Originally Aired: July 11, 1956
Suspense #658, "Want Ad," brings listeners into the chilling world of a professional thief who uses newspaper classifieds as his hunting ground. The nameless criminal, narrating his own story, describes his methodical approach: scanning want ads for expensive items like mink coats, targeting desperate sellers, and using charm and a gun to steal what he came to buy. He lives with his unsuspecting wife Wilma, who believes he has an ordinary job. When she leaves for the day, he gets to work.
His latest target is Mrs. Phelps, a woman selling her $4,000 silver blue mink coat. Posing as Mr. Vernon, an interested buyer, he arrives at her home, inspects the coat, and negotiates a price of $3,400. Just when Mrs. Phelps believes she has made a legitimate sale, he reveals the truth: he never intended to pay. With a gun in hand, he takes the coat and leaves her helpless and terrified, all in a day's work for this calculating predator who exploits ordinary people's vulnerabilities.
