The story of Mert and Maude.
Myrtle Spear has made a desperate and daring decision.
He has ordered Slim, the taxi driver, to take her to Duke Sandfield, who had sent her a note
telling her to come to him if she ever needed his help.
As you remember, she left Margie at a motion picture show, promising to return in time
for the girls to have dinner and get to the theater for their evening performance.
Meanwhile, Jack Arnold and the police are conducting an intensive undercover search
for Jimmy Mitter, Margie's foster brother.
They want to find him before the gangsters, who are also seeking him, catch up with the
boy and put him on the spot.
In just a moment, we'll see what happens to Mert in her visit to Duke Sandfield as we
listen to today's episode of the story of Mert and Maude.
Only a few minutes have elapsed since Mert left Margie at the motion picture theater.
She has just arrived at Sandfield's gambling casino.
Sandfield greets her.
Well, how do you do, Miss Spear?
I'm glad to see you again.
May I talk to you alone, Mr. Sandfield?
Certainly you may.
Will you come with me up this way?
Oh, are you going to take me up to your special question and answer room again?
I don't think it will be necessary today.
We'll go into my office on the main floor.
Does anyone know you came here, Miss Spear?
Only the taxi driver who brought me here.
Then you got my note.
Mr. Sandfield, why have you had that driver hanging around my apartment house?
I'm afraid that's a little matter concerning me.
Believe me, it's necessary.
Right in here, Miss Spear.
Shall we lock the door today?
No, unless you're afraid someone will come in.
Someone might, so I'd better lock it.
Won't you sit down, make yourself comfortable?
Thank you, I will.
Now, why did you send that note to me to come to you if I needed you?
Because I know the newspapers might try to connect you in some way with the murder of
Harry Duffy.
They're doing their best to try to connect me with it right now.
And the reporters are trying to get a story from me.
Well, if you followed my warning not to tell anyone where you were, it would make it rather
difficult for you to explain where you were, wouldn't it?
Yes, and that's what I've come to see about you, Mr. Sandfield.
Who is that taxi driver?
Is he one of your men?
Yes, Miss Spear, we call him Slim.
Slim tells me he took you and your roommate to the Hayfield Theatre this morning.
You went in the front entrance and he waited outside for you.
When you came out, you were with a man.
Who was the man, Miss Spear?
You know who he was, Mr. Sandfield, because my roommate called him by name, and Slim,
the driver, wrote it on a card.
I saw him do it.
He must have given you the card.
Yes, I know it was Jack Arnold, Assistant District Attorney.
Shall I tell you why I went to the theatre?
It must have been important to have required the presence of Jack Arnold.
Mr. Arnold was there when we got there.
Perhaps you read the article in the Voice of the People column.
Well, that article and the persistence of the newspapers caused Mr. Hayfield, our producer,
to call me to his office.
He demanded an explanation of my disappearance and said I must not be mixed up in any scandal.
Was he thinking of your reputation or the show?
I suppose a girl's reputation doesn't mean much to anyone.
He was probably just thinking of the show.
I've always been led to believe that anything sensational or notorious was good publicity
for the box office.
I'm afraid not when a murder's involved, Mr. Sandfield.
That kind of thing doesn't go.
Well, what did you tell Mr. Hayfield?
Well, he was told that I was in no way connected with Harry Duffer's murder, but I could not,
and I did not explain my absence.
Why was Arnold there?
Well, he's my attorney, Mr. Sandfield.
One generally tells his attorney everything.
Mr. Arnold knows that I didn't have anything to do with the Duffy murder.
I have an alibi, you know that.
Yes, you have an alibi, and you've had a warning.
But Mr. Sandfield, Harry Duffy brought me straight from here to the theater, and I was
in the theater by quarter after seven.
Harry Duffy dismissed the cab and walked in the opposite direction.
Mr. Arnold said Duffy was killed at 745.
Your man Slim knows all of that.
Yes, so do I.
So what more would you need, Miss Fair to clear you of any connection with the whole
affair?
Isn't that, Mr. Sandfield?
It's the explanation of my absence for 30 hours.
The newspapers won't let me alone because they think my disappearance in some way led
up to the killing of Duffy.
My being innocent means nothing to them.
All I want is a story, and our stage director has threatened to fire me.
That's why I've come to you.
Well, what do you want me to do, Miss Fair?
I don't know.
You warned me not to tell about my having been held here.
And you're sure you haven't told your attorney, Mr. Jack Arnold?
I told him I couldn't explain my absence to him, but it was my own business.
But after all, of course, girls have gone on little trips and forgotten to come back.
And does he believe you?
