The Big Building

Originally Aired: June 14, 1951 Dragnet #105, "The Big Building," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero investigate the puzzling disappearance of Louise Marston, a wealthy society woman who vanished over two months ago. Her husband, Dr. Marston, a dentist, filed the missing person report only after her regular letters from New York suddenly stopped arriving. As Friday and Romero interview the doctor in his office while he works on a dental crown, they learn that Louise left following an argument at their country club. Dr. Marston explains he wasn't initially concerned since she sent letters twice weekly to both him and their son Stanley at military school, but now those letters have ceased entirely. The case takes a darker turn when Dr. Marston reveals that Louise inherited a fortune from her aunt and that he had recently signed over eighty thousand dollars in bonds to her just before her disappearance. He hints at possible involvement by Louise's stepfather, who has always coveted her money. As Friday and Romero dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding the missing woman and those valuable bonds, they must determine whether this is simply a domestic dispute or something far more sinister.