Detective and Mystery – Retro Radio Podcast

A wounded Sam Spade arrives in the office to dictate his report toEffie Perine. Reflecting on holw the case started, Maime enters to drag Sam to see her boss. Scruffy men guard a mansion where Johnny hires Sam to safeguard a transaction of jewels.

When delivering the goods, Sam finds a duplicate to the Tears of Night necklace. Which is real? What is the significance of the switch, when it comes to using the gems as a payoff for a gambling loss?

Trouble seems to come Sam’s way when the scruffy guards from the house approach him. They get the jewels, but not until after Sam pounds them furiously in their fists, with his face. Secrets lie with Daphne, the original owner of the necklace and gambling debts. The case won’t be over until bodies pile up. Sam goes full circle to unravel the full mystery, and spoil the well laid plan.

Join in with a glimpse of a crime in progress. The inheritance was all going to Joe, so why did he gun down the old man? With the rains coming down, and the flood coming up, Archie and Nero can’t cross the river. Taking a detour, they find a body in the road. High on a hill, and with cliffs and floods blocking off escape routes, they are about to have a closed room mystery on their hands. Will there still be a killer lurking?

Confronting the small band of folks in the house, Nero claims that one of them is a killer. Attempts at increasing the body counnt begins. Dumb move, it only makes it easier to figure out who it is. Or is there just some clever smoke screens going up to obscure matters?

Lights keep going off at convenient moments, screams in the house, muddy foot prints, with plenty of clues and red herrings. Nero has an idea , and isn’t fooled for long. A trap is soon set, designed to force the killer to show their hand.

A ring of gamblers have had enough of each other, and in disbanding, the lights go out, a gun shot blasts, and one of them ends up as a corpse. Not in a position to call on the cops for answers, will they be able to stir the interest of Nero Wolfe to come and solve their mystery?

A reenactment of the crime gets the ball rolling, but will it prove anything? It’s enough for Nero to figure it out, but he’s not talking just yet. Solid proof needs to materialize before he’s ready to show his hand to either Archie, or the police.

Danger is in the cards for Archie, and Jean, the dame in the gambling ring. The players migrate to Nero’s office after more gunplay, and a rising body count. Is it about time to lay his cards on the table, and put the finger on a killer? Sure, but get ready for more shoot outs, right up to the bitter end, as Nero cranks up the pressure. This is not going to be a good day to be a gambler.

A prize fighter could be involved with shady characters, and a payoff to take a dive. Which will win, his good sportsmanship, or the debt he owes and needs to pay off fast? Elsewhere, Archie and Nero have their own financial woes when Mr Rainey, the fighter’s promoter enters. What happened with the missing boxer? Archie is sent out to observe, and look for clues… like finding the fighter’s body under the canvass boxing ring at the gym?

A visit to Larson is in order, but he lost plenty on the boxer. Does that mean he has motive for murder? His wife’s hat was found at the crime scene. Somebody has some explaining to do.

Information could be forthcoming, but only if the da me is paid. Jealousy could be a motive for her to have killed her boyfriend… until a shot rings out and kills her. Don’t you just love it when all the possible suspects get killed off. It kinda takes all the mystery out of who did it, and leaves only figuring out how and why the killer murdered their man.

A new case is phoned in, but the home bound Nero Wolfe isn’t inclined to leave his easy chair, until he learns it involves the florist, and a shipment of orchids. Enid is sweet on the orchid specialist, John, but her uncle is ready to cut her out of his will if she pursues the relationship. Once Archie lays eyes on Enid, he is smitten with the Venus with arms. As Nero looks at the orchids, Archie discovers a body among the lilies. By the time Nero goes to see, the body has disappeared, and the fresh blood trail convinces the detectives it wasn’t imaginary. Was it the florist, who owed Hansen money? Or possibly that orchid specialist who has the hots for Enid? Since Nero is out, he goes with Archie to learn more at the Hansen home.

Both Enid and John seem to be innocent of knowing the whereabouts of uncle Hansen. Nero thinks otherwise, and claims Enid is a killer. Is he on to something? Archie has stumbled onto the body again, but after a thump on the head, the bashful body has once again disappeared.

Back in town, and at the florist, will there be a second body to be found? Isn’t it about time to get the police in on the act? Nero has had enough and goes home. Calling the players into his home, Nero reviews all the points of the case, and exposes the mystery, and killer.

In the office, Effie is acting awfully nervous. Does she have a surprise to spring on Sam? Moving from the unpleasant surprise of his missing calendar… and he even met the girl who posed for it too… Sam begins his report. What does Eve hope Sam to do, after a domestic dispute at her apartment building? After a thump on the head, Sam only has the bottle that hit him, and Apple of Eve nail polish. The trouble is that his client has also been found, only she didn’t do as well. Eve has been murdered while at her dressing table.

