August 10, 2025 • 29 mins
The Whistler was a suspenseful mystery anthology that ran from 1942-1955. A character known only as the Whistler was the host and narrator of the tales, which focused on crime and fate and had a suspenseful and eerie tone, always ending with a twist. The Whistler was later adapted to television.
Hope you enjoy this episode of The Whistler! Find all our OTR radio stations and podcasts at theaterofthemind-otr.com - All Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon
Hope you enjoy this episode of The Whistler! Find all our OTR radio stations and podcasts at theaterofthemind-otr.com - All Podcasts @ Spreaker | Apple | YouTube | Spotify | iHeart | Amazon
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
And now stay tuned for the program that has been
rated tops in popularity for a longer period of time
than any other West Coast program in radio history, The
Signal Oil Program, the Whistler Signal, the famous Go Farther Gasoline.
(00:29):
Invite you to sit back and enjoy another strange story
by the Whistler.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I am the Whistler, and I know many things. Or
I walk by die so many strange tales hidden in
the hearts of men and women who have.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Stepped into the shadows.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare
not speak.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
And now for the Signal Oil Company, The.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Whistler's Strange Story.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Jessica Jessica Monroe stared at the manuscript she held tightly
in her hands, the manuscript that had suddenly shrouded her
spacious office with ugly, threatening memories from the past. Until
(01:42):
that moment, the reputation of no member of the Monroe
family had ever been.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Questioned, not openly.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But there before her were vivid, venomous words, words to
shock the sensibilities of any reader. To Jessica Monroe, the
editor publisher of Monroe House, these words produced a cute challenge.
Slowly she closed the manuscript and faced the man who
had written the words, Joe.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Arnold, Why did you write this, Joe?
Speaker 4 (02:09):
For money? And because it's a great story. It'll sell
a hundred thousand copies if you'll publish it.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Do you really expect me to publish it? A story
written in poison and gore by an ingreat eye was
foolish enough to employ when no editor in town would
let him inside their office.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Maybe you made a mistake.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
You rifled the files of this office for what TECs
you have, and you've twisted them so that you've even
made my parents look bad, very bad.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
I bit the hand it fed.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Me, and again I ask why you wanted to.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Write a great story?
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Did you read it all?
Speaker 3 (02:46):
I read enough.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
If I were you, i'd finish reading it, Jessica, A
word for word, the entire manuscript. It might affect your
attitude toward it, all right?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
How much do you want for this manuscript, Jill?
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Well, as I see if there are two prices on
the manuscript, Jessica, there's one if you want to publish it,
and another if you want to suppress it.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I'm talking about publishing it.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Of course, you wouldn't dare it'll crucify you and your
family name. You better read the rest of it. We'll
have plenty of time to talk, and you'll need plenty
of time to think about how much this is worth
to you?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
How much time?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Oh day, I'll be.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
Back tonight for an answer.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
I don't have to ask if you'll be here.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I'll be here fine.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Oh and Jessica, you'll find this out as you read.
You're in that manuscript in a big way. So that's it, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
One of your employees, Joe Arnold, has written a novel
of your family, and Joe has featured you in the chronicle.
You sit there, stunned. After Joe leaves. It isn't anger,
you feel. It's more terror, isn't it, Jessica. Joe seems
to know a great deal more about you than your thought,
almost without knowing.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
If you pick up the.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Manuscript again, begin reading where you left off, searching for
further incidents from your past.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
You read on and.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
On, unaware of time, unaware too, that you have another visitor.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Must be a best seller.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Oh, Mark, I was reading, Oh good for you?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Always meant to learn myself?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Mark? Did you want something important?
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Does a sales manager ever want anything important?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Oh, look, I'm not in much of a mood for games, Mark,
I say you're not.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I'm quick that way. Okay, we won't play games, boss lady.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Ah, I'm sorry, Mark, I will.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
I know you were reading. That's what I came in.
Maybe you ought to buy it, Jessica, What do you mean?
Just that? If any manuscript can hold your interest this much,
it must be worth the asking price. But then that's
your business, Jessica, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I guess it is my business.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
You're glad when Mark closes the door behind him, Jessica,
and you turn quickly back to your reading of Joe
Arnold's manuscript. By evening, you've finished, shocked and numb by
what you've read. Joe hasn't missed a thing, has he, Jessica.
Your own doings and misdoings are vividly reported and twisted
in such a way as to bring discredit on your
(05:47):
father's memory, even your grandfather's. It's past closing time and
your employees have left the building Joe's footsteps, Jessica, you'll
have to come to a decision.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Had a few drinks to celebrate my victory, Jessica, have
you won a victory, Joe, how can I lose?
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Might well?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Sit down, be comfortable?
Speaker 6 (06:12):
Huh?
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Be sure?
Speaker 4 (06:15):
I won't figure either way. If you publish it, I
get money. If you don't, I get more money.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I'm not going to publish it, Jill.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
Sensible decision.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I'm sure I suppose anything this contemptible comes high.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Let's keep it on a business basis.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I'll pay you fifteen thousand dollars for the manuscript and
all its copies.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Nice starting figure, fifteen thousand, say some more?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
All right? How much do you want?
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Fifty thousand and a piece of the business, maybe a
junior partnership.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
You must be out of your Mindin't.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
The reputation of a Monroe, especially if it's you with
the small piece of your fortune.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Before I'd let you commercialize this vindictive story, I'd kill you.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
That's your answer.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Get out of here. Don't you touch me?
