1001 Radio Crime Solvers – Episode Summary

Episode Title

NOBODY LIVES THERE ANYMORE and TARGET
Show: 1001 Radio Crime Solvers
Host: Jon Hagadorn
Date: September 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This double-feature episode presents two classic radio detective stories from the golden age of radio:

1. Nobody Lives There Anymore — A case of a vanishing husband and hotel room pulls Barry Craig into a web of deceit and murder.
2. Target (The Moving Target) — Barry helps a hapless traveler stop a criminal syndicate's scheme just before a murder trial.

Each segment immerses listeners in atmospheric mysteries, rich with period banter, hard-boiled narration, and plot twists characteristic of radio noir.

Story 1: NOBODY LIVES THERE ANYMORE (Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator)

Main Theme

Barry Craig investigates the mysterious disappearance of a woman's husband—and her entire hotel stay—from reality, uncovering a deeper criminal plot with deadly consequences.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Progression

• A Distressed Client

  • Barry Craig meets Myra Wilson, who claims she and her husband checked into the Hotel Meeker. After returning from shopping, the hotel staff claims never to have seen her (02:32).
  • Barry: "I'm a confidential investigator. I've got a lot of practice believing people." (02:45)

• Strange Events at the Hotel Meeker

  • Barry and Myra confront the hostile hotel clerk and manager, who both deny the Wilsons ever checked in (03:47).
  • They visit room 312, which no longer matches Myra’s description (05:29).
  • Barry suspects the room has been hastily redecorated: "I'm ripping myself some wallpaper... look what I found under this screen. Striped wallpaper. More wallpaper. Guess what color. ... It's blue and yellow. The kind Mrs. Wilson described." (08:06)

• An Escalating Case

  • Barry tails the suspicious clerk, who is promptly gunned down (09:01).
  • Barry visits hotel manager Roberts, finds Penny Lane (Moran’s girlfriend, a suspect in an armored car heist), and confronts them about the conspiracy. Tensions rise, hints of criminal collusion surface (10:16).
  • Penny’s flirtatious deflections add comic relief and suspicion:
    • Penny: "There wasn't a single etching in [his apartment]." (12:53)
    • Craig, narrating: "She was putting on the Paris and springtime routine... she wanted something from me, and it wasn't love." (13:01)

• Unraveling the Truth

  • Myra disappears. Barry uses a ruse to flush out Roberts, follows him to a remote house in Jersey, and finds Myra and her now-dead husband—revealed as Ben Moran, a wanted criminal (17:19).
  • Barry explains Moran’s motives: he married Myra under an alias and tried to gaslight/abandon her before his past caught up (18:09).
  • The hotel "vanishing act" was orchestrated to rid Moran of his wife without drawing police attention.

• Showdown and Resolution

  • Back at Roberts’ apartment, all key players (Barry, Myra, Roberts, Penny) confront each other. Penny and Myra both wield guns in a tense standoff (21:32).
  • Barry ingeniously exposes Myra as the real murderer of both Farley (the clerk) and Moran:
    • Barry: "She happens to have murdered the hotel clerk, Farley, and her husband as well. Girls maybe will be girls. But she wanted to be a killer." (22:23)

• Epilogue

  • Barry returns to his favorite diner, sardonically recounting the case to Willie the cook:
    • Barry: "Moran wanted to shake Myra, so he had Roberts and Farley pull the disappearing hotel stunt... But she got to Farley, forced him to tell her where Moran was hiding out, then killed Farley to make sure he'd stay quiet." (22:56)
  • Myra is arrested. Penny playfully flirts with Barry one last time:
    • Penny: "Turn around and I'll breathe down the front of it." (23:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You don't have to worry about being included in the old age pension fund. You're not going to have an old age." – Barry Craig (00:39)
• "Kidnapping a room? … Like finding out this really was Mrs. Wilson's room. And that someone changed the wallpaper, the bed, the rug, while she was out shopping." – Barry (07:43-08:29)
• "But she wanted to be a killer." – Barry breaking the case (22:23)
• The "vanishing hotel" is a classic gaslighting twist, recalling urban legends and adding to the noir paranoia.

