November 28, 2018 • 23 mins
Who is Samuel Tensch? And what led him to hire Hank Briggs?
Performances by Joe Manganiello, Alan Tudyk, Mike Colter, Cree Summer, Matthew Mercer, Rebecca Field, and Oliver Vaquer
“Angel Eyes” performed by Desi Dennis-Dylan. Piano arrangement by James Harper. Composed by Matt Dennis. Lyrics by Earl Brent.
Directed by E. Ryan Martz. Written by Oliver Vaquer. Story by E. Ryan Martz and Oliver Vaquer. Sound Design by Joel Raabe. Produced by Vox Populi.
Social Media:
Oliver Vaquer @Oliver_Vaquer
E. Ryan Martz @eryanmartz
Angel of Vine @angelofvine
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
A note to the listener. The following story contains some
adult content and language. At the close of our first episode,
Hank Briggs was visited by an anonymous man. This man
wanted to hire Hank to unearth something the detectives of
the l a p d Had failed to determine for
over a year. Who killed the Angel of Vine. On
(00:24):
this episode, we will get to know much more about
this not so mysterious individual and be able to answer
at least part of the question what made Hank Briggs
the guy for the job from Vox Populi and the
Los Angeles Harold, this is the Angel of Vine. My
(00:47):
old heart ain't gain and no ground because my angela easy.
(01:11):
I said, just a second, the Dame of Rush I'm
in here. I'm not going anywhere. Yeah, how can I
help you, Hank Briege. That's what it says in the door.
May I sit? That's what it's there for. You come.
Highly recommended, Mr Briggs. Urban was especially pleased with your discretion. Everyone.
(01:37):
You don't strike me as a Hollywood type. I'd like
you to help me find someone how. You're gonna have
to be a little bit more specific, Mr Briggs. I
want you to help me find whoever killed Marley Marie Evans.
Who are you? My name is Samuel Tench, Mr Briggs.
(01:58):
You're gonna make your work for aren't you? Okay? Mr Tench? Samuel?
What do you do? Where are you from? What's your
favorite drink? Why me? Which of the questions would you
like answered first? Mr? Briggs? Well, I don't know answer
them in any or You're like, look, I got things
to do. Forgive me if I don't have time for
(02:19):
twenty questions. My apologies, Mr Briggs. I didn't mean to
give you the impression that I was here merely to
waste your time, ah as state did. My name is
Samuel Tinch. I am an artist. You may know some
of my work, you may not. That is of no
concern to me. I am from many places, but I
live in Los Angeles. I am partial to a dry Gibson,
(02:41):
but if it would make you feel more comfortable, I'm
also quite fond of a tumbler of Scotch neat with
water back. I was kidding about the drink. No, you weren't.
Why me? As I mentioned, you were recommended by Irwin?
And how do you two know each other? Do you
interrogate all of your prospective clients, Mr Briggs, or have
I on something to offend you. No offense. It's just
(03:03):
not often that someone comes through that door asking me
for the impossible. Don't sell yourself so short, Mr Briggs.
Irwin has commissioned a few paintings from me through the years.
We ran into each other at the Fountain Coffee Room
and I said I was in the market for a
private investigator. He said, you'd be able to assist me murder.
I didn't divulge what the purposes of my hiring you
(03:24):
would be for, sir Mr Tench, but I still don't
understand how I can be of help to you. Mr Briggs.
This may surprise you, but in what little I know
of your background, you strike me in very much the
same way as Pablo Picasso. That's a no one. You
were a police officer in the same way that Picasso
began as a formerly trained artist, but at the point
(03:48):
where instinct and the creative mind took over his genius emerged.
He began to experiment with different theories and ideas, influences
and techniques. It's safe to say that through his artistic
evaloue from Cubis too neo classical to surrealist. His instincts
surely must have evolved as well. So you think I'm
(04:09):
a genius. I think you have the same capacity for creativity,
Mr Briggs, the same instincts. I'm sure I don't need
to tell you all of this. No, Mr Briggs, My
point is that the rules haven't managed to obtain anything new.
You were trained to know how to play by the rules,
but you also know how to break them, how to
(04:31):
read between the lines? Has the same fact, Mr Briggs.
How did you discover that the man Irwin Fogelman's wife
was having an affair with was his financial advisor? I
thought you don't divulge your information. I don't, but I
have no control over what comes out of other people's mouths.
