Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Police Headquarters: Retired and No Learnin’ (EP1298)

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Police Headquarters: Retired and No Learnin’ (EP1298) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

0:28
Welcome to the Great Detectors of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
0:34
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, send it
0:37
to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, h follow us on Twitter
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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 get started, I do want to encourage you
0:58
to pick up your copy of What Made the Golden Age Shine? In't it?
1:02
I explained what made the Golden Age of Entertainment's so special. It is
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available for all major e readers, either through Amazon for the Kindle, the
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Nook Store, or at smash words dot com. Also this week, we
1:19
take a bit of a sci fi turn as we review a modern radio drama,
1:26
Charlotte Pollard box Set one. Well, now it's time for our two
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episodes of Police Headquarters for the week. Here's episode twenty eight retired and episode
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twenty nine no learning at least Headquarters. I'm sorry, Lieutenant Owens is one
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space and duty. Tonight's the Ritz Hotel, Police Headquarters. Oh we can
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I think we've got you wrong, I too, Hell of all? How's
2:00
the ball? Ohkay? Lieutenant? How's things down that quarter. Oh about
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the same moment. How's it with you? No one of these hotels did
2:06
jobs as the Saint lietendant. I'd rather be back on the riot squad.
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I don't have something exappen on this job before I'll make the commission and put
2:13
me back on the old job. You're gonna get your pillow it this is
2:16
your speed. Them watching for a jewel snatches at the swell party. Oh,
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tim Pella, O the matter? Nothing except the hotel tells me to
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roam around in the affair keeping my eyes up and so none of these swells
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don't lose this part words. This guy van the Grist comes up to me
2:30
and he says that helps the folks to stinging over by the door. I
2:35
can see what burns up. Then. I ain't got no different guys like
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that living honey white money. Now what are you doing here to night?
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Lieutenant missus Dadergris called the commissioner this sappenloon, and the requested someone from the
2:45
detective through to look over the party to see me at They wasn't impressed by
2:49
the hotel protection. I remember seen the day I couldn't hand or something and
2:52
take ten of you punk stand and take care of him. Where's that screen
2:57
problem? All over the problem. Let's or partners for you. I won't
3:01
have now air. My wife is fain to do three. I don't know.
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I was gone. I don't know. I'm just standing about. Or
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perhaps you've gone a minute, Vans. Let's let your wife tell her story.
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Go ahead, man, Well, I was taking over there about that,
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showing the blues to some friends. I had just ended on my dress,
3:22
but I hadn't reached out from behind that curtain and tore it loose.
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Please, I dressed the tool bug you and Sue, but Massy a very
3:30
valuable pin man, not to be valuable officers. I value it more as
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an editor. I'm not going to cost three places. Oh, I don't
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supposed to be more than worth more than a thousand dollars. That's the string
3:39
of pearls you're wearing, man, man, what are they work? Well?
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You you are DearS here in kind of all these people office. I'm
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sorry, ma'am. I had a face of reason and asking that question,
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Well, they cost me or that is Henry ten thousand dollars, and Sieve
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made no attemp to grands. Then I kind of a change. You know,
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maybe I can't. Are you sure that's where you were standing, ma'am?
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Come along with tennant. I got idea, and I'd like to see
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what you think. I'm all right then now I was standing right the right
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here and there stuff from behind this curtain. Yeah, and did you get
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a look at his face? No, I didn't. I just throw his
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hands. It seemed to be clutching at my throat. I screamed. And
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then I must to say this, man, you get back to your party
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and let us work on this thing. There's no cause for an excitement.
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And if any of your guests feel uneasy, they can they can put their
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valuables in the hotel. Face very well, officer, you've been very kind,
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and I do hope that you'll be able to recover the pin. You
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see, I was going to give it to my knee for her graduation.
