Pat Novak for Hire, Episode 10 Go Away, Dixie Gillian Original Air Date - April 16, 1949 SCENE: Standard Introduction ANNOUNCER Ladies and Gentlemen, the American Broadcasting Company brings transcribed to its entire network, one of radio's most unusual programs MUSIC Brief, dramatic intro, then soften for next line ANNOUNCER Pat Novak, For Hire. MUSIC Up again briefly and fade out FX Harbor ambiance during novak's intro lines FX Footsteps out of the fog NOVAK Sure, I'm Pat Novak, For Hire. FX Harbor out MUSIC Up as harbor fades. Play briefly and then soften as novak continues. NOVAK That's what the sign out in front of my office says Pat Novak, For Hire. Down on the waterfront in San Francisco you always bite off more than you can chew. Its tough on your wind pipe, but you don't go hungry. And down here a lot of people figure its better to be a fat guy in a graveyard than a thin guy in a stew. That way he can be sure of a tight fit. (Pause) Oh, I rent boats and do anything else which makes a FX like money-- MUSIC Out NOVAK --it works out alright, if your mother doesn't mind you coming home for Easter in a box. I found that out on Wednesday night at about 9 o'clock. I closed the shop early and I came home to read. It wasn't a bad book, if you ever wanted to start a forest fire. It was one of those historical things and the girl in it wandered around like a meat grinder in ribbons. Ah, I was moving along alright. She was just getting her second wind before going for the world's record when the door to my apartment opened and the place began to get kinda crowded. From where I sat, the crowd looked good. SCENE: FX Soft footsteps approach until leigh's first line NOVAK She sauntered in, moving slowly from side to side like a hundred and eighteen pounds of warm smoke. Her voice was alright, too. It reminded you of a furnace full of marshmallows. LEIGH (Sultry) Good evening. NOVAK Yeah. Thanks for knocking. LEIGH I don't think you mind my coming in without warning. NOVAK No. I get the cabbage smell from next door the same way. LEIGH Does it pay to be that polite, Mr. Novak? NOVAK It saves you the trouble of saying, "Please". What's on your mind? LEIGH That bottle in front of you. Will you pour me a drink? NOVAK No I won't. You'll save dough if you look up a bartender. LEIGH Alright. I came to use you instead of your whiskey anyway. NOVAK Let's hear. LEIGH My name is Leigh Underwood. I'll give you $300 to do something for me. It'll only take an hour. NOVAK That's too much dough unless it's murder; and if it is murder, its not enough dough. LEIGH Are you afraid? NOVAK I just don't like paid murder, I told you. When you get caught, the pay gets expensive. LEIGH If it were murder, I'd do it myself. (Pause) Mr. Novak, I want you to frighten someone for me. NOVAK Why don't you hire a friend? Are they too pretty? LEIGH It's a man named Dixie Gillian. You'll find him in an office down on Folsom Street. Here's the address. I promise, nothing will happen to you. NOVAK That's what they told Benedict Arnold. LEIGH He'll be in his office until eleven tonight. I want you to go and see him. Tell him you're from Adrian and he's to get out of town by tomorrow noon. NOVAK Suppose he wants to put it off? LEIGH He won't. Don't let him know who hired you. Just tell him Adrian said to leave. NOVAK Look, lady, you'd better go on home. For three-hundred bucks I won't buy a tissue-paper plot. Now tell me more or say goodbye. LEIGH There's not much more I can tell you, except, there won't be any trouble. He's a rotten little beast and I want him frightened badly. NOVAK Why? LEIGH He's been bothering my sister. NOVAK (Pause) Why doesn't he bother you? LEIGH Because, I bother back too fast. (Pause) You want the three-hundred, Mr. Novak? NOVAK Yeah, its gonna be a long summer. Put it on the table. LEIGH Good. And you'll need this, too. FX Laying gun on table NOVAK No, you keep that. I don't want a gun. LEIGH It's empty. Don't worry. FX Opening and closing bullet chamber LEIGH See? No shells. Its perfectly safe. NOVAK (Irritated) Look, Sis, I've got a nasty disposition. You can rent that for three-hundred