THE BATON SINISTER and THE FATTED CALF ADVENTURES OF PHILIP MARLOWE

Summary

1001 Radio Crime Solvers – Adventures of Philip Marlowe

Episode: "The Baton Sinister" and "The Fatted Calf"
Original Broadcasts: "The Tale of the Mermaid" & "The Open Window"
Host: Jon Hagadorn
Release Date: May 15, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of 1001 Radio Crime Solvers features two classic back-to-back adventures of Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled Los Angeles detective, Philip Marlowe, voiced by Gerald Moore. In "The Tale of the Mermaid", Marlowe is drawn into a dizzy web of murder and intrigue over a missing jewel. "The Open Window" shifts tone to psychological suspense, with Marlowe trying to help a woman lost in amnesia and threatened by sinister forces. Both stories offer atmospheric noir, complex plotting, and Marlowe’s signature cynicism and compassion.

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Story 1: The Tale of the Mermaid

(Main segment: 01:38–30:06)

Main Theme

A dying man's plea leads Marlowe into a hunt for a stolen $75,000 diamond-studded bracelet, “the Mermaid,” tangled with double-crossing criminals, a mysterious woman, and ultimately, murder.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Inciting Incident:

• Marlowe is contacted by Corey Riggs (04:30), a nurse at the Warwick Emergency Hospital, who passes on a dying patient’s urgent request to stop a mysterious woman from a dangerous rendezvous.
• The dying man, Stanley Ott, murmurs clues: a girl in a plaid coat, $75,000, and the word “Constantine” at a pier (05:55).

The Investigation

• Marlowe methodically checks boats, the harbor, and venues called "Constantine" (07:03), but no luck until a waterfront bystander points him to "Prince Constantine Chevnov", who offers phony seances (08:18).
• Marlowe finds a murdered man in the seance room: a clue-laden card mentions “the Mermaid” (09:35).

The Criminal Conspiracy

• Marlowe follows a trail to Louis Paradise, a flamboyant jeweler-fence (10:58), overhearing him talking to Evelyn Van Owen (the woman in the plaid coat and possessor of the Mermaid), arranging a 2am meet.
• Marlowe is caught and threatened by Paradise’s hired thug Rudy (12:23).
• Paradise and Prince Constantine reveal their plan to buy/steal the jewel, dismissing Marlowe as another "insurance snoop" (13:26).

Racing the Clock

• Marlowe survives Rudy’s attempted "disposal", escapes, and digs into the mysterious term "gnazdo" (17:15).
• Nurse Rosemary translates "gnazdo" as Russian for "nest", slang for a hideout (20:15).

The Climax

• Evelyn is seemingly found dead at the pier (24:46), the Mermaid clutched in Paradise’s hand.
• But the real Evelyn van Owen appears, revealing the dead woman was actually Corey Riggs, the nurse who tried to collect the payout in Evelyn's place (26:02).

Resolution

• The Mermaid falls between the boards into the ocean—forever lost (25:14).
• The web is untangled: Stanley Ott (the dying man) only wanted Marlowe to protect Evelyn, not the jewel. Marlowe reflects on the futility and cost of greed (28:34).
• “For a little while you were a rich woman. Now it’s all gone.”
  – Marlowe to Evelyn, 28:34

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Marlowe (01:38): “Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter of the prison of the grave.”
• Marlowe (05:23): “So it boils down to this. A girl we don't know in a plaid coat is meeting someone we don't know at a place we don't know at 2am and the man who wants me to prevent it is in a coma and can't talk.”
• Marlowe (28:46): “How do you feel?”
  Evelyn: “Well, I'm alive and in love.”
  Marlowe: “Yes, well, that answers my question. Good night, baby. And good luck.”
• Marlowe’s closing monologue (29:41): “They always do. Curious, restless, sordid crowd...all cracked, climbing over each other for a chance to fish for the mermaid. She who brought death to three people, injury to two others in the course of one night. Suppose they found her. What then? A lot of glittering pieces of white coal set in a metal frame we call precious. Look at the suckers grab. That’s all. Marlowe, home and to bed.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:38 — “Get this and get it straight…” (Marlowe’s opening)
• 03:29 — Nurse Corey Riggs calls Marlowe
• 06:01 — The clue: “Constantine at some pier”
• 08:32 — Discovery of Prince Constantine's shack
• 09:35 — Dead body, insurance clue about the Mermaid
• 10:58 — Louis Paradise’s call, arrangement with Evelyn
• 13:01 — Marlowe is held at gunpoint
• 20:15 — “Gnazdo” is Russian for “nest” (hideout)
• 24:46 — The violent showdown, Evelyn’s “death”
• 26:02 — The real Evelyn appears, twist revealed
• 28:46 — Final wrap-up and reflection

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Story 2: The Open Window

(Main segment: 33:42–61:48)

Main Theme

A mysterious, amnesiac woman seeks Marlowe’s help, fearing she is being followed and doesn't know even her own identity. Marlowe uncovers a twisted scheme involving identity theft, blackmail, and murder.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

A Stranger in Need

• A disoriented woman, later identified as Margaret Vesey, comes to Marlowe’s apartment, terrified, convinced she’s being stalked (35:34).
• She can’t remember her name, only that she wrote Marlowe’s address on a card.
• Her purse contains cryptic clues: a key, a slip with “8400 North Virgil Tompkins,” and a photo album with one missing photo (38:03).

The Search for Identity

• Marlowe traces “Tompkins” to a seedy boarding house, learns the man has been paid to leave town (39:48).
• The classy man who paid Tompkins off: Alan Parmalee, a nightclub boss (41:22).

The Blackmail Angle

• At Parmalee’s club “The Pearls,” Marlowe overhears a tense conversation suggesting a dark secret involving Cooper Gerard, Margaret’s caretaker, and Parmalee (43:43).
• Gerard explains: he took Margaret in after a car crash that killed his wife, Grace, in Canada. Margaret, with amnesia, became his ward (46:01).

Tragedy Strikes

• Returning to his apartment, Marlowe finds Margaret has apparently fallen/jumped from his window—possibly suicide, but the scratch marks suggest she was pushed (49:57–51:13).
• Cigarette evidence implicates someone else, despite Gerard’s protests that Norma (his new girlfriend) “doesn’t smoke” (51:53).

The Hottest Clue

• A missing photo from Margaret’s album and a reference to “the hottest day on record in Vancouver” prompts Marlowe to check weather bureau records. The photo predates the supposed date Margaret met Gerard—proof of fraud (54:45).

The Truth Uncovered

• At Parmalee's office, Marlowe overhears a blackmail plot (56:08). It’s revealed that “Margaret Vesey” was actually Gerard’s wife, Grace, who survived but with amnesia. Gerard orchestrated the identity swap to collect insurance (58:07).
• Margaret’s push from the window was no suicide: Gerard tried to eliminate her as her memory returned.

Resolution

• Both Gerard (the murderer) and blackmailer Parmalee are brought in.
• Marlowe visits Grace (Margaret) in the hospital, reassures her that she’s safe and will soon return home to Vancouver (59:16).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Marlowe (35:36):
  Margaret: “I don’t know who I am.”
  Marlowe: "Well, now, tell me, do you know who you are?"
  Margaret: "No, I don't know who I am."

• Police Officer (51:04): “How many people have you heard of that jumped out of a window backwards, Mister? I think she was pushed.”

• Marlowe (58:01):
  “It was a mistake. Both Ms. Veasy and my wife were in the car at the time of the accident...her memory was gone, you made the switch complete and called your wife Margaret Vesey and left it like that.”

• Marlowe’s Reflection (61:29):
  “No man is an island, entire of itself. Yeah, about 300 years ago. He said that any man's death diminishes me because I'm involved in mankind.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 33:42 — Marlowe’s prologue to “Open Window”
• 35:34 — The amnesiac woman arrives
• 38:03 — The contents of her purse: key, address, album
• 39:48 — Jake Philpotts on Tompkins
• 43:43 — Parmalee confronted at The Pearls
• 46:01 — Gerard’s backstory: car accident, Margaret’s amnesia
• 49:57 — Discovery of “fall” from Marlowe’s window
• 51:04 — Police suggest “she was pushed”
• 54:45 — Weather clue, photo evidence
• 56:08 — Parmalee blackmails Gerard; Marlowe intervenes
• 59:16 — Marlowe consoles Grace/Margaret in hospital
• 61:29 — Marlowe’s final reflection on humanity

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Overall Episode Highlights

• Theme: Both tales center around deception, identity, and the corrosive effects of greed.
• Atmosphere: Evocative L.A. noir—foggy piers, cheap lodgings, the ocean as both graveyard and symbol of lost hopes.
• Dialogue: Hardboiled philosophy and banter, with Marlowe’s steady hand amid chaos.
• Memorable Villains: Louis Paradise’s oily charm, Gerard’s cold rationalization, and Parmalee’s sleazy blackmail.

