Mystery House
Mystery House
That strange publishing firm owned by Dan and Barbara Glenn
Where each new novel is acted out by the Mystery House staff
Before it is accepted for publication
Mystery House
Well Barbie, I don't know that I understand the title of the story we're trying out for a Mystery House novel this week
You mean the composite killer, Dan?
Yeah, does it refer to several different people who combine forces to commit a murder?
No. Haven't you ever seen a composite picture?
Well to be honest with you, I don't know
Oh of course you have. In the movie magazines
Well, I'm not a movie magazine reader
Detective stories are more in my line
Well, an artist takes maybe Dorothy Lamour's eyes and Alexa Smith's nose and Anne Sheridan's hair and Hetty Lamar's ears
And Betty Davis's mouth
Put them all together to make a composite picture of someone who never existed
Oh, I see what you mean Mrs. Glenn. The pictures are fake
Well, not exactly. Every part of it is true to life, but
But put together it doesn't spell truth
Well, I'm a solid fact man myself. I like authentic information. For example, listen to this
Okay, places everybody and set the scene for tonight's story, will you Tom?
The composite killer. Tonight's story opens in the office of Captain Hedges, police detective
A slender, aesthetic, if cynical young man sits across the desk from the captain, sizing him up
I suppose you wonder why I asked the Chronicle to send an artist over to headquarters, mayne?
Mine not to reason why, mon capitain. Where the Chronicle points its finger, there go I
And your paper's yelling at us about not solving the Dorothy Lattaman murder
Don't tell me you're sensitive, mon capitain. I always thought only artists were sensitive
Artists who aren't quite good enough to make the grade and end up by hacking away on a newspaper
They said you were the best man in their art department
They damn with faint praise
They said you have imagination, mayne
A severe criticism. I tried to hide it
We're pretty close to solving that murder
Now I know. The police are working on secret clues and feel that the murder will be apprehended within the next 24 hours
The Chronicle carried that one day before yesterday
There's nothing secret about our clues. This killer ought to be a cinch to catch
He left so many clues, he might just as well have left his calling card
And you're just holding off to make it look like a hard catch?
Mayne, we've got everything except our man
Now the Lattaman girl was a beauty. She had so many boyfriends, we know we're never going to get to all of them
From what we've learned, she was a gold digger
Sounds like a sweet kid
Beautiful apartment, fine clothes, good jewelry
She had a string of jobs you could write pages about
None of them requiring any real work
I've been looking for that kind of a job for years, Captain Hedges
She was as cold and heartless as any human being could be
She was playing for big game. She finally found it
You mean the letters you uncovered that showed she was going to marry Wilton Morris III?
Yeah
Has it ever occurred to you that she might have been in love with a boy in spite of all his money, mon capitain?
Sure. We found a couple of her girlfriends who said that she told them that Wilton Morris was strictly a dope
But in the right money bracket
I love mystery stories, Captain Hedges, but how does all this concern me?
We've narrowed things down, Mayne
The logical assumption is that Dorothy Lattaman was killed by a disappointed or disgruntled suitor
Somebody who couldn't stand to see her marry Wilton Morris III
Well?
We start with the assumption that the murderer was, well, an attractive looking person
If he didn't have as much money as Wilton Morris, he had to be attractive to be in the running
Captain, you amaze me. A detective who's a student of human nature
The murderer got into the girl's room from the fire escape through a very narrow window
He had to be thin to make it
Hmm. Attractive thin
Now, we've tested the street level part of the fire escape and you'd have to be at least 6'2 to reach it and pull it down
I think I see what you're driving at
Several people saw a man loitering near that fire escape at 1 o'clock the morning of the murder
Couldn't they give you a description?
