Broadway Is My Beat: The Mary Demming Murder Case 08/14/1950

Summary

Summary of "Broadway Is My Beat: The Mary Demming Murder Case"

Episode Title: Broadway Is My Beat: The Mary Demming Murder Case
Original Air Date: August 14, 1950
Release Date: July 23, 2025
Host: Choice Classic Radio
Description: Old time radio fans! Choice Classic Radio brings to you old time radio’s greatest detectives! Each day we feature a program chosen from the most popular shows of the period. So sit back and enjoy the best detectives The Golden Age of Radio has to offer!

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of "Broadway Is My Beat," Detective Danny Clover, portrayed by Larry Thor, is called to investigate the mysterious murder of Mary Demming. Set against the vibrant and sometimes dark backdrop of Broadway, the narrative weaves through the lives of Mary and those connected to her, unveiling secrets and motives that culminate in a dramatic resolution.

Discovery of the Crime

The episode opens with Mrs. Branch, the landlady, discovering the lifeless body of Mary Demming in the rooming house. At [02:21], she expresses her disbelief:

Mrs. Branch ([02:24]): "I know it. I know it. I know it."

Detective Clover arrives to assess the scene, finding Mary stabbed to death. Mrs. Branch reveals their acquaintance, noting Mary's reliability in always paying her rent, which adds complexity to the case.

Mary Demming's Background

Mary's character is further explored through her high school yearbook photo, revealing that she was "voted by the class of 1937, the girl most likely to succeed" ([04:12]). This accolade contrasts sharply with her tumultuous personal life, marked by reckless behavior and multiple run-ins with the law.

Investigation and Suspects

Detective Clover collaborates with Sergeant Gino Totaglian ([05:19]) to delve into Mary's past. They uncover her history of minor offenses, such as reckless driving and shoplifting, all meticulously paid off, hinting at possible underlying issues. Totaglian compiles a list of four individuals from Mary's high school years who may have had significant interactions with her:

1. George Ferris - A former football star turned department store employee.
2. Lillian Hess - A gentle and sweet individual with a seemingly innocent demeanor.
3. Ona Webster - A cheerleader married to Keith March.
4. Milliken Polk - A highly intelligent but troubled individual with a history of con artistry.

Interviews and Revelations

George Ferris becomes the first subject of interrogation ([07:30]-[08:13]). His vague and evasive responses about his relationship with Mary raise suspicions. He admits to their past together but offers little concrete information, fueling Clover's doubts about his innocence.

Next, Lillian Hess is interviewed ([09:34]-[12:40]). Lillian shares heartfelt memories of Mary, portraying her as someone misunderstood and struggling with inner turmoil. Her emotional account adds depth to Mary's character but doesn't directly point to a suspect.

Ona Webster, now Mrs. Ona March, is subsequently questioned ([13:17]-[15:31]). Her composed demeanor and intricate connection to both Mary and her husband, Keith March, complicate the investigation. It is revealed that Ona was deeply affected by the deaths surrounding her, linking her closely to the case.

Uncovering Connections

Detective Clover revisits Mary's financial dealings ([24:31]-[25:38]), discovering a pattern of fines paid by Joe Sage, a bail bondsman. This revelation suggests that Mary had financial support that enabled her to continue her reckless lifestyle. Further investigation ties Joe Sage to Keith March, uncovering a web of relationships that hint at deeper motives.

Confrontation and Confession

The climax unfolds as Detective Clover confronts Keith March ([26:00]-[28:05]), revealing that March had a lingering infatuation with Mary from their high school days. At [27:19], March confesses:

Keith March ([27:15]): "You didn't, did you?"

Detective Clover ([27:17]): "You didn't?"

Keith March ([27:20]): "No. I told you I loved her. Sometimes I hated myself for it, but I loved her."

March admits that his unresolved feelings and jealousy over Mary's interactions with others, particularly his wife Ona, propelled him to murder her. He explains:

Keith March ([27:32]): "She hated Mary for what she could do to me. I never kept it a secret from Ona. That's why Ona killed her."

