Dark Journey

TRUMAN BRADLEY:  And now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, made in California for 
enjoyment throughout the world, Roma Wines present... 

MUSIC: SUSPENSE ACCENT AND THEME

ANNOUNCER: Suspense! Tonight Roma Wines bring you Miss Nancy Kelly and Miss 
Cathy Lewis in "Dark Journey," a Suspense play produced, edited, and directed 
for Roma Wines by William Spier.  

MUSIC: UP AND OUT

TRUMAN BRADLEY: Suspense! Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills is presented 
for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines, those excellent 
California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live, to 
your happiness in entertaining guests, to your enjoyment of everyday meals. 
Yes, right now, a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you 
Nancy Kelly and Cathy Lewis in the premiere of Lucille Fletcher's radio play 
for two actresses, "Dark Journey" -- tonight's study in... 

MUSIC: SUSPENSE ACCENT 

ANNOUNCER: Suspense!

MUSIC: FADES

SOUND: TRAIN WHISTLE

MUSIC: SOMBER, IN BG

ALICE: (NARRATES) Today I am going on a journey.

I am going to see Ann Brody again after fifteen years.

When the news came yesterday, terrible as it was, it was as though a shadow 
had lifted from my life. A secret horror that I could never quite forget. 

I have been afraid of Ann Brody now for fifteen years.

But there is no need to be afraid of her any more. 

SOUND: TRAIN WHISTLE, TO FILL A PAUSE

ALICE: (NARRATES) Ann's secret has been locked in my heart together with all 
shameful, horrible things. Yet I have never gone on a journey like this one 
but what it comes back. There've been times when I couldn't bear the whistle 
of a train, flung out long and mournful over the lonely countryside. I 
couldn't bear the smell of a day coach, the feel of the plush seats, the 
rattle and bustle -- only because everything came back. Every detail of that 
long and terrible weekend we spent together, fifteen years ago.

SOUND: TRAIN NOISES ... BELL AND WHISTLE AND ENGINE

CONDUCTOR: All aboard!

SOUND: TRAIN CHUGS OUT OF STATION ... TRAIN IN BG

ANN: Oh, Alice! Alice, we're off!

ALICE: Thank goodness!

ANN: I don't think anybody saw us. Do you?

ALICE: No. Uh uh. Only old Mister Hodges, the stationmaster, and he's no 
gossip.

ANN: I wouldn't want anybody to know. Not that I care, but - you know how the 
tongues wag in this town.

ALICE: Well, it's much better to be perfectly sure of your plans before you 
pass the word around. Then, if you and Clyde don't settle things, then 
nobody'll be any the wiser.

ANN: (LAUGHS) IF we don't settle things?! Well, there's no "if" about it. But 
Clyde and I are practically engaged.

ALICE: Did you get his letter yet about us coming to New York?

ANN: Uh huh.

ALICE: Well, for goodness sake, why didn't you tell me? What'd he say?

ANN: Oh -- nothing much. He's - he's no letter writer. Just that he was glad 
and that he's been busy and - he's going to call us at the hotel.

ALICE: Oh? He can't meet us at the train?

ANN: No. Uh, it seems it's his mother's birthday and he promised to take her 
to lunch in town. We'll be getting in just around that time; he's - terribly 
devoted to her, you know; has been, ever since his father died.

ALICE: Oh, I see. (BEAT) You're very much in love with him, aren't you, Ann?

ANN: Terribly.

ALICE: And yet you really see him so little. How long has it been now, three 
months?

ANN: Three months and six days. But it doesn't really matter. 

ALICE: No?

ANN: I know Clyde loves me and I love him. There's a bond between us. And 
nothing will ever break it.

ALICE: Well, as long as you feel that way, it's a wonderful way to feel. But I 
don't think you ought to let it drag on like this much longer, Ann, I really 
don't.

ANN: (LAUGHS) Oh, don't worry. We'll settle it this time, once and for all. 
You'll see. When we get on this train again, I'll be wearing his engagement 
ring on my finger!