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You were going to give it to your knees. Yes, you see,
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she's always admired the TM you just did. Let us work now, man,
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we'll ever report for you before the party breaks up. Thank you,
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officer. Oh yeah, I feel so friendly, Henry. Yes, he
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took the investigation right out of my hands. Tim I just ranted to show
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you Tim that even though I am retired, I'm still as good as any
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of you boys. All right, you'vet off a chunk of bubbles. You
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want to handle this case? And if you're up against the wall, don't
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come back to the headquarters. Oh worry, Come on, what do you
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wanna do? I'm gonna find that name's diamond Pin. What do you expect?
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A side behind those curtains dashed? You see, I know the employee
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here's this hotel better than you do, Lieutenant. They wouldn't think of that's
5:13
from behind the curtains and the many neat What is it? That's what I
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thought? He is ready eat it? Yeah, there's a cover on it.
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This cover probably hasn't investiges with Puddan. What's that got to do with
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it? Just this this jewel snatch to whoever he was was hiding behind this
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curtain, He probably had to wait quite a while until someone come near enough
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to let him grab a sparker and scram by these backstairs. All right.
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He probably get tired then, so he looked for braceisting down. But see
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that spot in the desk, that's where the guy STATS probably was waiting.
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Oh, I see what they're up to. You're gonna line up the title
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of them guests and have them to lift their coattails while it has dust on
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the seat of his claws. This is going to be clapped in the jug,
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all right, and I stop rising in Lieutenant. You know as well
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as I do, an the least well poll that job. They're all wearing
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more jewelry than miss vandergrids cloth. Oh what significant about the doth nothing except
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that the pointed himself up here, and there's ready at a cover. The
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guy were after it to use his hands to put ras and me And take
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a close look at this cover you'll see prince of both hands, perfect prince.
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Just what we need. Oh, it's job all right. More,
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I beg your pardon, I mean, excuse me, how do you gentlemen?
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The sound done right? We just the same and found the life history
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and picture the guy who's told your wife's staying, hey, stay away from
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the prince. What are you trying to do is spare up? Oh I'm
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sorry, I got a finger pin man from headquarters. Check these out at
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gen Awhile I stay here and try to look after him. I gotta haunt
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that These Prince will call us everything we want to know. I want to
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know. Well, the Prince belongs to gentleman Jim Bradley. Gentlemen, gim
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when you get out of the big house the first of the last month,
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and I suppose you put out no good to pick him up, they will
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have him by morning. Oh there's the hotel detective. All right, all
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right, all right, I'll be right down. What is it? I
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guess I'm getting one I ask for tonight one of the guests just took a
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header out of a fourteenth story window. Come on, who was it?
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I didn't know. Let's take these stairs. They will shoot us right out
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onto the street. Yeah right here, yeah, all right, up and
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up there a lot of serve, come on, get back, holy smoke,
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A ten and a luck. Yeah. And it wasn't much of a
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job to find him. And there's one jail berg will never fly again.
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Come on, let's search him for the diamond. You're crazy as a little
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Jim. Expect to fight in here, man badly. He didn't have the
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diamond on. I'm probably in his room here the door, beginning to plead
8:01
that he isn't the man. Where after I'm about that fingerprint. Sure he
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is day that's funny, but it's a slipper up here. What's funny about
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that on the other one of the street. Yeah, but I always think,
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hey, gentlemen, Jim didn't suicide. That's where I've been wrong.
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If he'd had jumped out or we'd have found both slippers on the street.
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But if he'd been hit on the head and tossed out, one of the
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slippers could have easily come off while the killer were dragging his body to the
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window. Quick, get tell me what's in that phone from him? Yeah,
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what's allid for? Down? Tommy knows more about what goes on in
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nice town between midnight and morning and the town itself. When you get him,
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I'll talk to him, and then you chase down the room mate twenty
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six and get Saul Levanson out of bed. He yeah, he's head off,
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but get him up here. I got a job for him, all
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right, him, You got me all mixed up, but it's sure case,
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and just do say that's all. I think I'll have an arrest for
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you. Okay, Oh thanks, Tommy. Yeah, you've told me all
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I need to know. Yeah, Yeah, I think we've got a pretty
9:03
good case on him now, don't you know? I mean, so,
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what's the big guy here? I am sleeping. So only if this guy
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breaks in and sees you want to see? So what's the idea. You'll
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find out you're the best diamond expert in town. So I want your advice
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on something. Let's move it like at night. I'm going back to day.