However, the twist reveals that March manipulated events to frame Detective Clover, leading to his own downfall.

Resolution

As the truth emerges, Sergeant Gino Totaglian assists in apprehending March. The episode concludes with the arrest of Keith March, bringing closure to Mary Demming's tragic story.

Notable Quotes

• Mrs. Branch ([02:24]): "I know it. I know it. I know it."

• Sergeant Gino Totaglian ([05:19]): "Danny, I was saving this for you for my lunch."

• Keith March ([27:15]): "You didn't, did you?"

• Keith March ([27:32]): "She hated Mary for what she could do to me. I never kept it a secret from Ona. That's why Ona killed her."

Production Details

"Broadway Is My Beat: The Mary Demming Murder Case" was penned by Martin Fine and David Friedkin. Larry Thor delivers a compelling performance as Detective Danny Clover, supported by a talented cast including Charles Calvert, Jay Novello, Peggy Weber, Sammy Hill, Lou Merrill, and Jack Crucian. The episode was produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with a musical score composed and conducted by Alexander Courage, enhancing the dramatic tension throughout the narrative.

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Thank you for tuning into Choice Classic Radio. For more enthralling old time radio detectives, subscribe to us on YouTube, follow us on Facebook, and support our shows at [e-mail].

Transcript

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[Choice Classic Radio Host]

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] Arthur Godfrey, who usually comes around with his talent scouts at this time on Monday, has just about finished his summer holiday. Godfrey will be back with us two weeks from tonight on August 28th.

[Narrator]

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

[Choice Classic Radio Host]

Broadway's my beat with Larry Thor as detective Danny Clover.

[Narrator]

Broadway. It's the shrieking edge of a numb universe that lies in the shadows and licks its wounds. And it's wasteland. A tinseled wasteland that wears the motley, wears the scarlet of neon, the harsh gold of a trumpet scream. The kaleidoscope of color a tear makes when it's held up to the light. There's the color of the desolate wind that sighs through Broadway, nameless and cold. The wind that drifts, touches everything, seeps in through windows and under doors, lends its quality to whatever room in which it dies. Like the room where I was standing. Mrs. Branch's rooming house. Creton drapes, dusty beaded lamp, dusty wash basin, rust stained. The bed pulled down from the wall. The crumpled sheets. And the dead woman and Mrs. Branch not believing a bit of it.

[Mrs. Branch]

I know it. I know it. I know it.

[Narrator]

What, Mrs. Branch?

[Mrs. Branch]

Someone's gonna come along and pinch me and I'm gonna wake up and this whole thing will be a dream. Want it, Mr. Clover?

[Narrator]

No. Who is this girl?

[Mrs. Branch]

I'm gonna tell you because it doesn't matter, because it's a dream. Her name's Mary Demming.

[Narrator]

How long has she lived here?

[Mrs. Branch]

Four years? Five. One morning she rang my doorbell. She had a black suitcase in her hand. I liked her. She liked me. Yes. She stayed. Always paid her rent. Now. Oh, I don't believe it.

[Narrator]

Now she's dead. Mrs. Branch. She's been stabbed to death. You've got to convince yourself of that and help. Who were her friends?

[Mrs. Branch]

Oh, she was very popular. Whenever the doorbell rang or the phone Was for Mary often wondered why she didn't marry with so many friends.

[Narrator]

Tell me how you found her.

[Mrs. Branch]

Well, I brought Mary her coffee this morning. She didn't smile when she saw me. Something's wrong, I told myself. I shook her and then I saw the knife. Then I said to myself, someone's gonna come along and pinch me in this whole thing.

[Narrator]

But you called the police.

[Mrs. Branch]

Anyhow, I pride myself on presence of mind in any circumstances.

[Narrator]

Did you have any visitors last night?

[Mrs. Branch]

I wouldn't know. I wasn't home. Oh, that book.

[Narrator]

What about it?

[Mrs. Branch]

Mary loved it so. It was her dearest possession. A yearbook from high school. You know, she loved to look at it before she went to sleep. Suppose that's why it's on the bed beside her. Here, let me show you what you see. You see Mary's picture in her yearbook?

