Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Nick Carter: The Case of the Careless Employees (EP1434)

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Nick Carter: The Case of the Careless Employees (EP1434) · 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, send 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 do want to encourage
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you, if you've not already, to check out the Great Detectives of Old
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Time Radio online store, which includes items like All I Needed to Know I
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Learn from Colombo, The Slim Incorporated, and an Ounce of Prevention. All
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those items are available at stored are Great Detectives dot net. Well, now
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it's time for today's episode of Nick Carter. Original air date February second,
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nineteen thirty four, and the title is the Case of the Careless Employees.
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Glen the Famous for Chasing Dirt presenting Nick Carter, Famous part Chasing Crime.
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Every week at this time, two great names are joined as all Dutch Glenser
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brings you one of the most respontful and daring characters in all detective fiction,
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Nick Carter, Master Detective. But Nick, that's possible, No Percy somewhere
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high up in the skyscrapers of this city. A deadly killer is running wise,
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I know, but how on earth are you going to track him down?
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Nick? It's well, it's like looking for someone in a jungle of
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stone and glass. Well, at least I know whom he's picked out for
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his next victim. Who I fell over the name of Nick Carter. Now
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the case of the careless Employees. Today's exciting Nick Carter Adventure, brought to
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you by Old Dutch Cleanser. Our story begins in the superintendent's office of the
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Park Window Cleaning Company, a large firm handling skyscraper contract so only Bill Stevens,
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one of the company's window washers, is talking to the superintendent, Frank
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Marston. I just trapped in and give you my notice, Mark, and
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I'm quitting this coming Saturday. What you heard me, I'm handing in my
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equipment Saturday. Wait a minute, they'll take it easy. It's more money
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you want to couldn't pay me enough to keep me washing when it's for the
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park company, Marston. But Bill, you've been with the company a long
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time, wyeh, And I want to live a long time. I don't
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like all these accidents that are happened in a piles of mine. Look at
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that Kelly he Feld forty stories to the street two weeks ago, and then
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last week Joe Drummond took a nose dive from the Embassy Hotel towers. And
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then only yesterday Tim Bolan hit the bricks, dropped twenty stories from the Exchange
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building, and each of them so badly smashed you could hardly identify it.
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Oh, sure, I know, but we're bound never on a bad luck
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now. And then Bill, those fellow's probably a little caroline not They were
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old timers, and you know it ain't nowhere to put their safety belts and
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how to handle themselves in a high wind. The truth is this here company
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is jinxed. And what do you mean by that? You're the superintendent,
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you tell me just because you've had a few accidents Boston. We've had three
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accidents in two weeks, and that's too many. I'm getting the jitters myself
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the next thing, you know, Bingo, they'll pick me up off the
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street with a blott. Bill. If I were you, I think get
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over nothing. My mind has made up, Marston. I'm gonna get myself
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a nice safe job on the ground morning. Oh, good morning, Patsy.
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Gosh, do I feel embarrassed that in the bullets beat me into the
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office? Oh, Patsy, we've that bunch of fruit you call a hat
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right where it is? We're going places so early in the morning, So
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early in the morning. John Farren just called and asked us to go to
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work for him. Is that sharing of Atlantic underwriters? That's the man,
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And I might remind you his company pays us a handsome annual retainer for services
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rendered. In other words, you've got yourself a case I have. Well,
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what's it all about? We all Atlantic issues a special high premium policy
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to window cleaners, and three of these insured window cleaners have fallen from skyscrapers
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and the last two weeks. What does that have to do with you?
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In the first place? Statistics show that no window cleaner has died by accidental
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fall in the past two years. Now, for no apparent reason, three
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of the poor devils comes to their deaths in two weeks. It could be
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coincidence, Nick, Yes it could, but I doubt that it is.
