The Thirteenth Sound

Originally Aired: April 26, 1951

Suspense #426, "The Thirteenth Sound," Mrs. Skinner has meticulously planned and executed the murder of her husband George. She shoots him four times in the back as he attempts to climb through a window at the abandoned Johnson house, then carefully stages the scene to make it appear as though an unknown assailant committed the crime. When Jonathan Brown from the sheriff's office arrives to deliver the news, she performs the role of the shocked, grieving widow to perfection.

At the coroner's inquest, Mrs. Skinner's carefully constructed facade begins to crack. As Brown recreates the crime scene on a blackboard, the scraping sound of chalk against the board perfectly mimics the horrifying noise her husband's fingernails made as he desperately clawed at the building's stucco wall trying to save himself. The sound triggers something visceral in Mrs. Skinner, causing her to faint in open court. Now she must wonder: was her reaction simply an unfortunate accident, or has the observant Mr. Brown begun to suspect that the grieving widow knows far more about her husband's death than she claims?