Broadway Is My Beat: The Steve Courtney Murder Case 06/23/1950

Summary

Detailed Summary of "Broadway Is My Beat: The Steve Courtney Murder Case"

Broadcast Date: June 23, 1950
Release Date: June 11, 2025
Host/Author: Choice Classic Radio
Episode Title: Broadway Is My Beat: The Steve Courtney Murder Case

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Introduction

"Broadway Is My Beat: The Steve Courtney Murder Case" is a gripping episode from the Golden Age of Radio, brought to life by Choice Classic Radio Detectives. Starring Larry Thor as the astute Detective Danny Clover, this installment weaves a tale of mystery and intrigue set against the vibrant backdrop of Broadway. As Detective Clover delves into the suspicious death of Stephen Courtney, listeners are taken on a journey through glitzy theaters, shadowy estates, and the complex lives of those close to the victim.

Setting the Scene

The episode opens with Detective Danny Clover reflecting on the bustling streets of Broadway, painting a vivid picture of the area’s allure and underlying darkness.

Detective Danny Clover [02:00]:
"There's a thing about Broadway. It mixes well with the sunlight... On a noonday of summertime, the concrete strikes silver glints and the mob is nicely proportioned with silken ankles and dachshunds and windblown hairdos."

The Mysterious Call

Clover's routine is disrupted when he receives an enigmatic phone call that challenges the official cause of Stephen Courtney's death.

Joseph O'Donoghue [02:46]:
"Did you do what I told you?"

Detective Danny Clover [02:48]:
"Who is this?"

Joseph O'Donoghue [02:54]:
"Stephen Courtney was murdered."

Despite Stephen's death being attributed to heart failure, O'Donoghue's assertion plants the seed of doubt in Clover's mind, prompting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Courtney's demise.

Investigating the Scene

Detective Clover visits the opulent Courtney estate on Long Island, observing the meticulously maintained grounds and the private racetrack where Stephen's prized horse, Prince, competes.

Detective Danny Clover [05:32]:
"The grass is always greener in a rich man's backyard... The plenipotentiary of the hibiscus beds told me he didn't know whether there was anyone in the house or not. But try at the track, he said."

At the racetrack, Clover meets Lilla Courtney and Joseph O'Donoghue, delving deeper into the relationships and dynamics within the household.

Suspicion and Clues

Clover scrutinizes the official death certificate and confronts Dr. Arthur Fulbright, Stephen's attending physician, questioning the legitimacy of the heart failure diagnosis.

Dr. Arthur Fulbright [04:11]:
"You're questioning my diagnosis of the cause of Steve Courtney's death."

Detective Danny Clover [04:22]:
"You have a right to know. On a phone call."

The presence of a radio in Stephen's room on the day of his death, despite explicit instructions to the contrary, raises further suspicions.

The First Murder

The investigation takes a sinister turn with the sudden murder of Joseph O'Donoghue. Clover witnesses a horrifying scene where a horse viciously attacks Joseph, leading to his untimely death.

Detective Danny Clover [13:29]:
"The horse rearing, screaming, clawing its hooves against the stall... Tia Pearl, dazed, helpless, sodden with fright..."

Unfolding the Mystery

As Clover unravels the mystery, he interacts with Lilla Courtney, who exhibits signs of distress and evasiveness. The discovery of a heavy horseshoe suggests human intervention in the murders, contradicting the initial belief that the horse acted alone.

Lilla Courtney [09:31]:
"That stuffed specimen you're looking at. Bengal tiger... old Steve wanted to bring home a pussycat."

Detective Danny Clover [18:08]:
"A horseshoe, I'll bet."

Lilla Courtney [18:09]:
"But not of the type affected by thoroughbreds. By racehorses? More like one off a truck horse... a heavy horseshoe."

This revelation points towards a deliberate act of murder, shifting the investigation towards human perpetrators.

