Fabian Of The Yard 195x.xx.xx The Midget Hercules

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Fabian Of The Yard 195x.xx.xx The Midget Hercules"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Harold's Old Time Radio
• Host/Author: Harold's Old Time Radio
• Episode: Fabian Of The Yard 195x.xx.xx The Midget Hercules
• Release Date: July 8, 2025

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Harold's Old Time Radio, titled "The Midget Hercules," listeners are transported back to the Golden Age of Radio, immersing themselves in a compelling tale of crime, investigation, and justice. The story unfolds through the analytical eyes of Ex Superintendent Robert Fabian of Scotland Yard, whose expertise unravels a seemingly straightforward garage fire that masks a sinister murder plot.

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Plot Overview

Initial Incident: The episode opens with the tragic death of Frederick Morton, the squire of Saxton Grange, who perishes in a mysterious garage fire. At first glance, the incident appears to be a simple accident—Morton is believed to have died from a fallen torch or asphyxiation due to fumes after a night of heavy drinking.

Key Characters:

• Frederick Morton: The victim, a well-liked 28-year-old squire.
• Ernest Brown: The groom at Saxton Grange, who discovers the fire and reports it.
• Mrs. Morton: Frederick's wife, who provides crucial testimony.
• Constable Broadhead: The local policeman investigating the case.
• Chief Superintendent Blacker: The seasoned Inspector leading the investigation.
• Joe: The landlord of the Boot and Shoe Inn, providing alibi information.

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Investigation Unfolds

Contradictory Statements: Chief Superintendent Blacker begins by examining conflicting accounts from Ernest Brown and Mrs. Morton. Brown claims that Morton arrived home drunk, requested petrol, and left again, which contradicts Mrs. Morton's statement that they did not hear Morton drive out.

Evidence Collection: Constable Broadhead discovers melted coins, Morton's keys, and a diamond ring in the garage ruins, suggesting a struggle or foul play. Additionally, the insurance assessor notes that the petrol tanks were left open and intact, hinting at deliberate tampering rather than an accidental explosion.

Cut Telephone Wires: A pivotal moment occurs when it is revealed that the telephone wires at Saxton Grange were deliberately cut using a kitchen knife. This discovery leads Blacker to order the knife and wire samples to Professor Tryhorn at Howell University for forensic analysis.

Alibi Discrepancies: Interviews with Joe at the Boot and Shoe Inn reveal that Morton was sober that night, contradicting Ernest Brown's earlier statement about Morton's drunkenness. This inconsistency raises suspicions about Brown's credibility.

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Critical Evidence and Breakthrough

Forensic Findings: Professor Tryhorn's analysis confirms that the telephone wires were indeed cut using the knife found in the garage. Moreover, the county pathologist discovers two shotgun pellets near Morton's heart, indicating a murder rather than an accident.

Mrs. Morton's Revelation: Confronted with the evidence, Mrs. Morton confesses that Ernest Brown was in love with her and harbored jealousy toward her husband. She reveals that Brown killed Frederick Morton around 10 o'clock that night, using the loud radio to mask the sound of the gunshot and the car's arrival, explaining why they did not hear these events.

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Conclusion and Aftermath

Ernest Brown is ultimately convicted of Morton's murder, relying on the confluence of forensic evidence and Mrs. Morton's testimony. Ex Superintendent Robert Fabian concludes the episode by reflecting on the case, highlighting Blacker's intuitive suspicion and the innovative method used by Brown to obscure his crime with loud music.

Fabian teases the next story involving a man who attempted to make easy money at a racetrack, promising another enthralling tale of cunning and deception.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Robert Fabian [01:36]: "Experienced police are rather skeptical about such apparent accidents..."

• Ernest Brown [03:38]: "We'll try to save the horses but. And the horse box from the barn. I'll ring for help."

• Joe [04:24]: "And he's not one to talk against Mr. Morton, him being good for my bar trade..."

• Chief Superintendent Blacker [06:11]: "I want to take a trip up to Saxton Grange, Sergeant. I think you'd better come with me."