[Narrator]

Uh huh. Mary Deming, voted by the class of.

[Mrs. Branch]

1937, is the girl most likely to succeed. Mr. Clover. Isn't that nice?

[Narrator]

Fingers of sunlight reached through the windows, hung with the torn soot stained creton. Reached out for the woman lying there, touched her face, her throat, her shoulders. For an instant, youth flowed over the dead woman's body. The youth, her dead hand held in the shape of a high school yearbook. For an instant, a girl lay there in sleep, sun warm in the power that is a girl's. Then the instant was gone. A little while they came, the servicemen of death, the technical men, the photographers, the coroner, Mugaben. I gave Mugabin the notes I'd made the yearbook, told him what I needed, sent him on his way. A little while after it was done, the man in the white jackets brought up the wicker basket and a joke to fit the occasion. At headquarters, a man stood at my desk. A bald man eating a big red apple. Enjoying was Sergeant Gino Totaglian.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Danny, I was saving this for you for my lunch. But it took you such a long time. I couldn't save it no longer.

[Narrator]

I know. Gino did Magava.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Yeah, yeah. He gave me a message, Danny. And I got all the dope right here in my pocket.

[Narrator]

Well, let's take it out and look at it, shall we?

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Huh? Oh, oh, sure, sure. I can tell you what's in the dope without you looking if you want. Okay, I want the girl lately deceased, Mary Deming. She had a police record. Oh, not that serious the way you said. Oh, Danny. A record that is not unordinary among certain type people. Reckless driving, driving while under the influence, bashing a cop in the eye because he stopped her while she was doing 90 on a Sunday afternoon. Disturbances of the peace on occasion. Shoplifting. Little ordinary things like that.

[Narrator]

Anything else?

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Not from me, Denny.

[Narrator]

You McEvin?

[Podbean Tagline]

Yeah. Denny, I checked and cross checked the high school yearbook like you told me. Mary Deming against everybody else in the book.

[Narrator]

Something, maybe.

[Podbean Tagline]

Anyway, I came up with the names of four students that the Deming girls seemed to be most intimate with during her high school years.

[Narrator]

Who are they?

[Podbean Tagline]

I made up a list. Danny.

[Mr. March]

Here.

[Podbean Tagline]

I traced their addresses, their occupations. Three of them anyhow. Fourth is gonna take more time.

[Narrator]

Thanks, Mugaman.

[Podbean Tagline]

Wasn't too easy, Danny Cross checking all that stuff. The sororities, San Souci, French Language Club, the Lettermen, the Acapella choir, the proms, the national thespunes. All that high school stuff. Wasn't easy.

[Narrator]

Tell Gino about it, Mugavan. He'll save you a big red apple. So it began. A woman dead in a boarding house and her last identification with life. A high school yearbook. A woman anonymous. Except for that somewhere. If Mugaman's checking was correct, 4 people had int upon her life tempered. It perhaps shaped her dying. Only perhaps. A policeman has to make sure. Call on number one. George Ferris. Football player who made all state back in 1937, now department store floor walker. Wade through the ladies wear department, through the bookstore down the escalator, and seek out the man who quarterbacked the bargain basement. Impose a name for him.

[George Ferris]

Mary Deming, you said?

[Narrator]

That's right. What about her?

[George Ferris]

Mary Deming.

[Podbean Announcer]

Mister, will you okay this charge too?

[George Ferris]

Uh huh. There we are.

[Podbean Announcer]

Thank you, Mr. Ferris.

[Narrator]

Now.

[George Ferris]

Now then, about Mary Deming.

[Narrator]

She's dead.

[George Ferris]

Well, now, well, well, I guess we're all getting old, Mr. Clover. Just last week I met old Poliakov, you know, Ferris to Poliakov. What a combination we were. I flipped him. He caught him. Faris to Poliakov. Poliakov said we were all getting old.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[George Ferris]

Rackety racks and a locomotive for us. So Mary's dead.

[Narrator]

We found her this morning with a knife in her back.

