Ellery Queen 44-01-15 (160) The Mischief Maker

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: "Ellery Queen 44-01-15 (160) The Mischief Maker"

Date: December 27, 2025
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio

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Episode Overview

This episode features a broadcast of the Ellery Queen radio drama, "The Mischief Maker," originally aired in 1944. The main theme centers around a mysterious series of anonymous letters sent to several residents of an apartment house in New York City—letters that sow mistrust, threaten reputations, and ultimately drive someone to tragedy. Master detective Ellery Queen and his team are called upon to untangle the threads of suspicion, expose the “mischief maker,” and solve the puzzling web of human motives lurking behind the typewritten threats.

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Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

1. Introduction: The Setup

• Inspector Queen introduces the evening’s mystery: a chain of anonymous, malicious letters ("Adventure of the Mischief Maker").

  “Well, I think tonight’s mystery will keep you guessing. It’s about a strange chain of anonymous letters.” – Inspector Queen (00:35)

• The Lesters’ Domestic Dispute:
  A comedic-turned-serious breakfast squabble reveals friction between newly married Hubert Lester and his American wife. The arrival of a suspicious anonymous letter accuses Hubert of an affair, sparking marital crisis.

  “Your husband is in love with his secretary. He is leading a double life… You snake.” – Mrs. Lester (02:46/02:55)

2. The Chain of Anonymous Letters (03:40–07:25)

• Ethan Plunkett, the "rent collector," comes to Inspector Queen: He too has received an anonymous letter accusing him of theft. A twist reveals Plunkett is actually the bank president, posing as a lower-level employee to fend off gold-digging relatives.
• Another of Plunkett’s properties is the focus: 230 Hatton Ave—a five-family brownstone where each letter’s recipient resides.

3. Investigation and Suspects Emerge (09:51–16:35)

• Ellery and Inspector Queen methodically interview the brownstone residents:

  • Dr. Drayton: Receives a letter warning his daughter is in danger; believes the letters are the product of "anonymous graphomania" and points toward an adolescent, likely female, as typical of such cases.

    “It’s a form of hysteria. Not a crime or a prank, but an illness.” – Dr. Drayton (10:54)

  • Miss Bertha Lamb: The gossipy spinster claims she’s received no letter. She quickly disparages most of her neighbors!

    “That child gives me the shivers. The only person in this entire house fit to be a decent person’s neighbor is that grand Mr. Hodge.” – Miss Lamb (13:43)

  • Lewis Hodge: Initially absent from his apartment.
  • Joe, the Janitor: Bitter about Christmas gifts and denying any knowledge of the letters.

• Discovery of the Typewriter:
  Sergeant Vely finds an old typewriter in the basement, identified as the source of the anonymous letters. Only accessible to tenants, suggesting the culprit is among them.

  “This is the machine used to type those anonymous letters. New joke characters, out of line.” – Inspector Queen (15:01)

4. Tragedy Unfolds—The Climax (17:05–20:29)

• Evidence surfaces that Lewis Hodge also received a letter, one suggesting police are on to him.

• The group breaks into Hodge’s locked apartment and finds him dead—apparent suicide, with the damning letter nearby.

  “Dead for at least 24 hours, I’d say… That blasted letter drove Hodge to suicide.” – Inspector Queen (19:06/19:12)

• The revelation: Hodge was an escaped convict living under a false name—his fate sealed by the targeted letter.

5. Solving the Puzzle (20:29–26:56)

• The detectives re-examine the letters/envelopes. Each has a peculiar erased character—a clue overlooked until now.

• After group speculation, Ellery notes that the erased characters were commas after the street number—a European punctuation habit, not American.

  "In certain foreign countries, it’s accepted practice to put a comma after the street number... So I knew the erased characters must have been commas. They’d been erased after typing them in. The writer realized they betrayed his foreign origin.” – Inspector Queen (25:12)

• Process of elimination: All tenants are American except Hubert Lester, newly arrived from England.

• Motive: Hubert Lester wrote the letter to his wife to engineer a divorce without scandal, sending similar letters to others to deflect suspicion.

  “I knew it was Hubert Lester who wrote that letter to his wife accusing himself of being untrue to her. But why, Maestro?” – Inspector Queen (25:33)

• Intended scapegoat: Lester hoped suspicion would fall on Dr. Drayton’s neurotic daughter.

