Hearthstone of the Death Squad 51-12-13 (16) Marriage Annulment Murder Case

Summary

Hearthstone of the Death Squad Episode Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Harold's Old Time Radio
• Host/Author: Harolds Old Time Radio
• Episode: Hearthstone of the Death Squad 51-12-13 (16) Marriage Annulment Murder Case
• Release Date: August 14, 2025
• Description: This episode transports listeners to the Golden Age of Radio, unfolding a riveting murder mystery before the advent of television. Featuring iconic shows like The Shadow, Abbott & Costello, and Dragnet, it captures the essence of families huddling around the radio for thrilling tales.

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Introduction: The Enigmatic Marriage Annulment

The episode opens in the opulent living room of Conrad Faulkner (played by Peter Capel) and his young wife, Glenda Faulkner (played by Peggy Sanford). Conrad, appearing troubled, holds a newspaper clipping that sets the stage for the ensuing mystery.

Notable Quote:
[00:01] Narrator: "Annulment Murder Case. Tonight we present the famous Hearthstone of the Death Squad, implacable manhunter of the Metropolitan Police..."

This introduction establishes a tense atmosphere, highlighting the fragility of Conrad and Glenda's marriage.

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The Unraveling Marriage and the Ominous Clipping

A heated discussion unfolds between Conrad and Glenda about the possibility of annulling their marriage, mirroring the story from the newspaper clipping.

Notable Quotes:
[02:04] Glenda Faulkner: "But Conrad, I wouldn't ask this if I thought it would hurt you. But couldn't our own marriage be ended the same way?"
[03:34] Conrad Faulkner: "Don't tell me anything more. Glenda. There are limits."

Glenda expresses her deep love for another man, Eric Jackson, creating a complex web of emotions and potential motives.

---

The Murder: A Night of Betrayal

The following morning reveals the brutal murder of Glenda Faulkner, lying mutilated in her bed. Inspector Hearthstone and his assistant, Detective Sam Cook, arrive at the crime scene to investigate.

Notable Quotes:
[05:26] Inspector Hearthstone: "A filthy sight, Sam. Clearly this is a murder of hate."
[06:33] Conrad Faulkner: "You are Inspector Hearthstone? I'm Conrad Faulkner."

The discovery of the newspaper clipping beside Glenda's body ties the case directly to the earlier conversation about marriage annulment.

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Initial Investigation: Unveiling Suspicions

Inspector Hearthstone interrogates Conrad Faulkner, who attempts to present himself as a blameless husband. However, Hearthstone's keen observations and probing questions begin to cast doubt on Conrad's innocence.

Notable Quotes:
[07:10] Inspector Hearthstone: "I didn't ask you for an alibi."
[09:30] Conrad Faulkner: "The suggestion offends me. Only one person had the motive to murder my wife."

Conrad implicates Eric Jackson, suggesting he was the unwelcome suitor causing Glenda's distress.

---

Eric Jackson's Revelation: A Twist in the Tale

Eric Jackson enters the narrative, initially positioning himself as a concerned lover caught in a tragic situation. However, his involvement becomes increasingly suspect as new evidence surfaces.

Notable Quotes:
[14:35] Eric Jackson: "She phoned me late yesterday afternoon that her husband had agreed to have their marriage terminated so she could marry me."
[14:54] Eric Jackson: "That woman in the outer office. Isabel Gomez. The one who accused me of murdering Glenda."

Eric shifts the blame towards Isabel Gomez, Conrad's accomplice, introducing another layer to the plot.

---

Clues and Evidence: Piecing Together the Puzzle

Inspector Hearthstone uncovers critical evidence, including a black jet earring and a star sapphire cufflink found at the murder scene. These items link both Conrad and Eric to the crime, complicating the investigation.

Notable Quotes:
[17:41] Inspector Hearthstone: "I wish to know why you're wearing only one earring, Isabel."
[18:29] Glenda Faulkner: "You lie, Eric. It is not Mr. Faulkner."