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Quotes to Remember

• “Crime is a sucker’s road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter of the prison or the grave.” (01:38, Marlowe’s signature intro)
• “She who brought death to three people…all cracked, climbing over each other for a chance to fish for the mermaid.” (29:41, Marlowe on greedy crowds)
• “No man is an island…any man's death diminishes me because I'm involved in mankind.” (61:29, Marlowe’s closing meditation)

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Ideal For

Fans of classic detective storytelling, golden age radio drama, sharp-tongued dialogue, twisty plots, and anyone wanting a rich, immersive trip into the noir underworld of vintage Los Angeles.

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Skip ahead to key timestamps to sample Marlowe’s sharpest lines, the biggest clues, and the most shocking reversals. This double-feature serves as a showcase for both the brilliance of Chandler’s intricate plotting and the timeless appeal of a tough, ethical PI in a crooked world.

Transcript

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[John Hagedorn]

Welcome to 1001 Radio Crime Solvers podcast. This is your host, John Hagedorn, and we want 1001 radio crime solvers to be your favorite place to go to enjoy a great mix of vintage detectives shows from the golden age of radio. The scripts were great, the action was hot, and even the old commercials are enjoyable. And now Another episode of 1001 Radio Grime Solvers is ready to go. Enjoy.

[Philip Marlowe]

Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter of the prison of the grave. This started with a wreck and went from there to double murder over 75,000 bucks worth of glitter that nobody got in the end because I found out just in time what was fishy about the Tale of the Mermaid.

[Narrator/Announcer]

From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction, comes his most famous character in the Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Now with Gerald Moore starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you tonight's exciting story, the Tale of the Mermaid.

[Philip Marlowe]

At 9:30, I was still in my office, tucking in the loose ends on a report while I listened with half an ear to the fabric of city sounds rising from the street below. Fabric ripped suddenly by tires clawing concrete. The shattering crash that followed brought me to my feet. It was a traffic accident and a bad one. I ran to the window, but it had happened around the corner, out of sight from my office. I watched others run for it and remembered grimly that every 30 seconds somewhere in the country, a thing like that happened. And one out of every 60 seconds minutes was fatal. I wondered who had been chewed up in a chromium meat grinder. This time as I listened to first the police, then the emergency ambulance and finally the scavenger truck cleaned the wreck off the street. After that I went back to my report again and tried to forget about it. But an hour later that same accident came back into my office.

[Corey Riggs]

Mr. Marlow? Yeah, this is Corey Riggs.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yes, Ms. Riggs.

[Corey Riggs]

I'm a nurse at the Warwick Emergency Hospital. About an hour ago, a man named Stanley Ott was brought in and he's been calling for you.

[Philip Marlowe]

For me?

[Corey Riggs]

He was badly injured in an automobile accident on Cahuenga on his way to your office.

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Who did you say this was?

[Corey Riggs]

I'm the nurse assigned to Mr. Ott at the hospital. I just got off duty and I had to wait until I was relieved before I could call you.

[Philip Marlowe]

I see. Well, look, Ms. Riggs, I'd like to help in any way I can, but it's 9:30.

[Corey Riggs]

Mr. Ott gave me two $250 and told me to call you.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, I know, but.

[Corey Riggs]

And he said that I should give you 200 and keep the 50 for myself.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, fine. Now I get clients by proxy.

[Corey Riggs]

I beg your pardon?

[Philip Marlowe]

Nothing. I'll be right over, Ms. Riggs. I didn't know anyone named Stanley out. And I felt a little like an ambulance chaser. But I was only 15 minutes from getting to the emergency hospital. As I walked up the ambulance ramp, a small, smart looking brunette came toward me.

[Corey Riggs]

I'm Corey Riggs, the nurse who called.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, hello. Can I see him now?

[Corey Riggs]

It wouldn't do any good. You see, he went into a coma a few minutes after I called him.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, too late, is that it?

[Corey Riggs]

Let's move away from the door, shall we?

[Philip Marlowe]

Sure.

[Corey Riggs]

You see, Mr. Marlow, before he went into the coma, Ott wasn't rational.

[Rosemary]

He was raving.

[Philip Marlowe]

About what sort of thing?

[Corey Riggs]

About you and a girl.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh.

[Corey Riggs]

As near as I could make out, she's supposed to meet someone tonight at 2:00 clock and collect $75,000.

[Philip Marlowe]

It's quite an assignment. Who's the girl?

[Corey Riggs]

I don't know. All out said was something about a plaid coat as identification.

[Philip Marlowe]

Plaid coat, huh? Any idea what he wanted me to do? Chaperone maybe?

[Corey Riggs]

No. He kept pleading stop her. Stop her. She can't do it. So I'm sure that he wanted you to prevent this girl from keeping that appointment. Some reason it seems absolutely imperative to him.

[Philip Marlowe]

Where was this 2:00 clock meeting? Supposed to take place?

[Corey Riggs]

I have no idea.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, fine. So it boils down to this. A girl we don't know in a plaid coat is meeting someone we don't know at a place we don't know at 2am the man who wants me to prevent it is in a coma and can't talk. Can he say anything else, Ms. Riggs?

[Corey Riggs]

He just kept saying, you've got to help me, Marlow. It's life and death, you know.

[Philip Marlowe]

We can stir up an awful hornet's nest poking our noses into 75,000 bucks worth of business we know nothing about. I doubt that we can do any good anyway because we don't have enough to go on. If he said anything else to even

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

point in the right.

[Margaret Vesey]

Oh, Marlow.

[Philip Marlowe]

What?

[Corey Riggs]

Wait a minute. He mumbled something once about a Constantine.

[Philip Marlowe]

Constantine?

[Corey Riggs]

Yes, at some pier.

[Philip Marlowe]

What is it, a boat?

[Corey Riggs]

I don't know, but at least it's a lead, isn't it?

[Philip Marlowe]

Anything else?

[Corey Riggs]

No.

[Philip Marlowe]

Okay. Where can I reach you?

[Corey Riggs]

I'll be at my quarters. Claire. 5781.

[Philip Marlowe]

5781. And keep track of Stanley Ott's condition, will you? If he comes out of it, talk to him. Only got three short hours. I'll call you, Corey. I felt a little weird as I left the hospital because I was traveling on strictly secondhand information as to what had gone on in a delirious mind. But in spite of that there was still enough coherence in what Corey Riggs told me to make a case. My first stop was a phone booth and a call to the police where I found out from the accident report that Stanley out was 30, unmarried, small time lawyer and an LA resident with a clean police record. My next call was the harbor master's office, San Pedro.

[Gerard]

Constantine. No, don't remember. No vessel for that name, sonny. Just a minute. I'll look her up in the registry. Let's see. Constana, Constant Constantine. Only one Listed is a four masted

[Philip Marlowe]

schooner, Sun Golf Pirates Point near Monterey in 1870. A little before my time.

[Gerard]

Not the one, eh?

[Philip Marlowe]

Not the one. So I tried the Coast Guard. No fishing boat called Constantine on this coast, mister. That was followed by a check of yacht harbor at Long beach. Negative. And a call to the pleasure boat anchorage at Santa Monica. No Constantine registered here, sir. After that, a long, futile reconnaissance of the waterfront from one end to the other. It left me one solid hour later out at the end of a tottering, almost abandoned concessions pier in Venice, swearing in blind frustration at the black seething ocean Below.

[Gerard]

I was licked.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Ain't thinking of jumping in, are you, Panel? Hey, you look like you lost your best friend.

[Philip Marlowe]

I did, buster. Me, I was sunk with a Constantine in 1870.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Constantine? You know him too? Eh?

[Philip Marlowe]

Him? You mean Constantine's a guy?

[Gerard]

Sure, pal.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

There's a shack there. Wait till the beacon light comes around again.

[Narrator/Announcer]

See?

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

See that?

[Philip Marlowe]

Well, I'll be. Prince Constantine Chevnov. Akos is promised to meet him. Personal consultant by appointment only.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Yeah, but that's a fake.

[Philip Marlowe]

No, fool.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

All them guys. He owes everybody around, even at a Ziggy Me for one buck, and that's something. But he's a genuine Russian princess.

[Gerard]

Hey, hey, where you going?

[Philip Marlowe]

Have a look. Prince Constantine Chevnov could be my boy.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

He wouldn't want you nosing around here.

[Philip Marlowe]

That's too bad. Does he live here?

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Yeah, in the back. He runs his pitch in the front where all them green curtains are.

[Philip Marlowe]

I suppose he always leaves the door unlocked, huh?

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

That's kind of funny.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Gerard]

Yeah.

[Philip Marlowe]

I'll bet there'll be a light switch here sometime. Oh, yeah? Now, let's see. What. Oh.

[Rosemary]

Holy.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Catch.

[Gerard]

Goodbye, mister.

[Rosemary]

Goodbye.