6. Final Reveal and Wrap Up

• Inspector Queen recounts the steps to the solution, linking the erased comma to Lester’s British roots.
• The episode ends with the assurance that Lester, the true “mischief maker,” will face justice.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You snake." – Mrs. Lester confronts Hubert with delicious melodrama after reading the anonymous letter. (02:55)
• "I give you my sacred word." – Hubert Lester, denying all accusations with exaggerated innocence. (03:18)
• "Anonymous letters have done a lot of mischief in this world. They’ve even caused death." – Ethan Plunkett foreshadows coming tragedy. (06:55)
• "It’s a form of hysteria... not a crime or a prank, but an illness." – Dr. Drayton, on anonymous letter writers. (10:54)
• "That child gives me the shivers." – Miss Lamb on Drayton’s daughter; a red herring moment. (13:43)
• "Who at 230 Hatton Ave. is not an American?" – Inspector Queen zeros in on Lester. (25:34)
• "Obviously, dad, to divert suspicion from himself. To make the writer seem to be someone of a diseased or disturbed mind." – Inspector Queen on the ‘mischief maker’s’ plan. (26:27)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | The Lesters’ breakfast argument & first letter | 00:58–03:30 | | Ethan Plunkett’s anonymous letter & case begins | 03:44–05:06 | | Tenant interviews: Dr. Drayton & Bertha Lamb | 09:51–14:11 | | Typewriter found in basement | 14:48–15:07 | | Only residents targeted, not outsiders | 16:18–16:35 | | Discovery of Hodge’s suicide | 18:13–19:17 | | The erased address clue and exposé of Lester | 20:33–26:56 |

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Summary

This engaging episode of Ellery Queen showcases clever detective storytelling, rich character interplay, and a satisfying logical puzzle. The mystery unspools from marital discord and escalating paranoia to tragedy, with the “mischief maker’s” identity ultimately inferred from a subtle detail of British punctuation. Inspector Queen’s methodical elimination of suspects—and the psychological misdirects along the way—keep listeners guessing until the final reveal. The show blends suspense, sharp dialogue, period humor, and the signature deductive flair that defines radio’s golden-age whodunits.

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For fans of classic mysteries, this is quintessential Ellery Queen: a battle of wits, red herrings, and justice served with flair.

Transcript

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Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

And now, Ellery Queen, master detective, and your host for the next half hour.

[Inspector Queen]

Thank you, Ernest Chappell, and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Well, I think tonight's mystery will keep you guessing. It's about a strange chain of anonymous letters. I call it the Adventure of the Mischief Maker.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Hubert. Hubert.

[Hubert Lester]

Yes, my dear?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Put that newspaper down and finish your breakfast.

[Hubert Lester]

Oh, yes, Chef, of course, yes. Bloater's jolly good this morning, my dear. For an American, you really perform miracles with a bloater.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

For an American, Hubert Lester, you've been in this country long enough to stop being so patronizing.

[Hubert Lester]

Now, now, pet, I wasn't being anything of the sort.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I suppose I ought to get down.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

On my knees to you because you deign to marry an American girl.

[Hubert Lester]

I wouldn't put it that married four.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Months, already you're reading newspapers at my breakfast table.

[Hubert Lester]

But, darling, I was merely looking up the situation in tea when Sir Eustace sent me here from London to take charge of the New York branch of Spofford Tea Limited. He said to me, lester, old chap.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Isn'T setting up the situation in tea. Weren't you?

[Inspector Queen]

Mm.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

You were looking up that movie star's photo, that's what. That hussy with the legs, my love.

[Hubert Lester]

I just happened to glance at it in passing.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Seems to me you two just happened to glance at an awful lot of females. Hubert, since we've been married.

[Hubert Lester]

Oh, what utter nonsense, my dear. And even if I wanted to, which is rot, of course, you know I couldn't risk the scandal, my dear. I. I'd be given the sack. You know the Eustace won't brook the least breath of scandal.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

What about you and your secretary?

[Hubert Lester]

Me and my secretary? That spindle shanks. Weather beaten antique, my dear. Now, really.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Maybe I'm wrong. Eat your bloater, dear.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Of course, darling.

[Hubert Lester]

Oh, by the way, what was that letter that arrived in the morning post for you?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

This letter addressed to Mrs. Hubert Lester, 230 Hatton Avenue, New York City. Well, whoever wrote it certainly ought to fix his typewriter. Broken letters, out of line. Some old smudgy.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Well, who's it from?

