Originally Aired: February 14, 1952

Dragnet #140, "The Big Phone Call," Sergeants Joe Friday and Ed Jacobs bring jewelry salesman George Garvey to headquarters for questioning about a nine-month-old robbery. Thomas Ashley, Garvey's colleague and close friend, was slugged in a parking lot and robbed of $20,000 worth of unset diamonds. Friday and Jacobs confront Garvey with their conclusion: he engineered the entire holdup, hiring someone else to carry it out so Ashley wouldn't recognize his attacker.

Garvey reacts with incredulity and indignation, insisting the accusations are ridiculous and that Ashley is one of his closest friends. However, the detectives reveal they have spent nine months building their case. They've documented how Garvey suddenly began spending lavishly after the robbery, purchasing a new car, opening a new office, buying his wife a fur coat, and transferring his children to an expensive private school. When Friday and Jacobs claim they know every detail of the crime, including who pulled off the holdup, who fenced the diamonds, and how the money was split, Garvey must decide whether to continue denying everything or face the mounting evidence against him.