1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,200 Pet Milk Show, usually heard at this time, has moved to a new time period on Sunday nights. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:11,200 Be sure to hear Larry Douglas and Kay Armand on the new Pet Milk Show, tomorrow night on 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:12,200 NBC. 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:19,240 And now, here's another in NBC's great parade of new shows. 5 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:29,060 Gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. 6 00:00:29,060 --> 00:00:32,880 Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. 7 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:45,360 NBC brings you Dragnet. 8 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,280 You're a detective sergeant. 9 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,120 You're assigned to homicide detail. 10 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,520 A man's wife has suddenly dropped from sight. 11 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,040 On the surface, it appears only as a routine missing persons case. 12 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,120 People start to investigate. 13 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,520 Suspicion grows. 14 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,520 There is evidence of possible foul play. 15 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:10,240 Your job, find the woman or find her murderer. 16 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:16,840 Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime, investigated and solved by the men 17 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,880 who unrelentingly stand watch on the security of your home, your family, and your life. 18 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,760 For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will 19 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:31,040 travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official 20 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:32,720 police files. 21 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:39,060 From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force 22 00:01:39,060 --> 00:01:41,240 in action. 23 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:47,040 It was Wednesday, September 15th. 24 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:48,440 Was warm in Los Angeles. 25 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,200 We were working the day watch out of homicide. 26 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,120 My partner's Ben Romero. 27 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,280 The boss is Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives. 28 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:56,280 My name's Friday. 29 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,280 I was on the way back from lunch and it was 1256 when I got to room 42. 30 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:01,280 Homicide. 31 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:02,280 Hi, Joe. 32 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:03,280 I'm waiting for you. 33 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:04,280 Hi, Ben. 34 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:05,280 Al. 35 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:06,280 I hear you got something for us. 36 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:07,760 Here's a report right here. 37 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,080 Gardner by the name of Eric Kelby called in the day before yesterday. 38 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,320 Said his wife disappeared from their home out in the valley Sunday night. 39 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:15,880 Says he thinks she left him. 40 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:17,320 That happens every day, Bargetti. 41 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,320 Well, not this way it doesn't. 42 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:21,560 Waltz and I went out yesterday to interview the guy. 43 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:23,040 The story doesn't add. 44 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:24,040 Why not? 45 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:25,320 None of her clothes are missing. 46 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:26,320 None of her luggage. 47 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,480 She even left her pocketbook behind full of money. 48 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:33,520 Found out from the neighbors a missing woman is a 17-year-old boy by her former marriage. 49 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:34,520 So what? 50 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:35,520 An only child. 51 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:36,520 Mother dotes on the kid. 52 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,440 You shouldn't even say goodbye to him. 53 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,040 How did this Eric Kelby impress you? 54 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:42,680 Pretty grouchy with Waltz and me. 55 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:43,680 No cooperation. 56 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:45,640 Wants to find his wife, doesn't he? 57 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:47,440 I don't know if he does or not. 58 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,720 There's no help, I'll tell you that. 59 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,320 Can I see that report a minute now? 60 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:53,960 Here you are. 61 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,000 Magnus Trumbull Kelby, age 39. 62 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:58,240 Kelby's her second husband. 63 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,080 First one died a little after the boy was born. 64 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,720 Disappeared Sunday night from her home, 546 Belasco Road between 7 and 8 o'clock. 65 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:06,720 When did Kelby call him? 66 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:07,720 Monday afternoon. 67 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,800 Said he thought his wife might be spending the night with her sister. 68 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,480 When he found out she wasn't, called us. 69 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,120 Did you meet the boy while you were out there, Bargetti? 70 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,120 Yeah, that's another thing. 71 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,560 Kid came riding in on a bike while we were talking to one of the neighbors. 72 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,320 We tried to talk to him, but the old man came out hustling inside the house. 73 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:26,640 Then he starts eating us out. 74 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:27,640 What'd you see? 75 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:32,280 Told us it was our job to find his wife, not to go prying into her stepson's affairs. 76 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:33,840 That's a new slant. 77 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,480 How about her friends and relatives around here, Al? 78 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,480 Any besides her sister? 79 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:40,320 Walsh located a couple of her aunts. 80 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,600 Don't think he's checked them yet, though. 81 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,480 I'll tell you boys, this is one I'll bet on. 82 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:46,480 Maybe. 83 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,560 You got the names of Mrs. Kelby's relatives? 