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Welcome to Choice Classic Radio where we bring to you the greatest old time radio shows like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube and thank you for donating@ChoiceClassicRadio.com.
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Well, Mr. Kingston, you must be lucky at everything else. You certainly have no luck at all with cards.
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You don't have to tell me that, Ms. Gaines. I suppose you want the diamond right away.
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Oh, you IOU will be good enough until morning. I trust you, Mr. Kingston. Until tomorrow morning. Come in.
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You want us for something, miss?
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Me? Yes, Harry. Come in, both of you.
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You want this guy watching this game?
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Definitely. Neither you nor Bill is to let him out of your sight. One of you stays with him all the time. He just lost the Westfield diamond to me, boys, and he doesn't have it with him.
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Now look here, there's no need to have these men guard me until morning's game. I can get the Westfield diamond for you tonight. Daniel, I left it with Boston Blackie this afternoon for safekeeping. I can get it from him tonight, right away, in fact.
B
Why, that's splendid, but there's no real rush, Mr. Kingston. Suppose you go out into the dining room and have dinner. Anything you want. It's down house.
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It'll still be an awfully expensive meal, but thank you.
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Then later tonight, Harry and Bill will go with you to get the diamond from your friend Blackie. If you'll excuse me now, Mr. Kingston, I have to go out and see how the gaming tables are doing. I'll see you later.
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Of course.
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Harry, you or Bill stay with him during dinner.
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Yeah. Nobody likes to eat alone. You lost the Westfield diamond, Mr. Kingston, but you haven't lost your appetite, have you? No, I don't think so. Okay, come on, let's eat. All right. Coming, Bill? Yeah, as soon as I make a phone call. All right, what do we begin with? Thank you very much. Hello, Boston Blackie. Yes. I want to give you a little tip. Your friend Charlie Kington gambled the Westfield diamond in a game with Elizabeth Gaines and lost. And at 11 o' clock he's coming to your apartment with a couple of guys to get that guy there. Yes. Yeah. I got an idea how you and me could make some money. Blackie, suppose when Kingston and these guys get up to your apartment, the Westfield diamond isn't there. And now meet Dick Calmer as Boston Blackie. Enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friends.
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51 Sunset Parkway. Good evening. Oh, my. For just a minute. I'm ready. 11D. Martha, I'll call you back later. The board's awfully busy right now. 51 Sunset Parkway. Good evening. Oh, they're at just now. You're welcome. Oh. Something I can do for you, sir? Yeah.
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Boston. Black Ian.
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No, he isn't.
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Where is he? You know.
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Why, he went out just a few minutes ago to mail a letter. Thanks.
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That's all I wanted to know. All righty. Don't move. Well, Inspector Parody, I'm. Well. But when I get through with you, Blackie, you're not going to be. You live here, don't you? I confess. Arrest me. I do live here. Don't be smart. Look over there at that switchboard, huh? Hey, what's the matter with Suzanne? The same thing that's the matter with any corpse. She's dead. Stabbed right through the heart. And the elevator man says you were the last person he saw talking to her. Now, maybe you know something, maybe you don't, but you're going up to your apartment. Stay there. Can I clear up this murder? You mean I'm not to get out of this building for 10 or 20 years? Look, no jokes, wise guy. And no trick escapes, either. I've got cops guarding every exit, so don't get restless and do any walking. If I do any walking far, it'll be in my sleep. I've got a bad cold and I'm going to bed. All right, all right, all right, I'm coming. I'm coming. Hello? Oh, hello, Charlie. What time is it? Not late. About half hour to midnight. Sorry to bother you. Oh, that's okay. Come on in. Police still downstairs? Yes, but I don't care about the police. I want that stuff of mine you put in your safe. Oh, sure. You two men wait out here. I think we'll come in. Who are your friends, Charlie? They work for Elizabeth Gaines. I lost the Westfield diamond to Elizabeth Gaines in a card game tonight. Yeah, we're here to see that he gets it. Blackie, open your safe, will you? Oh, sure, Charlie. I ought to forget the combination and open the safe by here, just to get some practice. There.
