Melody in Dreams

Originally Aired: December 29, 1952 Suspense #493, "Melody in Dreams," Detective Lieutenant Royals and Detective Sergeant Shank of the narcotics division respond to an unusual call: Walter Graff has made a citizen's arrest of his own sixteen-year-old daughter, Joan, after discovering marijuana cigarettes hidden in a coffee can in her bedroom. For six months, the police have been desperately trying to trace the source supplying an estimated $70,000 worth of drugs monthly to high school teenagers, but every lead has yielded only addicts, not dealers. Now, heartbroken and humiliated, Graff hopes his shocking decision will help authorities crack the case, even as he struggles with the pain of turning in his own child. At police headquarters, Joan proves defiant and uncooperative during interrogation. She admits the drugs are hers but refuses to reveal her supplier, seemingly more concerned about detention home meals than the severity of her situation. Lieutenant Royals faces the delicate task of breaking through the teenager's arrogance and misplaced loyalty to find the real enemy: the person peddling narcotics to children. The case represents just one battle in an escalating war against teenage drug addiction that has the entire city demanding answers.