84 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:49,560 Oh, yeah. 85 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:51,560 Right over here. 86 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,000 Sure wish we had a chance to talk to that boy. 87 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Yeah? 88 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,200 How's it feel to you, Ben? 89 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,320 Hmm, I don't know. 90 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,120 Notice anything else funny about the guy, Al? 91 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:03,440 Uh, I don't know. 92 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:04,640 Here's those names, Joe. 93 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:05,560 Thanks. 94 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,200 Kelby was upset all right. 95 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:12,840 For some reason, he didn't strike me as reacting the way a normal guy reacts when his wife disappears. 96 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:14,960 All right, Al. How would you react? 97 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:16,520 Bargetti's worrying again. 98 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,000 Oh, now listen, boys, it's no fooling matter. 99 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,760 This is one I'll bet on. 100 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:21,760 It's a homicide. 101 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:22,760 All right. 102 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:24,760 How about a copy of this report? 103 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,520 Yeah, uh, where do I get the phone? 104 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:29,640 Missing persons Bargetti. 105 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:30,640 Who's that? 106 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,640 Oh, uh, yes. 107 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:34,640 Yes. 108 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:35,640 About why? 109 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:36,640 Oh, sure. 110 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:37,640 All right, son. 111 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:38,640 Four o'clock. 112 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:39,640 Yeah. 113 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:40,640 Goodbye. 114 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:41,640 That was Kelby's stepson. 115 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:42,640 What do you want? 116 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:43,640 Things to do. 117 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:44,640 I'm going to go. 118 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:45,640 I'm going to go. 119 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:46,640 I'm going to go. 120 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:47,640 I'm going to go. 121 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:49,040 What do you want? 122 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:55,200 Think something's happened to his mother. 123 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,960 In police work, missing persons detail is not a department separate in itself. 124 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:03,040 It is organized as a part of the Homicide Bureau. 125 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,820 According to Bargetti, who took the call, the boy said he suspected his stepfather and 126 00:05:06,820 --> 00:05:10,640 he didn't want him to know of any meeting between him and police officers. 127 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:14,560 He would meet the officers that afternoon at 4 p.m. in a restaurant on the corner of 128 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:16,840 Hollywood Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. 129 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:22,200 At 315, Ben and I left the office and drove out to the meeting place, the Dairyland Fountain 130 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:23,960 and Coffee Shop. 131 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,600 We arrived there at 345. 132 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:31,680 At eight minutes to five, the Kelby boy still had not arrived. 133 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:32,680 Youngster's not very prone. 134 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,680 Well, let's wait a little while longer. 135 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:36,680 Yeah. 136 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:37,680 Smoke? 137 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:38,680 Yeah, thanks. 138 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,680 Want some more coffee? 139 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:41,680 No, thanks. 140 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,360 I guess the boy isn't going to show. 141 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,200 I think something's happened. 142 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:53,440 Fifteen minutes after we left the coffee shop, we drove up in front of the gate of the Kelby 143 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:55,600 Nursery on Belasco Road. 144 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,480 The house itself was set well back on the property, which covered about four acres. 145 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,220 The entire nursery was surrounded by a six-foot steel wire fence and it looked like almost 146 00:06:03,220 --> 00:06:07,080 every available foot of ground inside was planted with some kind of a flower or shrub. 147 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:08,080 Kelby met us at the gate. 148 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:09,080 Yes? 149 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,080 What do you men want? 150 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:11,080 Police officers. 151 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:12,080 Are you Mr. Kelby? 152 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:13,080 Yes. 153 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:14,080 What do you want? 154 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:15,080 We'd like to talk for a minute. 155 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:16,080 We'd like to ask you a few questions. 156 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:17,080 I'm busy now. 157 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:18,080 Can't you come back tomorrow? 158 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:19,080 It's pretty important, Mr. Kelby. 159 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:20,080 I think we'd better talk right now. 160 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:21,080 All right, if you have to. 161 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:22,080 Red, giant, down. 162 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:23,080 You too, honey. 163 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:24,080 Quiet. 164 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:25,080 All right. 165 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:26,080 Now, what do you want? 166 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:27,080 Mind if we come inside? 167 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,080 These watchdogs of mine are pretty vicious. 168 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:31,080 We can talk here at the gate. 169 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:32,080 All right, Mr. Kelby. 170 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:33,080 This is Sergeant Romero. 171 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:34,080 My name's Friday. 172 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,080 We've been assigned to look into your wife's disappearance. 173 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:38,080 Did you find anything yet? 174 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:39,080 Nothing definite. 175 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:40,080 Maybe you can help us. 176 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:41,080 Would you tell us what you've found? 177 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:42,080 Nothing. 