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A Salute To The Law (Nick Harris) 38-07-22 (x) Drops Of Blood
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A Salute To The Law (Nick Harris) 38-07-22 (x) Drops Of Blood
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According to Saltis Wealth, 41% of high net worth individuals report having been victims of financial crime. Are you next? High profile individuals like you need more than off the shelf solutions. You need concierge digital security from Reputation Defender. It's not just another app. It's a team of experts using best in class tools to protect you and your family. Covering virtually every aspect of your digital life. Visit reputationdefender.comsuccess to learn more. That's reputationdefender.com success. Presenting Detective Nick Harris in a salute to the law. Crime never pays. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the message of the Nick Harris program. And that is the purpose of these weekly true to life dramatizations. To prove to the youth of today the folly of committing crime. Now Mr. Harris, just what story have you decided to relate this time? Well, Mr. Russell, the story tonight which I have entitled Drops of Blood concerns the eternal triangle, a case that happened not so long ago. But let me tell you the story just as it happened one hot summer evening many years ago, Mrs. Louise Bradley was seated in her uncle's rose garden on his spacious estate in company of her uncle and Dr. Wright and old family friends. Mrs. Bradley was recuperating from an illness and was staying at her uncle's temporary. It was getting on towards 10 o' clock when John Bradley, her husband, drove up. Then the two of them went off for a short drive, promising to be back soon, leaving the uncle and the doctor alone talking. Well, I guess it's getting pretty late for an old codger like me. About time for me to turn in. I run along. Well, why not wait till John and Louise get back? John will be glad to give you a lift home. No. Guess it wouldn't hurt me to do a bit of walking. These old joints of mine are beginning to get pretty rusty. Not enough exercise, Steve? We're getting old, you and me. Now you speak for yourself, Doc. I still consider myself pretty much of a young un. Supposing we go in for a cup of coffee, what do you say? No. Well, this is most time for the two of them to get back. Might just as well wait out here. How are they getting along lately, John and Louise? Are they going off all right? Au fair? He's a pretty wild one, John is. I don't know. He always been a hard gus to handle. So are all the Bradleys. Hard to handle. Tough as they come, that old man Bradley. He's a pretty good sort of a fellow just the same. I know. I wish John was a little more like his father Yes, I dare say it would be an improvement. I think they are coming now. Doesn't that sound like their car? Uh huh. Yep. At them all right. Getting back quickly, I could say. Dr. Wright. Dr. Wright. He seems to be all excited about something. I Wonder what's up. Dr. Wright. Dr. Wright. Louise. Louise. She's in the car. She's been shot. She's in the car. Steady now, fellow. Steady there. John. John, what's the matter? What's happened? Don't try talking now. We better get her in the house. We were driving out Marlboro Road and on the way back I saw a man standing in the middle of the road right at the intersection of Marlborough and Dunning. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him. And I stopped just a few feet from him. And he came over to the car, very nasty. And he said, what's the idea of trying to run over me? I said he had no business standing in the middle of the road. And then I noticed he had his shotgun. Then I started to drive the car away and he raised the shotgun and he aimed at me, but he missed me. Then I jumped out of the car and we started to fight. I managed to pull the gun away, but I tripped and fell and he started running down the road. Then I went back to the car and I saw Louise crumpled in his seat. I shook her, but I. All right, all right, now just pull yourself together. Come, we better get in. Out. I'll go ahead. Doc, you help him. I'll telephone the police. You say this man was about 6ft tall and appeared to be about 24 or 25? Yes. Only it was pitch dark. I couldn't see him plainly. That's only a rough guess. But you could make out that he was pretty tall? Yes. You couldn't tell whether he was light or dark. I tell you, I couldn't see. It was black out there. There were no lights for miles. What happened to the gun you say you took away from? I don't know. I threw it in the back seat of the car. Maybe it. Maybe it bounced out of the car when I was driving back. I was driving like a lunatic. I wasn't even watching out for the bumps in the road. Well, we're going to take a drive out there and see. Drive up? You mean you're going to. Sorry, Mr. Bradley, but it's got to be done. And we've got