[George Ferris]

You know, she had to end that way.

[Narrator]

Why?

[George Ferris]

Human nature. It's in the books, Mr. Clover. Mary Deming was wild for her age.

[Narrator]

Wild? What do you mean?

[George Ferris]

Boys. Lots of them.

[Narrator]

That included you?

[George Ferris]

I was a star quarterback. She wore my sweater for a week. Then one Monday afternoon, I saw her in the drugstore with a left tackle. Mary Deming was a wild kid. I liked her for the week. I know her.

[Narrator]

Have you seen her since high school?

[George Ferris]

Yeah, about a year ago. When I was in ladies lingerie, a woman with a shopping bag was stealing one of our 498 items. Mary Deming.

[Narrator]

Did you ever arrested? Well, well, yes, I did.

[George Ferris]

After all, I work for this store.

[Narrator]

Sure.

[George Ferris]

That's the last time I saw her. Mary Deming. Well, well.

[Narrator]

The next on the list Monkovan had compiled from the yearbook was a woman. Lillian Hess. Address, New Rochelle. Occupation, unmarried. Her picture came to mind. A girl with a plain face, with gentle eyes, a sweet smile. Her dark hair cut in a page boy. The woman who opened the door was the same girl. The same plain face, the same gentle eyes, the same sweet smile, the same cut of hair. Time had only touched the corners of her mouth, had drawn the lips back and down, had brushed her cheeks delicately with shadow, hollowed them slightly. That was all. Even her voice was a girl's voice.

[Podbean Announcer]

What is it? What do you want?

[Narrator]

I'm Danny Clover of the police. I want to talk to you about Mary Deming.

[Podbean Announcer]

Oh, of course you do. I'm practically the only girlfriend Mary has. Please, come in. Let's go into the den. I call it a den. I suppose a man would call it that.

[Narrator]

You said you were practically.

[Podbean Announcer]

Practically Mary's only girlfriend. I'm proud of it. I like Mary. I like her a lot. No matter what the other girls say about her. There's more to Mary than they. Well, they just don't understand her, that's all.

[Narrator]

Ms. Hess. Mary Deming is. What I want to say is that she's.

[Podbean Announcer]

You want to tell me that Mary is dead? I know that, Mr. Clover. I saw the afternoon paper. Here we are. This is my den. I was just playing some music and reading. I love that song, don't you, Mr. Clover? I play it over and over. Please sit down next to me on the couch.

[Narrator]

Thank you. Mary Deming was murdered.

[Podbean Announcer]

They were jealous of her. That's why they killed her.

[Narrator]

Who?

[Podbean Announcer]

Oh, almost all the girls. Some of the boys, too. All jealous of Mary for their own reasons. You know, Mr. Clover, Mary once came to my room and cried because she knew how they felt about her. She never showed it, but it hurt her. That's why she went on those reckless, dangerous drives at night. She told me so.

[Narrator]

Still, she was voted most likely to succeed.

[Podbean Announcer]

They voted her that out of meanness. They didn't mean it the way it sounds. They. They didn't say out loud what she was going to succeed at.

[Narrator]

When was the last time you saw her, Ms. Hess?

[Podbean Announcer]

Mary. It was in the afternoon, just before. She congratulated me. She kissed me and Said she wanted all the happiness in the world for.

[Narrator]

Me in the afternoon before. What did she do, that Ms. Hess?

[Podbean Announcer]

Before the graduation dance.

[Narrator]

In June.

[Podbean Announcer]

It's always in June, Missy Colbert. You see, Paul and I were going to announce our engagement formally at the dance. But Paul died that evening. He died? Oh, yes. I went to his house just before dinner to ask him. Well, to ask him did he really love me. He ran down the stairs to answer me and fell and died just like that, without any reason.

[Narrator]

I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.

[Podbean Announcer]

It's all here in my diary, Mr. Clover. The last time I saw Paul. The last time I saw Mary. My last entry, June 12, 1937. It tells all about Paul and me and. I'm sorry, Mr. Clover. Will you stay to tea? Please.