bucks. But if you want more, find a gunsel. LEIGH I don't want you to be a gunsel. That's why I want you to use this gun. I know it's empty. Use it on Dixie and he'll scare fast. Its just a way to save some breath. NOVAK (Resignedly) Alright. Its your three-hundred. LEIGH You'd better go now. NOVAK Yeah. Wait'll I get a coat will you. FX Footsteps walk away and quickly return NOVAK If your doorbell rings, don't play mouse-- LEIGH Oh? NOVAK --because I may look you up. LEIGH Am I too young to ask why? NOVAK Because if anything goes wrong I'll be around looking for you. And from there on it won't be nice. (Threatening) I'll dirty you up like a locker room towel. LEIGH Relax, Patsy. You'll never learn to fall in love that way. MUSIC Sultry saxophone bridge to next scene NOVAK She handed me the gun and walked out of my apartment. Seeing her leave made you feel like Frank Buck losing an argument. She walked with the nice, easy swing of a satisfied leopard. For a small leopard, she had pretty good spots, too. Well, I put the gun in my overcoat pocket and I went down to Folsom Street. The address was down near the bridge entrance and the street was deserted except for a couple of winos near the corner trying to buy back 1926 at a dollar a jug. I stopped in front of the place. It was a machinery company. And I could see a light burning in the back. I began to walk through the place. It was so quiet you could a hear worm with the whooping cough and there were enough shadows around to keep a ghost happy for years. When I got to the office back in the corner, through a glass I could see a man sitting at the desk. When I opened the door-- SCENE: FX Door opening followed by footsteps NOVAK --and walked in, he didn't seemed surprised. UNDERWOOD Come on in, mister. You're bad on noise. NOVAK Yeah? UNDERWOOD That's right. You make too much for a thief and not enough for a customer. What do ya want? NOVAK About ten words if you're Dixie Gillian. UNDERWOOD Go ahead. NOVAK You'd better look up a timetable. UNDERWOOD What makes you that tough? NOVAK This. UNDERWOOD Ohh. Well, you look tougher with a gun. Does it make you talk faster? NOVAK Now look, I'm gonna say it slow, Mister. Pack up your rompers and get out. UNDERWOOD Is that you talkin', or somebody else? NOVAK I'm just the guy with the gun. Adrian does the talking. UNDERWOOD And he says, "Get Out." NOVAK That's right. You got the whole message now. UNDERWOOD Alright. You told me, so wander off and spend your dough. NOVAK I will. UNDERWOOD You'll need part of it, though. `Cause I'm gonna give you an answer. I'm gonna take that gun away from you, mister. You can pick the pieces out of your head on the way home. NOVAK You'd better stand back or I'll share it with you. UNDERWOOD You've got your offer, mister, now let's see you make good-- FX Struggle NOVAK Save your muscle, fella. UNDERWOOD Drop that gun. NOVAK Save your muscle, fella, the gun's empty. FX GUNSHOT. STRUGGLE STOPS. UNDERWOOD (Gasps) (Weakly) Somebody--fooled us--mister. FX Body drops to floor NOVAK Sometimes you can get a home run with a half swing. That's the way it was this time. He couldn't have made it with a prayer book in both hands. He slid down on the floor, trembled for a minute, and then flattened out like a leaf in a pool of water. Just before he died he grabbed his side as if he didn't like the way it hurt. And then he didn't care. I rolled him on his back and let him look at the ceiling. His eyes were open and he looked surprised, like a guy who didn't figure on a change in the weather. There was a scar that ran across his forehead and dug deep into his hairline. And he was lying there with a bunch of pink gum showing as if he was trying to pick up a few bucks with a toothpaste ad. Well, I didn't have time to tell him how sorry I was because if homicide caught me here I'd have about as much chance as a canary in a basement full of cats. I started for the door, but right them I knew I could start ordering bird seed. It was Helleman, and he walked over to look at the body. SCENE: FX Footsteps HELLEMAN Hello, Novak. The guy looks embarrassed. NOVAK Yeah. I guess he