Did your discovery of the identity of her lover come
(04:52):
from good old fashioned police work? Now who's doing the interrogating.
I'm merely making my point. I think that your expectation
of what I can obtain maybe a tad unrealistic. I
don't think so. A majority of the inhabitants of the
city don't talk to the police, Mr Briggs. They hide
from them. However, someone has yourself who has the techniques
(05:13):
and the instincts required to gather information poses absolutely zero
threat too, said inhabitants, would you mind not at all? Right?
I don't have any war make it, do you? See?
Mr Briggs? You can ask questions that a member of
(05:34):
the Los Angeles Police Department cannot ask. You can ask
very ugly questions to very ugly people, and in very
ugly ways, without breaking any laws, of course. And my
guess is that without a badge or a grudge or
a uniform, these ugly people will bestow upon you answers
(05:55):
containing viable, helpful, and hopefully useful information. I'm certainly not
hiring you to bring anyone to justice. What do you mean?
Nothing more than chasing information? So wait, you want me
to find out who killed the Angel of Vine? And
then just white say hello, why did you do it? No,
Mr Briggs, I would like it very much of the
(06:16):
person who killed Marlene was caught, But as you are
no longer an officer of the law, I'm merely stating
that person won't be you. So you see, my expectations
are quite grounded in reality. After all, what's this? That
is my offer per week for your services? This is
(06:43):
a week? Yes, that's a that's a lot of money.
It is. If you prefer, I can pay you in
the amount of ten tho dollars up front. Either way,
you will receive an additional ten thousand when your work
is done, a thousand dollars when you solve the case. Yes, Jesus,
(07:06):
that's a lot of money. Yes, m hm. Weekly is fine.
UM an artist U a painting canvas. Mr Briggs ship
to pink canvas. The conversation goes on from there and
(07:29):
we'll come back to it, but I want to stop
here for a couple of minutes to talk about Samuel Tench.
First off, Yes, that is contemporary artist Samuel Tench. You
may not recognize the name, but you would definitely recognize
a painting or two of his. Amidst Hank's things, Beth
found the very piece of paper that we heard Tench
hand to Hank. It's a piece of light yellow stationary
(07:50):
with the powder blue letter head st on. It is
written Hank Briggs Detective Agency, fifty p W that's per
week for where services rendered, and at the bottom is
an actual Samuel Tench signature. A little background for those
(08:11):
who may be unfamiliar. Samuel Tench was born in Paris
into quite an artistic family. His mother, Liliana, was a
very well known dancer and stage performer. She toured throughout Europe,
which is how she met Samuel's father, Andre, a theater
owner in the Ninth Arrondissement during the height of Label epoch.
(08:31):
The First World War began a few years after Samuel
was born, and by the time Parisians adjusted to the
German bombardment, Andrea had reopened the theater and Liliana was
once again performing nightly. This left Samuel in the custody
of a menagerie of caregivers, as he refers to it
in his autobiography, one dancer in particular by the name
(08:51):
of Genevieve, whom he regards quite fondly as gifting him
with the very first materials with which to express himself.
By the age of thirteen, it was evident that he
had an incredible gift. At the age of seventeen, with
the support of his parents and a little promotion, of course,
Samuel Tench held his very first exhibition in the neighborhood
(09:11):
of Montparnasse, where every single one of his painting sold
without going into the entirety of Tench's backstory, it is
clear that he had one eye on his work and
the other eye on the rise of Nazism in Germany.
Having already lived through one war, he wasn't eager to
wait out the possibility of a second. In the spring
(09:34):
before Samuel left Paris, he narrowly survived a fire that
consumed half of his parents theater. Genevieve was one of
twelve people who died in the flames. His final painting,
on European Soil depicts a tattered pair of dark stockings
under the scorched brim of a top hat. The silhouette
(09:55):
in the background is presumed to be Tench as he
exits through the doorway. The pain ing is appropriately named
The Agony. Flash forward to Los Angeles, where Tench found
himself drawn to a community of artists such as Philip
Gustin and Reuben Kadish. As a result, his early work
in the u s is very politically charged and almost
(10:16):
industrial in nature. Around the time Gustin moved to New York,
tenches paintings became more and more colorful, large canvases, explosive
with elaborate brushstrokes, but most notable are his abstract portraitures
in watercolor and acrylic. Those are closer to what you
would expect. If I showed you one of those, you'd say, oh, yeah, yeah,
(10:37):
I've seen that painting. So that is who Samuel Tench was.
