 6: a call.
[50:17] Speaker 15: For you from Hartford. Go ahead, please, Johnny. Right here,
[50:22] Speaker 15: Connor is at paramount of gestures, say what was his wire? Johnny,
[50:25] Speaker 15: you're serious about denying liability to missus Henderson.
[50:27] Speaker 3: I sure am. I think he'll bring the whole thing
[50:29] Speaker 3: out in the open.
[50:30] Speaker 2: This is pretty serious. If you got any concrete ven
[50:32] Speaker 2: his death wasn't accidental.
[50:33] Speaker 6: YEA might have a copy of the corner's inquest, concrete
[50:36] Speaker 6: evidence that Missus Henderson lied under oath she said her
[50:39] Speaker 6: husband was drinking in the morning he died. Everybody here
[50:42] Speaker 6: believed he was a little crocked when he fell out
[50:43] Speaker 6: that hotel window. I've got proof that he didn't have
[50:46] Speaker 6: a drink that morning.
[50:47] Speaker 2: What proof?
[50:48] Speaker 3: No bottle in his room, no bottle brought there, nothing.
[50:51] Speaker 3: What do you say.
[50:52] Speaker 2: Don't make a move, kiddo. I'll get the first.
[50:54] Speaker 6: Plane expense accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to
[51:07] Speaker 6: Paramount Insurance Adjustice, Hertford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting
[51:11] Speaker 6: of expendit yours. During my investigation of the Henderson matter,
[51:17] Speaker 6: Sheriff Holton agreed that there was enough of a doubt
[51:19] Speaker 6: about the circumstances prior to George Henderson's accidental death to
[51:23] Speaker 6: warrant an official re examination of all the facts. He
[51:26] Speaker 6: promised me the police would start an immediate investigation. That
[51:29] Speaker 6: was all I needed. I knew Missus Henderson would be
[51:32] Speaker 6: requestioned and that the pressure would start to build up.
[51:35] Speaker 6: Fourteen hours later, when Tim Connors arrived in Culver, I
[51:37] Speaker 6: had some pressure on my own.
[51:40] Speaker 3: Well, Johnny, what Well?
[51:41] Speaker 6: The best thing we can do now is move in
[51:43] Speaker 6: deny liability on the grounds that the accident is not proved.
[51:47] Speaker 3: I suppose Missus Henderson Jeus's all right letter.
[51:49] Speaker 6: Then the burden of proving that her husband's death was
[51:51] Speaker 6: accidental would be on her. Look, Tim, contrary to her
[51:55] Speaker 6: testimony under oath, Henderson didn't have a drink that morning.
[51:58] Speaker 7: He died, all right, if you made a mistake. He
[52:00] Speaker 7: had a heart attack, got dizzy and tumbled out of
[52:02] Speaker 7: the window.
[52:03] Speaker 3: He wasn't drunk. Oh, don't talk nonsense. Tim listened to me.
[52:06] Speaker 6: Missus Henderson was ready for the Cornish jury a couple
[52:09] Speaker 6: of days ago, and she was ready for my questions
[52:11] Speaker 6: when I saw her yesterday. The only one she wasn't
[52:13] Speaker 6: ready for was you. A few days ago when you
[52:15] Speaker 6: phoned a long distance you said she hung up on you. Well,
[52:19] Speaker 6: she half apologized to me for that, but it was
[52:21] Speaker 6: because she couldn't think of anything to say.
[52:23] Speaker 3: Well, maybe you're right.
[52:24] Speaker 7: I suppose he did die accidentally, and suppose it is
[52:27] Speaker 7: a just insurance. I tell you, it isn't the fact
[52:29] Speaker 7: that she made a mistake testifying about him having a drink.
[52:31] Speaker 3: And Johnny, do you have anything else?
[52:35] Speaker 6: Three things instinct, experience, and statistics. Pauline Henderson's a young woman.
[52:41] Speaker 6: She married a wealthy older man. With him out of
[52:44] Speaker 6: the way, she has all his money and all her youth.
[52:46] Speaker 3: All right, I'm going to phone the company as soon
[52:47] Speaker 3: as I can find a phone.
[52:48] Speaker 6: Tell him I'm working for evidence, and the best way
[52:50] Speaker 6: to get it is to bring missus Henderson out in
[52:52] Speaker 6: the open. File a complaint against her. What charge suspected murder?
[52:56] Speaker 6: Oh no, Johnny, that get us in all kinds of truble.
