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Nick Carter, Master Detective - "The Case of Make - Believe Murder (AFRS Mystery Playhouse)" (1945) · Old Time Mystery Radio | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: July 22nd, 1945, brings us episode 193 of Nick Carter,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Master Detective, heard through the Armed Forces Radio Service's mystery playhouse.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Lon Clark is Nick Carter, with Charlotte Manson as his assistant,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Patsy Bowen. This evening, they attend Carter's initiation into the
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: exclusive Alphabet Club, where a mock murder has been arranged
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: for the detective to solve. But in the club's darkened lounge,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: the game gives way to a homicide, and Sergeant Matheson
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: joins Carter in sorting through the members and their theatrical props.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: The episode is The Case of Make-Believe Murder. And now,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: our story begins.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: There is something in any person that makes him more
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: than eager to join a club which has difficult entrance requirements.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: And the highest form of flattery is to find that
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: your initiation to the.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Club has been tailored to suit your own particular vocation. Thus,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: if you're a detective and you've been invited to join.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: The exclusive Alphabet Club, your.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Initiation involves a solving of a murder.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: Hello, creeps.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: This is T4Y, opening the doors of the Mystery Playhouse.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: We were reading some detective stories last week, trying to
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: cure an annoying case of insomnia. One particular set of
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: tales was interesting enough had sufficient deductive reasoning... so that
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: we thought you too... would be interested in it. So tonight...
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: we bring you an exciting chapter... from the life story
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: of that detective... named Nick Carter.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: A single light... burns brightly down in the basement... deep
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: under the old brownstone mansion.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: at the corner of 5th and 4th, illuminating a small
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: paper target. 20 yards away, Nick Carter stands, firing methodically.
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: To the left, about 8 feet, 8 inches. Try again.
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: Left again, 9 feet, 2 inches. 9 feet exactly that time.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: Nick!
• 2:51
  Speaker 6: Hey, Nick!
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: Yes, Betsy?
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: Keep firing.
• 2:53
  Speaker 6: I want to come in.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: Come ahead. I'm just about finished.
• 2:56
  Speaker 5: I've got to close up shop today.
• 2:57
  Speaker 6: Nick, you'll be late.
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: Patsy, I've won my bet with Sergeant Matheson.
• 3:00
  Speaker 6: What bet?
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: I bet him a dollar the Austrian mother wouldn't deduct
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: a cartridge more than ten feet. I've just fired fifty
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: rounds and not one cartridge is more than nine and
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: a half feet from the gun.
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: Oh.
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: I win a dollar and Jansen is cleared of the
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: murder charge, which proves that he couldn't have done it. Personally,
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: I think....
• 3:16
  Speaker 6: Uh-huh. I was waiting for you to notice.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: Evening, Garner. Well, Miss Bourne, you look most charming. You
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: really think so, Nick? May I ask where you're going tonight? Out. Out?
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: With you?
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: With me.
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: Please, hurry, Nick, we'll be late.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: Late for what?
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: Don't tell me you've forgotten. And you were so anxious
• 3:33
  Speaker 6: to go and let it came. Honestly, Nick, sometimes I
• 3:35
  Speaker 6: believe you're not human. Now hurry and get into your
• 3:38
  Speaker 6: dinner clothes. I'll explain on.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: The way over. But, Patsy, where are we going?
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: To a murder.
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: The End.
• 3:53
  Speaker 5: All right, all right.
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: You can stop kidding me now. I remembered, Patsy. I
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: was so wrapped up in that ballistics work, it slipped
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: my mind. You sure? I'll recite it like a lesson.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: I've been invited to join the famous Alphabet Club, the
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: most exclusive gathering of eminent talents in the country, right?
• 4:07
  Speaker 6: Right. Incidentally, why is it called the Alphabet Club, Nick?
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: Well, the first letters of the names of the charter
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: members are the first four letters of the alphabet. Arnold Archer.