is, Helleman. HELLEMAN What's he doin' dead? NOVAK Putting in a beef somewhere, I guess. He rates it. HELLEMAN He'll like you for that, Novak. How did it happen? NOVAK A team play. We worked it out together. HELLEMAN But you've got the gun. NOVAK That's right. I got the gun. HELLEMAN Yeah. You feel like a bet? NOVAK No. Just keep stealing the old way. HELLEMAN You know how I feel, Novak? NOVAK You feel flabby to anybody else, but to yourself I suppose you feel good. Look, I walked in here with a gun. There was some quick fight talk and I killed him but its still not a good rap. HELLEMAN I can get a long price on it for ya, Novak. NOVAK I'll bet you can Helleman. You can give me a bad deal, but part of the time it'll be from the other side of the deck. HELLEMAN Worse than that, Novak. It'll be all the time. And I want to watch you, because I think you'll be a cry baby. NOVAK I'm gonna scream, if that's what you mean, Helleman. I'm gonna scream about a gal who sent me in here with an empty gun. HELLEMAN That's a big hole for a cap pistol, Novak. NOVAK I got a last minute curve. It was empty once. HELLEMAN Yeah--that's the only way they make a gun. I don't want you for an hour ago. I want you for this dead guy on the floor. NOVAK Alright, alright. I told you I didn't come in here to kill the guy. I don't know him. He may even be a good guy. I'm sorry he's dead. HELLEMAN Alright, Novak. Just wait a few weeks. You can tell him personally. MUSIC UP AND BRIDGE TO NEXT SCENE. NOVAK Helleman had me up against the rail and he knew it. When we left there he was wearing a big, toothy smile that was big enough to sew on his ears. He called the coroner and told him to pick up the stiff and then we went downtown. He dropped the gun into ballistics and hauled me into his office. The reporters were there; he gave them the whole story and told `em how to spell Helleman. After that we wound up at the desk and he booked me on suspicion of murder. The next hour-and-a-half was the kind of stuff they don't write about in the paper. They call it interrogation and when you're finished you've been through a lot of tight spots like an atom up at Cal Tech. About eleven o'clock Helleman brought me into his office. From there on, it happened kind of fast. SCENE: HELLEMAN I just talked to the D.A. He's gonna streamline things for you. NOVAK Well, he's gonna look funny going to trial on a guy you can't identify. HELLEMAN We'll find out all about the dead guy. NOVAK You can't count his fingers without making a mistake. If you want to know who he is, talk to that girl. Her name's Leigh Underwood. HELLEMAN We've been through all that, Novak. Now suppose you tell me who Dixie Gillian is. NOVAK I don't know, Helleman. The girl said his name was Dixie Gillian. HELLEMAN I won't press you. I don't have to, Novak. I've got the only parlay I need--you, the dead guy and a big fat murder gun. FX Phone rings at end of last line NOVAK Sure. FX Phone is picked up HELLEMAN Yeah-Helleman talkin'. ... Yeah, I know it was a .38. ... Their crazy down in ballistics. I saw him standing over the dead guy. ... They must have made a mistake, that's all. ... No, no, I don't want him in here. FX Clicking switch hook on phone several times. HELLEMAN I don't want him in here! FX More phone switch hook clicks continuing into next line HELLEMAN Hey, Tony. ...Tony, I don't -- ahh. FX Phone slammed down. NOVAK You're getting pale. You need some more rouge, Helleman. FX Door opens, footsteps come into room POLICEMAN I got some bad news, inspector. HELLEMAN Well, keep it, or you'll take more home to your wife. I'll talk to you later. NOVAK No, talk to him now, Helleman. If that bullet doesn't match the gun, talk to him now. POLICEMAN That's right, inspector. It's a .38 bullet, but it won't match the gun you brought in. HELLEMAN It's gotta match. I came in and founding him standing there. He's already admitted it. POLICEMAN Its a neat trick, then. If he fired the bullet out of that gun he must have re-tooled it in mid-air. NOVAK I'm not that fast, Helleman. Come on, get out of that chair so you'll have room to squirm. HELLEMAN You keep