178 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,080 What do you mean, what happened? 179 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:50,080 Well, when did you last see her? 180 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,080 When did you first notice she was gone? 181 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:57,080 We finished up Sunday night dinner about seven o'clock, and I laid down for a nap. 182 00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,080 Agnes went out on the front porch for some air. 183 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,080 I woke up a little before eight and went outside to look for her. 184 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:03,080 She was gone. 185 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:04,080 Nobody saw her leave, Mr. Kelby? 186 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:05,080 Not that I know of. 187 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,080 Maybe some of our nosy neighbors. 188 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:08,080 I don't know. 189 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:09,080 How about your stepson? 190 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:10,080 Wasn't he around Sunday night? 191 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:11,080 Bruce? 192 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,080 No, went out to a show with some other kids. 193 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:15,080 When did he get back from the show? 194 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,080 About ten, I think. 195 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:18,080 Why? 196 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:19,080 Where's your stepson now? 197 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,080 Who are you looking for, my wife or my stepson? 198 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:22,080 Both, Mr. Kelby. 199 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:23,080 Where's your stepson? 200 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:24,080 Gone. 201 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,080 I took him over to my sister's in Alhambra. 202 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,080 Then feeling bad since his mother disappeared, figured the change would do him good. 203 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,080 Why did you take him over to your sister's, Kelby? 204 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:34,080 This afternoon. 205 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,080 What's that got to do with it? 206 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:37,080 We'd like to talk to Bruce. 207 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:39,080 No, no, I can't allow it. 208 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:40,080 The boy's too upset. 209 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:41,080 I can't allow it. 210 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,080 I'm afraid you're going to have to allow it. 211 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:45,080 Listen, mister, you can get off this property right now. 212 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:46,080 No cops giving me sass. 213 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:47,080 Nobody's giving you sass, Kelby. 214 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,080 We want to talk to your stepson, that's all. 215 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,080 He might give us a clue as to the whereabouts of your wife. 216 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,080 And I say you can't see the boy. 217 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,080 What's more, you cops couldn't find thorns in a rose patch. 218 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,080 I'll get somebody else to look for Agnes. 219 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,080 It's my business anyway, nobody else's. 220 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,080 It's our business too if anything's happened to her. 221 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:03,080 What are you talking about? 222 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,080 You better get your coat, Mr. Kelby. 223 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,080 We're taking in for questioning. 224 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,080 You come through that gate and I'm going to let these dogs go accidentally. 225 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,080 I'd hate to shoot the dogs. 226 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,080 Now go on the house and get your coat. 227 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,080 Eric Kelby turned and made his way up the path and into the house. 228 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,080 Five minutes later he came out. 229 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:24,080 Without a word to either of us, he came down the path, 230 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,080 closed the gate behind him and got into our car. 231 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,080 On the way back to headquarters, he chatted pleasantly about the weather, 232 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,080 the nursery business and his dogs. 233 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:34,080 When we pulled up in front of the city hall, 234 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:37,080 we met the reason for his sudden change in temperament. 235 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,080 His lawyer was waiting for us at the door. 236 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,080 We took Kelby to one of the interrogation rooms. 237 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,080 His lawyer tagged along. 238 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,080 We tried to question him, but the lawyer objected to two out of every three questions we asked. 239 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,080 It was hopeless and we knew it. 240 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:51,080 So did the lawyer. 241 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,080 We released Kelby, but we did get the name and address of his sister 242 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,080 where the stepson Bruce was staying. 243 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,080 After they left, Ben and I got back in the car 244 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,080 and drove out to Alhambra to check on the boy. 245 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,080 Forget he had this in peg right, Joe. 246 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:05,080 He's a real sleeper. 247 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,080 Yeah, I'd like to know how the stepson missed that date with us this afternoon. 248 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,080 Well, if the kid called us from the house, his stepfather could have overheard him. 249 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:13,080 It's possible. 250 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:16,080 Sister's house ought to be along this block, shouldn't it? 251 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,080 Yeah, let's see, 1408, 1406. 252 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,080 That is, Joe, a great cottage, 1402. 253 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:24,080 Right. 254 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,080 It's a nice looking little place, isn't it? 255 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:30,080 Well kept. 256 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:31,080 Yeah, it's a nice neighborhood. 257 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:35,080 I wonder how the lot prices run out here. 258 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:40,080 Somebody's coming. 259 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:44,080 Yes, what is it? 260 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,080 Police officers, ma'am. Are you Miss Kelby? 261 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,080 Bertha Kelby, yes, that's my name. 262 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:49,080 Why? 263 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,080 We talked to your brother earlier today, Miss Kelby. 