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Listen to this. There are only two big contract window cleaning companies in towns,
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the Park Outfort and the Community window cleaning corporation. The clean them,
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they handle millions of dollars worth of skyspaper business annually. And the bitter rivals
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who had the accidents Parker community or both. All the accidents have happened to
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park none the community. I see. Of course, that could be coincidence
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too. I'm afraid this case has too many coincidences. Well, what are
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we going to do about it? Nick? In other words, where now
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the headquarters? I want to check a few details of Maney before we really
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get going. So you're sure these window cleaners fell by accident. I can
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be absolutely sure of nothing, Nick. As far as we know, these
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guys just got careless, that's all. Well, from what we understand they
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were all all timers in the window cleaning business. Yeah yeah, but even
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the best of them can make mistakes passing. And when they slip on a
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job like this, why it's curtains or I should say, shrouds. What
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about the safety belts these cleaners are wearing, Madi, Nick? I checked
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myself. They were in perfect condition, not a thing wrong with them.
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And the boats on the sides of the windows to which they hooked their belts
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went over. Impersonal, every one of them in every window where these men
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were cleaning when they fell. Those boats were in solid Nick, not a
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loose one on the left. Well, Nick, that's I sure, you're
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just wasting your time. Nick. The medical examiner looked over each of the
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bodies and reported death by accident fall in violent contact island is right? Oh,
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Nick, I've seen men smashed up in my time, but these fellas
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we could barely identify them. Or nevertheless, I still can't get over the
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fact that these accidents happened. They're close together and only to the men in
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the park company. Oh. Nick, Look, these window cleaners stepped out
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on a window sill and slipped, or they were blown off these skyscrapers by
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a high wind before they got their belts looked. No, I don't know,
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but we're booking them as accidents, and that is that as far as
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we're concerned. All right, matter and may be right, But until I've
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exhausted every possibility, I'm not going to be satisfied. Come on, Betty,
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where are we going this time? Uptown? I want to talk to
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the superintendent of the park company. O mister Carter. It's beyond me.
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I still can't figure out how they happened to fall. Tell me, mister
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Marston, if you know any of them? Well did I know? I'll
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see I did. There were all timers of our company, came in with
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me business first started, worked right alongside of them before I hurt my leg
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and took this inside shot. Well they were friends of mine, are I?
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They're families too. Now we understand how you must see you, Uh,
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mister Marshton, these accidents, how they affected your business. We're taking
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a terrific beating, mister Carter. I see we've already lost a couple of
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big accounts. The Mercantile building and the arcade building canceled with us and went
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over to the Community Corporation. They didn't like the unfavorable publicity. I can
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understand that, And that isn't all. This losing business is only one of
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our trouble. Suppose your men are quitting Huh? Sure are controlled? You
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know when the clean is a pretty superstitious mister Carter. Why do you think
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our companies who do can't you get any help to replace them? There hasn't
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been a man come to our employment office in two weeks. We've advertised in
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all the papers, and we haven't got a single response. Frankly, mister
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Carter, A little more of this kind of thing and the park company's washed
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up? Where we're through? I see, uh, mister Marston, who's
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the man to see it? Your competitors, the community corporation man named Whaley,
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Fred Whaley. It's a corporation with the board of directors, but he
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supervises operations. Why what's he got to do with all this? Oh?
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I just want to get his point of view, that's all. Come on,
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Patsy, let's go see Whaley. Look, mister Carter, I'm a
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very busy man. I don't have much time. Now what do you want?
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Miss Bowen and I are investigating those accidents over at park on behalf of
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the Atlantic underwriters. Well, why come to me? Nothing's happened to our
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window cleaners. Why don't you talk to the park people instead of coming here
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to waste my time? Look here, Whaley, you don't have to tell
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us anything if you don't want to, but at least you can be sybils.
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Okay, Well what do you want? We don't quite understand why all
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the accidents seem to be happening to the park company alone, Meaning what Carter,
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meaning anything you'll like or nothing. Look here, Carter, are you
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implying we're responsible? I am not making any accusations, Whaley. We just
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thought you might have an idea. I haven't. I mind my own business,
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operating the community window cleaning Corporation. What happens over at Park doesn't interest
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me. Is that clear? Clear enough? But is it the truth?
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Now? Wait a minute, Wait a minute, cutter, do I understand
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you to insinuate to that? I'm saying it's common knowledge and business circles.
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Whaley Park has already lost several big skyscraper contracts to your company. They lose
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a few more, they'll pull it up. Well, that's their affair,
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it's not mine, though. I'd be happy to see them fold up now.