[52:58] Speaker 6: Remember the drink, Tim Henderson didn't have the drink, and
[53:03] Speaker 6: I will.
[53:03] Speaker 3: Have to have more than that.
[53:04] Speaker 6: I'm sorry, Johnny, all right, I'll get you more. An
[53:12] Speaker 6: hour later, I was with Sheriff Holten comparing notes. He
[53:16] Speaker 6: reported that after questioning Missus Henderson, she admitted she might
[53:19] Speaker 6: have been mistaken about Henderson drinking the morning of his death.
[53:22] Speaker 6: She wasn't sure, But if Holton said what we both
[53:25] Speaker 6: were thinking. He went in front of the corners during
[53:27] Speaker 6: gave a misleading impressions, hum made us think that George
[53:30] Speaker 6: was drunk and stumbled out the window.
[53:34] Speaker 3: We better find out who helped her pull this off.
[53:41] Speaker 3: Sheriff Holton had every man in his office working on
[53:43] Speaker 3: the case.
[53:43] Speaker 2: By then.
[53:44] Speaker 6: It was a long, tedious job of combing over everything
[53:47] Speaker 6: at Pauline Henderson's background to find a possible accomplice. About
[53:50] Speaker 6: five in the afternoon, I drove to the Henderson ranch
[53:52] Speaker 6: with Holton. Missus Henderson was out, but we interviewed one
[53:55] Speaker 6: of the servants.
[53:57] Speaker 10: That's right, sir, once twice a week.
[54:00] Speaker 3: You know where she drove to on these trips. I
[54:02] Speaker 3: have no idea.
[54:03] Speaker 14: Missus Henderson get up early in the morning, be gone
[54:06] Speaker 14: all day.
[54:06] Speaker 3: How do you know she went out of town?
[54:08] Speaker 14: Well, generally take a small suitcase with her, change your clothes.
[54:12] Speaker 3: You don't take those when you're visiting a friend in town.
[54:14] Speaker 3: Do you tell us what car she'd use on these trips.
[54:17] Speaker 14: Cadillac always come back covered with mud and ice. Lays
[54:21] Speaker 14: have to be washed up.
[54:23] Speaker 10: Mister Henderson used to complain about.
[54:24] Speaker 3: That, about the car being dirty, about.
[54:27] Speaker 14: The trips mostly, and Missus Henderson had some pretty good
[54:30] Speaker 14: arguments about him. He'd say, Missus Henderson shouldn't visit that man?
[54:34] Speaker 3: What man? Just that man? I never knew who it was.
[54:38] Speaker 3: They argued about. You've known missus Henderson quite a long time.
[54:42] Speaker 14: Yes, sir, know when she was a little girl when
[54:44] Speaker 14: she first came here. So I grow up, go away
[54:47] Speaker 14: to school, go away to Europe, come back a little
[54:50] Speaker 14: more grown up, a little different every.
[54:51] Speaker 3: Time were you surprise when mister Henderson married her?
[54:54] Speaker 14: Well, no, well, yes guess I.
[54:58] Speaker 3: Was because she was so much young, Not that so much.
[55:02] Speaker 14: I mean, well, mister Henderson he had something about the
[55:06] Speaker 14: plains and cattle mountains about him. When he moved it
[55:10] Speaker 14: was as big zal them things. And missus Henderson is different.
[55:15] Speaker 3: She didn't fit in here. Is that what you're trying
[55:17] Speaker 3: to say? I think she fit not like him.
[55:21] Speaker 16: Though before they were married they were sort of like
[55:23] Speaker 16: good friends. I mean they'd ride horses and go hunting
[55:26] Speaker 16: and laugh and talk about different things. Missus Henderson, she
[55:30] Speaker 16: traveled Europe, saw so many things and places in the world.
[55:34] Speaker 16: She fit here, but then she didn't belong here. I
[55:38] Speaker 16: feel awful about mister Henderson's being dead. There was anything
[55:42] Speaker 16: wrong with the way he died.
[55:43] Speaker 14: I'd like to be fixed. Missus Henderson probably fire me
[55:48] Speaker 14: for talking like this, but I don't care. This house
[55:52] Speaker 14: isn't the same no more.
[55:59] Speaker 3: By the time we got back into town, Sheriff Holton's
[56:01] Speaker 3: boys that discovered the names of three men who had
[56:03] Speaker 3: been seen at various places around Culver and the company
[56:05] Speaker 3: of Missus Henderson.
