Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Police Headquarters: The Tommy Gun Murders and The Perfect Murder (EP1268)

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Police Headquarters: The Tommy Gun Murders and The Perfect Murder (EP1268) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

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Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
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Be sure and check out this week's Call Them. It's a review of a
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officially, it's an audio full cast audio drama of twelve angry men, and
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two weeks, and just do a search in the Kindle store for Great Detectives
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of Old Time Radio. Now it's time for today's episodes of Police Headquarters.
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And this is actually the last series that we'll have two fifteen episodes in until
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we get to mister King Tracer of Lost Persons. But here now is episode
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sixteen and seventeen, The Tommy Gun Murderers and the Perfect Murder Paul twelve fifty
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and thirty one, Ours twelve fifty and twenty one reports the central station calling
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Detective Acon. Detective Acon and forty one, call your precinct, ball,
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give me police head quarters. W No, what's up now? And eat?
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Something big happen? The weather drawing and the boys out? Yeah,
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the song's probably got a listeners quarters this, Captain Acond, what's up?
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What is the Christon garage down the east side? Captain? Well, we
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need the tenth precinct is on the scene. What is the murder? Yeah?
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Five of them? Well tell him along my way, step yeah,
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step on and I eat right here we are, say, holy smoke,
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A look at that crowd. Make him upping up. That'll be good.
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You went in the car and he right, all right, let me throw
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here come, I'm stand back there all went up here on, Captain,
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Captain Acer All right, first, lad, what's going on down there?
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Pard? It looks like another Valentine's Day fare, Captain, except they got
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a copper. They say, ooh, young fellow named McGrady. He heard
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the shots and come running up and they got him with a Tommy gun.
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Dirty sneaking the rests? Who else again? They got four employee easy to
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own him. I chuck him from the racketcy then yeah, well I just
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rid to put my finger on this one. Where can we get a business
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mid there's an office right over there. Any eyewitnesses, there was a fellow
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on the force who was with him with McGrady when he was killed. He
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was our study or at the time. And bring him in. Okay,
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three headquarters, you yell all right and give me powers and identification. Here's
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a man who was with McGrady. Good now, wait, look at the
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fingerprint beer right? Oh thanks, Captain aked another one of those wholesale murder
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cases. Out of the cresting garage. Mix up in the truck and racket
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kill the copper and four others stand by for description. All right, what's
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your name, Wilbur Smither? I was talking to McGrady. Well, are
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you gonna say that? Did you see the mugs that shot him? Yeah?
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There was a big touring car top up in about five or six men
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in Wait a minute, Frank got the radio working for a large touring.
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Top up? What color gray Car's gray? Frank, five or six mugs,
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and it's got that going, and come back to the phone, all
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right, Smith, that was what happened. Well, I was talking to
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Pat, who was standing over in front of a cafe there on the corner.
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Pat, Pat McGrady, the officer they killed. Oh, go ahead,
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Well, all of a sudden we hear shots in the garage here,
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and Pat jerks out his gun and beats it in this direction. Then a
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car whipped out of this driveway and heads up the street. Pat puts a
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couple of shots in and then they cut loose on him with a tommy gun
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and it was all over. I beat it into the garage here and see
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four guys laying on the floor. So I grabbed the phone and called headquarters.
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Recognize any of the mugs in the touring, none of them. Probably
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brought in from out of town with a job, in which case they'll scatter
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as soon as they can and get back of the sticks and hold it.
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Hello, Frank, add this to your description. The car will probably have
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a bullet hole or two in it. I got to hunch the killers from
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out of town and we'll be trying to get back cover all airports, railroad
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stations and steamship terminals. We've got to add them off. Do you mean
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commission there? Yeah? Stood out. What's been done in this garage A
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fair all that's possible, sir. We've barricaded all roads and the searching every
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car. We've blocked railroad stations and steamships and airlines. We've got a thousand
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minut a field right now and no trace of the killers. One we found
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the car abandoned. Parers went over for fingerprints. He's second the Department of
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as records right now. The new crowds turned up in our files. Who
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find off office behind all this? Yes? I talked to thehead of the
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unemployed truckers and he said some mugs had been trying to make a firm paid
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protection money and that they'd refuse to do it. So the rocketeers think they
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can get away with blast in the way in a well, they can't.