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I know you're not gonna wait here, that'll be mister vander Gase.
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I sent a boy tosing to come down helping it all the time. Did
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someone, yes, come on in, mister Vandergrase too. We want to
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talk to you. But my wife was giving a party and card the law.
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Yeah, what's the idea? Take my dad? God? Do this
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one? You ought you? Well, I'll be a monkey vocal. You
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founded digit Yeah, yeah, it's the diamond pin all right? You can't
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do there's a poor time to be coming us here. Take a look at
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this rock? So what's worth all? Its should prive a nice setting of
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him, But a twenty dollars white is worth one grand? Might be if
10:00
it was real. I'll call my Yeah, you won't call nobody until we
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tell you you can't. Where do you get this rock? I won't stay
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up thing until I see my boy. All right, I'll tell you it
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needs a pretty wildlife and Grist. You haven't got a dime your own.
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You spend what your wife give you, but that isn't enough for the kind
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of part of you filing, so you hired gentlemen Jim Bradley to see your
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wife's diamond pin. You're going to stay locked in this room until we make
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a little visit upstairs, and I'll tell you I'm not you know. Come
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on, boy, well maybe you know what they're up to, but they're
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a liable getting an awful dead who is that ands? They got nearly the
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entire wing. I wish you'd tell me what this is all about. I'm
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sorry to disturb you, miss vander Grist, but we just received word that
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all your jewels have been stolen out of your safe. I'm sure that they
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haven't. I was trying. I wonder if you'd mind looking again, man,
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I certainly not. I mean, let's stay straight over here, but
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I'm sure there must be some mistake. You see all here, everything,
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see this diamond necklace, Take a look at it? So what's worth fifty
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dollars fifty dollars. I'll have you no peace. Lady, Hey, look
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at the other steps dolls? Uh, same thing, Pee, vander Grist,
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I'm sorry to tell you, but your jewels have been stolen, and
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to keep you from finding it out, these imitation stones were replaced in the
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original sentence. Now, if you'll lend us your cooperation, I think we'll
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be able to apprihend the criminals. What do you want me to do?
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The sionist complain here, we'll do the rest. Well, I really should
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insult my husband. I don't believe that's necessary. Man, when yes,
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thank you, and we'll have some news for you within an hour. What
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in heaven the same are you up to? So I'm too old to be
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in the court? Huh you young funk? It about a swell time with
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this case. I haven't got it straight yet. Easy. This guy vander
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Gris needed money. His wife wouldn't give him any more, so he've been
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steadily stealing her jewels and replacing them with imitations. So why did he have
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tedleman Jim Bradley steal the pennant that was worthless? And because his wife was
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going to give it to her niece. The niece would have probably discovered the
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imitation and told the old lady. But why did father telemen Jim Bradley out
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of the window and they hand to prove that. But he knew that we'd
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get badly sooner or later, and that Bradley had squealed, I'll come out
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of town. That's work to be done. The officer, please, can
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I go to beat? And he looked forty six half three six? What
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was the call of Williams? And sent Street on an investigation. You meet
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a woman on the cornel, I fall. You're the woman who called the
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police. Man, Yes, I call. That's wrong. Doesn't always smell
13:28
of gas coming up in my room? Where right here? I run the
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room house? And all morning long, I've been smelling gas. Can't seem
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to find out where it's coming from. I didn't you call the gas company
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because I want you to look no dead Higgins Taylor's shop. I'd be coming
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from there and I don't see dead up and about all right, hold on,
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man, let's see if we can find where the gas is coming from.