But as far as we're concerned, who he is now
is Hank Briggs employer. Just out of curiosity, why this case,
Mr Briggs? Have you ever been to the Plaza Arts
(10:58):
Center and A right, yeah, it's just uff from Little
Joe's on College Street. Your baseball fan, I gather you're
not much of a baseball fan. I no, it doesn't matter, sorry,
Plas Art Center. No, I've never been. A Mexican muralist
by the name of David Alfaro Ciceros created a fresco
entitled America Tropical or La America Tropical. I've never seen
(11:23):
it and I'm afraid you won't. Sorry. Sigeros was hired
to paint someone else's idea of a docile and romantic
fictional Mexico that Los Angeles would be comfortable with. What
they wanted was an illusion. What he gave them was
brazen honesty. The crucifixion of an Indian peon being attacked
(11:44):
by an American Eagle. It sparked outrage, and so they
white washed the wall to create an illusion that honesty
can be easily forgotten, not frolling. I don't want Marlene
Marie Evans to be forgot, Mr Briggs. She was an
innocent and what honesty she found so brutal in its
(12:07):
act that she was made famous only to be forgotten.
Every story should have an ending, Mr Briggs. Don't you
think I'm glad you understand? Where will you begin to look?
Most likely wherever the investigation came to Hall? Do you
still have access to that information? Will is Montgomery Palmer
(12:29):
going to be a problem? Shouldn't be good? I don't
need to know any more than that. Good because I
wasn't going to tell you any more than that. Well,
Mr Briggs, I shall take my leave of you. It
has been a pleasure, it sure has. Thank you for
(12:50):
taking all this responsibility. We will be in contact, sure
will h Holy shit, Dotty attack. Can you do me
(13:19):
a favor? Yeah? Can you have ed call me as
soon as he gets in. Yeah, now, everything's fine. Just
I just need to run something bybe she's good. Yeah,
she's she's good. Yeah, Yeah, I do that. Yeah, I'm
sure she'd love to hear from me. Okay, all right,
thanks Dotty. There is only one reason for Samuel Tends
(13:54):
to have mentioned the name Montgomery Palmer, or I should
say Captain Montgomery Palmer. He was worried, even if you
can't hear it in his voice, which you can't for
the briefest of moments, He's worried that, from an investigative standpoint,
hanks strained relationship with the l a p D Might
render him impotent. Why Montgomery Palmer, Why not any other
(14:14):
member of the force. Well, at that time, Montgomery Palmer
was the face of the Angel Levine investigation. He protected
information at all costs. If there were any obvious setbacks,
he was more than happy to blame them on the
interference of the press and their lack of discretion. So
as far as any inside information pretending to the case,
(14:34):
Montgomery sure as hell wasn't going to approve of Hank's involvement.
Side note. Through all of this digging, the one difficulty
I've had with hanks recordings is that they're not dated.
So while I have figured out a general timeline, the
(14:56):
following conversation with Ed could have been days even we
after tension. Just gives me that minute, not I promise
you won't take a minute when it gets cold. You
can hate it up yourself, even I won't keep him wrong.
(15:23):
What's your guy for me? Pointner? But that's it. Tell
me you're not recording this. Come on And that's where
the recording cuts out, But a few seconds later it
starts up again. There's no indication of how much time
passes or how much of the conversation has missed. All
(15:44):
I know is that Hank didn't tell Addie. That's the gist.
How can nobody know where she was at night? Not
one person who's interviewed you you see for yourself. How
can this be? All of it? It's so thin. Everything
else is all bogus leads and confessions. Well, can you
give me any of those, Hank? None of them checked out,
any co workers, the receptionist, nursing staff, eating security guard.
(16:07):
They all messition that she mainly kept to herself, and
that she was seen once or twice with Dr Harrison.
And that's all in this one. He was cleared, Hank.
That's a damn shame too. The only viable suspect and
his our bite checks out. Still I gotta go through
all of it. It's in there with the Perkins Report.
(16:30):
Don't you have an office or rough family? No boyfriends,
no ex boyfriends, all back in Idaho. I told you, man,
there's no one new. You're gonna be chasing your tail
man telling you at least I'm getting paid for him,
and that man is either crazy or has a very
interesting sense of humor. My money's on a little bit
of both. He ed, Yeah, I problems. I'll get these
(16:55):
back to you just as soon as I'm finished with him.
