transcript
Speaker 1:
[00:10] This is Case Closed, crime stories from the Golden Age of Radio. This is Case Closed, one hour of mystery and crime from the Golden Age of Radio, every Wednesday at relicradio.com. Our first story comes from Sherlock Holmes this week. We'll hear The Case Of The Frightened Bookkeeper from October 3rd, 1948. After that, it's The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe and The Last Wish. That story aired July 19th, 1950.
Speaker 2:
[00:41] Seven o'clock by Longine, the world's most honored watch. Product of the Longine Wittnor Watch Company. Your Mutual Station will broadcast exclusively the American League Playoff Game in Boston tomorrow between the Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians. The playoff is on the air at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. That's tomorrow afternoon at 1.15 Eastern Time for the American League Playoff on your Mutual Station. Now, Sherlock Holmes.
Speaker 3:
[01:19] The makers of Clipper Craft Clothes for Men and more than 1200 leading retail stores from coast to coast presents our author Colin Doyle's immortal character, the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, starring John Stanley. This week's adventure, The Case Of The Frightened Bookkeeper.
Speaker 4:
[01:49] I regret using my hunting cop on your hands, sir, but you were rather obstinate. And you are wanted for murder. I shall stop the train and we shall return to London. I shall have the pleasure of turning you over to Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard as a gift. Compliments of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Speaker 3:
[02:12] Well, here we are again at the door of Dr. Watson's study, ready to hear another exciting story from the Good Doctors' Memoirs.
Speaker 5:
[02:18] Ah, good evening, Mr. Holmes. I'm delighted to see you again.
Speaker 3:
[02:21] Dr. Watson, which of your spine-tingling adventures with Mr. Holmes do we hear about tonight?
Speaker 5:
[02:25] Well, it's The Case Of The Frightened Bookkeeper, Mr. Harris. It concerned a murder under fantastic circumstances, and it ended with the strangest doings in the court of law that I have ever witnessed.
Speaker 3:
[02:37] Well, Dr., two things always amaze me. Mr. Holmes' cases, for one, and for another.
Speaker 5:
[02:42] May I venture to guess that the other thought of your amazement has to do with Clippercraft clothes?
Speaker 3:
[02:49] It certainly does, Dr. Watson. If you think a really fine suit should cost you a young fortune, why, you'll be glad to know you're wrong, absolutely wrong, because you can own a suit that looks like an expensively tailored model without going haywire. Impossible? Well, just slip into a Clippercraft suit, study the tailoring, examine the fabrics. Don't think you can afford it? Well, then glance at the price tag. No, your eyes aren't playing you a trick. The price is only 40 or 47.50. You wonder how it's done? Well, listen. More than 1200 of this country's finest independent stores from Maine to California have combined their vast purchasing power to keep your budget happy. That's why you'll pay only 47.50 for the handsome Clippercraft worsted suit you'll hardly ever wear out. Try one on at the Clippercraft store in your community. You're bound to agree. Clippercraft's values in suits, top coats and sport coats are flabbergasting. Compare Clippercraft with clothes selling for many, many dollars more. And now, Dr. Watson, just what was the frightened bookkeeper afraid of?
Speaker 5:
[04:04] This story, Mr. Harris, begins shortly after nine in the morning on Lombard Street. The customary swarm of office workers was dashing about, but no one was hurrying quite as quickly as our bookkeeper, Mr. Humphrey Littleton. He scurried across the street like a startled rabbit and ran into the overseas bank. He raced across the vast marble floors to his cubicle in a far corner. There he hastened to hang his coat on a hook and white his perspiring brow. Then he mounted his tall stool and opened a huge ledger.
Speaker 6:
[04:40] Mr. Littleton.
Speaker 7:
[04:41] Yes, Mr. Mason.
Speaker 6:
[04:42] I presume you realize that you are late.
Speaker 7:
[04:45] Yes, Mr. Mason. I'm terribly sorry.
Speaker 6:
[04:47] To be precise, Mr. Littleton, you are 18 minutes late.
Speaker 7:
[04:50] Yes, sir.
Speaker 6:
[04:51] I believe, Mr. Littleton, this is the first time in 21 years that you have been late.
Speaker 7:
[04:55] That is correct, Mr. Mason.
Speaker 6:
[04:57] The bank is shot.
Speaker 7:
[04:58] I know, sir.
Speaker 6:
[04:59] I presume there is some reasonable explanation for this unfortunate appearance.
Speaker 7:
[05:04] There is, sir. It's the bell.
Speaker 6:
[05:06] What bell?
Speaker 7:
[05:06] If you'll step to the window with me, sir, then I can explain.
Speaker 6:
[05:09] The window?
Speaker 7:
[05:10] Please.
Speaker 6:
[05:10] Oh, very well.
Speaker 7:
[05:12] Now, sir, if you'll look across the way of the crowd in front of the Merchant's Building...
Speaker 6:
[05:15] What of it?
Speaker 7:
[05:16] It's the old bell. The bell on top of the building. It didn't ring this morning, sir. It's the first time in years.
Speaker 6:
[05:21] And what concern is it of yours?
Speaker 7:
[05:23] Well, you see, Mr. Basand, I always stop for my breakfast down the street. I always time myself by listening to the bell, but it didn't ring this morning, and that's why I was late.
Speaker 8:
[05:30] Well, Mr. Basand, oh, I see.
Speaker 6:
[05:33] What on earth are those policemen doing? It appears as though they are carrying something, doesn't it?
Speaker 7:
[05:37] It's a man. They're carrying someone out of the building on a stretcher.
Speaker 6:
[05:41] Oh, an accident, no doubt. Oh, see, they're covering his face with a blanket. He must be dead. It isn't that Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard out there.
Speaker 7:
[05:50] I have never met the gentleman.
Speaker 6:
[05:51] Of course it is. Oh, he's coming into the bank. Now we shall see what's what and who's been killed. Mr. Litterton.
Speaker 7:
[06:04] Yes, Mr. Mason.
Speaker 6:
[06:05] May I present Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard.
Speaker 7:
[06:08] Happy to make your acquaintance, Inspector.
Speaker 6:
[06:11] How do you do? Mr. Litterton, you were late this morning because the bell on the top of the merchant's building failed to strike the hour of nine.
Speaker 7:
[06:18] Yes, Mr. Mason.
Speaker 6:
[06:20] Inspector Lestrade informs me that the bell did not strike because something had fallen into the mechanism. Do you know what it was?
Speaker 7:
[06:27] I haven't the remotest idea.
Speaker 6:
[06:28] It was a dead body.
Speaker 7:
[06:29] Really?
Speaker 6:
[06:30] It was the body of a Mr. Henry Bennet. Mr. Bennet was murdered.
Speaker 7:
[06:34] What's that?
Speaker 8:
[06:35] You committed the murder, Mr. Littleton.
Speaker 9:
[06:37] Well, I...
Speaker 6:
[06:38] You were late because you did not simply stop for breakfast. You also stopped to do away with Henry Bennet.
Speaker 9:
[06:45] Humphrey Littleton, you're under arrest.
Speaker 7:
[06:46] No, no, I didn't kill him. You can't arrest me.
Speaker 6:
[06:49] You can't! Keep him away, Snatcher, or Inspector. The bank keeps the gun there.
Speaker 9:
[06:52] Why, that's right.
Speaker 7:
[06:52] I have the gun. Now out of my way, or I'll shoot you.
Speaker 9:
[06:55] You haven't a chance, Littleton. We'll find you.
Speaker 7:
[06:57] I don't think so, Inspector. I'll take my coat if you don't mind. Don't call to your men. I can still see you very well. If you budge or say a word, I shall kill you.
Speaker 6:
[07:05] I never thought he had it in him. Mr. Littleton, the murderer.
Speaker 9:
[07:08] Now we'll have to search all London for the rascal. Stop that man!
Speaker 10:
[07:11] Stop him, I say!
Speaker 11:
[07:12] Upgrade! Upgrade!
Speaker 10:
[07:25] Good morning, Dr. Watson.
Speaker 5:
[07:26] Good morning, Inspector Lestrade.
Speaker 4:
[07:28] Well, Lestrade, what information do you wish to impart? Aside from the fact that you've found a cadaver in a small, inaccessible area, that you've lost a prisoner, and that you're desperately anxious to discuss the case.
Speaker 5:
[07:38] Holmes, the Inspector's hardly said a word.
Speaker 12:
[07:40] How do you know what this is all about?