264 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,080 He said that you brought his stepson Bruce here to stay for a while. 265 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:55,080 We'd like to see him. 266 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:56,080 Bruce? 267 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,080 Yes, he was here till about one hour and a half ago. 268 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,080 I went to the store and when I came back he was gone. 269 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:03,080 Have you any idea where he might be, Miss Kelby? 270 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,080 Well, I telephoned my brother Eric's place just before you came to the door. 271 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:07,080 He's not there. 272 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,080 I don't know where he might be. 273 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,080 I'm worried about him. He seems so upset. 274 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,080 It's business about his mother's disappearance, you know. 275 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,080 Would you mind if we came in and looked around, Miss Kelby? 276 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,080 Well, no, not at all. 277 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:23,080 We went in and looked the house over from one end to the other. 278 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,080 There wasn't a trace of the boy. 279 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,080 We drove back to Kelby's nursery and satisfied ourselves the boy wasn't there. 280 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:33,080 Then we came back to Al Hamburn and we kept an eye on Miss Bertha Kelby's home until midnight. 281 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,080 No one came or went. 282 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,080 At five minutes past midnight the lights went off in the living room 283 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,080 and a few minutes later in the back of the house. 284 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:44,080 The next morning when Ben and I checked in for work as usual at eight o'clock, 285 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,080 we met with Captain of Homicide, Frank Kearney. 286 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,080 What makes you two so positive there has been any foul play in this Kelby thing? 287 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:53,080 Well, it's just it, Cap. We're not positive. 288 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,080 It's the whole setup. It smells bad. 289 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:56,080 For instance? 290 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,080 That lawyer. If a man's innocent, he doesn't need a lawyer to sit with him in the interrogation room 291 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,080 and tell him not to answer questions. 292 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,080 Number two, that kid's telephone call. 293 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,080 Maybe he doesn't get along with his stepfather. 294 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,080 It happens, you know. Maybe he's trying to get back at him for something or other. 295 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,080 Maybe. Then why is Kelby hiding him out? 296 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,080 You're sure he's hiding him out? 297 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,080 No other way to take it, Cap. 298 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,080 The Kelby woman walked away from her home Sunday night. 299 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,080 Nobody saw her. She took nothing with her. No clothes, no luggage, no money. 300 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,080 You checked with the family doctor? 301 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,080 Yesterday. He told us Mrs. Kelby was in perfect health. 302 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,080 We double-checked the wanderer's file and the repeater's file and missing persons. 303 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,080 Couldn't find her name in either one. 304 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:33,080 How about her relatives in town? 305 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,080 Haven't had a chance to talk to them yet, Cap. We'll check them this morning. 306 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,080 Well, one thing's certain, the woman couldn't have gone very far. 307 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,080 We checked the sheriff's office, the jails, the hospitals. 308 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,080 Sent out a teletype and an APB. Every cop in the city has her description. 309 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,080 She's been gone almost four days, but nobody's seen her. 310 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:50,080 How does that add up to you? 311 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,080 It doesn't. You better move on it. 312 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,080 Check every one of Mrs. Kelby's friends and relatives. 313 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:56,080 Right, Frank. 314 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:57,080 Then try the neighbors. 315 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:01,080 As long as I've been a cop, neighbors have been able to tell everything about anyone. 316 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,080 All that day, Ben and I made the rounds. 317 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,080 First stop was the Western National Bank where Mrs. Kelby maintained her account. 318 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:18,080 Her saving statement showed a total balance of $31,564.17. 319 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:23,080 Her separate checking account had a balance of $842.71. 320 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:28,080 At the Farmers Mutual, we found the record of an insurance policy issued to Agnes Trumbull Kelby. 321 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:32,080 It was a 20-pay life policy covering the insured and the amount of $30,000. 322 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:36,080 The beneficiary was listed as the insured son, Bruce Trumbull Kelby, 323 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:38,080 if living upon the receipt of such due proof. 324 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,080 If not, the insured's husband, Eric J. Kelby. 325 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,080 By the time we finished checking her financial status, the odds were piling up fast. 326 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,080 From only casual reports, we knew that Eric Kelby was a frugal man. 327 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:53,080 If he was greedy as well, if he wanted or needed money badly enough to kill, 328 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:58,080 then he had all the motives necessary to murder his wife, maybe his stepson, too. 329 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,080 Ben and I started to make the rounds of Mrs. Kelby's friends and relatives. 330 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,080 Our first stop was at the apartment of Agnes Kelby's sister, 331 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,080 a talkative maiden lady in her early 60s. 332 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,080 Agnes just isn't that kind. 333 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,080 Oh, I'm worried sick about this. I really am. 334 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:16,080 And Bruce, the poor lad, he must be heart sick. And Eric, what does Eric say about all this? 335 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,080 He says he thinks his wife left him. 336 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,080 Left him? Why, that's ridiculous. How strange. 