Resolution

The climax unfolds as Joseph O'Donoghue confesses his motives. Driven by unrequited love and fear of dependency, Joseph admits to orchestrating the murders to secure his place and the inheritance left by Stephen Courtney.

Joseph O'Donoghue [19:21]:
"Stephen and I were going to be married... It would have been exciting to be married to Stephen."

His alibi is thin, and his actions speak louder than his words, leading Clover to apprehend him as the prime suspect behind both murders.

Conclusion

Detective Danny Clover reflects on the case's resolution, emphasizing the thin line between appearance and reality on Broadway. The episode concludes with Clover navigating the chaotic and electrifying streets, ever vigilant in his quest for truth.

Detective Danny Clover [29:57]:
"When the night turns into Broadway the streets burst into fragments of electric flame... It's Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My Beat."

Notable Quotes

• Detective Danny Clover [02:00]:
  "There's a thing about Broadway. It mixes well with the sunlight..."

• Joseph O'Donoghue [02:46]:
  "Did you do what I told you?"

• Dr. Arthur Fulbright [04:11]:
  "You're questioning my diagnosis of the cause of Steve Courtney's death."

• Lilla Courtney [18:09]:
  "But not of the type affected by thoroughbreds. By racehorses? More like one off a truck horse. Or one that pulls a milk wagon."

• Joseph O'Donoghue [19:21]:
  "Stephen and I were going to be married... It would have been exciting to be married to Stephen."

Final Thoughts

"Broadway Is My Beat: The Steve Courtney Murder Case" masterfully combines suspense, character development, and the quintessential charm of old-time radio detective stories. Detective Danny Clover's relentless pursuit of the truth amidst the glitz of Broadway serves as a timeless reminder of the complexities hidden beneath surface appearances.

For fans of classic mysteries and compelling storytelling, this episode stands as a testament to the enduring allure of radio dramas from the Golden Age of Radio.

Transcript

[Health Expert]

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[Radio 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.

[Radio Announcer]

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

[Detective Danny Clover]

There's a thing about Broadway. It mixes well with the sunlight. On a noonday of summertime, the concrete strikes silver glints and the mob is nicely proportioned with silken ankles and dachshunds and windblown hairdos. And an organ grinder plays background music for the big grin and the clown's funny nose. At headquarters, I stood watching it, pushing away the time for the filling out of my routine reports. The diversions were down there in the streets. The girl and the yellow silk dress she wore, both knowing about summer and loving the feel of it. Then I heard two things. A sigh that came from me. The phone ringing. That came from the phone. Danny Clover speaking.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Did you do what I told you?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who is this?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Did you do it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Mr. Clover, I don't understand. Who am I talking to?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I wrote you a letter about Stephen Courtney.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But Stephen Courtney's dead.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Yes, I know he's dead. What's the matter with you? Everybody knows he's dead.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What's your interest in Courtney? Who are you?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Can't you see it doesn't matter who I am? Can't you understand? Stephen Courtney.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Hello? Hello? Hello?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

He was murdered.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It started that way. The anonymous call. Impossible to Trace the sifting through the dust of a man's death. Stephen Courtney's dying had for a moment upset the delicate balance of many worlds of finance, of corporate bodies, of dynasties in oil and steel and the breeding of racing horses. The decay that for months had wasted his body. Had forced him finally down to the level of all old men who must die. The headlines wept, the commentators lamented. The memos came down from chairman of boards. There'd be a minute of silence for the death of Stephen Courtney. But now it was spoiled. Now a voice cried murder. And a policeman must listen. In the records bureau, I found Stephen Courtney's death certificate. Cause of death, heart failure. Date of death, June 16th. Attending physician, Dr. Arthur Fulbright. In his office, Dr. Fulbright was poised, curious and annoyed.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Permit me to understand. You're questioning my diagnosis of the cause of Steve Courtney's death.

[Detective Danny Clover]

We can put it that way if you want.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

On what do you base this sudden presumption?