still, Novak. NOVAK I won't bother you. I'm going home. HELLEMAN Huh? NOVAK I'm walking out of your jail, Helleman. You got a broken down .38 that won't fit anything but your thumbs. You can't hold me on that. HELLEMAN I found you over the body. I can hold you on suspicion of murder. NOVAK It'll hurt tomorrow morning, Helleman. The papers will be down for a follow-up and you'll have to tell them what it looks like out in left field. HELLEMAN I'll handle 'em. NOVAK You can't afford to let them start laughing at you. People will get the idea it's your face. HELLEMAN You can save car fare if you stay right here because I'll have you back by noon tomorrow. NOVAK You're not that good, Helleman. You couldn't hold a moth with a search light. The town oughtta thank you. HELLEMAN What? NOVAK Oh, you've got a nice jail, Helleman. With you around it'll last for years. MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene. NOVAK When I walked out of headquarters I had a nice mess to juggle. It was like trying to walk the baby on a floor full of marbles. If things didn't add up for Helleman, they weren't gonna do any better for me. I knew that gun I had went off. If it did, what happened to the bullet? And where did the other one come from. And why weren't there two shots? Well, I couldn't put my finger on a thing and nothing added up. It was like trying to follow a grain of rice in a Shanghai suburb. So I looked up Leigh Underwood's address and I went by her apartment. The girl downstairs told me that she worked at a night club out on the Bay Shore Highway. Well, I had to hit a couple of places, so I looked up the only honest guy I know, an ex-doctor and a boozer by the name of Jocko Madigan. A good man until he figured that last drink in the bottle is just as easy to get at as the first. I found him in a little leather- trimmed sink on Powell Street. It was a grimy little hole where they wash the glasses once a week and served stale beer. But Jocko was more at home than a vulture in Calcutta. SCENE: FX Fade in on bar ambiance--continue through next scene. JOCKO (Irish brogue) Ahh--Patsy! You're just in time to celebrate my return to health. Something mild for Mr. Novak. A double Stinger, perhaps. NOVAK No, forget it, Jocko. I've gotta talk to ya. JOCKO Patsy, I've passed through a crisis. A few minutes ago they set before me a glass with a woman's lipstick all around the rim. NOVAK Alright, Jocko. JOCKO It took one gulp and looked at the glass and in this dim light I thought I was bleeding to death. It took them 10 minutes and three mirrors to calm me down. NOVAK I'm in trouble and you've gotta help me. JOCKO They washed the glass for me, in ammonia. They must have left a little ammonia in the glass because the next drink had a very odd tang about it. I've had three more just like it. A sort of Ammonia Collins. NOVAK Alright. Alright. JOCKO So far they've been using domestic ammonia. When the imported stuff comes in I may give up whiskey all together. NOVAK Calm down will you, Jocko. I got a bum shake tonight. JOCKO Yes? NOVAK I killed a guy--or thought I did. JOCKO That uses up the alternatives. What are you doing now, taking a vote? NOVAK I got hired to scare a guy down on Folsom Street. Ten minutes later the guy was dead. JOCKO Patsy, you take your work too seriously. Couldn't you have just scared him into a lingering illness instead of killing him? NOVAK One of the problems is that when the fight came it grew bullets. Helleman walked in right after on a telephone tip. JOCKO What are you doing out of the gas chamber? NOVAK The whole thing backfired down at headquarters. The bullet and the phony gun wouldn't match. Oh, it doesn't add up, Jocko. That call to Helleman is the tip-off. I was framed. But why wasn't I framed all the way? JOCKO Who is the dead man? NOVAK Just a guy with a falling blood count. His name was supposed to be Dixie Gillian but there's no identification and no record on him. JOCKO You shouldn't have hired out as a gunsel. NOVAK I told you, I didn't hire out as a gunsel. It was somebody else's idea. JOCKO You have no conscience, Patsy. It's just a sort of