Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Crime and Peter Chambers: The Sandra Mantel Murder (EP1420)
Transcript
- Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, send it to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com slash Radio Detectives. Before we do get started, I do want to remind you the show is brought to you by the financial support of our listeners, and you may support the show at support dot Great Detectives dot com via PayPal. You can also mail in a check to Adam Graham Peel Box one five nine thirteen peel Box one five nine one three, Boise, Idaho eight three seven one five. Well, now it's time for today's episode of Crime and Peter Chambers. The original air date was April twentieth of nineteen fifty four and the title is The Sandra Mantel Murders, Crime and Peter Chambers created by Henry King Transcribe and Stein, Daan Clark, a private investigator, July Licensed and Julie Swann. Peter Chambers. You're a private eye. That's your business. Anything else that's for laughs. There are no laughs in this one, not unless you're a Google. Because you're strolling in a graveyard at midnight. You're walking in a cemetery out on Long Island. That's the job of work you're being paid for. You've got a package in your left hand and a flashlight and you're right. Your imagination is starting to do nip ups when you get an interruption. Yes, sir, I'll reach back and hand me that package. Well, you're supposed to give me the word. Well, them's my instructions, pal, a real melodramatic bit. You're supposed to say a name, Abner reed, ask the jackpot, answer, reach and grab your prize and notice, please, I've still got my head turned and I'd better stay that way if you don't want holes in it. You stayed the way you are for the next five minutes, but you don't stay the way you are for the next five minutes for two reasons. One, five minutes in the graveyard is like say, five years on the French riviera. And two you're blessed or cursed with a large lump of curiosity, so you turn and you don't turn a moment too soon because you drop. You look to where mister invisible disappeared, but you don't try to go after him because he's gone. And all the way back to town you ponder about why the guy took pot shots at you. You didn't see him. He made sure you didn't, so why the extra precaution of a spray of bullets. Well he missed you, so you shrug it off, and pretty soon you're in town at the fancy fifth Avenue mansion of Missus Avenue Reed. Well that so soon, mister Chambers, mission accomplishment. Lady, come in, Please come in, sir, Missus Abner Reed born Florence Fleetwood Lovejoy Price, married and rolling. You should pardon the expression in mucho de niro, worth maybe twenty five million bucks, and reputed to be stingy about the whole thing. Here's your theme, mister Chambers, as the agreement one thousand dollars, Thank you, ma'am. And now may I know what it's all about? You know what was in that package? Ghoulaj for ghosts two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. What a quarter of a million dollars? Uh? Look, Missus Reed, do you have a reputation for being well centric? But business transactions in the middle of the night and a graveyard. That wasn't exactly a business transaction, mister Chambers, What then it was a delivery of ransom money? What you mean I'm mixed up in some kind of a cock eye kidnapping. Not exactly mixed up. You are an instrument of delivery, a chore of which you've just been paid. The police know about this, not yet, not yet. When do you expect to inform them tomorrow morning? Look what happened here? Well? Last night my husband stepped out for a newspaper. He didn't return for two hours. Naturally, I was returned. Naturally. I thought, well, perhaps he stepped into a tavern for a drink. But then I got a phone call. He'd been slugged, rendered unconscious and kidnapped. How can you be sure? There was no doubt it was he himself, who was talking to me with a gun pointed at his head. See. I was told they'd called back this morning, and they did. Would you be able to recognize the voice? They're too smart for that. They put him back on the phone. The arrangements were made, and then came the question as to who would make the delivery. You're very well known mister Chambers, and yours is an excellent reputation. Well, thank you. They're supposed to return him to me during this night quarter of a million dollars. I'm regarded as a will a rather frugal person, but this is different. We've only been married six months, and I believe you know from the newspapers my husband is twenty years younger than I am. Yes, I am to read. I read about it, and I suppose you want me to clear out of here. Frankly I do. But you are going to the cops with this, definitely tomorrow morning, whether he's returned to me or not, at least then I'll know that I've done what I could to affect his release. They warned me that I was being watched, that if I called it the police, they they cut easy easy, he does, and missus read easy, good night and thanks. So you go home. You feel sorry for the old girl with the young husband. You think she's nuts. Not the contact cops, but you can't creep into another person's soul. You go home and you have a bit of scotch and you chase it with another bit of scotch. You've had a tough evening and you're ready to wrap up this day and put it to bed, when in the middle of the night you've got a caller. That's the life of a private eye, about as much privacy as a parakeet in the kindergarten. But it can always be a client. Somebody's