to ask you to go along with us and show us the exact spot. Come on, let's go. Going back to the scene of the Crime detectives Hayes and Allen find sufficient evidence of a struggle, but footprints leading away from the scene fail to be discovered, proving another unsolved mystery to the investigators. Nor can the gun Bradley claimed he seized from the killer be located. Armed men aided by bloodhounds find no trace of the killer of the murder weapon. The autopsy on Louise Bradley revealed that the number six shot had killed her. Particles of dirt were found in her hair which could not be accounted for. Detective Hayes pays a visit to Louise Bradley's uncle, hoping to find some bit of evidence to shed light on the murder. Now, I know this is very unpleasant for you and Mrs. Davis, so I'll try to get it over with as quickly as possible. First, do you know of any possible enemy the Bradleys might have had? Any trouble they might have had over business matters? Any ill feeling or something? I'm afraid I know very little about the Bradley family. I see. Well, Bradley Sr. Tells me that his son and the young Mrs. Bradley have been living at his home ever since. They're married. That's right. But after Louie's baby is born, you see, we brought her up where she was like our own daughter. After the baby came, she came to stay with us for a while so I could help her. Yes, that's what old man Bradley told me. According to him, the young people got along very well. But I heard a few things elsewhere that made me think differently. Oh, they got along all right. No quarrels or anything? Well, it's no use lying about it. We might as well tell the truth. You see, Louise and John never did get along. Right after they were married, Louise found out John had been very friendly with another woman. I don't suppose Mr. Bradley Senior was very anxious to tell you about that. Well, John gave his word to Louise that now they were married, he'd never see this other woman again. But he did. He saw her many times, even in these past few weeks. Oh, Louise was very unhappy. John made her life miserable. He's no good. He should have been the one who was shot. Martha, please. Mrs. Davis, do you know who this other woman is? Yes. Her name is Jessie Naughton. Jessie Norton. She's very attractive, but she hasn't a very good reputation, it seems. It's probably the same Jesse Norton we've booked down at headquarters a number of times. There's only one Jessie Norton. Oh, it's her all right. She's got a very bad name. Well, now, outside of this woman, was Bradley pretty decent to his wife? Oh, he could have been a lot better. He had A very selfish street woman. Where he might spend $5 on Louise. Why, he'd more than likely spend $10 on himself. He had about three times as many suits as she had dresses. Pretty stingy with his money. Eggs? Oh, not where his own comfort was concerned. Well, thank you, Mrs. Davis, for your information. I guess I'll be on my way right now. There's nothing for me to do here, but if I need you, I'll get in touch with you again anytime. We'll be glad to help you any way we can. Thanks and goodbye. Well, find out anything? A little. Come on. I want to take a look through some of Bradley's personal effects. Well, we'll go back to the Bradley house. Here we are. Hey, Y. Oh. Oh, you're the gentleman from headquarters. There ain't nobody home right now, sir. That's good. I mean, that's all right. We just want to take a look at Mr. Bradley's things. Oh, yes, sir. You come right this way, please, sir. Here you is. Thanks. We'll call you when we want to. Yes, sir. Now, where is the. Oh, there. That's what I want to look into. The closet. 1 4. Say, Ms. Bird certainly likes to dress up. So I was given to understand. Boy, I'll bet he's got four suits for every occasion. You couldn't squeeze another suit in this closet if you tried. Well, I know of one suit he hasn't got in there. Sure, smart guy. The one he's wearing. Take a look over in that corner. Where? Well, let's have a look. What do you suppose this suit is doing all crumpled up way over here in the corner? That's the suit he was wearing on the night of the. Look, do you see what I see? I see a pretty badly stained, messy looking excuse for a suit. Bradley said that after the shooting, he drove back to town with his left arm about his wife. Her head was on his shoulder. What does that mean to you? Well, I'd say that. Oh, now I get it. There should have been blood on the coach sleeve and the shoulder. Right. And look where it is. On the seat of the trouser. On the seat of the trouser. Bradley was sitting in blood. Why did he lie about his wife's head resting on his shoulder? Suppose we take a look at that car. Come on, we'll go out and see if we're out. Pretty expensive looking car. Not bad. The old man Bradley must be pretty good to that son of his. Hey, where you going? I'm gonna look under the car for the love Of Mike. What do you expect to find