The torn newspaper clipping and forged financial records further implicate Conrad in embezzling Glenda's estate, providing a solid motive for murder.

---

The Confrontation: Unmasking the Culprit

In a climactic confrontation at Conrad Faulkner's office, Inspector Hearthstone presents the accumulated evidence, dismantling Conrad's façade of innocence. The true murderer is revealed through a combination of financial deceit and planted evidence.

Notable Quotes:
[24:30] Inspector Hearthstone: "You gave me too much. You planted Isabel's black jet earring on the scene."
[25:30] Eric Jackson: "All right, Hearthstone. I did."

Eric Jackson confesses to his crimes, revealing the depth of Conrad's manipulation and the extent of the murder plot.

---

Resolution: Justice Served

Inspector Hearthstone successfully apprehends Eric Jackson, ensuring that justice is served for Glenda Faulkner. Conrad Faulkner's attempts to obfuscate the truth are thwarted by Hearthstone's unwavering determination and sharp investigative skills.

Notable Quotes:
[25:48] Inspector Hearthstone: "Through your sheer stupidity, Faulkner, you made me believe you were perhaps the most clever, suspicious I'd ever met."
[25:53] Inspector Hearthstone: "Your wife's killer will end up in the electric chair."

The episode concludes with a reaffirmation of Hearthstone's role as the relentless seeker of truth within the labyrinthine complexities of human relationships and deceit.

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Conclusion: Themes and Insights

Hearthstone of the Death Squad masterfully intertwines themes of love, betrayal, and greed, showcasing the intricate dance between personal motives and criminal intent. Inspector Hearthstone's methodical approach serves as a testament to the enduring spirit of classic detective narratives, reminding listeners of the timeless allure of a well-crafted mystery.

Notable Insight:
The episode underscores how appearances can be deceiving and how the pursuit of truth often requires peeling back layers of deception and confronting uncomfortable realities.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Narrator]

Annulment Murder Case. Tonight we again present the famous Park Stone of the Deaths squad, implacable manhunter of the Metropolitan Police in one of his greatest investigations entitled the Marriage Annulment Murder Case. With Peter Capel as Conrad Faulkner and Peggy Sanford as Isabel Gome. And now, Inspector Hearthstone in the Marriage Annulment Murder Case. As the curtain rises, we see the luxurious living room of Conrad Faulkner, who is handsome, graying and middle aged. He is looking in a puzzled way at his very young wife as he holds in his hand a newspaper clipping which he has just given him. And we hear him say the words that lead to one of Inspector Hearthstone's most famous murder cases.

[Conrad Faulkner]

This newspaper clipping, my dear Glenda. Why did you give it to me? From where does it come from?

[Glenda Faulkner]

This afternoon's paper. Read it, Conrad.

[Conrad Faulkner]

It's about some man and his wife whose marriage was annulled. But I don't know the people.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Their marriage was annulled in court because it was proved they never lived together as husband and wife.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Yes, so it says.

[Glenda Faulkner]

But Conrad, I wouldn't ask this if I thought it would hurt you. But couldn't our own marriage be ended the same way? I mean, by annulment it's so much easier than divorce.

[Conrad Faulkner]

So my sweet little wife finally comes to the conclusion, as I warned her, that marrying me might be her great mistake.

[Glenda Faulkner]

You did warn me, Conrad. But when Father died and left you my guardian, I felt helpless and alone. I wanted someone to protect and care for me. I never thought I couldn't be made.

[Conrad Faulkner]

To believe that that one day love would come to you. Huh. And now you find it has?

[Glenda Faulkner]

Yes. Deeply. Terribly. Conrad.

[Conrad Faulkner]

I needn't ask Glenda. Is he of your age?

[Glenda Faulkner]

I'm torn between love for him and duty and gratitude and affection for you. But I'd rather die than live without him.

[Conrad Faulkner]

I'm not unprepared for this. After all, it's the course of nature.

