The Big Friend

Originally Aired: April 5, 1951 Dragnet #95, "The Big Friend," begins with a desperate phone call to Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero. Leonard Gray reports that his wife has been murdered in their home at 1627 Oxford Place. When the detectives arrive on the rainy Los Angeles night, they find Mrs. Gray's body on the dining room floor, showing signs of a struggle with a deep gash on her forehead and a broken vase nearby. Gray tells them he had been out drinking with his best friend and neighbor, Earl Anderson, after work. The two men stopped at their usual bar before Anderson drove them both home around six-thirty. Gray explains that when they arrived at his house, his wife Hazel was mildly upset about his lateness but more concerned about their car, which had mysteriously had the air let out of its back tires. Gray says he went to the garage to check on the problem, and when he returned, his wife was dead. Most troubling is Gray's claim that his best friend Earl Anderson, who lives just two houses down, is accusing him of the murder. Friday and Romero begin methodically investigating the scene while the crime lab is called in.