[Detective Danny Clover]

You have a right to know. On a phone call.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

From whom? Another doctor. Some quack who wants to destroy my reputation. Chooses to degrade me by having me questioned by the police.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It came from a woman. Who? She didn't say. All she said was Stephen Courtney was murdered.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

That's preposterous. Steve Courtney died last week as I had expected him to die of a coronary disorder. You knew he would die of it? As I knew it. His family, his servants, his enterprises.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But you'll fill me in, huh, Doctor? Because I wasn't that privileged.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Ah, the newspapers had it for months. How old Steve was bedridden. How he had chosen me, his intimate friend, to be his attending physician. How I kept him by sheer know how from death's door.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Still he died.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

There are things in heaven and earth.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tell me about his dying.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Normal. I had a call from his estate on Long Island. I canceled all other calls, Went out there, found old Steve lying sprawled on the floor, dead. Peacefully dead.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You said he was bedridden. Why was he.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Why was he on the floor? I confess the question occurred to me at the time. But then I rejected it. Like everything else, old Steve chose his own way of dying.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Describe it to me exactly how you found it.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

I have. He was sprawled in the middle of the room. He had knocked over a radio on a. Hmm. That's strange.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What is?

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

The radio. I'd left explicit instructions. Nothing of the sort. Was to be in the room with him. Too exciting? What do you know? Old Steve defied me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah, I guess he did at that. Sometimes it slips out of our hands, doesn't it, doctor. It took about an hour to drive to Long island in the estate of Stephen Courtney. And enough time driving through the estate to make an observation. The grass is always greener in a rich man's backyard. And plants that are only supposed to grow in the tropics will blossom on Long island as long as they're nurtured by thumbs turned green by association with money. The plenipotentiary of the hibiscus beds told me he didn't know whether there was anyone in the house or not. But try at the track, he said. Yeah, the racetrack way down there. Ms. Lilla would probably be there. She always was. Then some more of the tour to the private track of the late Stephen Courtney. When I got there, the decor was still intact. A golden girl riding a black racing stallion and a man leaning over the rails holding a stopwatch.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

He did fine, Ms. Lillard.

[Lilla Courtney]

Just fine.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Whoa, son. Prince. Steady, boy. Steady. That's the boy. How did he do, Joseph?

[Detective Danny Clover]

101 and two fists for the five furlongs.

[Lilla Courtney]

I'll help you down, Miss Lily.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

All right. Who's your friend?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Huh?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Your friend. I didn't notice any.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Hey. What are you doing here, mister? My name's Danny Clover. I didn't ask you that.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Danny. Cool off. Sun prints. Freddy. What can we do for you, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm from the police.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Fine. I'm Lilla Courtney. This is Joseph O' Donoghue, our trainer.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How do, Mr. O' Donoghue? What's the police want with Miss Lilla?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Joseph takes care of me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I see he does. The old man said I should.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

The old man said that, Ms. Lilla, Joseph.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The day he died. The next morning from that, his voice.

[Lilla Courtney]

Said to me, joseph, you see that Miss Lilla is all right.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

When did my father tell you that?

[Detective Danny Clover]

The morning after he died, your daddy.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Still talks to me the way he always did. I'm glad things like that happen to Joseph, Mr. Clover. Once.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Well, no. Tell me about it.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I once chartered a plane to take some people down to Baltimore. Last year's picnic. Joseph said, don't go. A voice came to him while he was sleeping and said, tell Miss Lilla not to go. But I went. The plane crashed. I was the only one who came out of it alive. Even at that. Well, here, feel my knee, Danny. Well, go ahead. You'll see. The doctor said I'd be a cripple for life.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Dr. Fulbright?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Oh, you know him?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We just met.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Don't go back to him, Danny. I think he's incompetent.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But he diagnosed Your father's sickness as heart disease.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I know. All right. I suppose I'm being malicious. Of course Daddy had trouble with his heart. Of course Dr. Fullbright is competent.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What about the radio in your father's room?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

What did you say, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

The radio. Your father wasn't supposed to have a radio in his room. He did. On the day he died.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

He did now. I don't understand either. Why are you here? Why is a policeman asking me questions about Daddy?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Call it routine. Don't talk to him, Miss Lily.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Joseph. I got a feeling about it. I say don't talk to him. Danny. Danny. I'm sorry. I've got to go now.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Some questions.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

You'd better talk to my brother. He's around someplace. Try the house. I just can't talk to you, Danny.