Speaker 4:
[07:42] He's hardly said a word, my dear Watson, but his appearance is most eloquent.
Speaker 5:
[07:45] Is it, Mr. Holmes? Indeed.
Speaker 4:
[07:47] You've dusted on the knees of your trousers and the elbows of your coat, indicating clearly that you've been squirming about in an area that's barely accessible. You've found a corpse since a considerable number of woolen threads are on your jacket. They are the distinctive colored threads found on the blanket used by the coroner when facing dead bodies in his wagon.
Speaker 5:
[08:05] Remarkable!
Speaker 4:
[08:06] Your complexion is livid in your breathlessness. You have therefore been running, surely not in haste to pay us a social cause, rather, I should say, in pursuit of someone. And the manner in which you are nervously fingering your notebook, Inspector, can only signify that you are impatient to discuss the case. Pre-discuss it then.
Speaker 9:
[08:23] Understand, Mr. Holmes. I'm telling you this because you have been somewhat helpful on previous occasions.
Speaker 4:
[08:30] A masterpiece of understanding.
Speaker 9:
[08:31] I'm not asking your assistance. It's just if you should come across anything that should be brought to my attention. Now then, our information is fragmentary.
Speaker 4:
[08:40] Perhaps I may embellish it.
Speaker 9:
[08:41] We've found a corpse lying across the mechanism of a gigantic bell on top of the merchant's building on Lombard Street.
Speaker 5:
[08:48] Who was the dead man?
Speaker 9:
[08:49] A Mr. Henry Bennett.
Speaker 4:
[08:51] Bennett?
Speaker 5:
[08:53] Bennett?
Speaker 4:
[08:53] Yes, I have a card on him.
Speaker 5:
[08:54] Who is he, Holmes?
Speaker 4:
[08:55] Oh, a petty thief, tiresome record of criminal trivia, served a few short prison terms, bit of flotsam on the Sea of the London Underworld.
Speaker 9:
[09:01] Bennett's skull was split open. We found the weapon with a walking stick with a cast iron top.
Speaker 5:
[09:07] A walking stick?
Speaker 9:
[09:08] We couldn't tathom where it came from, but a girl in the crowd recognized it. She's the secretary of the Overseas Bank across the way. The bank had presented the walking stick to one of its bookkeepers. It's a memento of 20 years' service.
Speaker 4:
[09:20] And the bookkeeper's name?
Speaker 9:
[09:21] Humphrey Littleton.
Speaker 4:
[09:22] Find anything else?
Speaker 9:
[09:23] Yes. There's a letter on the body, obviously a blackmail note, addressed to Humphrey Littleton.
Speaker 5:
[09:29] How did the note read?
Speaker 9:
[09:31] It said, Merchants Building, Tuesday morning, bring usual payment. Be sure you keep mum. The scrawled and pencil wasn't signed, of course.
Speaker 4:
[09:41] Any eyewitnesses?
Speaker 9:
[09:42] Two of his fellow employees saw Littleton leave the Merchants Building.
Speaker 4:
[09:47] You then crossed the street and entered the bank and attempted to arrest Humphrey Littleton, but he had escaped.
Speaker 7:
[09:53] Am I correct, Mr. Holmes?
Speaker 9:
[09:54] Yes, yes, Mr. Holmes. He banished. He took a gun from the cashier's drawer, forced his way past us. Evidently, the little bookkeeper was tired of being blackmailed by Bennett, so he did away with him.
Speaker 5:
[10:04] Yes, but how did the body get into the mechanism of the bail, Inspector Littleton?
Speaker 9:
[10:08] Littleton met his man in the building this morning, struck him on the head, killing him instantly, dragged the body to the roof, intended to push it off so we'd believe Bennett had fallen or committed suicide.
Speaker 5:
[10:18] Well, that's all very well, but you still haven't explained our...
Speaker 9:
[10:20] I'm coming to that, Dr. Watson. The killer must have been startled by a noise and believed he was about to be caught, seen by someone on the roof, a chimney sweep, perhaps. There's a trap door on the roof, at least, to the bell. Littleton must have dropped in there when he became afraid, lest he wouldn't have time to push him off the roof.
Speaker 4:
[10:38] Anything further you wish to state, Mr. Holmes?
Speaker 9:
[10:40] No, no. Now I must be off, huh? I don't suppose you'll have occasion to do so, Mr. Holmes, but if you should come across a clue as to the whereabouts of Littleton, you might tell the Yard.
Speaker 4:
[10:51] Lestrade, I leave the solution of this case entirely in your capable hands.
Speaker 9:
[10:55] It will rest well there, Mr. Holmes.
Speaker 4:
[10:57] I've no doubt, Lestrade. Good morning.
Speaker 9:
[11:00] Good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 5:
[11:01] Good morning, Mr. Holmes. We're confounded, Holmes. You're not just going to sit there while Inspector Lestrade steals a march on you.
Speaker 4:
[11:08] A bit of it, my dear Watson. I'm merely giving him time to leave. The moment he's sufficiently far away, we're off to the overseas bank. We shall see if we can locate Mr. Humphrey Littleton, The Frightened Bookkeeper. Perhaps we may shake salt on the tail of this bird who's flown the cage.
Speaker 8:
[11:29] This is the photograph of Mr. Littleton, Mr. Holmes, from our files.
Speaker 4:
[11:33] Ay, yes, Mr. Mason.
Speaker 5:
[11:33] And this is the cage where he worked, Mr. Mason.
Speaker 6:
[11:36] Yes, Dr. Watson.
Speaker 5:
[11:37] I see. Holmes, what are you doing crawling about on the floor?
Speaker 4:
[11:41] Mr. Mason, when he made his escape, you say he seized the revolver from the drawer, then his coat hanging on that hook, then left the bank.
Speaker 6:
[11:47] Exactly.
Speaker 8:
[11:48] I don't know how on earth he'll ever be found in all of London.
Speaker 5:
[11:51] Aha! Found something else?
Speaker 4:
[11:53] This pink pill it rolled under the desk, and this microscopic bit of green paper. Note the geometric design of the paper. Both items are most informative.
Speaker 5:
[12:03] Pill? Green paper?
Speaker 4:
[12:04] That copy of the evening star on the desk, Watson, please.
Speaker 5:
[12:07] First you find the pill, and then you want to read the newspaper. What are you up to, Holmes?
Speaker 4:
[12:14] There we are. This page. Excellent. Come, Watson. Mr. Mason, we shall have the killer in a jiffy.
Speaker 5:
[12:21] But, Holmes, it's a mother-
Speaker 4:
[12:22] No time, Watson. No time. Good morning, Mr. Mason. Oh, yes. Good morning.
Speaker 9:
[12:26] Where are we off to, Holmes?
Speaker 4:
[12:27] Victoria Station, as quickly as a camel carrier.
Speaker 9:
[12:28] And why may I ask?
Speaker 4:
[12:30] Because, my dear Watson, it's there that we shall find Mr. Humphrey Littleton, if we're not too late. We shall find him with the aid of this pink pill and a geometrically designed speck of green paper. The most fortunate, Watson, the train Mr. Littleton has chosen for his departure to the continent is still here in the station. Come along, I've purchased tickets for us. We must board it.
Speaker 5:
[12:56] But what train?
Speaker 4:
[12:58] How do you know all this? The answer is the pink pill I discovered in his cage at the bank. I recognized it immediately. Its mate is missing. There's a pink pill and a brown pill. Ingredients? A form of butyl alcohol, hyacinth bromide, and caffeine, more commonly known as C6 pills.
Speaker 5:
[13:14] Oh, I see, the pill fell from Littleton's pocket when he lifted his coat from the hook. Pills! By George, he was preparing for a sea voyage!
Speaker 4:
[13:22] Positively brilliant, my dear Watson. Yes, our bookkeeper was prepared to bolt from the touches of his blackmailer to abandon his position at the bank. He was preparing for a sea voyage, timid soul that he is, by securing pills. This gate, Watson.
Speaker 10:
[13:35] Oh, right you are.
Speaker 5:
[13:35] Thank you, sir. But, um, why did you read The Evening Star?
Speaker 4:
[13:39] To examine the travel section. Not a single passenger ship sails today for a far-off port. There are simply the regular daily sailings across the Channel to France. Of course, I have fortified its clue with more tangible evidence.
Speaker 5:
[13:50] The particle of green paper?