SOUND: TRAIN WHISTLE, FOR PUNCTUATION

MUSIC: FOR TRANSITION, THEN OUT

SOUND: CITY CLOCK STRIKES THREE IN BG AS HOTEL WINDOW RATTLES OPENS

ALICE: (STRUGGLES WITH WINDOW) Oh! Doesn't anybody ever open a hotel window?

SOUND: CLOCK FINISHES STRIKING, CITY TRAFFIC NOISE IN BG

ANN: (WORRIED) Three o'clock! You'd've thought he'd've called me by now.

ALICE: Oh, he's probably tied up with his mother. Come on, let's go down to 
the drug store and have a sandwich. Aren't you just starved?

ANN: No. No, I - I don't feel hungry. You go, though. I'll wait.

ALICE: Oh, come on. The clerk'll take the message for you.

ANN: No. No, I - I want to be here myself.

ALICE: Well, why don't you call HIM?

ANN: I can't! If he's at a restaurant--

ALICE: Well, maybe he didn't go. Maybe he's home sick or - or at the office.

ANN: No! No, it wouldn't look right. (DETERMINED) He's got to call ME! 
(WORRIED AGAIN) I - I - I don't know why he doesn't.

ALICE: Well, I don't know why either. 'Fact, why couldn't we ALL have had 
lunch together at that restaurant? I mean, he - he's not exactly poor, is he? 
(NO ANSWER, SIGHS) Don't you want to take a bus ride or see the sights or 
anything?

ANN: Later, Alice. After he's called.

SOUND: PHONE RINGS, RECEIVER PICKED UP ON FIRST RING

ANN: (INTO PHONE) Hello?! ... Yes. ... Oh, yes, this is Miss Ann Brody. ... 
What? ... He - he left a message? ... (DISSAPOINTED) Oh. Thank you.

SOUND: RECEIVER HUNG UP

ALICE: What is it? 

ANN: He - stopped by and left a message. He has a previous engagement. A 
previous engagement! When he KNEW I was coming to New York this weekend only 
to see him!

ALICE: Well, maybe it was something he couldn't get out of. Maybe on account 
of his mother's birth--

ANN: But he already gave her today! And, after all, he KNEW I was coming! He 
KNEW I'd want to be with him every possible minute! (ON THE VERGE OF TEARS)

ALICE: (CANDID) Maybe that's the trouble, Ann. Maybe he doesn't want to be 
pinned down. Maybe you expect too much.

ANN: But he was right here in the hotel and he didn't even--! Oh! He's grown 
away from me. He's not mine any more. ... Alice -- Alice, you know what Clyde 
has meant to me these three years. How I've lived for him and worshipped him. 
It's-- Oh, it's just as though my - my world had been cut away. It's like - 
It's like having a lump of ice for a heart. Alice, Clyde IS my heart. Oh, I - 
I've got to see him! I've got to tell him!

ALICE: (SYMPATHETIC) Oh, Ann - dear, wouldn't you like to lie down?

ANN: No! No, I can't lie down! I'm - going to sit here in - in this chair by 
the window. I - wish you'd go, Alice. I want to be quiet. And think and think 
about him. 

ALICE: Ann, I wouldn't.

ANN: Something's happened to him. There's some barrier. I've got to wish it 
away. To break it down.

ALICE: What are you talking--?

ANN: I can do it, you know.

MUSIC: SNEAKS IN BG

ALICE: Ann--

ANN: Please go. Please.

MUSIC: BUILDS TO AN ACCENT ... THEN A TRANSITION

SOUND: CITY CLOCK STRIKES NINE IN BG

MUSIC: FADES OUT

ALICE: (YAWNS LOUDLY) Oh, my gosh. Don't tell me it's nine o'clock. I didn't 
mean to sleep so late. We'd better get up and get breakfast.

ANN: Alice. Alice, what am I gonna do? What am I going to do?! He hasn't 
called me! I haven't slept!

ALICE: Why don't you call HIM, Ann? Call him and have it out with him once and 
for all.

ANN: No. No, I - I couldn't.

ALICE: Well, maybe there's something bothering him. Maybe it's some family 
situation. After all, his mother didn't have lunch with you yesterday. Maybe - 
maybe there was a reason.