[Hubert Lester]

Ted?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Mrs. Lester, your husband Hubert is. I knew it.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I knew it, Hubert.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Just proves it.

[Hubert Lester]

Proves it. Proves what?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

You snake.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

You worm, you.

[Hubert Lester]

I need to say. Here, let me see that. Your husband is in love with his secretary. He is leading a double life.

[Inspector Queen]

Find a friend.

[Hubert Lester]

But I mean, Weatherby. But my love, you don't put penis in gossips who don't even sign their name. I scarcely know what my secretary looks like.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Oh, I'll bet.

[Hubert Lester]

Now, darling, I give you my sacred word.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Your sacred word.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Out of my way, you. Judith.

[Hubert Lester]

But, but, pet, where are you going?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

I'm going to Reno. Two time a respectable American girl. Will you will Hubert Lester.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I'll get a divorce from you so fast that precious Sir Eustace of yours will think his New York representative was tarred and feathered and boiled in.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Mr. Plunkett to meet my son, the secretary, Nicky porter.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

How's it?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Mr. Plunkett came here to headquarters yesterday morning. He's back this morning for a report.

[Inspector Queen]

A report on what, dad?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

My son's a sucker for screwy cases, Mr. Plunkett.

[Inspector Queen]

Tell him.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Well, Mr. Clean, it's sure a lulu. Here, read this letter that come yesterday morning.

[Inspector Queen]

Read it, Nicky, aloud.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Goodness, what a bad machine this was. Typed on. Broken letters, dirty, out of line.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Never mind the typing, Ms. Porter, just read it.

[Andy Staples]

Hmm.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Addressed to the president of the west side Bank, 315 Hatton Avenue, New York. It says, dear sir, the rent collector for your bank, Ethan A. Plunkett, is a thief. He is stealing rent money on properties the bank owns.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Signed, a friend.

[Inspector Queen]

You're the Ethan A. Plunkett this anonymous letter refers to.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

That's me, Mr. Queen.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Well, I'm sure the president of the bank you work for doesn't Believe this charge, Mr. Plunkett, he don't miss Plunke.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Porter seeing he's me.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Who's you?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Mr. Plunket's only been posing as the realty representative for west side bank, Nikki.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Secretly.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Mr. Plunket's the president, owns the bank lock, stock and barrel and all its properties. Protective coloration, Mr. Queen. I got a slew of hungry relative. If they knew I owned a bank, they'd make a pauper of me in no time.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Valerie, if Mr. Plunket owns the bank, how could he be stealing rent money from the bank?

[Inspector Queen]

Obviously the writer of this letter didn't know Mr. Plunkett owns the bank. Just tried to get him into trouble.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Some crank that isn't all, son.

[Inspector Queen]

Beatty.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Yeah, Inspector, come in.

[Inspector Queen]

There.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

You see, one of the properties Mr. Plunkett owns is a five family brownstone in the west side. I live there myself, Mr. Queen. Oh, really?

[Sergeant Vely]

Yes, but tell every what you found.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Out at Mr. Plunkett's house.

[Sergeant Vely]

Oh, that cockeyed case. You see, Maestro, the inspector sent me over to 230 Hatton Ave yesterday. You see if anybody else living there got one of these letters signed a friend.

[Inspector Queen]

Someone else got one, Sergeant?

[Sergeant Vely]

Yep, one of Mr. Plunkett's tenants and neighbors. There is people named Lester. Mrs. Lester's hitched to this Hubert Lester.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

A British who's had been in this.

[Sergeant Vely]

Country around six months. The playboy type. I mean, he'd like to be.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

I know A friend wrote Mrs. Lester that hubby's being untrue to her on the nose.

[Inspector Queen]

Nikki.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

So Mrs. Lester packed up and now she's heading for Reno.

[Inspector Queen]

5 family house. Mr. Plunkett, who are the other tenants at 230 Hatton Ave?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Well, there's Ms. Bertha Lamb, an old.

[Sergeant Vely]

Maid and a bachelor named Hodge, Lewis Hodge.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

And a family named Drayton. Husband, wife and 15 year old daughter.

[Inspector Queen]

Drayton's a psychiatrist.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Mr. Plunkett. Mr. And Mrs. Hubert Lester. Ms. Bertha Lamb, spinster. Mr. Lewis Hodge, bachelor. And Dr. Drayton and family. I've got it all down Fine, Nicky.

