Nero Wolfe: The Malevolent Medic 02/23/1951

Summary

Podcast Summary: Nero Wolfe: The Malevolent Medic (02/23/1951)

From: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Aired: February 3, 2026 (original air date: February 23, 1951)
Starring: Sydney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe

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Episode Overview

This classic episode finds the famously immovable detective, Nero Wolfe, and his wisecracking assistant, Archie Goodwin, embroiled in the mysterious death of Leslie Horton—a wealthy, troubled socialite who dies suddenly in her doctor’s office. What appears as a straightforward heart attack becomes a tangled web of jealousy, heartbreak, and secrets, culminating in a quintessential Rex Stout twist. Wolfe is pressed into investigating by Hal Horton, the dead woman’s husband, who suspects foul play involving his wife’s former lover, Dr. Benjamin Sloan.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Case Introduced

• [00:51–01:50] Archie receives a call from Hal Horton about a “murder.” Wolfe dismisses wealthy clients but is soon intrigued by the circumstances.
• Notable banter: "Mr. Wolf doesn't take kindly to big industrialists. Says their great wealth upsets his digestion." (Archie Goodwin, 00:55)

2. The Victim and Her Entanglements

• [02:21–07:00] Dr. Benjamin Sloan is introduced, along with his nurse (and fiancée) Grace Banks. Mrs. Leslie Horton, emotionally unstable and infatuated with Sloan, visits for her thiamine injections.
• Tensions arise: Leslie is desperate for Sloan's love, loathes her husband Hal, and threatens both Sloan and Grace with exposing their relationship.
• Memorable declaration: “If I ever get in that condition after we’re married, please shoot me.” (Grace Banks to Sloan, 03:10)
• Death occurs: Leslie becomes violently ill following her injection and collapses in pain. She dies before help arrives, ostensibly from heart failure.

3. Wolfe Is Engaged

• [08:56–11:20] Hal Horton visits Wolfe, insisting that his wife was murdered and pointing suspicion at Dr. Sloan due to old love letters and unusual secrecy.
• Wolfe’s skepticism and practical attitude toward clients is palpable:
  "Frankly, I planned to spend the evening examining the first edition of Henry James I'd like to purchase. And the word fee suggested a possible way." (Nero Wolfe, 09:31)

4. The Investigation

• [11:52–15:19]
  • Archie interviews Sloan and Grace Banks; both deny any wrongdoing.
  • Archie's charm gets him only so far with Grace, but he gleans:
    • The injection was administered by the book.
    • Mrs. Horton indicated pain “all over,” not just her heart.
    • The office’s medical records are in order; no apparent malpractice.

5. Digging Deeper—The Evidence Hunt

• [16:27–17:13]
  • Wolfe remains unconvinced and pushes Archie to search Sloan’s office for incriminating evidence.
  • Archie finds a passionate letter from Leslie to Sloan, suggesting obsession.

6. Showdown in Wolfe’s Office

• [18:01–21:04]
  • Sloan and Grace arrive at Wolfe’s. Each tries to shield the other, both believing the other may be guilty and seeking to take the blame.
  • Wolfe tests their stories and points out contradictions—especially why Sloan used a stomach pump for a heart case:
    • “The pain in the feet suggested poisoning... an inorganic poison.” (Nero Wolfe, 19:09)
  • Wolfe calls the medical examiner to order a toxicology screen on Leslie’s body.

7. The Twist Revealed

• [25:01–27:32]
  • Evidence mounts and everyone gathers: Sloan, Grace, Hal Horton, Inspector Kramer, Archie, and Wolfe.
  • Faced with new findings (presence of poison in Leslie’s body), suspicion falls on Sloan and Grace—but Wolfe deduces otherwise.
  • Central clue: Leslie’s handbag has a secret compartment containing a hypodermic. Wolfe concludes it was suicide born from emotional collapse:

    "The case of the Malevolent Medic is closed." (Nero Wolfe, 27:32)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wolfe on his methods:
  “The intricacies of the feminine nature are challenging if you do not have to come in contact with the creatures. The practical research in such matters I leave to Mr. Goodwin. Here it is the field in which he specializes.” (Nero Wolfe, 11:20)
• Archie’s signature flirtatiousness:
  “You're the kind of nurse that patients dream about. Make it a pleasure to go to a hospital. Blonde hair, blue eyes, winkers an inch long. Are they real?” (Archie Goodwin to Grace Banks, 13:24)
• Wolfe’s deduction:
  "Pain in the feet suggested poisoning... an inorganic poison." (Nero Wolfe, 19:09)
• On handbags and women:
  “I know nothing about women, but on my occasional trips abroad I have been forced to observe their handbags. Monstrosities. They hold anything and everything.” (Nero Wolfe, 27:35)
• Closing sentiment:
  “Here’s to your better luck next time.” (Nero Wolfe to Archie Goodwin, 28:27)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:21–07:00] – Introductions, office drama, and Leslie Horton’s collapse and death
• [08:56–11:20] – Wolfe meets Hal Horton; the case officially begins
• [13:04–15:19] – Archie interviews Grace Banks; outlines the whole sequence of Leslie’s death
• [17:13–18:01] – Archie uncovers infatuated letters in Sloan’s office
• [19:00–19:30] – Wolfe links foot pain to poisoning; orders toxicology
• [25:07–27:32] – The climactic gathering; Wolfe reveals Leslie’s suicide and clears the innocent