ANN: What reason could there be except that SHE didn't WANT to meet me? She 
doesn't want him to marry anybody. She wants him all to herself.

ALICE: Well, isn't that enough to upset any fellow? Oh, come on -- we'll get 
to the bottom of this thing. What's his number? I'll get it for ya. 

SOUND: ALICE WALKS TO PHONE, PICKS UP RECEIVER

ANN: I - I haven't his number. I never called him at home. But his address is 
Three-Two-Five-Four Sunset Drive, Riverdale, New York.

ALICE: Three-Two-Five-Four Sunset Drive, Riverdale, New York ...

SOUND: ALICE RATTLES PHONE FOR OPERATOR

ALICE: (INTO PHONE) Hello? ... Hello, Operator? This is Room Three-Five-One. 
We want to put in a call to Riverdale, New York. Uh, Three-Two-Five-Four 
Sunset Drive, Riverdale, New York. ... Uh, the name is Dexter, Mister Clyde 
Dexter. ... Will you get it for us, please?

ANN: What did she say?

ALICE: She's looking it up. ... There it is. She's ringing. ... Here, you 
better take it now.

ANN: Oh, no. No, just one minute. One minute. Let me get my breath. Let me 
think of what I'm going to say. ... (INTO PHONE) Hello? Is this the Dexter 
residence? ... This is Miss Ann Brody speaking, I wonder if I might speak to 
Mister - Clyde Dexter, please? ... Thank you. ... Clyde? Oh, Clyde, this is 
Ann. ... Oh, I'm - I'm fine, thank you. ... Oh, Clyde, I've been waiting here 
at the hotel for you to call and - Alice and I have to spend the morning out 
and we thought we'd better let you know we wouldn't be in, just in case you 
wanted-- ... Oh, yes, Clyde, I - I know you said you had a previous 
engagement, but I thought-- ... Well, you see, Clyde, I'm only going to be 
here today and - we get to see each other so little, I was wondering-- ... 
What's that, Clyde? ... Yes. ... Yes. ... Well, no, I - I didn't. What did you 
say, Clyde? I didn't understand. ... You what? You--? ... Oh, Clyde. Oh, 
Clyde, it's not true! It - it can't be! ... But, Clyde, we--! ... But, Clyde, 
you can't do this to me! I - I considered myself engaged to you!

ALICE: Ann-- Ann, give me that phone.

ANN: No. Oh, no. I just want to say good-bye to him. Please--

ALICE: (FIRMLY BUT GENTLY) No!

SOUND: ALICE HANGS UP THE PHONE

ALICE: Ann, don't - don't look that way. What did he say?

ANN: He told me he's engaged to marry a New York girl, this September. 

ALICE: Oh, Ann. Well, he - he just isn't worthy of you. He couldn't have been 
if he treats you like this now.

ANN: (PLAINLY) I love him. (CRYING) I love him! I'll love him till the day I 
die! (WEEPS)

ALICE: Ann, I'm - I'm sorry. I'm--

ANN: (IN TEARS) Oh, please, Alice, please. Don't talk! Don't come near me! Oh, 
go away, will ya, just for a little while?  

ALICE: Oh, no, I won't leave you. I can't leave you when - when you look like 
that--

ANN: JUST GO AWAY, I SAID! Aw, d'ya hear me? Go away, I wanna be alone! I want 
you to go away. I - I have work to do.

ALICE: Work to do?

ANN: (SUDDENLY RESOLVED) I'm - I'm gonna WILL him to come back to me. I'm 
gonna MAKE him come to this hotel - through Heaven and Hell - and their 
dragging him away from me!

ALICE: Oh, Ann--

ANN: I can do it! I've done it before. I've MADE him write to me. I've MADE 
him call me up out of a clear sky after months and months. I willed him to 
speak to me the very first time I saw him, when he was just a stranger. I 
willed him to give me his fraternity pin last year at the spring dance -- and 
I can do it! I can do it! ... If only I try hard enough and - and if you're 
absolutely quiet. (AFTER A PAUSE, TRANCE-LIKE) ... Clyde. ... Clyde. ... 
(EXHALES) It's no use. He's too far away. Huh. I'll have to come closer to 
him. (ABRUPTLY, TO ALICE) We're going out!

