September 12, 2024 • 47 mins
Today's Mystery: A disabled man's wife, who had worked as an escort, is murdered.
Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 16, 1949
Originating from New York City
Starring: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon; Frank Butler as Sergeant Dave Arnold
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Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 16, 1949
Originating from New York City
Starring: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon; Frank Butler as Sergeant Dave Arnold
Support the show monthly at https://patreon.greatdetectives.net
Patreon Supporter of the Day: BookGeek28 Patreon Supporter Since December 2021
Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.
Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715
Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.net
Give us a call at 208-991-4783
Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectives
Follow us on Twitter@radiodetectives
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment,
email it to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net.
Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives. Check us out
on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives. If you're
(00:53):
enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software.
Our listener support at appreciation campaign continues and you can
support the show on a one time basis using the
zell app to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
and I want to thank Scott for supporting the program
(01:15):
that way. Of course, our big focus is on Patreon support,
and I want to welcome Joseph as our latest Patreon
supporter at the Chief of Detectives level of thirty dollars
or more per month. Thank you so much for your support, Joseph,
and you can become one of our Patreon supporters over
at Patreon dot Great Detectives dot Net for as little
(01:37):
as two dollars per month. But now it is time
for this week's episode of Mister Chameleon. The original aired
eight November sixteenth, nineteen forty nine, and the title is
the Party Girl Murder Case.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Next, Mister Chameleon and the Party Girl Murder Case. Tonight
(02:25):
we again present the famous mister Chameleon of Central Police
Headquarters in his famous cases of crime and murder, brought
to you by the makers of genuine Bayer Aspirin. Mister Chameleon,
as you know, is the famous and dreaded detective who
frequently uses a disguise to track down a killer, a
disguise which at all times is recognized by the audience.
(02:48):
Tonight we give you mister Chameleon in the Party Girl
Murder Case. Our story opens at Central Police Headquarters at
the dull cold hour of six a m. And as
mister Camellion, the Great Detective, enters the office of the
(03:09):
Commissioner of Police, he tries unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Good morning, Commissioner. Ought, isn't it so good?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Not so good? For a girl named Bab's Clinton Chameleon,
beautiful girl. According to her husband, he was half hysterical
when he calls on the telephone. Just now, kept babbling
over and over she was so beautiful, she was so beautiful. Laden, Yes,
Chameleon stabbed in the chest. She didn't come home all night,
and her husband, naturally was worried, got up and dressed.
(03:37):
About half an hour ago, found her body in the
vestibule of the walk up.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Where they live.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
M that's a new starry commissioner.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I know what you mean, Chameleon. The husband, Jack Clinton,
could have done it himself. Well, that's for you to
find out, Chameleon. Get up there with Dave Ronald. From
now on, it's all yours.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And not long afterwards, we find Chameleon with Detective Dave
Arnold examining the beautiful, lifeless body of Babs Clinton, still
sprawled in the vestibule of the dingy walk up where
she was found, and Cameleon is saying to the trembling
man beside.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
Him, just what time did you find your wife's body,
mister Clinton?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
About half past five? Yes, yes, half past five. Where
is your apartment?
Speaker 7 (04:26):
Right here on the first floor. You see, I'm an invalid.
I've been very ill, like I can't climb stairs. And
Babs looked after me. She looked after me.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
I know, I know, mister Clinton. Let's go into your apartment.
Shall we have more privacy?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Dave? You keep those sights heres out of her place.
Speaker 8 (04:46):
Okay, mister commerian, this is this is the apartment. Thank you?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Will they will they be taking Babs away?
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yes, mister Clinton. They have to perform an autopsy. Your
wife is murdered, you know. Uh tell me, do you
sleep well?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
No? No, mister comedian.
Speaker 6 (05:07):
And last night you were worried about your wife's absence,
so you didn't sleep at all.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
That's right now.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
You were awake and your apartment is right next to
the vestibule where your wife was stamped to dead.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Yet you heard nothing nothing.
Speaker 7 (05:21):
I good lord, You believe me, don't you.
Speaker 6 (05:24):
My job is to ask questions and the way the answers.
Mister Clinton, Now you say you're an invalid. Did your
wife support you?
Speaker 3 (05:32):
She had to.
Speaker 7 (05:33):
She supported me and our three year old daughter, who's
with her grandmother right now.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
M What did your wife do? But you do, mister Clinton.
Speaker 7 (05:42):
While she worked as a salesgirl at Allen's department store,
and she supported a family of three on a salesgirl's salary.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
No, mister Clinton, Oh you're quite right.
Speaker 7 (05:56):
An old friend of hers, Sandra Walker, persuaded bad to
take a job the drum escort agency at night.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I've heard of that agency.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
They supply both male and female escorts for lonely people
who want to go to the theater or a nightclub,
isn't it That's it?
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Babs said, it was perfectly respectable.
Speaker 7 (06:12):
She she had no trouble at all until what mister Clinton,
until she met Miles Lawrence. She went to dinner with
them one night. He's the one who made the trouble.
He called a scent of flowers, made things so difficult
that only yesterday she gave notice to the Drum escort agency.
He was crazy about heim, mister chameleon. But Babs loved me.
She loved me.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I'm sure she did, mister Clinton. But don't you see
that's why she was killed.
Speaker 7 (06:36):
Miles Lawrence killed it because she turned him down and
he wasn't used to that.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
I'm sure of that too. I mean, I'm sure that
he wasn't used to being turned down.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
You've heard of him.
Speaker 6 (06:47):
Anyone who reads the tabloids has heard of Myles Lawrence.
He's the classic example of a wealthy playboy.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
And do you think he killed her?
Speaker 6 (06:53):
I didn't say that, mister Clinton. Look, I want you
to take it as easy as you can. I'll be
back during the.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Day are you going to question Miles Lawrence?
Speaker 6 (07:03):
Miles Lawrence and a few others? Goodbye, miss Clinton. Dave,
you've been out here? Do you hear most of the conversation?
Speaker 9 (07:14):
I sure did, mister Comerion, what sort of a guy
is it? Or let his wife work for an escort agency?
How do we even know he's an invalid?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Like he says, Well, that's easily checked. And if it's the.
Speaker 9 (07:25):
Truth, then that's all the more reason why Miles Lawrence
had more to offer the girl.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
Dave, you're very cynical. Maybe Babs Clinton loved her husband.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 8 (07:34):
Maybe he loved her.
Speaker 9 (07:36):
Maybe he loved her so much, mister Camerion, that he
killed her rather than let Miles Lawrence get her.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Possibly. Then there's one question I find rather intriguing. Why
should a man of Miles Lawrence's wealth and position go
to an escort agency to find a dinner companion? In fact,
the Drum Escort Agency interests me exceedingly, and I think Dave,
the sooner we get there the bet.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
And a little later, mister Cameleon and Detective Dave Arnold
entered the offices of the Drum Escort Agency and as
they close the door behind them. The flamboyant figure of
a man emerges quickly from another room and says, graciously.
Speaker 10 (08:23):
Good morning, gentlemen. What could I do for you?
Speaker 11 (08:25):
You're a bit early, but then the early bird catches
the worm or the most beautiful dimmer companions on our list.
All our young ladies are beautiful and charming, and none
more beautiful than Bab's Clinton.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Is that right?
Speaker 10 (08:40):
Why do you say that?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Are you a head of this agency?
Speaker 10 (08:43):
I am, sir Pelita's Drum at your service, and you.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
I'm Chameleon of Central Police Headquarters. This is Detective Dave Arnold.
Babs Clinton has been murdered.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I know she has.
Speaker 11 (08:56):
I heard it on the radio, mister Chameleon, that poor
and fortunate girl, and as you say, none more beautiful.
Speaker 6 (09:03):
Mister Drum. Exactly how does this agency of yours operate?
Speaker 11 (09:08):
Well, suppose you were a stranger in the city and
wanted a companion a dinner or the theater. Yes, I'd
first insist on absolute credentials of your respectability and standing
the see. Then if they were all right, I I'd
supply you with a charming and intelligent companion for the evening.
Speaker 10 (09:25):
And if you.
Speaker 11 (09:26):
Were a woman, I'd supply you with an equally personable
and decent escort.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Well, that's quite clear to men.
Speaker 11 (09:33):
Look at those pictures on the wall. Did you ever
see a more attractive group of people? Ladies and gentlemen everyone.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
You seem very proud of your employees, mister Drum.
Speaker 10 (09:41):
I am mister chameleon.
Speaker 11 (09:43):
I consider this agency a boon to mankind, how it
keeps lonely men and women in the city out of trouble.
I'm doing a great humane work.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
And being paid well for it, I imagine. Is that wrong,
mister Cameleian. One good deed deserves another. I brighten lonely life.
They give me a fee. Fair enough depends on the fee.
Mister Drum, you have a great many mottos on the wall.
I see the wages of sin are death, follow the
Golden rule.
Speaker 11 (10:12):
I am a puritanical man. My agency is closed on Sunday.
I myself attend church twice on Sundays. Another motto of.
Speaker 8 (10:20):
My never minds.
Speaker 9 (10:21):
Your motto is, mister Drum, they won't help us solve
Babs Clinton's murder.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
They might, dave. You can't tell.
Speaker 6 (10:27):
As a matter of fact, mister Drum, I have a
motto hanging over my desk. The innocent must be protected
the guilty it must be punished. And someone is guilty
of Babs Clinton's murder. Well, don't look at me, mister Camellion.
I didn't do it.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Do you know the girl? Well? Do you ever take
her out? Yes?
Speaker 11 (10:44):
I took her out because I've always considered it good
business to be seen in public with some of my
charming employees. Did you take her out more often than
the others, mister Chamelion, evil to him who evil thinks?
Speaker 6 (10:57):
Well, that answers my question. You took her out quite often?
Did you take her out last night?