[Inspector Queen]

Mr. Plunkett, does anyone in the house bear a grudge against you and the Lesters?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Mighty funny. Yes, that Mr. Queen, my janitor there. Joe's a big sore head. Pretty tough egg, Joe. Born on Hester Street, New York.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Here.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

He'd have been a gangster, I guess, if he'd had more brains. What's Joe. Sorry about this. Well, seems like Joe didn't get Christmas presents enough from most of the tenants, including me. I slipped my mind.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

So Joe sends anonymous letter.

[Inspector Queen]

It's hardly a laughing matter, Nikki. One of these letters has already separated a husband and wife.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Yes, anonymous letters have done a lot of mischief in this world. They've even caused death.

[Inspector Queen]

Dad, I think we'll look into this. We'll begin by asking Dr. Drayton, Ms. Lamb and Mr. Hodge if they've received letters from the mischief maker who signs himself a friend. And there, ladies and gentlemen, you have the beginning of our mystery. We'll be back in just a moment to tell you more.

[T-Mobile Announcer]

Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T mobile is in US cellular stores.

[T-Mobile Legal Disclaimer]

Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.

[Andy Staples]

Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane three. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now, a non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3, whether it's the transfer portal, the college football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday. New episodes drop at 3pm wherever you get your podcasts.

[Inspector Queen]

But first, Ernest Chapel.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Oh, for the life of a fireman. Bells clanging, men sliding down poles, fire trucks racing through traffic. Nothing but thrills and excitement. Oh, but that's not the way Mr. Thomas Byrne of Elmhurst, Long island, tells it. He writes, we're called out on the average of 20. Some of the fires don't amount to.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Much, but when we get in on.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

A real blaze, then I've got to.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Be quick on the trigger, ready for anything. Besides working under a nervous strain, there.

[Hubert Lester]

Are the discomforts of going through heavy.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Smoke and fumes and getting drenched by water from the hoses. Sometimes after a session like that, I've got a pounding headache, my stomach feels upset and my nerves are on edge. But I can count on Bromo Seltzer.

[Inspector Queen]

To help me feel better fast.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

A great many of us down at.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

The firehouse keep a bottle of Bromo Seltzer in our lockers all the time. And that's a mighty good idea for everybody. So, friends, tomorrow get a bottle of Bromo Seltzer for your medicine test. Then the next time you're suffering from a common sick headache, you'll know where to go for quick, effective. And now back to our story. An hour later, the queens, Nicky and Sergeant Beeley, are standing before an apartment door at 230 Hatton Ave, New York City. Inspector Queen has rung the bell marked B.V. drayton, M.D. suddenly. Yes?

[Inspector Queen]

Dr. Drayton? Yes? May we see you a moment?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Privately, all four of you? I'm pretty busy.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Please.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Oh, come in. Sit down, please.

[Inspector Queen]

Thank you, Doctor.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Now, what's the matter, Dr. Drayton?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

We're investigating a slight case of anonymous letter writers.

[Inspector Queen]

Anonymous?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Oh, two people living in this house.

[Sergeant Vely]

Got anonymous letters yesterday morning.

[Inspector Queen]

Did you receive such a letter, Dr. Drayton?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

I yes, I did.

[Inspector Queen]

Mm. Let's see a doctor. Very well. Here. Same broken type, out of line, smudgy.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Typed on the same machine as the other two.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Dr. Drayton, your 15 year old daughter Sissy is in serious danger. Take a tip from a friend. Dr. Drayton, why didn't you report this to the police?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Your own daughter in danger?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Nonsense. My wife was frightened, too. But as a psychiatrist, I'm quite, quite familiar with anonymous letter writing.

[Inspector Queen]

Really, Doctor? You mean it's a psychopathic manifestation?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Very often we call it anonymous graphomania. It's a form of hysteria. Not a crime or a prank, but an illness. The writer of this letter is probably a neurotic, maladjusted, emotionally unstable individual whom it would be criminal to prosecute. I've handled lots of them.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Very interesting.

[Inspector Queen]

Dr. Drayton. Haven't you found that anonymous letter writers are often of a certain type of age and sex?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Well, yes.

[Inspector Queen]

What type that is? I'm sure Dr. Drayton's more competent to explain.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

If it's a case of true anonymous graphomania, why, the writer is often an adolescent.