[Narrator]

I did. Tea poured by delicate hands into delicate china smiles and chit chat and small, fragile iced cakes. Yesterday's time recaptured and held briefly until time changed and it was suddenly evening. The fingers on my arm when she showed me to the door. Number three on the list. Ona Webster, cheerleader, class of 37. The yearbook had Ona March, married five years before to a Keith March. Address, 8020 Andrews Avenue in the Bronx.

[Mr. March]

You got here. You finally got here.

[Narrator]

What?

[Mr. March]

You are the police, aren't you? I called.

[Narrator]

I'm looking for Mrs. Ona March.

[Mr. March]

She's in there, in the bedroom. I told you she would be. Come on. Look, I just came home. Went out for a walk. There've been prowlers. Maybe I shouldn't.

[Narrator]

Wait a minute. I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?

[Mr. March]

Owner's husband. I told the policeman on the phone about my wife.

[Narrator]

What's the matter with her?

[Mr. March]

She's in there on the bed. She's been stabbed to death.

[Choice Classic Radio Host]

You are listening to Broadway's My Beat, written by Martin Fine and David Friedkin and starring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. An old friend of yours comes back tomorrow night. Luigi Basco. And once more, you can live that wonderful life with Luigi. So join us on CBS this Tuesday night for Life with Luigi. On most of these same CBS stations.

[Narrator]

There'S a special hour on Broadway, the hour between twilight and darkness. Dinner time. It's the time of the swarming into the earth. Because home is at the end of a long tunnel and walk three blocks. Or it's the time of the fast look at the Trans Lux. The run out into the streets and say, cooled off, huh? Coffee, hot dogs, cream soda and the nickel tip. And Broadway tries to gulp its Dinner the way it's seen ordinary people gulp their dinner, wipes up the gravy with a second piece of bread, and compares boyfriends, girlfriends, and recurring dreams. But my dinner time wasn't like that. Because it didn't happen. Because it was being preempted by something else. By a woman with a dime store knife pushed deep into her. By a man with the fright of death, goading him, taunting him into screaming at me.

[Mr. March]

Do something. Don't just stand there. Take her away, whatever it is. That's why I called you police, because I thought you knew how to. Please. Please do something.

[Podbean Tagline]

Please.

[Narrator]

Take it easy, Mr. Martisi. We'll do what needs to be done.

[Mr. March]

I'm sorry. It's just right. That's my. My wife lying there.

[Narrator]

I understand, Mr. March. Here, sit down over here. Come on.

[Mr. March]

Thank you.

[Narrator]

Would you like some water? Anything?

[Mr. March]

No. No, thank you.

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[Choice Classic Radio Host]

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[Mr. March]

Do. Do they always look like that?

[Narrator]

Huh?

[Mr. March]

And people die. Do they always look like that?

[Narrator]

Who'd want your wife dead, Mr. Much?

[Mr. March]

What a strange way to say it. But then I suppose whoever killed her wanted her dead, or he wouldn't have done that to Omar.

[Narrator]

Who?

[Mr. March]

I don't know. I told you. I thought a prowler, thief, maybe. But nothing's been disturbed, has it?

[Narrator]

I don't know. Maybe you, Mr. March.

[Mr. March]

No. No.

[Narrator]

But you understand, Mr. March, that you'll be treated as a suspect until we.

[Mr. March]

Yes, of course. Of course. I understand.

[Narrator]

Good. Now, there's some questions I want to ask you. Did your wife know a woman named Mary Deming once?

[Mr. March]

She did. There were classmates in high school.

[Narrator]

And you?

[Mr. March]

I knew Mary. She was one of my students.

[Narrator]

Oh.

[Mr. March]

I'm a high school teacher. Science only. And I recall that Mary Deming was in my class when we read about her murder. You think Ona and Mary Deming.

[Narrator]

You think the reason you fell in love with your wife when she was in High School, Mr. March?

[Mr. March]

I used to watch her at the football games. She was a cheerleader. She was young, exciting. You know how a girl can be.

[Narrator]

You fell in love with her then?