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What is this the city or a gangster's hangout. We're not gonna fool with
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this thing, Acon. I want every man put on twenty four hour duty.
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But do we find these killers? Yes? Yes, Well just a
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minute. So you awaken, Thanks cap Nacan. Was that on? Nice
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work? Powers? M you ones on us? Huh, okay, keep
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at it something new? Yes, Power placed two of the prints on that
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car through the DJ records. One of the men was Antonio Moretti, once
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convicted in California for arson. The other was Ward Dugan, who served seven
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years in San Quentin. Neither of them has ever been in our records.
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All right, get after it, Acon, Yes, why are California a
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story? Complete description? They probably have more dope on it. Then we
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have get pictures and send them a telephoto all over the country. It's State
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Wood Rest and it has those men of the death House awaiting execution. Let's
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see it. M all right, heck that's fast work. Give me the
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commissioner. Allow. Commissioner just got a wire from the California authorities. Both
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of these men were picked up as they got off the train in San Francisco.
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The Duken made a break forward and was killed. They have him already,
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and I got a hunch that he was the guy who handled a Tommy
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gun. Yes, sir, I'll leave to night, Sir. I signed
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Sergeant O'Brien to my death for a week or so and call my home and
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tell my wife I'm a bag packed and going after the rat who killed Patrick
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McGrady. Yes, nothing, Yes, I'm captain Acon. Well how do
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you do? We've been expecting your captain. God, thanks, have a
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nice trip. I had a long one. Well we've got your man before
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you recon you received the extradition papers in the chief. Yes, got him
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by air mail this morning. Well, malready is only two steps from the
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gallows right now, big case. Now the biggest Mandar department is engaged in
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in several years. I want to thank you fellas out here for the cooperation
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you're giving us somewhere So all right and no thanks? When are you leaving
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in the morning? Come alone? Yes, close back. These don't have
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much information on Moretti, do you No? You had, you'd have sent
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four men to take him back fore men? Why already? It's a bad
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hombreak all right, I can take care ma right, No doubt that you
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can handle Moretti. It's his mob that I'm worrying about. You think they
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have tried to spring him? Thank it, I know it. It makes
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you so sure. Raddy has a lot of money behind him. Bake money
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you have a lot of friends who'd think nothing of pulling a regular massacre to
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get him free. Why haven't they tied it before now for the simple reason
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that he's been too well guarded. As soon as they find out that you
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were taking him back alone, they're going to try to spring him sometime during
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the trip. Piece they should have sent someone with you. Awaken. Well,
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he did give me a private car. That'll help some. And I
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have the usual supply of leg irons and chains. Well, I wish you
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luck. Oh, yes, there's something else. We're delivering another prisoner to
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your estate, a hot check artist names Turner. Maybe you'd like to take
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him along as sort of anchor for Moretti chain him together? No, I
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do me good idea. Sometimes they have a drag on another prisoner. All
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right, we'll meet you at the four five minutes before train time and a
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can Yes, keep your eyes and ears open, I will see. Oh
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there you are, captain. Bring him over here, boy, right on
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time. I see, yeah, wre's your private car. Now this one
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right here? All right, men, bring him up. They're just ready,
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Captain making I'm expected to see a man, not a rap ass.
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Set your face, Capper, I can see you too are going to get
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along just fine. Yeah, this is Turner that fort you. He's changed,
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amrity. Okay, now if he was just signed for these men,
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here you go. Well, Chief Nelson, these men are under my responsibility
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now, yes, and I'm glad to get him out of my hands.
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Watch him, Michael hawk Achan. They're mean, both of them. I'll
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watch them. People well, step aboard, boys. I think the prosecutor
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will be a mighty glad to see both of you men. I'm throng Chief
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when you come east wick us up, I'll do that. Acon. Keep
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an eye on those men now, okay, Jee, there's good as can
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pick it right now. M none of those legs Turner, well, let's
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can be expected. I guess I guess him ready ready asleep? Yeah glad
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you got to be traveling with a rap like well, I'm getting what I
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deserve. My wife played a tunney who I was heading on count I was
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passing those checks and how far we know about halfway? What we do in
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pleasanton Pleasant? And why take on one of there? And I'd like to
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get a breath of fresh air? Sorry, turn over it. I got
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to keep the chaine them already if it was you alone, I'd be glad
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to let you take up either, but already has to be watched. Okay,
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captain, when do we get there? We're slowing down with the stop.