Speaker 4 (07:13):
You here.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
You try to reach for the phone, but Joe stops you.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
In one desperate.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Movement, you free one hand or seize a bookend from
your desk and blindly wheel it. You stare down at him, Jessica,
and slowly the fury drains out of you. The shock
of the deed, replacing it. Joe lies there motionless. Convulsive
shiver runs through you. You move to feel his pulse,
(07:38):
listen for his heart beat, and just as you bend over.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Him, you'd better let me help you, Jessica.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And last Thursday, the ten thousand dollars Signal gasoline car
test came to an end. Two weeks from tonight, if
professional judges of the Ruben h Donnelly Corporation have had
(08:06):
time to study all entries and reach their decisions, we
will announce on the whistler winners of the buick and
the next twelve prizes. All two hundred prize winners will
be notified personally, and a complete list of winners will
be posted at every signal station as soon as possible meantime.
Signal Oil Company wants to take this opportunity to thank
(08:27):
the many thousands of you who entered so wholeheartedly into
the spirit and fun of the contest. We regret there
couldn't have been a prize for each and every one
of you. However, if the contest has been instrumental in
acquainting you with your neighborhood signal dealer, your car has
acquired a valuable friend. You see, signal dealers are independent
(08:47):
business men with sufficient experience and genuine interest in cars
to invest their own money in the business of serving you.
We hope you'll give your signal dealer an opportunity to
prove how his conscience, your service, plus fine quality signal
products can help your car run better, look better, and
(09:07):
last longer.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
The whole thing seems like a nightmare.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Doesn't it, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Joe Arnold lies motionless on the floor of your office,
and beside him, the heavy book end you dropped after
you hit him on your desk is Joe's manuscript. Your
days dies move mechanically from Joe's still form to the
bookend to the manuscript, and they are bending over. Joe
is Mark Harris, your sales manager. You don't know how
(09:52):
much Mark saw you. Better let me help you, Jessica.
Those are the only words he's uttered till now gets up,
looks at you.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
His eyes expressions.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
I'll handle it from here, Jessica.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I I didn't mean too much.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
I'll take it easy, Take it easy. Guess it's a
good thing you hit him instead of using that gun
of yours.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
How did you know I keep a gun.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
I saw it in your desk once. Sometimes I snoop.
I look, you're in a lot of trouble, but I'm
going to help you. The reason I'm going to help
you you'll find out later, but we're not going to
the police with this. Yes, Mark, now listen to me.
You'll go home now, just as if nothing had happened. Elliot,
the night watchman will let you out of the building.
You'll walk a block to the cab, stand, get in one,
(10:38):
go directly home and say nothing to anyone.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Do you understand, Yes, Mark, I understand.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
You'll go to your room, go directly to bed. Relax.
Even if you have to take a fistful of sedatives,
you'll think of nothing and do nothing. How do the
thinking and the doing from here on.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
In good, Mike, I don't know what you're going to do.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Start figuring it out. I'll call you later a drop
in after I've gotten rid of I'll leave now here.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Well, Jessica, Mark's sudden assertion of strength has you completely
in his power, hasn't it.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
You do just as he says, you.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Go home in a sort of hypnotic state. You do
take the sedatives, and just as you give in to
exhaustion and sleep. You tell yourself that this is all
a bad dream, that you'll awake to find Joe Arnold's
alive again. You do sleep, but a few hours later
you awake with a start, and the dream is not over.
The voices downstairs tell you that Mark has come and
(11:42):
is arguing with your butler about waking you. You hurriedly
dress and go down. Mark's face is grim as you
lead him into the library and close the door.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
You fixed him up pretty good, Jessicain, What shall I do?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Mark?
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Nothing, It's been done. I carried him down the back way,
put him in my car, and got away without the
watchman or anyone seeing me. I don't think they'll ever.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Find him, But what will they think?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
That he's among the missing, that he disappeared tonight, vanished
into thin air?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
He was drunk tonight, you know.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Yeah, that makes it better. If the cops asked me,
I'm going to say that he's probably in heaven or
the East River.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
But will they believe he just vanished?
Speaker 4 (12:23):
It's all I'll have to believe.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
It's not all I'll have to believe.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
No, why'd you hit him? Jesse?
Speaker 3 (12:31):
The manuscript? Mark? Is that a story about my family,
the Monroe's, most of the present generation me. It wasn't pretty.
I couldn't bear to have it told Joe's way. But
I didn't mean you.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
I think I remember you saying once that there were
too many writers in the world.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Well, maybe I did, but I didn't mean to that.
Joe's manuscript, that's the original. But they must be copies,
probably in joseph partment.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
All right, I'll get them. Oh, that's part of it.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Part of what.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Part of the deal I'm about to make you for
getting myself into this mess and you out of them?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Why are you doing it for a loan of.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Twenty five thousand dollars loan which I doubt that I'll
be able to pay.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
That it's loan. Do you ever intend to pay it back?
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Frankly, No, I'm the best book salesman in the country.
You owe me a raise.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
All right, Mark, I'll have the money for you tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow with all the copies
of Joe's messes.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Mark, I've got to know what did you do with Jill?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
What do they do with the dead burier? Where the
less you know right now, the better it is for me,
where Mark, where is my secret? Good night, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Well there it is, Jessica. Mark is disposed of Joe's body.
It cost you twenty five thousand dollars and you don't
know where Mark hid him the money.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Jessica.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
You wonder if it's just the beginning of the payoff,
but you're not in much of a position to ask
questions or get answers. The next day and all that
week you sit by and watch Mark manipulate the business
of Joe Arnold's disappearance with the police, the Missing Person's Bureau,
the office staff. Mark makes it very plausible that Joe
and an abinge disappeared, that he'll undoubtedly show up someday somewhere.