No rush partner, nobody's gonna miss him. Hey, what about
this roommate of hers? Gladys prints mag Pritts Prits Pritts.
(17:15):
Gladys Pritt said she didn't know much, Marlene, never lift
a room at night. Come on, there's plenty I know
about people I wish I didn't. Then I don't live
with him, probably too eight now huh tomorrow tomorrow, Bright
and early. I don't know why Hank risked putting ed
(17:43):
in jeopardy by recording the exchange, maybe force of habit
insurance for what though, I can't say. But he did
forget to turn it off as he drove away and
All that remains until the tape runs out are the rare,
uneventful sounds of the Los Angeles city streets at night,
whether it was the very next morning or a morning
(18:04):
soon after that. Hank didn't waste any time all these years.
I still don't understand these half numbers. I could someone
have a half of an address living twenty nine, living
twenty seven. No, he's gotta be eleven thirty three. Excuse me, Yep,
(18:29):
it's eleven thirty three. No number on the car, right, thanks? Sure, things,
Christ wouldn't I anywhere else the front door to this
place around the side. That's no front door on the side,
(18:50):
thanks again, shop, Let's just things stay up. Don't getting
you live on earth? What I pretend you living out
of space? Get it? It's like living next door in
the norms. Fun fact, the outer space motif of the
building that Hanks referring to came to be known as
(19:11):
a ding bat. Imagine two stories stucko shoe box with
no visible doors, car poared on the ground floor with
the apartments above it. In some cases, instead of numbers,
ding bats showcase their elaborate names, names like the Hillside Manner,
Hollywood Royal Hawaiian palms, or my personal favorite Tiara some
(19:34):
added starburst decorations similar to the famous Las Vegas sign.
Any dry cleaner your grandparents may have frequented, or a
car washer. Two. Norm's restaurant is a twenty four hour
Los Angeles stable in the same style. So why am
I telling you this simple answer. I didn't expect to
fall down a rabbit hole of architectural research because of
(19:57):
handkarbrikes M Yeah, yeah, Gladdice Prits depends, Gladdie. My name
is Hank Briggs. I'm a private investigator. You've got the
(20:17):
wrong address, Dick. It will only take a minute, unless
you're going to propose. I got nothing here to investigate.
It's about Marlene Murray Evans. Let me get decent. I
played the rest of this interview for you in the
last episode, but I want to revisit one part of
(20:37):
it for just a second. Remember that Hank is only
in front of Gladys because he had a hunch six
nights a week. Even Jane Mansfield took a night off
from diction. Look, I don't know what to tell you
about Gladys. Don't look over there. There's no one over there.
Why aren't you telling me, Gladys, nothing looked me in
(21:01):
the eyes. Nothing looked me in the eyes. And tell
me that Marlene worked part time in the doctor's office
during the day and was home every night in her room,
but you never saw each other. She didn't want a
parent style what. She didn't want her parents to know.
I didn't want her parents to know what, Gladys. She
started looking knights as a cocktail waitress where cres and
(21:26):
from that hunch, Hank Briggs uncovered the first new lead
in over a year in an unsolvable case. It was
a name, the name of a place, a place where
no one knew Marlene Marie Evans had worked. The Angel
(21:50):
of Vine is a podcast produced by Vox popular on
behalf of the Los Angeles Herald. Thank you for listening
to The Angel of Vine. If you'd like to support us,
please leave us a review and tell your friends to
subscribe it. The Angel of Vine is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher,
and all major podcast apps. If you can't wait for
(22:11):
the next episode of the Angel of Vine, episodes four
and five are available right now exclusively on Stitcher Premium,
as well as Angel of Vine Bonus episodes, extended episodes,
and add free episodes. Go to Stitcher Premium dot com
slash Angel and use promo code Angel to get your
first month of Stitcher Premium free. The Angel of Vine
(22:32):
is directed by E Ryan Martz, written by Oliver Vacare.
Story about E. Ryan Marts, Jason Salwalt, and Oliver Vakare.
Sound designed by Joel Robbie and Matt Tamarillo. Produced by
Vox Populi in association with Forever Dog Podcast Network. This
episode's performances by Joe Manganello, Alan Tuteck, Mike Coulter, Cree Summer,
(22:53):
Matthew Mercer, Rebecca Field, and Oliver Vacare. Angelis is performed
by Desi Miss Dylan piano and arrangement by James Harper.