337 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,080 Can you think of any good reason why your sister would leave Mr. Kelby? 338 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:29,080 I? Why, no. They had tiffs, of course, small ones. 339 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,080 But of course there was that argument about Bruce. 340 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,080 The two of them always seemed to be arguing about Bruce. 341 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:35,080 How do you mean, ma'am? 342 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,080 Oh, well, raising the boy and all, you know. 343 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:43,080 Last time I talked to them, they were tipping about whether or not Bruce should be paid for working in the nursery for Eric. 344 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,080 And the strangest thing, Eric seemed to be so upset about it all. 345 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:47,080 Imagine. 346 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:52,080 All on account of paying the boy a few dollars for good, honest work in that silly nursery. 347 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,080 Well, you know, I'm the outspoken kind, and I just told Eric. 348 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:00,080 Eric, I said, don't be an old meanie. Pay the boy. 349 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,080 That was the extent of the information which Mrs. Kelby's sister had to offer. 350 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,080 Next, we called on an aunt, Mrs. James D. Trumbull, 83 years old. 351 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,080 She could hardly understand our questions, let alone answer them. 352 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,080 She hadn't seen her niece, Agnes, in a year. 353 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:18,080 After that, we paid a visit to one of Mrs. Kelby's friends, a Mrs. Lillian Humboldt. 354 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:23,080 Well, I'm sorry, Sergeant, but I can't think of any good reason why she would leave him. 355 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:27,080 Unless that silly business about Bruce got out of hand. 356 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,080 You know, maybe Eric is just a little jealous of the boy. 357 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:34,080 Next, we called on Daisy McLeod, who worked as a day maid for Mrs. Kelby. 358 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:39,080 Officer, what Mr. and Mrs. Kelby thought, what they said, what they did, it's none of my business. 359 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,080 I come in the morning, I do my work, I do it well. 360 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,080 I'm not the nosy type, and I don't pry. 361 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:51,080 I take half an hour for lunch, and when I'm through, I take my pay, and I don't expect tips, and I take the bus home. 362 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:56,080 I'm not the peeking through the keyhole kind, sneaking around corners listening. 363 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:00,080 But what I couldn't tell you about that man. 364 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,080 Exactly what do you mean, Miss McLeod? 365 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,080 Oh, he's a hard man, you know. 366 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:09,080 They're always arguing about the boy, Bruce this, Bruce that. 367 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:13,080 He's a nice boy, I think. He's never done anything to me. 368 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:17,080 Oh, but the arguments came on her all the time. 369 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:21,080 Should the boy be paid for working, shouldn't he? 370 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:24,080 Why? Why not all the time? 371 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:30,080 When Ben and I finished with a list of Mrs. Kelby's friends, relatives, and employees, we started out on the neighbors. 372 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,080 None of them saw Mrs. Kelby after 6 p.m. the night she disappeared. 373 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:39,080 Two of the neighbors said they saw the porch light burning after 7 p.m., but both said the porch was empty. 374 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,080 Mrs. Kelby was not sitting in her chair at the usual time after dinner. 375 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:44,080 According to them, that was one of her habits. 376 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,080 It was ten minutes to six by the time Ben and I got back to the office. 377 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,080 The light was still burning in Captain Kearney's office. 378 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:54,080 Old age, Joe. A lot of money. Yeah. 379 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:58,080 I wonder what the captain's hanging around for. Let's find out. 380 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,080 Get anything? Pretty good luck, Cap. 381 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:06,080 Good. I've got some more for you. Just walked in five minutes ago. 382 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:10,080 What do you mean, Frank? Who walked in? Bruce Kelby. He's waiting in the next room. 383 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:14,080 We went in the next room and met Bruce Kelby. 384 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:18,080 He was small for a 17-year-old, dark-haired, and a little on the sickly side. 385 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,080 He told us that he couldn't keep the date he made with us on the phone 386 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,080 because his stepfather apparently did overhear the conversation 387 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:27,080 and drove him directly to his sister's home in Alhambra. 388 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:31,080 We asked him why he was so sure that his stepfather was responsible for his mother's sudden disappearance. 389 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,080 For one thing, all three of us usually go to the early show on Sunday night. 390 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,080 Eric, Martin, and I. 391 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:42,080 But last Sunday, Eric said he wasn't feeling good and he wanted Mom to stay home and take care of him. 392 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,080 Then he told me to go on ahead to the show, so I did. 393 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:49,080 What time did you get home, son? About 9.30, quarter to 10. 394 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,080 What was your stepfather doing when you got home? 395 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,080 Sitting in the living room reading the paper. 396 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,080 Did you notice anything unusual about the way he acted? 397 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:58,080 He was nervous and jumpy, more than usual, I think. 398 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,080 Anything else? Yes, sir. 399 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,080 When I came in through the front yard, I noticed the dead man. 400 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:08,080 They'd been out somewhere in the nursery plots, and they won't go out unless Eric's with them. 401 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,080 He doesn't want them to trample the seedlings. 402 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:13,080 What would your stepfather be doing out in the nursery at night? 403 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:15,080 Does he usually do some work at night? 404 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:18,080 No, sir. None of the plots are even lighted. Only the greenhouses. 405 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:22,080 And the paths in the greenhouses are usually graveled, aren't they? No mud around. 