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: The financier. Nelson Burns, the architect. Walter Crane, the boy
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: wonder engineer. And George Dennis, the attorney. Incidentally, they're not
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: only the charter members... They're the initiating committee, too. They're
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: the ones who are going to put me through the
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: ropes before the rest of the club arrive for dinner.
• 4:30
  Speaker 6: That initiation stunt's a cute idea.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: Yes, in fact, brother, it tickles me. Staging a make-believe murder?
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: They swear I'll never be able to break it.
• 4:38
  Speaker 6: Challenging the mastermind, eh? That's the club over there. You
• 4:42
  Speaker 6: can park in front.
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: Right-o.
• 4:45
  Speaker 6: We're just about on time. Oh, please hurry, Nick.
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: I saw Burns the other day. He swore they'd cooked
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: up a beauty. You know, I'm really intrigued. Yes, please?
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: Miss Bowen and Mr.
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: Carter.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Oh, yes.
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: Good evening, madam. Good evening, sir. Welcome to the Alphabet Club.
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: Thank you. The members are waiting in the lounge room.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: Will you follow me, please?
• 5:13
  Speaker 6: Could I join too, Nick?
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: No, Patsy, they don't admit women. But they asked me
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: to bring you along because they said they knew I
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: worked with you on my cases.
• 5:20
  Speaker 6: Pretty swank place, isn't it, Nick?
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: I wonder how much the club dues are. Right here, sir.
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: Just one moment, please. Gentlemen, Mr.
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: Carter and Miss Bowen.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: Well, for the love of... Gentlemen, gentlemen, open the door, please. Mr. Archer, Mr.
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: Burns, please open. Mr. Crane, Mr.
• 5:45
  Speaker 6: Dennis.
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: Enter.
• 5:49
  Speaker 5: Enter the house of death.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: Murder awaits Nick Carter. Golly.
• 5:56
  Speaker 6: It's pitch dark.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: Watch your step, Betsy. Don't trip on any dead bodies.
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: What's that noise I hear?
• 6:01
  Speaker 6: Sounds like we're in a toy shop.
• 6:04
  Speaker 5: Let's go down, Miss Warren.
• 6:06
  Speaker 6: Lights, please.
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: Let's have some light water.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: That's it. Here we are.
• 6:11
  Speaker 6: Oh, golly. Who's that lying on the floor?
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: I assume it's Santa Claus.
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: You're right, you are.
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: The name of this mystery is Who Killed Santa Claus?
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: And if Mr.
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: Carter and Miss Bowen want any dinner, they'd better find
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: out who done it.
• 6:24
  Speaker 6: And quick.
• 6:24
  Speaker 5: Very well, gentlemen.
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: I shall begin with the taking of the evidence.
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: My name is Arnold Archer.
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: I love Santa Claus, but today I hate him.
• 6:32
  Speaker 6: Why?
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: Because he brought me this cactus plant. And I really
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: wanted a horn.
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: My name is Nelson Burns.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: And this horn... is a sad disappointment to me. I
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: hate Santa Claus. I really wanted the sword he gave
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: Walter Crane. And I wanted the cat pistol he gave Archer. Well,
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: who's Santa Claus? Oh, that's George Dennis. He'll say hello
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: after Mr. Carter finds out who done it. Well, gentlemen,
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: I see you all have a good and sufficient motive
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: for killing Santa Claus. I must now examine our make-believe
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: corpse to discover the method of this brutal, foul, and
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: illegal make-believe murder. Am I a.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: Patsy.
• 7:10
  Speaker 6: Nick, what is it?
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: Get on the phone. Call Matty. Get the homicide squad
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: up here fast. Mr. Carter. I'm not joking, Mr. Archer.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: You'd better call the other members and cancel the dinner.
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: Your make-believe murder has turned real. Dennis has been shot
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: to death.
• 7:34
  Speaker 5: All right, all right. Now, just a minute.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: I want to get you guys straight. Who's the corpse, Nick?
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: George Dennis, the lawyer. He remembered him, Matty. He was
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: retained as an expert in the Wilner case. Yeah, I
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: got that.