Speaker 8 (11:03):
No?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
I did not. You know who she was with? Was
it Miles Lawrence? I beg your.
Speaker 8 (11:08):
Pardon you heard of, mister Drum? Was it Miles Lawrence?
Speaker 11 (11:11):
Miles Lawrence is a gentleman and a man of integrity.
I would trust him with my own daughter if I
had a daughter. He's upright and honorable.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
And a valuable client. Mister Drum.
Speaker 6 (11:22):
Could it be that there is someone behind that closed
door in your inner office? I think I'd better find.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Out, mister Kumelia.
Speaker 10 (11:29):
Wait, wait ah, I was.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Right, there is someone here. Are you Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 12 (11:37):
Yes, mister Commelian, I'm Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
What are you doing here.
Speaker 6 (11:40):
So early in the morning? And mister Drum, why didn't
you tell me he was here.
Speaker 11 (11:44):
Mister Comellion. A friend in need is a friend, indeed.
I am mister Lawrence's friend.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
So he came to you for an alibi, mister Drum,
he took Babs Clinton out last night and he wanted
an alibi.
Speaker 12 (11:56):
No, mister Camelion, I have an alibi, a real one.
But you took Babs out last night, Yes I did.
I drove her home at two a m. That is
my chauffeur droppers there. I left Babs outside. Her husband
was a very jealous man. Then I spent the night
with my good friend Bob Elsworth.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Mm, so you have an air tight alibi. I agree,
mister Lawrence.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
Bob Belsworth is a playboy with a very unsavory reputation.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I'm sure he'll back you up, and so will your chauffeur.
Speaker 12 (12:25):
I'm sure they will too. As for mister Drum here, well,
I came here to ask him for a character reference.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Yes, well he gave you one. A friend in need
is a friend, indeed, you were prepared for the worst,
weren't you, mister Lawrence.
Speaker 5 (12:38):
That doesn't mean I'm a murderer.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Well, just what are you? Mister Lawrence?
Speaker 6 (12:42):
Explained to me why a man of your wealth and
position should have to come to an escort agency for
a dinner and theater companion.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
No, I did it at first as a gag, and
then you met Babs Clinton and you fell in love
with her.
Speaker 12 (12:55):
Yes, but I did not kill her.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Mister Lawrence.
Speaker 6 (12:59):
Did you have meet Bab's friend Sandra Walker, the girl
who persuaded Babs to take a job here.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Why?
Speaker 12 (13:07):
Yes, I don't remember, mister comedian. I've met so many
attractive women I can't remember them all.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
I see all right, mister Lawrence. That's off for now.
Come along, Dave.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Are you leaving us, mister Camelion, Yes, mister drum, but
I shall be back, I hope.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
So.
Speaker 11 (13:23):
I only wish I could serve you professionally. I've done
so much for lonely people who are adrift in the world.
I might even be able to find a young lady
companion for Detective Arnold.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Here's that.
Speaker 9 (13:35):
So there are plenty of dames who'll like to go
out with me.
Speaker 8 (13:38):
Come along, Dad, I think she's funny.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Well I don't, Dave.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
I think Felita's Drum is a very strange man who
puts on an act that is far from convincing that
do good exterior could hide almost anything.
Speaker 8 (13:55):
Even a murderer.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Too soon to say that, Dave.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
Look, I'm going back to headquarters, and I want you
to pick up the dead girl's friend, Sandra Walker, and
bring her to me as quickly as possible.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
Ah.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
But at Central Police Headquarters, mister Camellion finds a surprise
awaiting him. As he enters his office, A shabby, gentle
old man is seated by his desk. The old man
rises and smiles timidly.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
H are you mister Camillion?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Yes I am.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
I am Arthur Clinton, Jack Clinton's father.
Speaker 6 (14:37):
Mister Clinton, How do you do I suppose you'll hear
about your daughter in law's murder.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
U do you live with them?
Speaker 5 (14:43):
No? No, I'm independent, Thank Heaven. I work as a cashier.
I wouldn't take anything from her. I came here, mister Camelion,
because I thought you should know about her, just as
I thought my poor son should know about her.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
What did you think he should know about his wife,
she was a party girl, sir, that she worked for
an escort agency.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
He did know that, not till yesterday, mister Comedion.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
He didn't know tell yesterday that his wife was a
paid ask god for for various men.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
No, mister Comedian, I was the one who told him,
and I blame myself. Now, maybe I shouldn't.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
Have done it, but I was so upset that your
daughter in law had to make money.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Mister Clinton may have been quite respectable.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
You think Myles Lawrence is respectable. You think her carrying
on with him was respectable?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Mister Clinton? How did you know about that? Did Babs Clinton?
Tell you?
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Hardly, mister Camilion.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
But then how'd you find Anne?
Speaker 5 (15:39):
It was very strange. The other night I went to
see my son and in front of the little Walker
building where they lived, there was a girl standing crying
like a heart.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Would break gone.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
While I asked her what was the troubles, she said
she was waiting for Babs Clinton. Said that she hated
Bab and then she sobbed worse than ever. She said,
I was working for that escort agency, and she spoke
of Myles Lawrence. That's how I found out. And then
I well, I lost my head.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
I told my son what was the girl's name?
Speaker 5 (16:14):
I don't know, mister commedian.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Did you ask him?
Speaker 5 (16:16):
Yes? But she got scared and ran away.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Mister Clinton, can you describe her? This is very important,
co Milion. Yes, Dave, what is it?
Speaker 8 (16:22):
I picked up Sandra Walker. There she is in the
only room.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Sandra Walker.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
That's the matter, mister Clinton.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
But that's the one. That girl sitting in the ante
room is the girl who said that she hated bebs.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Mister chameleon and the party girl murder case continues in
just a moment. At the first sign of a cold,
before you do anything else, take Bay or aspirin. Here's why.
When you have a cold, it's almost invariably accompanied by
a headache, feverish feeling, and muscular.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Aches and pains.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
And it's very important to your well being that you
treat these distressing symptoms with a medication that will relieve
them quickly. And Bayer aspirin will do this no matter
how you try to stop or shorten the cold. We
believe that your own doctor will tell you that this
is sound advice, and when you use Bayer aspirin, you'll
discover why millions have followed this advice with remarkable results.
(17:21):
For Bayer aspirin is actually ready to go to work
in two seconds to bring you amazingly quick relief. In addition,
Bayer Aspirin's single active ingredient is so gentle to the
system doctors regularly prescribe it even for small children. That's
why it's been used by millions of normal people without
ill effect. So remember, at the first sign of a
(17:41):
cold before you do anything else, take Bayer aspirin. When
you buy, ask for Bayer aspirin, not just for aspirin alone.
Get the one hundred tablet bottle, and you get Bayer
aspirin tablets for less than a penny apiece. And now
(18:01):
back to mister Chameleon and the Party Girl murder case.
The fatal stabbing of Babs Clinton by an unknown assailant
has led mister Camelion into strange byways, and none more
strange than the Drum escort agency where Babs worked. And
now in his office we find him questioning Sandra Walker,
(18:21):
a friend of Babs who also worked for the escort.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Agency, and he is saying to her, let's welcome.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Bab's father in law positively identified you as the girl
he saw weeping outside Bab's apartment building.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
So ident deny it, all right?
Speaker 13 (18:35):
I won't deny it, mister comeleion. But what does that prove?
You can't accuse me of anything.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
I haven't accused you of anything yet.
Speaker 6 (18:42):
But I'd like to know where you were between three
and five am, the time that Babs Clinton was murdered.
Speaker 13 (18:47):
I was home in bed asleep. Where do you think
I was hiding in the vestibule of Bab's apartment building.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I'm asking you.
Speaker 6 (18:55):
I'd also like you to tell me why you hated
Babs Clinton.
Speaker 14 (18:59):
I did.
Speaker 13 (19:00):
We were friends. I got the job the drum escort agent.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Nevertheless, you told her father in law that you hated her.
Speaker 13 (19:06):
Why she was taking work away from me. I used
to be the most popular girl at the escort agency,
but after Babs went to work there there, they all
wanted her.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
That is only a half truth, isn't it, Miss Walker?
Speaker 13 (19:19):
What do you mean?
Speaker 6 (19:20):
Didn't you have a more personal reason for disliking Babs Clinton?
Something to do with Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 13 (19:27):
That's ridiculous, is it?
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (19:29):
It is.
Speaker 13 (19:30):
I hardly know Miles Lawrence, Miss Walker.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
Miles Lawrence is a well known playboy. The papers are
always printing juicy items about him. Well, I've gone through
some back issues now. There were several accounts of his
being seen at the swankier nightclubs with an unknown beauty.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Were you the lady referred to him?
Speaker 13 (19:48):
I told you, mister Comeleion, I hardly know Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
And when I mentioned your name to Miles Lawrence, he
couldn't remember who you were.
Speaker 13 (19:59):
Well, then how can you possibly link us together? Mister Melian?
What are you doing?
Speaker 6 (20:04):
I'm looking for his phone number, Miss Walker. I always
carry the phone numbers of any suspects in the case. Yes,
here we are. Please dialis number, Miss Walker. Do as
I tell you, Please?
Speaker 13 (20:23):
What are you going to do?
Speaker 6 (20:24):
Listen to your conversation on this extension, and when he answers,
Miss Walker, just say hello Miles. I can't, Miss Walker,
your friend Babs Clinton was murdered. If you refuse to
help me, Hello, go ahead, Miss.
Speaker 13 (20:39):
Walker, Hello Miles.
Speaker 12 (20:41):
Sandra Darling?
Speaker 8 (20:42):
Where are you calling from?
Speaker 6 (20:43):
From Central Police Headquarters? Mister Lawrence. I just wanted to
find out whether you really knew it or not. Thank
you for your cooperation. That's all, Miss Walker. You may
hang up now. And you were the unknown beauty you're
referred to, won't you?