[Inspector Queen]

Which sex, Doctor?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Why, Female. Neurotic. Adolescent.

[Inspector Queen]

Female.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Why is it that every time something.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Bad happens, men blame women?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I'll bet just as many nasty boys.

[Inspector Queen]

Doctor, we'll keep this letter if we may.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

I'd prefer.

[Inspector Queen]

Yes, of course. Good day, Dr. Drayton.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Good day.

[Sergeant Vely]

Thanks, Doc.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Good day.

[Sergeant Vely]

Sir.

[Inspector Queen]

You know what I think I'm not yet, Sergeant. So that's letter number three.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Dad.

[Inspector Queen]

Let's call Miss Bertha Lamb, spinster, and see if she's got number four. Miss Lamb.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Don't want any.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Here, madam. Keep that door open. We're from police headquarters.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I brought a ticket to the Policeman's ball.

[Sergeant Vely]

I'm not selling anything, Miss Lamb.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

You've had it. Come into your apartment for a few minutes.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I will not. How do I know you're a policeman? What's this painted girl doing with you? Painted girl? Why not?

[Inspector Queen]

Sergeant, show Miss Lamb your shield. Here.

[Sergeant Vely]

If you want to see the inspectors, his is gold. Satisfied?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Well, come in. What do you want?

[Inspector Queen]

Have you received an anonymous letter, Miss Lamb?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Anonymous letter, I should say. No, I would.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Three of your neighbors have received such letters, Miss Lamb.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Well, considered. My neighbors? I'm not surprised you take the Lesters. That Englishman and his vulgar American wife. She's a nasty woman. And as for her husband, you'll just let me catch Mr. Hubert Lester making eyes at me.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

At you, Miss Lamb?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Well, he better not. I have the blood of American pioneers. And my veins.

[Inspector Queen]

What about Mr. Plunkett, that awful gank.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Rent collector, lives in one of the apartments. So you'd think he'd see to it my bathroom plumbing stick. But not Ethan Plunkett. Why, from the way he won't spend their money, you think he owns a bang?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Yeah.

[Sergeant Vely]

Wouldn't you?

[Inspector Queen]

And Dr. Drayton and his family, Ms. Lance.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Oh, horrible people. Mrs. Drayton's an absolute pill. Comes from the Midwest somewhere, always knocking.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

New York and Dr. Drayton, they're both.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

In the same hometown. Why, he ought to be rolling pills back where he come from.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

And nosy.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

I don't know how many times he's asked me about my dream.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

I could tell him.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Your dream?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Glammy pie, painted girly of Mr. 15.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Year old daughter of their sister. Ever I saw goon in my life. That child is one absolutely weird. Very homely, wears thick glasses, stays home all the time reading nasty books. I tell you, that girl gives me the shivers. The only person in this entire house fit to be a decent person's neighbor is that grand Mr. Hogg. So nice a bachelor, you know.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Keeps to himself.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Poor man. So shy.

[Inspector Queen]

Thanks.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

You know, I've often wondered why.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Well, thanks, Ms. Lamb. We've got to be going.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

But let me tell you about Mr. Hodge. He never throws wild parties. A gentleman. So I know that he would.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Ms. Bertha Lamb didn't get a letter.

[Inspector Queen]

Interesting. Let's see if her. Dear Mr. Hodge did.

[Hubert Lester]

Ring hard.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

You fail again, Henry.

[Inspector Queen]

Like that.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Tommy. Where'd you send Sergeant Vely?

[Inspector Queen]

Downstairs to best Joe the janitor.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Where is this Hutch, anyway?

[Inspector Queen]

Not home. We'll have to come back later, dad.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

And I tell you, you ain't gonna give me that. Don't get tough, Joe.

[Sergeant Vely]

Hey, folks, look what I found.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Billy, what are you doing with that typewriter?

[Inspector Queen]

Whose is it? Where'd you find it, Sergeant?

[Sergeant Vely]

In a trash bin in the basement. When I went down to get this tough mug janitor, I almost passed it up as a piece of junk.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Certainly an old baby. Ellery, think that's the typewriter?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

No doubt about it, Nikki.

[Inspector Queen]

This is the machine used to type those anonymous letters. New joke characters, out of line.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

How'd this typewriter come to be in your basement, Ms. House?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

And who are you, Grandpa?