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Now, maybe you could open the door and each into the cars.
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New we're in here getting pretty stuffy. Well I can do that. Ah,
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how that better a lot better? Well? And to shut him a
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top hie copper Oh, jail delivery, huh said, I know that you
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were the one to watch turner. I'm ready. It has me to open
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that door out of telling them a color blazes? Why are you talking about
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copper? Oh? I don't try to cover them up. I know,
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always working with you. Why didn't you bring them mob hie manure hardly enough?
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You better shut up and get the old keys up. We're taking them
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already with Come on, walk, come on. You're not getting away with
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this. You're not getting away with this. You ain't got a chance,
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faith, give am not a chance? Mark right, I gets plenty of
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gay this key boy, all right? Whatever? Whatever? Holiday take him
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up about Holy small to Pa Patoes. If it makes any difference to you,
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Thank you much, Dad, not much say what's coming on around you?
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Things are happening to do fans for me. Hey, it easy,
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Captain, I'm seven minut here. We've been after these mugs per year.
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It was this gang that put your garage murders. Came to me again,
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the boys. Yeah, but how do you know they were getting on the
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train back there? How do your fellows happened to be here? Why,
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we've been on the train since you left, just waiting for something like this.
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We had the car here wired so we know if anyone came in.
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But we got the signal waves from why from Frank Turner here? Turner give
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mean that hot check passer? Yeah, only he's not a hot check pats
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there. He happens to be the Western director of the Department of Justice.
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Believe headquarters okay, Captain hello Tim, One or two patrols and the motorcycle
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escort to the Union station. Captain Nickin's arriving with six prisoners. I believe
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headquarters within a McGuire. This is Anthony A. Wilson. Yes, I
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live at nineteen thirty seven Huntington Road. Yes, I'm going to commit Jewish
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side and I want to know the police. Wait a minute, what did
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you say? Get a number on this call? Amazon. Right, I'm
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going to commit Jewish side and I want to know tofy the police. Can
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you speak a little louder please, the lion's noisy. I know you're stalling
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the time, officer, but it won't do any good. Listen Hello,
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Hello Macweli menut's up. Sergeant Hell just called in and tell us if we
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want to commit suicide, And it sounded very much as if he did.
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I had a shot over the wire. Did you trace the calls? And
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switchboard operator is working on? That must be the report? Hello? Yeah,
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yeah, how about that address again, one and three seven Huntingdon Road.
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Yeah, Anthony A. Wilson. Okay, that's the same name and
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address the guy gave me over the phone. Quick, get a car,
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meet me at the side door, right, give me the radio room.
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Hello, get a patrol car off. In nineteen thirty seven, Huntingdon Road
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put in an ambulance follow up to the same address. It was a case
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of suicide. Here we are, that's the radio patrol. Just the head.
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Yeah, I stay here if I need you all yell all right,
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Hey, what's going on here? What did I tell you? I'm Lieutenant
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McGuire from Sepal station. Oh I beg your pardon, and I'm sorry I
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didn't know you without your uniform. I'm off ser Ban. What did you
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find on this call? I just got here a couple of minutes ago,
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myself, sir, and get anyone answered the door the block? No sense,
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Let's go inside? Lights on, sir? Yeah, hello, hello,
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anybody at home? Must be somebody here, Lieutenant, there's a fire
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burning in the living room. Grade Hello, who lives here? That's upstairs?
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All right? As we drove up, I thought I saw a light
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running on one of the upstairs rooms on this side. What are you expecting?
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I don't know yet received a call telling us that the man was going
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to commit suicide in this house. Maybe just a gag. That's the right
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under the door. Huh yeah, we'll see. Well, let's go in.
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Nobody in here either. Listen. What's the noise out? Like water
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coming from the bathroom? Opened the door, coming in the shower? Say,
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what's the big idea? We're officers. Try yourself, come out of
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that shower. Officers. Wrong? Are you in the house alone? Oh,
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mister Wilson's downstairs and Steady has knocking the shower running. I suppose how
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long you've been in that shower about ten minutes. Here anything like a shot?
