Dramatic Listening... the podcast where you learn English by listening to radio plays

DL013: Would Wynn Blake have been justified in murdering Barbar?


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Blood Money — Part 6
Scene 12 [19 min 31 sec ~ 23 min 00 sec]
Photo by Bigstock Photo: stokkete Wynn Blake looked every inch his role in life — gray, distinguished, with a stiff aristocratic spine, a polished surface veneer, with only one thing marring him — his eyes. I’d never seen sadder eyes.
 
Barrie Craig visits Wynn Blake, his prime suspect.
Blake has become his suspect because he had motive – he was named in Anatol Barbar’s letter as the man being blackmailed. Barrie knows that blackmail victims sometimes turn on their oppressor. Perhaps they have no more money to turn over to the blackmailer. Perhaps they've just 'had enough' and cannot tolerate being victimized any longer.
You can hardly blame the victim for wanting to get out from under the blackmailer's thumb, but can murder ever be justified? Isn't there a better way, a legal way? Why not report this abuse to the police? Of course, that would mean coming clean with whatever the blackmailer has on you, but choosing to take the law into your own hands by murdering him instead is very risky. If you got caught, not only would you be tried for the original crime (if it were a crime), but you would also be tried for murder.
Barrie notes that Blake fits the stereotype of an aristocrat — he looks very distinguished and has a proud air about him that impresses some, but the hardboiled detective is not impressed with the upper class; he relates better to the man on the street, the average guy.
In spite of that, Blake tells Craig what Barbar had on him. He knows that the truth is going to come out sooner or later, so he chooses to reveal his secret now to get out from under Craig's suspicion that he murdered Barbar. He strongly refuses to confess to murder. However, his son knew of the blackmail situation, so when Barrie leaves Blake, he has a new lead.
 
Have fun learning the keywords with English-Chinese Flashcards and Games.DL013 Keywords on QuizletDL013 Supplementary Words on QuizletDL013 More Supplementary Words on Quizlet
Does Wynn Blake  seem guilty to you? Would you blame him if he had murdered Barbar? Please leave a comment.
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Dramatic Listening... the podcast where you learn English by listening to radio playsBy Wendy Lambert