[Inspector Queen]

Oh, wise guy.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Hey, Cox, I don't know. I never seen it before.

[Inspector Queen]

Easy to.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Did you receive an anonymous letter yesterday morning?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

What's that?

[Inspector Queen]

A letter with no name. Just signed a friend.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

I don't get no letter. I'm just the janitor.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

He's just smart enough to play Dumb Joe.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Yeah.

[Inspector Queen]

How'd you make out this Christmas?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

I'll bet you got oodles of presents from people in the house.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Presents? Nah, they're all tightwashed. That Berta Lamb, she gave me two bucks. But not another dime from nobody else. Be a good janitor, work like a horse. Comes Christmas time, nothing. I got a good mind up to collect that garbage.

[Inspector Queen]

Yes, we heard you were Penn.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Send this typewriter downtown to be fired. Let's go to some restaurant around here where we can have some lunch and talk this pesky case over.

[Inspector Queen]

Oh, here's Sergeant Vely back own headquarters, Sergeant.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

What's your report, Veeley?

[Inspector Queen]

That's like alloy figures, Inspector.

[Sergeant Vely]

The boys didn't dig up a single other letter signed a friend anywhere else in the neighborhood. And now let me eat, will you?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Only the tenants at 230 Hatton Ave. Got anonymous letters. Well, son, with the typewriter found in the basement of the house where the writer tried to dispose of it, and the basement being accessible only to the tenants.

[Inspector Queen]

Yes, dad. It means the letter writer is one of the tenants of 230 Hatton Avenue.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Think that somebody go to all that trouble just maliciously to make mischief?

[Sergeant Vely]

But how do we know? Maybe he's only making it look like.

[Inspector Queen]

Crank stuff to hide.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Some other motive it would be really. There's Mr. Plunkett just walking in.

[Inspector Queen]

Uh, Mr. Plunkett. Hey.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Oh, hi, folks. Hi.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Just come in for some lunch. My bank's just on the next block, you know. Well, find out who's writing those letters, Inspector. We're still working on it, Mr. Plunkett.

[Inspector Queen]

We haven't even been able to see all your tenants at 230 Hatton Avenue. Lewis Hodge didn't answer a ring. What do you know about Hodge, Mr. Plunkett?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Nice fella, Mr. Queen. Quiet, minds his own business. I wish all my tenants was like that fellow Hogg.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

I wonder if he got one of those letters.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Hodge?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Of course he did. You don't said so. Didn't I mention it?

[Inspector Queen]

Thought of did.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Must be getting old. How do you know Hodge got one of the letters? Mr. Plunkett says I saw it in his letter box yesterday morning with my own eyes, Inspector. Couldn't mistake that typewriting. Same's on the envelope I got.

[Inspector Queen]

Then, of course you don't know what it said, Mr. Punkat. What does Lewis Hodge do for a living?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Nothing right now. Fact is, he's behind in his rant. Only last week I said to him, Mr. Hodge, I ain't a man to kick a fellow when he's down.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Good Lord, Terry, what'd you jump up for?

[Hubert Lester]

What's the matter, sir?

[Inspector Queen]

Hodge out of work, behind his ren. Facing eviction. Received one of those mischief making letters yesterday morning. Come on, Mr. Plunket, we've got to get into Hodge's apartment at once.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Still doesn't answer.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Better unlock his door, Mr. Plunkett. But I didn't tell him nothing about evicting him. Had to jog him up, didn't I, Confarn it? Can't seem to.

[Inspector Queen]

Sergeant, unlock the door. Take the key from Mr. Plunkett.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Sure.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

You and Mr. Plunkett better stay out in the hall we take a look.

[Sergeant Vely]

Here we are, Sergeant.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

We'll be right out here.

[Inspector Queen]

Living room empty. That letter on the table looks like.

[Sergeant Vely]

One of the same crops James typed.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

On that old wreck of a machine.

[Inspector Queen]

To Lewis hodge. This address. Mr. Hodge, the cops are watching you. You can't get away. Signed a friend.

[Sergeant Vely]

Some friend. Where is Hodge anyway?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

That door over there must be his bedroom. It's locked.

[Inspector Queen]

We better force it.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

There.

[Sergeant Vely]

All right. One side, gent.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Again.

[Inspector Queen]

There.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Yes, on the bed.

[Inspector Queen]

Dead for at least 24 hours, I'd say.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Shot through the left temper, gun still in his hand.