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Conclusion

This episode is a classic whodunit masterfully unfolding in layers of jealousy, unrequited love, and suspicion. Wolfe’s cool logic and Archie’s street-smart sleuthing lead them through red herrings to a compassionate finale—Leslie Horton’s death was not murder but a tragic suicide, driven by heartbreak and disillusionment. The script is laced with sharp repartee, period charm, and a pragmatic yet humane perspective on the frailties behind the case.

For listeners: A sparkling example of Golden Age detective drama—delightful for both its mystery and its sly character work.

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Primary Cast:

• Nero Wolfe: Sydney Greenstreet
• Archie Goodwin: Harry Bartel
• Grace Banks:
• Hal Horton:
• Dr. Benjamin Sloan:
• Leslie Horton:
• Inspector Kramer:

(Supporting actors’ details, as announced at end: Gene Bates, Vic Parron, Bruce Payne, Bill Johnstone, and Mary Lansing.)

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Listen for:

• Archie's irreverence and Wolfe’s suffocating logic
• The show's deft balance of suspense, romance, and dry humor
• How details as small as a handbag's secret compartment can crack a case

Transcript

[Don Stanley]

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] Stay tuned for Nero Wolf.

[Narrator]

Transcribed in 30 seconds. Tomorrow you're invited to a one hour concert by the renowned NBC Symphony. The orchestra will be under the direction of Bruno Walter for tomorrow's performance and celebrated violinist Joseph Zaghetti will be featured soloist. Selections for tomorrow include the overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and the same composer's brilliant concerto for violin and orchestra. You're invited every Saturday to a concert by the NBC Symphony. Ladies and gentlemen, the ringing of that phone bell brings you mystery adventure.

[Archie Goodwin]

Nero Wolf's office. Archie Goodwin speaking.

[Nero Wolfe]

Who?

[Archie Goodwin]

Mr. Hal Horton, United Industries. Oh, I see. Well, I must warn you, Mr. Horton, Mr. Wolf doesn't take kindly to big industrialists. Says their great wealth upsets his digestion. Why do you want to see him? The connection's bad. I don't hear. Who?

[Nero Wolfe]

Who?

[Archie Goodwin]

Mr. Horton who? We're cut off.

[Nero Wolfe]

What is it, Mr. Goodwin?

[Archie Goodwin]

Mr. Hal Horton called.

[Nero Wolfe]

I understand that. I won't see him. Tell him what money I have to invest I put into orchid plants.

[Archie Goodwin]

Mr. Horton wasn't promoting anything.

[Nero Wolfe]

And what did he call you for?

[Archie Goodwin]

The great Horton needs a detective. Maybe just my occupational reflex. But I thought he said somebody'd been murdered.

[Narrator]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's that genius is the bulkiest, bulkiest, most ponderous and most brilliant detective in the world. Yes, none other than that chairborne mass of unpredictable intellect.

[Archie Goodwin]

Nero Wolf, created by Rex Stout and.

[Narrator]

Brought to you in a new series of adventures over this NBC network in the person of Mr. Sydney Greenstreet.

[Archie Goodwin]

It turned out that what Horton had said had been murder, which became celebrated in the case of the malevolent medic. But its solution wasn't a simple matter of following up his accusation. It had false clues mixed all through it like raisins in a pudding. The man we came to know as the malevolent medic was young Dr. Benjamin Sloan. The case began on the sunny afternoon when Grace Banks, his nurse, came into his private office.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Waiting rooms finally empty.

[Grace Banks]

I take it there's one more patient, darling. I'm sorry, doctor. Mrs. Horton's here for another of the thiamine chloride shots you ordered for.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I said you could give her those. Grace, she doesn't have to wait to see me.

[Grace Banks]

Well, she's hung up her mink coat, parked her orchid and her alligator bag and filled up all the ashtrays. With lipstick, cigarette stubs. Mrs. Horton prefers to wait for you. She seems very upset.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I hoped she'd get hold of herself.

[Grace Banks]

Mrs. Hal Horton. With all that money, whatever gives us such jitters? Darling, if I ever get in that condition after we're married, please shoot me.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I've advised her to go to a specialist. Hers isn't a true medical case. Well, I'll do what I can. Get a needle ready, will you, Grace? And show Mrs. Horton in?

[Grace Banks]

Yes, darling. I mean doctor. Mrs. Horton, will you step in now?