Altogether too much description. We've talked to three people and they disagree on most points
But their descriptions checked in a couple of respects
The man had a long thin face. There were all three positive of that
Yes, I know the type
His hair was dark. We can't be sure what color, but dark
Go on
And all through the people who saw him were a little frightened at one thing
The way this man stared at them
1 o'clock in the morning? I don't blame him
I get the idea that he had small deep set sharp eyes. Eyes with a brazen look
Two of the people said that they... Pardon me. That they might have known more of what he looked like, but his stare got their goats
They looked the other way. He looked them in the eye and he made them turn their heads the other way
The eyes are important. Always
The marks on the girl's throat indicate that he had a stubby hand as hard as iron
She fought like the devil and never had a chance
The fingers don't tell me much
No. Well, to me, hands like that on a tall slender man indicate a tough muscular neck, too
Smart boy, mon capitaine. I'd have missed that
While he was strangling her, she clenched at his face
At least that's the only reason I've been able to figure for the bite on her forearm
Here. Here's a print of the marks
Hmm. Small mouth, but big teeth
Right. Now you're catching the spirit
Here are photographs of three suspects. Three men that we've connected with the girl
Any one of them who could answer what little description that we have
Hey, my apologies, mon capitaine. I'd always thought the gendarmerie were rather stupid
You know what I want, then
You want a composite sketch of these three guys. A blend of all three
Right. With enough of each one in it so that when he sees the picture in the paper, he thinks it's close to being him
Hmm. Could be done, I guess. But it'll be quite a trick
I've talked to your managing editor. They'll start a buildup on the picture in tomorrow's paper
It'll run in three days if you can have it finished by then
Every day until it runs, the paper will carry a front page box saying,
Coming. An artist conception of the Dorothy Latimer Killer
Created in cooperation with the police department
See what the Latimer murderer looks like. Don't miss it
You think this will do any good, aside from publicity?
This was an emotional murder. And I'm going to grate the killer's nerves to the breaking point
With your help, Manny
It's a deal, mon capitaine
Oh, it's you, honey. I thought...
Oh, Jed, you don't need to be so fussy about your old picture
Covering it up like that when I came in
I don't care about seeing it anyway
Oh, it's not that, honey. It's...
Well, I've had orders from headquarters. Nobody's to see it till it's ready
Going to eat midnight lunch with me tonight, Jed? You haven't asked me
Why, uh, matter of fact, honey, I'm not going out to lunch tonight
I'm working right through on the picture
But it isn't supposed to run till day after tomorrow
Sorry, honey. That's the way it is
This thing's important and, well, kind of dangerous
Oh, you. Drawing a portrait dangerous
To the dear young artist, Jed Manny
Go ahead and laugh, but I'm working under orders and I'm going to follow him
But, Jed, you're really serious about this stunt, aren't you?
You're always poking fun at everything we do around the Chronicle
I've got to hurry, honey. If I expect to get this thing done by closing time, I...
All right. I won't bother you
I never thought I'd have a picture for a rival
Oh, it's not that, honey. It's just...
Oh, nuts. Can't you give a guy a break when he's busy?
Well, if that's the way you feel about it...
Oh, don't be sore. Tomorrow night I'll give you loads of attention
I'll scrape and bow and...
You do nothing of the kind
Not after the way you've acted the last couple of days
As far as I'm concerned, you'll still be busy. Good night
Oh, just a minute
Well, why didn't you go ahead and kiss her, Manny? I wouldn't have minded
I never did like an audience, Mo Capitan
Isn't it pretty stuffy in that clothes closet?
Yeah, stifling. I'm dying for a smoke
Why not go ahead and have one then?
No. I'm going to go back into hiding
Sooner or later, the murderer's going to call on you
And I'm going to be here when he does
So, back to my hole
I think I'll use suspect number three's ears. They're the largest
Who the devil are you?
Wilton Morris III
I read about this composite picture thing and I thought I'd drop in and see how you're getting along
Maybe I could help you
Well, well, well. Wilton Morris III
I've always wanted to meet a real, live millionaire
And you're so young and tender, too
Isn't it a little late for you?
No need to be nasty. I thought maybe I could help you
Dorothy was going to marry me, you know
So they tell me
You mind if I take a quick glance at how you're coming along?
Get away from that drawing board, Third
What? Really?