[Inspector Queen]

Windows and doors locked from the inside.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

So it can't be anything but suicide. That blasted letter drove hearts to suicide.

[Inspector Queen]

Yes. At last our friend the mischief maker has caused a death.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Harry.

[Inspector Queen]

What's up, dad?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Taking us two days, but we finally identified Lewis Hodge.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Identified him?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Well, who was he?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

An escaped convict serving a life sentence for murder. Born in Cincinnati and was doing his stretching in Ohio pen when he managed to make a break. He's been holding up in New York.

[Sergeant Vely]

Yeah, his real name was James Lewis Hodgkiss.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Escaped convict.

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

Hmm.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

No wonder Mr. Hodge was such a model tenant.

[Inspector Queen]

Yes, he must have been at the end of his rope, broke, afraid he might be recognized and sent back to prison. Hodgkiss undoubtedly lived in constant fear. That anonymous letter saying the police were watching him broke his nerve and took the easy way out.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

How did the letter writer know who he was?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

He probably never know. Nicky may have recognized him from having seen his photo somewhere. Or it might have been a complete shot in the dark.

[Sergeant Vely]

Anyway, we're back where we started from. Who sent the letter that drove Hodge to suicide? Who wrote to Mrs. Lester and broke up her marriage? Who wrote Dr. Draken and his 15 year old daughter was in danger? Who wrote old man Plunkett trying to get him in trouble with the bank?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

A friend, Sergeant. I think it's hopeless, dad.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Have you got those letters on file here?

[Inspector Queen]

Yes, sir. Here. The envelope's too, dad.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Thanks.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

What are you looking them over again for, son?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

You've examined them all before, Ellie.

[Inspector Queen]

Oh, I ought to have my eyes examined.

[Sergeant Vely]

What do you mean?

[Inspector Queen]

Here it was all this time, and I didn't.

[Sergeant Vely]

Didn't say what? Maestro?

[Inspector Queen]

Look at these four envelopes. Don't you see? There's one thing all four addresses have in common there. What thing, sir? A clue. A clue in the addresses. The same clue in the addresses.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Well, the one to Mr. Plunkett's address to the bank. The ones to Mrs. Lester, Dr. Drayton and Lewis Hart. Your address to the apartment house. The addresses are all correct.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Ellen.

[Inspector Queen]

Wait.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

There's one erasure on each envelope right there.

[Inspector Queen]

And in the same place in each case bar.

[Sergeant Vely]

Say, that's right.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Some typewriter character. One character has been erased just after the house number on each angle between.

[Sergeant Vely]

The house number and the name of the street.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

I wonder what was erased. Can't make it out then, can you? No, dad.

[Inspector Queen]

But I know what was erased just the same. Ah, yes. And that tells me the identity of the mischief maker who wrote these anonymous letters. And now let's solve our mystery, Miss Bean. Who wrote the anonymous letter?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

I think Dr. Drayton. And why do you think so? Well, because he hesitated so much in answering the questions. And he didn't report his letter to the police force as the others did.

[Inspector Queen]

Thank you, Miss Dean. Now, Mr. Cusack, who do you think wrote the anonymous letter?

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

I think it was Dr. Drayton daughter, Mr. Queen, who was described by Mr. Lamb as being very weird.

[Inspector Queen]

Why do you think that?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Well, Miss Lamb said that she stayed.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Home all the time reading strange books. And I think she probably found access to her father's scientific books. And that her imagination started to work.

[Inspector Queen]

Thank you, Mr. Cusack. And Ms. C. You'll find in just a moment whether you've solved our mystery correctly. And now, Ernest Chappell.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Friends for United States Cadet Nurse Corps Information. Write in care of Box 88, New York City. Now, if you can qualify, you'll do your country a great service and build yourself a future through the United States Cadet Nurse Corps. And don't forget the March of Dimes. Send your dimes and dollars now to help fight infantile paralysis.

[Sergeant Vely]

Come on.

[Hubert Lester]

All right, all right.

[Sergeant Vely]

Let's have a quick stop.

[Inspector Queen]

We know that the four anonymous letters all came the same morning. They must all have been typed at the same time. We also know that in addressing the four envelopes, the writer Typed a single character of some sort between the house number and the name of the street. And in all four cases, before mailing the letters, he erased that character. Now, what were those typewriter characters he put in and then took out? Were they different characters in each case?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

I'd say it was the same character in each case, because at least three of the four addresses were identical. The erasure occurs in exactly the same spot on the four envelopes.

