Too Hot to Live

Originally Aired: October 26, 1950 Suspense #400, "Too Hot to Live," Jefferson Casey, an ex-Air Corps captain still wearing his old uniform, jumps off a freight train near Marcus Junction with nowhere to go and nothing to lose. When his worn boot starts falling apart on the hot tar road, he encounters Benjamin Maxwell, the local sheriff, who proves surprisingly friendly and helps him find a shoe repair shop. While waiting for his shoes to be fixed, Jefferson meets Rachel, a provocative blonde waitress who works at the restaurant next door. Despite the jealous protests of Kenny, the pop-eyed grill man who's clearly infatuated with her, Rachel invites the barefoot stranger up to her apartment above the diner. As Jefferson follows Rachel upstairs to her small apartment, the tension builds in this hot Saturday morning encounter. The drifter with a death wish, the worldly waitress hungry for new faces, and the possessive short-order cook form a dangerous triangle in this small town where Benjamin Maxwell keeps the peace. What begins as a casual meeting over coffee quickly escalates into something far more dangerous in the sweltering heat of Marcus Junction.