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Supper.
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Thanks, Blackie. Here's the stuff you asked me to put in the safe for you. I don't want these papers, just the diamond. What diamond? The Westfield diamond. I gave it to you this afternoon. Now, wait a minute, Charlie. Who are you kidding, Blackie? By heaven's sake, will you give me my diamond? The diamond I left with you?
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You put it in the safe here.
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I saw you do it. You must be out of your mind, Charlie. You didn't Give me any diamond.
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You put it in the safe.
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I saw you do it. Look for yourself. It isn't here. Blackie, this is serious. I have to have that diamond. I think we'd all better be serious, Bill. Yeah, Harry, I'm taking Kingston Back to Ms. Gaines. You get this place a going over until you find where Blackie's hitting that stone. Sure. Thanks. Come on, Kings. Wait, wait. Come on. Wait, Blackie, please. Where's the diamond? I'm sorry, Charlie, I don't know. I never saw it.
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Come on, Kingston, we're wasting time.
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All right, but I don't understand this. I just don't understand. Find that diamond, Bill.
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If you have to tear this place apart, you bet.
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Well, where do you want to begin tearing, Bill? Ah, now, you know I'm not going to waste my time doing that blankie. Not after our phone conversation. Where'd you hide the diamond? What diamond?
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What diamond? Take this diamond.
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I called you up and tipped you that he lost it to my boss. Oh, you were the one who called? Yeah. Why'd you hide it, Blackie? I know where we can get maybe 50 grand for it. Well, that's fine, Bill, except for one thing. I don't have the stones. Now, look, I don't like double crosses. Well, start hitting yourself right away, then. Oh, kind of quick with a gun, aren't you, Bill? You better be just as quick with that diamond. This gun will make a hole in one one Forston Flacky. I guess I lead a lucky life. Don't yell for help.
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Just ask who it is.
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Sure. Who is it? Inspector Faraday. Sure. See what I mean, Jim? Inspector Faraday of the police. Open that, Blackie.
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Okay, Black.
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You're lucky this time. I'm getting out of here. There's a back exit through the kitchen and out into the service hall. Right away. Right away. What's about a Faraday? Were you afraid I'd skip down? I want to talk to you, Lonesome. Look, wise guy, somebody killed that girl downstairs, and I'm trying to find out who he is. Faraday, you have trouble finding who you are. Don't bother me, will you? Well, this is bothering me. I've been checking into the girl's life, and she didn't know any wrong guys. She knew me, but only to speak to. Look, Blackie, this isn't funny. Where were you tonight? You won't believe me if I tell you. Well, at least somebody will be telling me something. Maybe I'd enjoy hearing a good story. Charlie Kingston played cards with Elizabeth Games tonight. And lost the Westfield diamond. Ha. The punchline. Well, the game had to be crooked. So when one of Ms. Gaines little playmates called me up and told me Charlie had lost a stone, I put the diamond in an envelope and mailed it to myself in care of general delivery. Is that what you were doing just before you can in tonight? I was gone. About an hour after I mailed the letter, I went to a newsreel theater. A cheer up Paradise. As soon as I get Charlie and his diamonds straightened out, I'll solve the girl's murder for you. You're not so smart, Blackie. You mailed that diamond to yourself to keep it away from the Gainesgal's little boys. But what are you going to do with it next? Well, I sat right down and wrote myself a letter. When I get the diamond, I'll think of your question and sit right down and write myself an answer. Yes? Come in. Hello, Kingston. Oh, Westfield, come in. How's everything, Kingston? Everything's fine, Westfield. You seem a little nervous. What's the matter? Nothing. I've. I've got company in the next room. Well, I've got a little surprise for you. Oh? I'm ready to buy back my diamond. When can I have it? Well, I. I don't know. You don't know? Look here, what's wrong? I don't know what's wrong with you. The diamonds lost. Well, it isn't lost, really. I know where it should be, but I don't know where it is. Look here, Kingston. I sold you that diamond for $100,000 with a provision that I could buy it back at a profit anytime within six months. We made that a written agreement. Well, I. A woman named Elizabeth Gaines owns it now. How can she own it? You had no right to sell it to anyone until my option ran out. She understands about the option that you have on it, Westfield. You can buy it back from