Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Crime and Peter Chambers: The Contessa la Fresso Murder (EP1456)

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Crime and Peter Chambers: The Contessa la Fresso Murder (EP1456) · 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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is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
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to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at
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Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com
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slash Radio Detectives. Before we do get started, I don't want to encourage
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you if you've not already pick up your copy of my first detective novel,
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Slim Incorporated. It's available as a paperback or also an ebook form. You
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can check out that book as well as all my others at stored a Great
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Detectives dot at. Well, we had one long lost episode between last week's
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show and this week. Still here now from June the fifteenth of nineteen fifty
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four is the Contessa Lofresso, Murder Rhyme and Peter Chambers, created by Henry
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Kane, transcribed dan Stein Vane Plot, private investigator, July Licensed and Julie
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Swann. Peter Chambers. You're a private eye. That's your business, anything
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else that's collapse. It's five point thirty in the afternoon and you're at a
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cocktail party on Park Avenue, right up to now you've been bored. But
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that was right up to now before you saw her. Now you've seen her,
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and she's about as beautiful as anything you've ever seen in your life.
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She's seated at the piano idly doing improvisations. May I is it all right
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now I sit here beside you. Why, yes, certainly I've been hoping
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you would. Well, now you're Peter Chambers, aren't you, honey the
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detective todd fellow. Oh I love that? How many grits accents? My
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name is Lana. I love that name. I just couldn't perk up enough
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nerve to approach you, but I did so want to talk with you,
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mister Peter Chambo. All that's for you. Look when uh here, I'm
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Peter Chambers and called for you, said well, just follow me, said
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right, I'll be back, Lenor don't go away, I'll be way.
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You're right this way, he said, thank you, thank you? Well.
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Pete, Hello, Pete? Oh no is Loly Parker, Detective Lieutenant
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Parker. Can I lose you anywhere? You know? I am in a
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pocket and your shind and it's a good thing I knew where to find you.
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It's murder p well what else when Parker of homicide is involved? Look
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what about suspects? Is a kid by name of Jack March. Jack March,
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I know that boy. Yeah, he won't talk to cops, but
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he says he will talk to you. He'll talk to Peter Chambers only.
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Well, if that's the way it is, Louis, why do you need
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me right away? High View Apartments on Setton Place, apartment at sixteen eight.
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He very fancy. And who lives there? The Contessa Lofresso. Oh
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that's real fancy too. Is she there? She's here and she ain't here
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if you know what I mean, she's dead. All right, I'll be
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there, good boy. By now, Detective Lieutenant Louis Parker, when he
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asks a favor, you jump because with you is with everyone else. Louis
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Parker rates only with you. He rates special because you don't only respect him
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as a cop, you respect him as a friend. So you get the
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Sutton Place, the apartment of the Contessa Lafresso Parker is there, A lovely
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redheaded maid is there. Jack March is there. And one other guy,
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a tough baby by the name of Stony Cotter. You know everybody here,
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Pete Chambers Oh, I Jack, I'm lousy. I think I'm in the
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middle of a quick friend just told it, young fellow, Pete. You
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know Stony Cotter, me and a Shamus. We have met now and then.
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I've always preferred the then to the now. What to play on wides
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Stony Carter. I hood them from way back, an easy money guy that's
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always stayed inside the law. Not so, young Jack Marsh, a good
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kid turned wrong and then turned right again. He's done a stretch and he's
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been paroled, and you're one of those who make character for him. He's
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driving a cab last year heard. But the Redhead's more attractive than both of
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them put together. And you're beginning to debate between the Redhead and Leonore,
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but you stay faithful to Leonore. Pete. Yeah, Notice, all I've
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got is three uniform cops here, My staff is on the way. We
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haven't really got started yet, and already you've gone a two suspects. Yeah
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in here the bedroom. In the bedroom, Parker pulls down a sheet and
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shows you the Contestel Presso dead knife to death. He points out a switch
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knife lying on the dresser. The dresser's also got two vases on it one
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with Goddenias and one with orchards the flowers. Wilted and tired. Redheaded maid
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came back and found her like that. Came back from where Let me get
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the sheet back over the contessa. She doesn't look very pretty. Nom oh
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kish, Denise, when you come in here? Please denise money Peter Chambers,
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how do you do? How do you Denise? Would you tell mister
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Chambers just what happened? Well, it was about ten minutes to five.