[Philip Marlowe]

As the little war frat darted through the door and scampered away into the darkness, I went over the body, face up on the cheap, gaudy carpet of the seance room. He was about 35, in a substantial gray business suit, stained red in front where the bullets had gone in. His wallet was missing. There was no other identification on him. His gray snap brim hat was spilled a few feet away, so I picked it up to look for initials and found instead a small file card stuck into the sweatband. Typed at the top was the heading, the Mermaid. Owner, Otis Van Owen, only relative. Evelyn Van Owen, niece, Mermaid. Stolen November 12, 1948. Insurance paid in full in ink. Van Owen died August 1949. And under that in pencil, Constantine Chevno, Venice Pier and Louis Paradise, 913 Seacrest Road, Pacific Palisades. It took 20 minutes to find 913 Seacrest. When I stopped and got close enough, what I saw through an open window made Constantine Trap I just left look as reliable as a post office by comparison with a miniature Egyptian temple, exotic and dainty, sickening lushness of red velvet and yellow silk. And in the center of the room was a bloated little man balancing a long cigarette holder in one hand while he simpered into a honey colored French phone in the other. I moved up quietly until I could hear him.

[Louis Paradise]

Sentimental agreement. That is right, Evelyn. Your Uncle Otis and I were the best of friends for Years. Well, thank you, child. Where are you now? On the servitor.

[Rosemary]

Good, good.

[Louis Paradise]

I advise you to stay there until a few minutes before 2. And you will not forget to wear a plaid coat. Just to be sure I won't make a mistake.

[Rudy]

What is it?

[Philip Marlowe]

What side sho.

[Rudy]

Careful now. Sudden noises like this gun going off of set, Mr. Fer they find so interesting inside.

[Philip Marlowe]

Conversation about the mermaid probably.

[Rudy]

Oh, glad you dropped that one. But because I bumped you for a nickel, play nothing to 75G.

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't talk things over with punks. I reserve it for the head man. Go do something about it.

[Rudy]

Okay, but I will. Go on. Move on to the dawn inside. If the paradise gets some kind of kick out of stepping on big guys like you.

[Philip Marlowe]

The gopher face shoved his automatic into the small of my back and marched me inside where the air was thick with cheap incense. A bloated little king with a long cigarette holder had stepped out. He came back fast when the gopher

[Rudy]

called it Mr. Paradise.

[Philip Marlowe]

He stared at me from across the room and his nostrils flared for an instant and he simpered again and sidled toward me. The gopher dug at my spine with his gun.

[Louis Paradise]

Well now, what is this?

[Rudy]

Rudy? Snooper, Mr. Paradise. Caught him outside peeking in the window.

[Louis Paradise]

Oh, it is a bad night for Snooper.

[Philip Marlowe]

Who are you? Name's Marlow.

[Louis Paradise]

And the business?

[Philip Marlowe]

Snooping.

[Rudy]

He knows about the mermaid, Ms. Ferdish.

[Louis Paradise]

He does, does he? How much do you know? Speak of.

[Philip Marlowe]

He's got a fishtail instead of legs.

[Louis Paradise]

You dare to joke, don't you?

[Rudy]

Stand here and take it. Big man you asked for. Make a move and I'll drop you.

[Louis Paradise]

I know what you are, Marlow. But not how much you have found out. Now tell me, because the next time I slap you, it will carry more weight than my bare hand. I promise.

[Philip Marlowe]

You have company, Paradise.

[Louis Paradise]

Did I get it?

[Margaret Vesey]

No.

[Louis Paradise]

You keep this baboon under control, Rudy. I will answer the door. Oh, Prince, come here.

[Gerard]

Paradise.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Paradise.

[Louis Paradise]

What do you mean?

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

How far do you think you can go? With my reputation? Do you want to get me hanged?

[Louis Paradise]

What is the matter, Constantine? You are upset?

[Philip Marlowe]

Upset?

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

I'm out of my mind. Oh, what a shock. And such a stupid thing for you to do.

[Louis Paradise]

What are you raving about?

[Philip Marlowe]

He found that body on his front room floor. Right, Constantine?

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Exactly. Precisely. And what is more ideal?

[Rudy]

Not put it there.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Of all the places in the world, why did you pick this one? Paradise. Who is this, this stranger here?

[Louis Paradise]

If you would close your mouth and open your eyes more often, Prince Constantine. You would not be the nervous wreck you are. This is Mr. Marlow. Another Snoopa?

[Philip Marlowe]

Another one.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Paradise. Paradise, listen to me. It's better if we quit. It's better if we don't try it tonight. It's out of hand. I don't like like it now. We should get away and come back next year and do it.

[Cab Driver]

Ah, no jellyfish.

[Louis Paradise]

There is nothing to worry about now. Insurance investigators often work in pairs.

[Philip Marlowe]

Is that not so, Marlo, Your pitch round, man. You don't need any help from me.

[Louis Paradise]

You are so right, Rudy and I caught the first at your place. Now we have the second one here. That is all there are. The danger is over.

[Cab Driver]

It's clear.

[Rosemary]

Ceiling.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

What about that cadaver you had the audacity to leave lying in my seal?

[Louis Paradise]

Give me Constantine. That was a necessity.

[Cab Driver]

I am fine.

[Philip Marlowe]

Hey, Rudy, this go on all the time?

[Rudy]

Yeah, ain't it awful?

[Louis Paradise]

And think of all the champagne, caviar and strong enough you can buy with the mermaid.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

I don't care.

[Louis Paradise]

Just a bracelet. But at the same time, it is $75,000 worth of the diamonds in tract.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Oh, okay, Paradise. I trust you.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Now we go, huh?

[Rudy]

Mr. Paradise, what should I do with the big boy here?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, you're kind of leaving a loose end around, aren't you, fatty?

[Louis Paradise]

If I had the time, Marlo, I would beat the arrogance out of you a little chunk at a time. Rudy.

[Rudy]

Yeah?

[Louis Paradise]

You've got no initiative, but you do have imagination. So use it. Goodbye, Marlow.

[Narrator/Announcer]

In just a moment, the second act of Philip Marlow. But first, it's a big break in entertainment for you and a big break in a career for some talented youngsters. When Horace Heights original Youth opportunity program opens the door to fame and fortune. Every Sunday evening on cbs, popular Horus Height is host to young folks who want to break into show business. And every Sunday evening, one lucky winner does break in. To his delight and your listening pleasure. Yes, for music, comedy thrills and all around fun, listen to Horace Heights Sunday evenings. Another great CBS show heard over most of these same stations.

[Philip Marlowe]

Tune in, tune in this fall for the shows that you love best of all.

[Rosemary]

Listen carefully.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Here's the address.

[Philip Marlowe]

It's CB scbm

[Narrator/Announcer]

Now with our star, Gerald Moore. We return to the second act of Philip Marlo and tonight's story, the tale of the Mermaid.

[Philip Marlowe]

When Louis paradise hesitated at the door, snarled the suggestion that this henchman used his imagination in disposing of me and left in lockstep with the white Russian screwball. I got the point. But even if I'd missed it entirely. One look into brother Rudy's eyes would

[Gerard]

have done the trick.

[Philip Marlowe]

There were no pupils, just slits of lethal viciousness, windows to his warped little mind where I could practically see the montage going on that ran from ancient thumbscrews by candlelight up to a generous beating by straight lamp with brass knucks.

[Gerard]

I felt a cold nut grow in

[Philip Marlowe]

the pit of my stomach as Rudy, with a cannon in his hand pointed at my head, started toward me. And from someplace outside I got a break. Two romantic cats, Rudy spun toward the sound. One chance to accustomer, Rudy and you miss.

[Narrator/Announcer]

I'll pull your head off.

[Philip Marlowe]

Not tonight, gentle soul.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Give it to me.

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't want you to hurt yourself until we've had a chance to talk.

[Gerard]

That's it.

[Philip Marlowe]

Now lie down. I knew there was some reason why I like cats. Their voices. Okay Rudy, you've had enough rest now let's get back to business.

[Gerard]

Now wait a minute.

[Philip Marlowe]

Come on, get up.

[Cab Driver]

We're gonna talk.

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Hold it, please. No reason for any more rough stuff.

[Gerard]

I'll cooperate.

[Philip Marlowe]

That's better. Where did paradise and his Highness head for? The Ganazdo. Where is it?

[Narrator/Announcer]

I don't know.

[Philip Marlowe]

Come on, you said there was no reason for rough stuff, remember?

[Gerard]

Ow. Yeah, yeah, I remember that Gnosto.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's something I never heard of.

[Philip Marlowe]

An unhappy coincidence, Rudy. It's one thing I'm interested in.

[Louis Paradise]

Hey, wait.

[Philip Marlowe]

Must be something else.

[Gerard]

You want to know something else?

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

I could tell you that.

[Gerard]

Hey, hey.

[Rudy]

What are you gonna do?

[Philip Marlowe]

You mean you can't tell? Rudy, all it takes is a little imagination. Rudy, out of the way. I started through the place looking for all important answer to what was the Ganazo. The 20 minutes of turning drawers and closets inside out revealed nothing more exciting than Louis Paradise's address book. First names only and a picture of a girl named Toodles who belonged to the Roaring twenties and by this time should have caught a death of cold. His sister no doubt, but no lead on the Gnozdo. So on the slim chance that my client Stanley Ott might already be back in this world and able to help, I got outside into my car and drove to the first drugstore where after checking the phone books under everything from bars to bathhouses, recognizable and getting no place, I called Corey Riggs at the nurse's home.