[Mr. March]

I suppose so. But I didn't know it until five years ago. We met again by chance in a theater. After a while we got married.

[Narrator]

Your wife and Mary Demming, were they friendly? Did they go around together, have the same boyfriends, things like that?

[Mr. March]

I honestly don't know. Olin and I almost forgot we'd known each other in high school. We hardly ever talked about it.

[Narrator]

Mr. March, how well did you know Mary Demme?

[Mr. March]

What? How well did I know her?

[Narrator]

Huh?

[Mr. March]

Only as a student.

[Narrator]

I never saw her or talked to her after she left high school.

[Mr. March]

No.

[Narrator]

And Mrs. March, did she ever see you talk to Mary Deming?

[Mr. March]

Well, if she did, she never told me. What's that?

[Narrator]

I'll see. It's the police. You called for Mr. March? I'll let him in.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Hi, Danny.

[Narrator]

Oh, Gino. Come in.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

I brought you what to eat, Danny. A box lunch for supper.

[Narrator]

Thanks. Put it down. I'll eat it later.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Okay. I already peaked in mine, Danny. I got an apple. How about you?

[Narrator]

Probably an apple. Box lunches never change.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Oh, I don't know. Once I found a dollar bill in mine.

[Narrator]

Gino.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Once I found an Easterling sterling silver spoon with which to eat my potatoes out.

[Narrator]

Gino.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

I guess I'm born lucky.

[Narrator]

Gino, please. I'm tired. I've had a tough day. Two people have been killed and I'm no closer now to the answer than I was when you.

[Podbean Tagline]

I'm sorry.

[Narrator]

Do you have anything to tell me? Do you know about Mary Deming or Ona March?

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

No. Danny. I'm sorry.

[Podbean Tagline]

Danny.

[Narrator]

Yeah, what is it? Mugavan found what we were looking for. And what was that fourth name on the list?

[Podbean Tagline]

The one I couldn't trace down? Milliken Polk.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Hey, that Milliken Polk. I was looking through that yearbook. That guy was the genius of the class. Got through high school in two years. The type I admire most highly.

[Narrator]

Where is he? Margovan?

[Podbean Tagline]

In the penitentiary. Sing Sing. A three time loser for selling oil wells to visiting movie stars and poor Texans.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Don't stare at me, Danny. So his education turned him into a con man. So kill me.

[Narrator]

How come you had such a hard time finding him?

[Podbean Tagline]

Polk had eight aliases. I tracked down one. He'd suddenly dissolve into another man.

[Narrator]

Thank you, gentlemen.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Hey, Danny. It's too late to drive up to Sing Sing tonight and you haven't eaten your supper.

[Narrator]

Don't worry about it, Mugamin.

[Podbean Tagline]

Oh, yeah, Danny.

[Narrator]

Call Sing Sing, tell him I'll be up in the morning. And tell him to throw A guard around the cell for Milliken Polk, so he won't dissol.

[Podbean Tagline]

Stand right where you are, sir.

[Narrator]

Huh?

[Podbean Tagline]

Nothing personal, sir. It's just that the slightest movement, the slightest distraction, upsets the delicately balanced mental processes of my student here. Doesn't it, Jerome?

Yeah, it does do that, Professor. Just what you said it does.

Shall we show the policeman what we've learned today, Jerome? You are a policeman, aren't you, sir?

[Narrator]

I am Milliken.

[Podbean Tagline]

Oh, goody. Yeah, let's show the police on what we learned today, huh, Professor?

Go right ahead, Jerome.

Today we have learned that energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared.

That's excellent, Jerome. Excellent. Isn't it, sir?

[Narrator]

Excellent.

[Podbean Tagline]

And now will you tell me about the Pythagorean theory? Please, Professor. Even the Slough said I was excellent.

Later, Jerome. First we must find out what the Slough wants with us. What is it you want with us, sir?

[Narrator]

Only you, Milliken.

[Podbean Tagline]

Thank you, sir. You may take a recess, Jerome.

But the Pythagoras.