Composed by Matt Dennis, Lyrics by Earl Brent from downtown
Los Angeles. This has been the Angel of Vine. You'll
hear more from us soon. Oh well, is my a Joe?
(23:26):
Excuse me while I deedup piece
A note to the listener. The following story contains some
adult content and language. At the close of our first episode,
Hank Briggs was visited by an anonymous man. This man
wanted to hire Hank to unearth something the detectives of
the l a p d Had failed to determine for
over a year. Who killed the Angel of Vine. On
(00:24):
this episode, we will get to know much more about
this not so mysterious individual and be able to answer
at least part of the question what made Hank Briggs
the guy for the job from Vox Populi and the
Los Angeles Harold, this is the Angel of Vine. My
(00:47):
old heart ain't gain and no ground because my angela easy.
(01:11):
I said, just a second, the Dame of Rush I'm
in here. I'm not going anywhere. Yeah, how can I
help you, Hank Briege. That's what it says in the door.
May I sit? That's what it's there for. You come.
Highly recommended, Mr Briggs. Urban was especially pleased with your discretion. Everyone.
(01:37):
You don't strike me as a Hollywood type. I'd like
you to help me find someone how. You're gonna have
to be a little bit more specific, Mr Briggs. I
want you to help me find whoever killed Marley Marie Evans.
Who are you? My name is Samuel Tench, Mr Briggs.
(01:58):
You're gonna make your work for aren't you? Okay? Mr Tench? Samuel?
What do you do? Where are you from? What's your
favorite drink? Why me? Which of the questions would you
like answered first? Mr? Briggs? Well, I don't know answer
them in any or You're like, look, I got things
to do. Forgive me if I don't have time for
(02:19):
twenty questions. My apologies, Mr Briggs. I didn't mean to
give you the impression that I was here merely to
waste your time, ah as state did. My name is
Samuel Tinch. I am an artist. You may know some
of my work, you may not. That is of no
concern to me. I am from many places, but I
live in Los Angeles. I am partial to a dry Gibson,
(02:41):
but if it would make you feel more comfortable, I'm
also quite fond of a tumbler of Scotch neat with
water back. I was kidding about the drink. No, you weren't.
Why me? As I mentioned, you were recommended by Irwin?
And how do you two know each other? Do you
interrogate all of your prospective clients, Mr Briggs, or have
I on something to offend you. No offense. It's just
(03:03):
not often that someone comes through that door asking me
for the impossible. Don't sell yourself so short, Mr Briggs.
Irwin has commissioned a few paintings from me through the years.
We ran into each other at the Fountain Coffee Room
and I said I was in the market for a
private investigator. He said, you'd be able to assist me murder.
I didn't divulge what the purposes of my hiring you
(03:24):
would be for, sir Mr Tench, but I still don't
understand how I can be of help to you. Mr Briggs.
This may surprise you, but in what little I know
of your background, you strike me in very much the
same way as Pablo Picasso. That's a no one. You
were a police officer in the same way that Picasso
began as a formerly trained artist, but at the point
(03:48):
where instinct and the creative mind took over his genius emerged.
He began to experiment with different theories and ideas, influences
and techniques. It's safe to say that through his artistic
evaloue from Cubis too neo classical to surrealist. His instincts
surely must have evolved as well. So you think I'm
(04:09):
a genius. I think you have the same capacity for creativity,
Mr Briggs, the same instincts. I'm sure I don't need
to tell you all of this. No, Mr Briggs, My
point is that the rules haven't managed to obtain anything new.
You were trained to know how to play by the rules,
but you also know how to break them, how to
(04:31):
read between the lines? Has the same fact, Mr Briggs.
How did you discover that the man Irwin Fogelman's wife
was having an affair with was his financial advisor? I
thought you don't divulge your information. I don't, but I
have no control over what comes out of other people's mouths.
Did your discovery of the identity of her lover come
(04:52):
from good old fashioned police work? Now who's doing the interrogating.
I'm merely making my point. I think that your expectation
of what I can obtain maybe a tad unrealistic. I
don't think so. A majority of the inhabitants of the
city don't talk to the police, Mr Briggs. They hide
from them. However, someone has yourself who has the techniques
(05:13):
and the instincts required to gather information poses absolutely zero
threat too, said inhabitants, would you mind not at all? Right?
