Broadway Is My Beat: The Georgia Gray Murder Case 04/28/1951

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Broadway Is My Beat: The Georgia Gray Murder Case"

Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Originally Aired: April 28, 1951
Summary Date: October 1, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this hardboiled detective drama set against the gritty backdrop of postwar New York, Detective Danny Clover investigates the stabbing death of Georgia Gray, a dance hall girl whose murder quickly entangles him in Broadway’s seedy underworld. The episode delves into turf wars, desperate love, and betrayal, with the pulse of neon lights and club music ever-present. As the body count rises, Clover pursues leads through mournful mothers, colorful criminals, and a city that never sleeps.

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Key Discussion Points & Episode Breakdown

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The Call & The Death of Georgia Gray

[01:24 – 04:31]

• Setting the Scene: Danny Clover reflects on the chaotic vibrancy of Broadway—both alluring and dangerous. He receives a call reporting a dying girl at the Diamond Dance Palace.
• First Witnesses: Fran Holland, Georgia's friend, leads Clover to the dying Georgia.
• Georgia’s Last Words: In pain from a knife wound, Georgia obliquely describes her attacker:
  • "He bought $5 worth of tickets. A man like that, you feel. You know. Don't ask his name." [03:20]
• Scene Closes: The police swarm in, and the only thing the doctor finds is that Georgia is dead from the stabbing.

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On the Trail: Questioning Suspects

[04:31 – 11:29]

• Benny Fane (Ex-Stoolie):
  • Claims he’s "cured" of informing.
  • Suggests Georgia was close with Nicky Gannon: "Georgia was close to Nicky Gammon, you know that? Bought his shirts for him." [06:08]
• Nicky Gannon (The Lover):
  • Clover confronts him; Nicky’s mother, Mrs. Gannon, joins in, lamenting Georgia's choice in life and shaming Nicky:
    • Mrs. Gannon: "He let his girl die in a cheap place. Dancing with another man for pay, for dimes. That cheapens his name." [07:54]
  • Mrs. Gannon suggests Georgia’s murder was a message to Nicky.
• Fran Holland (Georgia's Roommate):
  • Describes Georgia as "dance happy," dissatisfied, using dancing for happiness, and infers Nicky didn’t care about her as more than a front:
    • Fran: "She had all that dough and she lived with her dance hall hostess. With me. You know why? Because she needed someone like me to run home to." [10:46]
• Tommy Chandler (Nicky’s Hood):
  • Met in Central Park feeding ducks:
    • Tommy: "You gonna arrest me, kid? No, ducks will miss me." [12:06]
    • Hints at criminal underworld succession if Nicky falls, avoids direct answers about Georgia’s killing.

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Rising Body Count

[13:31 – 15:47]

• While taking Tommy Chandler downtown, word comes of another murder: Nicky Gannon has been shot dead in an alley.
• Clover’s Lament:
  • "He was propped up against the wall, his head thrown back, his mouth open like he was trying to tell someone about it." [14:58]

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The Investigation Deepens and a False Confession

[16:21 – 21:01]

• Medical & Police Updates:
  • Medical Examiner Tartaglia confirms Nicky died of a bullet wound to the lungs.
  • Tartaglia humorously digresses about "Lady Jane Pugh," adding old-time detective charm.
• Cozy Barrett’s Confession:
  • Claims he killed Georgia, but under pressure, admits he’s lying:
    • Clover exposes Barrett: "You were never near Georgia Gray, were you? Not even close enough to..." [20:36]
    • Barrett: "They promised me they'd get me off, Danny. They said confess, and then when I got off, they'd give me the big dog." [20:42]
  • Barrett desires jail for protection, underscoring manipulation in criminal ranks.