[Glenda Faulkner]

I blame myself. When I first saw what was coming, I should have put him right out of my mind. But it was like lightning from the sky. Conrad.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Don't tell me anything more. Glenda. There are limits.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Where are you going, Conrad?

[Conrad Faulkner]

To my club, where I shall stay until we have the matter of an annulment of our marriage settled. Don't worry. It will end well.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Conrad. You don't hate me for this?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Hate is a bitter word. Oh, in the fantastic world in which we live, who can predict what I may meet this young lover of yours, Glinda, and be his best man at your wedding, Conrad. Goodbye.

[Glenda Faulkner]

I've thrown Eric right away.

[Eric Jackson]

Hello, Eric Jackson speaking.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Eric, this is Vanda. I told Conrad and he said it was all right.

[Eric Jackson]

Glenda, sweetheart.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Wait. Eric. There was something in the way he said it that makes me afraid.

[Eric Jackson]

Afraid?

[Glenda Faulkner]

Something in the tone of his voice. Something in his eyes I'd never seen before.

[Eric Jackson]

If he threatened you, I'll.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Conrad isn't the kind who threatens.

[Eric Jackson]

Tell me exactly what he said, Glenda.

[Glenda Faulkner]

I told him I didn't want to hurt him, but that I loved you. And.

[Narrator]

And early the following morning we see the cold and calculating Inspector Hearthstone of the death squad with his assistant Detective Sam Cook, in the pastel tinted bedroom of Glenda Faulkner. Its peaceful beauty contradicted by the horribly mutilated body of Glenda, which lies sprawling across her bed.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

And we hear the Inspector say, A filthy sight, Sam. Clearly this is a murder of hate.

[Eric Jackson]

Yeah, Inspector. Stabbing her once wasn't enough. I counted 10 places across her breast.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

The butler who reported the murder says her husband wasn't home last night.

[Eric Jackson]

Yeah, he said he spent his night at his club.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I wonder why.

[Eric Jackson]

He ought to be here by now. The butler rung him up at the club.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Hand me that newspaper on the floor beside her bed.

[Eric Jackson]

Here you are, Inspector.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Curious. A leading story was clipped from the front page.

[Eric Jackson]

That's yesterday afternoon. Star Telegraph, Inspector. I guess she cut it out with that scissors on her sewing table.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

She couldn't have. Sam, these are pinking scissors. They don't cut a clean line, but in the pattern of a saw.

[Eric Jackson]

They're the only scissors here, Inspector.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Sam, phone the Star Telegraph. Find out what story they carried on the third column of yesterday's late edition.

[Eric Jackson]

Yes, sir. There's a phone down the hall.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Come in.

[Conrad Faulkner]

You are Inspector Hearthstone? I'm Conrad Faulkner.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

This murdered woman's husband.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Yes, but do not ask me to look at her. She was so young, so lovely.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

The issue at this moment is to discover her killer. Mr. Faulkner.

[Conrad Faulkner]

If only I had not chosen last night of all nights to spend at my club.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

You cannot undo the past. No doubt you had an excellent reason for leaving your wife alone last night.

[Conrad Faulkner]

A late business meeting, Inspector Hearthstone. And every minute of my absence can be accounted for.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself?

[Conrad Faulkner]

What?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I didn't ask you for an alibi.

[Conrad Faulkner]

But isn't the husband usually suspect when a wife is murdered, Inspector Hearthstone?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Not always.

[Conrad Faulkner]

You are a clever man, Inspector Hearthstone. I present the alibi, for I have a premonition that sooner or later I will be accused.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Perhaps you are the clever one.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Even at a time of tragedy, one cannot forget self preservation is the first law of nature.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Perhaps you can throw some light on this newspaper, Mr. Faulkner.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Newspaper?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Have you any idea what the subject of the story clipped from it was?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Not the least idea, Inspector.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Detective Cook and I found it beside your murdered wife's bed.

[Conrad Faulkner]

It is completely a mystery to me. But how could it bear on Glenda's murderer?

[Eric Jackson]

Dr. Artstone?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Oh, yes, Sam.