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Is that all? Yes, Yes, mister Whaley, that's all for
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now. I am beautiful. Oh no, listen, I just got carried
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away. You know, when you're cleaning windows on these big buildings, I
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just see mostly there's a lot of sour pushes. But you boy, you're
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the best looking babe I've seen in any of these offices. Oh you really
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think so? Honest? No kidding, it's not so bad yourself? Bye?
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Baby, what's your name, Mabel, Mabel Lanigan, my name is
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phill Meadow. Nice to meet. You. Must be uh pretty dull working
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in an office like this all day watching a typewriter. Okay, sometimes I
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could scream, But take your job. See that must take an awful lot
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of nerves. Yeah, I gotta watch yourself eat your schedule ball some day.
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Well I never watched before, but lately I've started to my fact.
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I'm quitting the job of a night and I'm gonna celebrate. And that gives
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me an idea. How about you celebrating with me? Oh, I couldn't
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do that. I hardly know it. Come on, Mabel, I'm a
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nice guy. When you get to know me, we'll go to the Blue
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Grotto, you know, dinner dance. What do you say, Mabel?
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Who? I tell you what? If it'll make you feel any better,
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we'll make it a force him boy, for sure. I've got a friend.
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You get a friend. Well, I've got a friend who works on
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the floor below. I'm a thirty second floor. Her name's Alice Hayes.
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I might call her up. I tell you what, If it's okay with
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her, me and my friend will meet the Tory at the entrance of this
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building the night at six shops. Okay, all right, well call your
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friend right now. I'll be washing the next window over, Mabel. And
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when you get through phoning, you stick your head out of the window and
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let me know how you make out. Huh, tell I've you're the vote,
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Alice, honesty is huh oh gosh, I don't know how tall his
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friend is. Yeah. Sure, it's embarrassing when you're tall and the man
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you're with. But I'll tell you what, Alice, hold the wire still's
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washing the window in the next office. I'll ask him how Taler's friend is.
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Hold on seel my friend, Alice wants to know how to hm that.
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Mister Willy is a nice chatty man. It's just a sweet, lovable
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guy. If I have a tall one, yeah, certainly didn't get much
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out of him. Yess me run a wild goose chase. We've been running
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around in the service. Hey, what's the matter with that aial? Just
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stop where the crowd is. Must be an accident. Yeah, let's have
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a look. Right, Hey, what happened by cleaner? Yeah for kismash
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night to the awning right on the sidewalk. How much it jumping to forty
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at four, we're looking at another one of those accidents. Come on,
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Patsy, I make the bodies over there. I'm not interested in the body.
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I want to find out what office that poor devil draft prop And you
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say it was the office next to yours. That's right, Miss Nannigan.
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Yes, sir, he just finished our window and he was working on the
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next one. He was just falling backwards from the window still kind of And
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that's on yourself. Yes, Nick, I think we better let miss Landigan
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go now, see isn't feeling very well? Of course, just as soon
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as he tells us which office it was, it's this one right here.
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It used to be rounded by the Burger woolen mils is. It's empty now,
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I see. Thank you very much for your help, Miss Lanigan.
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You're welcome. I'm sure all right. Let's go in, pency, right,
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Nick, Not only an empty office, but it's just been repainted,
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Yeah, flourished, a little sticky from a fresh coat of varnish. Patsy,
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look look at what before? Huh? A very faint imprints of someone's
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feet and the varnish. You're right, wait, see those little round spots
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beside the footprints. Yes, I was undoubtedly made by the rubber tip on
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the cane. So the man who came into this office was lamb. Huh
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does that suggest something to unique? Hey? Look, a number of prints
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at the window too, must have been left by the window cleaner. Apparently
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he was cleaning the inside of the window when the lame man came through the
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door. Look, I still don't see it. The window washer's pail is
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on the outside sill of the window. What are the well, look at
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the window, Patsy, look at it. So it had been washed on
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the outside and the cleaner had started on the inside surface. That means the
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cleaner was working on the inside when he was interrupted. Shit. If that's
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the case, why is a pail on the outside of the window. Precisely,
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Patsy, it shouldn't be un let someone deliberately put it there after the
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window cleaner was dropped to the street. Then this was no accident, I'll
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say it wasn't. It was murder and all. Back to the case of
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the careless employees. Today's caught her adventure brought to you by all Dutch cleanser.