her under the same arrangement. A woman named Elizabeth Gaines owns my diamonds now. Yes, yes, but it won't be any good to see her, Westfield. He doesn't have it. She doesn't have it either. Look here, Kingston, what's going on? I don't know. Well, I do. You're trying to hold out on me. That diamond is rightfully mine and I won't stop at anything to get it back. Good morning, Blackie. Hello, Farinain. What are you doing at the post office? Trying to find the cause of death in the dead letter department. You thought you full of traffin on me, didn't you, Blackie? Well, it isn't there. What isn't where? That time. And you said you sent yourself last night in terror. General deliveries. I just asked for it. Good boy, Faraday, you never disappoint me. You always do exactly what I think. I might have known you were lying. I wasn't lying. It's there now, but I'm by the name of John Q. Jones. Come on in, I'll show you. How are you doing on the murder of the switchboard operator? I'm about ready to mark that one unsolved. I can't find one clue. Well, don't mark it yet, Faraday. If I have 10 minutes to spare this afternoon, I'll trow it for you. Here's the general delivery window. Yep. Do you have a letter here for John Q. Jones? John Q. Jones? Yes, John Q. Jones. Well, we did have the John Q. Jones Crawford's letter a half hour ago. And now back to Boston Blackie. In an effort to keep Charlie Kingston from delivering a diamond he lost in a crooked card game, Blackie mailed the diamond to himself in care of General Delivery. But when he went to the post office the next morning, the letter had already been picked up. Meanwhile, the original owner of the diamond has demanded that he be allowed to buy the diamond back as Kingston promised. And the switchboard operator in Blackie's apartment building has been murdered. Our story continues in the office of Elizabeth Gaines, professional gambler to whom Kingston lost the diamond. You're Elizabeth Gaines?
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Yes.
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I'd like to talk to you.
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Well, go ahead and talk. Who are you?
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Rogers is my name. Robert Rogers.
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All right, Mr. Rogers, what's your business?
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The Westfield diamond. I want to make a deal with you.
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You don't look like the type who makes deals.
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My money's the right type. You have the diamond, I have the money. We'll swap.
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Well, in the first place, I wouldn't sell the diamond if you offered me all the money in the National Bank. In the second place, I don't have the diamond.
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I don't like women who lie to me.
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I don't have the diamond.
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My friends tell me you do.
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Your friends don't know what they're talking about.
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You won the diamond from Charles Kingston, didn't you?
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Yes. And what's more, sent two of my men with Kingston to collect the stone from Boston Blackies.
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And you want to have it.
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I don't. Though one of my men, Harry, brought Kingston back. The other one, Bill, stayed in Blackie's apartment to search for the diamonds. I haven't Seen Bill since?
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You know where Bill lives, maybe we can go up to his place and ask him if he has the diamond.
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Yes, I know where he lives. And if he has got it and hasn't reported to me, here's one Bill I'm going to pay personally.
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Sure this is his roommas gain.
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I keep track of my men, Rogers. They'll live here for two years. Maybe he's asleep or skipped with a diamond. Let's try the door.
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Well, there's Bill. Just as dead as he was when I saw him a couple of hours ago. We knew he was dead when you
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brought me up here.
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That's right. I followed him all over town today. Lost him for a while, then found him like this.
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Look, what are you trying to do at present?
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Trying to get my hands on the Westfield diamond.
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And?
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And so maybe we better work together from now on this game. We both want the same thing, don't we? Sure.
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But if I get my hands on that diamond, that doesn't mean I'll sell it to you.