[Lilla Courtney]

You admire our graveyard of dead animals?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. Quite a trophy room, hmm? Yes.

[Lilla Courtney]

That stuffed specimen you're looking at. Bengal tiger. Many brave souls lie asleep in the deep Hindu jungle. All because old Steve wanted to bring home a pussycat.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Old Steve? Your father.

[Lilla Courtney]

My father. Brandy?

[Detective Danny Clover]

No. Then you're Burl. Yep.

[Lilla Courtney]

Mother and I got along fine. But old Steve said the boy is hard to handle. So he called me Burl. He thought that would make Mother angry. But Mother fooled him. She died a long time ago. First of the day, it says here.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You know who I am, why I'm here?

[Lilla Courtney]

No. The domestic staff is agog with it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

A woman called me. Said your father was murdered.

[Lilla Courtney]

It's a free country. They have the vote. They can say people were murdered. Even my father. Maybe it proves something.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Like what?

[Lilla Courtney]

That the old man was human enough to die when someone killed him. I didn't know that about him. I thought he always picked his own time and place for everything.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Then you think he died because he was ready to die?

[Lilla Courtney]

What does it matter? He's dead and I'm rich. We're all rich.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It'll be easier if you try to stay sober.

[Lilla Courtney]

Sober? When was that? All right, all right. I'll stay sober.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You said you're all rich. Who? Lilla.

[Lilla Courtney]

I watched you from a window. An exciting thing, Lilla. Wouldn't you say?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Lilla? Who else?

[Lilla Courtney]

You wouldn't say?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Well.

[Lilla Courtney]

Well, there's o' Donoghue. He got a big hunk. And the cook and the maids and the nurse. And a man in Iowa who shined my father's shoes once.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The nurse. Who was she?

[Lilla Courtney]

Alice Barnett. Nursed the old man for years. It paid off.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where is she?

[Lilla Courtney]

Who knows? Old Steve dies. Nursey goes somewhere to cry. Leaves this nice, big cozy mausoleum. No nursing anywhere.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She lived here.

[Lilla Courtney]

Bed and board and street dresses. Who cares?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We do. I'll phone headquarters to find her.

[Lilla Courtney]

Good hunting.

[Detective Danny Clover]

O' Donohue. The trainer, he told me your father talks to him even now.

[Lilla Courtney]

My father? Joseph hears voices all the time. About a month ago, he had a three way conversation with Orville and Wilbur Wright.

[Detective Danny Clover]

There was a radio in your father's room when he died. How did it get there?

[Lilla Courtney]

You know, I wouldn't know.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But he was dying. Surely you.

[Lilla Courtney]

I was a most unfilial son. Look, why don't you ask Nursey when you find her? See, she knew about things like that. Yeah. You just asked Nursey. I earned this.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Now.

[Tartaglia]

Welcome back to the Doldrums, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Huh?

[Tartaglia]

I was just leaving headquarters for the day. I thought it would be nice of me to welcome you back to them. The Doldrums?

[Detective Danny Clover]

What are you talking about?

[Tartaglia]

Well, Danny, since you have been cavorting with society and munching scones with the blue bloods, I wondered if you would be the same old Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And am I?

[Tartaglia]

Did you bring me a scone, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Uh, no scones. Tell me one thing. What about the nurse, Alice Barnett? Did you find her?

[Tartaglia]

She is being as scarce as a. As a.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You didn't find her as a. As a. Danny Clover speaking.