406 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:26,080 It's my job to see that the greenhouse paths are kept graveled. 407 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,080 I know they're not muddy, but I'm sure they're not. 408 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:34,080 I fixed them the day before, Saturday. 409 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,080 What do you think it means, son? 410 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,080 I don't know. I don't want to think about it. 411 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,080 I just know he's done something. He's done something to her. 412 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:47,080 Did your stepfather give you any reason for keeping you away from the police officers the other day? 413 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:53,080 No, sir. He said people were getting nosy, and he said it might be better for me over at Aunt Bertha's. 414 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:54,080 She's his sister. 415 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,080 Do you think your Aunt Bertha might know where your mother is? 416 00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:00,080 No, we hardly ever see her. We don't know her well at all. 417 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:05,080 We've heard your mother and your stepfather argued about whether you should be paid for your work in the nursery. 418 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,080 When I started to work for him, he promised he'd pay me. 419 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,080 I was saving up to buy a 31 Model A. 420 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,080 And then after a couple of months, when he didn't pay me, I asked him. 421 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,080 He told me I ought to be glad to work for him for nothing. 422 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,080 And your mother argued with him over that? 423 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,080 Sure. It was her money that bought the nursery, anyway. 424 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:24,080 How'd you get away from your aunt's place like that? 425 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,080 Bertha had some shopping to do, and she left me alone. 426 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,080 She locked the door to my room. 427 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:34,080 Even the screen over the window in my room was nailed down, but I kicked it out and got away. 428 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,080 I stayed at a friend's house last night. 429 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:39,080 Thought about where you were going to stay tonight? 430 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,080 I don't know. But I'm not going home. 431 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:46,080 And I'm not going back to Bertha's place, either. I'll get a room. 432 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,080 How'd you like to stay at my house a few days? 433 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,080 Sure nice of you. 434 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,080 Maybe I'd better not. Mom might not like it. 435 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,080 Oh, I'll take care of that. 436 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,080 Now let's hop out and get some dinner. 437 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,080 Sure darn nice of you, sir. 438 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,080 All right, son. Come with me. 439 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,080 What do you think, Joe? 440 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,080 He could be lying. Yeah. 441 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,080 Now what, Cap? 442 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,080 Should we bring Kelby in again? No, not yet. 443 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:24,080 He's found out by now from his sister that the boy's gone. 444 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,080 He probably figures the police station is the first place he'd come. 445 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:29,080 Wouldn't do much good pulling him in now, Ben. 446 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:30,080 We couldn't even question him. 447 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,080 10 to 1, his lawyer would be waiting for us when we got back. 448 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:36,080 That's the problem. How do we get to this Kelby without his lawyer finding out? 449 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,080 Well, what about the early morning, Cap? Say tomorrow, about 5 or 6 a.m. 450 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,080 Think he'd be looking for us then? 451 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,080 Yeah, that might do it. 452 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:46,080 We can just get by the door and get some food. 453 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,080 That might do it. We can just get by that pack of hounds he owns 454 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,080 without waking the whole neighborhood. Might work. 455 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,080 If we could just question him alone, 456 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,080 I've got an idea it wouldn't take much to make him cop out. 457 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,080 All right, give it a try. 458 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:03,080 Get out there in the early morning and bring him in for questioning as quietly as possible. 459 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,080 I'll be in at 6 a.m. If you want me before then call me at home. 460 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,080 All right, Frank. 461 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,080 Kelby's got a smart lawyer. It's going to be plenty hard to convict him 462 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,080 without a body and corroborating evidence. 463 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,080 He's got four acres out there, Cap. 464 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:18,080 You can hide a lot of bodies in four acres. 465 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,080 Well, that's what I mean. This case isn't ending. It's just beginning. 466 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:30,080 The next morning, Ben and I met at the office about a few minutes past 4 a.m. 467 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,080 We had a cup of coffee and a donut at an all-night restaurant, 468 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,080 and then we started for the Kelby place out on Belasco Road. 469 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:40,080 We took four pounds of fresh horse meat with us to keep the dogs quiet if they raised a fuss. 470 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:42,080 It was 28 minutes past 4 when Ben pulled the car to a stop 471 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,080 a few hundred feet from the gate to the Kelby nursery. 472 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:54,080 We got out of the car and made our way down the road to the gate. 473 00:20:54,080 --> 00:21:00,080 I reached in and tried the latch. It was padlocked. The dogs started in. 474 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,080 Okay, Ben, looks like we'll have to jump the fence. 475 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,080 Toss some of that horse meat over to him. 476 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:06,080 Yeah, yeah, here. 477 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,080 That's it. Come on, let's climb. 478 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,080 Keep an eye on those hounds. Looks like they could chew your leg off. 479 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:13,080 Yeah. 480 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,080 Here comes a third one, Ben. Toss some more meat. 481 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,080 Yeah, there you are, boy. Go get it. Go get it, boy. 482 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,080 Look, Ben, light's going on in the house. 