• Mrs. Morton [11:32]: "Ernest was in love with me, Superintendent. He thought I loved him, but I didn't."

• Robert Fabian [13:16]: "A policeman must always assume the possibility of foul play until the facts prove otherwise."

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Insights and Themes

• Deception and Cover-ups: The episode delves into the lengths to which individuals may go to conceal their crimes, utilizing environmental factors like loud music to obscure evidence.

• Forensic Science in Investigation: The meticulous collection and analysis of evidence play a crucial role in uncovering the truth, showcasing early instances of forensic breakthroughs.

• Psychological Motives: Personal vendettas and unrequited love emerge as powerful motivators for criminal behavior, adding depth to character motivations.

• Role of Intuition in Policing: Superintendent Blacker's instinctual suspicion serves as a testament to the importance of intuition alongside empirical evidence in solving crimes.

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Conclusion

"The Midget Hercules" stands out as a classic narrative blending suspense, investigative prowess, and human psychology. Through Robert Fabian's recounting, listeners gain an appreciation for the intricate detective work that transforms a presumed accident into a compelling case of murder. This episode not only entertains but also offers insights into the foundational techniques of criminal investigations during the Golden Age of Radio.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Robert Fabian]

Murderers, considerably above average in cunning, have many times tried one or two variety of schemes which sometimes come very close to succeeding in throwing suspicion either onto someone else or at least away from the real criminal. The first of these is usually the unpremeditated kind, in which a body may be found in circumstances that are bafflingly simple, providing no clue to the motive or the identity of the killer. The other kind of murder is the faked accident. The victim may have apparently fallen from an upstairs window and broken his neck, or he may be found at the wheel of his car in an enclosed garage, asphyxiated by exhaust fumes following a drinking orgy. Or, as in this case, he might be presumed to have died in a garage fire while drunk. Fortunately, however, experienced police are rather skeptical about such apparent accidents, as you will observe when in a moment you hear the story of a criminal who committed murder to music.

[Commercial Announcer]

Since late evening at Sexton Grange, the stabled horses had been restless as animals often will. They sense something wrong in the garage next door, and suddenly, with a roar, a car in the garage exploded. Flames burst through the roof and reached tongues of fire out to the sky. Over at the house, the undergroom Ernest Brown hammered on the front door.

[Ernest Brown]

Mrs. Morton, Mrs. Morton, the old place is on fire. Mrs. Morton. Mrs. Morton.

[Mrs. Morton]

Ernest. What is it?

[Ernest Brown]

The garage.

[Joe]

It's on fire, look.

[Mrs. Morton]

Good heavens. Can you save the car?

[Ernest Brown]

Oh, you can't get near the place.

[Mrs. Morton]

We'll try to save the horses but. And the horse box from the barn. I'll ring for help.

[Ernest Brown]

Right.

[Mrs. Morton]

Ernest. The phone's dead. I can't get any answer.

[Ernest Brown]

What do we do now?

[Mrs. Morton]

You'll have to drive the horse flat to Toton for help. Quick now. Get there as fast as you can.

[Joe]

Hey lad. How is it now up at the Grange since the fire? It was a terrible thing, young Mr. Morton being killed and all.

[Ernest Brown]

Aye, it is that. I feel fair sick about it all. Give us a point, will you Joe? I need someone to book me up. Right.

[Joe]

Oh, Ernie. Coming right up. They tell me your boss had got himself drunk and was sitting in his car when the fire broke out. Is that a fact?

[Ernest Brown]

It is that. I was always afraid that Bus would get himself killed in that car. And through drink too.

[Joe]

Aye, and he was a hard drinking man too, was Freddy Morton. It's a great pity he had to go so young. Drink's a good thing when you can hold it, I always say. And I'm not one to talk against Mr. Morton, him being good for my bar trade like with them as can't hold it, shouldn't take it.

[Ernest Brown]

Still, it's hard on young missus and her with a little baby too. Affair makes a man feel sick, so it does.