soap opera rule of thumb you put into practice now and then. But no real conscience. You'd let a dying woman lie in the middle of the highway unless her head was resting on a pile of savings bonds. NOVAK Alright, Jocko, I'll cry with you later. I need help now. JOCKO What sort of help? NOVAK I want you to break into a girl's apartment. JOCKO Yes? NOVAK Don't worry. She won't be home. JOCKO Ah--is that supposed to be an incentive? NOVAK It's at this address, here. Up on O'Farrell. Her name is Leigh Underwood. She's the one who hired me. JOCKO If the girl's not there, what I am supposed to find? NOVAK Anything that will connect her with the dead man. He's a big guy with a scar. JOCKO Well, that doesn't help much. NOVAK You can't miss. Go through the desk and drawers... Pick up everything you can, will ya? Leave a message at my place. JOCKO As soon as I finish this drink. NOVAK Oh, hurry up, Jocko. Leave the glass alone and get going. JOCKO Don't rush me. NOVAK Hurry up, will, ya. The glass is empty anyway. JOCKO Yes. That's what you thought about that gun. But that fellow got an awful jolt out of it. Good night, lover. MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene. FX Fade out bar ambiance NOVAK I went by a horse parlor on O'Farrell Street and borrowed a car from a guy. It was after midnight when I started down the Bay Shore Highway. And about a half-hour later I pulled up in front of the Cat's Paw. It was a long, rambling place on the left side of the road. There was no plan. It just followed the erosion line until they ran out of material. There was enough neon to light up a main intersection in Heaven. In the lobby I saw a picture of Leigh Underwood. One of those shadowy things that was supposed to make you think that she'd die in a cold climate. She was sitting at a piano with a little microphone in front of her and you got the idea right away. She didn't have much of a voice but plenty of songs that made your wife lean over and ask you to explain. I asked a 50-year old bus boy and he said she was back in her dressing room getting ready for the one-o'clock show. When I walked in she was sitting in front of a mirror working on an up-swept hair-do. If she swept it up any more it was gonna leave her head. I stood behind her looking at the pink, flesh part of her neck that didn't show when her hair was down. SCENE: LEIGH You seem fascinated, Patsy. NOVAK No, I just want to know where to break it. LEIGH Oh? Sit down on the footstool next to me. NOVAK Mmm. LEIGH That's it. I like to look down on people. Hmm-let me brush that strand of hair back. Or, do you like it your eyes? NOVAK No, brush it back so I can see your answers. Who's Dixie Gillian? LEIGH What difference does it make? NOVAK None to him and some to me. He's dead. LEIGH No. No, he couldn't be dead. NOVAK He'd like to believe that, too. I couldn't sell him that story about an empty gun. LEIGH He couldn't have been killed with that gun. NOVAK No? LEIGH No. I put in a blank, Patsy. NOVAK Somebody used a hard-working bullet because Dixie's dead. LEIGH There's no reason to kill him. I don't understand. NOVAK Yeah. Well, that makes you even with homicide. But they got a bigger team. Now look, I made a diagram, Angel. Up at my place I ran over murder with you. I don't like it. If you kill people you don't get invited out enough. So if it's you or me on this one, I'm gonna push you all the way. LEIGH I don't understand it, Patsy. NOVAK Who's Dixie Gillian? LEIGH He was after some microfilm. I thought I could scare him away. NOVAK You better be ready to identify him because homicide's stumped. Even that scar didn't help. LEIGH What scar, Patsy? NOVAK The scar across his face. There's no record on him. LEIGH No. No, Patsy. Everything goes wrong. Everything you touch goes wrong. That's the wrong man, Patsy. NOVAK Yeah. Well it's too late for a recount. LEIGH You've got to get to that body, Patsy. I don't know how, but someway you've got to get to him. FX Approaching footsteps. DIXIE You look good, Leigh. You make a nice picture. LEIGH Wait a minute, Dixie. DIXIE You don't need your coat. Com' on. LEIGH I don't know