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But I think you will, Ms. James. I think you will. Now, where's that diamond? Not here. Blacky's hid it in his apartment somewhere. Oh, somebody's coming. You behind the curtain looking something. Yeah, well, maybe I can help you. I live here. You're Boston Blacking. Don't move. I have a gun on you. So I see. Who are you? Name's Rogers. Robert Rogers. What are you looking for? The Westfield diamond. Oh, one of Elizabeth's game little boys, huh? Don't move, Rogers. Don't worry. Look, maybe we'd better sit down and talk this over. You sit on the sofa there. I'll sit here on the desk. Okay, now what? Now let's get to. Hey, what's this on my desk? Brand new blotter. Used one, apparently. The blotter letter addressed to John Q. Jones, care of General Delivery. You know, I have a theory about that blotter. You have more than a theory, Rogers. You know exactly what it means. You knew what it meant when you were here last night to ransack my apartment. You know all about me, don't you? I know that you're working for Elizabeth Gaines. Last night you came up here to get the Westfield diamond. I wasn't here. But you found this blotter on my desk and guessed that I had mailed the diamond to myself. So far, not bad. But to make sure your theory was right, you slipped out the back way, walked around the front into the lobby and asked the switchboard operator where I was. And she Said you'd gone to mail a letter, which is all you needed to know. You killed the girl. And then this morning you beat me to the post office. That's great. Except I don't have the diamonds. You told me how it was stolen from you, and I think you're absolutely right. But I'm not the one who did it. If I were, I wouldn't be here looking for it now. Logical? Much too. Listen, I think someone at the door. Just sit still. Come in. Boston Blackie here. Yes, I'm Boston Blackie. I'm John Westfield. I. Oh, Rogers. Hello, Mr. Westfield. You know this man, Mr. Westfield? Ah, yes. He's a private detective. I hired him to find my diamond for me. Mr. Westfield is the original owner, Blackie. He sold it to your friend Kingston with an option to buy it back at a profit within six months. Kingston says he doesn't know where it is. You have it, don't you, Blackie? No, Westfield, I don't. He's telling the truth, Mr. Winston. Well, I'm willing to pay $200,000 to get my diamonds back. That's a lot of money. But I guess the Westfield is a lot of diamonds. And I think I know who has it now for a lot of reasons. Vlogmas Gaines. Forget the Westscale diamond and settle Charlie Kingston's debt for cash, will you?
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I want the diamond blanket. That's all I want.
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125,000 in cash. Will you settle for that?
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I'll settle for the Westfield diamond and nothing else.
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Do you think you'll ever get it?
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I'm sure of it. You have it, Blackie. One of my men made a deal with you over the phone the night Kingston lost the diamonds. My switchboard operator, Mr. Denton, told me all about it.
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I don't make deals like that, Ms. Gaines.
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You make them, but you don't live up to them. You killed Bill. Later on you did. You ought to know. You killed him. And you have the diamonds.
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Wrong in all three camps. But thank you. Could have killed him.
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I don't like to be talked to like that.
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No? Well, start getting used to it. Your kind makes me sick. You'd steal, cheat, murder, anything, or I'll have you. Shut up. I saw you push that button. You don't have to. I'm escaped.
B
Blackie was beginning to use a little unpleasant language. Martin, stick around. Sure, Ms. Jen.
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So this is Martin. You have a lot of little boys running around, don't you, beautiful? Where's Harry?
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He's busy.
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And just so you don't get reckless. Blackie, take a look at this. Oh, a nice man. Seen one of you guys in years.
B
We do all right.
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It's quick and it's quiet.
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Now, Blackie, about the diamond.
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Let's not start that again. Will you settle all his debt for cash? How much? 125,000.
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Make it 130,000 and it's a deal.
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All right, the deal then. Here's your money.
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Okay, but this doesn't mean I won't try to get the diamond no matter where it is.
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I'm going to try to get my hands on it, too. Beautiful. I could use it.
B
What for?
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Well, a fellow named John Westfield owned the diamond originally.
B
So what?