[Corey Riggs]

No, Marlow, Stanley Odd's still unconscious. I just talked to the night nurse on his floor. They expect him to come out of it soon. Why? What happened?

[Philip Marlowe]

Well, it's too Much to explain now, Cory, but that girl, the one in the plaid coat, I found out that her name's Evelyn Van Owen and she's staying at the Surf Hotel. Now see if that much checks with Ott when he comes to, will you?

[Corey Riggs]

All right.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, also there's a diamond studded item called the Mermaid which accounts for that 75,000 he mentioned. Now Constantine and the pier now equal a phony Russian prince who runs a spook palace out on the old Venice pier. Now you got all that?

[Gerard]

Uh huh.

[Philip Marlowe]

Good. Now look honey, listen real hard. Before ot passed out, did he by any chance say the word gnazdo?

[Corey Riggs]

Ganazdo?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

No.

[Corey Riggs]

What does it mean?

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't know, I, I think it's the name of a place.

[Corey Riggs]

Oh, have you checked the phone books?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah. Yes. No dice, Corey. Also, I checked one Mr. Louis paradise, so you might mention Marlow.

[Rosemary]

Marlow?

[Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute, what's the matter?

[Corey Riggs]

There's a girl here, one of the nurses, who's trying to tell me something. It's the ganachdo.

[Alan Parmalee]

Marlo.

[Corey Riggs]

Shh, wait a minute. She knows something about it. Here, it's, it's Rosemary. You talk to her.

[Rosemary]

Hello?

[Philip Marlowe]

Hello.

[Rosemary]

You want to know what gnozdo means?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Rosemary]

Well, it's Russian, like partially my gnozdo.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, well, what does it mean in English? Rosemary, fast, please is important.

[Rosemary]

Well, that means let's go to my place. Gnosdo's the word for nest, sort of

[Corey Riggs]

like cozy apartment or cottage, My place, nest.

[Gerard]

You sure of that?

[Corey Riggs]

Well, I'm positive.

[Rosemary]

I was an army nurse in the war and I spent two years in Germany after the shooting part was over. Two years a half a block away from the Russian zone.

[Philip Marlowe]

That's close enough. Thanks a million, Rosemary.

[Rosemary]

Don't mention it. His car.

[Corey Riggs]

Oh, that do it, Merlot?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, I think so. At any rate, unless I'm way off base, it's where both the mermaid and all parties concerned are going to rendezvous at 2am that's less than a half hour from now. The prince's place on the pier. I want to be early, so goodbye, Cory. I'll call again when I know more. And give my everlasting love to girlfriend Rosemary. She always show a peach. There was still a few parts missing, the way there always are as I drove fast for the old Venice pier. And added as I went along, it came out something like the theme of paradise and Prince whatchamacallit. Ready, willing and able to pay tax. 75 grand for a piece of jewelry, that one. Evelyn Van Owen now owns a Mermaid, which, according to the data I'd found on the insurance man's body, had once been stolen from Evelyn's late uncle. But I left it there when my rear view mirror set a long gray sedan that had been tagging me discreetly for the last three blocks. Now being indelicate about it and closing fast, the driver was old pal Rudy. And as he came abreast, he headed for me.

[Cab Driver]

All right, all right. You're okay. You're okay, Mac. Don't you worry about a thing. We'll have you out of there in a minute. Ed. Hey, can't you knock out that horn? Knocked out the horn, he said. What do you think we're trying to do? It ain't so easy getting my hand past this crazy horn.

[Alan Parmalee]

No.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh. Oh, that's better. Hey. Hey, cabby, what'd I hit?

[Cab Driver]

Well, in the order of their appearance, Mac, your car into a telephone pole and then you into your dashboard. Yeah, you're sure lucky you bounced off the curb, personally.

[Louis Paradise]

Slowed you down plenty.

[Gerard]

Oh, hey, here comes the ambulance. Yeah, look at your roll.

[Philip Marlowe]

Not for me. I'm all right. Hey, come on, Kevbie, help me out of this, will you?

[Cab Driver]

That's what we're trying to do. But don't you worry. The answer ambulance ain't for you, but a guy that sideswiped you and then tried to get away. I seen what happened and I went after him in me cab. He turned into a dead end, no less, trying to shake me. Oh, is he a mess. But I guess he'll live all right. Hey, what's he got against you anyhow, Max?

[Philip Marlowe]

Just my life. Listen, your cab's still all right.

[Cab Driver]

Sure there's some place you got to go?

[Philip Marlowe]

There is the old Venice Concessions Pier, my friend, and the sooner the better. Come on. Maybe my head against the dashboard was exactly what I needed. Because right then and there, the method of Rudy's handiwork made me think of an angle that I'd neglected almost completely. My unconscious client had not wanted me to get the mermaid or the 75,000 bucks, but to stop Evelyn from keeping her rendezvous, which at this point I figured could mean but one thing. It was exactly 2 o' clock when the cab slammed to a stop near the pier. I piled out and ran onto the empty fog, dampened planking that led to Prince Constantine's shack. Nothing but mist moved over the pier. No unusual sound broke the pattern of waterfront noises. But I thought momentarily that I was still in time to prevent what Stanley Art somehow knew was going to happen. That Louis paradise and his eccentric sidekick intended to get the mermaid from Evelyn would pay off in only one one way. I ran to the rear of the shack on stilts and got close to the half open door where I could see and hear and found out just what I'd expected. In the storeroom, spread out and very still on the oil soaked planks, there were a makeshift floor with a lifeless form. A girl who, according to the plaid coat she wore, was the late Evelyn Van Oy. Kneeling close to a gun in one hand, the sparkling mermaid in the other is her executioner, Louis Paradise. Next to him is number one boy, Prince Constantine Chevnov. Not very happy.

[Rudy]

To shoot her was stupid.

[Cab Driver]

Yes.

[Louis Paradise]

75 grand stupid. Or would you have preferred that I pay Ms. Van Ouan in cash? I had to kill her.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Paradise.

[Rudy]

But the gun.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

So much noise. We can't afford to attract attention.

[Philip Marlowe]

There's two corpses on hand.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I should say not prissy.

[Cab Driver]

Don't try it, Louise.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Oh, the mermaid. The space between the boards.

[Gerard]

The mermaid.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, it's in the water. Chevnov. Shame.

[Gerard]

Yeah.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yes, it's a shame.

[Narrator/Announcer]

We did so much.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Worked so hard.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah. Killed so often. Gonna run for it, your highness?

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Run.

[Philip Marlowe]

No.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Paradise is dead there. Without Paradise, I. I am not so brave.

[Gerard]

I will do as you see.

[Philip Marlowe]

Keep quiet. Don't make a sound. Chef. No. We got company.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Quiet.

[Rosemary]

Pardon me, can you please tell me where Louis paradise can be?

[Philip Marlowe]

That's Louis paradise there. Who are you? Evelyn Venom Van Owen. The woman who was supposed to sell the mermaid to Paradise?

[Rosemary]

That's right. But on my way over here, just after I left my hotel, somebody struck

[Gerard]

me, Knocked me out.

[Rosemary]

Took my. My Coke there and my purse and ran.

[Philip Marlowe]

Your purse with a mermaid, no doubt.

[Rosemary]

Yes.

[Philip Marlowe]

And that Ms. Van Owen makes this angle shooter here.

[Gerard]

Yeah,

[Philip Marlowe]

the very dead Nurse Corey Riggs. Let's get out of here.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Well, there's nothing to worry about, Ms. Vanowen. Stanley's going to be all right.

[Margaret Vesey]

Oh, I'm so happy.

[Philip Marlowe]

Why is it women always cry when they're so happy? I don't know, but it's effective.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Well, I'll run along now.

[Philip Marlowe]

Goodbye. Bye. Doctor.

[Rosemary]

You know, Mr. Marlow, when I was in Stanley's room with the doctor, Stan said he didn't lose control of his car at all when he had that accident in front of your place. He was run off the road.

[Philip Marlowe]

I had a great sedan. I know because I had the same treatment. One of Louis Paradise's henchmen, Rudy. Where's your car, honey? I'll walk you out.

[Rosemary]

Just outside the front door.

[Philip Marlowe]

Tell me, did I tell you why Rudy roughed him up?

[Rosemary]

Yes, in a way. You see, I told Stanley about the deal with the mermaid and he thought it all sounded a little phony.

[Philip Marlowe]

Can't understand why.

[Rosemary]

He's a lawyer.

[Philip Marlowe]

You know, our legal type, mind.

[Margaret Vesey]

Yeah.

[Rosemary]

He said meeting anyone at 2 in the morning was ridiculous. So he investigated as much as he could because he was worried about me.

[Gerard]

Me?

[Rosemary]

We're engaged to you.

[Philip Marlowe]

No, I never would have guessed.

[Rosemary]

And. And he found out that Mr. Paradise was a fence. And Stan said that probably he never intended to give me the $75,000 for the mermaid at all. That they. They intended to kill me.

[Philip Marlowe]

Here we are. Tell me, why did you get in touch with paradise in the first place?