(14:33):
And everyone seemed satisfied, Jessica, except Lieutenant Hennigan from Homicide,
who's been snooping around the office quite a bit this
past week. And then one day the lieutenant comes to
you with a disturbing piece of information.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Honors Landlady said he was writing a book, miss One.
You know anything about it, man, No, no, I don't.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Of course, Joe often worked at home on his book reports,
but I know nothing of a book of his own.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Landlady seemed. The last morning she saw him, she warned
him to come home with a rent or get thrown
out on a wave the copy of a manuscript before
her eyes, and said he was going to see his publisher.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
That would be you.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
He may have said that, but he didn't come to
me with a lieutenant. I wondered who he took the
book too.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
That's what we're all funny. He wouldn't bring it to you.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Is it's strange?
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Well, don't worry, miss Monroe. We'll find him or his
books that disappeared in time. We find everyone, even some
people were not looking for Well, by the way, man,
you're not thinking of leaving town for any reason?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Man, No, I hadn't thought of it.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Well, just check with me if you do, will you?
What's the matter, Jessica? Don't you like the music?
Speaker 3 (15:54):
I don't like the way that told me to stay
in town?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Now forget it. That's what makes a cop a suspicious mind.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Maybe I should tell Lieutenant Hannigan everything.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
You don't trust me?
Speaker 3 (16:07):
I gave you twenty five thousand dollars, didn't I?
Speaker 4 (16:09):
But you're still not sure of me? Is that it?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
But it's hard to be Mark? I know nothing about me.
On the other hand, you know all about me.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
Will this help? I was born on a farm near Omaha.
I suspected you were born once And at twenty I
got sick of corn and wheat, and I went to
the coast. I picked oranges and I thought no war.
And then and then, oh, I was a press agent
for a circus, later a jazz band, and finally a
movie queen.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
What was the movie? Queen? Like?
Speaker 4 (16:40):
I like nothing? A lamp shade on her head and
a Cadillac on each foot.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You're a strange person, Mark, Still don't trust me, No,
no more than myself. With a murder between us.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
There's only a table between us now, Jessica. But let's
get it. If you're thinking I've got something to say
to you, I don't want to say here. You're right.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
You can't read my mind tonightmare, I haven't got one.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
I once saved a guy from drowning. I jumped into
the lake after him and ruined my best and only suit.
And when I got him into the shore and vibe him,
what do you think he did?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Oh, it's your story.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
He busted me on the mall he was committing suicide.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Is there a moral to your story.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
M h, I should have fought a long time about
it before jumping in after him. Maybe you better think
some more before you tell the cops what happened to Joe.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Wow, this is an interesting side to your character.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Mark, another brid alone. Here's another side to it. I'm
in love with you.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
What I don't mind.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Repeating, it's really necessary, But Mark, I'm in love with you.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
When did this romance overwhelm you?
Speaker 4 (18:12):
The day I came to work for you a year ago.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
If that's true, you've concealed it better than you think.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah, yeah, I concealed it all that You had a
million bucks and I had thirty cents. I was standing
in the earth looking at Venus. We were just about
the same distance support.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
And now you feel you can tell me why because you.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Know what I've done, Because now I have twenty five
thousand bucks and I'm in a different financial bracket. Mark
has surprised you, as me, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And when you arrive home that night, you're confused and
somehow even more troubled. You wonder if you can trust Mark,
or if his sudden admission of love for you is
part of the payoff too. Next day you see Mark
only once on business and there's no mention of his
love for you. Then late that night you're at home
trying to untangle your snarl thoughts. Suppose Mark does love you, Jessica,
(19:12):
what does it mean? But your thoughts are abruptly interrupted.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Me here Lieutenant Hennigan. Miss Monroe, Oh, yes, Lieutenant, I thought.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
You ought to know.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
We found what we were looking for.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
You found.
Speaker 7 (19:28):
What Joe Arnold found him in the East River. Mark
Harris must be sounding of a prophet.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
I see when did you find him?
Speaker 7 (19:39):
A couple of days ago. We've been running some tests
and we'll want you to come in in the morning,
Miss Monroe.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
There are some questions.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Oh, of course, Lieutenant, to.
Speaker 7 (19:49):
Make a ten o'clock will him?
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
And Miss Monroe, yes, I think.
Speaker 6 (19:53):
You should know. Mark Harris will be here too, So.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
There'll be questions at the police station tomorrow morning, Jessica
and Mark will be there too. It's a tormenting thought,
isn't it? What Mark might say to Lieutenant Hannigan tomorrow
as the Lieutenant talked to Mark, and if he has
what has Mark told him?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
You move to call Mark?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
When yes, Hello, this is Mark.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Jessica has talked to you.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Yes, yes, you better get over here, Jessica quick.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
I've got something important to tell you. You leave the
house hurriedly.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Your cab makes one important stop before you go to
Mark's apartment, a stop at your office, Jessica, to take
your gun from its regular place in your desk.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
You're not certain you'll like what Mark has to say.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Your gun is insurance against that possibility. When you arrive
at Mark's apartment and he meets you at the door,
you instantly noticed that there's something different about him. The
way he looks, his manner, the way he treats you.
Mark has changed, Jessica. An unreal feeling sweeps over you
as you take a chair opposite him.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I've been afraid this time would come, Jessica. I thought
about it a lot.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
You've thought about it. What have you decided to do.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
There's just one thing I can do. But before I
tell you what it is, I want you to understand
that I am in love with you, Jessica. Go on, Well,
when we see Lieutenant Hennigan in the morning, I'll have
to tell him the truth exactly what happened.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Somehow I knew you'd say that to him.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
It wasn't easy to say, It wasn't easy to decide.