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: Now, which one is Arnold Archer?
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: I am.
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: The financier, Sergeant.
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: Believe me, Sergeant Matheson, this must be some kind of
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: ghastly mistake. None of us would want to kill Dennis.
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: We're his friends, Sergeant.
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: We couldn't have any reason to kill him. Oh, you're Burns, huh?
• 7:58
  Speaker 5: Nelson Burns.
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: Yes. And the gentleman over there is Walter Crane. I
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: think this is in pretty bad taste, Carter, and I
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: don't like it. Dennis was killed accidentally, there's no doubt
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: of it. It's pretty cheap to try and turn this
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: into a murder case for the sake of notoriety. Now, listen, White.
• 8:10
  Speaker 5: Wait a minute.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: Mr. Crane, you're positive this was an accident.
• 8:16
  Speaker 6: Why?
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: Well, isn't it obvious? The four of us were alone
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: in this room when the steward knocked on the door.
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: Dennis lay down on the floor. I put out the lights.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: Nelson Burns fired off the blanks. Yes? Well, evidently, a
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: round of live ammunition must have gotten mixed up.
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: With the blanks. No, no, that's not true. I swear it.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: The Burns is right. I checked the guns. There are
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: four rimfire blank shells in the chambers.
• 8:34
  Speaker 6: Only four?
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: I see Patsy understands what I mean. Doesn't anyone else?
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: What is this, Nick? When Patsy and I were outside,
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: we heard five shots. Five? Meaning that a fifth shot
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: was fired along with those four blanks. Meaning that one
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: of you three gentlemen took advantage of the make-believe murder
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: to murder George Dennis.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: Why, gentlemen, please!
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: None of you are to leave this room. Matty, get
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: the squad in here. Put these men. And take this
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: place apart if you have to. I want to find
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: the gun that killed Dennis.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: Okay, Nick.
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: The murderer wants to save us the trouble. He can
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: talk now. Believe me, gentlemen, this won't be any make-believe search.
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: Nobody have anything to say? All right, Matty. Get going. Right.
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: Come on. We're over here, Matty.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Comparing notes.
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: Got anything to offer, Sergeant?
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: Well, let's hear what you've got first.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: Well, Archer's a famous financier. Worth over a million. Wouldn't
• 9:38
  Speaker 4: kill for money.
• 9:38
  Speaker 6: Nelson Burns, same status. Plenty of money. Ditto for Walter Crane.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: All four men were pretty close friends at college. Known
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: each other for years. Apparently, they're still friends. Now, that
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: might not be true. People grow apart sometimes.
• 9:51
  Speaker 6: On the other hand, all three are pretty ruthless kind
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: of men. I imagine you have to be tough to
• 9:56
  Speaker 6: make the success they have.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: And you have to have a certain amount of cold courage.
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: to pull off a murder the way this one's been handled. Now,
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: how about the guns?
• 10:03
  Speaker 5: There ain't no guns.
• 10:04
  Speaker 6: What?
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: You heard me, Patsy. There ain't no guns. Nick, we
• 10:07
  Speaker 5: took them guys apart and put them together again. We
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: took the rule apart. There ain't but one gun in
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: the place. The one that fired the blank.
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: But that's impossible.
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: You're telling me... Nick, we opened every book. We even
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: took the toys apart. No soap. And the gun couldn't
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: have been thrown out the window because there ain't no window.
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: Look, it's getting pretty late, Nick, and they're getting kind
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: of sore in there. Do you want me to hold them?
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: I'll tell you what, Matty. There are bedrooms upstairs. They
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: can all go upstairs if they want and try and
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: get some sleep. But they're not to leave the club.
• 10:37
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: And I want a ballistics report on the bullet that
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: killed Dennis as soon as possible.
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: If you want me, I'll be in the kitchen. Yes.
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: What doing?
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: Getting something to eat. And pumping the steward.
• 10:46
  Speaker 5: I'm hungry for food and facts.