[56:07] Speaker 6: Rod Tyler, Oh, who's see mining engineer. He's been away
[56:11] Speaker 6: from here for over a year now. Yeah, here's another one,
[56:14] Speaker 6: Sam Pollard. Sam died six months ago. Hey what Noah
[56:21] Speaker 6: Baxter Baxter, her name's vaguely familiar. Yeah, he owns a
[56:25] Speaker 6: hotel you're staying in a couple of ranches too. He
[56:28] Speaker 6: might have been the one who tried to have you
[56:29] Speaker 6: thrown out. He also owns the Mayor young Man about
[56:33] Speaker 6: thirty thirty five. Let's go see him. Another drive, this
[56:42] Speaker 6: time north of Covan, of the Baxter ranch. We found
[56:45] Speaker 6: Noah Baxter busy with his help shoring horns on kettle,
[56:48] Speaker 6: A lean, tall man with thin features. If you're trying
[56:52] Speaker 6: to find out if I haven't seen Pauline on the sly,
[56:54] Speaker 6: why she'd been married to George?
[56:56] Speaker 3: Why didn't you come ride out?
[56:57] Speaker 14: And now?
[56:57] Speaker 3: All right? Have you?
[56:58] Speaker 14: No?
[56:59] Speaker 3: Not on the sligh.
[57:01] Speaker 6: There's nothing between us. George knew anytime she came over
[57:04] Speaker 6: here to see me. He was a good friend of mine.
[57:07] Speaker 6: I'm sorry he's dead. Pauline's good friend of mine too.
[57:12] Speaker 6: I'm sorry who people are thinking what you.
[57:14] Speaker 3: Are about us.
[57:16] Speaker 6: Let's go up to the house getting cold, all right, Stan,
[57:20] Speaker 6: that's enough for today.
[57:25] Speaker 3: No I got to ask you this. Where were you
[57:28] Speaker 3: last Thursday, the day George died? Sure? Yeah, I was
[57:33] Speaker 3: right here and you prove that. Sure.
[57:36] Speaker 6: Ask anybody you boys.
[57:40] Speaker 3: Want to drink?
[57:41] Speaker 14: No?
[57:41] Speaker 3: Thanks, well I do, mac mac. I didn't get it myself.
[57:49] Speaker 3: When was the last time you were in cover, mister Baxter?
[57:53] Speaker 3: Three four weeks ago? My cook and the others handled
[57:56] Speaker 3: what supplies we need?
[57:57] Speaker 6: Do you mind if we talk to some of your
[57:58] Speaker 6: help around here? What do you want to talk to
[58:02] Speaker 6: him about about last Thursday? About what happened when missus
[58:04] Speaker 6: Henderson came here to visit. It wouldn't look good if
[58:07] Speaker 6: she came here to visit me, wouldn't. Well, that depends
[58:10] Speaker 6: on the circumstances. No, hum, she'd come and sit there
[58:15] Speaker 6: and read and look at some of those paintings.
[58:18] Speaker 3: We'd talk when I had time. Anything wrong with that, No.
[58:23] Speaker 6: Mister Baxter, I think I ought to tell you. I've
[58:26] Speaker 6: asked my company to file a complain against Missus Henderson
[58:30] Speaker 6: suspicion of murder. Oh, I'd like to tell you something.
[58:37] Speaker 6: She didn't kill him, and she didn't have him killed.
[58:39] Speaker 6: She loved him a lot more than George loved her.
[58:41] Speaker 6: I think both of you know her, her dad was
[58:44] Speaker 6: a drunken cow hand. When he died, George took her over,
[58:47] Speaker 6: for gave her everything, So you see, you're wrong. She
[58:50] Speaker 6: loved George forgiving her what he gave her, and mostly
[58:52] Speaker 6: for being the kind of a man he was. I
[58:57] Speaker 6: lied to you a couple of minutes ago. There was
[59:01] Speaker 6: something between us. It was bound to happen. Sooner or later.
[59:06] Speaker 6: She'd come here to cry on my shoulder and.
[59:09] Speaker 3: I my letter cry about George.
[59:15] Speaker 6: He wanted to divorce her, didn't you know that I
[59:20] Speaker 6: had The idea was the other way around.
[59:23] Speaker 3: You're all wrong.
[59:25] Speaker 6: George raised her, educated her, made her into a woman,
[59:28] Speaker 6: and then he married her, and she wasn't what he
[59:30] Speaker 6: wanted at all. Do you know who George wanted to marry?