But I want you to know now that the devil
are you doing?
Speaker 3 (21:44):
You're not going to tell Hennigan or anyone the truth. Mark,
You're not. Don't use that you don't know what.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
You stare down at Mark, dead on the floor. No, Jessica,
Mark won't tell the truth of Joe's killing to Lieutenant
Hennigan or anyone ever. The very thought that Mark's lips
are forever sealed is comforting, isn't it, Jessica, A quiet
confidence overtakes you for the first time.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
You know exactly what to.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Do and what to say.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
You go over to the phone and place a call
to police headquarters to Lieutenant Hennigan speaking.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
This is Jessica and Rowland Tenant.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
Oh yes, miss Marmew.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
You'd better come to Mark Harris's apartment immediately. He threatened me.
There was a struggle. I shot him, Lieutenant in self defense,
he did.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
M You know it won't take long for Lieutenant Hennigan
to arrive, and when he comes, you'll have your story
ready for him.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
You're composed, Jessica, quite sure of yourself.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
When the Lieutenant arrives, complete his examination of Mark's body.
You know that you must play very convincingly the role
of a woman who has recently defended her own life.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
How did it happen, Miss Monroe.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
He's been threatening me all along. I've been so afraid
of him. Tonight, when I told him I was going
to tell you the truth tomorrow, he came at me.
I knew he meant to kill me, so I shot him.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
I see, and what is this truth you were going
to tell me in the.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Morning that I saw Mark murdered Joe Arnold. I've lived
in fear of my life ever since then.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
We were pretty sure it was Mark Harris all along.
What we needed was a witness or something as incriminating. Well,
he won't threaten you anymore, Miss Monroe. You've gone home
to bed now, you've been through enough, thank our assertion.
Tomorrow morning, I'll just be routine. Will try to spare
you everything we can.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Because summer weather causes many motor oils to break down
and form harmful gum, varnish and carbon. I want to
tell you tonight about an improved type motor oil that's
specifically engineered to stand up under heat. Its signal premium
compounded motor oil. The finest lubricant ever offered by the
marketers of signal the famous Go Farther gasoline, and naturally,
(24:23):
Signal Premium has one hundred percent pure paraffin base. But
in addition, it contains scientific compounds that make Signal Premium
do what oil alone could never do. One of these compounds,
for instance, actually cleanses your motor of varnish gum or
carbon that may already be there. Another compound protects against
costly bearing corrosion, and still other compounds help in other
(24:47):
important ways to keep that light new performance in your motor.
So if you want to keep wear down when the
temperature's up, now's the time to stop at a signal station.
Change to the improved type pype oil that does so
much more than just lubricate signal premium compounded motor oil.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Well, Jessica, your ledger is balanced out nicely, hasn't it.
Joe Arnold, the writer whose novel was a convenient means
of blackmailing you, was dead and his manuscript is destroyed.
Tool Mark Harris, the one man who could have betrayed
your secret, is also dead, and Lieutenant Hennigan of homicide
seems convinced that your story of killing Mark in self
(25:38):
defense is true. The next morning, you make the trip
to police headquarters for the routine investigation. Lieutenant Hennigan promised,
I won't.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Keep you along, Miss Monroe. Everything seems to peace out. Okay,
this gun. You shot Harris with your gun?
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Yes, yes, it's my gun.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
How long have you heard it?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Well, I've had it for some time.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
I never expected the gun's been in your personal possession, yes,
at all times. Okay, Now tell me again, exactly what
did you see, Miss Monroe, the night Joe Arnold was killed.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Well, I just happened in on the lieutenant on Mark
and Jenders. They were having a heated argument about something.
I don't know what. They were struggling. When I came
into the room, I called to them, but they didn't
hear me. And then Mark picked up a book end
and hit Joe. He fell did then mark' saw me
and threatened to kill me too if I came to
(26:34):
the police.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
And that's all you saw Mark hitting Joe with the
book nd that's all I saw. Now, That's what's so confusing.
But I think I see it all clearly now, Miss Monroe,
what do you mean Joe Arnold was hit on the head,
all right, but that isn't what killed him. But I
(26:57):
saw thing that killed Joe Arnold was a thirty eight
slug in the chest. Joe shot and he was shut off.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Fuck.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
He was trying to tell me that Mark.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Harris was also killed with a thirty eight slug in
the chest and both shots were fired from this gun.
Miss Monroe, your gun, the gun you say has been
in your possession at all times.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Let that whistle be your signal for the Signal Oil program.
The whistler each Sunday Night at this same time dropped
to you by the Signal Oil Company. Marketers have Signal
gasoline and motor oil and fine quality automotive accessories. Signal
has asked me to remind you to get the most
viving pleasure drive at sensible speed, be courteous, and obey
(28:04):
traffic regulations. It may save a life, possibly your own.
Featured into Night's story were Bill Foreman, Joan Banks, Bill Bouchet,
shep mankn and ed Max. The Whistler was produced and
(28:25):
directed by George w Allen, with story by Jack Leonard,
music by Wilbur Hatch, and was transmitted to our troops
overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
The Whistler is.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Entirely fictional, and all characters portrayed on the Whistler are
also fictional. Any similarity of names or resemblance to persons
living or dead is purely coincidental. Remember at the same
time next Sunday, another strange tale by the Whistler Marvin Miller,
speaking for the Signal Oil Company is the CBS, the
Columbia Broadcasting System
And now stay tuned for the program that has been
rated tops in popularity for a longer period of time
than any other West Coast program in radio history, The
Signal Oil Program, the Whistler Signal, the famous Go Farther Gasoline.
