Case Closed! – Pat Novak and Jeff Regan

January 7, 2026 | RelicRadio.com

Episode Overview

This week’s Case Closed! delivers two hard-boiled detective dramas from the golden age of radio. First, we join Pat Novak for Hire in "Little Jake Siegel" (June 26, 1949), where Novak finds himself embroiled in murder and waterfront intrigue, with a deadly shootout in a San Francisco church and a tangled web of mobsters, family ties, and double-crosses. Next, in Jeff Regan, Investigator’s "A Tree Grows in Encino" (April 5, 1950), Regan is hired by a man determined to prove his own guilt in his wife’s murder, but finds that nothing (and no one) is as it seems beneath the surface of LA’s wealthy suburbs.

PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE – Little Jake Siegel

(00:52–30:41)

Setting the Scene

• Down-on-his-luck Pat Novak describes working the San Francisco docks: “You’re too busy staying alive to worry about the next guy, unless he’s pointing a gun.”
• Novak receives a late-night call from Father Leahy, an old friend and priest, asking for a small favor.

Key Plot Points & Characters

The Favor and the Shooting

• [02:42] Father Leahy’s request: meet after the rosary to discuss borrowing a boat for an altar boys’ picnic.
• [03:37–05:14] At the church, an altar boy, “Little Jake Siegel,” leads Novak inside. Suddenly, a gunman opens fire in the pews. Novak is nearly hit, and Little Jake is fatally wounded.
  • Quote: Pat Novak: “He went down like young wheat in a hailstorm.” ([05:14])

Aftermath and Guilt

• Father Leahy, devastated, accuses Novak of bringing crime into his church, believing the hit was aimed at Novak but struck a child instead.
  • Quote: Father Leahy: “He stepped in front of a bullet and saved your life. I’ll go ahead—figure it.” ([08:07])
• Novak insists he’s innocent and determines to find the killer.

Novak Becomes a Target

• Novak is attacked at home by three mobsters seeking a “gun and papers.” He’s beaten when he refuses to cooperate.
• Awakening, he finds police lieutenant Hellman investigating a woman's body in his kitchen (“Sally Kimbrough”). Hellman suspects Novak is involved.
  • Quote: Novak: “You both use the same technique. Now show me the warrant before I start charging you rent.” ([12:53])

Hunting the Real Killer

• Novak enlists help from his drunken but brilliant doctor friend, Jocko Madigan, to run down leads on the murder and the east coast mobsters.

Revelations and Confrontations

• Jocko uncovers the connections: Mike Quinlan (paroled ex-con, earlier setup by syndicate boss Sandel), Sally, and the mob.
• Novak interrogates Bobby Quinlan, Mike's sister, at Bayview Towers. She confesses Sandel is at the Durban Arms hotel.
• There is a final showdown at the church steps in thick San Francisco fog. Novak outsmarts Sandel and his gunman, leading to Sandel’s death at Novak’s hands in a violent struggle.
  • Quotes:
    • Novak: “All right, Sandel. Now it’s just you and me in the fog.” ([26:30])
    • Father Leahy (to Novak): “I’ll pray for him, Patsy.” Novak: “Why waste it, Father? He wasn’t worth it.” ([27:45–27:50])

Resolution

• The truth: Quinlan was framed by Sandel in a bank heist, and was murdered to keep him from revealing evidence stored in the church.
• Sally and Bobby are collateral casualties in the criminals’ efforts to keep the past buried.
• Father Leahy remains steadfast but world-weary, Jocko’s exploits play for comic relief, and Novak walks away with nothing but a bruised conscience.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Roll around in dirt long enough and some of it's bound to stick to you. You got it all over your face and your hands. And it's working inside you, Patsy.” – Father Leahy ([07:48])
• “Dinner without bourbon is life without hope.” – Jocko Madigan ([21:00])
• “When the fog lifted the next morning, things got lots clearer... but then, so were the characters.” – Pat Novak ([28:21])

JEFF REGAN, INVESTIGATOR – A Tree Grows in Encino

(31:22–59:49)

Premise & Setup

• Regan is hired by Jonathan McMurray, a proud and self-confessed “murderer,” to prove McMurray killed his wife three years ago—since the police won’t believe his story.
  • Quote: McMurray: “I want you to prove I am guilty of murder.” ([33:00])
• McMurray details a domestic shooting gone wrong (mistaking his wife for a burglar).
• Strangely, two witnesses claim to have seen the supposed deceased, Lois McMurray, leave for South America the day after the “murder.”