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Grief and Secrets: Mrs. Gannon and Benny Fane

[21:54 – 24:25]

• Funeral for Nicky:
  • Mrs. Gannon's cold, resigned grief:
    • "My son was a hoodlum. Why should you be sorry for him?" [21:57]
    • Admits she knows who killed both Georgia and her son.
• Mysterious Proposition:
  • Lawyer Forbes/Benny Fane approaches Clover, offering a mysterious envelope containing money and the killer’s identity if he meets at the Diamond Dance Palace at 1:00 a.m.
    • Forbes: "Better a bonus. The killer. The real, true killer of George and Nicky." [24:06]

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Final Confrontation and the Real Killer

[25:36 – 29:00]

• Diamond Dance Palace Showdown:
  • Tommy Chandler presents a dead man as the "killer," along with a $15,000 bribe for Clover to look the other way.
    • "So you shot him with a police positive. Just like you carry. Here’s a gun. You track this killer down? He tried to escape, you shot him. Makes you a hero." [26:13]
  • Clover refuses the bribe, declares Tommy under arrest for the murders.
  • In the ensuing struggle, Tommy is fatally wounded — falling from a window in a desperate attempt to escape.
  • As Tommy dies, he confesses:
    • "You don't know how much had me sweating there for a while. That she didn't die right away. Only Georgia was a girl with character. Live and let live. Die and let live." [26:47]

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Closing Reflections

[28:00 – 29:00]

• Clover muses on Broadway:
  • "It's the gathering place of all the sleepless nights, this Broadway. And all the unwept tears. The place to come to erase what’s happened. Start all over. Make a memory and try to forget it if you can. It’s Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My Beat." [28:43]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Georgia Gray’s fatalistic last words:
  "Make sure it’s with me in the coffin. Hunt, Danny. Promise." [03:35]
• Mrs. Gannon’s hard realism:
  "My son was a hoodlum. Why should you be sorry for him?" [21:57]
• Fran Holland’s insight on friendship:
  "She needed someone like me to run home to..." [10:46]
• Tommy Chandler's attempt at corruption:
  "15,000, kid. You track this killer down? He tried to escape, you shot him. Makes you a hero." [26:07, 26:13]
• Clover’s noir summation of Broadway:
  "The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." [28:43]

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Important Timestamps

• Georgia’s dying confession: [03:20 – 03:47]
• Confrontation with Nicky Gannon and his mother: [06:52 – 09:15]
• Tommy Chandler & the ducks scene: [11:59 – 13:31]
• Nicky Gannon’s murder is discovered: [14:58]
• Cozy Barrett's false confession & breakdown: [18:21 – 21:01]
• Mrs. Gannon at her son’s funeral: [21:54 – 22:41]
• Corrupt offer & final showdown: [25:36 – 28:00]
• Clover’s closing narration: [28:00 – 29:00]

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode combines classic noir narration, atmospheric sound design, and rapid-fire dialogue. Characters' personalities shine through tough, wisecracking exchanges and moments of bleak honesty. Danny Clover’s world is haunted by lost dreams and fatal choices, with every revelation couched in the weary poetry of a true Broadway detective.

Transcript

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

My school uses Podbean. My church too.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

I love it. I really do.

[Announcer]

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 [e-mail].

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway's My Beat From Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world.

[Announcer]

Broadway's my beat. With Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The carnival scream rises high on Broadway, carried high on plumes of neon light. And its shape is of many things. The metallic anguish of a trumpet shriek, the futile beating against closed doors, the laughter bargained for, bought, paid for. Under the winking girl on the spectacular Broadway scream rises, shatters into fragments of glitter, prowls through the city, and finally touches you. Wherever you are, it touches you. For me, it was a phone call. A girl dying, it said, from a jackknife in a diamond dance palace on Broadway. Come to it, Danny. Maybe you can grab yourself a free dance. The welcome committee is out. The pale girls with the scarlet streaked across their mouths and the restless scarlet tipped hands playing in the spinning lights reaching out for you. Someone called. Said a girl was hurt. Where is she?

[Fran Holland]

Me. I called. Sure you don't want to dance with one of those girls first?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where is she?