• 10:48
  Speaker 6: What?
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: Now this is a man that can cook after my
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: own heart. Thank you, sir. Me too.
• 11:07
  Speaker 6: I'll take lessons from you any day.
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: Thank you, ma'am. Too bad a dinner like this had
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: to be wasted.
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: Oh, it's not the dinner I mind, sir.
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: It's the fact that you're joining the club was so, so.
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: Inauspicious?
• 11:19
  Speaker 5: The very word, sir.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: You think they'll take me in anyway, despite what happened tonight? Why,
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: of course, sir. I'm sure the gentlemen are still anxious
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: to have the famous Nick Carter as a member. Even
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: what it means, the famous Nick Carter has become merely
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: an infamous detective accusing the members of murder? I'm sure
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: it was an accident, sir. You think a live shell
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: might have gotten mixed up with the blanks?
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: I see. Steward, do you know who loaded the gun?
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: It was Mr. Crane, sir.
• 11:46
  Speaker 6: The engineer? Yes, ma'am. Mr.
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: Crane always plans our little festivities, sir. He planned the
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: entire initiation tonight.
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: Talking about it all week he was, sir.
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: I used to see him late at night, thinking it
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: over in the lounge, chuckling to himself. Was it his gun?
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: I see. Well, thanks very much, Stuart. Both for the
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: excellent food and for the information.
• 12:07
  Speaker 6: Especially the food.
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: Come on, Betty. I think I'd like to go upstairs
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: and have a few words with Crane.
• 12:21
  Speaker 6: Nick, do you think Crane... No, no, Betty.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Certainly, he's a likely prospect.
• 12:25
  Speaker 6: I didn't like the way he kept insisting it was
• 12:27
  Speaker 6: an accident.
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: What I don't like is the fact that Walter Crane, engineer,
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: gentleman with a calculating and mechanical frame of mind, gentleman
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: who loaded the gun himself, failed to notice an extra
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: shot was fired. That's no initiation. Come on, upstairs, quick.
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: Hey, Nick.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: Can't come upstairs, Matty.
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: Come quick. Sounded like Crane to me.
• 12:46
  Speaker 6: Nick, this might be a trap to get us up here.
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: Wait a minute.
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: This is Crane's room right here.
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: Here. Glory be.
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: It's Crane, all right. Dead on the floor.
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: With a toy sword in his heart. For heaven's sakes, Carter,
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: what is this? Two screens. All right, all right.
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: Don't park here. This ain't no Coney Island peep show.
• 13:06
  Speaker 6: But, Arnold, it's... It's Crane.
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: What do you guys think this is, a reunion?
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: Go on, get out of here.
• 13:11
  Speaker 5: Go on back to your room.
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: I want to ask a couple of questions. Okay.
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: Archer, where were you when you heard Crane scream?
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: I just finished bathing.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: I was in the shower room. I see. That's why
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: you're still carrying a bath towel.
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: And you, Mr.
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: Burns?
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: Well, I was in my room waiting for Archer to finish.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: I was smoking a cigar at my window. Where's the cigar?
• 13:29
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: I think I dropped it out the window when I
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: heard Crane yell. That'll get one of your men to
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: check that. Right. Be back in a flash. Now, let's
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: have a look at that sword. May I borrow your
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: towel a moment, Roger?
• 13:39
  Speaker 6: Certainly.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: I don't want to smudge any prints that might be
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: on it. You are? Thanks. Let's wrap this towel around it.
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: Carter, surely you don't think I... You what, Mr. Burns? Well,
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: merely because I said in jest that I wanted Crane's
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: toy sword.
• 13:53
  Speaker 5: During the make-believe murder. You don't think I... Did I
• 13:56
  Speaker 5: kill Crane with it?
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: Deductive reasoning isn't that obvious, Mr. Burns. You have nothing
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: to worry about on that count. Thank you. But both
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: of you have plenty to worry about on other counts.
• 14:04
  Speaker 6: No, Mr.
