Originally Aired: November 3, 1955
Johnny Dollar #254, "The Valentine Matter Ep 4,"
Johnny receives devastating news from Roy Vickers: Danny Valentine and his wife have been gunned down by two unidentified assassins outside a hotel. Despite Johnny's efforts to protect him, Valentine had checked himself out of the hospital and disappeared, only to be tracked down by professional killers who finish the job they started earlier. Inspector Charles de Baca and Johnny discuss the case over dinner, trying to piece together why Valentine became a target. While de Baca suspects old enemies from Valentine's criminal past, Johnny believes the motive lies closer to home, pointing out that Valentine had reinvented himself as a peaceful man who spent his days painting and listening to music.
Johnny travels to Valentine's house in Jefferson Parish, where he meets Teresa Ward, the daughter who has just discovered her true identity through newspaper reports of her father's murder. The well-educated young woman struggles with conflicting emotions about inheriting fifty thousand dollars from a father she never knew existed, while grieving the mother who kept the secret all these years. As Johnny comforts Teresa and explains her father's attempts to provide for her from prison, the mystery deepens around who wanted both Valentine and his wife dead.