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No, we just received a call from a misster, Anthony Wilson,
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telling but he was going to commit suicide. We heard a shot over the
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wire. Then he meant it. What do you mean let's get downstairs quick,
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show me that robe? Come on, what do you mean he met
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it? Well? I saw mister Wilson with his pistol earlier this evening.
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I asked him what he was going to do with it, and he laughed
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and said he was thinking of killing himself. I did yeah, I suppose
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he was joking. And fund nothing more of it here. And this is
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the door locked? Got a key, No, mister Wilson has the only
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one. He's stilling the lock in side. You have the door to this
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room? No, the only door. We better break it in. Give
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me a handle, Ryan, right, you need an ex officer. That
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door is hollid Oak free interestick any windows? Yes, they're two long winds
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opening off the porch outside. Good, we'll try those. I never mind
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the door of Ryan. Okay, Officer Anderson is out on the car getting
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will you guess it? The are the windows? Yes? Locked? Both
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of them? Yeah? Stand back what are you going to do? Break
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the glass around the lock? There? Oh, if I can reach the
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lock. Yeah, there we are. Oh just where what's wrong? Oh?
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Take it easy, fella. Looks like Wilson told you the truth.
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He is there. Hell, what about a duck? Was the bullet wound
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self inflicted? And appears so? Lieutenant? What the hi gun did you
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find at twenty two Camp Perry model target gun? Where was the gun lying
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right between his legs and the chair? That's natural enough, you say the
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man called the police headquarters and announced it in shooting him zone. Yeah.
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I took the call myself. I heard the shot right after. Well,
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you observe he's sitting in his chair at his desk, telephone still on his
19:10
left hand. A bullet hole is square between the eyes and the head,
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thrown back and possibly from the impact. Yeah. The windows were locked from
19:21
the inside and the room was locked with a key turned crosswise on the inside
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of the door. Ah, yes, sir la, I'll turn in my
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report to the suicide I wouldn't be too hasty with that report. Doctor.
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Oh why not? You found the print of Wilson's forefinger on the gun trigger.
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Yeah, I know, but a lot of things don't ring true.
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Of course I might be wrong, but well, what sounds out of rye
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to you? Just this. If I was going to commit suicide, I'd
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use a man's size gun forty four forty five, not a twenty two.
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I wouldn't want to leave a possibility, but not killing me in the second
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place. Here's a man who stated his suicide buried de liberately. He calmly
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calls the police station and tells us he's going to kill himself. He locks
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the door and bars the windows, making it difficult to get to him.
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I see what you mean, but remember, lieutenant, and factically every case
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of suicide, you're dealing with a deranged mind. Possibly you're a man didn't
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stop to think of the size of gun or the inconvenience he'd be causing you.
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I know it's not much to go on, but I'm a feeling there's
20:27
something funny here. I take that bullet wound in the center of the man's
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foread, Doc, I want you to look at it very carefully, and
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if you can show me the approximate angle a bullet entered the brain, you
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see, I have an idea of it. Oh yeah, come in,
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I haven't had time to get a statement from you since we busted it on
21:03
your shower this evening. Uh so, Now thanks your name Gray, Harold
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Gray? How are you related to mister Wilson. I'm not related to him.
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I am, or rather, I have been his private secretary. You
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live here? Yes? Do you know any reason for mister Wilson killing himself?
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Woll No, no good reason. He's had a lot of business worries
21:26
lately, But then we all do. That's no reason for killing oneself,
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is it? No? I suppose not. What worries chief worries collection of
21:34
rents from his various properties. It seems slow in coming in. Just what
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are your duties, mister Gray? I handle mister Wilson's correspondence, make out
21:44
the bills, and assist in the collections. His holdings are quite extensive.
21:48
I see. Did mister Wilson have an argument with anyone recently? No?
21:52
Nothing, I know of anyone else with him tonight when you went upstairs?
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Yeah? Is mister Storling was with him when I left. Stallings is the
22:02
manager of mister Wilson's largest apartment house. How did hean Stalling get along?