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Right. I never knew that he needs to be so late getting up.
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He does me up long before. This always seems sitting in the windows
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there when I go to the store. Allways place, yes, and my
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rooms are right upstairs. Must be on where the gas is coming from?
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All like? Man? Yes, sound like it? Please? All right?
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What's in the chair there in the back groove where that's mud higgins in
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there and all that gas? Give me a hand, right, No,
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I wan't, but stand back all right? Come on, look out for
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the gas man. Choose your handkerchief. Come on, we gotta get this
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all my out of here. Where's the gas coming from? So probably shut
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it off? Okay, let me turn it off with the pipe. Okay,
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all right, give me a hand. Yeah, right here we go.
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You better carry hm right out on the street. Yeah all right,
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don't crowding around here. Open up. It's laying down on the sidewalket.
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I mean you rubber neck's gonna call it into the fire the gut. Hurry
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it out. How'd you look at it and looks like a goner? Saw
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these cold it'd be like in circulation, you know, I'll work these lung
14:58
you you can find some water, all right, I'll be right. But
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you're wasting your time all right along. That doesn't concern you. Haven't done
15:22
any good man, all right, boy, it's no use working on him
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now longer. It didn't we carried him out? What did me? I
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say, It wasn't until the ambulance gone. Oh man, So where you're
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going inside the store and look around ten times to tear out again? Yet
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makes me feel sick, Oh fellow, probably down in the mouth and flew
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all as to get pretty disparted to do a thing like that. Man,
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all right, be careful the glass here, better shut what's left the door
15:46
to keep that crowd of rubbernecks out. There's funny left here. Maybe you
15:50
better open one of those windows and let him flash air in. Okay,
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I'll wait a minute. I guess you better leave alone till the lieutenant gets
15:56
here. You know how he yells when we disturb anything. Yeah, Hey,
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what's letter there on the table? Eh No, that's like a note.
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It is a note. It is life has become a burden to me,
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getting old and have no reason to live any longer. The only one
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who has been kind to me is Peter Torrence. I leave him all I
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have finding Dad Higgins. Well, I guess that settles up. I guess.
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So we broke in on him here. I had a feeling that maybe
16:25
everything wasn't on the level, But I guess that note settles everything. And
16:27
anyway, it's the lieutenant's job to investigate these cases. Our job is riding
16:30
around looking him up for him. Who's that lieutenant? Oh it's Burt.
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Where's Lieutelbert's roll it out on a murder? Sent me over to tell you
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boys to handle it yourself. Make a full report. That's why he has
16:42
a radio. Put you back in service. What happened? The old man
16:48
got tired of living and bumped himself off? Yeah, that must have been
16:52
him. I show him caught out the General Hospital ambulance when I drove off.
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Yeah, well you got the Lieutenant's message. I'm going home and get
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to sleep. I was up all night making fingerprints off the hotel safe,
17:03
only to find out that the clerk himself took with doll. Yeah obviously you
17:07
wait a minute, Burke, what do you want? Have you got your
17:10
finger pronounced with you? Yeah? I wonder if you'd see what you can
17:14
find on that gas bell there. Hey, I'm doing hardt to take a
17:17
minute here, so I don't think that there's anything wrong here. And if
17:22
you find old Dad Higgins prints on that gas O. I'll no, there's
17:23
nothing wrong. Yeah, but if you think I'm going to make a trip
17:26
down as a mark to take these impressions so I can check him off your
17:30
pray, now that will be necessary. I imagine you'll find plenty of these
17:33
prints all over the place. Here. Try those irons on the shelf,
17:37
he max. Yeah, or you chase upstairs and get that everyone house a
17:40
woman who called in on the tay. Yeah, sure thing. Boy,
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Well what do you find, Burke? And what do you think I am
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a magician? Give me some time. You're worse than lieutenant. Every time
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there's a suicide, he takes your prints. Everybody living within a five mile
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radio is what your game, isn't it? Yeah? But not taking them
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in row? Yeah, I hope you're satisfied what you find. Nothing,
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nothing, you hurt me above as clean as a pen. Why do you
18:08
tell me he's probably spirit? Whatever prints were on it, that's where you're
18:12
wrong. I had edgehut it off the pipe, not at the burner.