[Fran Holland]

You're square. You're a square policeman. Come on, I'll take you to her. Georgia's the neat type. Don't like to spoil the fun. That's why she picked the lonesome lounge to die in. You got it picked out where you're gonna die. You should. You really should. The lounge with beaded curtains. With Georgia.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Get on. Go dance.

[Cozy Barrett]

It's all right, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You. You, Georgia.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

Me. Danny. Fran can stay. She's my good friend. Okay. If she watches me die, isn't it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who didn't? Georgia.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

A dancer. Keen dancer. You should have been here for his mambo dancing. It was a show.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Oh, he stabbed you, Georgia. That makes it all right to tell me? Who was it?

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

He bought $5 worth of tickets. A man like that, you feel. You know. Don't ask his name.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It spoils with this knife.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. While dancing. I'm keeping it for a souvenir. Make sure it's with me in the coffin. Hunt, Danny. Promise.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You're a long way from home, Georgia. What brought you here?

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

I like it here. Come here a lot? It's peaceful. The man blows the bugle. So peaceful.

[Detective Danny Clover]

A crowd, Georgia. Will the boys in the crowd stab you because you're not liked anymore?

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

How can you talk when he's. Listen to Danny, Listen. A girl feels young again with music like that. A girl.

[Detective Danny Clover]

After that, the play, the police got cluttered up. People started to come into the lounge. Policemen with notebooks. A woman in a tweet suit with a press card in her hat. Band. Couple of men with a stretcher. The only thing the doctor picked up on his stethoscope was a trumpet blowing what is called the blues because there was no heartbeat. From Georgia Gray. Because she was dead. Find out why. Go now to Mott street where it intersects an alley whose name no one remembers. Climb four flights of stairs and wonder briefly why the quality of sound and light in a tenement is like nothing else in the world. Walk a corridor where mice and men live together in perfect tolerance and stop at a door.

[Benny Fane]

Stand in the light a little bit more so I'll know who's.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's Danny Clover, Benny.

[Benny Fane]

You coming to check? I'm okay. I'm okay.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Can I come in?

[Benny Fane]

Sure, sure. Yeah, I'm okay, Benny. I'm okay. Except for the stomach. It hurts when I press it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You've been behaving yourself, Benny?

[Benny Fane]

Well, since I got out of the hospital. Sure, sure. I'm beaten now. He taught me to make things out of beads when I was resting in a ward. Belt buckles and ladies accessories.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You know why I came here, don't you?

[Benny Fane]

I ain't a stool pigeon no more, Danny. I got cured of that, too. I'm a beater now.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who killed Georgia Gray?

[Benny Fane]

I'm a beater.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How long since you checked in with your parole officer, Benny?

[Benny Fane]

Oh, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What about Georgia?

[Benny Fane]

You know as much as me. Georgia was close to Nicky Gammon, you know that? Bought his shirts for him. Ran down the drug store for her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What's the word on Nicky?

[Benny Fane]

The crowd ain't happy with him, Danny. Oh, Danny. Leave me alone. I got an order from a lady down the hall for a love bracelet. I got to deliver Tay there. I'll be breaking my contract.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Nothing else, huh?

[Benny Fane]

Say help me, Daddy. Nothing. Where's Nick again? I'm a beat him now.

[Nikki Gannon]

Well, you huh off your beaten path, aren't you, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Inside. Nikki, don't.

[Nikki Gannon]

Strong arm, Danny. I was Gonna invite you in anyway.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Georgia Gray. Nikki. She's dead.

[Nikki Gannon]

Word came to me how you closed her eyes. I wish it had been me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Maybe you got there ahead of me, Nikki. Maybe you went dancing. Saw Georgia in a place you never thought she'd be. Killed her because she was getting away from you.

[Nikki Gannon]

Oh, you're tired, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Awful tired.

[Nikki Gannon]

No one gets away from me. Not even the dead. Run into the den. I want you to meet my mother. She'll be hurt. I don't show her my friends.

[Detective Danny Clover]

All right, Nikki. I wouldn't want her to be hurt.

[Nikki Gannon]

You'll wish yours had been like her. Just wait.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Mother.