[59:34] Speaker 6: Mattie Knickerbocker, the school mark.
[59:38] Speaker 2: Go on?
[59:38] Speaker 6: Oh, there was nothing between George and Mattie, but there
[59:41] Speaker 6: would have been if he lived.
[59:43] Speaker 3: What about you and missus Henderson?
[59:46] Speaker 6: Yeah, the thing that was between us was that I
[59:50] Speaker 6: wanted her. She didn't want me, but I wanted her.
[59:55] Speaker 6: I was glad when she told me about the divorce
[59:57] Speaker 6: coming up. I really think she would have listened to me,
[1:00:01] Speaker 6: But she wanted to be married to George. She really
[1:00:04] Speaker 6: loved him.
[1:00:07] Speaker 3: Sure you don't want one of these? No, Nope, And
[1:00:14] Speaker 3: I really loved her.
[1:00:16] Speaker 6: I went to see George last Thursday at this hotel.
[1:00:20] Speaker 6: You know why they tell him to go back to Pauline. Yeah,
[1:00:25] Speaker 6: because I knew what he meant to her. You can
[1:00:28] Speaker 6: talk to my people around here. They'd lie for me
[1:00:31] Speaker 6: and say I was here last Thursday all day. They'd
[1:00:33] Speaker 6: tell you that Pauline never came to see me. They'd
[1:00:36] Speaker 6: lie right down the line for me. But mister dollar,
[1:00:40] Speaker 6: I can't let you get out that complaint and take
[1:00:42] Speaker 6: her in. One of my trucks was taking some beef
[1:00:47] Speaker 6: to the hotel last Thursday. I rode in with the
[1:00:50] Speaker 6: driver and went in the back way. I went right
[1:00:53] Speaker 6: up to George's room to talk to him. Pauline had
[1:00:57] Speaker 6: just left. I wanted to talk to him about the
[1:01:00] Speaker 6: same things I've been telling you. I didn't want to
[1:01:04] Speaker 6: hurt him. I loved him the same as everybody left him.
[1:01:07] Speaker 6: When I got to his room, he wouldn't let me
[1:01:09] Speaker 6: talk at all. He was mad that I interfered. He
[1:01:10] Speaker 6: tried to swing on me. I shoved him. Once he
[1:01:15] Speaker 6: went out the window.
[1:01:20] Speaker 17: That's all I killed him.
[1:01:30] Speaker 6: Expense account item eight fifty eight dollars and fifteen cents
[1:01:33] Speaker 6: hotel and food. While in Culver, Montana, Item nine same
[1:01:37] Speaker 6: as item two transportation by training. Playing back to Hartford
[1:01:40] Speaker 6: item ten eighty eight dollars miscellaneous expense account total eight
[1:01:45] Speaker 6: hundred and two dollars and fifty cents. Remarks we still
[1:01:50] Speaker 6: had to pay double indemnity Maddy, Nickabacker, Pauline Henderson, Noah Baxter.
[1:01:57] Speaker 6: They'll pay another way with the hurt that comes to
[1:02:02] Speaker 6: nice people. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
[1:02:19] Speaker 5: Remember there'll be another exciting story beginning next Monday Night.
[1:02:23] Speaker 6: Next week, A real mystery complete with plenty of action,
[1:02:26] Speaker 6: a beautiful blonde and a killer lurking in the shadows.
[1:02:31] Speaker 6: Join us, won't you? Yours truly? Johnny Dollar?
[1:02:52] Speaker 3: Yours truly?
[1:02:53] Speaker 5: Johnny Dollar is starring Bob Bailey, is transcribed in Hollywood,
[1:02:57] Speaker 5: written by John Dawson. It is produced in direct by
[1:03:00] Speaker 5: Jack Johnstone. Heard in this week's cast were Lillian baieff Irene, Tedrow,
[1:03:05] Speaker 5: d J. Thompson, Herbellus, Marvin Miller, Forres Lewis, Bob Bruce,
[1:03:09] Speaker 5: and Russ Thorson musical supervision by Amigo Marino. Be sure
[1:03:15] Speaker 5: to join us on Monday Night, same time and station,
[1:03:18] Speaker 5: or another exciting story of yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. This
[1:03:26] Speaker 5: is Roy Rowan.