[Lilla Courtney]

You'd better get up here, Mr. Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who is this, Burl? What's the trouble?

[Lilla Courtney]

It's your business to find out.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Get up here. Somebody just got beaten to death. Over here. Over here.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

He's in there with.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Get him out.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Get him out.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It was a design in horror, done in grotesques. The horse rearing, screaming, clawing its hooves against the stall. The girl disheveled, twisted with terror, pleading with a feet.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Tia.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tia.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Leave him alone. No more.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Leave him alone. Tia Pearl, dazed, helpless, sodden with fright, with drunkenness. The blazing moon setting fire to the web of blood that reached out from under the stone gate.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Tia. No more.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tia. Daryl, help me. Help me. Get that horse out of there.

[Lilla Courtney]

I can't hide. But John, I can't.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tia's a good girl. Help me. Help me. All right, don't slide me anywhere. All right, I'll open the gate. You grab her mane. Come on now.

[Lilla Courtney]

Come on, Tia. There's a good girl.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come on, Tia.

[Lilla Courtney]

I.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Let her go.

[Health Expert]

It's true that some things change as we get older. But if you're a woman over 40 and you're dealing with insomnia, brain fog, moodiness and weight gain, you don't have to accept it as just another part of aging. And with mitihealth, you can get help and stop pushing through it alone. The experts at MITI understand that all these symptoms can be connected to the hormonal changes that happen around menopause. And MITI can help you feel more like yourself again. Many healthcare providers aren't trained to treat or even recognize menopause symptoms. MIDI clinicians are menopause experts. They're dedicated to providing safe, effective, FDA approved solutions for dozens of hormonal symptoms, not just hot flashes. Most importantly, they're covered by insurance. 91% of midi patients get relief from symptoms within just two months. You deserve to feel great. Book your virtual visit [e-mail] that's join M I D I.com.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Joseph. Oh poor Joseph. Poor dead Joseph. Dear Joseph, what happened?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Lilla, what happened?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I don't know. I was coming back from a moonlight ride. I heard Joseph scream. Tea. Who was standing over him when I found trampling him with her hooves. I tried to pull her away. I called Burl. We tried.

[Lilla Courtney]

Tia must have kicked him.

[Detective Danny Clover]

He fell and then she.

[Lilla Courtney]

Till he died.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tia. No, not like that, Burl. Joseph died because he was murder.

[Radio Announcer]

You are listening to Broadway's My Beat, written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and starring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. Don't let a rainy day find you unprepared. Start saving for that rainy day right now by buying United States Savings Bonds. If you hold onto your bonds until they mature, you'll get back $4 for every $3 you invested. Buy United States Savings Bonds. Reg.

[Detective Danny Clover]

In June, Broadway bursts out all over. It lulls in the breezes of the air conditioned movie, compares postcards from the family and the Catskills. It drinks deep of the neon scented summer air, sighs and wishes mom and the kids would stay there because Broadway's having a wonderful time. 60 girls. 60 will pass a given point at any given hour. The music drifting out of the diamond dance pavilions is like partaking of an open air band concert. And the drama on the front pages A movie. A sheer unadulterated drive in movie. Consider a tycoon dies. Someone calls up, says it's murder. A horse trainer is kicked to death by a horse gone crazy with the moonlight. The police say it's murder. Where else but on Broadway can you spend a summer in such a way? And in the technical lab a man in shirt sleeves wipes the sweat off his lips, breathes on a magnifying glass, wipes it on his pants, invites you to hold it to a photograph.

[Lilla Courtney]

Have a look, Mr. Clover. I suppose congratulations are in order. All because you made a lucky guess. Come, come, it was only a guess, was it not? You're saying this Joseph o' Donoghue was murdered? Anyway, the photographs, my analysis quite bear you out. Oh, yes. This one in particular. See the back of the skull. It's quite plain on this one that o' Donoghue was beaten to death. But not by a horse. By a weapon, to make it look like a horse.