• 14:04
  Speaker 5: Collins.
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: I don't think either of you understand. Two murders have
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: been committed in this club. Someone's guilty.
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: That leaves three suspects.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: You, Mr.
• 14:12
  Speaker 6: Archer.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: What? You, Mr. Burns. And the steward. They execute men
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: for murder, gentlemen. Try to understand that. Well, I found
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: the cigar, all right, Nick. All right, Matty, thanks. These
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: gentlemen may return to their rooms.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: All right, gents.
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: Well, Nick, what about Crane?
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: Killed almost instantly, just time enough to scream. Uh-huh. Whoever
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: killed him used plenty of power to thrust this dull
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: blade deep enough to penetrate the heart.
• 14:37
  Speaker 6: Any prints on the blade, Nick?
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: I'll take the towel off and look.
• 14:43
  Speaker 6: No.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: Blade's dry and clean as a mirror. And look at
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: it by reflected light. Not a latent print on it,
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: not even a smudge.
• 14:51
  Speaker 6: That doesn't help much.
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: Well, I got news it ain't gonna help much more.
• 14:55
  Speaker 6: Yes?
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: Yes. They took the slug out of Dennis.
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: Here, look at it. Thanks. Quite a true, I see.
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: It's white. Hello.
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: You see, huh?
• 15:07
  Speaker 6: Nick, what is it?
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: No rifling marks on this bullet, Patsy.
• 15:10
  Speaker 6: No rifling marks?
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: No lands or grooves on the slug at all. Now,
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: what's that supposed to mean? The killer threw it at Dennis?
• 15:16
  Speaker 6: That's impossible. We heard the extra shot.
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: Matty's just being difficult, Patsy. I think Matty's bad news
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: is the best I've had on this case.
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: Well, now, what's that supposed to mean? It means I
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: think I know where.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: To find the gun that killed Dennis. Come on, Patsy.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: We're going to have a look at Dennis' house.
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: Well, how in blazes did the gun get there? I
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: didn't say the gun was there. The gun's in this house.
• 15:33
  Speaker 5: Then why do you go into Dennis' place?
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: To find out why it was fire. Well, not a
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: scrap of paper worth looking at in his desk, Bessie. Well,
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: looks like we'll have to open that safe.
• 15:53
  Speaker 6: Too bad Dennis was a bachelor. No one here to
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: give us the combination.
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: We could wait for a court order to have the
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: safe open, but I don't think we'll bother. I have
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: the stethoscope in my bag.
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: Okay, Chief.
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: You're going to crack this crib?
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: Hey, where did you pick up that jargon?
• 16:06
  Speaker 6: From a crime magazine. Here's your scope.
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: Thanks. Well, that magazine must have been 15 years old.
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: Crooks don't talk that way anymore.
• 16:13
  Speaker 6: No? Well, how would they describe what you're doing?
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: They'd say that I was exercising a natural facility and
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: delicacy of touch to turn the dial. Meanwhile, using a
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: medical device to hear the tumbler stall. Quiet now. Shouldn't
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: take long. Three job. Three bulk job.
• 16:31
  Speaker 6: What made you go straight, Nick?
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: That patching is a base insinuation. My criminal facility was
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: acquired during a long career of fighting crooks. There we are.
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: All right, let's go through this stuff quickly. Here's Dennis's insurance.
• 16:54
  Speaker 6: $ 100, 000.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: Bar Association. Beneficiary.
• 17:00
  Speaker 6: Packages of old letters.
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: Give them.
• 17:02
  Speaker 6: Oh, here's a note from Archer. Offers Dennis $ 150, 000 for
• 17:06
  Speaker 6: the shares of stock Dennis holds in Archer's company.
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: Nice, huh? Wait a minute. Here's a will.
• 17:12
  Speaker 6: Oh, let's see.
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: Now, this is very interesting.
• 17:17
  Speaker 6: Mr.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: Dennis leaves all cash and stock holdings to his old
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: ex-college roommate, John Wendell.