[Leslie Horton]

Been in the waiting room for hours, Ben. I wrote you every day this week. Why didn't you answer me?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

You say your health hasn't improved, Leslie.

[Leslie Horton]

I'm worse. Much worse.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Still chain smoking, drinking and the sleeping pill.

[Leslie Horton]

I have to take something. I can't walk the floor all night, can I? Thinking, Thinking.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Why are you so unhappy, Leslie? You have what you always said you wanted. Money, clothes, excitement.

[Leslie Horton]

You have the right to say that. But don't. Please don't.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I'm only pointing out facts you should face. I told you from the beginning you need a nerve specialist.

[Leslie Horton]

I need you. Nobody else can help me at all.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Leslie, you went over this the last time you were here. And in all those letters you've been sending. Now let's cross it off for good, shall we?

[Leslie Horton]

Don't talk like that. You don't mean to.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I'm no longer a lovesick dope. And you're the wife of one of the biggest industrialists in the country.

[Leslie Horton]

Yes, Hal Horton. I despise him. He thinks his money makes him God. He thinks he can buy anything that he bought me. He made me think I was getting the world with a fence around it. Everything I want is on the other side of that fence.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

You don't know what you do want.

[Leslie Horton]

I want us the way we used to be. Happy.

[Hal Horton]

In love together.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Leslie, please be quiet.

[Archie Goodwin]

Why?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Ms. Banks is in the laboratory. She can hear you.

[Grace Banks]

What of it? I'm not ashamed. I'll tell her.

[Leslie Horton]

I'll tell everybody. Imagine Hal's face when he finds out I'm leaving him. But I'm coming back to you. He already knows about you. I told him you were in love with me, that you're jealous.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

He doesn't like Leslie. You're raving. Now stop it.

[Leslie Horton]

You always said I was the most attractive woman in the world.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

You made your choice. Now get this into your head. I'm really in love now. In a few weeks, I'm going to be married. Now I'll get your medicine.

[Grace Banks]

So it's really true. You are going to be married.

[Leslie Horton]

Yes, I heard it, but I didn't believe it. Going to marry a nurse. All my friends have known and been laughing at me.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Please, now, that's enough.

[Hal Horton]

I made a plan.

[Leslie Horton]

A wonderful, beautiful plan about us.

[Grace Banks]

Ben, you love me.

[Leslie Horton]

Ben, say you love me.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Mrs. Horton, that is all over. You don't love me no longer. You're here as my patient and that's all. After this treatment, I must ask you.

[Archie Goodwin]

To get another doctor.

[Leslie Horton]

A wonderful, beautiful plan for us. And now she threatens to step in and spoil it. Well, maybe I'll spoil a few plans. How would you like that?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Threats will accomplish nothing.

[Grace Banks]

I can ruin things for you, Ben.

[Leslie Horton]

All those fancy ideas of yours about having a fine practice, being a great doctor. Do you want to give those up? I can arrange it so that maybe there won't be any wonderful future for you. Are you prepared to face that possibility? Because I'm prepared to make it a reality. And I mean it. You'll regret this day as long as you live.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I'll get your medicine, Mrs. Horton.

[Leslie Horton]

Hand me my bag. Thank you.

[Hal Horton]

Oh, I hate you, ben. I hate you both.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Sorry to have kept you waiting, Mrs. Horton. Ms. Banks had to do a repair job before she could use a sterilizer. Alcohol, Ms. Banks?

[Grace Banks]

Yes, Dr. Sloan. Now, Mrs. Horton, may I help?

[Leslie Horton]

Thanks. So nice of you.

[Grace Banks]

There. Bright side for the hypo this time, isn't it? Just touch with this cotton. Ready now, Doctor.

[Leslie Horton]

Oh.

[Grace Banks]

What's the matter, Mrs. Horton? I'm just cold. Alcohol.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

After this, I advise you to go home and rest. These massive doses are a little painful, but they give results. There, that's all. Just relax here and you can leave in 10 minutes. Come, Ms. Banks. I want to talk to you.

[Hal Horton]

Doctor. Doctor, I feel sick. I feel very sick.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

You might as well stop acting.

[Hal Horton]

I can't get up. My feet.

[Grace Banks]

Ben, look at her. Something's happened.

[Nero Wolfe]

Hysteria.

[Leslie Horton]

No.

[Grace Banks]

Her face.

[Hal Horton]

And she's falling.

[Grace Banks]

Mrs. Horton, hold on to me.

[Leslie Horton]

I've got you.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Leslie, what is it?

[Hal Horton]

Pain. Terrible pain.

[Archie Goodwin]

Where?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

What from?

[Hal Horton]

Sick. Everywhere. Pain.

[Leslie Horton]

Everything.

[Hal Horton]

Pain. Pain in my head. Pain in my feet. My feet. My feet.

[Grace Banks]

Doctor, she. She's dead.

[Archie Goodwin]

Yes. Grace, Get a card from the files.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I. I want to study it. From the first day Mrs. Horton came here.