Speaker 4:
[13:52] Easily identifiable. It was a familiar green paper utilized for the printing of railway tickets. As for the neat pattern of it, it was definitely the portion punched out by the ticket seller. The railways maintain an infallible system of tracing those punch marks, Watson. Each punch has a peculiar design of its own. I was quite correct in surmising that Fittleton was headed across the Channel via Victoria Station. His tickets for the train to Dover, the train we are about to board. Shall we?
Speaker 5:
[14:18] This compartment?
Speaker 4:
[14:19] Sir, the agents, then.
Speaker 5:
[14:21] I say, Holmes, do you expect the killer in this compartment?
Speaker 4:
[14:24] Yes, I realize it's empty now, but he'll arrive most assuredly. All right, step in, Watson, step in.
Speaker 6:
[14:28] Well, thank you.
Speaker 5:
[14:30] Oh, by the by, while I was waiting at the gate, I glanced at the newspaper, Holmes. There's a night of about this crime. The eminent counselor, Mr. Francis Ridgway, upon being informed of it, has volunteered to defend little than without a fee.
Speaker 6:
[14:44] Really?
Speaker 5:
[14:45] You know, this is an extremely dangerous method of dealing with a killer. Holmes, we're leaving, and he isn't aboard. You must have made an error in your deduction.
Speaker 4:
[14:54] Impossible.
Speaker 3:
[14:56] We're moving.
Speaker 4:
[14:57] Yes, and someone's out there trying to jump on.
Speaker 3:
[14:59] Open the door, Watson.
Speaker 12:
[15:03] Thank you. Thank you. I thought I'd never make it.
Speaker 9:
[15:08] Are you gentlemen going to Dover?
Speaker 3:
[15:10] Yes.
Speaker 12:
[15:11] And you?
Speaker 7:
[15:12] To Dover. The maternal steamer.
Speaker 4:
[15:15] Well, since we've a journey of two hours together, perhaps we should introduce ourselves. This is Dr. John Watson. How do you know? My name is Sherlock Holmes. And what is your name, sir? What is your name, sir? Spock... George Spock. I beg your pardon. Your name is Humphrey Littleton, and you're wanted in London for committing murder.
Speaker 3:
[15:49] Well, Dr. Watson, Mr. Holmes, was brazenly inviting disaster and challenging the armed killer, wasn't he?
Speaker 5:
[15:54] Ah, he certainly was, Mr. Harris. But at this point, I have an invitation for you concerning a much more pleasant topic. Won't you tell us more about Clippercraft clothes?
Speaker 3:
[16:06] Well, I accept the invitation gladly, doctor. One of these days, you're going to walk into the Clippercraft store in your community and walk out wearing a happy smile and a handsome suit by Clippercraft. You'll pay only $40 or $47.50 depending on your choice, but you'll deserve all the admiration your friends will voice because yours will be an investment in one of America's greatest clothing values. Yes, Clippercraft is just about the finest clothing value America can offer you. You see, more than 1200 fine stores from coast to coast have concentrated their enormous buying power to really put the brakes on your high cost of living. Why, it's clear as daylight that a project of Clippercraft's scope keeps Clippercraft's great tailoring plants operating at full speed the full year round. You get the savings this money saving plan makes possible. Yes, Clippercraft suits are phenomenal values at only 40 and 4750. That's why men who know insist on Clippercraft clothes. So be sure to visit the Clippercraft store in your city.
Speaker 2:
[17:11] These leading stores in the metropolitan area are proud to add their names to Clippercraft in your suits, top coats and sport jackets. In Manhattan, John Warner Men's Store, Broadway at 8th and 67 Liberty Street, Saks 34th, Broadway at 34th, in Brooklyn, Abraham and Strauss, in Newark, New Jersey Boulevard Men's Shop, Kresge Newark, and in Jamaica, the B&B Clothes Shop 164-08, Jamaica Avenue.
Speaker 5:
[17:45] Now shall we return to the Frightened Bookkeeper, Mr. Harris?
Speaker 3:
[17:48] We can't return to that train fast enough for me, Dr. Watson.
Speaker 5:
[17:58] Well, you remember that Holmes and I were in the compartment of the Dover train, face to face with Humphrey Littleton, the murderer. Holmes had just identified him.
Speaker 7:
[18:08] What makes you think that I'm Littleton?
Speaker 4:
[18:10] Suppose you answer one question, sir. Will you leave this train and return to London in our custody, or do you choose to be stubborn?
Speaker 12:
[18:15] I'll not return to London.
Speaker 4:
[18:17] I'll take that revolver, Mr. Littleton.
Speaker 7:
[18:19] You'll not take me back.
Speaker 3:
[18:19] I repeat, your revolver.
Speaker 7:
[18:21] No!
Speaker 4:
[18:22] You're behaving like an idiot. London's most brilliant criminal attorney, Mr. Francis Ridgway, has announced he will defend you greatest. He has never lost the case. You have an excellent chance.
Speaker 8:
[18:33] No, no, I won't.
Speaker 4:
[18:34] I won't.
Speaker 5:
[18:35] Oh, don't be silly, man. You have no possible avenue of escape. Scotland Yard has surely telegraphed the French Surity.
Speaker 4:
[18:40] I'm waiting, Mr. Littleton. Turn over your revolver.
Speaker 7:
[18:43] No. Once I surrender to you, I'm finished. I'd rather kill both of you. Once you're out of the way, I can jump off the train.
Speaker 4:
[18:48] Then what, dashing from village to village? How long can you hide out on the downs like a stricken animal?
Speaker 7:
[18:52] You shan't persuade me. My mind is made up. I'll take my chances. Very well.
Speaker 4:
[18:57] If you insist upon it...
Speaker 5:
[18:59] He's missed.
Speaker 4:
[19:00] He's gone, Watson.
Speaker 5:
[19:00] I have it, Holmes.
Speaker 4:
[19:02] I regret the necessity of using my hunting crop on your hand, Mr. Vittleton, but you are rather obstinate. I shall stop the train and we shall return to London. Then I shall have the pleasure of turning you over to Inspector Lestrade as a gift, with the compliments of Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Speaker 5:
[19:29] Well, Holmes, the morning newspapers say that Littleton is safely locked in prison. I must say you handled that case with astonishing speed. I've hardly even had time to catch my breath, and it's over.
Speaker 4:
[19:40] It's not over, Watson.
Speaker 5:
[19:43] What do you mean it isn't over? I'd say from the moment the murder was committed, the events moved with a relentless logic.
Speaker 4:
[19:49] I hardly employ the word logic, my dear Watson. That's what disturbs me. So hurry, finish your breakfast. We're off to the Merchants' Building.
Speaker 5:
[19:54] But why, Holmes?
Speaker 4:
[19:55] To visit Mr. Francis Ridgeway, Counsel for Littleton's Defense.
Speaker 5:
[19:58] Why?
Speaker 4:
[19:59] To ascertain how he plans to defend the bookkeeper.
Speaker 5:
[20:02] Well, it should be a simple, speedy trial, shouldn't it?
Speaker 12:
[20:13] I'm delighted that you've dropped in here to my office, Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watts.
Speaker 5:
[20:16] Oh, thank you, Mr. Ridgway. It is an incredibly exquisite office. Those draperies, magnificent rugs, most striking. Don't you agree, Holmes?
Speaker 3:
[20:26] Yes, yes, quite.
Speaker 4:
[20:28] May I ask, Mr. Ridgway, what sort of defense you plan for Humphrey Littleton?
Speaker 12:
[20:32] Well, there isn't a scrap of evidence on his behalf, Mr. Holmes, and he admits he was being blackmailed by the dead man. You see, Littleton once needed money desperately for his wife, who was ill. He took some from the bank and juggled his books to cover up. Bennet knew about it, but Littleton denies committing the murder. He says he was never on the roof of the merchant's building. He says his walking stick was stolen from his flat. No one will believe him, I'm afraid. I don't suppose you've learned anything that would help me, have you?
Speaker 4:
[21:00] No, I have not.
Speaker 12:
[21:01] To make matters worse, he bought that ticket to France. He claimed he wanted to chuck his position and run away just to avoid the blackmailer. But the jury will interpret it as a plan for escaping after committing murder. Oh, I shall paint as stirring a picture as I can of the miserable creature, hounded by a petty thief. He became fed up, that's about all. I shall fight every inch of the way, but confidentially, this may be the first case I've ever lost.
Speaker 5:
[21:33] It's two in the morning, Holmes. Where the dickens have you been?