I don't have any war make it, do you? See?
Mr Briggs? You can ask questions that a member of
(05:34):
the Los Angeles Police Department cannot ask. You can ask
very ugly questions to very ugly people, and in very
ugly ways, without breaking any laws, of course. And my
guess is that without a badge or a grudge or
a uniform, these ugly people will bestow upon you answers
(05:55):
containing viable, helpful, and hopefully useful information. I'm certainly not
hiring you to bring anyone to justice. What do you mean?
Nothing more than chasing information? So wait, you want me
to find out who killed the Angel of Vine? And
then just white say hello, why did you do it? No,
Mr Briggs, I would like it very much of the
(06:16):
person who killed Marlene was caught, But as you are
no longer an officer of the law, I'm merely stating
that person won't be you. So you see, my expectations
are quite grounded in reality. After all, what's this? That
is my offer per week for your services? This is
(06:43):
a week? Yes, that's a that's a lot of money.
It is. If you prefer, I can pay you in
the amount of ten tho dollars up front. Either way,
you will receive an additional ten thousand when your work
is done, a thousand dollars when you solve the case. Yes, Jesus,
(07:06):
that's a lot of money. Yes, m hm. Weekly is fine.
UM an artist U a painting canvas. Mr Briggs ship
to pink canvas. The conversation goes on from there and
(07:29):
we'll come back to it, but I want to stop
here for a couple of minutes to talk about Samuel Tench.
First off, Yes, that is contemporary artist Samuel Tench. You
may not recognize the name, but you would definitely recognize
a painting or two of his. Amidst Hank's things, Beth
found the very piece of paper that we heard Tench
hand to Hank. It's a piece of light yellow stationary
(07:50):
with the powder blue letter head st on. It is
written Hank Briggs Detective Agency, fifty p W that's per
week for where services rendered, and at the bottom is
an actual Samuel Tench signature. A little background for those
(08:11):
who may be unfamiliar. Samuel Tench was born in Paris
into quite an artistic family. His mother, Liliana, was a
very well known dancer and stage performer. She toured throughout Europe,
which is how she met Samuel's father, Andre, a theater
owner in the Ninth Arrondissement during the height of Label epoch.
(08:31):
The First World War began a few years after Samuel
was born, and by the time Parisians adjusted to the
German bombardment, Andrea had reopened the theater and Liliana was
once again performing nightly. This left Samuel in the custody
of a menagerie of caregivers, as he refers to it
in his autobiography, one dancer in particular by the name
(08:51):
of Genevieve, whom he regards quite fondly as gifting him
with the very first materials with which to express himself.
By the age of thirteen, it was evident that he
had an incredible gift. At the age of seventeen, with
the support of his parents and a little promotion, of course,
Samuel Tench held his very first exhibition in the neighborhood
(09:11):
of Montparnasse, where every single one of his painting sold
without going into the entirety of Tench's backstory, it is
clear that he had one eye on his work and
the other eye on the rise of Nazism in Germany.
Having already lived through one war, he wasn't eager to
wait out the possibility of a second. In the spring
(09:34):
before Samuel left Paris, he narrowly survived a fire that
consumed half of his parents theater. Genevieve was one of
twelve people who died in the flames. His final painting,
on European Soil depicts a tattered pair of dark stockings
under the scorched brim of a top hat. The silhouette
(09:55):
in the background is presumed to be Tench as he
exits through the doorway. The pain ing is appropriately named
The Agony. Flash forward to Los Angeles, where Tench found
himself drawn to a community of artists such as Philip
Gustin and Reuben Kadish. As a result, his early work
in the u s is very politically charged and almost
(10:16):
industrial in nature. Around the time Gustin moved to New York,
tenches paintings became more and more colorful, large canvases, explosive
with elaborate brushstrokes, but most notable are his abstract portraitures
in watercolor and acrylic. Those are closer to what you
would expect. If I showed you one of those, you'd say, oh, yeah, yeah,
(10:37):
I've seen that painting. So that is who Samuel Tench was.