[Grace Banks]

What was it, Ben? What happened to her?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Symptoms are of a heart condition from which it seems the patient has just expired. Then you must call her husband. Grace, did you Hear me?

[Grace Banks]

Yes, Dr. Sloan.

[Nero Wolfe]

Well, I discourage your visit here, Mr. Horton. I do have a sort of curiosity about the operation of so called big business. Maybe offer you a glass of beer and hear an explanation of the rise and fall of this morning's stock market.

[Hal Horton]

You don't think I've come here socially? I wish to engage your services but not available. You're a detective, aren't you?

[Nero Wolfe]

Specializing in cases that interest me.

[Archie Goodwin]

Sherry, Mr. Horton?

[Hal Horton]

I don't need it, thank you.

[Archie Goodwin]

But Mr. Wolf says he specializes in.

[Hal Horton]

Cases that I've just got here. I haven't told my story. I don't believe you even know who I am.

[Nero Wolfe]

Oh, yes, we do.

[Archie Goodwin]

We do indeed.

[Nero Wolfe]

A millionaire.

[Hal Horton]

Did I offend you by speaking of a fee?

[Nero Wolfe]

No, on the contrary, it is that portion of your conversation which interested me most. Frankly, I planned to spend the evening examining the first edition of Henry James I'd like to purchase. And the word fee suggested a possible way. Now what have you done, sir?

[Hal Horton]

What have I done?

[Nero Wolfe]

One doesn't have to be a detective to recognize you're in trouble, Mr. Horton.

[Hal Horton]

Look, Mr. Wolf, I have done nothing. But I've got a question I've got to have answered. I need facts. They tell me you're the man who can give them to me if Nero.

[Archie Goodwin]

Wolf can't get them for you. They're not facts, they're fancies.

[Hal Horton]

Mr. Horton, my story's involved, but the.

[Nero Wolfe]

Gist of it is your beautiful wife, a former model, died last week. The death certificate indicated a heart attack. You suggest she was murdered.

[Hal Horton]

How did you know?

[Nero Wolfe]

Never mind how I came to my conclusions, how did you come to yours?

[Hal Horton]

Leslie had been going to a doctor, Benjamin Sloan. She said he was a specialist some friend had recommended. She'd been upset. He was giving her vitamin B shots, she told me.

[Nero Wolfe]

You doubt that was true?

[Hal Horton]

Dr. Sloan informed me after she died in his office there'd been a heart condition from the beginning. Well, I don't believe it. Leslie was a very emotional girl. She'd have been quite frightened of a heart ailment. She'd have told me about it.

[Nero Wolfe]

Maybe she didn't comprehend its seriousness.

[Hal Horton]

Dr. Sloane did. Why didn't he get in touch with me at once about it? Then when I went to clear up Leslie's room, I discovered something. Leslie didn't go to Sloane through a friend. She'd known him when she was a model and he was a hospital intern. She'd kept letters he'd written to her then. Love letters.

[Nero Wolfe]

Gee.

[Hal Horton]

Well, doesn't that give you an idea, Mr. Wolfe? Sloane lost Leslie to me. No man who had been in love with Leslie had ever got over it. Would a man be jealous enough kill a woman he loved rather than have her belong to another man?

[Nero Wolfe]

An interesting theory, Mr. Horton, one frequently advanced in fiction. Shall we investigate and see how it works out?

[Hal Horton]

In fact you'll take the case then?

[Nero Wolfe]

The intricacies of the feminine nature are challenging if you do not have to come in contact with the creatures. The practical research in such matters I leave to Mr. Goodwin. Here it is the field in which he specializes.

[Hal Horton]

But it's you I want.

[Nero Wolfe]

Our method of operation is not under your control, Mr. Horton. You'll be so kind, Archie, get a first hand report of Dr. Benjamin Sloan and the women in his life.

[Archie Goodwin]

Just came to ask a few routine questions. Dr. Sloan.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I don't understand your interest in the Horton case. Mr. Goodwin, is it?

[Archie Goodwin]

That's right.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

The death certificate was signed and a report made to the medical inspector.

[Archie Goodwin]

Detectives are a snoopy lot.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Detectives. Are you from the police department?

[Archie Goodwin]

No, I'm employed to note some details before we close up the Leslie Horton estate. Sudden deaths have to be double checked.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I'm afraid I can't add a thing to what I've already reported.

[Archie Goodwin]

Well, thanks for seeing me anyhow. Been a pleasant visit. Ever have a patient die in your office before, Dr. Sloan?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

No, but I've seen similar cases in the hospital. Of course.

[Archie Goodwin]

Was Mrs. Horton warned about her heart condition, Dr. Sloan?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I discussed her case with her fully and frankly.

[Archie Goodwin]

And her husband? Wasn't Mr. Horton alarmed?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

He didn't know Mrs. Horton's ailment was. Well, not to bore a layman with medical details was not a fatal one necessarily. She might have gone on for years.