ALICE: Going out? Where to?

ANN: To Riverdale.

ALICE: Riverdale?

ANN: I want to look at his house. To see where he lives. There's something 
there. Someone who's holding him back. 

ALICE: Ann. Let's go back to Denford. Let's take a train tonight - any train - 
and get out of here for good.

ANN: No, I can't go home. I told you that before. I can't until I have his 
engagement ring on my finger!

MUSIC: AN ACCENT TO FINISH "ACT ONE" ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER: For Suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you Nancy Kelly and Cathy 
Lewis in "Dark Journey" by Lucille Fletcher, Roma Wines' presentation tonight 
in Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills, Suspense. 

MUSIC: AN ACCENT; THEN OUT

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MUSIC: THEME, IN BG

ANNOUNCER: And now, Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage Cathy 
Lewis as Alice, and Nancy Kelly as Ann, in "Dark Journey," a play well-
calculated to keep you in... Suspense!

MUSIC: AN INTRODUCTION, THEN FADES DURING FOLLOWING: 

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS ON SIDEWALK ... RIVERDALE CLOCK STRIKES SIX IN BG 

ALICE: It's getting dark. I don't think we ought to be wandering around here 
like this. There might be strange men and--

ANN: Here's the street. Sunset Drive. And there's the house. I've seen 
pictures of it. I'd - I'd know it anywhere. (OVERCOME WITH EMOTION) Anywhere.

ALICE: Oh, Ann, please. This is doing you no good.

ANN: Oh, hush. I've dreamed about that house -- dreamed of myself and him 
living in it together. I've dreamed of our children playing on that lawn and 
the sound of music inside and our car standing outside.

ALICE: But it wouldn't mean a thing to you, Ann, if Clyde didn't love you.

ANN: I've dreamed of the years we'd spend together. Why, I - I even named the 
children. Clyde, Junior - and Peter and - Charlotte. That's his mother's name; 
I never liked it but - I was going to call one child that just to please him! 
And now-- (BREAKS DOWN AND WEEPS) What have I got? Nothing! Nothing! It's 
gone!

ALICE: Come on. Come on with me, Ann. 

ANN: Oh, there's a light - going on upstairs. Do you suppose it's HIS room? I 
wonder if he's home. (AFTER A PAUSE, TRANCE-LIKE) ... Clyde. ... Clyde. ... 
Think of me. ... Come back to me. ... Oh, love me, Clyde! ... Love me! ... 
LOVE ME! (WEEPS)

ALICE: Don't, Ann, don't. Somebody might hear you.

ANN: Oh. A shadow at the window. Oh, it's Clyde. Oh, no. No, it's someone 
else. It's a woman. A gray-haired woman. Why, it's his mother, Alice. Clyde's 
mother.

ALICE: I don't think he's home, Ann. Let's go back to the hotel.

ANN: No! (DARKLY) No, I want to see her. I've heard so much about her; she 
always turned her nose up at me. He never admitted it, but I knew! He was the 
only son and she thought there wasn't anybody good enough. And - and he was 
always under her influence; just believed everything she said. I could tell, 
the way he talked. It was always, "Mother says this" and "Mother says that." 
(SAVAGELY) I bet it was she who turned him against me! Who picked out that - 
that - New York girl!

ALICE: Oh, Ann, please, come on. You're just tearing your heart out.

ANN: She's up in HIS room now. She's straightening HIS things. She's happy up 
there. She doesn't care that she's made ME miserable. Oh, I can feel it now, 
Alice. I can feel the barrier in my heart. 

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS OFF

ALICE: Sh! Somebody's coming. Let's go.

ANN: We're doing no harm. We can stare, can't we, if we wish? Come on. Come 
on, we'll walk past the house. We'll defy her! We'll go up and ring the bell 
and - and then when she comes down to answer it, we'll ask, "Is Mrs. Clyde 
Dexter at home?" And then when she asks us who we mean, we'll laugh in her 
face! (WEEPS)

ALICE: Oh, Ann, you're - you're just beside yourself.

