Beirut by Sunrise

Originally Aired: May 31, 1955 Suspense #600, "Beirut by Sunrise," Mildred Gideon, a third-grade schoolteacher from North Dakota on a Mediterranean cruise, awakens before dawn to witness the magical sunrise over Beirut. The romantic moment turns to horror when she sees an American sailor stumble from the shadows on the dock below, a knife buried in his back. Before dying, the sailor gasps a cryptic message about "Sultan's turret" and "15th step." When Mildred finds a local police officer and brings him to the scene, the body has vanished without a trace of blood, leaving her looking like a foolish, over-imaginative tourist. Shaken but determined to enjoy her shore leave, Mildred returns to the ship where she breakfasts with her fellow passengers: the boorish Frank Grady from Akron and the sophisticated, mysterious Mr. Haroon. As she joins a guided tour of Beirut's ancient bazaars and marketplaces, Mildred can't shake what she witnessed. The sailor's dying words haunt her, suggesting she's stumbled into something far more dangerous than a disappointing vacation.