[Nikki Gannon]

Look what I brought you, Danny Clover.

[Mrs. Gannon]

Sit down, Danny. Have a mint. Nikki has a made up special for me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thanks. Well, special.

[Nikki Gannon]

Nothing too good for my mother.

[Mrs. Gannon]

It's always been like that with my son. Up to now.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Nicky hasn't been good.

[Mrs. Gannon]

He let his girl die in a cheap place. Dancing with another man for pay, for dimes. That cheapens his name.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You could have stopped it, Nicky.

[Nikki Gannon]

How could I have known, Mother?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I told you.

[Mrs. Gannon]

Don't snap at me, Nicky boy. I'll slap your mouth.

[Benny Fane]

Wash it out with doit georgiou.

[Nikki Gannon]

Like that hole, Danny. I never understood why she tried to explain it to me. About the music, about dancing. Crazy for dancing. Who understands these things in a girl when she had everything?

[Mrs. Gannon]

Everything you gave her. Everything you worked hard for.

[Nikki Gannon]

You're getting your share, huh, Mother?

[Mrs. Gannon]

Their funeral too, Nikki, Will you buy me one? Like the one you're buying for Georgia? Let me show you the invoices, Danny. I never knew Dian came so high. Inflation, huh?

[Nikki Gannon]

Maybe it'll wipe out the taste of what happened to her, where it happened to her.

[Mrs. Gannon]

It's just a maybe, son. Don't build a monument on it. You want to know why they killed her, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you know, Mrs. Gannon?

[Mrs. Gannon]

They think my son is finished. Done used up. They killed a girl to frighten my Nicky boy. And you know what? My boy's frightened.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who does that to you, Nicky? Your friends, Your boys?

[Mrs. Gannon]

You'll know when you see their bodies on a slab. It'll be in all the papers. You'll save the clippings for me, huh, Nikki?

[Nikki Gannon]

Oh, isn't she a dream, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I told you.

[Nikki Gannon]

Wonderful girl, my mother.

[Detective Danny Clover]

When I got back to headquarters, there was a file on my desk. The neatly centered sticker on its front cover was typed Georgia Gray. Open it, read it, digest it. Georgia gray, aged between 25 and 29. Computed from data gathered from arrests. Hometown, Salina, Kansas. Followed a Soldier to New York port of embarkation in 1943, but never caught up with him. So she stayed. Counter girl in a 5 and 10, then model for ladies garments, then nightclub hostess. And two years ago in night court, after losing a race with a squad car, she said she'd retired. Because I don't have to work anymore, she said. Know a better reason? She asked. Name linked with Nikki Gannon. From here on in. Address, Park Avenue. Expenses shared by Fran Holland, who said. Now she'll have to look around.

[Fran Holland]

First thing I'm gonna do is get another roommate.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you get along well with Georgia?

[Fran Holland]

She had her ideas, I had mine. Know what I mean?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tell me.

[Fran Holland]

No, this and that. Georgia was what? A pretty girl.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'd say she was beautiful.

[Fran Holland]

Yeah, I guess she was very beautiful.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

Very.

[Fran Holland]

Yeah, but she was ruining it. Ran around, danced. But she didn't enjoy herself. I know she didn't. She only enjoyed herself relaxing here with me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Something I haven't made up my mind about.

[Fran Holland]

Well, you better make up your mind about it, Danny. Sure. She had all that dough and she lived with her dance hall hostess. With me. You know why? Because she needed someone like me to.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Run home to, right?

[Fran Holland]

So she could have soft hands rubbing the back of her neck to bring her cold tomatoes when she needed it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She run the orphan friend.

[Fran Holland]

Look, Danny, she was dance happy. That's why she hung around the place I worked. A little bit of music and a guy in a high waistband with two strong feet could make her smile like she was happy.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did Nikki Gannon mind that she stepped out on him?

[Fran Holland]

Why did Nikki care? He used it for a front for his business. He didn't care about her dancing.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who killed her friend?