I doubt it.
You're not that type, Miss Fair.
Oh, I don't know what he believes, but I just can't lose my job, Mr. Sandfield.
I've got to get out of this trouble and have it cleared up in the newspapers.
I might have believed, Miss Fair, that you would let your friend and attorney, Mr. Arnold,
believe.
He's more than a friend, Mr. Sandfield, a good friend.
Well, go put it this way, Miss Fair.
You think more of your safety or your reputation than you do of the good opinion of your friend,
Mr. Arnold?
Well, what of it?
I'm inclined not to believe you, Miss Fair.
A girl like you would blacken her own character, especially to a friend, for only one reason,
to help someone near and dear to her.
You warned me not to tell anyone about being detained here in this place for 30 hours.
You intimated that it might mean death for me.
Well, how...
Miss Fair, this place will soon be established.
Or I should say, arrangements will be made with our political friends.
And when they get things set, it will be run accordingly.
I don't want anything to interfere.
I shall be most happy to give you a membership card so you and your friends can come here
at any time from now on.
But meanwhile, I still insist that you have never been here before.
Understand?
Aren't you afraid of being raided, Mr. Sandfield?
We're counting on our political friends.
Remember this is a very high-class establishment.
We cater only to the very best people.
Or rather to the people who can best afford to come here.
Well, in the note that came with the orchid, I forgot to thank you for them.
You said that you knew I had nothing to do with the killing of Duffy, and that you knew
who did kill him.
We do know.
By the way, you destroyed that note, of course.
Why, I have it with me.
May I have it, please?
All right.
Thank you.
But you know who killed Duffy.
Why don't you tell the police?
I hardly think it's a thing for us to do.
We don't always get along with the police, you know.
The note you told the taxi driver to give me said, if you need me at any time, come to
me or I will come to you.
Now you refuse to help me.
I haven't said I'd refuse.
And I intend to do all I can.
Of course, you understand we can't jeopardize ourselves in doing it.
Well, then you will do something.
Yes.
I'll help you as best I can.
Oh, thanks, Mr. Janfield.
Oh, I've got to go now.
The little girl who lives with me is at the Capitol Theater waiting for me.
I think I'll take the Eighth Avenue subway to 50th.
But that isn't necessary.
The Slim can take you back to the theater.
I'd rather take the subway.
Well, the Slim will drive you to the subway station.
It's several blocks away.
Oh, Slim, take this lady to the subway station and keep your eye on her until she gets on
the train.
All right, Duke.
You won't forget what you promised, Mr. Janfield.
I won't forget.
You know, strange.
You kept me a prisoner in this place for 30 hours.
You threatened me with death if I told about it.
Now you decide to help me.
Yes, it is strange what a woman can do with a man.
Well, goodbye, Miss Spear.
I'll give you a ring one of these days.
Perhaps you may need me again.
Goodbye.
Goodbye, Mr. Janfield.
I'll be all right, Slim.
You needn't bother.
I can walk.
Orders, Miss.
Say, Belton, did you read in the paper here about this?
This chorus named from Hayfield's Pleasures?
They say she was mixed up on Duffy's kickoff.
Yeah, swell-looking dish, ain't she?
That's a nice picture.
I'd like to meet her.
Ah, not a chance.
Remember, Harry Duffy was going to bring her over to Red Rooster one night to give us all
a knockdown.
But he didn't.
Yeah, too bad they got her mixed up in it.
You and me know she ain't got nothing to do with it.
Hold your lip.
You talk too much.
This paper here says the day she disappeared, she was accompanied by Harry Duffy.
Say, that ain't bad.
Might throw Spike Duffy off the real track.
He's back in town.
Say, Belton, take a look at that dame sitting across the aisle.
Yeah?
Now, look at this picture in the paper.
Yeah, you're right, Pete.
Same dame.
I wonder if she heard us talking.
Nah, too much noise.
Look, she's reading the same paper.
Yeah, same Pete.
She's all excited about it.
Hey, this station is 59th Street.
We gotta change trains here.
Hey, look, she ain't getting off.
And neither are we.
Let's follow her.
What for?
She knew Duffy and she may be working with their outfit.
You're right.
We're supposed to report to Houston tonight.
Let's take this state and sweat out some information.
Mert now has two of the Houston mobsters on her trail.
What is their role in the series of mysterious events that have befallen our two chorus girl
heroines?
And will Duke Sanfield keep his promise to help Mert?
There should be plenty of excitement when we join our two chorus girl friends in the
next adventure filled episode of the story of Mert and Marge.
This is Andre Barouj speaking.
Have a nice day.