Speaker 13 (20:58):
Yes? I was, and took miles away from me. But
I didn't kill her, mister Comedion, I swear I didn't.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Someone did, miss Walker. Someone did.
Speaker 6 (21:08):
You may go now out that door and tell Jack
Clinton's father that he can leave now too.
Speaker 13 (21:13):
What are you going to do, mister comedian?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Keep on working? Good afternoon, Dave.
Speaker 9 (21:19):
Right here, mister commleion, you know she looks pretty bad
to me if Babs Clinton took Lawrence away from.
Speaker 6 (21:25):
Her, Yes, she looks pretty bad. But so do all
of them, said trouble. They all look guilty. I have
a hunch that is what is leading me down a
blind alley.
Speaker 8 (21:34):
Well, how do you mean, mister commerion.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
I mean there's more in this case than meets the eye.
Felida's Drum, for instance, in his escort agency. Whenever I
find someone with a phony exterior like drums, I'm almost
certain that that exterior conceals a criminal.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Dave, I'm going in.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
There and disguise, mister Camillion. Yes, Dave going to apply
for a job. I'm going to become one of mister
Drum's highly respectable male escort. I'll take the name of
Ted Carter, not too young, not too old, the perfect
dinner companion for middle aged women. I'll spend as much
time as I can around the agency, and we'll see
(22:12):
what he's hidden behind that sanctimonious front.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
And nearly a week later we find mister Cameleon in
his disguise as Ted Carter, one of Felita's Drum's employees,
and in the late afternoon he is in Felia's Drum's
office saying, in the syrupy voice of his disguise.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
Are you sure I've been satisfactory, mister drum Bury.
Speaker 11 (22:42):
My boy, completely satisfactory. I do a great work here.
I supply escorts, companionship for the lonely. I'm a benefactor
of mankind. Indeed you are, mister drum I'm.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Glad you agreeted anyway.
Speaker 11 (22:55):
I have a very high standard for escorts, and you've
met that standard. I find you quite worthy to represent
the name of Felita's Drum.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Thank you, mister drum Thank you very much. By the way,
while you were out, Sandra Walker called.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Did you Poor Sandra?
Speaker 10 (23:12):
She's so nervous these days. She's no good of the
job at all.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
And Miles Lawrence called too. He left no message.
Speaker 11 (23:19):
Miles Lawrence is a very fine gentleman head a much
malign man.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
I'm sure he is, mister Drum. I'd better be going now.
I have a six o'clock appointment.
Speaker 10 (23:27):
Then you run along, my boy, and bless you, Dave,
you're there.
Speaker 9 (23:36):
Yeah, I've been waiting, mister comedian. Any luck today, None, Dave, none.
Speaker 6 (23:40):
I've been hanging around that office in disguise for a
week and I failed completely.
Speaker 8 (23:44):
Something will break well.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
I mentioned Sandra's name and Miles Lawrence that disturbs Felita's Drumm.
He doesn't give a sign. I've watched, listened all to
no avail penantly. That is a perfectly respectable agency.
Speaker 8 (23:57):
You'll get it sometime, mister Comerian, when when.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
It's terrible to feel that you fail, that a murderer
is still on the loose. I was so sure that
Felita's Drum's philanthropic exterior hid something bad.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
Now that theory has worked for me so often, what's
the matter, mister Comergian. Something just hit me like a
bolt of lightning, Dave. I think I got it. I
think maybe I've got it, yeah, Dave, I want everyone
brought to headquarters, Miles Lawn and Sandra Walker, and the
murdered girl's husband, Jack Clinton, and his father, old mister Clinton.
Put Miles Lawnance and old mister Clinton in separate rooms,
(24:31):
but I'll question the husband, Jack and Sandra together. Why
those two together, because that is where they answer, Lize, Dave,
I think I finally hit on the truth, and.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
So at headquarters it is arranged as mister Camellion has ordered,
and we find him in his office with Detective Arnold
in the background, grimly confronting Sandra Walker and Jack Clinton
and saying to them.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
You two have been pretty clever. It took me a
long while to recognize the truth, but I know it now.
Speaker 13 (25:09):
Do you mind explaining what you're talking about, mister comedian.
Speaker 6 (25:12):
I'm talking about the way you fooled everyone, miss Walker,
especially your murdered friend Babs Clinton. Sandra fool Babs, Yes,
mister Clinton, she also fooled your father, who found her
weeping one night, presumably because Babs had taken Miles Lawrence
away from her. When all the time, mister Clinton, this
girl Hare was in love with you. What Sandra in
(25:32):
love with me.
Speaker 13 (25:33):
Jackie's crazy. This Comeedion doesn't know what he's saying.
Speaker 6 (25:36):
I know exactly what I'm saying, Miss Walker. You knew
Miles Lawrence wouldn't marry you, but you decided that Jack
Clinton eventually would. No, the solution is just the reverse
from what your father thought it was.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Jack. It's you and Sandra have been in love, not
Babs and Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 7 (25:51):
I won't stand for this, mister Camellion. I am not
in love with Sandra. I love my wife.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
Maybe maybe not. Anyway, I have proof that Sandra.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
Loves you, and, after Bab's death, eventually hope to marry
your still expects to.
Speaker 13 (26:04):
In fact, mister comedian, are you saying that the two
of us together he killed Babs?
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I have no evidence of that.
Speaker 6 (26:09):
You might even have done it, Singly or you, Miss Walker,
might have killed her, not because of Myles Lawrence, but because,
as I say, you wanted her husband shut up and
still stand an excellent chance of getting him saying.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Shut up, he doesn't, mister Clinton.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
All rough stuff, Okay, Dave, let him go. I'm through
with you both for the present.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
I just wanted you to know that I was on
to you, miss Walker, but.
Speaker 13 (26:34):
You aren't, mister Comedian. You're all wrong.
Speaker 10 (26:37):
You're all wrong.
Speaker 6 (26:39):
That should do it, David, that should turn the trick.
Give him a head start. Now listen, listen carefully, all right, Date,
let's go.
Speaker 9 (26:55):
Can you see Sandra Walker, Dave, Yes, she's going down
the street alone.
Speaker 8 (26:59):
Jack Clinton must have.
Speaker 6 (26:59):
Left, good goodness. We must keep close behind her. Yet
not too close, Dave. There's the other one.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
It's working.
Speaker 10 (27:07):
It's working.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
He's stopping her.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
Yes, come on, come.
Speaker 10 (27:13):
All right out, drop that knife.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
You're not going to murder Sandra Walker the way you
murdered your daughter in law.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
May, mister Commedion, this is a wicked woman, just that
we're Babs was a wicked woman.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
I know, I know you killed Paul Babs because you
thought she wasn't good enough for your son, and she wasn't.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
And now this one's trying to get him. But I'm
his father. I'll protect him from the wickedness in this world.
I'll protect him away ID protected him before.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
So you admit that you killed Bab.
Speaker 10 (27:38):
Yes, and I'm.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
Glad, mister Commedian. I'd kill any woman who tries to
ruin my son.
Speaker 6 (27:44):
You'll never kill anyone again, mister Clinton. Dave, you're taking
back the headquarters, please, yes, mister Commerion. As for you,
Miss Walker, I'm sorry I had to put you through this,
but it was the only way of bringing the killer
out into the open.
Speaker 13 (27:58):
Then you knew those were lies about Jack and me.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
Of course, but I wanted Arthur Clinton to believe them.
That's why I had him in an adjoining room when
I accused you and Jack.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Oh, It's strange.
Speaker 6 (28:11):
It wasn't Felita's drums, phony exterior that concealed a murderer.
It was Old Arthur Clinton's gentle manner that hid a
fanatical killer. My theory was right. I just had the
wrong man at first.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
And with these words, mister Cameleon concludes tonight's murder case.
Have you tried breaking an aspirin tablet to give your
children the dosage your doctor has prescribed? If you have,
(28:54):
then you'll appreciate the new children's size Bay your aspirin tablets.
These tablets are genuine in Bayer aspirin, but they contain
only half the amount of the regular size Bayer aspirin tablets.
Thus you can give your child the proper dosage as
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And because they are made so you can break them
(29:14):
right in half, it's also easy for you to give
still smaller dosages whenever necessary. Another thing you'll appreciate is
that they are uncolored and unflavored, and therefore cannot be
mistaken for candy, and you can use them with confidence.
For the fact that doctors prescribe Bayer Aspirin's single active
ingredient even for the smallest children, shows how gentle and
(29:35):
dependable it is. The bottle and cartan are plainly marked
children's size. Bayer Aspirin thirty tablets for twenty five cents.
(30:01):
Listen next Wednesday night at the same time for Mister Cameleon,
the man of many faces in the Marriage Proposal Murder Case.
The part of mister Cameleon is played by Carl Swenson,
with dialogue by Marie Baumer from the original story by
Frank and Anne Hummert music directed by Victor Arden. Your
(30:23):
announcer is Howard Claney.
Speaker 14 (30:32):
Important to everyone is the news of a remarkable scientific
discovery which now makes it possible to cut down tooth
decay and the pain worry and expense that go with it.
What you do is use new ammoniated Doctor Lyon's tooth
powder based on a formula developed by University of Illinois scientists.
It cuts down tooth decay actually help prevent cavities. That's
(30:54):
why so many datists recommend this type dbterfice. So for sounder, healthier,
handsomer teeth, use emmoniated Doctor Lyons toothpowder. Both regular Doctor
Lion's toothpowder and new emmoniated Doctor Lions are all drug
and toilet goods counters.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
Listen for mister Chameleon in the Marriage Proposal murder case
next Wednesday night. At this time, this is CBS, the
Columbia Broadcasting System Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
So we get an acknowledgement of the sort of tropes
that Chameleon uses to solve cases. And he's saying things like,
this guy is acting like he's super virtuous, so he
must be an evil is a theory for basing a
solution to a crime on, and thus my theory is right,
(32:06):
I just chose the wrong suspect. There's a flaw with
that thinking, because some people, even if they are acting
super upright or look too virtuous, or are really self righteous.