[Eric Jackson]

Star Telegraph says that the story cut out from that paper was about a couple who had their marriage annulled because they never lived together as man and wife.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Mr. Faulkner, perhaps the information Detective Cook gives me has a direct bearing on your wife's murder.

[Conrad Faulkner]

But how, Inspector?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

On what terms did you leave your wife when you left to spend the night at your club? When did you last see her alive? Do you return to this house during the night? What was your true reason for leaving?

[Conrad Faulkner]

The reason I gave business. Glenda and I parted on the happiest terms. I know nothing of this newspaper story of annulment. It does not concern me.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

It concerns me when a girl, obviously 25 years younger than her husband is murdered.

[Conrad Faulkner]

I was Glenda's guardian before our marriage. Her father and I were long business colleagues, wine merchants of international repute. I in Barcelona, he in New York.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Yes.

[Conrad Faulkner]

On his death, he appointed me her guardian.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

You have already said that.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Then Glenda, left alone in the world, sought the wisdom and protection of age and asked me to be her husband.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

And our days were happy and ended in her murder. A murder associated in some strange way with a newspaper story about a marriage annulment. So the question is, is what was your young wife seeking? To end her marriage to you by annulment because you had never lived together as man and wife.

[Conrad Faulkner]

The suggestion offends me. Only one person had the motive to murder my wife.

[Eric Jackson]

Who?

[Conrad Faulkner]

A young man who was forcing unwelcome attentions upon her. Inspector Hearthstone. And whom she ordered out of her life yesterday. His name is Eric Jackson.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Eric Jackson?

[Eric Jackson]

It's phony to me, Inspector.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

One minute, Sam.

[Conrad Faulkner]

It is not phony, Detective Cook. Here is Eric Jackson's address, Inspector Hearthstone.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

You give his address as your own office, Mr. Faulkner?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Exactly, Inspector. Eric Jackson is an employee of my firm. It is there where my murdered Glenda met him, only to have him form the unwelcome infatuation that caused her murder.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Detective Cook and I will see this man, Mr. Faulkner, hoping, of course, that it will relieve you of suspicion.

[Conrad Faulkner]

It Will, Inspector. I'll have my butler show you out.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

You rang, sir?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Show these gentlemen to the door, Pickett.

[Narrator]

This way, Inspector Hearthstone.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Don't trouble, Pickett. We know the way. Good day, Mr. Faulkner.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Pickett, bring me a double whisky and soda.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Better wait till the cops get out of the house, sir. That Hearthstone is a slick one.

[Conrad Faulkner]

And what are you talking about?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

About this newspaper clipping I heard you and the missus arguing about yesterday afternoon, sir.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Where did you find it?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I venture you dropped it out of your pocket in front of her door when you came back to murder her last night. What? I'm offering it for sale, sir, to the highest bidder. It's between you and the cops. Suppose you start off with, say, 10 grand?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Give me that clipping and leave this house. Picket.

[Eric Jackson]

There's Mr. Faulkner's office. Inspector Hearthstone. For my dough, we're wasting our breath talking to that Eric Jackson. The guy he's trying to put the finger on. Sam.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

We have only suspicion without evidence so far that Faulkner murdered his wife. I'm interested in his butler. Odd situation.

[Eric Jackson]

You mean Pickett?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

He served two terms for blackmail.

[Eric Jackson]

What do you know? There's the door.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Yes? You wish to see someone?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I'm Inspector Hearthstone of the Death Squad, Office of Criminal Investigation. This is Detective Cook.

[Glenda Faulkner]

The police? But nothing has happened here.

[Eric Jackson]

I heard you say you were Inspector Hearthstone. Can I help you? We're looking for Mr. Eric Jackson. Is he around? I'm Eric Jackson. But why?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

We're investigating the murder of your employer's wife.

[Eric Jackson]

No.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Mrs. Conrad Faulkner. She was found murdered in her bed less than an hour ago.