ANN: Yes! I am! I am beside myself! Because I FEEL it, Alice! He's lost to me 
as long as SHE'S up there. Well, I can stand here, out here under the trees, 
trying to reach him with every bit of soul I possess but-- as long as SHE'S 
there--

MUSIC: SNEAKS IN BG

ANN: As long as she's alive, he'll never be mine again!

MUSIC: BUILDS TO AN ACCENT ... A TRANSITION, THEN OUT

SOUND: CITY CLOCK STRIKES NINE IN BG

ALICE: Ann. Ann, this is terrible. You've got to pull yourself together and 
get some rest. You've been sitting in that chair now for three hours.

ANN: Please. Don't talk. Just let me alone.

ALICE: (UNEASY) You're - you're working on that will power thing still, aren't 
you, Ann? (NO ANSWER) Ann, it - it makes me awfully nervous--

ANN: Be quiet! ... It's coming. Something's coming. Something's going to 
happen. I feel it, all around me!

ALICE: I'm gonna get a doctor, if you don't--

ANN: Sh! Sh! I feel it. I feel something.

ALICE: Why, you're just as white as a sheet. You're shaking all over. I - I 
absolutely refuse to let this go on, do you hear? Now, you - you get into bed!

ANN: No. 

ALICE: Let me take off your shoes--

ANN: No, no, no! Leave me alone! ... (QUIETLY ECSTATIC) It's as though there 
were a big lump being moved off my heart. As though the ice inside me were 
going-- As though I - I could cry at last. Oh, it's happened. ... Oh, thank 
you, God, thank you! ... All right. I'll lie down now. ... I'll go to sleep.

ALICE: If you could sleep, you'd feel better. If you'd just relax--

ANN: I've done it, Alice. You'll see. He'll be here in the morning. 

ALICE: You lie down now.

SOUND: PHONE RINGS ... ANN'S FOOTSTEPS TO PHONE

ANN: There he is! Didn't I tell you? There's Clyde now.

SOUND: RECEIVER PICKED UP

ANN: (PLEASED, INTO PHONE) Hello? ... Yes! Yes, this is Room Three-Five-One. 
... Yes, this is Ann Brody speaking. ... Yes. (TO ALICE, QUIETLY TRIUMPHANT) 
It's Riverdale calling. Riverdale! 

ALICE: (ASTONISHED) Clyde?

ANN: She didn't say. ... Oh. (INTO PHONE) Hello? ... Yes. Yes, I'm Ann Brody. 
... Why, yes, I am a friend of Mister Clyde Dexter. Who did you say this is, 
please? ... The - the police? 

ALICE: The police?

ANN: (INTO PHONE, WORRIED) Oh, something hasn't happened to Mister Dexter, has 
it? ... Oh. ... What? ... Yes. Yes, my friend and I were out to the house late 
this afternoon, around six o'clock. ... Why, yes, I - I did wear a white hat 
and a green dress and - and she wore-- ... Oh, but we took the subway, the 
White Plains express on the Interborough Line from our hotel. We came back 
around seven. We-- Well, we just walked past the house two or three times 
but-- ... Well, what's the matter? Why are you asking me these questions? No, 
I haven't seen him! I-- ... (STUNNED) What?!

ALICE: Give me the phone, Ann. Let me speak to them. You're in no condition to 
talk--

ANN: (TO ALICE) Keep away. You know what they're saying? Do you? That Clyde's 
mother has been murdered.

ALICE: What?!

ANN: (INTO PHONE) Oh, no. No, I haven't. ... Yes. ... No! No, we didn't. We 
just came right home. We didn't even ring the bell. ... Is Mister Dexter there 
with you? ... (DISAPPOINTED) I see. Well, I'd like to speak to him, please, 
when he gets through. Will you ask him to call me? ... Yes. We'll stay here in 
the room.

SOUND: HANGS UP PHONE

ALICE: Oh, Ann!

ANN: It was a hammer. At eight o'clock tonight. She was struck from behind by 
an unknown assailant. 