But as far as we're concerned, who he is now
is Hank Briggs employer. Just out of curiosity, why this case,
Mr Briggs? Have you ever been to the Plaza Arts
(10:58):
Center and A right, yeah, it's just uff from Little
Joe's on College Street. Your baseball fan, I gather you're
not much of a baseball fan. I no, it doesn't matter, sorry,
Plas Art Center. No, I've never been. A Mexican muralist
by the name of David Alfaro Ciceros created a fresco
entitled America Tropical or La America Tropical. I've never seen
(11:23):
it and I'm afraid you won't. Sorry. Sigeros was hired
to paint someone else's idea of a docile and romantic
fictional Mexico that Los Angeles would be comfortable with. What
they wanted was an illusion. What he gave them was
brazen honesty. The crucifixion of an Indian peon being attacked
(11:44):
by an American Eagle. It sparked outrage, and so they
white washed the wall to create an illusion that honesty
can be easily forgotten, not frolling. I don't want Marlene
Marie Evans to be forgot, Mr Briggs. She was an
innocent and what honesty she found so brutal in its
(12:07):
act that she was made famous only to be forgotten.
Every story should have an ending, Mr Briggs. Don't you
think I'm glad you understand? Where will you begin to look?
Most likely wherever the investigation came to Hall? Do you
still have access to that information? Will is Montgomery Palmer
(12:29):
going to be a problem? Shouldn't be good? I don't
need to know any more than that. Good because I
wasn't going to tell you any more than that. Well,
Mr Briggs, I shall take my leave of you. It
has been a pleasure, it sure has. Thank you for
(12:50):
taking all this responsibility. We will be in contact, sure
will h Holy shit, Dotty attack. Can you do me
(13:19):
a favor? Yeah? Can you have ed call me as
soon as he gets in. Yeah, now, everything's fine. Just
I just need to run something bybe she's good. Yeah,
she's she's good. Yeah, Yeah, I do that. Yeah, I'm
sure she'd love to hear from me. Okay, all right,
thanks Dotty. There is only one reason for Samuel Tends
(13:54):
to have mentioned the name Montgomery Palmer, or I should
say Captain Montgomery Palmer. He was worried, even if you
can't hear it in his voice, which you can't for
the briefest of moments, He's worried that, from an investigative standpoint,
hanks strained relationship with the l a p D Might
render him impotent. Why Montgomery Palmer, Why not any other
(14:14):
member of the force. Well, at that time, Montgomery Palmer
was the face of the Angel Levine investigation. He protected
information at all costs. If there were any obvious setbacks,
he was more than happy to blame them on the
interference of the press and their lack of discretion. So
as far as any inside information pretending to the case,
(14:34):
Montgomery sure as hell wasn't going to approve of Hank's involvement.
Side note. Through all of this digging, the one difficulty
I've had with hanks recordings is that they're not dated.
So while I have figured out a general timeline, the
(14:56):
following conversation with Ed could have been days even we
after tension. Just gives me that minute, not I promise
you won't take a minute when it gets cold. You
can hate it up yourself, even I won't keep him wrong.
(15:23):
What's your guy for me? Pointner? But that's it. Tell
me you're not recording this. Come on And that's where
the recording cuts out, But a few seconds later it
starts up again. There's no indication of how much time
passes or how much of the conversation has missed. All
(15:44):
I know is that Hank didn't tell Addie. That's the gist.
How can nobody know where she was at night? Not
one person who's interviewed you you see for yourself. How
can this be? All of it? It's so thin. Everything
else is all bogus leads and confessions. Well, can you
give me any of those, Hank? None of them checked out,
any co workers, the receptionist, nursing staff, eating security guard.
(16:07):
They all messition that she mainly kept to herself, and
that she was seen once or twice with Dr Harrison.
And that's all in this one. He was cleared, Hank.
That's a damn shame too. The only viable suspect and
his our bite checks out. Still I gotta go through
all of it. It's in there with the Perkins Report.
(16:30):
Don't you have an office or rough family? No boyfriends,
no ex boyfriends, all back in Idaho. I told you, man,
there's no one new. You're gonna be chasing your tail
man telling you at least I'm getting paid for him,
and that man is either crazy or has a very
interesting sense of humor. My money's on a little bit
of both. He ed, Yeah, I problems. I'll get these
(16:55):
back to you just as soon as I'm finished with him.
No rush partner, nobody's gonna miss him. Hey, what about
this roommate of hers? Gladys prints mag Pritts Prits Pritts.