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Ma Dame was in bed knapping. I knew she had a nap on on
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a five, so I woke her and point more with whom it with Monsieur
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Stony cart At for five o'clock? The other one was for fast? What
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other one? The other rappointment? What other appointmentent is the one with Monsieur
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Jacques March. Okay, miss Denise, so you woke her up. She
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was very tired. We only came home to stay from a week in the
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country. They were shopping to do and she told me to go and do
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it this shopping. But I say, Madonna, you will have a guest
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shot. What did she say? She yawned and said, so he will
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wake me up. Leave the door locked, which is just what she does.
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She leaves the door unlocked and blows. She comes back at twenty a
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half to five. She finds your friend Jack March standing in here, knife
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is in his hand, and the contessa she's dead. So quickly I call
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the police, and quickly is the police come? What does Jack March do?
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In the meantime, he stands like, oh, how you say it?
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A petrified petrified it's pretty good. And we find him like that knife
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in his hand, and of course he claims the poor kish he don't trust
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cups. He starts wailing for Peter Chambers. You don't trust law, but
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he trusts Peter Chambers. Look, he's a good kid, good kid,
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smood kid. He's got a knife in his hand. He's here on the
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scene. What does he get for that? The purple hu that bum out
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there, the first appointment, the five o'clock guy, Stony Catter? What
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about him? Well a minute, Denise gives us the story. One of
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my boys picks him up at his place. Where is his place, Hotel
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Bilton. He'd hardly get there still had his hat on. Okay, so
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I suppose you want me to talk to the kid. Yeah, I wish
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you would for his sake. Alright, but that's sort to do it in
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a hurry. I've got to get back to a party. Oh business deal
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there, well, not exactly business. Uh yeah, if you want to
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put it that way. Now, look, miss Denise, we miss your
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shamp aren't you the cute one? We miss you? Sham Oh you're the
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nise you. You know. If there wasn't Illinois, there is perhaps,
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but there is but one. Denny, No, I got a small hunt.
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You're right. Well, look lover boy, break it up. What
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did you want to ask? Sorry, Louis lost my head. Now these
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flowers here, Denise, what are they? Oh? Kitchen gardenias above of
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the contested he gives them last week they're all, of course, it was
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last week and we have been away all this week. Look, Peter,
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you want to talk to the kidnap, I'll talk to both of them.
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Stony Cutter first, if it's all right with you, Louis, Yeah,
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sure, in here right there, out there, crazy friend man, Stony
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at your cyrus. Tell mister Chambers your tail of wall tailor wall. Hey,
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simple, okay, let's hear it. I got a date with the
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contesta for five belts. I come, I knock, no answer. I
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try to do. It's open, I goesen. Mind're asleep? I wake?
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Yeah, we chop chop, but she ain't in a move for no
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company. She's sleepy. So I blowed a joint longest day, oh maybe
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ten to fifteen minutes. Then I get back to my hotel and ain't there
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maybe a minute when wham banging out a door. Cops they lug me back
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here. That's it, okay, Now you Jack March, your personal private
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eye is here. You want to unclam now or you want a personal private
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trip down. He's a little easy, will you, Jack? Yeah?
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You trust me, don't you? Kid me? Yes, sir, mister
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Chambers. All right, tell me what happened. Look, they'll railroad me.
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I've been in the can once. I don't want it. I don't
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want it no more. Look, mister Chambers, I'm driving a hack specially
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okay from the hack pure. I'm doing it all right. Now I get
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to get caught up in this. What happened? Kid? Well, I
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had a date with it for five point thirty. I come early, like
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Stoney says, the door was open, Only I don't find her asleep.
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I find her dead and there's a knife and the floor. Like a dope,
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I picks it up, and then the maid budget is in. What
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am I gonna do? Me with a shive in my hand, stab her
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and make a run for it. So I just stand there like the big
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dope I am. And that's it. A dead dame, a knife and
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me in the middle. You didn't kill her, did you, kid?