22:07
Well? Alright, as far as I know. Well, I guess that
22:11
washes things up. You don't have to come down to headquarters tomorrow and make
22:14
a written report of what's happened. Sorry about your job. Oh, that's
22:18
all right, I can get another. Oh, by the way, I'd
22:22
like to get my pipe out of mister Wilson's study. I wanted to get
22:23
it a while ago, but the officer on the door told me you'd give
22:26
an order for no one the grins side, I did. It will be
22:30
all right for you to get you a pipe. No, that's anything else,
22:33
though, No, I won't. Uh that's a minute. Where can
22:36
I find this mister Stallings, I'd like to talk to him. I'm afraid
22:40
you're a little too late for that. He resigned this evening and told mister
22:42
Wilson he was going some plate out west for his wife's help. Oh I
22:47
see. Oh who wouldn't get your pipe? Thank you, fid O'Brian.
22:55
Get around there, right, I did like it, told me, sir,
23:00
open this window when I get the sign, All right, let's go.
23:06
Sorry, Gray, you're under a wrest on a target murder. What
23:08
do you mean you can lay off of the innocents? Pray? Give me
23:11
that key. Have you gone crazy? What key? The key you took
23:15
out of the inside of this door. I saw you steps to do another
23:18
just now. I knew you'd do it as soon as we gave you a
23:19
chance to get into this room. Here's the key, sir, add it
23:22
in his hands. Take a good look at it, O'Brien. You'll see
23:26
that it formerly had the shaft of another key started on too it. See
23:30
that shiny spot on the end there, Yeah, that was the first thing
23:33
to give Gray away. Gray turned the lock from the outside with the piece
23:37
that he started to the original key, and adding a bit more pressure,
23:40
he broke off the extra piece from the outside, leaving the key in place
23:44
with the door locked. All right, Gray, why did you kill him?
23:49
Very well, I'll tell you that story of him being worried about rent
23:52
collections was on the level. He was worrying about them because you were steeling
23:56
them. Now. One off, it was misily old. It wouldn't pay
24:00
a decent weight. That doesn't justify murder. Gray. You want to sign
24:06
a statement admitting that you killed him, you'll have to prove that's easy.
24:08
Finding the trick key in your possession is enough by yourself. However, here
24:12
are a few other things against you. All figure out, eh, yeah,
24:17
all. You killed Wilson because he was going to have you arrested for
24:21
stealing from him. You use a twenty two because you were afraid the shot
24:23
would be heard, and you called headquarters and telling us that you were Wilson
24:26
himself. You fired a second shot with a gun. You fired that shot
24:30
into a pillow, and we found the pillow in your room. A lie.
24:33
Don't try to lie out of it, Gray Desired. You made another
24:36
error, a very grievous error. After you fired both shots. You put
24:40
the telephone in Wilson's hand and wiped the pistol clean of your fingerprint. Then
24:42
you placed Wilson's forefinger in the trigger so we'd find his print on it.
24:47
Well, what about it? Nothing except you shot Wilson right between the eyes.
24:52
A man shooting himself between the eyes with a can't parry twenty two,
24:55
can't pull the trigger with his forefinger, He's got to do it with his
24:57
thumb. Donald Brien, Plice Headquarters. Okay, Sergeant, Hello, Tim,
25:17
I'm the jailer to the homicide office for a prisoner. Wellice, Headquarters,
25:36
welcome back. That first case I have to wonder how it played out
25:40
when they got home, in terms of when Captain Akin was asked how he
25:45
subdued all of those prisoners when he'd just gone to get one, whether he
25:51
told the truth or if he said something like you just sometimes you just have
25:55
it. The second one was clever, and I'm glad it turned out that
25:59
the Sir was the murderer, because otherwise he was he would have been a
26:03
fairly dance person. Sees a guy with his gun in joke and saying he's
26:10
commit suicide. Oh, that joker says he's committing suicide and he's having business
26:15
problems. This is the Great Depression. No one commits suicide for that.
26:19
But it just turned out to be a really bad cover story. Whether tip
26:25
the police off or not. I'm just glad that that didn't turn out to
26:29
be officially true for the story. All right, Well, what is officially
26:33
true is that I'll do it for this week. So join us back here
26:37
on Monday for the Hunters, which leads us into pursuit, and we will
26:44
be back with you on Saturday with two more episodes of Police Headquarters. But
26:48
from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Grahamson and off