[Archie Goodwin]

Just played in. Bad luck, huh?

[Nero Wolfe]

The worst.

[Archie Goodwin]

When'd you first meet her?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Several weeks ago.

[Archie Goodwin]

And you saw her how many times?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

It's all on the record. She was nervous. I prescribed thiamine chloride. Her medical report card shows that. You read it for yourself.

[Archie Goodwin]

Well, I guess that's all. Dr. Sloan won't bother you further.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Ms. Banks will show you out.

[Grace Banks]

Yes, Dr. Sloan.

[Archie Goodwin]

Sort of a modern Aladdin arrangement, isn't it? Wish I could press a buzzer and have a beautiful girl like you appear.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Mr. Goodwin is leaving.

[Grace Banks]

This way, Mr. Goodwin. You can use the side door. The waiting room's full of patients.

[Archie Goodwin]

So long, doctor.

[Grace Banks]

This way through the lab. There's a door from it into the corridor.

[Archie Goodwin]

Cozy place. All those bottles. I suppose there's enough stuff in here to kill an army to cure one. Ms. Banks, may I say that you're the kind of a nurse that patients Dream about. Make it a pleasure to go to a hospital. Blonde hair, blue eyes, winkers an inch long. Are they real?

[Grace Banks]

If you'll excuse me.

[Archie Goodwin]

Who I have to come down with to persuade you to take care of me.

[Grace Banks]

I don't take cases. I'm a technician. Good day, mister.

[Archie Goodwin]

So you work just for Dr. Sloan. That's too bad. The way he's involved in this Horton case. Looks serious.

[Grace Banks]

Mrs. Horton simply died of a heart attack in Dr. Sloan's office.

[Archie Goodwin]

If you wanted to help your boss, Ms. Banks, you'd stop rushing around and answer a few questions.

[Grace Banks]

I'm sure Dr. Sloan gave you the necessary information.

[Archie Goodwin]

Guess he doesn't realize the trouble he's in. If you can supply any details that'll change the picture.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

You'll be doing him a great favor.

[Archie Goodwin]

He's a nice guy. I want to help.

[Grace Banks]

What is there to say? The report.

[Archie Goodwin]

Let's get it in your own words, just what really happened here that day.

[Grace Banks]

Well, Dr. Sloan gave Mrs. Horton the vitamin B shot. That was routine. But she didn't get up afterward. She said she was sick and then she fell and I caught her.

[Archie Goodwin]

And Dr. Sloan administered emergency treatment. What did that consist of, Ms. Banks?

[Grace Banks]

All that is in the office record.

[Archie Goodwin]

What would bring on such an attack?

[Grace Banks]

It could have been several things.

[Archie Goodwin]

Could it have been something she ate? Acute indigestion affects the heart. Maybe Mrs. Horton would be here now if the doctor thought to use a stomach pump.

[Grace Banks]

He did use one. He did everything there was time to do.

[Archie Goodwin]

She certainly went in a hurry. Suffer a lot.

[Grace Banks]

She said she was in pain.

[Archie Goodwin]

Where? Her stomach?

[Grace Banks]

No, not her stomach.

[Archie Goodwin]

Where then?

[Grace Banks]

She seemed to be in pain all over.

[Archie Goodwin]

Reflex, maybe. When it was over, what did you do, Ms. Banks?

[Grace Banks]

Call Mr. Horton?

[Archie Goodwin]

Must have been a blow to the great man. I understand she was younger than he is and quite a sultry girl.

[Grace Banks]

I've talked to you professionally because you said it was necessary to help Dr. Sloan. Is that all, Mr. Goodwin?

[Archie Goodwin]

I guess it is for now. Unless you'll have dinner with me.

[Grace Banks]

Thank you, no.

[Archie Goodwin]

I'm handsome, hard working and harmless. I'll bring you references from my employer.

[Hal Horton]

What do you say?

[Grace Banks]

The express elevator's the one on the right?

[Archie Goodwin]

Must be. There's another man. Wouldn't be the doctor, would it? Well, you'll fit better in a Pullman kitchen than here among the test tubes. At that. My reluctant congratulations. Patty got you innocent as lambs, both Sloan and the nurse.

[Nero Wolfe]

Evidence to prove it.

[Archie Goodwin]

My unfailing sensibility is not the murderer type. Nice couple, doctor and the nurse? I suspect they're engaged. She's so much in love with him. I could have been you and she wouldn't have known the difference.

[Nero Wolfe]

Very flattering. Records?

[Archie Goodwin]

The usual medical record. Mrs. Horton's first visit, symptoms, subsequent visits. Here are the notes on it.

[Grace Banks]

Hmm.

[Nero Wolfe]

Vitamin B shots. No chance they brought this honor.

[Archie Goodwin]

Dr. Sloan says absolutely not. I checked that with other doctors. But Mrs. Horton did go into this right after the hypo nurse. The story jives and Sloans little more detailed. She says he did everything, even used a stomach pump.