• 17:22
  Speaker 6: Who's John Wendell?
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: John Wendell happens to be the steward of the Alphabet Club.
• 17:26
  Speaker 6: Well... Old.
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: College friend, huh? Maybe that won't interest Matty.
• 17:31
  Speaker 6: Nick, do you think it was Wendell, the steward?
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: He.
• 17:34
  Speaker 6: he killed Dennis with stock?
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: Now, wait. Let's have a look at that envelope here.
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: Looks like it contains stock shares.
• 17:39
  Speaker 6: It does. It's... Nick, there's only one share of stock
• 17:43
  Speaker 6: in here. One single share. Oh, there, you $ 500. Someone's
• 17:49
  Speaker 6: taken the rest.
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: Just one share, huh? Patsy, where's that note from Archer
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: you just read me? Here, Nick.
• 17:56
  Speaker 6: Why?
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: Patsy. Oh, for you, $ 150, 000 for... Aha! That's who you
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: didn't read this correctly. It says that Archer offers Dennis $ 150, 000
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: for his share of stock. Dennis only owned the one share.
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: Then why should Archer.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: Offer him $ 150, 000 for a share of stock worth.
• 18:17
  Speaker 6: Only $ 500?
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: You'll find out shortly. Let me have that phone.
• 18:21
  Speaker 6: Why do you always have to be so mysterious, Nick?
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: I don't like making statements until I'm positive. Alphabet Club.
• 18:28
  Speaker 6: Sergeant Matheson speaking.
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: Matty, this is Nick. Oh, what'd you find, Nick? I
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: think I found all the answers. Well, Nick, leave me here.
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: Not on the phone. I'm going to demonstrate. Now listen.
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: I'm listening. Get the surviving members out of bed.
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: Tell them I've broken the case. Tell them I'm going
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: to reenact the crime for them.
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: Yeah?
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: How?
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: When Patsy and I come to the door, I want
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: the steward to meet us. Then we'll play the make-believe
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: murder all over again, just as it happened. You can
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: take Crane's part.
• 18:50
  Speaker 5: Reenact the make-believe murder?
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: Right.
• 18:52
  Speaker 5: I think you're crazy, Nick.
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: Maybe. But this time, the make-believe murder is going to
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: lead to an honest-to-goodness solution. What?
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: All set, Patty?
• 19:10
  Speaker 6: I've got it, Nick. We're going to repeat everything we
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: did earlier this evening.
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: Right. And that repetition means every detail, no matter how small.
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: First, I rang the bell.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir?
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: Miss Bowen and Mr. Carter. Good evening, madam. Good evening, sir.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: Welcome to the Alphabet Club. Hi.
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: Hi.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: I think I asked you to follow me, Mr.
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: Carter. Right.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: Go ahead.
• 19:47
  Speaker 5: All set in there, Matty? Lights out and ready to go.
• 19:50
  Speaker 5: ready to go. Gentlemen, Mr. Carter and Miss Bowen. Make
• 19:56
  Speaker 5: like I'm screaming, Nick. That was crazy, John.
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: Go on. Knock again. Then I said, gentlemen, please open
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: the door.
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: And then?
• 20:12
  Speaker 6: Only four shots that time.
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: Happiest burns open the door. Then what?
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: I said something about entering the house of death. We
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: came in?
• 20:21
  Speaker 6: And heard toys.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: Then I told Crane to turn on the light.
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: I'll take care of that.
• 20:25
  Speaker 6: Thanks. I asked who was lying on the floor.
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: And I assumed it was Santa Claus. Then you started explaining, Archer.
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: So explain. The name of this mystery is Who Killed
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: Santa Claus? If Mr. Carter wants any dinner, he'd better
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: solve it. Gentlemen, I shall begin with the taking of
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: the evidence.
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: Oh, this is screwy. My name is Arnold Archer.
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: Today I hate Santa Claus.
• 20:48
  Speaker 6: Why?
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: Because he brought me this cap pistol. I wanted a horn.