Speaker 4:
[21:36] I couldn't wait for you to return from the hospital, Watson. My mission was urgent.
Speaker 5:
[21:39] Yes, but where were you?
Speaker 4:
[21:40] I've been searching for evidence that might interest Mr. Ridgeway.
Speaker 5:
[21:42] Oh, and did you go on this urgent mission carrying that pair of shoes under your arm?
Speaker 4:
[21:46] I did not start out on the mission that way, no.
Speaker 5:
[21:48] Really, you do perform the most extraordinary antics. Why the...
Speaker 4:
[21:52] The trial begins tomorrow.
Speaker 5:
[21:54] You mean you've got something that might acquit the bookkeeper?
Speaker 4:
[21:57] The grim fascination of a trial for homicide, Watson, is that the results are most unpredictable.
Speaker 10:
[22:33] The charge against him is murder. Upon this indictment, he has been arraigned. Upon his arraignment, he has pleaded that he is not guilty and has put himself upon his country, which country you are. It is for you to inquire whether he be guilty or not and to harken to the evidence. The Crown charges that on the morning of July 19, Henry Bennett was ruthlessly attacked and died instantaneously when he was struck upon the skull by...
Speaker 4:
[23:04] Mr. Francis Ridgway!
Speaker 5:
[23:06] Good heavens! Sit down, Holmes!
Speaker 8:
[23:09] Mr. Holmes, what is the reason for this disturbance?
Speaker 4:
[23:14] May it please Your Lordship, gentlemen of the jury, Henry Bennett was not murdered by Humphrey Littleton, the prisoner in the dock, but by Mr. Francis Ridgway, counsel for the defence.
Speaker 10:
[23:24] Silence! Silence!
Speaker 12:
[23:26] May it please Your Lordship, I do not know why Mr. Holmes has chosen to project this fantastic assertion by...
Speaker 8:
[23:30] One moment, Mr. Ridgway. Mr. Holmes.
Speaker 12:
[23:33] My Lord.
Speaker 8:
[23:34] You have on many of previous occasions made a substantial contribution to the enforcement of law and order. The court will entertain a statement.
Speaker 12:
[23:44] I protest, Your Lordship.
Speaker 7:
[23:45] Go on, Mr. Holmes, tell them.
Speaker 13:
[23:46] Tell them I didn't do it.
Speaker 4:
[23:47] I didn't do it! God help me, I didn't do it!
Speaker 8:
[23:53] The court will entertain a statement by Mr. Sherlock Holmes.
Speaker 4:
[24:00] Mr. Ridgeway, it originally struck me as curious that a council possessing your perfect record should volunteer for a case so obviously doomed to defeat. Could it have been that you wanted to have the case because you wanted to lose it?
Speaker 12:
[24:16] Idle speculation!
Speaker 4:
[24:17] I visited your office to develop my theory. Dr. Watson admired your draperies, but I noticed a black spot on your rug. It was tar. Although you may have vigorously cleaned the remainder of your office, you neglected to remove that one speck.
Speaker 5:
[24:31] Go on, Holmes, go on.
Speaker 4:
[24:33] Where did the tar come from, Mr. Ridgeway? Well the murder was committed on an extremely hot day. On the roof of the merchant's building, the tar melted. It came off on your shoes. After killing Bennett on the roof, you returned to your office, soiling your rug.
Speaker 12:
[24:47] Preposterous conjecture on your part, sir.
Speaker 4:
[24:49] Last night, I was on the roof of the merchant's building. I made plaster casts of the killer's footprints. I then paid a midnight visit to your deserted office, Mr. Ridgeway. I found a pair of your shoes in a closet. The cast, which I'm prepared to submit as evidence, match your footprints perfectly.
Speaker 12:
[25:07] Inconclusive evidence, utterly inconclusive.
Speaker 4:
[25:09] In addition, in addition, I took a sample of a tar from that same roof and compared it with a sample from the tar on your rug. I have here a report based on experimentation at home to the effect that both samples match perfectly in chemical content.
Speaker 12:
[25:23] Proof, I demand proof, sir, that I actually committed the murder.
Speaker 4:
[25:25] And you shall have it. There is a young gentleman waiting outside at my request. His name is Bob Dexter. What is most important about this young gentleman, however, is not his name. It is his occupation. Mr. Dexter is a chimney sweep. My friend in Stekulov Strahd's thesis was correct. There was a noise that startled the killer. It was a chimney sweep.
Speaker 8:
[25:46] Mr. Holmes, do you request that the witness be summoned now?
Speaker 4:
[25:50] In a moment, my lord. I made inquiries. I found this young gentleman at his home in Stepney. I persuaded him that accepting your bribes to keep silent, Mr. Ridgeway, was a disgraceful crime. He is prepared to testify that he overheard your angry conversation with Bennett upon the roof.
Speaker 8:
[26:06] Mr. Holmes, what was the subject of the conversation?
Speaker 4:
[26:09] Mid-award. The conversation revealed that while Bennett was in prison, he secured information from his fellow prisoners, from your victims, Mr. Ridgeway, your dupes who served while your clients were cut free. Once released, Bennett patiently gathered cancelled checks, notes, photographs, overwhelming evidence about your career. Your brilliant career was founded upon a tissue of lies, bribery, forgery, coercion. You invited Bennett to the building to purchase his collection, but you killed him with Littleton's walking stick, which you'd stolen to be sure the evidence pointed to the helpless bookkeeper. Now, shall we call Mr. Dexter, who saw you do away with Bennett?
Speaker 12:
[26:51] May it please your Lordship, I should like to make a request.
Speaker 8:
[26:55] Proceed, Mr. Ridgeway.
Speaker 12:
[26:57] I move that the indictment against Mr. Humphrey Littleton be stricken from the record, and a new indictment be drawn up by the Grand Jury, charging the murder of Henry Bennett to Mr. Francis Ridgeway.
Speaker 5:
[27:20] Bye, Joe Holmes, now that you're relaxed in your chair with your pipe, you must take the time to tell me precisely what did happen on the morning of the murder. I confess I'm still a bit puzzled.
Speaker 4:
[27:29] It's painfully obvious, Watson. Bennet was blackmailing both the bookkeeper and Mr. Ridgway. Ridgway knew it, Littleton didn't. Ridgway sent a message to the bookkeeper, enticing him to the merchant's building that morning. He'd previously stolen the walking stick. I see, but before the bookkeeper was due to arrive, Ridgway killed Bennet with Littleton's walking stick. Then Littleton came along, innocently enough, expecting merely to make his regular, insignificant payment to Bennet. He saw a crowd, became frightened, and dashed off to work at the bank.
Speaker 5:
[28:00] Well, I'm still amazed at how you arrived at the proper solution. Confounded Holmes, how do you do these things?
Speaker 4:
[28:07] Elementary, my dear Watson.
Speaker 3:
[28:22] Dr. Watson, The Case Of The Frightened Bookkeeper was really very surprising. I'm sure you have an equally startling adventure planned for next week.
Speaker 5:
[28:29] Yes, as the hell as I have. It's called The Adventure Of The Guy Fawkes Society, a secret cult whose membership consisted entirely of fanatics, devoted to one of the most horrible purposes imaginable. Of course, nothing on earth could keep Holmes from joining the society.
Speaker 3:
[28:48] Well, Dr. Watson, we shall be standing impatiently at the door of your study next week for The Adventure Of The Guy Fawkes Society. The makers of Clipper Craft Clothes and more than 1200 stores from coast to coast have brought you another in the new series of broadcasts, featuring the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Our stories are based upon the character Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the program is produced and directed by Basil Loughran. Sherlock Holmes is played by John Stanley, Dr. Watson by Ian Martin. This week's story was written by Howard Merrill with special music by Albert Berman. If you don't know your Clipper Crafts either, write Clipper Crafts, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Be sure to listen next week to Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure Of The Guy Fawkes Society. This is Guy Harris, speaking for Clippercraft Closed.
Speaker 5:
[30:17] This is the initial broadcasting system.
Speaker 2:
[30:20] With your dial set at 710, you're all set for behind the front page with Gabriel Heater, which follows in just a moment.
Speaker 8:
[30:27] Eastern Airlines now ready for departure.
Speaker 2:
[30:30] It's Eastern Airlines for double dependability.
Speaker 3:
[30:34] Eastern planes are the world's finest. It's pilots tried and proven through years of service.
Speaker 12:
[30:39] Fly, Eastern, the dependable airline.