what happened, Dixie. I didn't mean it that way. DIXIE You like it that way, alright. Bring your boyfriend, too. LEIGH No, don't let him, Patsy. NOVAK The gun's too big. I'm goin' with him. MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene. NOVAK It was a short trip. He led us out of the dressing and down a thin hall to the back door. On the way past the kitchen you could smell onions and used grease and that's about all you noticed except the FX of a juke box somewhere out in front. And somebody laughing in a loud, mirthless way. When we got to the door... SCENE: FX Door opening and then closing a few seconds later. NOVAK ... it was raining outside. FX Footsteps crunching on gravel NOVAK We walked about forty feet over near some trees, where the dark was working overtime. And the gunsel made her stop. DIXIE Pick your spot, Leigh. LEIGH You can't be that crazy, Dixie. FX Three gunshots FX Body falling to ground NOVAK She's gonna get wet, Mister. DIXIE You'll have a little trouble yourself. FX Fist hitting someone NOVAK (Grunt) MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene. NOVAK When I woke up it was still raining. I was lying on top of the mud like a stubborn seed. My wallet was gone, and the gunsel had ripped open my pockets. I stood up and walked over for a last look at Leigh. The rain had washed the make-up off her face, and she looked small and tired as she lay there like a broken doll that had been tossed out in the rain. I guess she was. Well, I got to my car and I drove back to town. I checked my place and there was no word from Jocko so I went up to Leigh's apartment. When I opened the door the room was dark but I knew somebody was on the rug, either that or they'd varnished the floor with bourbon. I flipped on the light and bent over Jocko. SCENE: FX Turning body over, and slapping face. NOVAK Hey, hey, Jocko. JOCKO Groans. NOVAK Jocko. Jocko. Com` on, wake up. Wake up. JOCKO Oh, oh (groggily, like in a dream) A little ammonia. A little ammonia I think would bring me around. NOVAK What happened? JOCKO I was -- sapped -- I guess. NOVAK Yeah--everybody's got the same act tonight. JOCKO (Groaning) Eh--help me up. FX Helping lift body up from floor JOCKO Where have you been? NOVAK I went down to meet the girl. JOCKO Where'd you meet her, in a swimming pool? NOVAK I've been in the rain all night. She's gonna stay longer. What did you find out? JOCKO The fella with the scar is her husband. NOVAK Yeah? JOCKO There's a picture in the desk. NOVAK Are there any more pictures? JOCKO Yes. A few. Take a look. FX Footsteps NOVAK Where--in here? JOCKO Yeah. FX Shuffling through pictures. NOVAK Well, well. JOCKO Who's he? NOVAK Must be Dixie Gillian. He was down to pay off a debt tonight. She called him Dixie once. JOCKO There's a note with that name and an address in the other drawer. NOVAK He's our boy. We'd better get up there. JOCKO Not if he's already killed two other people. NOVAK We can't wait for Helleman. If he gets away I'm all through. I won't have a leg to stand on. JOCKO That's my point. When the other fellow gets through with us we won't have much standing to do. MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene. NOVAK I felt better now. Gillian was the only guy left in the picture so I dragged Jocko up to his place. It was an apartment up on Post Street. The elevator operator took us up to the eighth floor and said that Gillian had come in a few minutes before. There was no answer so we tried the door and it was open. SCENE: FX Door opening and a few footsteps NOVAK Jocko didn't like the idea. FX Door closing, footsteps continue for about two lines JOCKO Patsy, this is folly. Risking my life is one of the bravest things you do. NOVAK Keep still, Jocko. What are we supposed to do? The door was open, wasn't it? JOCKO So are a lot of graves, but I've never been tempted... NOVAK Hey--look at the furniture. There's been a fight in here. I'll look in here and you check in the bedroom. FX Footsteps walking away JOCKO (Moving away) Well, if I'm not right back, don't expect me at all. NOVAK Alright. JOCKO (From next room) Patsy. Patsy. NOVAK