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You think you'd tell you he did? Yes, Lily, I think he
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would. I didn't. I didn't kill her. Why should I kill her?
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Pete globe him. Parker takes you aside and thanks you. The staff
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will be here soon and they'll take over on the scientific aspects. So since
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there's nothing left for you to do, you tell Parker to keep you posted
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and that you're going back to that Park Avenue shindig and back there you go.
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I need to change. It's so good to see you again. I
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told you be back. Lenor Leonora Stanho a beautiful girl. Beautiful name.
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Another beautiful name happened to me just a short while ago. Denise, Oh
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honey, there are so many de nieces, but there's only one, little
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Leanoyah. You too much have studied in the same book. But Leonora Love,
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I am faithful unto you. Let us go gather cocktails. You're just
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the man for criminologists. Who needs criminologists? I've got you. Oh,
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here's that man again? Hi? Here, here, I am a phone
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called mister Chambers. Thank you. What's your name? Livingston? Sir?
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Lead me to it, mister Livingston, leonor once more, my apologies this
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way, mister Chambers. You go to the phone and guess who we've got
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development speak. Look, I'm working on a few developments myself, Louis.
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We're booking your boy. But there have been a couple of interesting developments like
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what well, that's not for phone talk. I'll wait for you if you
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promise come over to the apartment, but pronto, all right, I'll be
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there as fast as I can. Don't go away. I'll be here,
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but do it quick. Huh. So, once more, you do the
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apology bit for Lenora Stanhope. You tell her you'll be back, that you'll
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call her even before you come back, and then you tear yourself away and
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you're on your shuttle again. You're back at Sutton Place, in the contess's
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apartment, and there's nobody there, not even the body. There's only Parker
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or a couple of cops and Stony Carter. Where's everybody? Well, your
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boys downtown being booked. Body's been picked up for the basket boys, and
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my staff has departed. Well, there was one little bright light down here
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who is conspicuous by her absence at Denise. What happened to her? You
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turned on her like a refrigerator, so she kind of shined up to one
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of my young cops down town with him. Mm hmm. You're gonna brush
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her up on criminology, may have lad Well, there's always an r an
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all who de private lieutenants private for the private eye. What's with the developments?
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Well, first we've got a little motive finally, like what robbery?
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There's a brooch missing from the drawer of that dresser in the bedroom, along
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with the flowers on it, and he wilt at orchids and gods yep,
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top drawer kept the jewelry there insured, but the brooch is gone and it's
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worth one hundred thousand bananas. You mean the dame woke up while one of
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our two suspects was kind of helping himself to this diamond brooch. Yeah,
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figure, she woke, squalked, got stuck. So who's stuck her?
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We say, your boy Jack March fingerprints on knife, only one set his
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What about fingerprints on the dress of drawer, got a smudge which could have
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been a fingerprint, and then we got a fingerprint which turns out to be
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Stony Cotters. Then why you're holding my boy? Because one your boy was
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called red handed with the knife. Two only his prints are on and three
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the smudge could have been his print, only it gots smudged, And that
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happens often in the How does dear old Stony explain his print? Let him
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talk to himself? So surety, I am happy to oblige. Oh I
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love these oily obliging guys. Okay, big shot, oblige. It's like
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this. I get here, she's sleeping, she wakes up. We chat.
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These flowers are all welded. The petals are all over the dresser drop
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from these here flowers. You see, I'm a neat guy, always been
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a neat guy. So while we're chatting, I'm kind of cleaning up these
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petals with fall, you see, I'm shoving them into the palm of my
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hands. I'm gonna dump them down to the incinerat right, do a little
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faster stony here? Oh yeah, yeah, Well the top drawers are will
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open some of them petals I'm cleaning up, rushing them together, like,
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some of them fall in there, So I pull a drawer open, take
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out the ones that fall in, dump the heap into the incinerator like that.
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My print maybe gets on a knob of that toy, simple enough to
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be perfectly lug. Time time to go into a huddle again, lieutenant,
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you and me alone? Yeah? Should he come in the bedrooms empty?