• 20:52
  Speaker 5: My name is Nelson Burns.
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: And this horn.
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: One minute, Mr.
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: Burns.
• 20:57
  Speaker 6: Yes?
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: We're left out of detail. Mr. Archer was supposed to
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: snap his cap pistol when he spoke. Go ahead, Mr. Archer. Well,
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: go ahead. Fire that gun, Mr.
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: Archer.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: You'll never get me. Watch out for that toy gun.
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: Glory be, that cat pistol was loose. It fired a
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: real bullet.
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: And that's not life still, Archer. You'll never break away. That, Matty,
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: is a solution of our missing gun. But, Nick, why?
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: The single share of stock Dennis held was the answer.
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: He never owned more than one share of stock, and
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: yet Archer wanted to buy it back for $ 150, 000. $ 150, 000?
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: What for? I'm afraid Mr. Dennis was guilty of an
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: old legal racket. As a stockholder in Archer's firm, he
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: had the right of access to the company's books. You
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: seem to have all the.
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: Answers, Carter.
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: Yes, he sits through those books until he dug out
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: enough of the evidence of illegal market operations to ruin us.
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: And then offered to sell his share of stock and
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: stockholders' right to bring action back to you for an
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: exorbitant sum.
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: Aha!
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: Blackmail!
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: Legal blackmail. Mr. Archer, you were afraid Dennis was going
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: to blackmail you for the rest of his life. So
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: you killed him, which is the final irony of the case.
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: that the make-believe murder was committed with a make-believe gun.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: Nick, I thought Sergeant Matheson checked the toy gun when
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: he searched the room and found nothing wrong with it.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: That's right, Ken. A point very few people know is
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: the fact that certain types of cap pistols can fire
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: live ammunition. The bullet is wedged into the barrel through
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: a small hole in the plate that should support the cap.
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: Then the hammer is snapped and discharges the bullet accurately
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: enough to kill at short range.
• 22:34
  Speaker 6: So I should kill Dennis with the gun? And then
• 22:36
  Speaker 6: pretended it was a toy. Right.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: He disposed of the cartridge by the simple means of
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: swallowing it. I guessed that, and he admitted it. Well,
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: why'd he kill Crane? Because Crane's methodical memory couldn't be fooled.
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: He finally recalled where the extra shot came from. When
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: he called Archer into his room and confronted him, Archer
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: killed him. Said he just grabbed up the toy sword
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: and stabbed.
• 22:56
  Speaker 6: Did you know that before?
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: Well, I had a pretty good idea. On the pretext
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: of protecting fingerprints on the sword, I borrowed Archer's towel.
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: He claimed he'd been baiting, But his towel was quite dry.
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: Didn't even dampen the metal blade.
• 23:08
  Speaker 6: That's right. I remember you mentioned it.
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: I staged the repeat performance to frighten Archer and save
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: us the trouble of a long cross-examination. I knew that Archer,
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: in self-defense, would probably load his toy gun again, hoping
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: to use it to effect an escape. That was what
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: I was playing the scene for. Golly.
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: Pretty clever.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: That closes tonight's story on the Mystery Playhouse.
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: The tale you heard was from the.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: Life story of Detective Nick Carter. Now, some interesting notes.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: This time, and really, we have definite word from my
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: host of the playhouse, Peter Lorry by name, remember?
• 24:03
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: That T4Y has lost his lease.
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: That, in effect, Mr.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: Lorry is coming home to roost. And expects to be
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: back here among the cobwebs before you have time to
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: recount your points.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: I wrote and told him we were expecting him. What
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: more can I do? Now I see it's getting early again.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: This is T4Y closing the doors of the mystery playhouse.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: Good night.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: Sleep tight.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: This is the Armed Forces Radio Service.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Nick Carter, Master Detective, has concluded with The Case of
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Make-Believe Murder. Good night, and thank you for joining us.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: Follow Old Time Mystery Radio for more classic mystery and
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: detective broadcasts.