That doesn't mean they're killers. It's true that the guy
who ran the escort service seemed a bit over the top.
(32:29):
You could imagine Cameleon going through his office and saying
he has not only got the mottos and goes to church,
he's got all these Thomas Kincaid pictures on the wall,
and Thomas Kincaid hasn't even been born yet.
Speaker 13 (32:41):
Although I don't.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Like solutions where the detective puts an innocent civilian in
harm's way to test out a theory, it's more justifiable
if there's no other options and they've seriously weighed out
the risk and taken steps to protect the civilian. But
did anyone think mister Kimmie has seriously done that. On
(33:03):
the right side, I got the killer. On the downside,
you'll be reliving this moment of nearly being killed every
day for the rest of your life and wake up
screaming at least every other night. I think that's a
fair deal.
Speaker 8 (33:15):
Don't you.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Finally, you have to appreciate the diligence of Dave Arnold
being on the ball and protecting Chameleon lest the character
termed an invalid might harm him. The listener comments and
fadeback now and we start out on YouTube on the
Girl who Topped Murder Texas Chick six ' one five
(33:40):
three rights. Rope ladders were used to escape upper story
rooms in the case of an emergency, and that was
I guess regarding the ongoing concern about rope ladder salesman,
and I guess that I think that is still a
use you. You'll probably still find some emergency plans that
do use rope lade. Betsy writes Encyclopedia brown rocks indeed
(34:05):
e'd eyes. And then we've got one from Kate, who writes, hello,
I really enjoy your programming. I wanted to explain a
little about ear rings in the early twentieth century and
a wee bit of history on pierced ears. First, many
girls in France, Italy, Spain and other European countries had
pierced ears and small gold ear rings they wore permanently.
(34:30):
That's been traditional for a couple of centuries. It's a
sign of quality. As far as pierce versus non pierce,
the peers were part of a quality woman's accessories for centuries.
Screwback earrings were invented in the eighteen hundreds, there were
several types and versions, and with close examination you can
(34:53):
figure out when they were made and sometimes who made them.
This was the beginning of costume jewelry. In the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, screwbacks, then clip ons became popular.
An ear rings became bigger, fancier, with more colors, rhinestones,
faux pearls, and all sorts of decorative elements. These costume
(35:16):
earrings were hugely popular in the forties and fifties. In
the sixties we fell for pierced ear rings and became
totally enamored of pierced gold and silver with genuine gemstones
and semi precious natural stones, hoops and dangles. Vintage jewelry
became popular in the nineties, but by then everything was fun, exciting,
(35:39):
beautiful and individualistic. But understand Pierce were first for centuries,
then screwbacks, then clips, then back to Pierce. The vintage
radio shows are grand and you are charming. Your discussions
are fun and interesting. Well, thank you so much, Kate.
I appreciate your con words as well as a clarification
(35:59):
because I ought a super expert on the topic, and
I think obviously you know of what you speak, and
then we have a comment from Spotify Adam Graham. He
calls it like he sees it. He tells you what
he thinks, but you never have to worry about.
Speaker 5 (36:19):
The language he uses.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
He's the best at what he does. Well, thank you
so much. I'm always aware that we've got a family audience,
as I've had so many listeners notify me that they
listen with their kids, so I'm aware of that. It
is actually has an industry term cold listening, and so
I'm mindful of it. Oh, it helps that I don't
(36:43):
naturally curse too much. Although I'm not bragging and I
have many many other faults, that just doesn't tend to
be one of them. I just want to be clear
on that, because, as we learn from this episode, that
sort of thing can get you at the top of
a murder suspect list. But again, thank you so much
for yours. And now we have a really good question
(37:04):
from Derek who rights So, who are your four detectives
that would be on Mount Rushmore. I'll leave the criteria
up to you whether the success of their cases, success
of the show, lockability, longevity, impact on the future shows. Well,
thank you so much for the question, Derek. Now, I
would actually do a bit of work here because I
(37:27):
think that it is very hard to do a mount
Rushmore sort of thing. And it's an interesting trend, by
the way, I think just started within the last couple
of years, this sort of Mount Rushmore question. But I
think it's hard to compare across mediums. A detective created
(37:50):
for a book different than one created for radio, different
than one created for television. And so for me, I
am setting up three twenty separate Mount rushmorees for each
of these mediums. So we'll have one for books, one
for radio, and one for television. So when we start
(38:11):
at detectives created for books, I think obviously it's got to.
Speaker 10 (38:16):
Be Sherlock Holmes. First of all.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I think the debt that anyone in the mystery writing
profession or anything related to mysteries owes to Sherlock Holmes
and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a man. Yes, there
were other detectives before Holmes, but he really made this
(38:41):
genre popular. His stories, his adventures, his mysteries. They're enduring classics.
They are readable now one hundred and forty years on
from when Doyle first wrote them. I think we'll be
talking about Sherlock Holmes a century from now, and then
(39:07):
it's gotta be Poirot. And it's not just the number
of Puirot mysteries, which is really substantial, but it's also
the sheer number of Puirot stories that just are absolute classics,
things like Death on the Nile and Murder on the
(39:29):
Orient Express Five Little Pigs. I mean, there are so
many great stories. And people talk about the greatness of
the puiro TV series with David Sousche, and he is
fantastic in it. But what he really does, and I think,
particularly before the later seasons when they start messing around
(39:51):
with the stories, is he just brings out the brilliance
that Christie already had in there, so truly remarkable. Well,
then we've got Near a Wolf, Nearal Wolf, just a
fantastic run of stories, and I think managed to maintain
(40:11):
some of its core elements even while the time's change.
And again we're talking about the original Rex Stout novels.
I do think with Neural Wolf it's a case where
the mysteries are usually fine, but what really carries them
(40:33):
is the characters and the language and the way the
stories are told. There's such a richness. There was renewed
interest in the book series at the time of the
two thousands TV series, and I think at this point
(40:53):
it's a little less well known, but really well worth
reading and experiencing. Head on Mount Rushmore, of course, is
the greatest literary detective.
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Of them all.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Encyclopedia Brown No, okay, I'm kidding, though I will say
love Encyclopedia Brown, Hardy Boys. Nancy drew all those great
characters from my childhood, but the fourth head belongs to
Philip Marlow. I think it's fitting to have a detective
(41:27):
from the hard boiled school of detective fiction, and the
Marlow books really are the strongest and richest of the
hard boiled detective novels. The Big Sleep is an absolute classic,
and so is Lady in the Lake, and I think
that gets underrated a bit. Belong Goodbye is also another
(41:51):
great novel, although I think it does kind of struggle
at times with its own pretentiousness, and most of chandler
other novels are very good, with the exception of Playback,
which in my opinion, is hot garbage. Now, of course,
there were some detectives that I considered but didn't include
(42:18):
Sam Spade is one.
Speaker 8 (42:20):
Well.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
I don't think The Malteeth Falcon is as good as
The Big Sleeve. I think it's a more focused book,
and it has more memorable characters. But given that outside
of that novel, Spade only had three short stories, I
have a problem putting him in that company. Father Brown
(42:43):
I also considered in some ways his continuing popularity is
partially a result of the popularity of G. K. Chesterton's
other works, including his non fiction. Father also established a
lot of ideas for detective fiction that others have incorporated
(43:09):
in their own work. For example, the idea from his
story The Invisible Man, where the killer was someone who's
presence in the neighborhood was so common and accepted that
it wasn't even noted that he was there. And The
(43:31):
Son of the Broken Sword, where there's a great two
lines of dialogue the question where does a wise man
hide a leaf? The answer in the forest, which is
something that inspires stories where a single murder is hidden
amongst a lot of other bodies, for example blowing up
(43:55):
an airplane where you're just targeting one individual, or committing
a murder in the middle of a battle. So these
stories really are influential and I love them. But with
Father Brown, I think it comes down to two points. First,
I think that so many of his stories really are
(44:18):
more thought experiments rather than stories about actual people good
thought experiments. But nevertheless, one thing I will say for
everyone else on the Mount Rushmore is that their stories
include both short stories as well as full length novels,
(44:39):
and Father Brown never had a full length novel. And
I think being able to work well in both short
fiction and novels is something that I find oppressive with
detectives who have a literary origin. Now, I did say
that there are two more Mount Rushmore. If we're not
(45:01):
going to get into them today, I would expect we
would continue this in another day. I don't think we
have a ton that we'll have to talk about after
Johnny Dollar, so we'll continue with the next Mount Rushmore
in a future episode. Now, let's go ahead and thank
our Patreon supporter of the day, and I want to
(45:22):
go ahead and thank book Geek twenty eight Patreon supporter
since December twenty twenty one, currently supporting the podcast at
the shawmus level of four dollars or more per month.
Thank you so much for your support, and that will
actually do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And if
(45:46):
you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to lock
the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell.
We will be back next Thursday with mister and Missus North.
But join us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny
do doll Or where.
Speaker 15 (46:04):
You know where Lido Key Isledo? Yeah mile or so
off shore, just beyond Saint Armand's Key where we live.
Speaker 8 (46:10):
Oh yes, sure.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
Well a client of mine.
Speaker 15 (46:12):
Is a man I've known for years. He retired, bought
himself a piece of property there, built a nice little
home on it. His name is Parley Baron. So well,
I've handled all his insurance for him, including a straight
life at fifty thousand beneficiary.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
His wife Flora Baron, And what's happened to him?
Speaker 15 (46:29):
Well, Friday morning, now it's day before yesterday, he left
the house just to do some errands.