18:15
Was the cars wearing gloves, of course, not prince Huh, that's funny.
18:21
How about the dark he locked on the inside, both of them,
18:23
the windows all locked tight in a safe look here, dead cat must have
18:30
been Higgins cat. Looks like he set some milk out for it just before
18:34
he turned on the gas. Funny do that? And where do you think
18:37
you are? Right on the detective detail. Lieutenant said to investigate this,
18:41
did me? Yeah, but he didn't say they're god building up any hypothetical
18:45
cases. Listen, ed, when a guy gets bumped off, you got
18:48
to have a motives, the means of doing the job, and a criminal.
18:52
You ain't got nothing but a dead cat. Well maybe I'll surprised here.
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I got a suicide no too, and you got me wasting my time
19:02
around here. Take the notes to headquarters and check it suicide. I'm going
19:06
hard just a minute, would you take a look at that transfom above the
19:10
back door there for me? All right? But that's off. What do
19:12
you want me to look for him? I don't know. But if the
19:15
killer was their rising again Dad Higgins was killed, that's the only place the
19:21
murderer could get out after he bolted both doors from the inside, and he
19:23
can close the transom after him and snap the lock and I'll figure it out.
19:29
Well, what'd you find? I got damage for one thing? Anyway,
19:34
there was someone crawling over this transom recently I can see where the desk
19:38
been wiped away, and he prints no friends. Well that's that, thanks
19:45
work. I'll buy a cigar sometimes I'll probably be too old. Its volcan
19:49
com. Oh pardon me, ma'am, I didn't see you. Oh here's
19:53
the lady who thought of said my good? What's your name? Man?
19:57
Un mister duken? And I've been living here for how well did you know
20:02
Dad Higgins? Well? Is anyone I reckon? He didn't get about much,
20:06
stayed in the shop here most of the time, cooked and slept here
20:08
too. Do you know of any reason for anyone killing him? Kill any
20:11
by? Man? Say no? Did he have any money? Oh?
20:15
Not a lot at these ways. I don't think he could as long as
20:18
he been living here. Well, he was living here when I came.
20:21
That was fifteen years ago. Have any relatives I'm not going I know of.
20:25
He used to get some letters from his sister, he is, but
20:26
she died a few years ago. How do you know, well, how
20:30
do I know? Fy? How do you know that he used to get
20:32
letters from his sister because he'd bring him upstairs for me to read to him,
20:36
or so. He never had no education, no learning. This his
20:41
cat Land's sake, But sure he is. Oh he was right fond of
20:45
it too. Do you think that mister Higgins would pour a dish of milk
20:48
for the cat and then leave it in the room to die when he killed
20:52
himself. No, no, I don't think he would. Mister Higgins wasn't
20:55
that kind of a man. I see, give me that note mining right,
21:00
And Missus Dugan, do you know mister Torrence tear Tars sure annoying.
21:04
He's room with me for five years. Were he and Dad Higgins good friends?
21:07
Well? No, I can't answer that. They used to talk a
21:11
lot down here in the evening. As far as being real good friends,
21:14
I don't know. Would you be surprised if you knew that Dad Higgins had
21:18
left the shop from everything he had to this fellow Tarns, Well yes I
21:21
would. Here's nothing else. What's that fund of a slaving accounts book on
21:25
this desk? Old man Higgins, I know you five thousand dollars saved up
21:27
in the first nurse. Oh, thank you here, missus Jugan, you
21:33
can get back upstairs. Now, come on, mac, let's look around
21:37
downstairs here then, yes, oh, it's you. Yes, we've got
22:03
finisher looking around downstairs. And when you want to tell mister Torrence if he's
22:06
a good portion, which room does he live in? Right across the hall
22:08
that's at number twelve? All right? Oh is he in? I don't
22:12
know? I will see, hey, but don't you mind? Lead We
22:15
can see not find tool. He's probably out point. What do you want?