[Rosemary]

I was just following Uncle Otis's instructions. He gave me the mermaid when he was dying and he told me if I wanted money to sell it only to Mr. Paradise, but. But not to mention it to anyone.

[Philip Marlowe]

Your uncle faked a robbery, collected the insurance money and then let you sell the mermaid to a fence, huh? It's lucky for you that Nurse Corey Riggs was clever. She put together just enough of Otis's gibberish to know that there was something good to be had and then got me to unravel it for her.

[Margaret Vesey]

She got killed taking my place when

[Philip Marlowe]

she tried to collect your 75,000 bucks.

[Margaret Vesey]

Yeah.

[Police Officer]

Oh, here.

[Rosemary]

Here's my car.

[Philip Marlowe]

Well, Evelyn, for a little while you were a rich woman. Now it's all gone.

[Gerard]

How do you feel?

[Rosemary]

Well, I'm alive and in love.

[Philip Marlowe]

Yes, well, that answers my question. Good night, baby. And good luck. When I left the hospital, I wandered back to the old Venice pier in Prince Constantine's Nazo. It was five in the morning and the police had finished cleaning the place up. But the word had gotten out. Crowd had gathered. They always do. Curious, restless, sordid crowd equipped with everything from grappling hooks to homemade diving helmets. All cracked, climbing over each other for a chance to fish for the mermaid. She would brought death to three people, injury to two others in the course of one night. Suppose they found her. What then? A lot of glittering pieces of white coal set in a metal frame we call precious. Look at the suckers grab. That's all. Marlowe Home and to days.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The adventures of Philip Marlowe Bringing you Raymond Chandler's most famous character star Gerald Moore and are produced and directed by Norman MacDonald. Script is by Mel Danelli, Robert Mitchell and Gene Levitt. Featured in the cast were Rita Lynn, John Dana, Michael Ann Barrett Williams, Herbert Junius Matthews, Herb Vigren and Mark Lauren. The special music is composed and conducted by Richard Arant. Be sure and be with us next week when Philip Marlowe says it started

[Philip Marlowe]

with a terrified woman lost in a maze of memories she couldn't explain. And waiting for her outside an open window was death.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Another show has joined the CBS Sunday Night Parade. It's the contented hour starring Buddy Clark and featuring the finest in popular and semi classical music. It comes to you on most of the CBS stations for the first time tomorrow night, making its debut on CBS the same night as Red Skelton and Edgar Bergen and Charles McCarthy. Yes, this fall you hear them all on CBS. This is Paul Masterson speaking. Now stay tuned for Gangbusters, which follows immediately over most of these same CBS stations. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

And Doug there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Corey Riggs]

Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Gerard]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[Alan Parmalee]

Liberty Liberty.

[Philip Marlowe]

Liberty Liberty.

[Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone. Paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront

[Wayfair Advertiser]

payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra.

[Safeway and Albertsons Advertiser]

See full [e-mail] the following ZipRecruiter radio spot you are about to hear is going to be filled with F words when you're hiring.

[ZipRecruiter Advertiser]

We at ZipRecruiter know you can feel frustrated, forlorn even, like your efforts are futile. And you can spend a fortune trying to find fabulous people, only to get flooded with candidates who are just fine. Fortunately, ZipRecruiter figured out how to fix all that and right now you can try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com Zip with ZipRecruiter you can forget your frustrations because we find the right people for your roles fast, which is our absolute favorite F word. In fact, four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day.

[John Hagedorn]

Fantastic.

[ZipRecruiter Advertiser]

So whether you need to hire four, 40 or 400 people, get ready to meet first rate talent. Just go to ZipRecruiter.com Zip to try ZipRecruiter for free. Don't forget, that's ZipRecruiter.com Zip finally, that's ZipRecruiter dot com Zip.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road and those who travel it wind up in the gutter of the prison or the grave. This started with a terrified woman lost in a maze of memories she couldn't explain. And waiting for her outside an open window was death.

[Narrator/Announcer]

From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction, comes his most famous character in the Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Now with our star, Gerald Moore starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you tonight's exciting story, the Open Window.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

California is a year round kind of place where each day blends into the next with a sort of sunny indifference. But the one just passed have been a little special. It was the cool, crisp autumn weather that reminded you of the east, where autumn meant kicking your way through knee deep drifts of brown and yellow leaves along a rutted country road that hinted at adventure at every turn. That's the kind of a day it had been. But now, at a little past eight, as I stood at the window of my third floor apartment and stared out over enough improved Los Angeles real estate to house maybe half a million people that tonight I wanted no part of. Because the world was out there minding everybody else's business while I was in

[Philip Marlowe]

here minding my own.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

In here, everything was in order and cozy. I could read if I want to, write a letter if I want to. Oh, just for likes would.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, no.

[Margaret Vesey]

Is your name Philip Marlow?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Gerard]

Why?

[Margaret Vesey]

Because I had that name and this address written here on this card. I think I was supposed to see you. Do you know me?

[Gerard]

Well, no, frankly I don't. What were you supposed to see me about?

[Margaret Vesey]

Who are you, Mr. Marlowe? I mean, what sort of business?

[Gerard]

I'm a private detective. Wait a minute, wait a minute.

[Philip Marlowe]

It's not that bad a racket.

[Gerard]

Oh, now look, why don't you come in and we'll talk this over, huh? Come on. Hey, sit down, won't you?

[Philip Marlowe]

You look like a nugget.

[Gerard]

You can use a drink.

[Philip Marlowe]

Do you want One?

[Margaret Vesey]

No, thank you. I just need to rest a moment. Oh, I've been walking for hours.

[Gerard]

Well, now, tell me. What is it?

[Margaret Vesey]

A man. I think someone's been following me. I was followed here.

[Corey Riggs]

I'm sure.

[Margaret Vesey]

I don't know why, really. This is Los Angeles, California, isn't it? Yeah, I keep thinking.

[Police Officer]

That is, I feel as though it

[Margaret Vesey]

should be Vancouver, British Columbia. Oh, I don't know how I got here or why I want to see you, but I've walked until I'm nearly exhausted. And I found that I'd written your name and address on this card. Here's what I decided to come and try to find out.

[Gerard]

Well, now, tell me, do you know who you are?

[Margaret Vesey]

No, I don't know who I am.

[Gerard]

This man you're afraid of, do you know him?

[Margaret Vesey]

No, but I believe he knew me. He reminded me of Vancouver, and that frightened me. I seem to remember I saw him a year ago.

[Police Officer]

Maybe it was just the day before yesterday.

[Margaret Vesey]

See how crazy that sounds?

[Police Officer]

But I can't help it. I can't remember.

[Margaret Vesey]

I can't.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Take it easy now.

[Gerard]

You better lie down on the divan. That's it.

[Philip Marlowe]

Come on.

[Gerard]

Atta girl.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Look, I think we ought to call a hospital and see. Stay where you are. It's company in the hall. Maybe for us. Now just take it easy.

[Gerard]

Hey.

[Margaret Vesey]

Hey, you.

[Cab Driver]

Hold it.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Hold it up there.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh, great.

[Margaret Vesey]

Who was it?

[Rosemary]

Mr. Marlowe.

[Gerard]

I couldn't see.

[Philip Marlowe]

Don't let it bother you now, honey.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

It's probably just one of my clumsy neighbors. He never watches where he's going. You know, the other night.

[Gerard]

Stop, please.

[Philip Marlowe]

All right.

[Margaret Vesey]

Whoever was out there was looking for me. I know he was. I know it.

[Gerard]

Now, look, honey, isn't there something you can tell me? Don't you remember anything? No, I don't know.

[Margaret Vesey]

Here, look at my purse. There are things in it I don't understand.

[Police Officer]

Dad.

[Margaret Vesey]

Maybe there'll be some help.

[Philip Marlowe]

Key.

[Gerard]

Address. On a piece of brown paper. 8400 North. Virgil Tompkins. Does that mean anything to you?

[Margaret Vesey]

No.

[Gerard]

Little snapshot album with one of the pictures missing.

[Margaret Vesey]

I remember now. It was stolen.

[Philip Marlowe]

Good.

[Margaret Vesey]

But I don't remember what the picture was. Oh, please.

[Gerard]

Please try to find out who I

[Police Officer]

am and why I'm being followed.

[Margaret Vesey]

Please try to find out why I'm afraid.

[Gerard]

All right, baby. Now you stay here till I get back, huh?

[Margaret Vesey]

I won't bother anything.

[Gerard]

I'll wait right here.

[Margaret Vesey]

Oh, I'm so tired. I'm so tired.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I figured what she needed most was rest, and she Was getting that fast. So I dropped the items from a purse into my pocket, snapped the lock on my apartment door and left. My first stop was the phone downstairs

[Philip Marlowe]

in the lobby where I found out

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

that the missing persons bureau had no one on file answering her description. My next stop was 8400 North Virgil.