Speaker 5 (46:35):
Go on.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Yeah, well, he.
Speaker 15 (46:37):
Hadn't got back home by about five pm, and his
wife started calling around trying to find out where he was,
and nobody seemed to know, so finally she put in
a call to the.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Police, who was your man there, Sergeant Harry Brackett, Oh,
I remember him.
Speaker 10 (46:49):
Go on well.
Speaker 15 (46:51):
Then around seven pm they found Baron's car founded parked
down by one of the fishing docks, but no sign
of him, not a sign, not then, or.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
You'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your
comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow
us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us out
on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.
Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment,
email it to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net.
Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives. Check us out
on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives. If you're
(00:53):
enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software.
Our listener support at appreciation campaign continues and you can
support the show on a one time basis using the
zell app to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
and I want to thank Scott for supporting the program
(01:15):
that way. Of course, our big focus is on Patreon support,
and I want to welcome Joseph as our latest Patreon
supporter at the Chief of Detectives level of thirty dollars
or more per month. Thank you so much for your support, Joseph,
and you can become one of our Patreon supporters over
at Patreon dot Great Detectives dot Net for as little
(01:37):
as two dollars per month. But now it is time
for this week's episode of Mister Chameleon. The original aired
eight November sixteenth, nineteen forty nine, and the title is
the Party Girl Murder Case.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Next, Mister Chameleon and the Party Girl Murder Case. Tonight
(02:25):
we again present the famous mister Chameleon of Central Police
Headquarters in his famous cases of crime and murder, brought
to you by the makers of genuine Bayer Aspirin. Mister Chameleon,
as you know, is the famous and dreaded detective who
frequently uses a disguise to track down a killer, a
disguise which at all times is recognized by the audience.
(02:48):
Tonight we give you mister Chameleon in the Party Girl
Murder Case. Our story opens at Central Police Headquarters at
the dull cold hour of six a m. And as
mister Camellion, the Great Detective, enters the office of the
(03:09):
Commissioner of Police, he tries unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Good morning, Commissioner. Ought, isn't it so good?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Not so good? For a girl named Bab's Clinton Chameleon,
beautiful girl. According to her husband, he was half hysterical
when he calls on the telephone. Just now, kept babbling
over and over she was so beautiful, she was so beautiful. Laden, Yes,
Chameleon stabbed in the chest. She didn't come home all night,
and her husband, naturally was worried, got up and dressed.
(03:37):
About half an hour ago, found her body in the
vestibule of the walk up.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Where they live.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
M that's a new starry commissioner.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I know what you mean, Chameleon. The husband, Jack Clinton,
could have done it himself. Well, that's for you to
find out, Chameleon. Get up there with Dave Ronald. From
now on, it's all yours.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
And not long afterwards, we find Chameleon with Detective Dave
Arnold examining the beautiful, lifeless body of Babs Clinton, still
sprawled in the vestibule of the dingy walk up where
she was found, and Cameleon is saying to the trembling
man beside.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
Him, just what time did you find your wife's body,
mister Clinton?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
About half past five? Yes, yes, half past five. Where
is your apartment?
Speaker 7 (04:26):
Right here on the first floor. You see, I'm an invalid.
I've been very ill, like I can't climb stairs. And
Babs looked after me. She looked after me.
Speaker 6 (04:37):
I know, I know, mister Clinton. Let's go into your apartment.
Shall we have more privacy?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Dave? You keep those sights heres out of her place.
Speaker 8 (04:46):
Okay, mister commerian, this is this is the apartment. Thank you?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Will they will they be taking Babs away?
Speaker 6 (04:55):
Yes, mister Clinton. They have to perform an autopsy. Your
wife is murdered, you know. Uh tell me, do you
sleep well?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
No? No, mister comedian.
Speaker 6 (05:07):
And last night you were worried about your wife's absence,
so you didn't sleep at all.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
That's right now.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
You were awake and your apartment is right next to
the vestibule where your wife was stamped to dead.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Yet you heard nothing nothing.
Speaker 7 (05:21):
I good lord, You believe me, don't you.
Speaker 6 (05:24):
My job is to ask questions and the way the answers.
Mister Clinton, Now you say you're an invalid. Did your
wife support you?
Speaker 3 (05:32):
She had to.
Speaker 7 (05:33):
She supported me and our three year old daughter, who's
with her grandmother right now.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
M What did your wife do? But you do, mister Clinton.
Speaker 7 (05:42):
While she worked as a salesgirl at Allen's department store,
and she supported a family of three on a salesgirl's salary.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
No, mister Clinton, Oh you're quite right.
Speaker 7 (05:56):
An old friend of hers, Sandra Walker, persuaded bad to
take a job the drum escort agency at night.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
I've heard of that agency.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
They supply both male and female escorts for lonely people
who want to go to the theater or a nightclub,
isn't it That's it?
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Babs said, it was perfectly respectable.
Speaker 7 (06:12):
She she had no trouble at all until what mister Clinton,
until she met Miles Lawrence. She went to dinner with
them one night. He's the one who made the trouble.
He called a scent of flowers, made things so difficult
that only yesterday she gave notice to the Drum escort agency.
He was crazy about heim, mister chameleon. But Babs loved me.
She loved me.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I'm sure she did, mister Clinton. But don't you see
that's why she was killed.
Speaker 7 (06:36):
Miles Lawrence killed it because she turned him down and
he wasn't used to that.
Speaker 6 (06:41):
I'm sure of that too. I mean, I'm sure that
he wasn't used to being turned down.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
You've heard of him.
Speaker 6 (06:47):
Anyone who reads the tabloids has heard of Myles Lawrence.
He's the classic example of a wealthy playboy.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
And do you think he killed her?
Speaker 6 (06:53):
I didn't say that, mister Clinton. Look, I want you
to take it as easy as you can. I'll be
back during the.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Day are you going to question Miles Lawrence?
Speaker 6 (07:03):
Miles Lawrence and a few others? Goodbye, miss Clinton. Dave,
you've been out here? Do you hear most of the conversation?
Speaker 9 (07:14):
I sure did, mister Comerion, what sort of a guy
is it? Or let his wife work for an escort agency?
How do we even know he's an invalid?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Like he says, Well, that's easily checked. And if it's the.
Speaker 9 (07:25):
Truth, then that's all the more reason why Miles Lawrence
had more to offer the girl.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
Dave, you're very cynical. Maybe Babs Clinton loved her husband.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 8 (07:34):
Maybe he loved her.
Speaker 9 (07:36):
Maybe he loved her so much, mister Camerion, that he
killed her rather than let Miles Lawrence get her.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Possibly. Then there's one question I find rather intriguing. Why
should a man of Miles Lawrence's wealth and position go
to an escort agency to find a dinner companion? In fact,
the Drum Escort Agency interests me exceedingly, and I think Dave,
the sooner we get there the bet.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
And a little later, mister Cameleon and Detective Dave Arnold
entered the offices of the Drum Escort Agency and as
they close the door behind them. The flamboyant figure of
a man emerges quickly from another room and says, graciously.
Speaker 10 (08:23):
Good morning, gentlemen. What could I do for you?
Speaker 11 (08:25):
You're a bit early, but then the early bird catches
the worm or the most beautiful dimmer companions on our list.
All our young ladies are beautiful and charming, and none
more beautiful than Bab's Clinton.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Is that right?
Speaker 10 (08:40):
Why do you say that?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Are you a head of this agency?
Speaker 10 (08:43):
I am, sir Pelita's Drum at your service, and you.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
I'm Chameleon of Central Police Headquarters. This is Detective Dave Arnold.
Babs Clinton has been murdered.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I know she has.
Speaker 11 (08:56):
I heard it on the radio, mister Chameleon, that poor
and fortunate girl, and as you say, none more beautiful.
Speaker 6 (09:03):
Mister Drum. Exactly how does this agency of yours operate?
Speaker 11 (09:08):
Well, suppose you were a stranger in the city and
wanted a companion a dinner or the theater. Yes, I'd
first insist on absolute credentials of your respectability and standing
the see. Then if they were all right, I I'd
supply you with a charming and intelligent companion for the evening.
Speaker 10 (09:25):
And if you.
Speaker 11 (09:26):
Were a woman, I'd supply you with an equally personable
and decent escort.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Well, that's quite clear to men.
Speaker 11 (09:33):
Look at those pictures on the wall. Did you ever
see a more attractive group of people? Ladies and gentlemen everyone.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
You seem very proud of your employees, mister Drum.
Speaker 10 (09:41):
I am mister chameleon.
Speaker 11 (09:43):
I consider this agency a boon to mankind, how it
keeps lonely men and women in the city out of trouble.
I'm doing a great humane work.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
And being paid well for it, I imagine. Is that wrong,
mister Cameleian. One good deed deserves another. I brighten lonely life.
They give me a fee. Fair enough depends on the fee.
Mister Drum, you have a great many mottos on the wall.
I see the wages of sin are death, follow the
Golden rule.
Speaker 11 (10:12):
I am a puritanical man. My agency is closed on Sunday.
I myself attend church twice on Sundays. Another motto of.
Speaker 8 (10:20):
My never minds.
Speaker 9 (10:21):
Your motto is, mister Drum, they won't help us solve
Babs Clinton's murder.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
They might, dave. You can't tell.
Speaker 6 (10:27):
As a matter of fact, mister Drum, I have a
motto hanging over my desk. The innocent must be protected
the guilty it must be punished. And someone is guilty
of Babs Clinton's murder. Well, don't look at me, mister Camellion.
I didn't do it.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Do you know the girl? Well? Do you ever take
her out? Yes?
Speaker 11 (10:44):
I took her out because I've always considered it good
business to be seen in public with some of my
charming employees. Did you take her out more often than
the others, mister Chamelion, evil to him who evil thinks?
Speaker 6 (10:57):
Well, that answers my question. You took her out quite often?