turned off the car, the lights and it's pitch black out there. Suddenly the blackness is punctuated with blaze a flight. You're a hit and you don't know how bad. You get to the phone, Hello operator, Hospital, hospital merchants. You're under sedatives for a day while they prove for the bullets. Then you're sitting up in the hospital bed rare and ago, but they tell you five days five days before they'll let you out of there. And then you get a caller, amiable but worried looking. Hi, detective, are you coming around real good? Hi? Lieutenant? What brings you as if you didn't know? He stares down at you, Detective, Lieutenant Parker, New York City Police, Stern Square and a friend that happen? Reed, shindig, I hear you were an innocent bystander in the cemetery. Did they return the guy? Yeah? None, the worse for his experience newspaper's got it yet? Now what you're trying to work it through before it gets any publicity? What kind of a guy is he? This abner read? Oh, nice enough kid. He used to be a dancing instructor. That's how he met the lady with the bucks. Has she been liberal with him? Liberally? She can be, I suppose rich, but plenty tight on What did he do for amusement before he got married? He ran around the lad nightclub stuff and things, handsome kid figures for a lot of gals. Why this line of questioning trying to get an idea as to his background. If it was hard guys that he used to run around with, it might clue as to the brains behind the snatch. So been done the lad and what we've come up with is a large selection of zeros. Now where let's hear your story. You'll give it to him, the whole deal, and his face furrows up as he unders it. H what makes you a target? Py? I wish shine you first the attempt at the cemetery, then the attack at your apartment. You sure you told me everything? Everything I know, Louis, but I'm going to know more. Somebody sets me up as a clay pigeon, and it becomes my job to find out who's taken target practice and the objections, Lieutenant to my sticking my nose into it. If my objections could keep you with thanks, pal, okay, then I'll beat it. Now you get your rest. But remember when they let you out of here, we worked this one together. Sure enough, Lieutenant. Anger and well being seem to run hand in hand, and as your health improved, so your anger months. By the time you're out of the hospital, you're tens of piano wire and fit the bust wide open. You run around and ask questions. You see missus Reid several times. The husband's in the mutter, are recuperating, but Parker's interviewed him time and again and has squeeze every possible fact out of him. And now the husband's back in town. But you're not wasting your time there anymore. Parker is an expert, and Parker's already rung and drive. So now you're sitting in your office and thinking about your next move. And then your next move is made for you. Oh, mister Chambers, Peter Chambers. My name is Sandra Mantel. I live at one seven eight sixtyst. Fifty fourth Street, apartment too downstairs. It's this mantel. Okay, I want to talk to you about a kidnap, kidnapping of avenue. What's that I'm involved with? My idea, really, I dreamed it up. I'm supposed to get up third one third share and I'm not kidding. So I want to talk. Yes, yes, Andra, I want you to make a deal for me, mister Chambers. If I still, I want to be able to cup a please, so I turn in that state seven and so I want to suspend a sentence. So why are you calling me? Because I know you are mixed up in it? Because I want you to go to the Cup and tell them I'll build a whole deal. Nobody's gonna cross me and get away. Hello, oh Hello. The address she gave you is near near enough. You slam out of the office and you run all the way and then you're there apartment too, and you're in the presence of death. A blonde with blood on her face. There's another blonde standing by, and this one's very much alive. Who are you, Peter, Peter Chambers? Now this girl was talking to me when that happened. You you didn't do it, did you? No? No, who are you? Very very royal? My name's Betty Royal. I'm your roommate. I've only been a roommate for a week. Did you call the cops? Yes, yes, I've phoned A well stacked blonde, A beautiful blonde, A live one. The dead one must have been pretty too. You crawl around and you see the gun on the floor. You see that the receivers back on the hook too. But that figures, Betty Royal said, she called the cups. Let me tell you. Let me tell you what Wait wait, wait, wait wait, let me ask the question, miss Royal. That gun on the floor is that yours? No? No, I found Just tell me tell me what happened. I was coming back from I'm a ballet dante, and as I came into the hallway, I heard the shots. I hurried forward. The door opened and a man came running out. We wumpumed into each other, and that's when the gun dropped to the floor. He struck me and ran out. What he looked like. I have no idea. I came in and found her like that. She was dead, and then all right, I went out in the hall for the gun I remembered about not touching things thinger print. I kicked it with my foot. I kicked it along until I worked it into the apartment. Then then I picked up the dangling receiver and I called the police. She's in tears again, and you go to her and you hold it, and she's a cudly little pecker, and you think about how sweet this could be under different circumstances. Cops, lots of cops, tons of cops, and they're in charge of Detective Lieutenant Louis Parker never fails. When there's a corpse, there's you. It's mixed up with