ALICE: Oh, how awful. Well, why did the police call us? What have we got to do 
with it?

ANN: Clyde - was home when we walked by the house. He saw us standing there. 
(SUDDENLY) I'm gonna tell him, Alice! I'm gonna tell him the truth!

ALICE: Truth? What truth?

ANN: (QUIETLY) There's always been that power inside me. I've known I had it 
and sometimes it frightened me. Things have happened. I've been afraid 
sometimes to use it. Afraid it would turn against me. And tonight it DID turn 
against me. 

ALICE: Ann, what do you mean?

ANN: "By an unknown assailant." Murdered, by an unknown assailant. You know 
who that assailant was? It was me! 

ALICE: Ann, are you crazy? You - you were up here in - in the room every 
minute.

ANN: I was up here in the room but I was wishing she were dead. I was willing 
him to come to me. I was trying to destroy the barrier.

ALICE: Why, surely, you can't believe that, Ann. It was - it was only a 
coincidence, a terrible coincidence.

ANN: I was trying to bring him back. To touch his heart. But the power didn't 
touch HIS heart. His heart's like steel against me. It - struck his heart and 
glanced off and struck her -- dead!

ALICE: Ann, please. You're talking like a lunatic.

ANN: But you don't understand. People like you CAN'T understand. People like 
you-- (PAUSE, EXHALES) But there's violence to will. To store it up takes 
years. To send it out of yourself is like - like sending a powerful hand, with 
fingers.

ALICE: (TRIES TO REASON WITH HER) Will can't kill somebody, Ann. Not pure 
will. The body is one thing; the mind's another. Mrs. Dexter is physically 
dead. Her heart stopped beating. There was a blow, somebody real, somebody 
human did that!

ANN: She was struck from behind. She was alone in the house. They said the 
doors were locked. She had no enemies. It came out of nothing. And it went 
away again. (IN AWE) Oh, I - I never dreamed-- I didn't want it to happen that 
way but - but it's getting beyond me. It's assuming forms and accomplishing 
ends I don't plan! It's - it's turning against me, Alice. Turning against me!

ALICE: Do you think a police court will believe you? You'll only confuse the 
testimony; you'll only hurt Clyde. (CONTEMPTUOUS) Will. Will! You talk about 
the power of your will! Did you have any REAL power these last two days? Did 
it bring Clyde to this hotel? Did it make him love you? Or even call you up?!

SOUND: PHONE RINGS 

ANN: (TRIUMPHANT) Yes! Yes! Yes!

SOUND: PHONE CONTINUES TO RING IN BG ... FOOTSTEPS TO PHONE

ALICE: Don't you touch it! I won't let you speak to him.

ANN: Get away from that phone, Alice.

ALICE: Do you want to get us in trouble? Do you want us to go to jail and 
spend weeks in court? He'd put you there! He wouldn't care!

ANN: Get away from that phone, Alice!

ALICE: I don't believe you, d'you hear?! I think you're mad! You're mad as a 
hatter!

ANN: Get away from that phone.

ALICE: No! ... (PLEADING BUT SLOWLY RUNNING OUT OF STEAM) Ann, you'll ruin 
your life. You'll fall into suspicion - and people'll always think you had 
something really to do with it. You'll - you'll end up in an asylum. The whole 
world'll know he jilted you. ... What - what are you going to say to him? He 
must be half-beside himself as it is. He'll - he'll never believe you. What--? 
(FINALLY GIVES IN WITH A SIGH) All right.

ANN: (TRIUMPHANT) Thank you, Alice. You see? It IS there, isn't it? I MADE you 
do what I wanted. And I can make anyone!

SOUND: RECEIVER PICKED UP

ANN: (INTO PHONE) Hello? ... (RELIEF, EMPATHY) Hello, Clyde. Oh, Clyde, 
darling, I just heard the terrible news. How terrible for you. I'm so sorry. 
... Yes, Alice and I were out there this afternoon. We came by to say hello 
but we got cold feet and came home. ... Oh, no, Clyde. No, we didn't. Not a 
soul. ... Oh, yes, my darling, I - I understand how terribly broken up, and - 
and my heart goes out to you. ... Oh, I will, Clyde dearest, I will! I'll be 
right over. I'll help you in any way I know. ... Goodbye, Clyde. 