[Commercial Announcer]

That was the feeling of most of the local people in the Yorkshire village for 28 year old Freddy Morton had always been popular. It was obvious to everyone that his death in the garage fire had been nothing more than a tragic accident. The local policeman went to the burnt out ruins of the garage to poke around and make his formal report. But Constable Broadhead had to make an attempt to establish with scientific evidence that Morton had in fact been in the car throughout the fire. From the blackened ruins he picked out some melted coins, a few keys belonging to morton and a 2 carat diamond that had once adorned a ring belonging to the dead man, to his superior, Chief Superintendent Blacker. At Wakefield headquarters. The constable reported that there was no doubt that that it had been Frederick Morton, squire of Saxton Grange, who had died in the garage fire.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

I want to take a trip up to Saxton Grange, Sergeant. I think you'd better come with me.

[Ernest Brown]

All right, sir.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

What's the story? I've just been looking over the file of this case with a report from Constable Broadhead about the death of Frederick Morton.

[Ernest Brown]

Oh, yes. Accidental death in a garage fire.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

So the local people seem to think. I'm not happy about it. The statement made by the groom, Ernest Brown, for instance.

[Ernest Brown]

He said the boss came in about half past eleven that night, roaring drunk. He said he'd come for some petrol and was going straight out again. He did too. I went to bed. It must have been half past three in morning when I heard the horses and saw the fire.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

And now look at this statement by the man's wife.

[Mrs. Morton]

I had been working in the kitchen with my maid until midnight. We were simmering jam. We both heard my husband's car come in at about half past eleven. We didn't hear him drive out again, but he did not enter the house.

[Ernest Brown]

Yes, I see what you mean, sir. It's hard to reconcile those two statements.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

It's quite so. And on top of that, the assessor for the insurance company reported that the petrol tanks of the car had not exploded, but the tank caps were still on. But both the drain taps were open, allowing the contents of the tanks to drain onto the floor.

[Ernest Brown]

Definitely something fishy about that, sir. When do we leave?

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Right away. Order the car, will you?

[Ernest Brown]

Yes, sir.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

You're Ernest Brown, are you? The groom from Saxton's Grange?

[Ernest Brown]

That's right, sir. Bad business.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

ES Brown?

[Ernest Brown]

Aye, sir, it is that.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

They tell me you were in the yard when Mr. Morton came in.

[Joe]

Aye.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

You saw him go out again?

[Ernest Brown]

I saw that I did.

[Commercial Announcer]

Whilst he was talking to Brown, the superintendent was summing up the character of the man. The groom was obviously something of a ladies man, smartly dressed in a brown suit with neat shirt and tie and well cut britches. Meanwhile, the superintendent's assistant had been interviewing Mrs. Morton's maid.

[Ernest Brown]

The maid seems quite an intelligence old girl, sir. She was very clear about this matter of the phone going out of order.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

What did she have to say?

[Ernest Brown]

Well, a call came from Mr. Morton at about a quarter of ten that night. He was very important apparently, and the caller said he'd ring back in about 15 minutes. Oh, yes.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Morton, of course, was out at that time.

[Ernest Brown]

That's right, sir. The maid says the second call never came, so perhaps the phone went out of order between 9:45 and 10:00'.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Clock.

[Ernest Brown]

Hmm.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Where was Brown when the phone rang, do you know?

[Ernest Brown]

He was in the kitchen. The maid says he later went outside and took with him a knife. This one.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Very interesting. All right. I have the body sent to the county pathologist. Sergeant.

[Ernest Brown]

Yes, sir.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

And get the GPO engineers to search Saxton Grange telephone wires for the spot where they've been deliberately cut.

[Ernest Brown]

Do you think they were cut with the knife, sir?

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

I do. I want you to send this knife and the cut ends of the telephone wire to Professor Tryhorn at Howell University.

[Ernest Brown]

Right, sir.