(00:29):
Invite you to sit back and enjoy another strange story
by the Whistler.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I am the Whistler, and I know many things. Or
I walk by die so many strange tales hidden in
the hearts of men and women who have.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Stepped into the shadows.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare
not speak.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
And now for the Signal Oil Company, The.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Whistler's Strange Story.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Jessica Jessica Monroe stared at the manuscript she held tightly
in her hands, the manuscript that had suddenly shrouded her
spacious office with ugly, threatening memories from the past. Until
(01:42):
that moment, the reputation of no member of the Monroe
family had ever been.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Questioned, not openly.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But there before her were vivid, venomous words, words to
shock the sensibilities of any reader. To Jessica Monroe, the
editor publisher of Monroe House, these words produced a cute challenge.
Slowly she closed the manuscript and faced the man who
had written the words, Joe.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Arnold, Why did you write this, Joe?
Speaker 4 (02:09):
For money? And because it's a great story. It'll sell
a hundred thousand copies if you'll publish it.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Do you really expect me to publish it? A story
written in poison and gore by an ingreat eye was
foolish enough to employ when no editor in town would
let him inside their office.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Maybe you made a mistake.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
You rifled the files of this office for what TECs
you have, and you've twisted them so that you've even
made my parents look bad, very bad.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
I bit the hand it fed.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Me, and again I ask why you wanted to.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Write a great story?
Speaker 5 (02:45):
Did you read it all?
Speaker 3 (02:46):
I read enough.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
If I were you, i'd finish reading it, Jessica, A
word for word, the entire manuscript. It might affect your
attitude toward it, all right?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
How much do you want for this manuscript, Jill?
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Well, as I see if there are two prices on
the manuscript, Jessica, there's one if you want to publish it,
and another if you want to suppress it.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I'm talking about publishing it.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Of course, you wouldn't dare it'll crucify you and your
family name. You better read the rest of it. We'll
have plenty of time to talk, and you'll need plenty
of time to think about how much this is worth
to you?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
How much time?
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Oh day, I'll be.
Speaker 5 (03:34):
Back tonight for an answer.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
I don't have to ask if you'll be here.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I'll be here fine.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
Oh and Jessica, you'll find this out as you read.
You're in that manuscript in a big way. So that's it, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
One of your employees, Joe Arnold, has written a novel
of your family, and Joe has featured you in the chronicle.
You sit there, stunned. After Joe leaves. It isn't anger,
you feel. It's more terror, isn't it, Jessica. Joe seems
to know a great deal more about you than your thought,
almost without knowing.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
If you pick up the.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Manuscript again, begin reading where you left off, searching for
further incidents from your past.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
You read on and.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
On, unaware of time, unaware too, that you have another visitor.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
Must be a best seller.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Oh, Mark, I was reading, Oh good for you?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Always meant to learn myself?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Mark? Did you want something important?
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Does a sales manager ever want anything important?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Oh, look, I'm not in much of a mood for games, Mark,
I say you're not.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
I'm quick that way. Okay, we won't play games, boss lady.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Ah, I'm sorry, Mark, I will.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
I know you were reading. That's what I came in.
Maybe you ought to buy it, Jessica, What do you mean?
Just that? If any manuscript can hold your interest this much,
it must be worth the asking price. But then that's
your business, Jessica, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I guess it is my business.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
You're glad when Mark closes the door behind him, Jessica,
and you turn quickly back to your reading of Joe
Arnold's manuscript. By evening, you've finished, shocked and numb by
what you've read. Joe hasn't missed a thing, has he, Jessica.
Your own doings and misdoings are vividly reported and twisted
in such a way as to bring discredit on your
(05:47):
father's memory, even your grandfather's. It's past closing time and
your employees have left the building Joe's footsteps, Jessica, you'll
have to come to a decision.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Had a few drinks to celebrate my victory, Jessica, have
you won a victory, Joe, how can I lose?
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Might well?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Sit down, be comfortable?
Speaker 6 (06:12):
Huh?
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Sure?
Speaker 6 (06:15):
Be sure?
Speaker 4 (06:15):
I won't figure either way. If you publish it, I
get money. If you don't, I get more money.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
I'm not going to publish it, Jill.
Speaker 5 (06:28):
Sensible decision.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I'm sure I suppose anything this contemptible comes high.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Let's keep it on a business basis.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I'll pay you fifteen thousand dollars for the manuscript and
all its copies.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Nice starting figure, fifteen thousand, say some more?
Speaker 3 (06:48):
All right? How much do you want?
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Fifty thousand and a piece of the business, maybe a
junior partnership.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
You must be out of your Mindin't.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
The reputation of a Monroe, especially if it's you with
the small piece of your fortune.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Before I'd let you commercialize this vindictive story, I'd kill you.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
That's your answer.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Get out of here. Don't you touch me?
Speaker 4 (07:13):
You here.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
You try to reach for the phone, but Joe stops you.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
In one desperate.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Movement, you free one hand or seize a bookend from
your desk and blindly wheel it. You stare down at him, Jessica,
and slowly the fury drains out of you. The shock
of the deed, replacing it. Joe lies there motionless. Convulsive
shiver runs through you. You move to feel his pulse,
(07:38):
listen for his heart beat, and just as you bend over.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
Him, you'd better let me help you, Jessica.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And last Thursday, the ten thousand dollars Signal gasoline car
test came to an end. Two weeks from tonight, if
professional judges of the Ruben h Donnelly Corporation have had
(08:06):
time to study all entries and reach their decisions, we
will announce on the whistler winners of the buick and
the next twelve prizes. All two hundred prize winners will
be notified personally, and a complete list of winners will
be posted at every signal station as soon as possible meantime.