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It is Monday now and Patsy is just coming into the office after doing
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a job of research for Nick Well. Nick I checked back on those three
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accidents that preceded Bill Meadows, and your hunch was right. Every one of
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those window cleaners fell from the window of an empty office. Good growing Percy.
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This proves if the murderer was someone who knew the schedules of the park
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company crew and knew them to a dotted I and across t huh. He
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showed perfect timing, picking empty offices where he wouldn't be disturbed, and his
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motive certainly is obvioush enough to ruin the park company drive it out of business.
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Still, even with what window, it isn't going to be easy to
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nail down this killer, Petsy, Oh, I'll say it isn't. Well.
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There must be one hundred skyscrapers in the city with thousands of windows,
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and heaven knows how many empty offices, and looking for this murderer is going
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to be even worse than trying to find a taxi on a rainy night.
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Patsy, Yes, did you ever wash windows? What I said, did
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you ever wash windows? Well, yes, of course, but I never
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enjoyed it. Why I've decided to get a window cleaning job with the park
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company. Nick, for the love of pee, have you've gone mad?
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Oh, Patsy, I've got a hunch that if I set myself up at
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sucker Bait, the killer may look me up. Well, I I know
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where you are or what you're doing. I'll make sure the word gets around
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and Nick, you can't do it. It isn't the killer I'm worried about
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so much. It's the idea of you hanging on a safety staff forty stories
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about the streets, and then suddenly, now, Patsy, don't worry.
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High places don't bother me. Maybe you don't know it, but if you
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look at my high school yearbookie, you'll see that a kid named Nick Carter
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was champion high diver of the swimming team. You say my men were murdered,
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Carter, They didn't fall just by accident. That's right, Marston.
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What makes you think that? Well, I won't go into the details now
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except to tell you I know they were murdered, and the killer is a
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man who uses the cane, probably walks with a limp. Walks with a
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limp. That's interesting, Curter. Anything I can do to help you track
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him down, yes, Marston, you can give me a job cleaning windows.
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Did I hear you right, Kurt? You want me to give you
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a What a job is one of your regular crews? Well? By all
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that's holy? Why because I have a hunt that if I'm on a window
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washing crew, this skyscraper killer may pay me a visit. Well, old,
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I will care Carter out of your mind. This is the whole idea.
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It was crazy. You've never had any experience this kind of works,
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pretty tricky and dangerous. I'll take the chance. You're sure you want to
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do this. I am okay against my better judgment, but I'll give you
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the job. All I can say is you be careful. I don't worry,
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Marten. I expect to be careful, very careful. Now to whom
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do I report the crew bosses? Al Fredericks. You will find him in
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the locker room down the hall under the left. Why don't you think you
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better come along and introduce me? Well, I know, Carter, I
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think i'd better stay here. I looked to my ears and work. You
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go ahead. I'll fall out from here that I'm setting you in. Oh
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one more thing, Yeah, shall I tell him who you really are?
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Might as well? If you consider him trustworthy. I may need his cooperation
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later, you Al Fredericks, Yeah, that's right. Mister Marson told me
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to report to you for work. My name is Carter, Nick Carter.
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Yeah, so Marston told me over the phone just now. But I don't
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like it. It's pretty dangerous work, especially for a green hand or I
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know what I'm up against. Okay, I'll put you on the first thing
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in the morning. I don't know exactly what you're up to, Cardi,
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but let me tip you off to one thing. Yes, be careful,
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Nick Carter's office, Patty Bowe speaking. I'm on my launch hour. Anything
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doing at the office, No, no, there's nothing new, Oh Nick,
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For heaven's sake, were just stop window cleaning business and come back here
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to the office. I've been going crazy ever since you started work this morning.
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Oh, Patsy, there's no point in getting jittery. Oh there isn't.