[Fran Holland]

A man. What else but a man?

[Detective Danny Clover]

What man? Who?

[Fran Holland]

You know what you ought to do, Danny? You know Tommy Chandler, Nicky's hood? The padded shoulder that stands near Nicky with his hand in his pocket. Ask Tommy. See how he reacts when you ask him.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You know where Tommy is?

[Fran Holland]

I know where he'll be in the morning. You know where the ducks are? In that pond in Central Park. 8:00, clock he throws them bread. Stale bread. But what do ducks know?

[Tommy Chandler]

That one over there likes pumpernickel. Granny. Here, give him a piece. You'll make an impression.

[Detective Danny Clover]

We got none of these advantages at City Jail, Tommy.

[Tommy Chandler]

You gonna arrest me, kid? No, ducks will miss me. You want a piece of papernickel too, Herm? Sure you do. You see how Herm looked at me, Danny? Sad, like he already knows about the arrest. What are you taking me down For?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We'll think of something.

[Tommy Chandler]

Feeding the pintails, essential part. I won't be able to hold up the head for the shame, huh? Let's go, kid. That's your squad, Calvin.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You gotta blush when I say suspicion of murder.

[Tommy Chandler]

That's been done to me too.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You didn't come out for a long time, Georgia.

[Tommy Chandler]

You got me cased for that?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Georgia was murdered. Maybe Nikki Gannon goes too.

[Tommy Chandler]

The whole crowd will miss him. I'll tell you something else. Whoever stabbed Georgia ain't gonna be around long anyway.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Crowd will see to that, huh?

[Tommy Chandler]

I didn't say that. I just said a prediction, that's all.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who takes over if Nicky is rubbed?

[Benny Fane]

Tommy, you take over What, a backroom.

[Tommy Chandler]

Poker game for matchsticks? What are you talking about? Look, baby, arrest me if you want, but don't ask me stupid questions. It makes Herm nervous. Here, Herm. Here you are, boy.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Herm looked sad when I took Tommy away from him. All the ducks looked sad for a minute. Then they found a new love with a stale loaf of bread, swam away screaming for it. Tommy looked back over his shoulder, stopped to call them a name, got shoved into the squad car. But on the way down, a code call. A woman's voice in the police radio. Man dead, she announced with a quiet number. Then she said it plain in an alley. Fourth street, off Sixth. Get there. Car 62, we got there.

[Tommy Chandler]

Mind if I tag along? Danny? Man dead I recognize from the number. You gotta share these things.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Hold your gun on him, Muggerman. He wiggles a toe, break it for him. Pleasure, Danny. Let me through. Let me through.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

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[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

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[Detective Danny Clover]

They can't scare you anymore, can they, Nicky? Not anymore. He was propped up against the wall, his head thrown back, his mouth open like he was trying to tell someone about it. The furtive dog scrubbing for food in the trash. Not listening. The small crowd he'd assembled because the blood sighed across his shirt front. But not listening. Watching an alley wind gather soot at his feet. Watching me lean over him, watching Nikki Gannon dead. Nicky Gannon.

[Announcer]

You are listening To Broadway's My Beat, written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and starring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. You'll find Jack Benny in the desert this Sunday night on cbs. Jack and his gang are making a safari to entertain the boys at an air base in Nevada. And for more laughs, there'll be another session with Eve Arden as the gay, romantic, fun loving school teacher, our Ms. Brooks. On most of these same CBS stat.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway is wide enough for everybody. Generals in open touring cars, blondes in taxis and sailors against lampposts. It's the place to come to for one reason or another. To be a tourist or get stared at by the tourists. To make a pitch, buy a bargain, get cheated, insulted, or have your picture taken. And end the day with a memory depending upon what you wanted, what you got and what you gave for it. And part of the day's memento of Broadway will be the news item. Nikki Gannon shot down in an alley. Hoodlum slain. A new outbreak of mob violence. Police seek clues in killing, especially me and another man, Sergeant Gino Tartaglia, who had once passed a civil service examination.