[Philip Marlowe]

A half hour later, I found it,

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

A crumbling stucco rooming house in a weller of knobby hills, huddled with other ramshackle houses that years ago had abandoned any hope of beauty in the face of the leaky, bobbing oil wells that

[Philip Marlowe]

had invaded the neighborhood like a horde

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

of huge, greasy grasshoppers. I walked past one of the creaking monsters in the front yard, then down a grimy hall to a doormark manager, Jacob philpotts, below which some neighborhood wagged

[Gerard]

pencil stinks wasn't funny.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Neither was Jake philpotts.

[Jake Philpotts]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speak up, sporty. I'm very busy killing a soldier. What's on your mind beside your hat?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Okay, comic. I want to see tompkins.

[Jake Philpotts]

Oh, you want to see tompkins?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's what I said.

[Jake Philpotts]

Well, you're too late, sporty. He's gone. Blue flew the coupe, took the 500 berries and shoved off two hours ago.

[Philip Marlowe]

Where for?

[Jake Philpotts]

His hometown, I guess vancouver. It's way up in canada, which is a long walk, sporty, so you better get shatter. Bye.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Wait a minute, Jake.

[Jake Philpotts]

Huh?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Where did Tompkins get the 500?

[Jake Philpotts]

Why, some classy guy gave it to him.

[Gerard]

Classy guy?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Why?

[Jake Philpotts]

Well, to get out of town and stay out. So he does. But first he pays back all his back rent and buys me a bottle besides. Wasn't that sweet of him?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That stuff over there must have hated you. Who was the classy guy? Why do you want tompkins out of town?

[Jake Philpotts]

Why do you want tompkins? Well, how do I know? What am I in encyclopedia? I look nosy. My whiskey's getting cold, so why don't you run along?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I want to know who the guy was, and I want it now.

[Jake Philpotts]

So you're going to stop pushing us. You want to fight, huh? Okay, put him up.

[Rosemary]

Come on.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Take it easy, buster. Take it easy. You'll beat yourself to death. Now, let's negotiate. Prop up against the wall and I'll talk to you. What about a price for another bottle of that stuff?

[Jake Philpotts]

I wouldn't. I just. Another bottle?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's what I said.

[Jake Philpotts]

Oh, well, that's not. That's different. That's really nice of you. Sporting.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Not really, kid. I'm trying to poison you. Now, what was tompkins record?

[Jake Philpotts]

Oh, Gardner, carpenter, handyman, nothing much.

[Gerard]

What else? Who was the classy guy that bought him off?

[Jake Philpotts]

Let's see. Had his name right on the tip of my tongue a minute ago. Redheaded, flashy dresser. Had a sort of a. Oh, oh, Palmer Pomerlee. Oh, yeah, yeah, that's it. Parmalee.

[Philip Marlowe]

Very good. Now one more.

[Gerard]

Where can I find him?

[Jake Philpotts]

Well, he says something about running the Pearls.

[Louis Paradise]

You got it.

[Gerard]

Yeah, it's a dive on Highland.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Thanks, Phil Putz.

[Jake Philpotts]

Oh, but don't thank me, sp you bought it. Remember, this brand comes to 750 with Pat.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Don't kid an old kid a Jake, you can squeeze that junk out of sour potatoes. Here's a sour potatoes and have a happy hangover.

[Gerard]

Outside.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

The smell of the oil well as I passed it was welcome by comparison to Jake, which made it tough to reconcile anything I'd seen at 8400 North

[Gerard]

Virgil with a girl asleep on the

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

divan in my apartment. As I drove back to Hollywood, then down Highland Avenue, the night was still strangely quiet.

[Gerard]

Everything seemed to come in whispers, even

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

the hunch I had that the vanishing Mr. Tompkins had sold out dirt cheap to the boss of the pearls near 3rd Street. I spotted the place parked a ways

[Philip Marlowe]

beyond it and walked back.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

It was one of those dumps that dealt in bad bar whiskey, second rate bop and a lot of darkness. I shook off a brace of lost weekenders on my way through, made it up the stairs to the offices where a block of orange light on the floor and a two tone conversation told me to stop, look and listen.

[Police Officer]

Baby Alan, as they say in Missouri,

[Gerard]

I have to show you, huh?

[Alan Parmalee]

All right, Norm, I will. You're not easy to get over. I still love you and I've missed you so. When you dropped me for your stuffy broker friend, I did a little checking up and I found out plenty about Cooper. About Cooper? Gerard, I don't believe you. Oh, but you should, honey. You see, Norma, it's not about him specifically, but about a woman. A woman who's all wrong, who spells trouble this deep. And I can prove it. I went to work on it tonight and things are going to be different from now on.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Get out of here. Get out of here.

[Alan Parmalee]

Go on.

[Gerard]

Now wait a minute. All I want to know is.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I said beat it and I meant. Never mind, buster.

[Philip Marlowe]

It doesn't matter anymore.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

My presence is now known.

[Police Officer]

Come on in, junior. You can hear better inside.

[Philip Marlowe]

I doubt it. I'll inhibit the performance.

[Gerard]

Thanks anyway, buddy.

[Alan Parmalee]

All I want to know.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Try the end of the hall, then left it's usually there.

[Gerard]

Okay, thanks. That's all I want to know.

[Police Officer]

Hello.

[Gerard]

Hello.

[Alan Parmalee]

What do you want, mister? Make it snappy.

[Gerard]

Okay.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Why'd you pay Tompkins to leave town tonight?

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Tompkins?

[Gerard]

Who are you, Marlowe?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Gonna answer the question prominently?

[Alan Parmalee]

Why, certainly. I didn't pay him to leave town. I paid him for some work. Carpenter work. Why?

[Police Officer]

What's the matter, Alan? Feel the whip handle slipping?

[Alan Parmalee]

Not a bit, baby. Look, why don't you run along now? I'll call you later. Oh, here's your cigarette case.

[Margaret Vesey]

My cigarette case?

[Alan Parmalee]

Yeah.

[Gerard]

Take it with you. We'll get in touch later.

[Police Officer]

Okay, Alan. Good night, Marlowe.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Good night, Miss Picasso.

[Police Officer]

Not that it'll do you any good.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's a cute kid. Smart, too.

[Philip Marlowe]

All right, all right.

[Alan Parmalee]

Why are you interested in Tompkins?

[Gerard]

There's a certain lady's interested.

[Alan Parmalee]

And a lady's name?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

None of your business.

[Gerard]

Okay, go on. This key, what door does it fit Parmalee?

[Alan Parmalee]

How should I know? Have you got anything else?

[Philip Marlowe]

Isn't that enough?

[Alan Parmalee]

Not enough to worry about, Milo. So I suggest that you leave. And in case you have any doubts, this thing goes off awful easy.

[Gerard]

I see your point.

[Alan Parmalee]

Yeah, and I just as soon shoot as not. So start down those stairs and don't look back. I bust for a couple of the boys. They'll be at the bottom to help you out the front door. Oh, and Marlo, take some advice. I don't like your type, so don't come back.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Boys escorted me politely as far as the sidewalk and gave me a send

[Philip Marlowe]

off and piled me into the gutter. It's my own fault for letting Parmalee get the drop on me.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

But it was farther ahead of me than I figured. In fact, I was lucky. All I got was the bounce.

[Philip Marlowe]

I limped back to my car, got

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

in and started home. But something about the trio of Norma La Cassel, Parmalee and a broker named Gerard was off center. And Gerard's connections were too strong to pass up. So I decided to let the pale woman asleep in my apartment go right on sleeping while I stopped at a phone booth. Found only one Cooper Gerard listed and he at 8112 North Orange Drive.

[Gerard]

It was a lonely house up in the Hollywood Hills.

[Philip Marlowe]

I tried the bell and got no

[Gerard]

answer, but I knew he was there. I slipped the enigmatic key out of my pocket and listened to the music coming from inside. I stuck it in a lock, turned just as the footsteps inside. So I pulled it out fast and let the party on the other side of the door do the Honors.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

What is it? You're Mr. Gerard?

[Cooper Gerard]

Yes. I'm Cooper Gerard.

[Gerard]

What is it?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I'd like to come in and talk to you. My name's Marlow. I'm a private detective. I've got a key that fits your front door. Plus a little photo album full of a girl here.

[Cooper Gerard]

Why, that's Margaret's album and her key. You found her?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Where is she?

[Cooper Gerard]

What's happened to her?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

She's safe.

[Cooper Gerard]

Come in the upper room.

[Gerard]

Right.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

So her name's Margaret, huh?

[Philip Marlowe]

Margaret what?

[Gerard]

Vesey.

[Cooper Gerard]

Margaret Vesey. But where is she? I've been frantic. I just called the police. She left the house this morning and didn't come back. It's late now and in her condition, I'm afraid.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

What is Margaret's condition, Mr. Gerard?

[Cooper Gerard]

She was injured in an auto accident a year ago last July, up near Vancouver. Affected her mind. Oh, but please, where is she?

[Philip Marlowe]

Just a minute.

[Gerard]

There are some questions that I'd like answered.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

First, exactly what is Margaret Vesey to you?