[Detective Danny Clover]

A horseshoe, I'll bet.

[Lilla Courtney]

But not of the type affected by thoroughbreds. By racehorses? More like one off a truck horse. Or one that pulls a milk wagon. Ergo. Considering the circumstances, my view is the man was murdered by a human wielding a heavy horseshoe.

[Detective Danny Clover]

He.

[Lilla Courtney]

Technical. Konreid speaking. Yes. Yes, he is here. Yes, As I will tell him. Gentlemen, there is a woman waiting for you in your office. A Ms. Alice Barnett. Lucky guess, huh? Mr. Clover?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. I didn't even have a magnifying glass. Ms. Barnett?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Yes.

[Detective Danny Clover]

We've been looking for you.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Yes, I thought perhaps you were. I come to give myself up.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You're the one who called me. Who told me Steve and Courtney had been murdered.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Yes. I wrote you a letter, too. But there must be many things you want to ask me.

[Detective Danny Clover]

There are. Why'd you hide?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Because I was foolish. Because I was frightened. Because. I don't really know. It's all mixed up. You see, Stephen and I were going to be married.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Oh?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

As soon as he got. Well, it was all planned. It would have been exciting to be married to Stephen. Not for the money, just for Stephen.

[Detective Danny Clover]

He was much older.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Was he? I loved him. I didn't notice.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I see. Why do you think he was murdered?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Because it happened on my day off. Because I don't think he would have died if I'd been there.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where were you?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

In town. Shopping. Walking in the park. Feeding the pigeons in St. Patrick's for a while. It was quiet there. Restful.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But no place we can check.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

No, I don't think so.

[Detective Danny Clover]

On your days off, who took your place?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

We had an arrangement with the nurses registry. I don't know who it was that day. It was usually a different nurse each week.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'll check. Where?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

On Madison at 49th. It's in the book.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You think Stephen was murdered? In your opinion, who would have a reason?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Whoever wanted all the money. The money Stephen would have settled on me as his wife. Lilla Burl o' Donohue.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But o' Donohue has been murdered. That makes the Jackpot bigger for the rest of you, doesn't it?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

It does. It means another 50,000 for me. I don't know about the others.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where were you the night o' Donohue was murdered?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

At a movie. It's a feeble alibi, isn't it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm holding you, Ms. Barnett, on suspicion of murder. Ms. Barnett accepted it. She folded her hands in her lap and waited patiently until a man in uniform nudged his head through the door, got the signal from me and gave the signal to her. Somehow I got the idea that as long as she would stay in jail, people would spend their time apologizing to. It was a time for thinking about things. Too many people had been unconcerned about the death of Stephen Courtney. And in the murder of Joseph o' Donohue, the man who heard voices there, that was the thing to think about. Somehow, the first death necessitated the second. And in the matter of the nurse sent by the registry, that also needed looking into, I did.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

The receptionist said you were a policeman.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's right.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

You wish to hire a nurse? Maternity. Your wife?

[Detective Danny Clover]

No, it's not that at all. We're conducting an investigation.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

And you want to see me?

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's right. It's about one of your nurses.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

One of the newer ones, I suppose. If you would have seen the crop that just graduated that just registered with us.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Plantas, plantas y mas plantas in Country, Farm and Garden, aqui miso and yakima in la venida Washington des de los pimientos must be cantes del mundo as the las flores mace hermosas lot tenemos.

[Radio Announcer]

Todo caratisado jalapeno Roma y super chile en existencia todo los dias un paquete.

[Detective Danny Clover]

De cuatro vejetales cues solo tres doles.

[Radio Announcer]

Convention hueves and tabos vena Country, Farm.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And garden para todo tus vegetales, tomates.