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

And the medical examiner, Dr. Sinski, reveals that death was caused by hemorrhage in the pleura, parentheses, lungs, close parentheses. And that is why Nikki Gannon was done in.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thanks, Gino.

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Well, you're quite welcome, I'm sure.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Anything else?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

May I?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yes, you may.

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Thank you. You know, Danny, this shooting up an alley brings to mind a case which was solved by Lady Jane Pugh, the ne' er do well, girl detective from London town.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do we have to, Gino?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Lady Jane looked at the deceased and flipped her shiny tuppence.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Flipped her what?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Her shiny twopence. Lady Jane has a lucky tuppence which she flips before she undertakes a case. Ah, that Lady Jane.

[Detective Danny Clover]

May I interrupt?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Oh, you're the boss.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you have anything else to tell me about Georgia Gray or Nikki Gannon, please?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Oh, indeed I do, Danny. Indeed I do. In the murder of Nikki Gannon, Tommy Chandler, our prime suspect, has been released and without a nickel's worth of bail.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

I have said it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

So help me, if you're kidding, Gino, Why was he released?

[Dr. Gino Tartaglia]

Oh, because another fellow has confessed to the deed. You remember Cozy Barrett. Even at this moment, he is with Sergeant Mugavan, confessing all over the place. And that, Danny, is all the news I have for today. Case is solved, huh, Danny?

[Cozy Barrett]

Yes, Ned. Ain't all of it, Sergeant George. Ain't all of it. Lots of people met with me, then ended up under A sheet in the Ice house.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You killed before, Cozy.

[Cozy Barrett]

Oh, hi, Danny. Come on in. Join the fun.

[Detective Danny Clover]

This is a new kick, isn't it, Cozy, for you, confessing to a murder.

[Cozy Barrett]

What's the matter? You don't trust me? Read me to him, sergeant.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'll brief it for you. Danny, Cozy says he took a pocket full of dimes to the Diamond Ass joint where Georgia Gray was to celebrate the end of a perfect day. He tells me you danced with her, Cozy.

[Cozy Barrett]

Sure, I dance. How else I get close enough to kill?

[Detective Danny Clover]

You didn't like the way she danced, huh?

[Cozy Barrett]

Crazy for it. Dream about it. Where else? I dance away my hard earned dawn.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That buys you her dying too, huh?

[Cozy Barrett]

She gives his insults. And from a foot away, that. But I got close eventually. I got close.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah? Yeah. Get on the phone, Mugavan. Have a policewoman sent up here with a portable radio. Danny. You all right? You've been working so hard. You got a thing against telephones, Mugavin? Okay, okay, I'll do it.

[Cozy Barrett]

What are you gonna do, Danny? You got tricks with batteries and portable radios to make people talk? I'm talking. Why you need electricity?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Should be right up, Danny.

[Cozy Barrett]

Hey, you're gonna put me away, huh, Danny? To the Sound of Music, huh? You treat me nice because I'm nice to you, huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Killing little out of your line, isn't it, Cozy? I always figured you as more of the purse snatcher type. The Jack Roll Kid. The friend a drunk finds in an alley.

[Cozy Barrett]

I got a right to come up in the world, ain't I? This gives me class, a reputation. The things a fella needs so he can admire himself in the night.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Sure, I understand. Man has to get ahead.

[Narrator/Detective Danny Clover]

You sent for me, lieutenant? You want this?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yes. Come in, please. Turn on the radio. Go and turn it on to dance music. That'll be all right. Dance with the lady, Cozy, huh? Go on, dance with her.

[Cozy Barrett]

Hey, you're crazy, Danny. I give myself up to you and you. You go crazy. There are people like me. Honest.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Dance with her like you did with Georgia. Show me how it was with Georgia.

[Cozy Barrett]

You know I can't dance, Danny. You know I wouldn't go near a dame to dance with her. They laugh in my face when they see me coming.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You were never near Georgia Gray, were you? Not even close enough to.