Don't give me that high hat either. I've had orders
Nobody's to see this thing till it's finished
But I'm not a suspect man
Great Scott, I was going to marry the girl
If there's anybody in Kingdom Come wants their murderer caught, it's I
Sorry, mister
The publisher of the Chronicles, a good friend of Dad's
I could get permission to look, I imagine
Guess again, Buster. The publisher doesn't have a doggone thing to say about this
Oh, but hang on. I'm just trying to help
I'm from the lower classes, Third
Having a millionaire help me would knock my nerves all to pieces
Very well. Have it your way
But if you don't want my advice, what was the idea of calling me?
I left a rather charming party to come down here
Calling you? I didn't call you
Your secretary did though
She said you wanted to see me if it was convenient
I don't have any secretary, mister Third
That's a pretty bum stall
Stall? But I'm quite serious, Maynard
Oh, I get it
You got me down here to get a good look at me
You're going to try to work some of my characteristics into your picture
Well, there are libel laws to cover such
Huh?
Say, you aren't nervous, are you, mister Third?
Nervous?
Oh, why should I be?
I simply dislike the idea of notoriety
And if that picture bears the slightest resemblance to me
You're scaring me half to death
But if you're all through, I wish you'd tattle back to your party I'm busy
Very well
But I'd be careful if I were you
Huh. Well now, what do you think of that, mon capitain?
I'm down. You might hear it
I've practically owned the building by now
I'll close the door so you can come on out and stretch
Oh, oh, you again
You don't need to act so disappointed
Wasn't that Wilton Morris who just left?
The Third
Well, that's odd
My phone rang a few minutes ago and a girl asked if he was here
I thought it was some crank, but she must have known
A girl? Look, honey
Would you recognize her voice if you heard it again?
Maybe. Why?
The guy claimed somebody called and asked him to come in here
My secretary
But you don't have any secretary
Hey, hey, just a minute
Hello. Looking for someone?
Why, yes. Is Wilton Morris here?
Uh, come on in
Thank you
Oh, but I thought...
Why he isn't here. Why didn't you tell me that...
I didn't say he was here, darling
I just asked you to come in
See here, what is this? The idea of closing that door?
I don't...
I don't know what you intend, but you're going to answer a few questions
What? Oh, really?
Oh, my, I never heard of such a thing. Excuse me
Just a minute. You're not leaving here till you've answered a few questions
Who are you anyway?
I don't see that it's any business of yours
But my name is Harriet Codley
Just a second
I haven't been a society reporter around here for two years for nothing
Oh, your honey, Horace, you covered my debut for the Chronicle
Yeah, and I also remember that you had yourself a man-sized crush on Wilton Morris III about that time
Really, Miss Horace? If you'll excuse me...
You don't deny it, do you?
I won't dignify it with a denial
I don't suppose you'll bother denying that you called my desk a few minutes ago to see if the boyfriend was here?
I called. I like that
I got a telephone call to meet him here
There's something awfully funny about the telephone service around here tonight
If you're insinuating that I'm lying...
I know. Popple talked to the publisher, who's a friend of his, and get us canned
You know, I have a hunch the police may be wrong on this business
What?
They're assuming it was a man who killed Dorothy Latimer, a jealous suitor
But a jealous suitor would have lost every chance he had by killing the girl
Wouldn't he have killed Wilton Morris instead?
What are you trying to...
What I'm getting at, sister, is that maybe somebody else has a yen for Wilton III
It kind of makes sense
You're insinuating that I...
That's ridiculous. I didn't even know the girl
If I were the police, I think I'd want a lot of answers from you
I say, if I were the police...
Jed, what are you shouting about?
Captain Hedges! Captain Hedges!
Who is it?
It's Captain Hedges
Is he dead?
Just a minute
For the love of heaven, stand back. Open the door in the window, quick!
What's the matter with...
Let me get this thing out of here
What is it?
A time bomb in the closet, loaded with poison gas
Call the police, quick
But hadn't we better...