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Well, Nick, let me tell you something I screamed about you last
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night. You were crawling out the side of a big, tall building like
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a human fly, and then when you almost got to the top, this
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huge bird swoop down. I started to attack you. You tried to fight
22:02
back, but you had to hang on and you couldn't. And then and
22:06
all of a sudden you lost your ribbon. Oh me, I thought I
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lost you. No, Matcy, I'm doing fine. I don't worry,
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all right, Nick, I'll try not to anything new. But if the
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kid I want you to look me up this afternoon, he'll find me on
22:26
the thirty second floor of the Globe Building's good to get intside cold out there,
22:56
I be sure, kid, sick of miss chair. So you did
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decide to look for you up after all? Don't turn around, try to
23:15
keep facing that window. Get your hands up if you don't want a bullet
23:22
in your back. Well, Nick's hunch that the skyscraper killer would finally look
23:33
him up turned out to be accurate. With a vengeance. We'll be back
23:36
to see what happens in just a moment. And now for the conclusion of
23:45
the case of the Careless Employees. Today's Nick Carter Adventure brought to you by
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old Dutch Glenser. As we pick up our story, Nick is facing the
23:55
window with his hands up while the man with the limp points a gun at
23:57
his back. I see you picked out a nice empty office as usual,
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Marsten, you know me Carter, I do not did it matter as much?
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Now? How did you know? When I first met you? You
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met first met you, you mentioned the fact that you had a bad leg,
24:18
So I did it was stupid of me, wasn't very And later when
24:22
you refuse to get up from your desk and walk with me to the locker
24:26
room, I was pretty sure? Why didn't you do something about it then?
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Because courts require air tide evidence before they send a man to the chair.
24:33
Marston, I wanted you to tip your own hand the way you're doing
24:37
now, I figured you'd get worried come after me. You're a smart detective,
24:44
Cardy this time you've got smart at yourself. Have I is sure?
24:48
Hair? Thirty two stories to the street, Carter, you've got a one
24:56
way ticket down. I suppose the Community corporation's paying you off to ruin your
25:03
own company. Oh, not the corporation, just my friend Whaley. You
25:11
see, Whaley gets a big bonus. The community does a big business.
25:15
I get a dividend twenty five thousand dollars for turning over to him a million
25:19
dollars worth of park business. I see now, mister Carter, I'm going
25:26
to treat you just as I did the No favorite, I'm gonna tap you
25:33
on the back of the head with the butt of this gun, knock you
25:37
out. Then I'm gonna drop you out of the window. Of course,
25:44
they'll never notice a little pump on your head after you hit the street.
25:48
They'll call it an accident, Just an accident. Hey, don't like water
25:55
on your face. You're miss mussing. You aren't gonna say oo. Well,
26:03
mister Martin looks as if you're the one who suffered a little accident,
26:07
not me. An accident that should please my friend Matty very much. Indeed,
26:23
Well, Nick, we grabbed Whaley at the air for it. He's
26:26
just trying to get a plane out of town. Nice going, Mandye,
26:29
Well, that makes two customers for a chair instead of one. Yeah,
26:33
and if these two don't burn, I'll go back to pounding a bean.
26:37
Oh, Nick, there's still one thing I don't understand. Yes, you
26:41
were facing the window and Marston was in back of you with a gun.
26:45
Yeah. How did you get out of that spot? Nick? Well,
26:48
I had to take a long chance. I watched Martian's reflection in the window
26:52
when he came toward me. My pail of cleaning water was beside me on
26:56
the sill, or he raised his gun to crack me over the head.
26:59
I flipped the pail of water right over my shoulder and into his face,
27:02
and that blinded him just long enough so you could knock him out. Well,
27:06
he'll be dog gone. Nice work, Nick, that's my boss.
27:08
Elegant it again. Wash windows with this cleaning solution. He catches mirrors with
27:14
it. Welcome back a familiar case. This sounds like a slightly modified version
27:32
of a story that ran around nineteen forty three or forty four. I can't
27:40
I can't find it right now, but it sounds awfully familiar. And while
27:45
taking up window washing is certainly dangerous, it's far from the most dangerous or
27:49
foolhardy saying Nick hard has done in this series. At any right, then
27:53
I'll actually do it for today. We will be back tomorrow with your truly
27:57
Johnny Dollar, and join us once again next Thursday for another episode of Nick
28:02
Carter. In the meantime, send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives
28:07
dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and become one of
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our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com. Slash Radiodetectives from Boise, Idaho.
28:18
This is your host, Adam Grahamson and off.