[Nero Wolfe]

The woman was in pain. What's this? Head defeat.

[Archie Goodwin]

My way of saying pain all over.

[Nero Wolfe]

What other papers did you examine?

[Archie Goodwin]

Only the medical record.

[Nero Wolfe]

Get back to Sloan's office late tonight and examine all the papers in his desk.

[Archie Goodwin]

Can't you trust me? I tell you there's no reason even to suspect these two when you have.

[Nero Wolfe]

One of your adolescent's infatuations on. Blood dripping from a dagger in a girl's hand would look to you like crushed rose petals. With this grace bangs out of the way maybe you can recognize evidence.

[Archie Goodwin]

Sounds like a long bleak evening.

[Nero Wolfe]

Hand me that medical book and then be on your way. I want to think.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Well, good evening Mr. Goodwin.

[Archie Goodwin]

Oh, good evening Dr. Sloan. This is a surprise to us both. I didn't anticipate that you'd be keeping office hours after midnight.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

What are you doing in my office at 2:00 in the morning, Mr. Goodwin?

[Archie Goodwin]

Reading your mail and having a ghoulish time surrounded by all these shiny instruments of yours.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

You've been rifling my desk.

[Archie Goodwin]

I wouldn't do that if I were you. I put things back very neatly. Even the letters from this little secret compartment which isn't secret at all to anybody who knows about desks. I've kept only one.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Give me that letter.

[Archie Goodwin]

You see it's the my darling mind first. Shan't ever give you up one way or another. One remember? I'll bet that nice little nurse you're engaged to never wrote that, did she?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

What do you intend to do with it?

[Archie Goodwin]

Market exhibit A in the Horton murder case. Maybe you'd like to come with me and explain it to Nero Wolf.

[Nero Wolfe]

Very moving, very flattering. Very interesting if you like women. But also very incriminating. Dr. Sloan.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

What does it prove? A silly woman with a nervous breakdown imagined she was infatuated with me, a.

[Nero Wolfe]

Woman who is now dead. You must remember under, shall we say, unusual circumstances you signed a death certificate which stated Mrs. Horton died of a heart attack. As you signed it. Dr. Sloan, did you remember she had threatened you and heaved a sigh of relief that fate had done you such a good turn.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I didn't bear Leslie any ill will. I was sorry for her.

[Nero Wolfe]

You felt adequate to the situation. You call no other doctor, though there are several in your building.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

My first thought, of course, was that it was some extraordinary allergic reaction to the vitamin dose.

[Nero Wolfe]

It was not until an hour or two after she was dead you decided she expired from a heart attack.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Yes.

[Nero Wolfe]

How did you explain the pain?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I reported no pain.

[Archie Goodwin]

Miss Banks said Mrs. Horton had pain from her head to her feet.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Grace said that?

[Archie Goodwin]

Well, not in those words. But that was the General.

[Nero Wolfe]

Dr. Sloan, why did you use a stomach pump on a hot case?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Why? I told you, I tried everything. Sometimes an acute digestive disturbance.

[Nero Wolfe]

I suggest you did it because to you, as to any qualified physician, the pain in the feet suggested poisoning. Particular kind of poison? An inorganic poison.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

There wasn't any in her stomach.

[Nero Wolfe]

You maintain that? Archie, get the medical examiner on the phone. Tell him the body of Miss Hal Horton must be examined for any evidence of poisoning.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

I know you think Mrs. Horton was murdered, but it's impossible. There'd been no one near her.

[Nero Wolfe]

Miss Banks.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Miss Banks couldn't have done it. She was working with me constantly.

[Nero Wolfe]

That's what I thought you'd say. Dr. Sloan.

[Grace Banks]

Mr. Wolf, I had to see you. This is the most dreadful thing I've ever heard of. Trying to accuse Dr. Sloan of murdering a patient.

[Nero Wolfe]

It appears he had a reason to want Mrs. Horton dead. Ms. Banks. She was that thing the poets write about. Her woman scorn. She had sent him this hysterical letter threatening scandal if he rejected her. He couldn't control her. She kept coming back to his office, making scenes.

[Grace Banks]

He gave her nothing but thiamine chloride.

[Hal Horton]

I know.

[Grace Banks]

I fixed the shop myself.

[Archie Goodwin]

Don't start covering for her.

[Nero Wolfe]

I'm not.

[Hal Horton]

I tell you. I filled a needle and I didn't.

[Grace Banks]

Put anything but thiamine chloride in it. You haven't any reason to think anybody did, except for that letter you stole.

[Hal Horton]

If it wasn't for that letter. Give it to me. Give it to me.

[Nero Wolfe]

Shove it, RG Quick, drop it.

[Archie Goodwin]

Baby, come away from that fireplace. Why, you little tiger kitten. I didn't think you had it and. Come on, let go of it.

[Nero Wolfe]

Let go.

[Archie Goodwin]

Give it to Papa. Now look what you did. You almost got Nero Wolf out of his chair.