Yeah. JOCKO Patsy, come here. NOVAK Alright. FX Footsteps and FXs of moving around for next several lines. JOCKO There's somebody on the fire escape. NOVAK Come here. Stand back here. JOCKO He's not moving. He was leaning that way when I first saw him. NOVAK Alright, I'll get on this side. You raise the window. Now go easy, Jocko. FX Window sash raised up. NOVAK Can you see him from there? JOCKO Raise it a little more. NOVAK Alright. FX More window noise NOVAK (Grunting from the effort.) JOCKO He's still leaning there. I can reach out. FX Shuffling noise through next several lines. NOVAK Alright, watch yourself. If he's kidding you'll lose an arm. JOCKO (Straining) I've got it. Good. Raise the window more. FX More window JOCKO Patsy, he's falling. Give me a hand. (Straining noises) NOVAK Let me through there. JOCKO Too late. I can't hold him. NOVAK Hang on, Jocko. JOCKO He's falling. Oh, I'm sorry. NOVAK Well, he was probably dead, anyway. JOCKO If he wasn't, that was a step in the right direction. MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene NOVAK Well, it was an easy night to die. Three of them had already checked out and there was still time to look for more. Jocko went downstairs to see the guy. He was lying face down in the alley and as you looked at him you got the funny feeling he belonged there. He didn't disturb the scene. He just fitted in like a dirty, wet newspaper under a grandstand. There was a gun in his pocket; probably the same one that killed the girl, but there was no way of knowing. Jocko and I watched him for a minute but your eyes begin to hurt as you see your only warm lead in a deep freeze. It was past two when I got down to headquarters and looked up Helleman. I briefed him on the girl and the guy in the alley and then I asked him if any microfilm had turned up on the first guy in the morgue. That was a waste of time. Helleman couldn't find a brass ring in a dead man's nose. But we went over to the morgue for another look. So, far it was working out like a crossword puzzle torn in half. FX Echo on. Footsteps approaching. HELLEMAN It's your time, Novak. I've got more after tomorrow, you haven't. NOVAK The film must be on the guy. Three people have been killed for it and I got roughed up just for laughs. HELLEMAN We searched the guy once. Here it is. FX Footsteps stop. HELLEMAN Help me roll it out. NOVAK Yeah. FX Rolling out morgue slab NOVAK Well, well. He sure got thin under that sheet didn't he. HELLEMAN Wait a minute. NOVAK Oh, you run a good morgue, Helleman. What'll the papers say when they hear that stiff got up and walked out. HELLEMAN They got him in the wrong place, or something. He didn't walk out. NOVAK Well, he's gone, Helleman. You got an answer? HELLEMAN He's been moved, I tell you. The guy was dead and I saw him put in here. Couldn't be walking around with a hole in the middle of his back. NOVAK I don't know, Helleman, you do it with one in your head. Don't sell the guy short. FX Echo off MUSIC Up and bridge to next scene. NOVAK When Helleman found out that the body was gone he stood there and stared at the empty slab. Then he began looking around in a nervous way like a man trying to find the sugar bowl at a restaurant counter. A few minutes later he turned and walked out of the morgue. We were half-way downtown when it happened. It must have hit us at the same time--it was sharp and quick like a piece of candy on a bad tooth. The guy back in the alley had come off that slab in the morgue. We got out to Dixie's place and we began to check. There was a phone operator downstairs and she said that Dixie had put through a call about two hours ago. Helleman checked the number and it was the ticket office of a railroad. We got downtown and ran through the timetable. There was a train leaving the Oakland Mole in about forty minutes. Well, it was an outside chance, but tonight that was the only kind for sale. We got down in time to slide onto the last ferry over to the mole. FX Faint FXs of ferry boat and harbor. NOVAK But over toward the Berkeley hills it was beginning to get light. The sky was the color of a bruise spot on a