Summary of “Cases of Mr. Ace: The Lost Package” (Episode Date: August 16, 2025)

Main Theme

In this classic detective tale from the golden age of radio, private investigator Eddie Ace is hired to deliver a mysterious, highly valuable package from New York to Chicago. What begins as a simple courier job plunges Ace into a treacherous web of deception, murder, and greed—centered on one of Judas Iscariot’s “thirty pieces of silver.” As suspects pile up, Ace must untangle who has betrayed whom, and determine the true fate of the lost package.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Job: Delivering the Package

• [02:08] Mr. Doran, an art dealer, approaches Ace to deliver a “most priceless item” to a Colonel Amherst in Chicago, offering $1,500 for the job.
• Doran refuses to disclose what’s in the package, heightening Ace's suspicion:
  "What's in it? An atom bomb?"
  – Ace (03:02)
• Doran admits the item’s value ($150,000) and inability to insure it, hinting at its illicit or dangerous nature.

2. Threats and Double-Crosses on the Train

• On the Commodore Vanderbilt to Chicago, Ace is confronted by a nervous, fragile gunman (Leonidas) who tries to steal the package ([05:08]-[07:55]).
• Ace upends Leonidas’ attempt through bluff and physical confrontation:
  "You can't get the package unless I do move... It's under my mattress."
  – Ace (05:45)
• After dealing with Leonidas, Ace is knocked out and the package is stolen while he’s unconscious.

3. Murder at the Art Shop

• Ace returns to find Doran dead in his Fifth Avenue shop, shot during a supposed burglary ([08:33]-[09:10]).
• Doran’s wife claims not to know Colonel Amherst, and Ace becomes suspicious about the true nature of the job and relationships.

4. The Real Victims and Villains

• The investigation reveals the man killed was not who met Ace earlier, indicating impersonation or partnership ([10:53]-[11:00]).
• Stanton, Doran’s partner, emerges as another key player and possible conspirator.

5. Colonel Amherst and the Judas Coin

• Ace is taken at gunpoint to Colonel Amherst, who suspects collusion and a double-cross over the coin’s delivery ([13:09]-[14:23]).
• Amherst explains the package: one of the legendary thirty pieces of silver given to Judas Iscariot ([16:09]-[17:26]):
  "Of all the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot, only one... has been unearthed... That one coin... has been sought for, fought for, killed for and died for through bloody century after century."
  – Colonel Amherst (17:02)

6. The Coin’s Journey and Betrayal Revealed

• It’s revealed that the real coin has been hidden with Elsie Duran, Doran's stepdaughter, as her father thought it safest at her school ([21:59]-[22:16]).
• Leonidas kills Stanton for a fake, mistakenly believing it’s the coin, and tries to sell it to Colonel Amherst ([22:57]-[23:16]).

7. Final Showdown: Motives and Justice

• Mrs. Duran, revealed as complicit, arrives for vengeance after learning of Stanton’s death and confesses to her role in Doran’s murder ([23:47]-[24:23]):
  "You see, I killed him. I loved Stanton, so I killed his killers."
  – Marlene Duran (24:23)
• Elsie, in self-defense, kills Mrs. Duran with Ace’s gun ([25:15]).
• Ace assures Dr. Gale Elsie won’t be prosecuted for the shooting since it was in self-defense ([25:27]-[25:38]).

8. Resolution: The Fate of the Coin

• Elsie decides to melt down the infamous coin and have it made into a small silver crucifix ([25:41]-[25:45]):
  "Yeah, but she's having it melted down."
  – Ace (25:41)
• Dr. Gale remarks on the fitting resolution.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ace on detective work:
  “Can’t you find a less dangerous way to make a living than being a private detective?”
  – Dr. Gale (00:21)

• Doran on risk:
  “Neither of us wishes to assume the risk. I would advise you to go armed.”
  – Mr. Doran (04:15)

• Amherst on value:
  “Of all the 30 pieces of silver paid to Judas Iscariot, only one, only one, I say, has been unearthed... That one coin, sir. With the imperial head and arms of Caesar stamped upon it has been sought for, fought for, killed for and died for through bloody century after century.”
  – Colonel Amherst (17:02)

• Elsie’s innocence and pivotal action:
  “I've never fired a gun before, baby.”
  – Elsie Duran (19:51) “And so Elsie used my gun to send two bullets into Marlene. How do you like that? I'd forgotten the kid was holding it.”
  – Ace (25:15)

• Final poetic justice:
  “Yeah, but she's having it melted down [into] a small silver crucifix.”
  – Ace (25:41)

Key Timestamps

• 00:09 – 02:48: Ace is hired by Doran to deliver a mysterious package.
• 05:08 – 07:55: Confrontation with Leonidas on the train.
• 08:33 – 10:35: Discovery of Doran’s murder in his art shop.
• 13:09 – 17:26: Colonel Amherst reveals the coin’s history and value.
• 19:07 – 19:55: Discovery that Elsie, Doran’s stepdaughter, has been protecting the coin.
• 21:59 – 25:15: Final confrontation; Elsie shoots Mrs. Duran in self-defense.
• 25:41 – 25:45: Revelation that the coin will be forged into a crucifix.

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a tightly-plotted whodunit with noir sensibilities, witty repartee, and a memorable cast of shady characters. At its heart, it's about greed, betrayal, and the quest for redemption. The enigmatic Judas coin, steeped in 2000 years of infamy, serves as the perfect MacGuffin—its symbolic power outlasting the lives ruined or cut short in pursuit of it.

The resolution, with the coin turned into a crucifix by the story's one surviving innocent, offers a poetic end to a classic golden age tale.