I'm staying right here with this picture
Evidently, someone wants it pretty badly
A poison gas time bomb
Neat idea. Quiet, unobtrusive, efficient
The question is, who put it in the clothes closet of Jed Mayne's office?
Well, we'll find out in the second act of tonight's story
The composite killer
And now, act two of the composite killer
The time is four o'clock in the morning and the Chronicle office is pretty much deserted
A light still burns in Jed Mayne's little office
The policeman who stayed here, Jed, did he do much?
Asked a lot of questions, took the measurements of the clothes closet
Wanted to know who could have seen Captain Hedges come into my office
But how did he get in? I didn't know he was here
His being here was the reason I didn't want to kiss you, remember? I was embarrassed
What?
You crazy goon, bashful at this late stage
All right, you're forgiven
When you and the charming Harriet left the police station, how was Hedges getting along, did they say?
No, but they didn't seem to hold out much hope
They said it was just luck he wasn't dead when we opened the clothes closet
Neither Harriet nor Wilton III went near that clothes closet while they were here
I can't figure out
Almost anybody could have left that time bomb, Jed
You're never here during the day, you never lock your office
But it still doesn't make sense
The police put out a lot of publicity about this picture you're doing
The murderer could have walked in and planted that bomb anytime up to six o'clock last night
Yes, but nobody knew Hedges was there
The murderer was probably watching this place like a hawk
Put yourself in his place, all this swoopty-doo about the killer's picture
Captain Hedges in charge of the investigation
That's easy to figure
I won't rest easy till I get that picture finished and into the hands of the engravers
What, Jed? You don't mean you're going ahead after what's happened?
Of course I'm going ahead, it's more important now than ever
What does the picture look like, Jed?
Sorry
But it wouldn't hurt to let me see it
I know how to keep a secret
Have I ever let you down?
You'll see it in the chronicle
But I'll just take a quick look
Get away from that drawing board
You heard me, I'm not fooling, honey
Jed, you... you... you almost frightened me
After what's happened, you should be frightened
I'm not trusting anybody up to and including you
Well, you surely don't need to...
Somebody's committed a couple of murders, honey
I'm not anxious to be added to the list
I'm sorry to be so rough about it
I'll probably apologize tomorrow night, but for now, that's how it stands
Well, I...
Well, all right, Jed, that's the way you feel
Going home?
No, I'm going to finish the picture
What the devil's the idea of getting me out of bed to come down here at 4.30 in the morning, maybe?
I didn't think you'd be in bed yet, Mr. Third
And you seem so terribly, terribly anxious to see my latest work of art
You see, the picture's finished
But you know, I don't think you're going to like it
Here
Why... wait a minute
Recognize yourself, Mr. Third?
Well, I... it... it isn't a picture of me, and yet it is
That's right, Mr. Third
It takes a clever artist to make a picture like that
You, and yet not you
But close enough so anybody would recognize it
You... you think I killed Dorothy Latimer?
I know you did, Mr. Third, indirectly
Oh, no, no, you're on the wrong track, Meany
I didn't kill her
I don't know who did, I...
You don't, Mr. Third?
Not even now?
What?
I killed her, Mr. Third
Captain Hedges knew it, he knew it all along
Oh, you... you're... you're joking
You couldn't possibly...
When Hedges told me that Dorothy Latimer had held a lot of different jobs
And they had pages of dope on all of them, I knew
I wasn't picked to do this picture for my artistic genius
He was playing with me, waiting for me to get excited and make a slip
He was a smart cookie, even if he did underestimate me
What do you mean about the jobs?
Dorothy was an art model at one stage of her career
She quit because a certain poor artist got too serious, bothered her too much
And you killed her?