Taking a closer look at the murder scene, the bottle of nail polish is a clue, along with clues pointing to a gambler turned yachtsman. What else will Sam find in his pursuit of the nail polish?

Jealousy of a jilted lover may be the cause, but will the shady characters be their own worst enemies? Will Sam find Gorce Hagan, the yachtsman, in time to prevent mor murder? There’s something fishy happening, but Sam doesn’t lay it on the line until another corpse makes the scene, and confronts the killer.

Santa Claus is coming, and he’s going to pay a visit to Nero Wolfe. Someone is out to kill Santa, at least the ones who stand on street corners, ringing bells are in danger. Can Nero put a stop to it?

A wealthy benefactor of a charity poses as Santa every year, and he tells Nero his concern for his own safety. Nero still isn’t sure whether the killings are because Mr Barton is the target, or if something else is afoot with the charity. Being a large man, you would think Nero would volunteer to fill out the red suit to stand on the corner. Instead, he gets a kick out of the idea of sending the slender Archie to fill Santa’s shoes.

On the street, Archie gets to meet a cute dame as he gathers clues about the charity. Reporting back to Nero, and with the blonde in tow, Nero thinks he knows the connection to the murdered Santa’s. Archie still has to do some foot work, but with all the players brought together, Nero untangles the twists. Continuing with caution, the cops could take credit for catching the cruel killers. -11 Abbott and Costello – Lucille Ball’s Nylons. 43111

Or, The Corpse in the Murphy Bed.

It’s the time of year for vacations, and in the office of Sam Spade, will somebody be taking a trip soon? The client with the confusing name, Overjord, phones Sam with a serious problem. What kind of trouble could the sweet, Mrs Overjord possibly have? Investigating her wealthy husband, and a missing necklace is the cause for Sam to cross paths with a notorious jewel theif. A link to the Overjord necklace is made, but the case of theft escalates to murder.

Besides turning up the uninsured jewels, Sam’s search for clues turns up a different set of Mr and Mrs Overjord. The Norwegian couple seem to have a knack for being locked in closets. Meanwhile, Sam heads back to confront his client, doubting that she has been telling the truth about who she really is.

Though Sam’s question is a simple one, who put the corpse in the Murphy bed, Joy lays out the smoke screens, and thick. Where will her over reacting leave Sam? The stolen jewel mystery is easy enough for Sam to untangle, and in his report, he explains the events that led to the corpse.

That chair born genius, and mountain of a man among detectives is back, when a cute red head comes calling. Mary Dunning is a secretary at the ecological foundation, an agency to study animals. Her boss has been missing for 3 days. After a stranger visited, he disappeared. Is there a legitimate worry? Nero insists Miss Dunning take the case to the police. Though Archie is sympathetic to her, Nero is certain she’s been lying.

Later, Archie reports there’s still a missing persons case. This time it’s Stevens who is back, but Mary who is gone. The bodies begin appearing when Stevens is shot, and Mary is still missing. Dirt emerges regarding the financial matters at the foundation. Who else stands to benefit with a change of leadership at the foundation? Miss Toliver is Steven’s fiancee. Peter Down is the replacement for the vacant position of executive director, and something of a playboy.

A secret love between Laura Toliver, and Peter is exposed. Twists keep coming when Mary is found tied u0 in Peter’s apartment. Yet another character enters the scene when Schwartz has news about Stevens. What does he know about the secret love affair, or Mary? Nero has a few questions to clarify, but he soon has enough to hand the matter over to the cops.

Good audio quality.

At a big town newspaper, Edward G Robinson plays a relentless editor out for the news at any cost. His social columnist, played by Claire Trevor, tries to plead for the people his stories ruin.

When Steve Wilson discovers the sordid past of a socialite, can anything throw him off the juicy story he’s after? He does her wrong, but will she make good on her promise to come to gun him down.

Placing a lot of trust on the civil nature of those in high society, Steve seems to forget the depths of the woman’s past. You know… all that dirt she had to climb out from under to get to where she is today? Maybe he’s just totally unconcerned about his own demise.

What will it take to soften Steve up? What good is dedication to the story if there’s a bullet in you? It’s going to take a brush with raw courage, but in the end shows that he still has a heart.

Bonus Trrack

Keith has gone digging in his archives of detective shows, in order to bring the listeners more of what they seem to like. The proof is in the download count. There isn’t a lot more of Big Town than the shows that can already be found on the web sit, but if tny can be dug up, we’ll get them out there for you.

The Ben Selven Orchestra – You Said It. Probably from the early 1930’s.