there? You're not expecting to find the gun there, are you? Come here, madam. What now? Do I have to call them? Now what? Remember when we examined the road where Mrs. Bradley was shot? There was a little pool of blood. Bradley said that when she was shot, blood dripped through the floorboards onto the road. This is no time to ask me riddles. So what? Mrs. Bradley wasn't murdered in this car, huh? Come on, let's get up. All ready? Where to? Now? Did you notice that oil pan under the car? It extends all the way back under the seat. Yeah. Any blood that might have dripped down through the floorboard would have been caught in that oil pan. It wouldn't have gone through to the ground. Bradley lied when he said his wife was shot sitting in the car. She was out of that car when she was killed. Now, what I'd like to know is just why Bradley lied. And several days later, a heavily veiled woman was brought into police headquarters for questioning. It was the notorious Jesse Norton. Then the missing gun turned up, found by a farmer not far from the scene of the murder. Meanwhile, at police headquarters, Detective Hayes received a telephone call. A mysterious voice told him to go see Paul Bradley about the gun that killed Louise Bradley. The call could not be traced. Paul Bradley, the brother of John Bradley, was living with his wife in a modest little home. Acting on this tip he received, Detective Hayes paid a visit to Paul Bradley. Now, Mr. Bradley, if there's anything you know, it's your duty to tell us. I don't know anything. I don't know anything. And if it's about the gun, I. Oh, what gun? Why, I. Paul, you'd better tell everything. There's no use hiding the truth. You'd better tell why you bought that gun. But I, I. All right, I bought it. But I had nothing to do with the killing. I bought it for John. He made me. I didn't know what he wanted it for, but after. After Louise was killed, I knew then I was afraid to go to the police. John came to me and said, I wish I hadn't done it. But it's too late now. And you better keep your mouth shut or you'll be in it, too. So I was afraid. I was afraid you should have come to us before. But I couldn't. I'm sorry, but you'll have to come down to police headquarters with me. No. No. I have nothing. No, you better go, Paul. No. No. Let me alone. Let me alone. I have nothing to do with it. And a few Days later, the coroner's inquest was held. Detective Hayes asked the jury's permission to question John Bradley. And it was given. You still deny you knew Jesse Norton? I knew her only slightly. I told you that. You knew her well enough to be on very friendly terms with her, though, didn't you? No, I didn't. And well enough to continue to see Jesse Norton even after your marriage, isn't that so? That's not true. Will you dare to deny it if I bring Jessie Norton in here to face you? Jesse Norton's in the next room. She'll swear that you were with her the very night before your wife was murdered. And at that time you promised to get rid of your wife, to marry her. No. No. You drove your wife out to that lonely country road on some pretext and got her out of the car. And then you shot her down in cold blood. You picked her up and placed her in the front seat of the car. But you weren't careful enough about placing her properly. And as a result, you sat in a pool of blood all the way back to her uncle's home. Will you deny that, or shall I bring Jesse Norton out here to face you in front of this jury assessment? Oh, no, no. Gentlemen of the jury, I demand that you charge John Bradley with the murder of his wife, Louise. Brad. And so, Mr. Russell, John Bradley was indicted and tried for the brutal murder of his wife. The jury, after the two hours deliberation, found him guilty of murder in the first degree. And Bradley went to the electric chair and. Which proves again, as I have so often said, the primrose path of crime has but two ultimate endings. The open door of a prison cell or violent death. As revealed to you in this story which I have entitled Drops of blood. It does, Mr. Harris, and thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. You have just heard another true life story brought to you by Detective Nicholas B. Harris, internationally famous Los Angeles criminologist and chief of the detective agency bearing his name. Although this was a true story, fictitious names and places have been used throughout this narrative. The story was dramatized by Ruth Reisner, directed and produced by Carolyn Carroll. Mr. Harris wishes me to thank the following cast for their participation in this broadcast and in the order of their appearance. John V. Coster George Conkling, Howard Flynn, Eric Loring, Eddie Brandstatter, Charles E. Bender, Lenore Thompson, Mary Ryan West. Victor Lott was at the organ. Mr. Harris will again be heard over this same station next Friday evening at 8:45. In another interesting crime story entitled the Chimes of St. Agnes.