SOUND: HANGS UP PHONE

ALICE: (AMAZED, RELIEVED) Ann -- you didn't tell him. You're not going to tell 
him at all.

ANN: (QUIETLY TRIUMPHANT AGAIN) No. Why should I? He's MINE now.

MUSIC: AN ACCENT ... A TRANSITION, THEN IN BG

ALICE: (NARRATES) And so, Ann Brody walked out of my life.

Walked from me wrapped in her new and terrible strangeness.

Somehow, I didn't want to play any part in her life again.

I didn't go to her wedding when she and Clyde were married one year later.

To me, there would have been something evil in hearing her voice repeat the 
sacred words:

ANN: (TRIUMPHANT) I, Ann, take thee -- Clyde.

ALICE: (NARRATES) There has been for me a nameless horror in the slow steady 
way Ann Brody fulfilled her plan. The house in Riverdale. The car. The three 
children: Peter; Clyde, Junior; and Charlotte. Her happiness, her triumphant 
motherhood has somehow been hideous to me. I've never heard a train whistle 
crying through the dawn but what I thought of her and shuddered. I have been 
afraid of Ann Brody now for fifteen years.

SOUND: TRAIN WHISTLE, FOR PUNCTUATION

ALICE: (NARRATES) Today, I know I've been a fool. 

Today, I know that it was a real murderer who murdered Mrs. Dexter with a 
hammer from the service porch. 

Today, I'm going on a journey to Riverdale. 

I am going to see Ann Brody again -- lying "will-less" and struck down in her 
coffin. Lying innocent and pathetic. Lying murdered.

Not will, nor nameless monsters of the mind could save her from the truth at 
last. 

Yesterday afternoon, the weak, long-brooding creature -- who could not brook 
domination from mother or wife -- flung pent-up death against the mistress of 
HIS will.

Yesterday afternoon, Clyde Dexter struck again. 

MUSIC: FOR A FINISH

ANNOUNCER: Suspense! 
 
MUSIC: SUSPENSE ACCENT

TRUMAN BRADLEY: Presented by Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, made in California for 
enjoyment throughout the world.

MUSIC: OUT

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praise and increase dining pleasure. Today, millions of clever homemakers are 
enjoying dinner table compliments by giving everyday dishes tempting new meal 
appeal. Here's the secret. A glass of red Roma California Burgundy at each 
place. Try it yourself. Serve robust Roma Burgundy with tomorrow night's 
piping hot savory pot roast, tender juicy steak, or baked fish. Roma Burgundy 
brings out tasty new flavorfulness from every morsel, wins grateful 
compliments for your cooking. And notice how the warm, glowing redness of Roma 
Burgundy adds richness and beauty to your table. Yet the gracious custom of 
serving Roma, America's favorite wine, is as inexpensive as it is delightful. 
Enjoy exciting new dining pleasure tomorrow with delicious Roma Burgundy. 
Insist on Roma, R-O-M-A, Roma Wines, made in California for enjoyment 
throughout the world.

NANCY KELLY: This is Nancy Kelly. I'm sure you'll want to hear next Thursday's 
"Suspense" when Joseph Cotten will star as a famous New York criminal lawyer 
in one of the best-known suspense stories of our time, Ben Hecht's "Crime 
Without Passion." Thank you.

ANNOUNCER: Nancy Kelly will soon be seen in the Paramount picture "Follow That 
Woman." Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines will bring you Joseph Cotten as 
star of ...

MUSIC: SUSPENSE ACCENT

ANNOUNCER: Suspense! Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills!

MUSIC: OUT

TRUMAN BRADLEY: Produced by William Spier for the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, 
California.  

MUSIC: SUSPENSE THEME

TRUMAN BRADLEY: Next week, part of the country goes on Daylight Saving Time. 
If your area remains on Standard Time, tune in "Suspense" one hour earlier. 
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

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Broadcast: 25 April 1946