22:26
Where office is the law? We've got's good news for you. I
22:29
know I ain't done nothing. Well, nobody said you had mind if we
22:33
come in and I don't try to pend enough, honey, I'm going straight
22:36
now, old timer, right, and it's done my bed. Well,
22:40
maybe things are looking better for you, Pete. You knew that Dad Higgins
22:44
committed suicide. Yeah, missus Steuben throwing me it's to bad. That's too
22:47
bad for you. But here's a note. Higgins left everything to you.
22:52
Everything he had. That's me everything. Yeah, but you won't get a
22:56
chance for you. What are you doing? All right? Lead on it?
23:00
Hey, there you go? How'd you get away with it? Didn't
23:04
you? What are you talking about? You know what I'm talking about?
23:07
You killed Dad Higgins. Flannel it with a big towels, so it wouldn't
23:10
leave any marks, and then you turn on the gas. He left this
23:12
note so just looked like a suicide. That's how I was it. I
23:15
think pretty well thought out, Arrens. You knew that the old man was
23:19
alone at night, You knew that he had a savings account with almost five
23:22
thousand dollars in it. You knew nearly everything about him except one thing.
23:27
What do you mean, why, you poor dumb bell. You slipped up
23:30
just like all the other smart guys, two bad torrents when you wrote that
23:34
note that you didn't know that old man Higgins never learned to read and write.
23:47
Welcome back, And the moral of the story is not to try and
23:52
fake a suicide by leaving a holographic will signed by an illiterate guy. I
23:59
want you found out that he couldn't write. There really was just one suspect
24:03
in the thing, but an interesting story and how the officers determination ended up
24:12
leading to a results. I'm always one thing that's really odd about the show
24:18
is the number of times that somebody will just suggest not doing basic due diligence.
24:26
Oh no, no, don't do any fingerprints. Oh people make me
24:29
do fingerprints all the time, and switch to another department. All right,
24:34
well, listener comments and feedback, and we have this from Nora, who
24:37
says, love your podcast. I've been listening since the beginning and never miss
24:42
an episode. I just listened to the Police Headquarters episode where the doctor murdered
24:47
his wife and killed himself after his conscience spoke audibly to him. That ending
24:52
was really bizarre. However, other than the weird ending the casts the case
24:56
sort of reminds me of the dragon At episode building the doctor killed his wife
25:00
and that one, and if I remember correctly, there was a large sum
25:03
of money involved that the doctor wanted to use for an office building. In
25:07
the Dragnet episode, he wanted to name the building after himself. I think
25:11
the doctor even killed himself there too, though I mentioned in the epilogue that
25:15
he did so in jail. I wonder if that could have been based on
25:18
the same case. Anyway, thank you so much for doing these podcasts with
25:21
your commentary, which adds so much to these shows. I've learned a lot
25:25
about old time radio detective shows from you. Well, Thanks so much,
25:29
Nora. The answer to the question is, as far as we can determine,
25:33
with Police Headquarters, unlike a Dragnet or Gangbusters. This series did not
25:38
use actual cases. Rather, it tried to tell the stories in realistic ways,
25:45
and we see that sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. All right,
25:49
Well, that will do it for today. Join us back here on
25:53
Monday as we bring you Pursuit, and join us on next Saturday for another
25:59
episode of the Lineup or it used to be of Police Headquarters. And in
26:03
the meanwhile, send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
26:07
follow us on Twitter, Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on
26:10
Facebook, Facebook dot com, Slash Radiodetectives from Boiseadaho. This is your host,
26:15
Adam Grahamson and off