483 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,080 Come on, let's make it fast. 484 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,080 Who is it? Who's there? 485 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:26,080 I'll set the dogs on you. 486 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:27,080 Police officers, Mr. Kelby. 487 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,080 What? What are you doing out here this time of night? 488 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:32,080 You're under arrest, Kelby. Get your coat. 489 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:33,080 You cops are asking for a peck of trouble. 490 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:34,080 Get your coat. 491 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,080 Where's my stepson? What have you done with him? 492 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:37,080 What have you done with your wife? 493 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,080 You're going to pay for this. I'll have your jobs. 494 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,080 That's not the first time we heard that, Kelby. Let's go. 495 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,080 The light's burning in the captain's office. 496 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,080 Yeah. All right, Kelby, in here. 497 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,080 You'll pay for this, mark my word. 498 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,080 Ben, take him in the office here and stay with him. 499 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:02,080 I'll see if Frank's in yet. 500 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:13,080 Roger. Come on, Kelby, inside. 501 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,080 Friday, did you bring in Kelby? 502 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,080 He's down in the interrogation room. Ben's with him. 503 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:18,080 Somebody saw you. 504 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:19,080 Don't think so. 505 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,080 They must have. Kelby's lawyer's sitting in the next room. 506 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:28,080 Kelby again refused to answer any questions without the advice of his attorney. 507 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:29,080 We released him. 508 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,080 That day, Captain Kearney sent out two men to keep an eye on the nursery 509 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,080 and report on all of Kelby's movements. 510 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,080 Shortly after seven o'clock that night, just after nightfall, 511 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,080 we tried once again to bring in Kelby for questioning without his lawyer's knowledge. 512 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:41,080 It didn't work. 513 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,080 A little after we booked him, his lawyer obtained a writ of habeas corpus. 514 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,080 We had to release him again. 515 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,080 The two men assigned to stake out the Kelby place reported to the police. 516 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,080 We had to release him again. The two men assigned to stake out the Kelby place reported definitely 517 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,080 that somebody was tipping the lawyer whenever unknown visitors showed up at the nursery 518 00:22:56,080 --> 00:23:00,080 and drove off with Kelby. There was nothing we could do about it. 519 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,080 The next morning, Kearney came up with a lead. 520 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,080 I had a long talk with the boy last night. 521 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:07,080 Accidentally, I think he's given us a pretty good lead. 522 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:08,080 Yeah? 523 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:10,080 There's only one way we'll ever get a conviction. 524 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:13,080 That's by finding the body and evidence to tie Kelby in. 525 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,080 Yeah, that'll do it. Where do we start looking? 526 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:19,080 In a new rose bed next to one of the greenhouses in Kelby's nursery. 527 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:20,080 Hmm? 528 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,080 The kid came up with it last night. 529 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,080 How come? 530 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,080 First, Kelby's crazy about saving a dollar and making one. 531 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,080 Yeah. 532 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,080 In the nursery trade, especially where you have a limited area to work in, like Kelby, 533 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,080 you cultivate every foot of ground. 534 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,080 Every bit of soil you've got is planted with something. 535 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:36,080 Mm-hmm. 536 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,080 Kelby's not the type to waste anything. 537 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:42,080 Especially, he's not the kind that would let ground life follow when he could plant something 538 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,080 that might bring in a few dollars next season. 539 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:48,080 Bruce tells me his stepfather has every inch of those four acres planted. 540 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:49,080 Every inch. 541 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:53,080 Except a six by nine foot plot of ground in that rose garden. 542 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,080 Oh, that sounds like a long shot to me, Frank. 543 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:59,080 The boy said he prepared that piece of ground for planting late Saturday afternoon. 544 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,080 His stepfather wanted it ready for Sunday morning. 545 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:04,080 The plot of ground's still vacant. 546 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,080 I'd have planted it yesterday, Cap. When's the last time you checked? 547 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,080 Before I came to work this morning. 548 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,080 I called the men on stake out next to the nursery. 549 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,080 They told me the plot's still empty. 550 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:16,080 Mm-hmm. It's worth a chance, Frank. When do we look it over? 551 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:17,080 Tonight. 552 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,080 I don't want Kelby or his lawyer to know a thing until we find that body. 553 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:22,080 Well, how are we gonna work it? 554 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,080 We'll order up a crew from the crime lab. 555 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,080 They can take probings through that plot and all around it. 556 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:31,080 They can tell us without any guesswork how deep that ground's been worked over lately. 557 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:32,080 When do you want to start? 558 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,080 Be here in the office at 8.30 tonight. 559 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:44,080 If my hunches are any good, we'll find a body. 560 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:48,080 It was ten minutes past nine that night when we got to the Kelby place. 