The only thing in the world that ever interested her was money
She was responsible for my taking this stinking job
To try to get enough money to rent a little apartment and get married
You must have been extremely fond of her to kill her in such a brutal fashion
A funny part of it is, Mr. Third, I didn't intend to kill her
I couldn't believe her story about her engagement to you and I went up to talk to her
She laughed at me, made fun of me, I went crazy, crazy mad
I wanted to hurt her as much as she was hurting me
I'd say you hurt her more, at least more permanently
Oh, no, but there was real satisfaction in grinding my fingers into that lovely throat
I even bit her arm when she tried to stop me
Yes, but your name was never mentioned as a suspect
I took every present she'd ever had from me, every letter
I erased myself from her apartment
I planted the fire escape business
I gave the police plenty wrong clues
But some way Hedges caught on
He didn't have proof, but he knew
Why do you tell me all this?
Because I want you to understand what it's all about
Why you're being framed
I'm framed?
Oh, you think you can convict me of a murder you committed just by drawing a fantastic picture of me?
Hardly. You really are mad
The picture's going to take care of you, all right
You are going to be convicted
I'm not much worried
You've been here before tonight
It's established that you came here to look at the picture and I wouldn't show it to you
Yes, but what does that have to do with it?
What are you up to?
Those telephone calls to you and your Harriet will be checked, of course
Who?
A public stenographer made the calls, Mr. Third
She got her instructions over the phone and was told to send a bill to me
I don't know a thing about it
At least that'll be my story and it'll stick
You think those calls will convict me of a murder I didn't commit?
You are batty
Batty like a fox?
Being an artist is useful in more ways than one
I know my anatomy pretty well
What? Try to talk sense
I'm talking sense
I put this drawing board over in the corner, see?
Very interesting
It'll get more interesting as it goes along
Now, I lay this knife on the board, just so
The handle presses against the wall, see?
What do you think you're going to do? You...
Incidentally, that knife is from your cabin up at the lake and it's loaded with your fingerprints
Now I scooch down
Have to be sure to hit exactly the right spot
You... Look out!
Oh, it's a good trick, isn't it?
Yeah, it takes nerve, plenty of nerve
But when you're fighting for your life, you have nerve to spare
Let's see
Yeah, yes, that's exactly right
Now I back into the blade of the knife
Firmly, steadily
You fool, you'll kill yourself
I can't let you commit suicide
I won't kill myself, Thur, but it'll be close
Close to the heart and close to the spine
It worked, Thur, just like I planned
You're through, you're licked
Where's the telephone?
Who you're calling, Thur?
Doctor? Doctor or police?
Both
Won't do you any good
Once you see me, me stabbed in the back
Your knife, your picture on the drawing board
Your picture, the killer
I say you came in, saw a picture and stabbed me
You're through
But why should you try to do this to me?
Why?
You had nothing but money to offer
You stepped in with your money and tore down all my hope
I hate you
But I thought you were in love with the pretty little society reporter, Honey Hawes
She was... She was just around
I had to cover up somewhere
That was her knife
Honey, honey, he got me
I'm gonna die
Hospital, quick
He saw a picture, he stabbed me
Save it, Jed, you'll need your strength
Hospital, quick
Get police, police to arrest him
You don't seem to realize, Jed
I've heard your entire scene with Mr. Morris
Well, I don't think heavens, Miss Hawes
After what had happened, Jed
When you insisted on staying and finishing that picture
I was frightened to death
Frightened for you, for you, understand that?
I was afraid the murderer would come in and try to kill you
You've been here all the time
Yes, because I thought I loved you
I was standing by with a revolver
I wanted to help you
You, great help
Go
Captain Hedges
Yeah, we're getting a little stuffy in that clothes closet
There's nothing more to hear anyway
But you, poison gas, hospital
Hey, teach you how to look out for yourself on the force, Manny
I looked that closet over pretty thoroughly
I found the gas time bomb
But no, no, it went off
I watched it, when the spring was ready to release
I held a match up to the jet, a lighted match
You knew all the time
Yeah, but I couldn't prove anything
There's a lot of difference between knowing and proving
I didn't figure you were strong enough or cool enough to stand up under pressure
So I turned it on
Hadn't we better get him to the hospital, Captain?
Yeah, I suppose so
Not that we're doing him any favor
Quite right, mon capita
I knew right from the start you were
A sharp guy