[Radio Announcer]

Cebollas, pimientos y pepinos, siempre and existencia and Country, Farm and Garden and Avenida, Watson and Yakima.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

Some of them are pretty.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I wouldn't know. I want some information about the nurse assigned to the case of Stephen Courtney.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

There were several of them. I'm afraid you'll have to help me if you want me to help you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The relief nurse assigned to Mr. Courtney on June 16, the day he died.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

Thanks. That's what I like. Now we shall see. Courtney. Courtney. You see, we have them cross filed. Patient's name, nurse's name, doctor's name, name of the illness.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Courtney.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

Courtney. J. Courtney, S. Samuel Courtney, S. Steven. Here we are. I said, here we are.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Tell me about it. I was never much good with charts.

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

Each little line has a meeting all its own. As you see here. There is no line at all opposite the date of June 16th. So we turn the chart over, naturally, and we see the reason why, written in longhand. On June 16, there was a phone call from the Courtney household telling us not to send a replacement on that day.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Oh, who called and said that?

[Nurse Registry Receptionist]

Why, I wouldn't know. For information like that, you'd have to go straight to the source. Naturally.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Perhaps if I'm more explicit, Mr. Clover, you'll understand. No one is to go into Miss Lilla's room, not even the police.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Those are your orders, Doctor.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Precisely mine.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Then you won't mind justifying them to the mere police.

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Justify what presumption you people have. However, Miss Lilla is quite ill. Psychotic shock. Two people she loved very much are dead. She tried to stave off the inevitable by riding G, et cetera, et cetera. But it's. It's caught up with her natural in a woman of Miss Leller's sensitive fiber.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah, I guess it is, Doctor. Who gave the order that no replacement nurse was needed the day Stephen died? You?

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about. No nurse? Well, that's preposterous. Surely not.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Get out of here.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Get out of here.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Whatever could that shock, huh? Sensitive fiber, huh, Doctor?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

You're a vicious girl. You're ugly and vicious and drunk.

[Lilla Courtney]

No, no. Little stuff, sister. Don't throw anything else. It'll only bring on a relapse. Come on now. Poor, sick little sister out of bed.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Leave her alone, Burl. Are you all right, Lilla?

[Lilla Courtney]

Are you all right, Lila? Sure you're all right. Everybody thinks you're so sick, little sister.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Shut up, Earl. You can't say that to me.

[Lilla Courtney]

I am the master here. Now, you, Lila o' Donna, Hugh, old Steve. I crack the whip and I.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Girl. Girl. Are you hurt?

[Detective Danny Clover]

He'll be all right. Just let him sleep it off.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I'm sorry. Sorry you had to see us like this, Danny. It's all so ugly. So like they want us to be in the papers, isn't it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

You're not really sick, are you?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

No, Danny. Just tired. I fixed it up with Dr. Fulbright so they'd leave me alone. I don't know. Doing it this way, maybe it proves I really am sick. You think?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Lilla, listen to me. The day your father died, there should have been a Nurse here? Why wasn't there?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I don't know. We thought maybe things got all mixed up down at the nurses registry.

[Detective Danny Clover]

No one showed up because they were called and told not to. Who did that, Lilla?

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Someone called? I don't know. I don't know who it could have been. Danny. I told you, I don't know.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Quite a frank. Willa.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I told you. Get out. Get out. I can't take anymore.

[Tartaglia]

Look at it, Denny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The boys found it, huh? It's not pretty.

[Tartaglia]

A horseshoe nailed to a club. They dug it up back at the far turn of the Courtney track. Murder happened, Danny. The thing that beat o' Donohue to death.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'd say so to Tagline.

[Tartaglia]

You know, it's not enough. I'm up to my elbows in the solution to this case with horses, but I had to go to the movies last night.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Poor you.

[Tartaglia]

Comes the newsreel and more horses. The running of the Westfall Handicap. Nip and tuck. Nip and tuck all the way home. Oh, Danny, that Sun Prince. What a horse.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who?

[Tartaglia]

Sun Prince, the horse that almost won the Westfall Handicap. I'm telling you, I almost had heart failure.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why?

[Dr. Arthur Fulbright]

Well, look.