561 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:53,080 Lieutenant Lee Jones and his assistants, Kearney, Ben, and two other men from homicide. 562 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:57,080 The men on stake out told us that Kelby had left about 20 minutes before in a dark blue coop. 563 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:01,080 Ben brought along the usual supply of horse meat for the dogs so we didn't have any trouble there. 564 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:10,080 We found the empty plot of ground on the rosebed next to the greenhouse exactly as Bruce described it to Kearney. 565 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,080 The ground's been worked over all right, boys. At least four to five feet down. 566 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:17,080 All right, Lee, let's start digging. Romero, take care of the dogs. 567 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,080 Watson, grab one of these shovels. 568 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:20,080 Right, Captain. 569 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,080 Hey, Kelby said these dogs were vicious, didn't he? 570 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:23,080 Yeah, why? 571 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:27,080 Look at these hounds. They're no more vicious than a lively colo. 572 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,080 Higgins, get that light over here, will you? 573 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:30,080 Thanks. 574 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:31,080 What is it, Lee? 575 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:35,080 Let me see. Teeth. A set of false teeth. 576 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:36,080 Been in the ground long? 577 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,080 Don't think so. Judging from the shape they're in. 578 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,080 How far down would you say you are, Lee? 579 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,080 A couple of feet. The ground's real soft. 580 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,080 Lee, come here a minute. 581 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,080 What is it? 582 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,080 The body. Here's the shoulder. 583 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,080 All right, you men over here with Watson, get the dirt off the face. 584 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,080 Romero, you got a picture of the Kelby woman? 585 00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:59,080 Yeah, Captain. Let's see. I'll get it. 586 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,080 Thanks. Get the light down here. 587 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,080 Aren't you paid off, Frank? That's her. 588 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:17,080 Ben and I went back to the car and notified communications to broadcast a want for murder on Eric Kelby. 589 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:23,080 His description, together with the description of the car and license number of the car he was driving, was rebroadcast every 15 minutes. 590 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:27,080 Then we went back to check the house. We found the front door unlocked. 591 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:32,080 We went inside and looked around. In one bedroom we found clothes scattered over the bed and the floor. 592 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,080 There was only one old suit remaining in the closet. 593 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:38,080 On the table next to the bed we found an airline's timetable. 594 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:47,080 We got to the phone and notified communications to alert all police details at railroad stations, bus terminals, and airlines, and then to send out an APB on the teletype. 595 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:49,080 After that we checked with the airlines. 596 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:53,080 One of them told us that a man answering Kelby's description had booked passage for Mexico City. 597 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:59,080 The plane was scheduled to take off at 10.40 that night from Burbank Airport. Ben's watch said four minutes past ten. 598 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:04,080 We called the detail at the airport and alerted them. Then we drove over to check in person. 599 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:12,080 It was 10.35 p.m. when Ben and I took up our positions just inside gate three where passengers were boarding flight 72 for Mexico City. 600 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,080 He's cutting it close, Joe. Got about four minutes more to make that plane. 601 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:20,080 We waited. The crowd got thicker as departure time came closer. 602 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:26,080 At 10.39, Eric Kelby came through the main entrance across the terminal through gate three into a pair of handcuffs. 603 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,080 I don't understand. What does this mean? 604 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,080 We found your wife's body, Kelby. 605 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,080 What? I don't know what you're talking about. 606 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:37,080 In the rose patch next to the greenhouse. Your lawyer can't help this time. 607 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:41,080 Mexico City would have been a nice trip. Expensive. 608 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,080 I'll plead insanity. I didn't know what I was doing. 609 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:48,080 Be a nice vacation next year, Joe, Mexico City. I'm going to talk to my wife about it. 610 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:52,080 I didn't mean it. She slapped me. We were arguing about the boy. I didn't mean it. 611 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,080 I don't know if you did or not, Kelby, but you killed her. Come on. You missed your plane. 612 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:15,080 The story you had just heard is true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. 613 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:19,080 Eric Kelby was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. 614 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:24,080 He is now awaiting execution in the lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary. 615 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:35,080 You have just heard the 14th in a new series of authentic cases transcribed from official files. 616 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:42,080 Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the office of W.A. Wharton, acting chief of police, Los Angeles Police Department. 617 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:49,080 Tonight's program is dedicated to William J. Weston, Jr. of the Washington, D.C. Police Department, 618 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:57,080 who on the evening of March 4, 1945, gave his life so that yours might be more secure. 619 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:07,080 Dragnet came to you from Los Angeles. 620 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:13,080 If you enjoyed tonight's production of Dragnet, you'll want to listen to Richard Diamond, private detective, 621 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:19,080 as played by the screen's romantic tough guy, Dick Powell. 622 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:27,080 The Pet Milk Show, usually heard at this time, has moved to a new time period on Sunday nights. 623 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:35,080 Be sure to hear Larry Douglas and Kay Arman on the new Pet Milk Show tomorrow night on NBC. 624 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:49,080 This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.