The Carboniferous Dolomite Matter

The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 5

Originally Aired: November 11, 1955 Johnny Dollar #260, "The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 5," Johnny Dollar races to a waterfront cafe where Maria has called him in panic, claiming she's being followed. After a tense standoff with a gunman firing from across the dark street, Johnny pursues the fleeing car in a high-speed chase along the dangerous coastal road. The pursuit ends in a fiery crash that kills the driver, whom Johnny identifies as Andre Jourdin, the customs property agent. As the car burns, Johnny reveals to Maria what he's pieced together about the diamond heist scheme. Johnny confronts Maria with his theory: she and Andre orchestrated the entire diamond robbery, planning for the courier to die so the diamonds would pass through Andre's office. Their partner Bobo complicated matters by double-crossing them, but Andre tracked him down to the Casbah and killed him. Now, with both Andre and Bobo dead in the wreckage and violence of their scheme, Johnny tells Maria she's "safe" because her co-conspirators can no longer talk. Maria protests her innocence as Johnny lays out the damning evidence against her.

The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 4

Originally Aired: November 10, 1955 Johnny Dollar #259, "The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 4," Johnny Dollar bribes an employment agent named Abdul for the address of Chada, the servant girl who worked for Countess D'Atalia. Hours earlier, someone turned on the gas in the Countess's apartment in an apparent murder attempt, and Dollar suspects Chada. Before he can leave his hotel, he receives an unwelcome visit from Charlie Barrett, a Chicago meat packer who has been pursuing the Countess romantically. Barrett warns Dollar to stay away from her, claiming he has already invested substantial money in their relationship and even promised her twenty thousand dollars in diamonds before they had a falling out. When Barrett tries to assert his influence and intimidate Dollar, another brief fight ensues, leaving Barrett unconscious. Dollar then ventures into the dangerous Casbah district after midnight to find Chada at a dimly-lit coffee house. After waiting twenty minutes, he is joined by a man named Bobo, who identifies himself as Chada's man and admits to poisoning the diamond courier. Bobo reveals that Chada did turn on the gas but insists it wasn't personal since he didn't know Dollar would be there. As their tense conversation shifts to the missing diamonds and possible rewards, the episode ends mid-discussion.

The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 3

Originally Aired: November 9, 1955 Johnny Dollar #258, "The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 3," Johnny Dollar continues his investigation into $100,000 worth of missing Lorco diamonds in Algiers, North Africa. The mystery deepens when he discovers Hans Zeindorf, a representative from the Amsterdam diamond firm, unconscious and bound in Countess Maria's closet after someone turned on the gas. As Johnny revives Zeindorf with smelling salts, he learns that the Countess ordered the expensive jewels as engagement gifts from a wealthy American named Charles Barrett, who lives on his yacht in the harbor. The pieces begin falling into place as Johnny realizes the impoverished Countess may have been planning to marry for money, though she cryptically insists no marriage was ever mentioned. Johnny's investigation takes a dangerous turn when he realizes he's being followed through the Harbor District by a mysterious driver in an expensive English car. After ordering his taxi driver to block the street, Johnny confronts the unknown pursuer, and the two men engage in a fierce street fight as the episode reaches its climactic moment.

The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 2

Originally Aired: November 8, 1955 Johnny Dollar #257, "The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 2," Johnny Dollar confronts the elegant Countess de Octaghia about a $100,000 diamond theft and murder, determined to shake her cool composure. Despite warnings from the green-eyed Inspector Marcus that the Countess is above suspicion, Dollar remains convinced she's deeply involved in the crime. The Countess was the only person in Algiers who knew the courier's exact arrival details, having received specific instructions from the Lorco Company not to share the information with anyone. At her slightly shabby apartment in an upscale district, Dollar presses the Countess hard, suggesting she orchestrated the theft with an accomplice. He confronts her about a tall, thin man who slugged a customs agent after the courier was poisoned on the plane. The Countess maintains her dignified demeanor but admits she may have made a mistake by mentioning the diamond shipment at a cocktail party. As she begins to reveal who she told, the tension builds over whether this sophisticated woman is truly guilty or merely careless.

The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 1

Originally Aired: November 7, 1955 Johnny Dollar #256, "The Lorko Diamonds Matter Ep 1," Johnny Dollar finds himself on a plane to Algiers after receiving an urgent call from Ben Tyler at Transworld Fidelity. A courier for Lorco Limited, a prestigious Amsterdam diamond cutting firm, has dropped dead of apparent heart failure at the Algiers airport while carrying a briefcase containing $100,000 worth of top-grade set stones. The briefcase has vanished, and Johnny must navigate the prickly professional pride of Inspector Marcus of the Algerian Customs Police, who makes it clear he resents the implication that an outside investigator is needed to clean up his "goof." The case grows more complex as Johnny learns the details from the excitable Lorco representative, Mr. Zeindorf. The courier, Paul Gruber, a fifteen-year trusted employee, fell ill on the plane and died shortly after being taken to an emergency clinic. His briefcase was left on the desk of customs property agent André Jourdin, who was then found unconscious on his office floor after a gunshot rang out, the briefcase missing. The diamonds were destined for approval by the mysterious Countess Maria de Tolia, and Johnny begins to suspect the property agent himself may have staged the theft in a classic inside job.