[Inspector Queen]

Right, dad, so it was the same character.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

So what character was it of?

[Inspector Queen]

Let's figure it out together. What are the possibilities? Well, the erased character could have been.

[Sergeant Vely]

A numeral, like one to our side.

[Inspector Queen]

Yes. Or it could have been a letter.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Of the Alphabet, like a, B or X.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Right.

[Inspector Queen]

Or it could have been a special mark, a dollar sign, or a potent sign, or any of the other special keys on a typewriter. Or finally, it could have been a punctuation mark. Now, the erasure in each case occurred just after the house number. Could the character have been a numeral?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

That would mean that the writer originally typed the wrong house number. Ellery, one with four numbers instead of three. Like 2305 instead of 2, 3, 0.

[Inspector Queen]

Exactly. Nicky, how could the writer have typed the wrong house number? You know, he was someone in 230 Hatton Avenue. He certainly knew his own address. So the erased character wasn't a numeral. Was it a letter of the Alphabet?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Might have been.

[Sergeant Vely]

The erasures are between the house number and the name of the street. So they could have been a wrong letter to start the name of the street.

[Inspector Queen]

That'll be a fool, Davey.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

If he knew his house number, then he knew the name of the street, too.

[Inspector Queen]

Better.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Dad's right, Sergeant.

[Inspector Queen]

So the erased character wasn't a letter of the Alphabet either.

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Well, it certainly couldn't have been a dollar sign or a mark like that.

[Inspector Queen]

No, Nikki, A special mark in that particular spot, an address, would make no sense at all.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Okay, so the character erase must have been a punctuation mark.

[Inspector Queen]

The same punctuation mark, but which punctuation mark? Well, dad, do we use punctuation marks after the street number in an address?

[Judith (Mrs. Lester's friend or relative)]

We?

[Mrs. Hubert Lester]

Who is we?

[Inspector Queen]

We the people. We Americans.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Americans?

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Certainly not.

[Sergeant Vely]

You mean there's countries where they do?

[Inspector Queen]

Yes, Sergeant. In certain foreign countries, it's accepted practice to put a comma after the street number at 230 Hatton Avenue. Citizens of those countries would write 2, 3, 0, comma, Hatton Avenue. So I knew the erased characters must have been commas. They'd been erased after typing them in. The writer realized they betrayed his foreign origin.

[Ellery Queen (Narrator/Host)]

Question.

[Inspector Queen]

Who at 230 Hatton Ave. Is not an American, Mr. Plunkett? A Yank. The Draytons, Midwesterners. Mr. The Lance of Americans Pioneers. Lewis Todd your Hodgkin, born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joe the Janitor, born in Hester Street, New York City. Mrs. Lester, an American. Hubert Lester, her husband, a new businessman. Right, Nicki? Hubert Lester in this country. Only six months. Not long enough to have broken himself with his English punctuation habits. So I knew it was Hubert Lester who wrote that letter to his wife accusing himself of being untrue to him. But why, Maestro? Well, Sergeant, obviously Lester decided he'd made a serious error in marrying Mrs. Lester. This was his devious way of getting her to divorce him instead of giving her the actual grounds which might have caused the scandal and the loss of his job.

[Ethan A. Plunkett]

Then why did Lester send those letters to the other people in the house?

[Inspector Queen]

Obviously, dad, to divert suspicion from himself. To make the writer seem to be someone of a diseased or disturbed mind. A chronic and indiscriminate mischief maker.

[Hubert Lester]

I imagine Lester had in mind putting.

[Inspector Queen]

The blame on Dr. Drayton's unhappy, neurotic 15 year old daughter type often responsible for anonymous letters. Yes, Lester is a mischief maker. In this case, dad. I'm sure you can dig up some charge to make him pay for it.

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[Andy Staples]

Hi, I'm Andy Staples from Andy and Ariane three. And another five star quarterback just entered the transfer portal. That's what college football is now. A non stop adventure. And we cover it every day at Andy and Ariane 3. Whether it's the transfer portal, the college football playoff, the coaching carousel, you name it. And guess what? It doesn't stop even when the season ends. So join us every day, Monday through Friday. New episodes drop at 3pm Wherever you get your podcasts.