[Commercial Announcer]

The Superintendent, of course, was playing a very shrewd hunch and the GPO engineers found he was right about the first part of it. The Sexton Grange telephone wire had indeed been cut and the sergeant had the cut ends of the wire dispatched immediately with the kitchen knife to Professor Tryhorn. Whilst they waited for a report, the sergeant interviewed the landlord of the Boot and Shoe inn at Peckfield.

[Ernest Brown]

Mr. Morton was in the hotel on the night he died, is that correct?

[Joe]

I was. And all for that matter, Mr. Morton was here most nights. He was our drinking man, you know, Sergeant.

[Ernest Brown]

I see your statement you made earlier mentioned that Mr. Morton left the hotel at quarter to ten. Was he drunk or sober at that time?

[Joe]

Well, funny you should mention that. As a matter of fact, he was stone cold sober that night. And we were talking business and probably that's why he didn't drink too much.

[Ernest Brown]

Did he say where he was going when he left?

[Joe]

He did. He said he was going straight home. So he should have been home by 10 o'.

[Mrs. Morton]

Clock.

[Commercial Announcer]

The report came to the Superintendent from the county pathologist. He had found two shotgun pellets close to the heart in the charred remains of Morton's body. This was followed by the report on the telephone wires from Professor Tryhorn at Hull.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Well, here we are, Sergeant. I was right about the phone wires. The professor is quite certain that they were cut by this knife. After examining the knife and the wires under a microscope.

[Ernest Brown]

Good Lord. But you think a court will accept that, sir? I don't recall any such evidence having been given before.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Nor do I. But the Professor's a good man and he's absolutely certain about this. I'm willing to accept his report. Get Mrs. Morton in here, will you?

[Ernest Brown]

Yes, sir.

[Mrs. Morton]

You wanted to see me, Superintendent?

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

Yes, Mrs. Morton. I'm sorry to have to say this, but I think Ernest Brown murdered your husband.

[Commercial Announcer]

Mrs. Morton turned deadly pale, but didn't answer. Then for a long time, the Superintendent sat and waited, watching the woman while she paced the room and smoked several cigarettes, stubbing them before they were half finished. Finally, she turned to him and said.

[Mrs. Morton]

Ernest was in love with me, Superintendent. He thought I loved him, but I didn't. He was jealous of my husband.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

So at approximately 10 o' clock that night, when he knew that your husband was due home, he waited for him and Killed him with a shotgun. Later, having cut the telephone wires, he set fire to the garage.

[Mrs. Morton]

I. I don't know. It's all too horrible. I still can't see how Ernest could have fired a gun without my maiden me hearing it in the kitchen. And we certainly didn't hear my husband drive in at 10 o'. Clock.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

You have a radio receiver in your kitchen, Mrs. Morton, and your maid has told us that it was playing at that time.

[Mrs. Morton]

Was it? I don't remember.

[Chief Superintendent Blacker]

It was. Moreover, Ernest Brown turned it up to play very loudly before he left the kitchen with the knife he used to cut the telephone wires. The radio was still playing loudly a few minutes later when your husband drove the car in and was killed. That's why you didn't hear the car or the gunshot.

[Commercial Announcer]

So the case was complete. The scientific facts, together with the established information that Brown had quarreled with his employer Morton, and on one occasion had been dismissed by him, served to convict the groom of murder in December 1933. The groom was convicted and later hanged. In a moment you will hear from ex Superintendent Fabian a footnote to murder to music. And here is Mr. Fabian's footnote.

[Robert Fabian]

Well, that is probably one of the first occasions on which a murderer had drowned the sound effects associated with his crime by playing a radio very loudly. But it certainly wasn't the last. Incidentally, Superintendent Blacker made a simple, though extremely pregnant comment when friends asked him after the trial what made him suspect murder in his apparently straightforward case of accidental death. He said it's a policeman's job to suspect murder. He was quite right, of course, for like the scientist who was prepared to query everything, a policeman must always assume the possibility of foul play until the facts prove otherwise. My story next week will deal with a man who, like a lot of other people, fancied he would make some easy money on a racetrack. A case of 2 above the odds.

[Commercial Announcer]

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