Investigation: Twists and Characters

The Detectives and the Redhead

• Regan speaks to Lt. Candid, who won’t arrest McMurray without a body (“corpus delicti”).
• Regan investigates Whitmore, a florid interior decorator, his fiery redheaded wife Claire, and their mysterious insistence on moving a grove of orange trees that was planted three years ago—the same time Lois vanished.

The Orange Tree Motif

• Orange trees become symbolic: “Trees belong certain places [...] They’ve been there for three years and they’ve stayed there.” ([41:02])
• Claire’s evasiveness raises suspicions that something is buried under those trees.

Murder and Revelations

• Regan finds McMurray shot dead in Claire’s living room; Claire insists it was self-defense.
• Lt. Candid’s men start digging up the orange trees for a possible body—but find only dirt.
• Regan presses for more info and learns, via his boss Anthony J. Lyon, that Lois has no immediate family and no one knows her current whereabouts.

The Final Twist

• The redheaded Claire is revealed to be Lois McMurray, living under a new identity. She faked her death to escape her tyrannical, self-righteous husband and marry Whitmore, her lover.
  • Quote: “You forgot about being Lois McMurray.” – Regan ([57:17])
• The plot: three years prior, Lois and Whitmore staged a fake burglary; Jonathan shot at Lois not knowing she was pretending to be a burglar. Believing her dead, he fled, and Lois assumed a new identity, marrying Whitmore.
• Driven by martyrdom, Jonathan returns, murders Whitmore, attempts to kill Lois/Claire, and is killed himself.

Conclusion

• Lois is taken in but cannot be charged with murder. Lt. Candid is left dissatisfied, and Regan’s agency never gets paid (McMurray’s check never materializes).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You dyed your hair red, no relatives to identify you. You forgot about being Lois McMurray.” – Jeff Regan ([57:17])
• “It was self-defense. I shot him in self-defense.” – Claire/Lois ([47:19])
• “Redheads and oranges, Regan. I think I’m going to dig for oranges.” – Lt. Candid ([49:39])
• Comic capstone: The case “wraps up” but the client’s check never clears—detective work’s harshest reality.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Pat Novak for Hire:
  • Intro and call from Father Leahy: [00:52–03:23]
  • Shooting at the church: [03:41–05:14]
  • Attack in Novak’s apartment: [09:54–11:27]
  • Confrontation and case resolution: [25:11–28:21]
• Jeff Regan, Investigator:
  • McMurray’s initial confession: [32:36–34:14]
  • Visit to Whitmore and Claire: [38:28–45:04]
  • Discovery of double identity and case wrap-up: [54:44–57:20]
  • Case not getting paid: [58:22–59:27]

Tone & Style

Both stories bristle with clipped, cynical, first-person narration laced with period slang and world-weary wit. Dark humor and tragic irony are ever-present, even at their most hard-boiled or emotional moments.

Summary

If you missed this episode, you missed a perfect pairing of OTR detective fiction:

• Pat Novak for Hire serves up urban noir where innocence is collateral damage in a mobster’s cruel world.
• Jeff Regan, Investigator brings a sharp, sardonic view of LA’s upper crust, where ambition, deceit, and reinvention breed murder—and justice is just a rumor.

Memorable Moments at a Glance

• Church gunfight and the tragedy of Little Jake ([03:41–08:07])
• “Dinner without bourbon is life without hope.” (Jocko, [21:00])
• “Redheads and oranges, Regan. I think I’m going to dig for oranges.” (Candid, [49:39])
• Stunning reveal: The redhead is the missing woman ([57:17])

For Fans Of

Classic noir, fast-talking detectives, OTR ambiance, and stories with moral complexity and a dash of dry humor bordering on cynicism.

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