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So he's offering to buy it back for 200,000. If I could sell it to him, I could give Charlie back the money he's paying you and make a few bucks for myself.
B
So you're going to give me a ring for the diamond, are you?
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Whoever gets it first sells it to Westfield. I understand he's at the Victor Hotel. He'll buy it from anyone and no questions asked. Hello? John Westfield? Yes, this is John Westfield. Where you been? I've been calling you for the last half hour. Oh, I'm sorry. I was out. Who is this? Never mind who this is. I understand you want your diamond back. I certainly do. You have it? No. But somebody who does is on their way up to see you. Wonderful, wonderful. Who is this? Never mind. Just get up that 200,000 for that diamond and don't ask questions. Hello? Hello? Hello, Mr. Westfield? So you call yourself John Westfield? I'm lanky. That's the idea. A brilliant idea, apparently. Well, I've got an idea. You're going to jail. What for? Murder. I found Bill Smith's body in his room a while ago. Elizabeth Gaines said he made a deal with you to steal a Westfield diamond. Sorry. You were smart enough to follow me here and I was smart enough to let you. Now, don't be your usual stupid self and spoil everything. Come on, come on, we're wasting time. Look, give me two or three minutes and I'll show you who has the Westfield diamond and the killer you're looking for. Both of them. It's only one. Come on, Blackie, we've got that. Sorry. Please hide the next room, will you?
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Quick.
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All right, Blackie, I've got a gun on you. Don't forget it. Come in.
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I'm looking for Mr. John Weston.
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He isn't here, Ms. Gaines.
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Like are you.
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I think you'd better let go of Me?
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Let go of me.
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You might as well stop struggling, Ms. Gaines. I know you have the diamond. Let go of me. All right.
B
You're a cheap liar, Blackie.
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I'll take that purse, if you don't mind.
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You think I'm fool enough to have the diamond with me?
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Maybe it's not in your purse, but I can dump everything out of it just to make sure. Found one Westfield diamond.
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Give me my purse.
A
Jackie, you aren't leaving, are you?
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Why, a little while ago, you gave me $130,000. You've got the diamond. Now we're even.
A
Not quite. How about the murder of that man, Bill, who worked, and the killing of the switchboard operator in my apartment building?
B
Martin Acton killed that girl. And on his own. I had nothing to do with it.
A
Oh, the knife man, huh? Why did he kill him?
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I sent him to your apartment to look for the diamonds. He saw that blotter on your desk and thought you'd nailed the diamond. So he checked to the operator and she told him you had mailed the letter. The fool was afraid she'd remember him, so he killed her. And incidentally, Blackie, he got the diamond for me from the post office this morning.
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Thanks, Ms. Gaines. Saturday. Have you had enough? That's right, Blankie. The police. The police, Ms. Gaines. But I also want to know who kills your man, Bill Smith.
B
I don't know.
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I do. Faraday. Martin Acton, on this lovely lady's orders.
B
You're awfully smart, Blackie.
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This time maybe. You're a good gambler, Ms. Gaines. And you know, sometimes you gotta lose. This just happens to be one of those sometimes. That concludes today's episode. We'd like to thank you and remind you to donate@ChoiceClassicRadio.com Remember, your donations make episodes like this possible.
Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: Boston Blackie: Kingston Unlucky at Cards (10/04/1945)
Date: March 7, 2026
This episode of “Boston Blackie” throws listeners into a high-stakes world of gambling, deception, and murder surrounding the legendary Westfield diamond. What begins as Charlie Kingston’s defeat at cards develops into a web of intrigue as everyone from professional gamblers to private detectives, and killers compete to possess the diamond. Boston Blackie must solve the theft and a pair of murders before the culprit escapes justice. The episode features tight plotting, clever banter, and sharp detective work.
This Boston Blackie episode is a classic detective tale packed with double-crosses, murder, and sparkling banter. The chase for the Westfield diamond brings out sharp detective skills, clever subterfuge, and a tidy moral: in the world of high-stakes gambling and crime, even the luckiest cheaters can lose it all.