[Nero Wolfe]

Destroying evidence is a serious offense, young woman.

[Hal Horton]

She kept coming to the office, writing and pestering in my. From the laboratory.

[Nero Wolfe]

You read her letters too? Didn't you? You knew if something didn't stop her, Dr. Benjamin Sloan was a ruined man.

[Hal Horton]

But he didn't kill her. I know he didn't.

[Nero Wolfe]

I don't believe he did.

[Leslie Horton]

You.

[Hal Horton]

You don't? Well then, who?

[Nero Wolfe]

You've just provided an excellent motive for having done it yourself, Ms. Bangs. Hairs in white ways. Cold, luscious, exotic. Excellent, Fritz, excellent.

[Archie Goodwin]

Best thing that's happened today. I don't like this Sloan case. If you ask me, I think Ed Horton Dangawa was coming to her.

[Nero Wolfe]

Those are not the words of abstract justice, nor the phrases of a gentleman of culture. A good detective never plays favorites. Good night's rest and you will find your attitude more normal by morning.

[Archie Goodwin]

You expect to have this case solved by morning?

[Nero Wolfe]

It's solved now, thanks to the expedition I sent you on this afternoon. The arrest can wait. No one will escape.

[Archie Goodwin]

I feel like a murderer myself. If I hadn't wormed it out of grace about the Horton woman complaining of pain. And if you hadn't jumped at the word feet.

[Nero Wolfe]

That art you, my dear fellow, is the purpose for which you exist to discover pertinent facts. Have we quite finished? Coffee in the study.

[Archie Goodwin]

Then there's a door. I'll go.

[Hal Horton]

Mr. Wolf in?

[Archie Goodwin]

He isn't seeing anyone this evening, Mr. Horton.

[Hal Horton]

Well, he's seeing me, Archie.

[Nero Wolfe]

If that's Mr. Horton, I'll see him.

[Hal Horton]

You'd better.

[Nero Wolfe]

Sorry you found Mr. Goodman so impossible, Mr. Horton.

[Archie Goodwin]

He.

[Nero Wolfe]

He came to pay you a call this afternoon. I sent him. But he didn't find you in, did you, Archie?

[Archie Goodwin]

No, but I made myself at home. I knew anything that would help to solve this case, you'd want us to have.

[Hal Horton]

What do you mean? You were in my house. What did you take?

[Nero Wolfe]

Nothing of monetary value, I assure you. That will not be returned in due course. But before I announce the solution of a case, I like to have all my little problems in place. I appreciate a well rounded performance, Mr. Wolf.

[Hal Horton]

I've had enough of this foolishness, this. This delay. I hired you to convict Sloane, not to play parlor games.

[Nero Wolfe]

You must be patient, Mr. Horton. Don't force me.

[Hal Horton]

I want action.

[Nero Wolfe]

Well, I had planned to wait until the morning, but if you insist. These papers here may interest you, Mr. Horton. Mr. Goodwin here collects them. Your wife's letters.

[Hal Horton]

Leslie's.

[Nero Wolfe]

You recognize the script? These are addressed to Dr. Sloane.

[Hal Horton]

Do they they prove anything against him?

[Nero Wolfe]

The lady's correspondence should be kept private. This other letter, however, was sent to you.

[Hal Horton]

To me? Leslie's.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Why?

[Hal Horton]

Give it to me.

[Archie Goodwin]

Easy, Horton, easy. Don't grab. No.

[Hal Horton]

But that letter's mine. You stole it from my desk.

[Nero Wolfe]

There is a point In a case, Mr. Horton, where letters cease to be personal property and become evident.

[Hal Horton]

What evidence can that letter.

[Archie Goodwin]

It seems you had reason for wanting to kill your wife, Mr. Horton. A man can get annoyed by a note saying his wife never loved him, that all his money isn't enough and that she's going to another man.

[Hal Horton]

You accusing me of murder?

[Archie Goodwin]

It could have been the perfect crime. Poisoning one of those pills she was forever taking. Or on the tip of the cigarette she chain smoked. And a doctor's office to die in. If you hadn't been fool enough to try to pin it on Sloan, you might have gotten away with it.

[Hal Horton]

If I had known while she was alive what Leslie was, I might have done anything. But that letter you stole from me was one she left under my pillow. I didn't find it until after she was dead. I didn't kill her. Sloane did.

[Nero Wolfe]

You hired me to prove that, Mr. Horton. Suppose you let me go about my business.

[Archie Goodwin]

Nero Wolf's office.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Yeah.

[Archie Goodwin]

Oh, you did? Good boy. We'll expect you. I'll tell Mr. Wolf at once. Medical examiner's officer. Just as you thought. They found poison in the body.

[Hal Horton]

Listen to me.

[Archie Goodwin]

Inspector Kramer's picking up Dr. Sloan and Grace. They'll be here any minute. Kramer set to make an arrest.