the other thing, Lieutenant, what other things? You're straighten them out on current events on the phone calling your office to right now, you're wearing a gun. Pete good now listen to me for once, will you listen to me? And I always listen to Lieutenant. Okay, there's some kind of crazy killer loose right right, and he's mixed up with that appen to read snatch right right is Ryan, lieutenant, and you're still unfinished business on his list. Right, go home, go home and lock the door. You stay there, and what are you going to do in the meantime? I'm gonna work at my trade, but I'll come up and see you, Pete as soon as I get loose more. Listen, then we'll knock it around some more. But don't open your door to anybody but me. So you go home. You're a good little boy, and you've listened to Papa. You sit around like an old lady with lumbago, but you sipped. You do some home cooking and some home drinking, but you sipped. Finally at two in the morning. Who is it? Bit of the cup that cheers, Lieutenant? I can use a little cheer. Yeah, thank you. It hits the right spot. Well, look, let's get down to cases. Lieutenant. There's my boy always in their picture. Case is Louis well pde boy. That gun on the floor was the murder gun. Good. And we've got a gorgeous set a fingerprints office only Prince honored as a matter of fact. Good. So now we come to the catch. There's gotta be a catch. The prince mentched nothing that we've got un filed, don't match anything out of Washington. Where's that? Leave us? Way out and left field on a rainy day, But there's no ball game. Guess who is her boyfriend. Guess who who's boyfriend? Did dull at Sandra Mantel. Oh, by the way, you know what her business was? I don't know nothing. Which dancer Burle. That's pretty good at itude. I'm thrilled. Now who's the boyfriend? Naked Daryl? What? Nikki Daryl? Oh, that was a rhetorical what, lieutenant? It was a lot of amazement, a lot of astonishment or what a shout? All right? Stop hanging on me. Well, don't you call that a lee We had I mean we questioned him, we did the fingerprint bit, total reaction negative. We had a release it. What time is it? It's too thirty in the morning. Let's get out of here. Where you go work? You I'm going to sleep Pete, Yes, lieutenant, be careful. Niki Darrow Woodland with big ideas ex gunman x con X crook gone real respectable now owner of a fancy saloon cater at the Cafe Society, Big wheel of the theatrical folk. But way down, deep under deadly is a two headed rattlesnake bent on mischief. You get to the next place, which is hopping, and you jostle through the happy people to Nick Well the private eyeball. Long time, no season. Can I talk to you, Nikki? Yeah, talking with you, Nicki's liable to get educ get it. He's big, he's arrogant, he's powered. Running. He leads you through to the back and he sits you down. Yeah, that was a real mice's comfort. I have a drink on a house. Okay, thanks, Nikki. Wait, a couple of drinks here, Scotch for the eyeball. That's his drink, Scotch. What is it tickling your pound? That kind of tickling? You can die laughing? What are you talking about? Bullets? You're on my back, nikkiyeh, I don't even know what you're beginning to think. You want to talk about? Somebody's blowing spitballs at me? Nikki? And the idea? Who oh, sir, I got no idea? Nohow good enough. Now we shift the gear. Girlfriend of yours died today of unnatural causes. Yeah, so I hear the ideas on that, like, who's done it? No, but I'm gonna find out. This is one time I'm working on your side. Okay, Now we shift the high. You're beginning to stick your dirty mess into kidnapping too. Talk nice to Nikki. I talked the way I want to talk to whom I want to talk. Yeah, you're a sweet, a kind of guy, a lot of guts. I like your guy with a lot of guts. The answer is no, no, no, what have a little sense failed a snatch wreck? It is out friendly guy with breaks. There's easier ways to turn a book. That's all find on, Nikki. Live it up, have fun, big shot, here the drikes coming. We'll skip at this trip. So you're back where you started, fresh out of leaves. And it goes on like that for the next few days, long days, lumpy one, slow moving, and you're wearing your hardware and you're turning to look over your shoulder. Wherever you are. You've called on Betty Royal a few times, and you like that, You like that very much. And now you're calling on her again for no reason at all except that you liked that very much. But you find her breathless with excitement. I found something, mister James. I think it could be important. Pete, Pete, not mister Chambers. Pete. Remember it. Yes, a little black book. It belongs to well, it belonged to Sandra Is. She must have put it into my bag by mistake, and that bag's been in my locker rehearsal hall. Let's see it a little black book with a lot of names, and not one that means anything to you, but they may mean a lot to Parker. So you lat John's to the lovely Betty Royal, who says lovely and his rego is a name, and off you go and chattering twosome downtown to police headquarters, downtown to detective Lieutenant Parker, and you barge him without knocking because you think you've got right, only to find that he's got company, so you start backing out again. Come in, Come in, pete, miss Royal, Thank you, kind of governor, Thank you company. He's a tall young man with a Bruis's shoulders and an angel's face. Lieutenant Parker, I found a little black book. I found it in my locker. It doesn't mean mistaken bags. It's Andrews is the little black book, Lieutenant. Yes, tattling