Signal Oil Company wants to take this opportunity to thank
(08:27):
the many thousands of you who entered so wholeheartedly into
the spirit and fun of the contest. We regret there
couldn't have been a prize for each and every one
of you. However, if the contest has been instrumental in
acquainting you with your neighborhood signal dealer, your car has
acquired a valuable friend. You see, signal dealers are independent
(08:47):
business men with sufficient experience and genuine interest in cars
to invest their own money in the business of serving you.
We hope you'll give your signal dealer an opportunity to
prove how his conscience, your service, plus fine quality signal
products can help your car run better, look better, and
(09:07):
last longer.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
The whole thing seems like a nightmare.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Doesn't it, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Joe Arnold lies motionless on the floor of your office,
and beside him, the heavy book end you dropped after
you hit him on your desk is Joe's manuscript. Your
days dies move mechanically from Joe's still form to the
bookend to the manuscript, and they are bending over. Joe
is Mark Harris, your sales manager. You don't know how
(09:52):
much Mark saw you. Better let me help you, Jessica.
Those are the only words he's uttered till now gets up,
looks at you.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
His eyes expressions.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
I'll handle it from here, Jessica.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
I I didn't mean too much.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
I'll take it easy, Take it easy. Guess it's a
good thing you hit him instead of using that gun
of yours.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
How did you know I keep a gun.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
I saw it in your desk once. Sometimes I snoop.
I look, you're in a lot of trouble, but I'm
going to help you. The reason I'm going to help
you you'll find out later, but we're not going to
the police with this. Yes, Mark, now listen to me.
You'll go home now, just as if nothing had happened. Elliot,
the night watchman will let you out of the building.
You'll walk a block to the cab, stand, get in one,
(10:38):
go directly home and say nothing to anyone.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Do you understand, Yes, Mark, I understand.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
You'll go to your room, go directly to bed. Relax.
Even if you have to take a fistful of sedatives,
you'll think of nothing and do nothing. How do the
thinking and the doing from here on.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
In good, Mike, I don't know what you're going to do.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Start figuring it out. I'll call you later a drop
in after I've gotten rid of I'll leave now here.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Well, Jessica, Mark's sudden assertion of strength has you completely
in his power, hasn't it.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
You do just as he says, you.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Go home in a sort of hypnotic state. You do
take the sedatives, and just as you give in to
exhaustion and sleep. You tell yourself that this is all
a bad dream, that you'll awake to find Joe Arnold's
alive again. You do sleep, but a few hours later
you awake with a start, and the dream is not over.
The voices downstairs tell you that Mark has come and
(11:42):
is arguing with your butler about waking you. You hurriedly
dress and go down. Mark's face is grim as you
lead him into the library and close the door.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
You fixed him up pretty good, Jessicain, What shall I do?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Mark?
Speaker 4 (11:56):
Nothing, It's been done. I carried him down the back way,
put him in my car, and got away without the
watchman or anyone seeing me. I don't think they'll ever.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
Find him, But what will they think?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
That he's among the missing, that he disappeared tonight, vanished
into thin air?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
He was drunk tonight, you know.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
Yeah, that makes it better. If the cops asked me,
I'm going to say that he's probably in heaven or
the East River.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
But will they believe he just vanished?
Speaker 4 (12:23):
It's all I'll have to believe.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
It's not all I'll have to believe.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
No, why'd you hit him? Jesse?
Speaker 3 (12:31):
The manuscript? Mark? Is that a story about my family,
the Monroe's, most of the present generation me. It wasn't pretty.
I couldn't bear to have it told Joe's way. But
I didn't mean you.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
I think I remember you saying once that there were
too many writers in the world.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Well, maybe I did, but I didn't mean to that.
Joe's manuscript, that's the original. But they must be copies,
probably in joseph partment.
Speaker 4 (12:58):
All right, I'll get them. Oh, that's part of it.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Part of what.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Part of the deal I'm about to make you for
getting myself into this mess and you out of them?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Why are you doing it for a loan of.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Twenty five thousand dollars loan which I doubt that I'll
be able to pay.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
That it's loan. Do you ever intend to pay it back?
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Frankly, No, I'm the best book salesman in the country.
You owe me a raise.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
All right, Mark, I'll have the money for you tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow with all the copies
of Joe's messes.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Mark, I've got to know what did you do with Jill?
Speaker 4 (13:41):
What do they do with the dead burier? Where the
less you know right now, the better it is for me,
where Mark, where is my secret? Good night, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Well there it is, Jessica. Mark is disposed of Joe's body.
It cost you twenty five thousand dollars and you don't
know where Mark hid him the money.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Jessica.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
You wonder if it's just the beginning of the payoff,
but you're not in much of a position to ask
questions or get answers. The next day and all that
week you sit by and watch Mark manipulate the business
of Joe Arnold's disappearance with the police, the Missing Person's Bureau,
the office staff. Mark makes it very plausible that Joe
and an abinge disappeared, that he'll undoubtedly show up someday somewhere.
(14:33):
And everyone seemed satisfied, Jessica, except Lieutenant Hennigan from Homicide,
who's been snooping around the office quite a bit this
past week. And then one day the lieutenant comes to
you with a disturbing piece of information.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
Honors Landlady said he was writing a book, miss One.