[Cooper Gerard]

Until July 9, 1948, when that horrible accident happened, nothing. Merely a hitchhiker. My wife and I were motoring back from a vacation in Canada. We picked Ms. Veezy up on the road. In the accident, Grace, my wife, was killed, Ms. Veezy seriously injured. All I knew about her was that she was alone in the world, so there was no one to help her. Well, since I was driving the car, I assumed that responsibility. It was the least I could do. I stayed with her in Vancouver until she partially recovered and then brought her here. She's been with me ever since. Now, will you please take me to her?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

But the story doesn't end there.

[Cooper Gerard]

What do you mean?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Margaret Vesey's in trouble and she's scared. What do you know about a man named Tompkins?

[Cooper Gerard]

Why, nothing. I don't know any Tompkins.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

You do know a normal Casso, don't you, Norma?

[Cooper Gerard]

Of course. Ms. Picasso and I are quite good friends.

[Philip Marlowe]

What about Alan Parmalee?

[Cooper Gerard]

Heard of him? He runs a nightclub, I believe.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's right. Now, tell me, can you tell me why a third picture is missing in the album?

[Cooper Gerard]

What's that? Let me see. This is very strange. Margaret cherishes every picture in this album.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

She thinks that one was stolen. Any idea what the picture was?

[Jake Philpotts]

No.

[Cooper Gerard]

I can't imagine why it was stolen. All the pictures were simple, harmless snapshots. I can't remember the one that's missing. But, Marlowe, what does all this mean?

[Narrator/Announcer]

What's it all about?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Well, as near as I can tell, there's some kind of nasty shakedown brewing.

[Philip Marlowe]

I don't know how or why, but

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Alan Pomelee's behind it and Margaret Vesey's caught in the middle. So it involves you, too. Come on, let's go get her. She's asleep in my place.

[Cooper Gerard]

You didn't leave her alone.

[Gerard]

Yes, I did.

[Cooper Gerard]

You shouldn't have done that. Couldn't you tell from her mental state that she isn't responsible? For two days she's been moody. She's been talking about suicide. She might.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Marlo, if anything happens, save it. Come on, Gerard, let's travel.

[Narrator/Announcer]

In just a moment, the second act of Philip Marlowe. But first, by the time you've listened to Johnny Dollar, Philip Marlow, Gangbusters and Escape, and the CBS All Star Saturday night lineup, you may be for some

sleuthing of your own.

So try it with Sing It Again and the Phantom Voice. Don't always let the other guy or gal solve the mystery. Try it yourself with Sing It Again. On most of these same CBS stations every Saturday night.

[Philip Marlowe]

Tune in, tune in this fall for

[Narrator/Announcer]

the shows that you love best of all.

[Police Officer]

Listen carefully.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Here's the address.

[Philip Marlowe]

It's cbs. Cbs.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Now with our star, Gerald Moore, we return to the second act of Philip Marlowe and tonight's story. The Open Window.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

It took 10 minutes to get from Gerard's house to my place. I knew because he reminded me of each one as it passed. When we turned on to Franklin, where we could see my apartment house, the word hurry stuck in his throat. An ambulance was pulling away from a tight knot of people. Standing on the concrete driveway beside the building. And three floors above them, glowing like a single ugly, unblinking eye, was the

[Philip Marlowe]

window of my own apartment wide open.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Even before I could stop the car, Gerard was out and running toward the crowd.

[Cooper Gerard]

Who was in that ambulance?

[Alan Parmalee]

The woman, mister, was terrible.

[Police Officer]

She fell out of that open window up there.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Did you see it?

[Gerard]

No.

[Police Officer]

Nobody saw it happen.

[Cab Driver]

Yeah, it's bad, brother.

[Alan Parmalee]

That's say she'd been laying here on

[Narrator/Announcer]

the concrete for at least a half hour before anybody got to her.

[Police Officer]

Been so quiet around here tonight, I'm surprised.

[Prince Constantine Chevnov]

Wait.

[Cooper Gerard]

Tell me what she was she dead?

[Alan Parmalee]

Just about. They don't give her a chance.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Come on, Gerard, let's go upstairs.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The police are up there now.

[Cab Driver]

They're trying to find out.

[Narrator/Announcer]

You say the woman came here to your apartment, Mr. Marlo, and asked you for help.

[Alan Parmalee]

Is that right?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's right, Officer. She was frightened and exhausted when I left. She was asleep on the Divan there.

[Cooper Gerard]

Was the door locked, Marlon?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

It's got a nightlight, Gerard. I snapped it myself.

[Narrator/Announcer]

And you left her alone, right?

[Rudy]

Mm.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Well, take a look around, will you? See if you can find anything to indicate that an outsider came in while you were gone.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

What makes you think there was an outsider here?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Because I don't think she fell.

[Cooper Gerard]

Margaret was in mental turmoil, Officer. She's been despondent. It's possible that she jumped.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Alan Parmalee]

How many people have you heard of

[Narrator/Announcer]

that jumped out of a window backwards, Mister, I think she was pushed.

[Cooper Gerard]

Pushed?

[Gerard]

Yeah. Come here, both of you.

[Narrator/Announcer]

I want to show you something.

[Philip Marlowe]

He went over to the window and

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

pointed at five scratches where fingernails had clawed the paint off the casing.

[Philip Marlowe]

The one that had to be made

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

by her thumb was the lowest.

[Gerard]

It was true.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

She'd gone out backwards. As the officer explained that to Gerard, I stared down at the dwindling knot of people three stories below, then up again at the five jagged scars ripped deep by a terrified woman's nails. Stared at them until they screamed at me as a sick mind must have screamed when she fell.

[Alan Parmalee]

Now, Mr. Marlow, what about this cigarette

[Narrator/Announcer]

stub with lipstick on it?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Cigarette stub? Hey, that's exactly what I'd like to know, Gerard. Where does Norma live?

[Cooper Gerard]

Why, the Hillcrest Apartments on Sunset. But surely.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Never mind what I think. You go to the hospital and find out about Margaret. I'm gonna pay a call on Norma Lacasso right now. She's the type to be jealous enough to Marlow.

[Cooper Gerard]

Listen, you're making a mistake. That cigarette stub must be Margaret's, because Norma doesn't smoke.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Norma doesn't smoke.

[Gerard]

And what about the cigarette case?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Hey, buster, you better check with Lieutenant Matthews at Homicide. I'll see you later.

[Police Officer]

Hey.

[Gerard]

Hey, come back here.

[Alan Parmalee]

Mar.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

The Hillcrest Apartments fit normal a castle to a tee. It was sleek, soft tones of burnished wood, streamlined in glass. Just enough chrome around for glitter. When she answered a door in glossy green lounging pajamas edged in gold, smiled and tossed a head of hair that was almost burgundy back to my face,

[Philip Marlowe]

I knew what Alan Parmalee meant.

[Gerard]

Loving normal Acessa would be hard to get over.

[Police Officer]

Hello, Junior. Don't tell me you're joining the league, too. It's fast, you know.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Skip it, baby. I'm coming in.

[Philip Marlowe]

Do you mind?

[Gerard]

They do any good?

[Police Officer]

Get comfortable. I miss you. A drink or something?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Hey, Norma, you know Margaret Vesey, don't you?

[Police Officer]

That peculiar girl that stays at Gerard's place? Yeah, I've met her.

[Margaret Vesey]

While?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

A little while Ago, she dropped three floors from an open window to a slab of concrete.

[Gerard]

Lay there over 30 minutes before she was found.

[Police Officer]

Oh, Marlowe, that's dreadful.

[Gerard]

I'm sorry.

[Police Officer]

Don't look at me like that.

[Corey Riggs]

I mean it.

[Police Officer]

I like Margaret.

[Gerard]

So do I. What's more, she didn't fall. She was pushed.

[Philip Marlowe]

Oh.

[Gerard]

Got a cigarette?

[Louis Paradise]

Sure.

[Police Officer]

Here, Cat.

[Gerard]

Thanks. Oh, just one cigarette.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Toss.

[Gerard]

Like that. The manager? Lousy. You're supposed to pass the case and

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

let the guest help themselves.

[Cab Driver]

Marlow, you're hurting.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

And I'm gonna keep right on twisting until that solid gold cigarette case drops.

[Police Officer]

That's what I adore about me.

[Rosemary]

And they're full strength.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's better.

[Police Officer]

Gorilla. I had to. Help yourself. The pictures? There, under the bottom layer of cigarettes. But why it's important is beyond me.

[Philip Marlowe]

It's important to Parmale.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Baby had you smuggled out of his office so I couldn't find it.

[Gerard]

Oh, Margaret and Gerard at some little

[Police Officer]

amusement park near Vancouver probably told me how he used to take her out while she was recovering from that accident. So what in the autograph sort of thing. No sense to me. Yeah. This one's hers.

[Gerard]

Yeah, we had fun this day. This must be his. Even the hottest day in Vancouver's history.

[Police Officer]

That's it. That was all of it. Now will you apologize for these welts on my arm?

[Gerard]

I don't get it. Whole deal screwing the only way it would make any sense. Is it Elmar? Where's your phone book?

[Police Officer]

Over there, under the phone. Why? What have you got, Marlow?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Just an idea so far. Stick around.

[Cooper Gerard]

I see.