Did you take her out last night?
Speaker 8 (11:03):
No?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
I did not. You know who she was with? Was
it Miles Lawrence? I beg your.
Speaker 8 (11:08):
Pardon you heard of, mister Drum? Was it Miles Lawrence?
Speaker 11 (11:11):
Miles Lawrence is a gentleman and a man of integrity.
I would trust him with my own daughter if I
had a daughter. He's upright and honorable.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
And a valuable client. Mister Drum.
Speaker 6 (11:22):
Could it be that there is someone behind that closed
door in your inner office? I think I'd better find.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Out, mister Kumelia.
Speaker 10 (11:29):
Wait, wait ah, I was.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Right, there is someone here. Are you Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 12 (11:37):
Yes, mister Commelian, I'm Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
What are you doing here.
Speaker 6 (11:40):
So early in the morning? And mister Drum, why didn't
you tell me he was here.
Speaker 11 (11:44):
Mister Comellion. A friend in need is a friend, indeed.
I am mister Lawrence's friend.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
So he came to you for an alibi, mister Drum,
he took Babs Clinton out last night and he wanted
an alibi.
Speaker 12 (11:56):
No, mister Camelion, I have an alibi, a real one.
But you took Babs out last night, Yes I did.
I drove her home at two a m. That is
my chauffeur droppers there. I left Babs outside. Her husband
was a very jealous man. Then I spent the night
with my good friend Bob Elsworth.
Speaker 3 (12:13):
Mm, so you have an air tight alibi. I agree,
mister Lawrence.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
Bob Belsworth is a playboy with a very unsavory reputation.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I'm sure he'll back you up, and so will your chauffeur.
Speaker 12 (12:25):
I'm sure they will too. As for mister Drum here, well,
I came here to ask him for a character reference.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Yes, well he gave you one. A friend in need
is a friend, indeed, you were prepared for the worst,
weren't you, mister Lawrence.
Speaker 5 (12:38):
That doesn't mean I'm a murderer.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Well, just what are you? Mister Lawrence?
Speaker 6 (12:42):
Explained to me why a man of your wealth and
position should have to come to an escort agency for
a dinner and theater companion.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
No, I did it at first as a gag, and
then you met Babs Clinton and you fell in love
with her.
Speaker 12 (12:55):
Yes, but I did not kill her.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Mister Lawrence.
Speaker 6 (12:59):
Did you have meet Bab's friend Sandra Walker, the girl
who persuaded Babs to take a job here.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
Why?
Speaker 12 (13:07):
Yes, I don't remember, mister comedian. I've met so many
attractive women I can't remember them all.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
I see all right, mister Lawrence. That's off for now.
Come along, Dave.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Are you leaving us, mister Camelion, Yes, mister drum, but
I shall be back, I hope.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
So.
Speaker 11 (13:23):
I only wish I could serve you professionally. I've done
so much for lonely people who are adrift in the world.
I might even be able to find a young lady
companion for Detective Arnold.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Here's that.
Speaker 9 (13:35):
So there are plenty of dames who'll like to go
out with me.
Speaker 8 (13:38):
Come along, Dad, I think she's funny.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Well I don't, Dave.
Speaker 6 (13:45):
I think Felita's Drum is a very strange man who
puts on an act that is far from convincing that
do good exterior could hide almost anything.
Speaker 8 (13:55):
Even a murderer.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Too soon to say that, Dave.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
Look, I'm going back to headquarters, and I want you
to pick up the dead girl's friend, Sandra Walker, and
bring her to me as quickly as possible.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
Ah.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
But at Central Police Headquarters, mister Camellion finds a surprise
awaiting him. As he enters his office, A shabby, gentle
old man is seated by his desk. The old man
rises and smiles timidly.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
H are you mister Camillion?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Yes I am.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
I am Arthur Clinton, Jack Clinton's father.
Speaker 6 (14:37):
Mister Clinton, How do you do I suppose you'll hear
about your daughter in law's murder.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
U do you live with them?
Speaker 5 (14:43):
No? No, I'm independent, Thank Heaven. I work as a cashier.
I wouldn't take anything from her. I came here, mister Camelion,
because I thought you should know about her, just as
I thought my poor son should know about her.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
What did you think he should know about his wife,
she was a party girl, sir, that she worked for
an escort agency.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
He did know that, not till yesterday, mister Comedion.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
He didn't know tell yesterday that his wife was a
paid ask god for for various men.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
No, mister Comedian, I was the one who told him,
and I blame myself. Now, maybe I shouldn't.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
Have done it, but I was so upset that your
daughter in law had to make money.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
Mister Clinton may have been quite respectable.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
You think Myles Lawrence is respectable. You think her carrying
on with him was respectable?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Mister Clinton? How did you know about that? Did Babs Clinton?
Tell you?
Speaker 5 (15:36):
Hardly, mister Camilion.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
But then how'd you find Anne?
Speaker 5 (15:39):
It was very strange. The other night I went to
see my son and in front of the little Walker
building where they lived, there was a girl standing crying
like a heart.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Would break gone.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
While I asked her what was the troubles, she said
she was waiting for Babs Clinton. Said that she hated
Bab and then she sobbed worse than ever. She said,
I was working for that escort agency, and she spoke
of Myles Lawrence. That's how I found out. And then
I well, I lost my head.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
I told my son what was the girl's name?
Speaker 5 (16:14):
I don't know, mister commedian.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Did you ask him?
Speaker 5 (16:16):
Yes? But she got scared and ran away.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Mister Clinton, can you describe her? This is very important,
co Milion. Yes, Dave, what is it?
Speaker 8 (16:22):
I picked up Sandra Walker. There she is in the
only room.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Sandra Walker.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
That's the matter, mister Clinton.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
But that's the one. That girl sitting in the ante
room is the girl who said that she hated bebs.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Mister chameleon and the party girl murder case continues in
just a moment. At the first sign of a cold,
before you do anything else, take Bay or aspirin. Here's why.
When you have a cold, it's almost invariably accompanied by
a headache, feverish feeling, and muscular.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Aches and pains.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
And it's very important to your well being that you
treat these distressing symptoms with a medication that will relieve
them quickly. And Bayer aspirin will do this no matter
how you try to stop or shorten the cold. We
believe that your own doctor will tell you that this
is sound advice, and when you use Bayer aspirin, you'll
discover why millions have followed this advice with remarkable results.
(17:21):
For Bayer aspirin is actually ready to go to work
in two seconds to bring you amazingly quick relief. In addition,
Bayer Aspirin's single active ingredient is so gentle to the
system doctors regularly prescribe it even for small children. That's
why it's been used by millions of normal people without
ill effect. So remember, at the first sign of a
(17:41):
cold before you do anything else, take Bayer aspirin. When
you buy, ask for Bayer aspirin, not just for aspirin alone.
Get the one hundred tablet bottle, and you get Bayer
aspirin tablets for less than a penny apiece. And now
(18:01):
back to mister Chameleon and the Party Girl murder case.
The fatal stabbing of Babs Clinton by an unknown assailant
has led mister Camelion into strange byways, and none more
strange than the Drum escort agency where Babs worked. And
now in his office we find him questioning Sandra Walker,
(18:21):
a friend of Babs who also worked for the escort.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Agency, and he is saying to her, let's welcome.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Bab's father in law positively identified you as the girl
he saw weeping outside Bab's apartment building.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
So ident deny it, all right?
Speaker 13 (18:35):
I won't deny it, mister comeleion. But what does that prove?
You can't accuse me of anything.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
I haven't accused you of anything yet.
Speaker 6 (18:42):
But I'd like to know where you were between three
and five am, the time that Babs Clinton was murdered.
Speaker 13 (18:47):
I was home in bed asleep. Where do you think
I was hiding in the vestibule of Bab's apartment building.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I'm asking you.
Speaker 6 (18:55):
I'd also like you to tell me why you hated
Babs Clinton.
Speaker 14 (18:59):
I did.
Speaker 13 (19:00):
We were friends. I got the job the drum escort agent.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Nevertheless, you told her father in law that you hated her.
Speaker 13 (19:06):
Why she was taking work away from me. I used
to be the most popular girl at the escort agency,
but after Babs went to work there there, they all
wanted her.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
That is only a half truth, isn't it, Miss Walker?
Speaker 13 (19:19):
What do you mean?
Speaker 6 (19:20):
Didn't you have a more personal reason for disliking Babs Clinton?
Something to do with Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 13 (19:27):
That's ridiculous, is it?
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yes?
Speaker 5 (19:29):
It is.
Speaker 13 (19:30):
I hardly know Miles Lawrence, Miss Walker.
Speaker 6 (19:32):
Miles Lawrence is a well known playboy. The papers are
always printing juicy items about him. Well, I've gone through
some back issues now. There were several accounts of his
being seen at the swankier nightclubs with an unknown beauty.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Were you the lady referred to him?
Speaker 13 (19:48):
I told you, mister Comeleion, I hardly know Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
And when I mentioned your name to Miles Lawrence, he
couldn't remember who you were.
Speaker 13 (19:59):
Well, then how can you possibly link us together? Mister Melian?
What are you doing?
Speaker 6 (20:04):
I'm looking for his phone number, Miss Walker. I always
carry the phone numbers of any suspects in the case. Yes,
here we are. Please dialis number, Miss Walker. Do as
I tell you, Please?
Speaker 13 (20:23):
What are you going to do?
Speaker 6 (20:24):
Listen to your conversation on this extension, and when he answers,
Miss Walker, just say hello Miles. I can't, Miss Walker,
your friend Babs Clinton was murdered. If you refuse to
help me, Hello, go ahead, Miss.
Speaker 13 (20:39):
Walker, Hello Miles.
Speaker 12 (20:41):
Sandra Darling?
Speaker 8 (20:42):
Where are you calling from?