Take a recess, Jerome. And now, sir, we are, in effect, alone. What can I do for you?

[Narrator]

You went to high school with Mary Danning.

[Podbean Tagline]

Congratulations, sir. However did you track me down to this, my private lair? I thought I'd successfully wiped out that puerile phase of my life.

[Narrator]

Not quite, Professor.

[Podbean Tagline]

Now that you've found me, I suppose you want all I can give you on Mary Deming. And, let me see, ona March, Neona Webster. Am I right, sir?

[Narrator]

How did you.

[Podbean Tagline]

I keep up with things. Newspapers, magazines. I'm the institution's librarian. I assumed it was only a matter of time before one of you would appear, asking me what you're asking me.

[Narrator]

You assumed right.

[Podbean Tagline]

So I don't suppose you would arrange for this favor of little time off, say, of furlough, so to speak? Uh, I thought not, sir. About Mary. Most delicious girl. Provocative, stimulating. Quite an experience to a youth who had the intelligence to appreciate her qualities as I did.

[Narrator]

You knew her?

[Podbean Tagline]

Well, let's put it this way, sir. When I was in high school, I'd put my brain against any football letter on the campus. Mary was quite interested in me till I tired of her, threw her to the athletes.

[Narrator]

What about Ono Webster?

[Podbean Tagline]

A boar. Always turning cartwheels, screaming through a megaphone. Ah, Mary. Mary.

[Narrator]

You really liked Mary, huh, Professor?

[Podbean Tagline]

There were so many things about Mary too. Like? Like the way she could wriggle out of trouble. All these years in trouble, out of trouble. Like putting on and taking off a knife. Always somebody to Take care of Mary.

[Narrator]

You have any theories, Millikan, as to who might want the girls dead?

[Podbean Tagline]

I haven't wasted my brains on it, sir. For the past five years, I've been occupied with Jerome here.

Now, professor, now you're gonna tell me about the Pythagorean theory.

No, Jerome. I'm sorry, sir. I'm calling my class to order. Goodbye, sir.

[Narrator]

And the things Millik and Polk had told me had their own place with the fragments I'd gather up about 2 women ona march cheerleader, Mary Deming, most likely to succeed. Classmates of the year, 1937. Ona, the respectable wife of a respectable man who lived in a respectable house. Mary, a woman whose youth fled in a hurry because Mary was in a hurry too much of one. Back at headquarters, I went over police record again. Reckless driving, 1937, license revoked. Drunk driving, 1939, fined $100 one night spent in jail, then released. Fine paid. Drunk and disorderly, 1941, fined $50 in 30 days. Sentence suspended, fine paid. Went like that. Fine paid, fine paid. Then a felony. A year ago, shoplifting. But a lenient judge changed it to read petty theft. Fine, $500 in probation. Fine paid. The fine was always paid. Go back again and start all over. In 1939, the money for the fine was furnished by Joe Sage, bail bondsman. And in 1940, by Joe Sage. All of them? Every one of them. Maybe Joe Sage had a fragment to hand. Me too.

[George Ferris]

Yo, what is. Oh, hello, Danny. I didn't recognize you. The light in here. Maybe it's because you haven't been in here so long.

[Narrator]

I need some help, Joe. For you, the house. Thanks. About a client of yours.

[George Ferris]

Except about clients. Ah, Danny, you know, in this bail bonding profession, we ain't required to give information about clients. Like a doctor, like a lawyer.

[Narrator]

Danny, look, you're talking to me, Joe, you know as well as I we can subpoena your books.

[George Ferris]

Sure you could, with a good reason.

[Narrator]

Try murder.

[George Ferris]

Which of my clients do you wish to ask me about, Danny?

[Narrator]

Mary Deming.

[George Ferris]

Like the back of my hand. I know her that well.

[Narrator]

Good. You know. Tell me all about it.

[George Ferris]

Sure. Here is a dame who used to get herself into trouble, peck after peck. Drunk driving, disturbing, heisting underwear, little things. But you could count on it.

[Narrator]

And her fines got paid every time. I'm just trying to find out how Mary could afford to pay you back.