[Cozy Barrett]

They promised me they'd get me off, Danny. They said confess, and then when I got off, they'd give me the big dog.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who promised you all that?

[Cozy Barrett]

Friends, Danny. I got good friends. They promised me things. They call me up and promise me things. You gotta lock me up, Danny. So I don't disappoint him. You gotta lock me up.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Make it come true for him, Mugam. And lock him up now. The afternoon was two hours old. And the gray had turned into a wetness. A drizzle that hung skirling in the air before it touched the pavement. The citizens didn't mind getting wet. It was a sight to see. The funeral procession wasn't very long. Unlike the good old days. When a gangster's death took up a mile of Broadway. Not like the good old days at all. None of the mourners walked. They all rode. And the wreaths were wrapped in cellophane. Which not only protected the snapdragons from the rain, but it was. Was more sanitary. I went along because I'd known Nicky Gannon for a long time. The rain let up a little when they lowered him into his grave. And none of the mourners stayed. Not even his mother. And I wanted to talk to his mother. Mrs. Gannon.

[Mrs. Gannon]

Hello, Danny. You want a ride back to town?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I wanted to tell you how sorry I.

[Mrs. Gannon]

You talk like that, you don't ride with me. Come on. My son was a hoodlum. Why should you be sorry for him?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We've talked together. We've had a beer together.

[Mrs. Gannon]

That's the reason you cry, not me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Whatever you want. He was your son.

[Mrs. Gannon]

My son got scared. Man get scared. A man don't live anymore.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And that's all his dying does to him. Mrs. Gannon.

[Mrs. Gannon]

Look what I've got, Danny. A thug's funeral on a rainy day.

[Detective Danny Clover]

He was your son.

[Mrs. Gannon]

He's dead, Danny. I'm not. I'll think about him. Some things will come up in my mind from time to time that I've forgotten about right now. And I'll smile and I'll think nice about Nikki.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Then you know who killed him.

[Mrs. Gannon]

I know who. I said I know.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The same person who killed Georgia.

[Mrs. Gannon]

If I let you out of the car now, you'll get wet.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You gonna do anything about the person who killed Nikki?

[Mrs. Gannon]

I'm sure of it, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Sure of what?

[Mrs. Gannon]

Is gonna rain all day. Funny, ain't it? The paper said it was.

[Benny Fane]

In a hurry. Danny Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah, I am. Bother you, mister?

[Benny Fane]

Mm. But it bothers me more, your unhappiness.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Let's have a good cry over at my office, huh?

[Benny Fane]

Here in the hallway Suits me. Used to drafty hallways. Spend my life waiting to do things for unhappy people.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Spreader of good cheer. That's your business at police headquarters, mister. What Name do you spread it under? Forbes.

[Benny Fane]

Counselor at Law. My card.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Forbes, Counselor at Law. Someone came to you. Said I was unhappy you took the case.

[Benny Fane]

Almost precisely how it happened.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I told you what makes me sad.

[Benny Fane]

Kindly people. They grieve when a policeman throws away a confessed killer.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Cozy Barrett.

[Benny Fane]

It seems to them almost ungrateful. However, they respect your analytical prowess.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You got something I can hang on my wall that says that?

[Benny Fane]

Something much better.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Silver cup, maybe with an inscription.

[Benny Fane]

Better an envelope, manila with money it could take you hours to count.

[Detective Danny Clover]

No silver cup.

[Benny Fane]

Better a bonus. The killer. The real, true killer of George and Nicky. That could bring so much happiness to.

[Detective Danny Clover]

A man like you. Where do I find it?

[Benny Fane]

Where else? Envelope and killer. The Diamond Dance Palace. Where Georgia danced. Upstairs, one o'.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Clock.

[Benny Fane]

That's this morning. Be there and a smile will grow on your face.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You've brought me true happiness, Counselor. Thank you. Then he walked away. At the end of the hall, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. Grinned at me. Then he turned up his collar and walked out into the street.

[Mrs. Gannon]

I.