[Gerard]

U.S. government war assets wise as managing Weather bureau. Climatological records. Yeah, Mutual 64421.

[Weather Bureau Official]

Weather Bureau records.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Hello. Listen, can you tell me what the hottest day on record in Vancouver has been?

[Philip Marlowe]

I mean the date.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Do you have that information?

[Weather Bureau Official]

British Columbia. Yes, we've got it here. I'm pretty sure. Just a minute.

[Gerard]

I'm not sure yet.

[Weather Bureau Official]

Yeah, she carried it. Hello?

[Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, I'm here.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Go ahead.

[Weather Bureau Official]

The book says the hottest day up There was on July 3, 1948, when the temperature reached 92 degrees. Some heat record, huh? That's a nice place, Vancouver. I was up there one year.

[Rudy]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Thanks, friend. The Weather bureau just lifted a cloud from a lady's mind. Hope you did it in time. So long.

[Police Officer]

You found out something big, didn't you?

[Gerard]

It works. Well, aren't you gonna pull a gun?

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

They always do about here.

[Police Officer]

Not me. I've got concealed weapons.

[Gerard]

You also got dollar bills in your bloodstream instead of corpuscles but you're smart, baby, so take a tip. Stick close to home. Don't even use the phone. You're a real nice shiny item. I'd like to keep you that way.

[Margaret Vesey]

Thanks.

[Police Officer]

I'm gonna take your word, junior. But what does it mean?

[Philip Marlowe]

Trouble.

[Gerard]

Just as soon as I can stir it up.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

In the time that had gone by, I figured my best bet was Gerard's place. But I was wrong. It was deserted. So I took the next best, which was Alan Palmer's the Pearls. It was well after 2 o' clock

[Philip Marlowe]

when I got there and the club

[Gerard]

was closed, but the lights were on the offices upstairs.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I parked, slipped around to the back and up a flight of iron stairs to a metal door.

[Gerard]

At the top. I pressed my weight against it and very gently turned the knob and tugged

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

softly and it swung open without a sound.

[Gerard]

Voices in the same square of orange light on the floor. Some that Palmerly's office was open again. So I eased my gun into my hand and moved until I could see him. A pair of jackals coming at terms over the cottage.

[Alan Parmalee]

You know your little secret, Mr. Gerard? The proposition I'm offering you is perfectly fair.

[Cooper Gerard]

What is it?

[Alan Parmalee]

First, that you stop seeing Norma Lacasso, and I mean stop, go on. Second, that you deliver $5,000 here to me by the end of the week. You must have got a lot of insurance on your wife, Gerard. Double indemnity, too. Am I asking too much?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Blackmail leaves me no alternative.

[Alan Parmalee]

You're so right.

[Cooper Gerard]

How did you find out that she's not Margaret Vesey?

[Louis Paradise]

Ha ha.

[Alan Parmalee]

A beautiful break. When you started seeing Ms. La Casa, I began checking up on you. And two days ago, that checking up led me to the strange woman you called Margaret Vesey and a character named Tompkins. Ever hear of him?

[Cooper Gerard]

No.

[Alan Parmalee]

An itinerant gardener was looking for work at your place. Also Gerard, an itinerant gardener who knew your Margaret Vesey, who knew her as someone named Grace. And Grace Gerard, lest we forget, was your wife when he called her Grace, had scared her. She couldn't open, but I could.

[Cooper Gerard]

So I see. Where is this Tompkins now, Parmalee?

[Alan Parmalee]

Don't worry about him. I sent him away.

[Cooper Gerard]

You keep his mouth shut.

[Alan Parmalee]

He used to be a gardener on the wealthy side of Vancouver, where your wife lived. Small world.

[Cooper Gerard]

Very small world.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Now wait a minute.

[John Hagedorn]

You're Harden.

[Cooper Gerard]

I'm going to kill you, Parmalee. I knew something like this would happen someday. My wife was getting her memory back. She was beginning to remember things, to realize that she wasn't really Margaret Veasy at all. Margaret Veasy had died in the accident tonight. I pushed her out of an open window. Doctors practically assure me that she'll be dead by morning. She won't be missed. And neither will you, I'm sure.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Next one's for your belly, Gerard. If you move one inch, you. Parmalee, come around here, wave me a desk. Come on.

[Alan Parmalee]

This time I'm glad to see you, Marlow. You're the lesser of two evils.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

That's great. Well, it was a sweet story, fellas. Between you, you left out only one thing. The picture. You got it from the little album because you needed some tangible proof, didn't you, Parmalee? And it cinched the deal because the accident happened on the 9th of July. But Gerard here had his picture taken with a supposed hitchhiker on Vancouver's hottest day, which was July 3, six days before he claims to have met the girl.

[Weather Bureau Official]

Picture.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

How'd you manage the master stroke, Gerard? The switching identities in the first place. Come on, talk. What are you in?

[Cooper Gerard]

It was a mistake. Both Ms. Veazy and my wife were in the car at the time of the accident.

[Gerard]

The car burned.

[Cooper Gerard]

Then somehow or other, later at the hospital, Margaret Vesey, who died, was identified as my wife, Grace.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

And since her memory was gone, you made the switch complete and called your wife Margaret Vesey and left it like that. You know, Gerard, I hope you make

[Gerard]

a break for it just once before

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

we get to headquarters.

[Gerard]

Let's go.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

You too, Parmalee.

[Gerard]

Move. All right.

[Alan Parmalee]

But you'll have a hard time sticking me, snoop. I haven't done anything.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Oh, yes, you.

[Alan Parmalee]

You have.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

Attempted extortion. As of right now, you just incited a rat.

[Police Officer]

Doctor Gray to receiving ward, please.

[Philip Marlowe]

Doctor Gray.

[Gerard]

She's in here, Mr. Marlow. Sure it's all right if I see her now, Doctor?

[Cooper Gerard]

After what you've just told me, I

[Gerard]

think it's a good idea.

[Cooper Gerard]

Her condition has changed somewhat.

[Gerard]

She's responded better than I expected. But she can use some fighting spirits and spunk. Maybe you can give her that. We can't. I hope so. Don't say too long, that's all. Hello, Grace.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I'm Philip Marlowe.

[Gerard]

Remember me?

[Margaret Vesey]

Yes, I think I do, Mr. Marlowe. Glad to see you.

[Gerard]

Oh, good.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

I. I just stopped by to tell

[Gerard]

you that I have all the answers to those troublesome questions in your mind. You don't have to be afraid of him anymore. We got nothing to worry about now, except getting well.

[Margaret Vesey]

Thank you. Oh, hazy back there. I. I can't remember where I'VE been.

[Gerard]

You've been away, Grace, for a long time. But now you'll be going home soon to your friends. Believe that. I'll run along now and come back tomorrow when you're feeling better. We'll have a long talk.

[Side Character (possibly Rudy or bystander)]

Family.

[Margaret Vesey]

Wait. Who is this? Margaret Vesey.

[Gerard]

A girl you knew once, briefly, and

[Philip Marlowe]

one I'll never forget.

[Gerard]

I went to sleep one night on my divan.

[Margaret Vesey]

I don't remember.

[Gerard]

You will. Don't think about it now. Just think about home in Vancouver. You'll be there soon, I promise.

[Margaret Vesey]

That sounds wonderful. It's lovely in Vancouver.

[Gerard]

Yeah, that's what the weatherman says. Good night, my dear.

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

When I finally got home, the air in my apartment was thick. Full of stagnant fear and stale tobacco smoke.

[Gerard]

So I went over the window to open it up. There I stopped. Because I. I remembered standing at that same window earlier that evening.

[Philip Marlowe]

Standing there thinking how happy I was

[Gerard]

that the world was out there. How happy I was to be inside looking out. Then I saw again the five deep scratches on the casing. Inside looking out, huh? There was a guy once, long time ago ago, who said something like, no man is an island, entire of itself. Yeah, about 300 years ago. He said that any man's death diminishes me because I'm involved in mankind.

[Cooper Gerard]

Yeah, sure.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The adventures of Philip Marlowe, bringing you Raymond Chandler's most famous character star Gerald Moore and are produced and directed by Norman McDonald. Script is by Robert Mitchell and Gene Levitt. Featured in the cast were Betty Lou Gerson, Ed Begley, Lillian Biaf, Paul Dubov, Jay Novello and Harry Bartel. The special music is composed and conducted by Richard Oran. Be sure and be with us next week when Philip Marlow says this time

[Narrator/Philip Marlowe]

it was a wrestler on the skids, a quick change artist in an alley and a girl with an eye for angles. All met destruction because a hundred thousand easy bucks caught him in a stranglehold which none of them wanted to break.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The next time you're in the woods, make sure that cigarette butt that match or that campfire is completely out. Only you can prevent forest fires. This is Paul Masterson speaking. Now stay tuned for Gangbusters, which follows immediately over most of these same stations. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[John Hagedorn]

That wraps it up for Tonight's show at 1001 Radio Grime Solvers. We really enjoy good reviews, so when you have a chance, say something nice about our selection of shows or maybe suggest some to us. Thanks for joining us. See you next time.

[Gerard]

Sam,

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