[1:03:27] Speaker 1: Speaking Welcome Back Well. I found this to be a
[1:04:28] Speaker 1: really well done and engaging case that tells a different
[1:04:32] Speaker 1: type of story that still manages to provide some great moments.
[1:04:37] Speaker 1: I loved If as a character. He had a good
[1:04:40] Speaker 1: interplay with Johnny. He didn't know quite exactly what was
[1:04:44] Speaker 1: going on. It's one of those situations with a person
[1:04:49] Speaker 1: who's in charge of law enforcement but is not really
[1:04:53] Speaker 1: a professional, but he had enough understanding and some common
[1:04:58] Speaker 1: sense to know that there was more that needed investigated.
[1:05:02] Speaker 1: And I also loved the interaction with Maddie. It was
[1:05:06] Speaker 1: just such a beautiful, understated, little character moment. With the
[1:05:11] Speaker 1: John Dawson byline, we're dealing with a e. Jack Newman
[1:05:16] Speaker 1: script that was reworked. This was actually based on a
[1:05:20] Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three Johnny Dollar episode, The Underwood Matter, but
[1:05:24] Speaker 1: fleshed out nicely to make it a very compelling story
[1:05:29] Speaker 1: with a great mix of rich characters, a solid mystery,
[1:05:33] Speaker 1: and a solution that makes it all fit together. Overall,
[1:05:38] Speaker 1: a really solid example of what Johnny Dollar was capable
[1:05:42] Speaker 1: of as a serial when it was firing on all cylinders. Well,
[1:05:47] Speaker 1: now it's time to think. Our Patreon supporter of the day,
[1:05:50] Speaker 1: I want to thank Roger, Patreon supporter since July twenty
[1:05:54] Speaker 1: twenty four, currently supporting the podcast at the Shawmus level
[1:05:58] Speaker 1: of four dollars more for a month. Thanks so much
[1:06:01] Speaker 1: for your support, Roger. And that will do it for today.
[1:06:04] Speaker 1: If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your
[1:06:09] Speaker 1: favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review
[1:06:13] Speaker 1: the podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back
[1:06:17] Speaker 1: tomorrow with the Saint Where.
[1:06:21] Speaker 18: Oh it's you again? Yes, me again?
[1:06:24] Speaker 2: Say?
[1:06:24] Speaker 18: And I talking me back for an nswer And I
[1:06:26] Speaker 18: told you what the answer would be. The guy I
[1:06:28] Speaker 18: like this town. I'm going to stick around a few
[1:06:30] Speaker 18: more days and finish up my business here, like I said,
[1:06:34] Speaker 18: saying it ain't your business. And the boss is up
[1:06:36] Speaker 18: the price to five grand for you to skip five grand, Saint,
[1:06:40] Speaker 18: just to leave down and forgets you've ever been here.
[1:06:42] Speaker 18: That's not my price. The guy don't know what do
[1:06:44] Speaker 18: you want to make an offer? I want the man
[1:06:47] Speaker 18: who killed John Daniels Daniels Stracury Department. God, Yes, well,
[1:06:51] Speaker 18: you got to do with him.
[1:06:52] Speaker 6: It is a friend of mine.
[1:06:54] Speaker 18: I want the boy, or cut him down. The guy
[1:06:56] Speaker 18: that is one boy you ain't gonna get saint. Oh, oh,
[1:07:00] Speaker 18: the big shot did it himself. Big shot did it himself.
[1:07:03] Speaker 18: And then I'll settle for him. He's settling your grave. First,
[1:07:07] Speaker 18: you're gonna have to make an awful lot of first
[1:07:09] Speaker 18: down step across that goal line, miss fit template. Oh,
[1:07:12] Speaker 18: I've got some tick plays. I expect to use deception
[1:07:15] Speaker 18: against power. It sometimes works, My guy, I always said
[1:07:20] Speaker 18: you were a smart fans. I guess I heard wrong.
[1:07:23] Speaker 18: You think I'm solf tough enough. Well, just wait. You
[1:07:25] Speaker 18: see what you got to go through before you even
[1:07:27] Speaker 18: get within Hodcolling distance of the big shots.
[1:07:30] Speaker 1: Hope you'll be with us then in the meantime. Send
[1:07:33] Speaker 1: your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot nat,
[1:07:38] Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectors, and check us
[1:07:41] Speaker 1: out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives from
[1:07:46] Speaker 1: boise Alohol. This is your host, Adam graham Son and
[1:07:50] Speaker 1: all

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