[Detective Danny Clover]

This was at 7pm Then a walk down Broadway and dinner and a double feature on 42nd Street. Then it was time to go. The Diamond Dance hall was blaring against its time of closing. I walked through it, pushed my way across the floor into a doorway. No one stopped me. Then up a flight of stairs and into a loft littered with old telephone books, cigarette butts, a neatly stacked bundle of year old newspapers. The only light, the light from the spectaculars down the street spelling out the evening's pleasure. 40 girls. 40. No cover charge. Up front with Willie and Joe. Continuous performance. Chinese food, fried rice and dancing. I waited. I didn't wait long.

[Tommy Chandler]

You here, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come on in, Tommy.

[Tommy Chandler]

Thanks. I brought you something.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Here.

[Tommy Chandler]

It's all yours. Then.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who is he?

[Tommy Chandler]

The killer that got promised to him. Dead, huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

You bring the envelope, Tommy? You bring it?

[Tommy Chandler]

Sure, sure.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I brought.

[Tommy Chandler]

Yeah. Call it a Chile 15,000, kid.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I don't know, Tommy. A dead killer. How am I going to explain a dead killer?

[Tommy Chandler]

I thought of that too.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What did you come up with, Danny?

[Tommy Chandler]

I found a guy on skid row. He wasn't doing anybody any good, so I figured he could do us some. So you shot him with a police positive. Just like you carry. Here's a gun. You track this killer down? He tried to escape, you shot him. Makes you a hero.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's right. And how many heroes have $15,000?

[Tommy Chandler]

We're gonna get along fine.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You've taken over for Gannon.

[Tommy Chandler]

I deserve. Don't I?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. Yeah, you do. Killing Georgia and Nick again. Sure. You deserve it. The courage.

[Tommy Chandler]

You don't know how much had me sweating there for a while. That she didn't die right away. Only Georgia was a girl with character. Live and let live. Die and let live.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Great girl.

[Tommy Chandler]

I called you from time to time. Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Wait a minute, Tommy.

[Tommy Chandler]

Get used to it. Danny. I said I'd call you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Don't go away. You're under arrest for murder.

[Tommy Chandler]

You practicing being a cop? Don't be a copper on me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You forgot something, Tommy. I can't be anything else. Let's go.

[Tommy Chandler]

Because you're pointing the police positive. You got trouble, sucker.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Snake. It's that way.

[Cozy Barrett]

All over.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The place. Give me he. Don't let me fall. I got your coat. Don't.

[Benny Fane]

Don't let me fall. I don't want to die that way. Move it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. Daddy. Daddy. Hold me. His fingers clawed against the sheer stone.

[Benny Fane]

Daddy.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Body twisting. Face. Torture. Pleading for a return to life. Daddy. His body hung there below me, out of reach. Then the fabric that held his life together gave way. And the noise of the street came up to meet him. Kill their scream. When I got outside and walked through the gathering crowd, I remembered something in my hand. Tommy Chandler's torn coat. It's the gathering place of all the sleepless nights, this Broadway. And all the unwept tears. The place to come to erase what's happened. Start all over. Make a memory and try to forget it if you can. It's Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My Beat.

[Announcer]

Broadway's My Beat. Stars Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover with Charles Calvert as Tartaglia and Jack Crucian as Mugaffen. The program was produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with musical score composed and conducted by Alexander Courage. In tonight's cast, Anthony Barrett was heard as Tommy Chandler, Frances Cheney as Fran Holland, Martha Wentworth as Mrs. Gannon, Larry Dodkin as Nikki Gannon, Joy Terry as Georgia Gray, Leo Cleary as Benny Fane and Junius Matthews as Cozy. Every Saturday night on cbs, Jan Murray gets on that coast to coast phone and gives away $1,000 at a crack. If you can identify the phantom voice, be listening for Sing It Again, which follows immediately on most of these same CBS stations. Joe Walters speaking. This is CDS where you laugh at Jack Benny every Sunday night. The Columbia Broadcasting System sa.