You know anything about it, man, No, no, I don't.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Of course, Joe often worked at home on his book reports,
but I know nothing of a book of his own.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
Landlady seemed. The last morning she saw him, she warned
him to come home with a rent or get thrown
out on a wave the copy of a manuscript before
her eyes, and said he was going to see his publisher.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
That would be you.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
He may have said that, but he didn't come to
me with a lieutenant. I wondered who he took the
book too.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
That's what we're all funny. He wouldn't bring it to you.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Is it's strange?
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Well, don't worry, miss Monroe. We'll find him or his
books that disappeared in time. We find everyone, even some
people were not looking for Well, by the way, man,
you're not thinking of leaving town for any reason?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Man, No, I hadn't thought of it.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Well, just check with me if you do, will you?
What's the matter, Jessica? Don't you like the music?
Speaker 3 (15:54):
I don't like the way that told me to stay
in town?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Now forget it. That's what makes a cop a suspicious mind.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Maybe I should tell Lieutenant Hannigan everything.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
You don't trust me?
Speaker 3 (16:07):
I gave you twenty five thousand dollars, didn't I?
Speaker 4 (16:09):
But you're still not sure of me? Is that it?
Speaker 3 (16:12):
But it's hard to be Mark? I know nothing about me.
On the other hand, you know all about me.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
Will this help? I was born on a farm near Omaha.
I suspected you were born once And at twenty I
got sick of corn and wheat, and I went to
the coast. I picked oranges and I thought no war.
And then and then, oh, I was a press agent
for a circus, later a jazz band, and finally a
movie queen.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
What was the movie? Queen? Like?
Speaker 4 (16:40):
I like nothing? A lamp shade on her head and
a Cadillac on each foot.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You're a strange person, Mark, Still don't trust me, No,
no more than myself. With a murder between us.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
There's only a table between us now, Jessica. But let's
get it. If you're thinking I've got something to say
to you, I don't want to say here. You're right.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
You can't read my mind tonightmare, I haven't got one.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
I once saved a guy from drowning. I jumped into
the lake after him and ruined my best and only suit.
And when I got him into the shore and vibe him,
what do you think he did?
Speaker 3 (17:30):
Oh, it's your story.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
He busted me on the mall he was committing suicide.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Is there a moral to your story.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
M h, I should have fought a long time about
it before jumping in after him. Maybe you better think
some more before you tell the cops what happened to Joe.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Wow, this is an interesting side to your character.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
Mark, another brid alone. Here's another side to it. I'm
in love with you.
Speaker 5 (17:57):
What I don't mind.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Repeating, it's really necessary, But Mark, I'm in love with you.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
When did this romance overwhelm you?
Speaker 4 (18:12):
The day I came to work for you a year ago.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
If that's true, you've concealed it better than you think.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah, yeah, I concealed it all that You had a
million bucks and I had thirty cents. I was standing
in the earth looking at Venus. We were just about
the same distance support.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
And now you feel you can tell me why because you.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Know what I've done, Because now I have twenty five
thousand bucks and I'm in a different financial bracket. Mark
has surprised you, as me, Jessica.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
And when you arrive home that night, you're confused and
somehow even more troubled. You wonder if you can trust Mark,
or if his sudden admission of love for you is
part of the payoff too. Next day you see Mark
only once on business and there's no mention of his
love for you. Then late that night you're at home
trying to untangle your snarl thoughts. Suppose Mark does love you, Jessica,
(19:12):
what does it mean? But your thoughts are abruptly interrupted.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Me here Lieutenant Hennigan. Miss Monroe, Oh, yes, Lieutenant, I thought.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
You ought to know.
Speaker 7 (19:24):
We found what we were looking for.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
You found.
Speaker 7 (19:28):
What Joe Arnold found him in the East River. Mark
Harris must be sounding of a prophet.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
I see when did you find him?
Speaker 7 (19:39):
A couple of days ago. We've been running some tests
and we'll want you to come in in the morning,
Miss Monroe.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
There are some questions.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Oh, of course, Lieutenant, to.
Speaker 7 (19:49):
Make a ten o'clock will him?
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (19:51):
And Miss Monroe, yes, I think.
Speaker 6 (19:53):
You should know. Mark Harris will be here too, So.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
There'll be questions at the police station tomorrow morning, Jessica
and Mark will be there too. It's a tormenting thought,
isn't it? What Mark might say to Lieutenant Hannigan tomorrow
as the Lieutenant talked to Mark, and if he has
what has Mark told him?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
You move to call Mark?
Speaker 3 (20:22):
When yes, Hello, this is Mark.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Jessica has talked to you.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Yes, yes, you better get over here, Jessica quick.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
I've got something important to tell you. You leave the
house hurriedly.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Your cab makes one important stop before you go to
Mark's apartment, a stop at your office, Jessica, to take
your gun from its regular place in your desk.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
You're not certain you'll like what Mark has to say.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Your gun is insurance against that possibility. When you arrive
at Mark's apartment and he meets you at the door,
you instantly noticed that there's something different about him. The
way he looks, his manner, the way he treats you.
Mark has changed, Jessica. An unreal feeling sweeps over you
as you take a chair opposite him.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
I've been afraid this time would come, Jessica. I thought
about it a lot.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
You've thought about it. What have you decided to do.
Speaker 4 (21:21):
There's just one thing I can do. But before I
tell you what it is, I want you to understand
that I am in love with you, Jessica. Go on, Well,
when we see Lieutenant Hennigan in the morning, I'll have
to tell him the truth exactly what happened.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
Somehow I knew you'd say that to him.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
It wasn't easy to say, It wasn't easy to decide.