Speaker 2:
[30:44] This is WOR.,
Speaker 14:
[30:46] New York. Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road. And those who travel it wind up in the gut of the prison of the grave. There's no other end. But they never learn.
Speaker 15:
[31:02] Wrigley's Spearman Chewing Gum, the refreshing, delicious treat that gives you chewing enjoyment, presents for your listening enjoyment Raymond Chandler's most famous character in The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe. To make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to refreshing, delicious, Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum. Here's a taste treat you can enjoy indoors, outdoors, at work or at play. The cool, long-lasting mint flavor refreshes you. The smooth, steady chewing helps keep you fresh and alert. Adds enjoyment to whatever you're doing. Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum. Healthful, refreshing, delicious. Now, with Gerald Moore, starred as Philip Marlowe, the makers of Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum are glad to bring you tonight's transcribed story, The Last Wish.
Speaker 11:
[32:19] Flight 7 from Dallas, Texas, now arriving at Gate 4. Flight 7 from Dallas, Texas. Here we are, sir. Just coffee. Still can't tell you when to run in, may I?
Speaker 16:
[32:31] I like cake sandwich.
Speaker 14:
[32:32] No, honey, just coffee, nothing else. Oh, wait a minute. Make it another coffee, will you?
Speaker 16:
[32:37] Sure.
Speaker 14:
[32:37] Oh, Lieutenant, Matthew's over here.
Speaker 17:
[32:39] Oh, hi, Phil.
Speaker 14:
[32:40] Hi. Sit down. I just ordered some coffee for you.
Speaker 17:
[32:42] Oh, that's wonderful, Marlowe.
Speaker 15:
[32:44] Now that the niceties are over, where is he?
Speaker 14:
[32:46] Uh, he's around, Matthews.
Speaker 18:
[32:48] Where around, Marlowe?
Speaker 15:
[32:49] Look, why all the hocus pocus?
Speaker 13:
[32:51] When you called, you told me to get over the airport here in a hurry.
Speaker 18:
[32:53] You said you had him. I do.
Speaker 14:
[32:54] Also, I've got a story.
Speaker 18:
[32:55] Well, that can keep you. We get the headquarters.
Speaker 14:
[32:57] No, it can't keep, Lieutenant.
Speaker 19:
[32:59] It's...
Speaker 11:
[33:00] Listen.
Speaker 14:
[33:03] It can't keep any longer than that, Lieutenant.
Speaker 11:
[33:05] I don't follow you, Marlowe.
Speaker 13:
[33:07] A guy the law wants in a cozy cell on a plane going to New York, where's the connection?
Speaker 14:
[33:11] That's the story, Lieutenant. We got 20 minutes before that plane takes off. Here, have your coffee. Anything else, sir?
Speaker 18:
[33:17] No.
Speaker 14:
[33:18] All right, Marlowe.
Speaker 18:
[33:19] Let's have it.
Speaker 14:
[33:20] But make it snappy. I can't make it snappy, Matthews. It's not that kind of a story. Not parts of it, anyway.
Speaker 18:
[33:26] All right, Phil. Do it your way.
Speaker 14:
[33:28] Well, it began early this evening, Lieutenant, about 5.30, when I got a call from a doctor in my neighborhood, a nice elderly guy named Sam Tauman, who once took a bullet out of my shoulder.
Speaker 15:
[33:37] Oh, I remember, yeah.
Speaker 14:
[33:39] Well, he wanted me to come over to his office right away, Matthews. He was excited. But not for himself. Excited for a patient, an old man, who was dying. When I got to his place, the kind of old-fashioned doctor's office where the drab horse hair furniture sort of gets mixed up with the shiny new x-ray equipment, he met me at the front door.
Speaker 20:
[33:57] He's inside with my nurse, Phil, and he's going fast. You've got to be quick. Now, what did I tell you on the phone?
Speaker 14:
[34:03] Well, almost nothing, Doc, just that he's old.
Speaker 20:
[34:05] Yes, 70, Phil, maybe more. Anyhow, his name is Schiller, Jacob Schiller. He's a good friend of mine from San Francisco, and he was on his way to Israel, to Tel Aviv.
Speaker 14:
[34:15] Oh.
Speaker 20:
[34:16] It was his life ambition. Sit down, Phil.
Speaker 14:
[34:19] Oh, thanks. He's not going to make it, Doc?
Speaker 17:
[34:22] Not a chance. It's his heart.
Speaker 20:
[34:24] He had an attack this afternoon. I can't even move him out of here. He's through. A little too soon.
Speaker 14:
[34:32] He wanted to go to the new country, is that it?
Speaker 20:
[34:33] Yes. Pioneers measured by his spirit, not his years, he said. Anyhow, Phil, he came down here to see his son, for he caught a plane tonight for New York, and the first leg of the trip to Israel.
Speaker 17:
[34:48] And that's where you come in.
Speaker 20:
[34:50] I don't know where Jack Schiller is. Jack's his boy's name. But the old man would like to see him once more.
Speaker 17:
[34:57] It's his last wish.
Speaker 20:
[34:59] He knows he hasn't much time left.
Speaker 14:
[35:02] Well, why me, Doc? Why not the police?
Speaker 20:
[35:04] Well, I didn't think... I mean, Phil, it... Well, you see...
Speaker 14:
[35:09] The kid doesn't sit too well with the law, huh?
Speaker 20:
[35:11] I'm afraid not. Excuse me.
Speaker 14:
[35:13] Sure.
Speaker 20:
[35:15] Dr. Taumann, hello. Oh, yes, Mrs. Caller, yes. One every three hours, like it says on the bottle. Yes. Goodbye, Mrs. Caller. Where was I, Phil?
Speaker 14:
[35:27] Jack Schiller and the law, the reason they don't get along.
Speaker 20:
[35:29] Oh, well, you see, Phil, Jack came down here to LA about three months ago, and as his father's old friend, he looked me up. So he had him over for dinner a couple of times. But pretty soon he started coming less and less. And when he did, it was a different Jack Schiller. Smart, flashy clothes, a new way of talking, you know, big shot kind of talking.
Speaker 14:
[35:51] Yeah, I know.
Speaker 20:
[35:52] The police are dumb and there's easy money to be made, that kind of talking. And he never would say what his business was if he had any. But believe me, Marlowe, whatever it was, it wasn't too much on the up and up. And there was some kind of a girl mixed in.
Speaker 14:
[36:07] There always is. What's Jack Schiller look like, Doc?
Speaker 20:
[36:10] Look like?
Speaker 14:
[36:11] Yeah.
Speaker 20:
[36:12] Oh, yes. Here, Phil, a picture we took of him when he first came to the house. A barbecue we were having. He's about 30 years old.
Speaker 14:
[36:22] Kind of good looking, huh?
Speaker 20:
[36:23] Maybe too good looking, Phil.
Speaker 19:
[36:25] Maybe that's the trouble.
Speaker 20:
[36:27] Anyhow, for Jacob's sake, Phil, for my old friend, do you think you can find him?
Speaker 14:
[36:33] Well, that depends, Doc. What else do you know, like last address, friend's name, favorite bar? That's the kind of information that counts.
Speaker 20:
[36:40] I was afraid it would be like that. Phil, I never did know his address.
Speaker 14:
[36:44] Oh, yeah? But Doc, there's got to be some place I can start.
Speaker 20:
[36:47] Oh. One thing, Phil.
Speaker 14:
[36:49] What?
Speaker 20:
[36:50] Twice or maybe three times I saw him going to a fancy apartment house on Wilshire Boulevard, the Sherry Towers. I passed it late at night coming from the clinic. I didn't bother stopping to call him. You know, Phil, if he wanted no part of me, I wanted no part of him. And I wouldn't care about him now either, but for Jacob. Jacob's been a good man, Phil. Always.
Speaker 19:
[37:13] Phil, we'll try.
Speaker 14:
[37:15] Yeah. Sure, Doc, I'll try. Doc Talman smiled his thanks without moving his lips. Turned and shuffled toward a room behind him. When he opened the door, I caught a glimpse of a lot of cylinders and tubes and gadgets I didn't understand. And something I did understand a little. The almost peaceful face of an almost peaceful old man who was dying. I didn't try to see any more. There wasn't time to waste. I suddenly wanted to get started in a big hurry. The Sherry Towers on Wilshire was made out of plaster, glass, brick, and acute angles. And it was anybody's guess what held it all together. The only person in the plush lobby was a tall man with a red turkey neck who had a toothpick and a cigarette jammed in one corner of his mouth. I walked over to the receptionist.