[Tartaglia]

Here was this horse six lengths out in front. He stumbles, throws his jockey.

[Detective Danny Clover]

This Westfall Handicap, when was it run?

[Tartaglia]

Oh, Danny, I can see you are a man who is not smitten by the bobtails. This handicap was run last Saturday. Let's see, June 16th.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Gino, you went and did it. You put two and two together, and.

[Tartaglia]

I got four, huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Not only that, Gino, you got a murder. There was no hurry after that. Took my time driving out to the Courtney estate. I didn't even have to go to the house. I saw what I was looking for on a small knoll that overlooked the grounds. Lilla. Lilla, holding the reins of a black stallion, standing against the early evening. A precise composition sculptured to catch the eye. There was a flaw to it. Lilla had seen me coming, and the post she'd struck was too steady, too pat. But it held until I walked to her, touched her arm. Oh, you've recovered, Lilla.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Not really. Look at. How do I look?

[Detective Danny Clover]

The same. You've got some more clothes on than the last time I saw you outside of that. The same.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I'm glad, but I need this. The quiet, the evening riding. You want to ride with me, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

No.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

I expected you to come. I thought sometime soon you'd come back and use the gamut of. Let's ride together. Lilla and I made it easy for you. Now, I don't understand you at all.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm trying to make up my mind about you.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Oh, how can you? You're not really trying.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Whether your murder becomes you or not.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

It made me ill for a while. You saw that.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You're faking, Lilla. It's how you reacted to committing murder.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Me?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Your father's murder. O' Donohue's.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Oh, you're a fool, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Your father's murder. By attending him yourself instead of a nurse. By turning on the radio when his prize horse raced. The excitement when the horse stumbled stopped your father's heart and brought you a lot of money.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Is that murder because a horse stumbled? Because my father's heart stopped. Eventually it'll happen to all of us, Ms. Donahue.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Because you were afraid of him. Because you really believed he heard voices. Because you thought one day your father's voice might tell Joseph who killed him.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Ride with me, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

No. Come on, Lilla.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

You're a fool, son.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Prince. Get off that horse.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

Up, Prince. Kill him. Kill him, Prince. Kill him.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The stallion reared high, pawed at the gathering darkness, his jowls flecked with foam. Then a hoof caught me, spun me, and again I looked up from the ground. He was a monster, poised on his haunches.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

France.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Suddenly lost balance, fell to his back, recovered, and in an instant, he was a fleeting shadow. When I got to the girl and I got to Lilla, she was small, huddled. She didn't move. Only in her eyes was there life. And it held briefly.

[Joseph O'Donoghue]

And it stopped.

[Detective Danny Clover]

When the night turns into Broadway the streets burst into fragments of electric flame Fling reflections hard into the shadows. It's a piece torn out of a jagged dream. The twisted concrete, the blare that ebbs then screams again. The faces that dart and waver and are lost forever. It's Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My Beat.

[Radio Announcer]

Broadway's My Beat stars Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover, with Charles Calvert as Tartaglia. The program was produced and directed by Elliot Lewis. The musical score was composed and conducted by Alexander Courage. Included in tonight's cast were Joan Banks, Mary Lansing, Florence Lake, Francis X. Bushman, Elliot Reid and Junius Matthews. For more adventures with Danny Clover and Broadway Is My Beautiful. CBS invites you to make a date with them for Monday evening, July 3rd. Yes, after tonight's broadcast, Broadway's My Beat moves to Mondays for the summer, starting July 3rd. Next week at this time, you'll hear the premiere broadcast of a new CBS show called Songs for Sale, featuring Jan Murray, Tony Bennett and Bray Block's orchestra. Celebrities from the music world will meet songwriters with unpublished music on Songs for sale. And you'll find it's full of fun and tunes of all kinds. Be sure to join us Monday, July 3, for the next broadcast of Broadway's My Beat. Joe Walters speaking. This is cbs, where the Goldbergs are. Every Saturday night, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Sa.