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Now? You holding that bird out there? They haven't got on what to
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hold it, and he's wise enough to know what he's beefing for his lawyer
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already. But you're holding a kid, aren't you, a kid who's trying
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to straighten himself out driving a cabby. Look be sensible. We got him
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with the goods, fingerprints, witness the works. But what about the brooch?
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Well, how fast figure is he got rid of it somewhere first and
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then back here he's about to clean up on the knifing deal with the maid
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shows. No wait a minute, so he plays it dumb. You see
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stands here. He doesn't make a run for it, and he says,
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he picks the knife up. Both, it could be true, can it?
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Only his prints are on It's possible the knife is wiped and then he
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picked it up. Oh, everything's possible. But we got a case against
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him, against the Stony. We haven't got a thing. You're gonna look
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over his place at the building. Oh, we haven't got a right.
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You need a search worr for that. We haven't got a thing the base
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of warrant. Yeah, but I don't need a warrant. What does that
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mean? The thing blew wide open fast and you picked up Stony at the
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building. He'd hardly gotten into his place, yet you said yourself. He
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had his hats all on his head. So so if maybe he did cop
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that brooch, it'd still be there. He just didn't have a chance to
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move it. But I can't get a warrant. I got no grounds for
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it. Good enough. So that's where a little boy private eye f it's
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in where listen, Louis, call him here for half an hour and then
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let him go, give him a five minute head start, and then you
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call on him at the built and strictly your social call. What'll you be
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working on? The mean? To me, be working on trying to get
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young Jack marsh out of the can. If I'm wrong, I apologize.
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If I'm right, a good kid gets spared a lot of grief. Final,
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louis so off you go on your scooter. First up as an old
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friend, an elderly Greek gentlemen who owns a floorers shop. You have a
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bit of discourse on the subject of flowers, including orchids and gardenias, and
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you come away with some edifying results. Then at the building you learn that
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Stoney's places four to six, so you've paced the fourth floor card or waiting
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for him. There's a phone booth and you use it. Winston resident,
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mister Livingston. I presume this is living Chambers Livingstons. Oh, at the
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other end of the wire, this type city very funny. Would you page
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Leonoris stando? Please you need sir, She's right here at this end of
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the Oh, you're killing me put around? Will you please? Thank you?
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Hello? This is Pete Peter Chambers. Oh thought you forgot a swell
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chance. It's just that I've been torn between what I want to do and
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uh, what I want to do. You're not quite here? And are
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you pee? Later? I'll be go hearing honey, special to you.
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I'll be coherent when I get back. But honey, when will that be
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soon? Honey? Very soon? Now you'll wait, won't you? Oh?
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Come on, I'll please wait. I will if you say so.
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But I'll beginning lucations. You're you're so gosama. One moment you're here,
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the next moment you're gone. I'll be back, baby, and this time
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i'll stay. All right, we'll wait. You hang up, you muff
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your brow, And then Stony comes tearing along like there's a tailor one behind
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him. He gets his key in the door, he gets in, and
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you jump catches you with a couple of wild ones, and you fly up
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a few wild once on him. But then he runs into a real beautiful
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bouquet of knuckles, And now Stony is real Stony. He's also rigid,
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stretched out on the floor like a welcome matter. You close the door and
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you get ready for a search, but no real search is needed. You
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come up with that brooch faster than a race horse breaking from the barrier.
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You just pick it up out of a desk drawerway. He dropped it when
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Parker's cops had come to pick him up. Then there's a rapping on the
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door to take the lieutenant. It's me just dropping in for a social good.
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Here's your brooch, Louise. Uh, well, maybe it'll clear your
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kid, but without a search want this bumble? Accuse you are planting it
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here? So will his lawyer. Where would I have gotten from the kid?
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They'll say the kid slipped it to you, which they'll say is the
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reason the kid wanted you in the first place. That's right here. Help
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me out. You had a right strictly a plant not going to work stone.
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We'll say about that. I got lawyers, Liutenant, that story gave
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you about how his print got on a dress of drawer. You got a
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statement on that, Oh yeah, sworn statement. Good because that statement and
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this brooch here together, they'll sit them in a hot seat. But good.