is guy's given right to a beautiful girl. Well, thank you, Peter. By the way, let me introduce Abner Reed. I don't think you two have ever met. Abner Reid. Peter Chambers, Miss Betty royal. How do you do? I do? I don't know ton of As we were saying, situation, what did you say your name was? I just told you, I'm asking him, Well, fella, keep talking. What did you say your name was? My name? As the lieutenant told you, I having to read, I have to read. Of course, you jump him right away. You don't wait. He's big, and you want the first punch, and you get the first punch in, but he takes his standing up. He let's do a few of his own, all right, stop it breaking up? What the devil's going on here? You slipped by a couple of his lefts and then he's wide open and you come up with one off the floor and he catches the clean on the button and now he's down and out and he'll stay out until someone brings him to crazy man. That's assault and battery. You're going to do time, fella, Well, you really flipped your week this time. Let me he'll stay away from him now, little pete. You and I lieutenant, we've told a lot of questions around. There's a couple of answers coming up right now, like what like why I was shot at the graveyard and up in my apartment, Like why Sandra Mantel was killed? Like why she called me in the first place? Like why that gun has fingerprints? Easy? Easy, one at a time. Oh, let's take the last one. First fingerprints on a gun, A guy dropping it when he collides with a dane, panicking, running out, leaving it there? Does that sound professional? Especially while a rule's out of pro What is a rule in an amateur? So so let's do it right side up. Now here's a guy, Abna Reid. He married a large hunk a doe, but he can't reach too much of it because she's frugal. So with the suggestion of a friend of his, miss Sandra Mantel, and you'll find, I'm sure, with a good deal of digging that those two at a close sub rose or association. Well, never mind what I'll find out. Let's get this over with first. On her suggestion, they figured out a beauty. The guy kidnapped himself. Remember missus Reed talked in the alleged ransom discussions to nobody but him on the phone. Yes, yeah, he knew the old dame she'd pay and play ball, which she did. But why why were you at tax there in the cemetery because red want me remnants hanging around. But Pete, how did you tab him so quick? He never bothered the disguise his voice in the graveyard. He figured to leave me there for dead. And this was the first time I've heard it since. So he punches bullets at you in your apartment. In that time he almost made it. And then then when he wouldn't have buid but sound everybody's everybody's a detective, although you one hundred percent right, But he last she called me, knew where to call me because she was in it from the very beginning. He caught her in the act and finished a row. And if you will kindly use the things of that commatose gentleman, for the purpose of making fingerprint impressions, I don't have a doubt in the world what you'll find. And so one hour later Abne read his book for Murder and Extortion. And you're strolling in the joyful sunshine with Betty Royal things your arm tightly and proudly. And what prettier termination can there be to so how unfortunate a circumstance as murderer? And there you've had crime And Peter Chambers Dane Clark was starred as Peter Chambers. Crime and Peter Chambers Transcribed was created, produced and written by Henry Kane. Others in the cast were Bill Zuckert heard as Lieutenant Parker with Evelyn Barden, Patricia Wheel and Roger the Covin. It was directed by Fred Way. This is Fred Collins inviting you to tune in next week, same time, same station for Dane Clark in Crime and Peter Chambers visit with Super McGee and Molly tonight on the NBC Radio Network, Welcome back. This guy wasn't perhaps the brightest murderer, but you should definitely make sense. I kind of write from the beginning hands suspicion of the husband, though so not the toughest to solve mystery. All he needed to do was hear the guy's voice, and that does explain the continuing efforts to kill him. All right, Well, on to some listener comments and feedback and Timothy emails in says Adam, thank you for bringing Crime in Peter's Chambers to your app. I believe that I'd listened to most of the short run show, but I was struck tonight when the closing music came up. I knew I should recognize the tune, but I couldn't find any reliable info on the Chambers show. Then it hit me, this was the original song from the Captain Kangaroo Show of my youth in the fifties and early sixties. Thanks for bringing back good memories. Well, that was not a connection that I suspected, but you're welcomed him And sometimes music will be reused in interesting ways. I actually heard the Johnny Dollar theme music opening theme on some syndicated episodes of Dick Tracy, the nineteen fifties public domain TV show, so those things do get your use. Finally, we have a simple comment from Nanny, who says great listening programming. Thank you well. Thanks so much, Danny, I truly appreciate your comments and that will do it for today. We'll be back tomorrow with the Adventures of Philip Marlow, and next Tuesday join us for Crime and Peter Chambers. In the meantime, send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Attactives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detactives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com. Slash Radio Attactives From Loiseadaho, this is your host Adam Grahamson and off