[George Ferris]

You know, I went her fines, huh?

[Narrator]

Uh huh.

[George Ferris]

Because I had a standing order. About 10 years ago, a man came to me and he said this girl Mary Deming, ever gets into trouble, help her. This man said he would personally guarantee I would be paid back.

[Narrator]

What man?

[George Ferris]

Professor. High school teacher. He wrote after the word business on my client's card.

[Narrator]

Named Keith March.

[George Ferris]

Named Keith March. Why do you ask me questions when you know the answers?

[Mr. March]

Oh, Mr. Clover, please come in.

[Narrator]

Thanks, I will.

[Mr. March]

I was expecting you sooner.

[Narrator]

I came back to check something with you.

[Mr. March]

Yes.

[Narrator]

You said you hardly knew Mary Deming. You only knew her as a student. Would you like to add to that, Mr. Mudge?

[Mr. March]

No. Why should I?

[Narrator]

You were in love with her, weren't you?

[Mr. March]

You're being ridiculous.

[Narrator]

Wasn't Ona you watched in school, it was Mary. Because you were in love with her.

[Mr. March]

What are you talking about?

[Narrator]

She was a child your wife's age. How old are you now, Mr. March? 39, 13 years ago. You were 26. Just starting out as a teacher. A man 26 can fall in love with a 17 year old girl. There's nothing unusual in that.

[Mr. March]

I still have.

[Narrator]

Every time Mary got in trouble with the police, you got her off, got her fines paid. We've records that you helped Mary. Why should you do that?

[Mr. March]

Mary? Mary. Mary's the kind of a girl who never looks twice at a man like me. You'd have to take my word for that. I helped her. Why? Because the times I helped paid money to help her. She would thank me, let me do other things for her. There's. There's this, Mr. Clover.

[Narrator]

What?

[Mr. March]

I did love Mary. Then why do you accuse me of killing her?

[Narrator]

You didn't, did you?

[Mr. March]

No. I told you I loved her. Sometimes I hated myself for it, but I loved her.

[Narrator]

But you know who killed her, don't you?

[Mr. March]

So do you.

[Narrator]

Your wife.

[Mr. March]

She hated Mary. Hated her for what she could do to me. I never kept it a secret from Ona. That's why Ona killed her.

[Narrator]

That's why you killed Ona.

[Mr. March]

From my point of view, that was the only thing to do. Ona had killed the thing I loved. After Mary was dead, nothing had any value. Not even taking another life. You understand that, don't you?

[Narrator]

Let's go.

[Mr. March]

It's not going to be that easy.

[Narrator]

Keep open that desk.

[Mr. March]

I'm gonna kill you, Mr. Clover. You're. You're a fool, Mr. Clover. You. You did just. Just what I wanted. Wanted you to do. I wanted to die. That's all I wanted. You fell into my trap. I didn't have the nerve to do away with myself. So I used you.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Sergeant Daglia speaking.

[Narrator]

Danny Gino. Get an ambulance up to 8020 Andrew street in the Bronx.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Roger, Wilco. Anything serious?

[Narrator]

Just a shoulder wound. Nothing serious.

[Sergeant Gino Totaglian]

Who? Danny? Not you.

[Narrator]

Not me. Gino. The man who lived to go on trial for murder. 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. The street is littered with odds and ends. Fit them together in any design you want. Only nothing slips into place. It's Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My beat.

[Choice Classic Radio Host]

Broadway's My Beat. Stars Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. With Charles Calvert. Astrataglia. The program was produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with musical score composed and conducted by Alexander Courage. Included in tonight's cast were Jay Novello. Hi Averbeck, Peggy Weber, Sammy Hill, Lou Merrill and Jack Crucian. There's always plenty of fun on hand when you hear Columbia's Monday night program, Too Many Cooks. The hilarious adventures of a father, mother and their 10 children. Stay tuned now for Too Many Cooks, which follows immediately on most of these same CBS stations. Bob Stevenson speaking. This is cbs, where you live life with Luigi. On Tuesday night, the Columbia Broadcasting System.