The Big Note

Originally Aired: April 13, 1954

Dragnet #243, "The Big Note," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith start their day with some good-natured ribbing about Friday's failed blind date arranged by Smith and his wife Fay. The morning takes a serious turn when they discover an anonymous note addressed to Juvenile Division, requesting a meet at 7th and Broadway. The writer claims to have information about a major dope ring and promises to appear wearing a green skirt and plaid sweater at 3:45 p.m.

Friday and Smith stake out the designated location that afternoon, waiting as the minutes tick by with no sign of their informant. Just as they're about to give up, a fifteen-year-old girl named Edna appears across the street matching the description. She boards a streetcar with Friday following close behind. Reluctant to reveal too much about herself, Edna explains she's trying to help her friend Catherine, also fifteen, who she believes is hooked on heroin. She points Friday toward two men she met at Balboa Beach the previous summer—Lewis Conklin and someone named Vince Beal—who she claims got Catherine started on the dangerous path.