Speaker 16:
[38:09] Yes, that's right. Mr. Lederman's car at nine, Mr. Kelly's at 9.30, washed in gas. That's it, Steve.
Speaker 14:
[38:14] Goodbye.
Speaker 16:
[38:16] Oh, yes sir, can I help you?
Speaker 14:
[38:18] I hope so. I'm looking for Jack Schiller. I'm an old friend of his from out of town. I tried his place and the neighbor said I might find him here.
Speaker 16:
[38:26] The neighbor was right. But you're early. Miss Grant isn't through at the club until 10 at least.
Speaker 14:
[38:31] Miss Grant?
Speaker 16:
[38:32] Peggy Grant. She sings at the Crown Club. She's the one who lives here.
Speaker 19:
[38:37] Didn't the neighbor tell you that too?
Speaker 14:
[38:40] Yeah, but the way he said it, I thought he was kidding.
Speaker 19:
[38:45] You are from out of town, aren't you?
Speaker 14:
[38:47] Yeah, Pitchfork Corners. Well, good night, ma'am.
Speaker 16:
[38:51] Good night. Look for you later, Mr. Pitchfork.
Speaker 14:
[38:56] Oh, you big city slicker, you. Huh? Yeah?
Speaker 17:
[39:03] Pardon me for butting in, but I couldn't help over here. I can tell you something about your friend, Jack Schiller.
Speaker 14:
[39:08] All right, start telling.
Speaker 17:
[39:10] Well, let's step outside. I'd rather only you heard it.
Speaker 14:
[39:13] Oh, sure thing. So you know Jack, do you?
Speaker 17:
[39:22] Yeah, a buddy of mine. That's why I think I ought to tell you, it's a bad night.
Speaker 14:
[39:27] For what?
Speaker 17:
[39:28] For old friends to bother him, Rob. He's busy! Oh!
Speaker 14:
[39:37] The roll of nickels at Turkey Neck must have had clenched in his palm. Folded me fast. By the time I climbed back onto a pair of wobbly knees, he was across the street into an alley and gone. But I cheered myself up with the thought that it was better this way. After all, with Turkey Neck coming out on top, I was only a friend of Schiller's from the sticks, so nobody had to worry about. And that thought helped all right. Helped everything from the blood that trickled out of my mouth right down to the side. I hoped it would stop by the time I got to the Crown Club.
Speaker 15:
[40:10] Good evening, a table for one, sir.
Speaker 14:
[40:12] No, thanks. I think I watched from the bar. Oh, tell me, Captain, does Ross Holland still run this club?
Speaker 18:
[40:17] Oh, yes, sir.
Speaker 19:
[40:17] You are a friend of Mr. Holland's?
Speaker 14:
[40:19] An acquaintance.
Speaker 18:
[40:19] Oh, well, in that case, sir, I must insist, a table. Andre, Andre, a table for one, vipmo.
Speaker 14:
[40:25] This way, sir.
Speaker 12:
[40:26] The chanters will be out in a moment.
Speaker 18:
[40:28] You cannot see as well from the bar.
Speaker 14:
[40:29] Uh-huh, thanks. I did want to catch her number.
Speaker 18:
[40:34] This way, sir. Sir, is there something wrong?
Speaker 14:
[40:37] Hmm? Oh, no, I just changed my mind, Skipper. I think I'll go to the bar after all. It was Jack Schiller, no doubt about it. At a corner booth just beyond the bar and huddled close to a girl who was almost dressed in something strapless and spangled and who matched the display poster I'd just seen in the lobby labeled Peggy Grant. I ordered a drink at the bar and then walked it over to a celebrity picture gallery on the wall near them and listened to Schiller, all smiles raised to drink a toast.
Speaker 19:
[41:03] Now darling, to the happy end of Mr. George Mancini's squeeze play and to your letters, back safe and sound in the lily white hands that wrote them. Hey, sweet, you're supposed to drink a toast, not stare it down. Baby, what is it?
Speaker 16:
[41:19] Jack, I'm worried. I do want everything to go right. Why, if you don't get those letters from Mancini, everything I worked so hard for will be lost.
Speaker 14:
[41:28] You can't catch it all. But it was easy to fit together. Peggy Grant, who was now going up fast as a vocalist, had once been in love with and under the personal management of George Mancini, a preserved and alcohol combination Asian producer, was now going down even faster. And although she had never had a contract with Mancini beyond an oral agreement, her old love letters had included enough business for Mancini to drag them into court where they could stand up in lieu of a written contract and thus net brother Mancini, the customary 10% of Peggy's earnings. And they say so about future engagements that neither of them wanted.
Speaker 19:
[42:15] I won't even open them. They belonged to a long time ago and I'm not interested. Now you go on out there and sing for your supper.
Speaker 14:
[42:22] I knew that once Schiller left the club, he was going to be busy. So as they started to tear themselves away from each other, I figured it was the right time for me to step in. What I didn't figure on was Ross Holland, the king of the Crown Club, standing at my elbow.
Speaker 21:
[42:34] Hello, Marlowe.
Speaker 14:
[42:35] Pretty picture, isn't it? Yeah, if you like, ingenues with bags under their eyes.
Speaker 21:
[42:40] I wasn't talking about the one on the wall, Detective. I meant Peggy. You were staring, remember?
Speaker 14:
[42:45] I do. Your move, Holland.
Speaker 21:
[42:50] Take the chip off your shoulder, Phil. I don't mind if you stare.
Speaker 14:
[42:53] She gets paid for it, but you pay it.
Speaker 21:
[42:55] Sure. But also I pay the waiters, the doorman, and so on. That was all you were doing, wasn't it? I mean staring, window shopping. I'd hate to think you were here on business.
Speaker 14:
[43:08] Oh, sensitive, aren't you?
Speaker 21:
[43:10] You know, Marlowe, I've piled up a lot of enemies wrecking in the blue chips.
Speaker 14:
[43:13] That figures. What are you getting at, Harlan?
Speaker 21:
[43:15] A job. I think you might fit, huh? Let's try the office, if you can spare the time, can you, Phil? Sure, sure.
Speaker 14:
[43:25] I've got nothing but time, Ross. Let's go. As I trailed Harlan out of the bar as far as an unmarked heavy oak door, I caught a glimpse of Jack Schiller picking up his hat and coat at the entrance. Operation Mancini was under way.
Speaker 21:
[43:43] I never get these keys straight, Marlowe. Round key on top, square one on the bottom. You think I'd remember that, huh?
Speaker 14:
[43:50] Yeah, switch to a revolving door.
Speaker 21:
[43:52] Oh, well, I like my privacy. So do my boys. Now, go on in, make yourself comfortable. I'll get a couple of drinks going.
Speaker 14:
[44:02] As I moved into the vault, Harlan called home. One thought alone stood out in my mind. Every second that my host wasted was a second that old Jacob Schiller couldn't afford to lose. But finally, when I was just about ready to skip playing at close and take off, Harlan came to the point. His proposition that I go to work for his enemies, play spy and get paid for both parties. And I needed like a weekend in a leaky submarine.
Speaker 21:
[44:24] Well, that's it, Marlowe. Yes or no?
Speaker 14:
[44:27] Yes and no, Ross. I'd like to sleep on it.
Speaker 21:
[44:29] Fair enough? Fair enough. Good night, Phil. Get to bed early, huh?
Speaker 14:
[44:36] It was all the cue I needed. I bum-joked my way out of his office, hurried through the club to the street, then ran for my car and pointed it to the top of the Sweeter Drive in the Hollywood Hills, and the Shiller George Mancini rendezvous I couldn't afford to miss. The place which turned out to be bilious green walls under a shocking pink roof stood out in that conservative neighborhood like a black panther in a snow bank.
Speaker 13:
[45:20] Don't move an inch, mister.
Speaker 14:
[45:21] Oh, fine.
Speaker 13:
[45:22] And drop your gun right where you stand. Go on.
Speaker 19:
[45:27] I'll turn around and answer up real fast. What do you want with George Mancini?
Speaker 14:
[45:30] Nothing. It's you I... Hey, that blood all over you. What happened in there, Shilly? You didn't kill him with those lousy letters in that envelope under your arm, did you? Well, is that it?
Speaker 19:
[45:39] No, not quite, mister. He isn't dead.
Speaker 13:
[45:42] But what do you know about me? How come you know my name? Cops.