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:32] — Myra explains her predicament
• [05:29] — The visit to room 312
• [08:06] — Discovering the hidden wallpaper
• [09:01] — The clerk is murdered
• [13:01] — Barry’s inner monologue on Penny
• [17:19] — Finding Moran's body
• [22:23] — Barry exposes Myra as the killer
• [23:59] — Comic coda with Penny

Story 2: TARGET ("The Moving Target") (Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator)

Main Theme

A “prize chump” is sent on endless international errands by a crooked company aiming to keep him away from a crucial murder trial. Barry uncovers the scheme before a miscarriage of justice occurs.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Progression

• The Hapless Traveler

  • Barry meets Bertram Fenley, a mild-mannered "hotel consultant" whose job is suspiciously vague and whose travels have improbable accidents (27:49–29:10).
  • Fenley: "I was sent overseas to make diagrams of land space for building modern hotels." (29:18)
  • Fenley reveals he keeps being instructed to travel; has survived close calls, and received a telegram not to return home (30:17).

• Attempt on Fenley’s Life

  • As Barry investigates, a car drives by with a machine gun; the papers later chalk it up to a college prank (32:20–36:01).
  • Barry: "I can't see anybody machine gunning the street just to be naughty." (32:50)

• Connecting the Dots

  • Barry questions Kewpie Marino (company rep), who admits the company has no real hotel business but "big plans" (33:31–34:01).
  • Fenley's "big hotel keeper" experience is exposed as running a four-room rooming house (36:43–37:15).
  • Fenley was recruited via a radio contest run by Adrian Borislav's Advanced Theatrical Enterprises, which is a vanity scam operation (38:25–40:41).

• Love Complications

  • Fenley gets engaged in record time to Margie, a "plant" from Borislav's office (44:03–44:43).
  • Barry suspects Margie is involved: "Margie... that's my fiancée, is rather incredibly romantic... she wants to be married by a tribal chief." (44:32)
  • Barry's deduction: Margie, Marino, and Borislav coordinate to keep Fenley abroad for unknown reasons (45:08–45:22).

• The Real Scheme

  • Fenley is arrested for an alleged theft at Penn Station—a further attempt to keep him away from his hometown, Buxton Falls (46:12).
  • Barry realizes this is to stop Fenley from testifying at a murder trial:
    • "You're the only man who can place Latimer in Buxton Falls at the time he was there. That is the why of your travels." (49:07)
  • The true aim: keep the only eyewitness out of court so the mobster Stitch Latimer can beat his murder charge.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "At home in Buxton Falls, this was. The telephone rang one night... they said... Could I name 10 American presidents? ...And you won a prize, the man said." – Fenley, describing how he was lured away (37:26).
• Barry's classic wisecracking with suspects and the “dumb blonde” routines with Margie.
• "Your name, it's printed on the door. Kewpie, Moreno. Kewpie. My old lady stuck me with the name. At the time, I was too little to argue." (34:56)
• "Every guy has his racket. But Marino's had me mystified so far..." (35:11)
• Margie's rueful closing: "How bad is it for a girl in jail?" (49:48)
• Barry’s coup de grâce: "Wolf whistles... as bad as that, huh?" (49:56)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [27:49] — Fenley’s introductory woes
• [32:50] — Drive-by shooting incident
• [36:43] — Fenley's real "hotel keeping" revealed
• [38:25] — The contest scam explained
• [44:32] — Margie and Fenley’s “engagement”
• [46:12] — Fenley arrested for wallet theft
• [48:05] — Barry reads the Buxton Falls Bugle
• [49:07] — The true purpose of keeping Fenley away
• [49:48–50:01] — Margie’s fate

Tone and Style

The stories are wisecracking and atmospheric, with Barry Craig’s dry narration, snappy dialogue, and hard-boiled yet witty perspective. Both mysteries blend suspense with sardonic humor and a touch of bittersweet romance.

Overall Episode Highlights

• Two classic radio mysteries showcasing detective Barry Craig at his sardonic best
• Atmospheric plots: disappearing spouses, cover-ups, and detective ingenuity
• Vintage noir banter and strong femme fatales
• Clever twists exposing criminal schemes
• Real period flavor—classic hardboiled radio storytelling

For more detective stories from radio's golden age, tune in every Sunday at 5pm ET!