Speaker 6 (20:43):
From Central Police Headquarters? Mister Lawrence. I just wanted to
find out whether you really knew it or not. Thank
you for your cooperation. That's all, Miss Walker. You may
hang up now. And you were the unknown beauty you're
referred to, won't you?
Speaker 13 (20:58):
Yes? I was, and took miles away from me. But
I didn't kill her, mister Comedion, I swear I didn't.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Someone did, miss Walker. Someone did.
Speaker 6 (21:08):
You may go now out that door and tell Jack
Clinton's father that he can leave now too.
Speaker 13 (21:13):
What are you going to do, mister comedian?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Keep on working? Good afternoon, Dave.
Speaker 9 (21:19):
Right here, mister commleion, you know she looks pretty bad
to me if Babs Clinton took Lawrence away from.
Speaker 6 (21:25):
Her, Yes, she looks pretty bad. But so do all
of them, said trouble. They all look guilty. I have
a hunch that is what is leading me down a
blind alley.
Speaker 8 (21:34):
Well, how do you mean, mister commerion.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
I mean there's more in this case than meets the eye.
Felida's Drum, for instance, in his escort agency. Whenever I
find someone with a phony exterior like drums, I'm almost
certain that that exterior conceals a criminal.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Dave, I'm going in.
Speaker 6 (21:51):
There and disguise, mister Camillion. Yes, Dave going to apply
for a job. I'm going to become one of mister
Drum's highly respectable male escort. I'll take the name of
Ted Carter, not too young, not too old, the perfect
dinner companion for middle aged women. I'll spend as much
time as I can around the agency, and we'll see
(22:12):
what he's hidden behind that sanctimonious front.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
And nearly a week later we find mister Cameleon in
his disguise as Ted Carter, one of Felita's Drum's employees,
and in the late afternoon he is in Felia's Drum's
office saying, in the syrupy voice of his disguise.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
Are you sure I've been satisfactory, mister drum Bury.
Speaker 11 (22:42):
My boy, completely satisfactory. I do a great work here.
I supply escorts, companionship for the lonely. I'm a benefactor
of mankind. Indeed you are, mister drum I'm.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Glad you agreeted anyway.
Speaker 11 (22:55):
I have a very high standard for escorts, and you've
met that standard. I find you quite worthy to represent
the name of Felita's Drum.
Speaker 6 (23:03):
Thank you, mister drum Thank you very much. By the way,
while you were out, Sandra Walker called.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Did you Poor Sandra?
Speaker 10 (23:12):
She's so nervous these days. She's no good of the
job at all.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
And Miles Lawrence called too. He left no message.
Speaker 11 (23:19):
Miles Lawrence is a very fine gentleman head a much
malign man.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
I'm sure he is, mister Drum. I'd better be going now.
I have a six o'clock appointment.
Speaker 10 (23:27):
Then you run along, my boy, and bless you, Dave,
you're there.
Speaker 9 (23:36):
Yeah, I've been waiting, mister comedian. Any luck today, None, Dave, none.
Speaker 6 (23:40):
I've been hanging around that office in disguise for a
week and I failed completely.
Speaker 8 (23:44):
Something will break well.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
I mentioned Sandra's name and Miles Lawrence that disturbs Felita's Drumm.
He doesn't give a sign. I've watched, listened all to
no avail penantly. That is a perfectly respectable agency.
Speaker 8 (23:57):
You'll get it sometime, mister Comerian, when when.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
It's terrible to feel that you fail, that a murderer
is still on the loose. I was so sure that
Felita's Drum's philanthropic exterior hid something bad.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
Now that theory has worked for me so often, what's
the matter, mister Comergian. Something just hit me like a
bolt of lightning, Dave. I think I got it. I
think maybe I've got it, yeah, Dave, I want everyone
brought to headquarters, Miles Lawn and Sandra Walker, and the
murdered girl's husband, Jack Clinton, and his father, old mister Clinton.
Put Miles Lawnance and old mister Clinton in separate rooms,
(24:31):
but I'll question the husband, Jack and Sandra together. Why
those two together, because that is where they answer, Lize, Dave,
I think I finally hit on the truth, and.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
So at headquarters it is arranged as mister Camellion has ordered,
and we find him in his office with Detective Arnold
in the background, grimly confronting Sandra Walker and Jack Clinton
and saying to them.
Speaker 6 (25:04):
You two have been pretty clever. It took me a
long while to recognize the truth, but I know it now.
Speaker 13 (25:09):
Do you mind explaining what you're talking about, mister comedian.
Speaker 6 (25:12):
I'm talking about the way you fooled everyone, miss Walker,
especially your murdered friend Babs Clinton. Sandra fool Babs, Yes,
mister Clinton, she also fooled your father, who found her
weeping one night, presumably because Babs had taken Miles Lawrence
away from her. When all the time, mister Clinton, this
girl Hare was in love with you. What Sandra in
(25:32):
love with me.
Speaker 13 (25:33):
Jackie's crazy. This Comeedion doesn't know what he's saying.
Speaker 6 (25:36):
I know exactly what I'm saying, Miss Walker. You knew
Miles Lawrence wouldn't marry you, but you decided that Jack
Clinton eventually would. No, the solution is just the reverse
from what your father thought it was.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Jack. It's you and Sandra have been in love, not
Babs and Miles Lawrence.
Speaker 7 (25:51):
I won't stand for this, mister Camellion. I am not
in love with Sandra. I love my wife.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
Maybe maybe not. Anyway, I have proof that Sandra.
Speaker 6 (25:59):
Loves you, and, after Bab's death, eventually hope to marry
your still expects to.
Speaker 13 (26:04):
In fact, mister comedian, are you saying that the two
of us together he killed Babs?
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I have no evidence of that.
Speaker 6 (26:09):
You might even have done it, Singly or you, Miss Walker,
might have killed her, not because of Myles Lawrence, but because,
as I say, you wanted her husband shut up and
still stand an excellent chance of getting him saying.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Shut up, he doesn't, mister Clinton.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
All rough stuff, Okay, Dave, let him go. I'm through
with you both for the present.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
I just wanted you to know that I was on
to you, miss Walker, but.
Speaker 13 (26:34):
You aren't, mister Comedian. You're all wrong.
Speaker 10 (26:37):
You're all wrong.
Speaker 6 (26:39):
That should do it, David, that should turn the trick.
Give him a head start. Now listen, listen carefully, all right, Date,
let's go.
Speaker 9 (26:55):
Can you see Sandra Walker, Dave, Yes, she's going down
the street alone.
Speaker 8 (26:59):
Jack Clinton must have.
Speaker 6 (26:59):
Left, good goodness. We must keep close behind her. Yet
not too close, Dave. There's the other one.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
It's working.
Speaker 10 (27:07):
It's working.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
He's stopping her.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
Yes, come on, come.
Speaker 10 (27:13):
All right out, drop that knife.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
You're not going to murder Sandra Walker the way you
murdered your daughter in law.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
May, mister Commedion, this is a wicked woman, just that
we're Babs was a wicked woman.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
I know, I know you killed Paul Babs because you
thought she wasn't good enough for your son, and she wasn't.
Speaker 5 (27:28):
And now this one's trying to get him. But I'm
his father. I'll protect him from the wickedness in this world.
I'll protect him away ID protected him before.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
So you admit that you killed Bab.
Speaker 10 (27:38):
Yes, and I'm.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
Glad, mister Commedian. I'd kill any woman who tries to
ruin my son.
Speaker 6 (27:44):
You'll never kill anyone again, mister Clinton. Dave, you're taking
back the headquarters, please, yes, mister Commerion. As for you,
Miss Walker, I'm sorry I had to put you through this,
but it was the only way of bringing the killer
out into the open.
Speaker 13 (27:58):
Then you knew those were lies about Jack and me.
Speaker 6 (28:01):
Of course, but I wanted Arthur Clinton to believe them.
That's why I had him in an adjoining room when
I accused you and Jack.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
Oh, It's strange.
Speaker 6 (28:11):
It wasn't Felita's drums, phony exterior that concealed a murderer.
It was Old Arthur Clinton's gentle manner that hid a
fanatical killer. My theory was right. I just had the
wrong man at first.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
And with these words, mister Cameleon concludes tonight's murder case.
Have you tried breaking an aspirin tablet to give your
children the dosage your doctor has prescribed? If you have,
(28:54):
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(29:14):
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For the fact that doctors prescribe Bayer Aspirin's single active
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(29:35):
dependable it is. The bottle and cartan are plainly marked
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(30:01):
Listen next Wednesday night at the same time for Mister Cameleon,
the man of many faces in the Marriage Proposal Murder Case.
The part of mister Cameleon is played by Carl Swenson,
with dialogue by Marie Baumer from the original story by
Frank and Anne Hummert music directed by Victor Arden. Your
(30:23):
announcer is Howard Claney.
Speaker 14 (30:32):
Important to everyone is the news of a remarkable scientific
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(30:54):
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Speaker 2 (31:19):
Listen for mister Chameleon in the Marriage Proposal murder case
next Wednesday night. At this time, this is CBS, the
Columbia Broadcasting System Welcome back.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
So we get an acknowledgement of the sort of tropes
that Chameleon uses to solve cases. And he's saying things like,
this guy is acting like he's super virtuous, so he
must be an evil is a theory for basing a
solution to a crime on, and thus my theory is right,
(32:06):
I just chose the wrong suspect. There's a flaw with
that thinking, because some people, even if they are acting
super upright or look too virtuous, or are really self righteous.
That doesn't mean they're killers. It's true that the guy
who ran the escort service seemed a bit over the top.
(32:29):
You could imagine Cameleon going through his office and saying
he has not only got the mottos and goes to church,
he's got all these Thomas Kincaid pictures on the wall,
and Thomas Kincaid hasn't even been born yet.