But I want you to know now that the devil
are you doing?
Speaker 3 (21:44):
You're not going to tell Hennigan or anyone the truth. Mark,
You're not. Don't use that you don't know what.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
You stare down at Mark, dead on the floor. No, Jessica,
Mark won't tell the truth of Joe's killing to Lieutenant
Hennigan or anyone ever. The very thought that Mark's lips
are forever sealed is comforting, isn't it, Jessica, A quiet
confidence overtakes you for the first time.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
You know exactly what to.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
Do and what to say.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
You go over to the phone and place a call
to police headquarters to Lieutenant Hennigan speaking.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
This is Jessica and Rowland Tenant.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
Oh yes, miss Marmew.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
You'd better come to Mark Harris's apartment immediately. He threatened me.
There was a struggle. I shot him, Lieutenant in self defense,
he did.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
M You know it won't take long for Lieutenant Hennigan
to arrive, and when he comes, you'll have your story
ready for him.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
You're composed, Jessica, quite sure of yourself.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
When the Lieutenant arrives, complete his examination of Mark's body.
You know that you must play very convincingly the role
of a woman who has recently defended her own life.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
How did it happen, Miss Monroe.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
He's been threatening me all along. I've been so afraid
of him. Tonight, when I told him I was going
to tell you the truth tomorrow, he came at me.
I knew he meant to kill me, so I shot him.
Speaker 5 (23:20):
I see, and what is this truth you were going
to tell me in the.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Morning that I saw Mark murdered Joe Arnold. I've lived
in fear of my life ever since then.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
We were pretty sure it was Mark Harris all along.
What we needed was a witness or something as incriminating. Well,
he won't threaten you anymore, Miss Monroe. You've gone home
to bed now, you've been through enough, thank our assertion.
Tomorrow morning, I'll just be routine. Will try to spare
you everything we can.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Because summer weather causes many motor oils to break down
and form harmful gum, varnish and carbon. I want to
tell you tonight about an improved type motor oil that's
specifically engineered to stand up under heat. Its signal premium
compounded motor oil. The finest lubricant ever offered by the
marketers of signal the famous Go Farther gasoline, and naturally,
(24:23):
Signal Premium has one hundred percent pure paraffin base. But
in addition, it contains scientific compounds that make Signal Premium
do what oil alone could never do. One of these compounds,
for instance, actually cleanses your motor of varnish gum or
carbon that may already be there. Another compound protects against
costly bearing corrosion, and still other compounds help in other
(24:47):
important ways to keep that light new performance in your motor.
So if you want to keep wear down when the
temperature's up, now's the time to stop at a signal station.
Change to the improved type pype oil that does so
much more than just lubricate signal premium compounded motor oil.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Well, Jessica, your ledger is balanced out nicely, hasn't it.
Joe Arnold, the writer whose novel was a convenient means
of blackmailing you, was dead and his manuscript is destroyed.
Tool Mark Harris, the one man who could have betrayed
your secret, is also dead, and Lieutenant Hennigan of homicide
seems convinced that your story of killing Mark in self
(25:38):
defense is true. The next morning, you make the trip
to police headquarters for the routine investigation. Lieutenant Hennigan promised,
I won't.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Keep you along, Miss Monroe. Everything seems to peace out. Okay,
this gun. You shot Harris with your gun?
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Yes, yes, it's my gun.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
How long have you heard it?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Well, I've had it for some time.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
I never expected the gun's been in your personal possession, yes,
at all times. Okay, Now tell me again, exactly what
did you see, Miss Monroe, the night Joe Arnold was killed.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Well, I just happened in on the lieutenant on Mark
and Jenders. They were having a heated argument about something.
I don't know what. They were struggling. When I came
into the room, I called to them, but they didn't
hear me. And then Mark picked up a book end
and hit Joe. He fell did then mark' saw me
and threatened to kill me too if I came to
(26:34):
the police.
Speaker 4 (26:35):
And that's all you saw Mark hitting Joe with the
book nd that's all I saw. Now, That's what's so confusing.
But I think I see it all clearly now, Miss Monroe,
what do you mean Joe Arnold was hit on the head,
all right, but that isn't what killed him. But I
(26:57):
saw thing that killed Joe Arnold was a thirty eight
slug in the chest. Joe shot and he was shut off.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Fuck.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
He was trying to tell me that Mark.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Harris was also killed with a thirty eight slug in
the chest and both shots were fired from this gun.
Miss Monroe, your gun, the gun you say has been
in your possession at all times.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
Let that whistle be your signal for the Signal Oil program.
The whistler each Sunday Night at this same time dropped
to you by the Signal Oil Company. Marketers have Signal
gasoline and motor oil and fine quality automotive accessories. Signal
has asked me to remind you to get the most
viving pleasure drive at sensible speed, be courteous, and obey
(28:04):
traffic regulations. It may save a life, possibly your own.
Featured into Night's story were Bill Foreman, Joan Banks, Bill Bouchet,
shep mankn and ed Max. The Whistler was produced and
(28:25):
directed by George w Allen, with story by Jack Leonard,
music by Wilbur Hatch, and was transmitted to our troops
overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
The Whistler is.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Entirely fictional, and all characters portrayed on the Whistler are
also fictional. Any similarity of names or resemblance to persons
living or dead is purely coincidental. Remember at the same
time next Sunday, another strange tale by the Whistler Marvin Miller,
speaking for the Signal Oil Company is the CBS, the
Columbia Broadcasting System
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