man's arm. HELLEMAN We'll get up to the pilot house and tell them not to dock until we've gone through all the passengers. NOVAK He doesn't have to be on this one. HELLEMAN We'll check the train when we get there. NOVAK Wait a minute. You don't have to check. There's your boy. HELLEMAN Where? NOVAK Up there on the rail. See? You better go easy, Helleman. He's not a scale model. HELLEMAN Yeah. Just walk quietly until we're behind him. FX Slow footsteps NOVAK Alright. HELLEMAN Turn around, mister. You'll get a better view. DIXIE Hello, Novak. How was the wind and the rain in your hair? NOVAK Meet Inspector Helleman. You'd better turn in your ticket. DIXIE I hope you brought your muscle. FX Struggle begins NOVAK Grab him, Helleman. HELLEMAN That's what I'm tryin' to do. DIXIE Alright, copper. HELLEMAN I'm being pushed over on the rail. NOVAK I'm worried, Helleman. HELLEMAN Watch it, Novak, I'm going over. (Yell as he falls over the side.) FX Body hitting the water. DIXIE That's one down, Mister. Now for you. FX Punch in the jaw. NOVAK (Grunt). I landed on the deck and watched him disappear into the dark. Half way down the guy turned in. I got up and followed him down the ladder and along the main deck. He ducked into one of the engine spaces and I started in to look for him. It didn't take long because he turned out to be real helpful. FX Gunshot--and engine noises DIXIE Ya got the idea, yet, Novak? NOVAK I'll come closer. Tell me then. DIXIE Suit yourself. But I'll knock ya down hard when you show. FX Two gunshots. NOVAK Watch that platform! You're backin' into trouble. DIXIE Stay back there, Novak. NOVAK Watch out for that platform, will you? You're backing into the engine. DIXIE (Long scream--then silence) FX Running footsteps DIXIE (Weak) I -- kinda wanted a blast -- NOVAK Yeah. That's the way it looks. (Pause) Did you get the microfilm? DIXIE Yeah. Oh--I got a big hurt. Does it show? NOVAK A little. DIXIE Yeah. It's been a long night, Novak. Huh? NOVAK Yeah. But your worries are over. It's almost dawn. DIXIE I don't know if I can use it, but I'll give it to you. MUSIC Up and out to big finish. MUSIC New theme begins and then fades as dialog starts. FX Harbor ambiance NOVAK They fished Helleman out of an oil slick a few minutes later. It was the first time his hair ever looked good. Dixie Gillian lasted long enough to piece the story together for homicide. Leigh Underwood knew her husband was carrying microfilm. She was worried, so she hired me to scare off Gillian. Well, it might have worked, too. But the first slip came when Leigh's husband went by to make a deal with Dixie without telling her. When I jumped him, Dixie was outside and figured it was a double cross so he killed him with a silencer when that phony gun that Leigh gave me went off. Dixie knew that the microfilm was still on the dead man. But the only way he could be sure was to get the body out of the morgue. He took it up to his apartment and when he got the film he planted the gun and put the body on the fire escape. He was a little safer that way. It was a 50/50 chance the police would miss it the first time around and he'd have a fair lead. It almost worked out for him except for that phone call. The microfilm was in a capsule next to the roof of the guy's mouth. So old it was new again. Helleman asked only one question -- In that fight did I have anything to do with pushing him against the rail? I told him, sometimes those ferry boats roll as much as forty-five degrees. MUSIC Up and lower and play under following. ANNOUNCER The American Broadcasting Company has just brought the tenth of a new series, PAT NOVAK, FOR HIRE, starring Jack Webb. PAT NOVAK is produced and directed by William P. Rousseau. Jocko Madigan is played by Tudor Owen. Inspector Helleman is played by Raymond Burr. Music was composed and conducted by Basil Adlam. Be with us again next week when most of these same ABC stations will bring you PAT NOVAK, FOR HIRE. This program came to you transcribed from Hollywood. MUSIC Up briefly, then down for the following. ANNOUNCER This is ABC, The American Broadcasting Company. MUSIC Up and finish.