Speaker 13 (32:41):
Although I don't.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Like solutions where the detective puts an innocent civilian in
harm's way to test out a theory, it's more justifiable
if there's no other options and they've seriously weighed out
the risk and taken steps to protect the civilian. But
did anyone think mister Kimmie has seriously done that. On
(33:03):
the right side, I got the killer. On the downside,
you'll be reliving this moment of nearly being killed every
day for the rest of your life and wake up
screaming at least every other night. I think that's a
fair deal.
Speaker 8 (33:15):
Don't you.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Finally, you have to appreciate the diligence of Dave Arnold
being on the ball and protecting Chameleon lest the character
termed an invalid might harm him. The listener comments and
fadeback now and we start out on YouTube on the
Girl who Topped Murder Texas Chick six ' one five
(33:40):
three rights. Rope ladders were used to escape upper story
rooms in the case of an emergency, and that was
I guess regarding the ongoing concern about rope ladder salesman,
and I guess that I think that is still a
use you. You'll probably still find some emergency plans that
do use rope lade. Betsy writes Encyclopedia brown rocks indeed
(34:05):
e'd eyes. And then we've got one from Kate, who writes, hello,
I really enjoy your programming. I wanted to explain a
little about ear rings in the early twentieth century and
a wee bit of history on pierced ears. First, many
girls in France, Italy, Spain and other European countries had
pierced ears and small gold ear rings they wore permanently.
(34:30):
That's been traditional for a couple of centuries. It's a
sign of quality. As far as pierce versus non pierce,
the peers were part of a quality woman's accessories for centuries.
Screwback earrings were invented in the eighteen hundreds, there were
several types and versions, and with close examination you can
(34:53):
figure out when they were made and sometimes who made them.
This was the beginning of costume jewelry. In the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, screwbacks, then clip ons became popular.
An ear rings became bigger, fancier, with more colors, rhinestones,
faux pearls, and all sorts of decorative elements. These costume
(35:16):
earrings were hugely popular in the forties and fifties. In
the sixties we fell for pierced ear rings and became
totally enamored of pierced gold and silver with genuine gemstones
and semi precious natural stones, hoops and dangles. Vintage jewelry
became popular in the nineties, but by then everything was fun, exciting,
(35:39):
beautiful and individualistic. But understand Pierce were first for centuries,
then screwbacks, then clips, then back to Pierce. The vintage
radio shows are grand and you are charming. Your discussions
are fun and interesting. Well, thank you so much, Kate.
I appreciate your con words as well as a clarification
(35:59):
because I ought a super expert on the topic, and
I think obviously you know of what you speak, and
then we have a comment from Spotify Adam Graham. He
calls it like he sees it. He tells you what
he thinks, but you never have to worry about.
Speaker 5 (36:19):
The language he uses.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
He's the best at what he does. Well, thank you
so much. I'm always aware that we've got a family audience,
as I've had so many listeners notify me that they
listen with their kids, so I'm aware of that. It
is actually has an industry term cold listening, and so
I'm mindful of it. Oh, it helps that I don't
(36:43):
naturally curse too much. Although I'm not bragging and I
have many many other faults, that just doesn't tend to
be one of them. I just want to be clear
on that, because, as we learn from this episode, that
sort of thing can get you at the top of
a murder suspect list. But again, thank you so much
for yours. And now we have a really good question
(37:04):
from Derek who rights So, who are your four detectives
that would be on Mount Rushmore. I'll leave the criteria
up to you whether the success of their cases, success
of the show, lockability, longevity, impact on the future shows. Well,
thank you so much for the question, Derek. Now, I
would actually do a bit of work here because I
(37:27):
think that it is very hard to do a mount
Rushmore sort of thing. And it's an interesting trend, by
the way, I think just started within the last couple
of years, this sort of Mount Rushmore question. But I
think it's hard to compare across mediums. A detective created
(37:50):
for a book different than one created for radio, different
than one created for television. And so for me, I
am setting up three twenty separate Mount rushmorees for each
of these mediums. So we'll have one for books, one
for radio, and one for television. So when we start
(38:11):
at detectives created for books, I think obviously it's got to.
Speaker 10 (38:16):
Be Sherlock Holmes. First of all.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I think the debt that anyone in the mystery writing
profession or anything related to mysteries owes to Sherlock Holmes
and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a man. Yes, there
were other detectives before Holmes, but he really made this
(38:41):
genre popular. His stories, his adventures, his mysteries. They're enduring classics.
They are readable now one hundred and forty years on
from when Doyle first wrote them. I think we'll be
talking about Sherlock Holmes a century from now, and then
(39:07):
it's gotta be Poirot. And it's not just the number
of Puirot mysteries, which is really substantial, but it's also
the sheer number of Puirot stories that just are absolute classics,
things like Death on the Nile and Murder on the
(39:29):
Orient Express Five Little Pigs. I mean, there are so
many great stories. And people talk about the greatness of
the puiro TV series with David Sousche, and he is
fantastic in it. But what he really does, and I think,
particularly before the later seasons when they start messing around
(39:51):
with the stories, is he just brings out the brilliance
that Christie already had in there, so truly remarkable. Well,
then we've got Near a Wolf, Nearal Wolf, just a
fantastic run of stories, and I think managed to maintain
(40:11):
some of its core elements even while the time's change.
And again we're talking about the original Rex Stout novels.
I do think with Neural Wolf it's a case where
the mysteries are usually fine, but what really carries them
(40:33):
is the characters and the language and the way the
stories are told. There's such a richness. There was renewed
interest in the book series at the time of the
two thousands TV series, and I think at this point
(40:53):
it's a little less well known, but really well worth
reading and experiencing. Head on Mount Rushmore, of course, is
the greatest literary detective.
Speaker 5 (41:04):
Of them all.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Encyclopedia Brown No, okay, I'm kidding, though I will say
love Encyclopedia Brown, Hardy Boys. Nancy drew all those great
characters from my childhood, but the fourth head belongs to
Philip Marlow. I think it's fitting to have a detective
(41:27):
from the hard boiled school of detective fiction, and the
Marlow books really are the strongest and richest of the
hard boiled detective novels. The Big Sleep is an absolute classic,
and so is Lady in the Lake, and I think
that gets underrated a bit. Belong Goodbye is also another
(41:51):
great novel, although I think it does kind of struggle
at times with its own pretentiousness, and most of chandler
other novels are very good, with the exception of Playback,
which in my opinion, is hot garbage. Now, of course,
there were some detectives that I considered but didn't include
(42:18):
Sam Spade is one.
Speaker 8 (42:20):
Well.
Speaker 1 (42:20):
I don't think The Malteeth Falcon is as good as
The Big Sleeve. I think it's a more focused book,
and it has more memorable characters. But given that outside
of that novel, Spade only had three short stories, I
have a problem putting him in that company. Father Brown
(42:43):
I also considered in some ways his continuing popularity is
partially a result of the popularity of G. K. Chesterton's
other works, including his non fiction. Father also established a
lot of ideas for detective fiction that others have incorporated
(43:09):
in their own work. For example, the idea from his
story The Invisible Man, where the killer was someone who's
presence in the neighborhood was so common and accepted that
it wasn't even noted that he was there. And The
(43:31):
Son of the Broken Sword, where there's a great two
lines of dialogue the question where does a wise man
hide a leaf? The answer in the forest, which is
something that inspires stories where a single murder is hidden
amongst a lot of other bodies, for example blowing up
(43:55):
an airplane where you're just targeting one individual, or committing
a murder in the middle of a battle. So these
stories really are influential and I love them. But with
Father Brown, I think it comes down to two points. First,
I think that so many of his stories really are
(44:18):
more thought experiments rather than stories about actual people good
thought experiments. But nevertheless, one thing I will say for
everyone else on the Mount Rushmore is that their stories
include both short stories as well as full length novels,
(44:39):
and Father Brown never had a full length novel. And
I think being able to work well in both short
fiction and novels is something that I find oppressive with
detectives who have a literary origin. Now, I did say
that there are two more Mount Rushmore. If we're not
(45:01):
going to get into them today, I would expect we
would continue this in another day. I don't think we
have a ton that we'll have to talk about after
Johnny Dollar, so we'll continue with the next Mount Rushmore
in a future episode. Now, let's go ahead and thank
our Patreon supporter of the day, and I want to
(45:22):
go ahead and thank book Geek twenty eight Patreon supporter
since December twenty twenty one, currently supporting the podcast at
the shawmus level of four dollars or more per month.
Thank you so much for your support, and that will
actually do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And if
(45:46):
you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to lock
the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell.
We will be back next Thursday with mister and Missus North.
But join us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny
do doll Or where.
Speaker 15 (46:04):
You know where Lido Key Isledo? Yeah mile or so
off shore, just beyond Saint Armand's Key where we live.
Speaker 8 (46:10):
Oh yes, sure.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
Well a client of mine.
Speaker 15 (46:12):
Is a man I've known for years. He retired, bought
himself a piece of property there, built a nice little
home on it. His name is Parley Baron. So well,
I've handled all his insurance for him, including a straight
life at fifty thousand beneficiary.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
His wife Flora Baron, And what's happened to him?
Speaker 15 (46:29):
Well, Friday morning, now it's day before yesterday, he left
the house just to do some errands.
Speaker 5 (46:35):
Go on.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Yeah, well, he.
Speaker 15 (46:37):
Hadn't got back home by about five pm, and his
wife started calling around trying to find out where he was,
and nobody seemed to know, so finally she put in
a call to the.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Police, who was your man there, Sergeant Harry Brackett, Oh,
I remember him.
Speaker 10 (46:49):
Go on well.
Speaker 15 (46:51):
Then around seven pm they found Baron's car founded parked
down by one of the fishing docks, but no sign
of him, not a sign, not then, or.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
You'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your
comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow
us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us out
on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.
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