(17:15):
Gladys Pritt said she didn't know much, Marlene, never lift
a room at night. Come on, there's plenty I know
about people I wish I didn't. Then I don't live
with him, probably too eight now huh tomorrow tomorrow, Bright
and early. I don't know why Hank risked putting ed
(17:43):
in jeopardy by recording the exchange, maybe force of habit
insurance for what though, I can't say. But he did
forget to turn it off as he drove away and
All that remains until the tape runs out are the rare,
uneventful sounds of the Los Angeles city streets at night,
whether it was the very next morning or a morning
(18:04):
soon after that. Hank didn't waste any time all these years.
I still don't understand these half numbers. I could someone
have a half of an address living twenty nine, living
twenty seven. No, he's gotta be eleven thirty three. Excuse me, Yep,
(18:29):
it's eleven thirty three. No number on the car, right, thanks? Sure, things,
Christ wouldn't I anywhere else the front door to this
place around the side. That's no front door on the side,
(18:50):
thanks again, shop, Let's just things stay up. Don't getting
you live on earth? What I pretend you living out
of space? Get it? It's like living next door in
the norms. Fun fact, the outer space motif of the
building that Hanks referring to came to be known as
(19:11):
a ding bat. Imagine two stories stucko shoe box with
no visible doors, car poared on the ground floor with
the apartments above it. In some cases, instead of numbers,
ding bats showcase their elaborate names, names like the Hillside Manner,
Hollywood Royal Hawaiian palms, or my personal favorite Tiara some
(19:34):
added starburst decorations similar to the famous Las Vegas sign.
Any dry cleaner your grandparents may have frequented, or a
car washer. Two. Norm's restaurant is a twenty four hour
Los Angeles stable in the same style. So why am
I telling you this simple answer. I didn't expect to
fall down a rabbit hole of architectural research because of
(19:57):
handkarbrikes M Yeah, yeah, Gladdice Prits depends, Gladdie. My name
is Hank Briggs. I'm a private investigator. You've got the
(20:17):
wrong address, Dick. It will only take a minute, unless
you're going to propose. I got nothing here to investigate.
It's about Marlene Murray Evans. Let me get decent. I
played the rest of this interview for you in the
last episode, but I want to revisit one part of
(20:37):
it for just a second. Remember that Hank is only
in front of Gladys because he had a hunch six
nights a week. Even Jane Mansfield took a night off
from diction. Look, I don't know what to tell you
about Gladys. Don't look over there. There's no one over there.
Why aren't you telling me, Gladys, nothing looked me in
(21:01):
the eyes. Nothing looked me in the eyes. And tell
me that Marlene worked part time in the doctor's office
during the day and was home every night in her room,
but you never saw each other. She didn't want a
parent style what. She didn't want her parents to know.
I didn't want her parents to know what, Gladys. She
started looking knights as a cocktail waitress where cres and
(21:26):
from that hunch, Hank Briggs uncovered the first new lead
in over a year in an unsolvable case. It was
a name, the name of a place, a place where
no one knew Marlene Marie Evans had worked. The Angel
(21:50):
of Vine is a podcast produced by Vox popular on
behalf of the Los Angeles Herald. Thank you for listening
to The Angel of Vine. If you'd like to support us,
please leave us a review and tell your friends to
subscribe it. The Angel of Vine is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher,
and all major podcast apps. If you can't wait for
(22:11):
the next episode of the Angel of Vine, episodes four
and five are available right now exclusively on Stitcher Premium,
as well as Angel of Vine Bonus episodes, extended episodes,
and add free episodes. Go to Stitcher Premium dot com
slash Angel and use promo code Angel to get your
first month of Stitcher Premium free. The Angel of Vine
(22:32):
is directed by E Ryan Martz, written by Oliver Vacare.
Story about E. Ryan Marts, Jason Salwalt, and Oliver Vakare.
Sound designed by Joel Robbie and Matt Tamarillo. Produced by
Vox Populi in association with Forever Dog Podcast Network. This
episode's performances by Joe Manganello, Alan Tuteck, Mike Coulter, Cree Summer,
(22:53):
Matthew Mercer, Rebecca Field, and Oliver Vacare. Angelis is performed
by Desi Miss Dylan piano and arrangement by James Harper.
Composed by Matt Dennis, Lyrics by Earl Brent from downtown
Los Angeles. This has been the Angel of Vine. You'll
hear more from us soon. Oh well, is my a Joe?
(23:26):
Excuse me while I deedup piece
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