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I told you about those flowers. I told you how I cleaned up
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the petals from those gardenias, those orchids. It was all wilder. You
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saw them yourself. Some of the petals dropped in the draw I took them
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out. That's how the print got on there. Keep talking, you're killing
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me, and better you're killing yourself. I don't get a fee. You
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just talked to Onny Flowers lawis and they'll tell you. Tell me what there's
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a certain special feature about orchids and gardenians special features. Neither gardenias nor orchids
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shed their petals. Regardless of age. They wither and they're wilt, but
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petals they just don't shed. You're a liar, I'm not stony. Wait,
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I guess you're a lawyer. You'll convince you that this is one time
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you talked out of turn. That's nice word pity and you let's go.
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Don't turn for you special. I'll fix up yourself with petunias and so breathless
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but determined your back at the cocktail party. It's begun to pin out,
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but Leonora is still there. Oh the good mister Chambers. We were beginning
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to lose hope. What's with the WII? I thought you said we over
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the phone too? What is that? An editorial? Wi? Queenly Wi?
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No, purely a grammatical wei. Myself and my husband. You see,
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my husband is an amateur criminologist, and he's somewhere about drinking, of
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course, And when I tell him about the prize catch I have for he,
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I tell him that you're here and a man with your wealth of experience
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is willing to sit around with him and discuss the various Just a minute,
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please, Yeah, did you say husband? Yay, that said husband.
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That's what I thought you said. Oh that Denise. So my honey,
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my name's Lena. Yeah, I know Lenor you said Denise. I know
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just what I said. Well, I gotta go now by a game and
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this time, honey, child, I ain't a coming back, but no
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how and there you've had Crime and Peter Chambers. Dane Clark was starred as
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Peter Chambers. Crime and Peter Chambers Transcribed was created and written by Henry Kine.
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Others in the cast were Bill Zuckard heard as Lieutenant Parker, Ralph Bell
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as Stony, Donald Bulke as Jack, and Anita Anton as the Norm.
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It was directed by Fred Way And this is Fred Collins Inboding. You to
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tune in next week's same time, same station for Dane Clark in Crime and
24:21
Peter Chambers. Crime and Peter Chambers has come to you through the worldwide facilities
25:30
of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. Welcome back. Poor
26:56
Peter Chambers was disappointed, but in the day and at the end of the
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day, I should say yet another criminal will face his doom because he didn't
27:06
study up on botany as an asign. I also have to say that Ralph
27:11
Bell was such an essential actor to Golden age mystery programs. Just a fantastic
27:18
voice, either to play a heavy or to play a police officer. And
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I actually heard him in an episode or two of Suspense where he played a
27:29
police officer who was also the heavy. Well, now we turn to listener
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comments and feedback. In we have an email from Joel, who rites in,
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I am happy to say that Peter Chambers has grown on me. I'm
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enjoying the personality that Dame Clark projects as well as the plants in his relationship
27:45
with his detective. Read thanks for bringing this to me. Well, you're
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welcome, and I'm glad you're enjoying the series and having read one Peter Chambers
27:55
novel, it does seem that the relationship with Louis Parker is something that sorganic
28:00
to the books. Indy, the books and the radio show are surprisingly similar
28:04
in their narration, though the one novel I read wasn't as pro police as
28:11
the radio show was. It felt more like a situation similar to the Rockford
28:15
Files and Dennis in the books, But at any rate, it definitely carries
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over well on radio, and Dane Clark and Bill Zuckert are great together and
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it's very unique. It's probably the closest police officer private eye relationship in the
28:33
golden age of radio. The closest, I think that to that would perhaps
28:38
be between John J. Malone and Lieutenant Brooks. That's more of a friendly
28:45
rivalry than anything else. And pastor least a comments regarding episode fourteen forty four,
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This was really good. Well, thanks so much. I appreciate the
28:56
feedback and we will be back tomorrow with the adventures Philip Marlow and then coming
29:02
up next Tuesday, another episode of crime and Peter Chambers. In the meantime,
29:07
send your commons to Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net, follow us on
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Twitter, Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook
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dot com. Slash Radio Detectives From Boise, Idaho. This is your host,
29:19
Adam Grahamson and off