Speaker 19:
[45:46] Never mind. Just back off, mister.
Speaker 13:
[45:47] Fast.
Speaker 19:
[45:50] Open that door. Go on. That TV screaming must have disturbed the neighbors.
Speaker 14:
[45:54] Listen, Sheila, I'm working for Dr. Tom and I...
Speaker 13:
[45:57] Stay shut or you'll wish you had.
Speaker 19:
[45:59] Now go on. Get in there with him.
Speaker 15:
[46:21] To make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to refreshing, delicious, Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum. The lively, full-bodied, real mint flavor cools your mouth, moistens your throat, freshens your taste, and the chewing itself gives you a little lift, helps you keep going at your best. So for real chewing enjoyment, that's refreshing and long-lasting, always keep Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum handy. Healthful, delicious Wrigley's Spearmint Gum will make every day more enjoyable. Now with our star Gerald Moore, the second act of Philip Marlowe and tonight's exciting story, The Last Wish.
Speaker 14:
[47:13] It only took one look at the unconscious pulp on the floor inside to tell me that George Mancini had tried hard to hang on to the letters. Almost too hard. I rolled him over. He was as limp as a slice of raw bacon, but still alive. I just got his shirt color loosened up when the door behind me opened again.
Speaker 19:
[47:29] Easy, Fodden. Marlowe.
Speaker 14:
[47:33] Hello, Matthews. A little early for a lieutenant from Homicide. How come they sent you?
Speaker 18:
[47:37] They didn't. Becker and I were driving by when I called him out over the radio. One of the neighbors out here heard something and phoned in. Who was he, Marlowe?
Speaker 14:
[47:45] A guy named George Mancini.
Speaker 18:
[47:48] Becker, see what you can do for him.
Speaker 10:
[47:50] Okay, Lieutenant.
Speaker 17:
[47:52] Looks like he soaked up a lot of punishment.
Speaker 14:
[47:54] He did, but not from me, Matthews.
Speaker 18:
[47:56] Oh, no? What were you, Marlowe, a referee?
Speaker 10:
[47:58] Who did it?
Speaker 14:
[47:59] It was over when I got here. The guy who did it didn't give me much time to talk. He had a gun.
Speaker 13:
[48:03] All of which still doesn't answer my question.
Speaker 14:
[48:05] I don't know his name. His occupation is loving a blonde.
Speaker 18:
[48:09] Is that why you're here, the blonde?
Speaker 14:
[48:10] Yeah, more or less. She was afraid of Mancini. He had some letters. Letters, huh?
Speaker 9:
[48:15] Which are long gone now, no doubt.
Speaker 14:
[48:17] No doubt.
Speaker 19:
[48:18] What's the blonde's name?
Speaker 13:
[48:19] Hello, Lieutenant.
Speaker 18:
[48:20] I think we'd better have an ambulance.
Speaker 21:
[48:21] This guy is a long ways out.
Speaker 14:
[48:23] Uh, okay.
Speaker 18:
[48:24] Take care of it, Beckham.
Speaker 13:
[48:25] Yeah, okay.
Speaker 18:
[48:25] Well, Marlowe?
Speaker 14:
[48:26] Now, look, Matthews, nothing's actually happened so far with this beating, and it's probably well-deserved. But the situation's touchy. Girls worried silly if a name gets mixed up in a thing like this.
Speaker 7:
[48:36] All right, all right. Now, listen to me.
Speaker 20:
[48:38] I want the guy who dished up this mess.
Speaker 13:
[48:40] Either that or the whole story down at headquarters. Now, which?
Speaker 14:
[48:42] Okay, you'll have him. But just give me a little time alone, and I'll deliver him on a platter. Oh, not again. I promise. Oh, come on. It means a lot to me, Matthews.
Speaker 18:
[48:51] Well, okay, Marlowe.
Speaker 13:
[48:54] Just see this doesn't blow up in your kisser, and don't get lost, understand?
Speaker 14:
[49:01] Outside, after I found my gun, I climbed into my car and headed for Peggy Grant's Luscious Harbin House again. When I got there, I parked away from the place and skirted the front entrance. I was sure that by now the pretty face of the switchboard would be well primed for a tip-off. I went along the side of the building toward the service entrance at the back. The glow of a match and the shadows in an alcove stopped me. It was the turkey neck, Jack Schiller's quick-fisted helpmate lighting a cigarette. I eased my.38 out and moved toward him. When he finally heard me, he turned. But by then he was looking right down the muzzle of my gun.
Speaker 10:
[49:36] Easy now, easy, chum.
Speaker 14:
[49:37] Still so, it's a bad night for seeing old friends, chum.
Speaker 19:
[49:40] You got me nailed down, brother.
Speaker 17:
[49:41] You don't have to take my word for nothing. But listen, whatever your angle is, let it rest. Leave the kid alone for a while. Otherwise, you do for nothing but trouble in large doses.
Speaker 14:
[49:49] You're kidding.
Speaker 17:
[49:50] Yeah, you bet I'm always kidding.
Speaker 14:
[49:52] You've got more nerve than brains, buster. You can't pull that swipe.
Speaker 18:
[50:00] Go fry your ears.
Speaker 14:
[50:01] You're making a clout on the skull almost fun. Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. All that stuff spilled on the walk there. It fell out of your pocket, didn't it?
Speaker 18:
[50:08] Didn't it?
Speaker 14:
[50:10] So what? So you don't have to say another word, watchdog. I'm beginning to get the whole thing all by myself. Sure, and what's more, you yellow jerk, I don't like it! The two small items I just seen on the walk made swinging the flat side of my gun butt against his head a distinct pleasure. They also made getting in the service door and up the stairs two at a time to Peggy Grant's apartment a definite gratification. Because now I had a Jim Dandy hunch on exactly what to expect. Come on, princess, open up!
Speaker 16:
[50:44] Who are you, a cop?
Speaker 14:
[50:45] Expecting cops, Miss Grant?
Speaker 16:
[50:47] Not exactly. The milkman doesn't carry a gun and my friends all use the front door.
Speaker 14:
[50:52] I'm the informal type. Where's Jack Schiller?
Speaker 19:
[50:54] Right behind you, mister. Dick!
Speaker 14:
[50:55] Again.
Speaker 13:
[50:56] This time lay your gun on the table. Go on.
Speaker 14:
[50:59] Sure, sure. You're slightly better than the guy downstairs. I got by him with no trouble at all. What's that?
Speaker 13:
[51:07] What guy?
Speaker 14:
[51:08] Why, you mean Peggy didn't tell you about the watchdog? What is this? Go ahead, princess. Tell him about the turkey neck character with orders to keep everybody away while Jack makes up full of himself.
Speaker 16:
[51:18] Darling, get this idiot out of here. This is a trick.
Speaker 14:
[51:20] Why not also tell him who your real boyfriend is, baby?
Speaker 11:
[51:22] Why, you lousy dog!
Speaker 13:
[51:26] He should have learned a little from what happened to that skunk Mancini. Now go on back to him and tell him if he tries anything else like this, I'll go over him again, right from the beginning. My, my.
Speaker 14:
[51:36] Aren't we spunky tonight? Now look, Shirley, I want you to listen and I haven't got all night. There's a guy downstairs who was sent out to see that nobody interfered while you played Perfect Pigeon. It was you who risked getting plugged when you went in after those letters. I want you to be a sucker enough not to read. Now it's you who's in a big jam with the police. And what's more, I found out that that guy is one of Ross Holland's boys.
Speaker 16:
[51:57] Oh, you liar, get out of here. Oh, Jack, make him go away, please.
Speaker 19:
[52:00] Wait a minute. What's Ross Holland got to do with this?
Speaker 16:
[52:02] Nothing.
Speaker 14:
[52:03] Nothing, how? Late 10 to 1, those letters were written by Holland, not Dreamboat here. And that they set him up for a squeeze and have nothing whatever to do with their dubious career as a singer. If you got any sense, she'll all read one.
Speaker 16:
[52:13] Jack, you gave me your word. Oh, don't be a child, darling. Can't you see what he's trying to do to it?
Speaker 14:
[52:18] Just take one look at one signature, Jacks, and if I'm wrong, you can split my other lip.
Speaker 16:
[52:21] No, Jack, don't.
Speaker 13:
[52:22] Just the letters, Peggy.
Speaker 19:
[52:23] At least I'm gonna know who wrote them.