[Hal Horton]

I told you, the police know it's Sloan.

[Nero Wolfe]

Put the letters in Mrs. Horton's bag on my desk. Archie Leslie's alligator bag.

[Hal Horton]

You stole that from my house this afternoon too. Those things are mine.

[Nero Wolfe]

Inspector Kramer want to take them with him.

[Hal Horton]

But you think I want it made public what Leslie did to me? Kramer can't have them.

[Archie Goodwin]

Maybe the inspector will want to take you too.

[Nero Wolfe]

Mr. Horton, Leslie, me and Iy.

[Archie Goodwin]

Come in. Inspector Kramer, Dr. Sloan, Ms. Banks. Wolf asked me to bring them here first before I locked anybody up.

[Hal Horton]

Mrs. Horton was murdered.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

All right.

[Archie Goodwin]

I'm sending a man for Horton too. You won't have to. Mr. Horton's waiting here to join the party. Come in to Mr. Wolfe's office.

[Nero Wolfe]

Good evening, Inspector. Good evening, Wolf. Will you all please range yourselves around the room as I indicate? Ms. Banks here. Dr. Sloan, Mr. Horton. Archie, you stand between the two men if you please.

[Grace Banks]

Mr. Wolf, this is a dreadful mistake. I swear the doctor didn't stop thinking about the doctor.

[Nero Wolfe]

What about you?

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

If you're accusing Ms. Banks, I might as well tell you. Hold it.

[Archie Goodwin]

Dr. Sloan from here. And anything you say will be held against you.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

That's what I want. Let Grace go home and I'll.

[Hal Horton]

For heaven's sake, why don't you arrest the man? Isn't it obvious he's guilty? You and your trumped up charges against me.

[Nero Wolfe]

I do the talking now, Mr. Horton. Mrs. Horton died from a certain inorganic poisoning. Poison administered in your office, Dr. Sloan. With a hypo syringe.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Let's get it over with. I gave her the hypo, but I fill the needle.

[Hal Horton]

There you are. They're both guilty.

[Nero Wolfe]

Which would solve the case if they weren't lying. Ms. Banks believes Dr. Sloan killed Leslie for hersing. Dr. Sloan thinks Ms. Banks put poison in the hypo to save him from professional ruin. They're trying to protect each other. The fact is, the hypo they gave was perfectly harmless. It did not kill Mrs. Horton.

[Dr. Benjamin Sloan]

Then what did?

[Nero Wolfe]

Mrs. Horton came to your office in desperation, Dr. Sloan. But she came prepared for the worst. You see this handbag? Can any of you identify it?

[Grace Banks]

Yes, it's hers.

[Nero Wolfe]

Is it, Mr. Horton?

[Hal Horton]

It's Leslie's.

[Nero Wolfe]

The bag she carried to the office the day she died. Open it, Archie. You will see it contains her change purse, billfold, cigarette case matches her handkerchief. Nothing more. That is not unless you look closely. Then you will observe this lining has a double fold.

[Archie Goodwin]

A secret compartment.

[Nero Wolfe]

Exactly. We open it this way. And there we find it. A hypodermic needle with which the unhappy woman committed suicide. Ms. Banks. Dr. Sloan. You can stop protecting one another, Mr. Horton. The world need never know you were a betrayed husband. Mrs. Horton killed herself while in a confused state following a mental breakdown. The case of the Malevolent Medic is closed.

[Archie Goodwin]

How did you ever get the hunch about the handbag? Mr. Wolf?

[Nero Wolfe]

I know nothing about women, but on my occasional trips abroad I have been forced to observe their handbags. Monstrosities. They hold anything and everything.

[Archie Goodwin]

Now that our guests have gone, Fritz is bringing coffee to the study. Would you like some beer?

[Nero Wolfe]

I believe I would. Somehow I feel I've earned it. Here you are, poor fellow. I'm very sorry for you.

[Archie Goodwin]

How so?

[Nero Wolfe]

This is one case in which there is no falsely accused, unattached young lady for you to squire about. Well, here's to your better luck next time.

[Narrator]

You have been listening to the New Adventures of Nero Wolf starring Sydney Greenstreet. Tonight's transcribed story by Ruth Adams Knight was based on the characters created by Rex Stout. This is an Edwin Fadiman program produced and directed by J. Donald Wilson. In the cast were Harry Bartel as Archie Goodwin and Gene Bates. Vic Parron, Bruce Payne, Bill Johnstone and Mary Lansing. Next week at this same time, Nero Wolf and Archie will bring you the case of the hasty will. Don Stanley speaking. Three chimes mean good times on NBC. There's music and mystery for you every Saturday evening on NBC. For music tomorrow, your hit parade brings you the top tunes of the land with Snooki Lanson, Eileen Wilson and Raymond Scott's orchestra. And for mystery, Herbert Marshall stars as the man called X, a man in search of adventure who travels wherever there is intrigue, danger and romance. More good mystery at Sam Spade next on NBC.

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