Speaker 16:
[52:25] All right. If that's the way you want it, Jack, that's the way it'll be. Jack, my gun. Drop it, Jack. I mean it.
Speaker 13:
[52:34] Peggy, Peggy, what are you doing?
Speaker 16:
[52:36] Drop that gun. Well, Mr., you sure wrecked a lovely set up. Why, I don't know, but it won't do you any good. I'm leaving and I'm taking these letters with me.
Speaker 19:
[52:47] And it's true what he said.
Speaker 16:
[52:48] Of course it's true, all of it. These letters were written by Ross Harland back when Moncini was his partner and they're loaded. With them, Moncini could cut himself in for half of every cent Ross had. And Ross couldn't trust anyone but me to get them back for him.
Speaker 13:
[53:02] Stay where you are.
Speaker 14:
[53:10] Peggy, let her go!
Speaker 13:
[53:11] Oh, shut up! You were right for your major point. Now, whatever your reason was, get it out of here and leave me alone.
Speaker 14:
[53:17] Oh, no. I haven't been monkeying in your corny affairs just for laughs, Sonny. I was hired to find you by Doc Tormann.
Speaker 19:
[53:24] Doc Tormann?
Speaker 13:
[53:25] Oh, that nosy old goat.
Speaker 19:
[53:27] Why?
Speaker 14:
[53:28] Your father's in town. He's had a heart attack, a bad one.
Speaker 19:
[53:32] My father?
Speaker 14:
[53:32] Yeah. He wants to see you. I told Doc Tormann I'd bring you back, and that's what I'm gonna do regardless. Now, get going.
Speaker 20:
[53:48] Oh, Philip, come in.
Speaker 14:
[53:49] I finally got Jack, Doc. Here he is.
Speaker 19:
[53:51] Hello, Doctor. Where's my father?
Speaker 20:
[53:53] Back in the bedroom.
Speaker 19:
[53:54] I'll go right in and see him.
Speaker 20:
[53:55] Jack!
Speaker 19:
[53:56] What?
Speaker 8:
[53:57] What is it? What's the matter?
Speaker 19:
[53:59] Jack, your father's dead.
Speaker 20:
[54:02] He passed away 20 minutes ago.
Speaker 17:
[54:05] Oh, I'm sorry, Doc.
Speaker 8:
[54:06] Dead?
Speaker 19:
[54:08] Oh, Pop.
Speaker 14:
[54:11] Pop.
Speaker 19:
[54:12] Here, my boy.
Speaker 14:
[54:13] Sit down. 20 minutes. Just about the time it took to beat a chiseller out of a bunch of letters and argue with a cheap two-timing blonde.
Speaker 20:
[54:22] Try to get hold of yourself, my boy. We knew you'd have come if you could have. Your father's last thoughts were of you, son.
Speaker 17:
[54:31] He was very proud of you.
Speaker 18:
[54:32] Don't, Doc, please.
Speaker 14:
[54:35] I'll run along, Doc. I got a phone call to make.
Speaker 19:
[54:37] Oh, wait a minute, Marlowe. You can't leave thinking like you do.
Speaker 13:
[54:41] Not now with Pop dead.
Speaker 1:
[54:44] I...
Speaker 13:
[54:44] I don't know what happened to me these last few weeks.
Speaker 19:
[54:46] I can't understand how I got in so deep.
Speaker 13:
[54:50] She had me, I guess.
Speaker 19:
[54:51] I'd have done anything she asked.
Speaker 14:
[54:53] You're not the first guy that's happened to. I doubt that you'll be the last.
Speaker 19:
[54:56] Yeah, but I've got to square myself now. I've got to.
Speaker 17:
[54:59] And I want to start with the police.
Speaker 14:
[55:01] You really mean that?
Speaker 19:
[55:02] I never meant anything more in my life. I'm not really a wise guy, honest.
Speaker 17:
[55:06] So what's this about the police?
Speaker 19:
[55:08] I'm in a jam, Dr. Toman, a pretty bad one.
Speaker 14:
[55:11] Because you've got too much nerve and too much energy, all you need is the right place to spend them. That gives me an idea. Is Jack your real name?
Speaker 13:
[55:17] No, it's really yackered, like my old man's.
Speaker 14:
[55:19] Oh. Doc, where's that plane reservation for Jacob Shiller? Here.
Speaker 19:
[55:23] I have it right here. Wait a minute. You mean...
Speaker 14:
[55:26] Yeah, yeah, you're catching that plane. With luck, you may make it all the way.
Speaker 19:
[55:29] Oh, but you're letting me go, Marlowe. You'll be in a jam yourself.
Speaker 14:
[55:34] Well, I think I know a pair of strong shoulders I can dump the responsibility onto. Let's go, kid.
Speaker 11:
[55:49] Flight 17 to New York, now loading at Gate 5.
Speaker 14:
[55:56] Well, that's the story to hear, Matthews.
Speaker 18:
[56:01] Just whose shoulders did you have in mind of that responsibility business?
Speaker 14:
[56:04] You're wearing them, you lug. Oh, give me that napkin, will you?
Speaker 18:
[56:09] Hey, just tell me something else to make it all nice and tight. That turkey-neck character, how did you know he worked for Ross Holland?
Speaker 14:
[56:16] Oh, well, when I slugged him in back of Peggy Grant's apartment house, a lot of junk fell out of his pocket, including a pair of keys on a chain. One had a round head, the other one was square.
Speaker 18:
[56:25] Oh, duplicates of that set that opened Holland's double-locked office, huh?
Speaker 14:
[56:29] Uh-huh. Tight enough, Lieutenant?
Speaker 19:
[56:32] Eh, tight enough.
Speaker 11:
[56:33] Last call for Flight 17 to New York, now loading at Gate 5.
Speaker 18:
[56:40] They, uh, they just called a New York flight, Phil.
Speaker 14:
[56:45] Yeah. Last call.
Speaker 18:
[56:48] Yeah. You know, I, I hear they're doing great things over there in Israel.
Speaker 14:
[56:53] Yeah.
Speaker 18:
[56:54] Building farms right out of the desert land, that kind of stuff.
Speaker 14:
[56:58] That's right. They, uh, they can use all the help they can get, I understand.
Speaker 18:
[57:07] I was raised on a farm, did you know? Keeps you so busy, you don't have time to get in trouble. Hey, Marlowe.
Speaker 14:
[57:16] Sit down.
Speaker 19:
[57:17] I'll buy you another cup of coffee. Thanks, Lieutenant.
Speaker 14:
[57:20] Thanks a lot. We watched the plane take off, swing in heavy, thundering grace, and head east.
Speaker 15:
[58:13] Remember, friends, to make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to refreshing, delicious, Wrigley Spearmint Chewing Gum. There's lots of cooling, real mint flavor in every stick. And chewing Wrigley Spearmint helps keep you feeling fresh and alert. You feel better, work better, get more fun out of doing things. So indoors, outdoors, wherever you go, keep some healthful, refreshing Wrigley Spearmint Chewing Gum handy. To make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to delicious Wrigley Spearmint Chewing Gum. The Adventures Of Philip Marlowe, presented by Wrigley Spearmint Gum, bring you Raymond Chandler's most famous character and star Gerald Moore. Philip Marlowe is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald and written for radio by Robert Mitchell and Gene Leavitt. Featured in the transcribed cast were Jack Edwards, June Foray, Larry Dobkin, Harold Dierenforth, Jack Crouchon, Lynn Allen, and Stan Waxman. The special music is composed and conducted by Richard Arundt. The makers of Wrigley Spearmint Chewing Gum hope you've enjoyed tonight's adventure of Philip Marlowe and that you're enjoying Wrigley Spearmint Gum every day. Next week, Philip Marlowe will be heard on Friday evening, so we invite you to be with us next week on Friday when Philip Marlowe says...
Speaker 14:
[59:54] This time I found an old friend in the morgue. Watched a man with a burned hand die in a quiet garden and listened to a pathetic killer give up. All because a little glass donkey came to town.
Speaker 15:
[60:16] This is Bob Stevenson speaking, and this is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
Speaker 1:
[60:37] You can find more from Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, Case Closed, and all of the Relic Radio podcasts at the website relicradio.com. You can donate through that website as well. If you'd like to help support this and all of the shows, we've got some downloadable sets for certain donation amounts. Anything is always helpful and appreciated. Thanks again to those who have helped out. Thanks for joining me this Wednesday. I'll talk to you again next Wednesday with another Hour of Mystery on Case Closed.