[Eric Jackson]

Glenda? Murdered?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Oh, no.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

No.

[Glenda Faulkner]

That is what you get Eric Jackson, for your illegitimate love match with that girl. Mr. Faulkner's wife.

[Eric Jackson]

Who are you?

[Glenda Faulkner]

Sister Isabel Gomez. I work long for Mr. Faulkner. I see all this brewing murder had to result. I accuse Eric Jackson, the man you have come here to arrest.

[Eric Jackson]

Glenda. Murder? Oh, why didn't I call the police in time?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Am I to assume by that, Mr. Jackson, that you had knowledge Mrs. Faulkner was in danger of being murdered?

[Glenda Faulkner]

Certain. He knew in advance he killed her. He would have to know.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Suppositions and accusations don't solve murders, Ms. Gomez. Have you evidence?

[Glenda Faulkner]

Evidence, no, but facts, yes.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I'll hear Your facts later, Ms. Gomez. I suggest we go into this office, Mr. Jackson.

[Eric Jackson]

Yes, Inspector Hearthstone. It's mine.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Eric. Suppose you start by telling me why you thought Mrs. Faulkner was in danger of being murdered.

[Eric Jackson]

Glenda was murdered because she loved me.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I've heard the contrary, but go ahead.

[Eric Jackson]

She phoned me late yesterday afternoon that her husband had agreed to have their marriage terminated so she could marry me. She told her husband, Conrad, that she was in love with me.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Did she say whether the marriage was to terminate by divorce or annulment?

[Eric Jackson]

Annulment. No, she didn't. But she did say there was something in her husband's eyes. Something in the tone of his voice when he agreed to end their marriage that put her in deadly fear of him.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Why didn't you report that to the police?

[Eric Jackson]

She wasn't murdered because she asked for a divorce or because of our love for each other, Inspector Hearthstone.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

No.

[Eric Jackson]

Glenda was her husband's ward as well as his wife. He was also the executor of her father's estate and the sole custodian of the fortune her father left her.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Yes.

[Eric Jackson]

He embezzled every cent of her money. And the books of this company will prove it. Glenda became suspicious of him. It wasn't a murder of passion, Inspector Hearthstone. It was a cold and calculated murder to keep her husband from behind prison bars.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

That may throw a new light on the case.

[Eric Jackson]

I'm an expert accountant and I know.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

What I'm talking about.

[Eric Jackson]

And Inspector Hearthstone? Yes? There's another reason Conrad Faulkner wanted Glenda out of the way.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

What reason?

[Eric Jackson]

That woman in the outer office. Isabel Gomez. The one who accused me of murdering Glenda.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

How? Why?

[Eric Jackson]

Because they worked the theft of Glenda's money together and want to be off together. And I can prove that too.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Detective Cook.

[Eric Jackson]

Sam. Yeah, Inspector?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Bring Isabella Gomez in here. Eric Jackson accuses her of theft and murder.

[Narrator]

Hearthstone of the death squad. And the marriage Annulment murder case continues in just a moment. Is this show coming to you on your car radio?

[Eric Jackson]

How are your brakes?

[Narrator]

The pedal getting too close to the floorboards. And how about your lights? Horn, Windshield wipers. If they're not in shape, you're taking chances.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Why do it?

[Narrator]

There are repair shops everywhere. And now back to Hearthstone of the death squad and the marriage annulment murder case. Investigating the murder of lovely young Glenda Faulkner, brutally stabbed to death in her own bed. Inspector Hearthstone is told by her older husband, Conrad Faulkner, that Glenda was receiving unwelcome attentions from Eric Jackson, a young man of her own age who works for him. Suspicion begins to point at Conrad when the Inspector discovers a newspaper beside the murder bed with an item about a marriage annulment. Cut from it. And upon his questioning Eric Jackson. Eric accuses Conrad and Isabel Gomez, also employed by Conrad, saying that Isabel helped Conrad to embezzle his wife's fortune and that Conrad murdered his wife to prevent discovery. Now, a moment later at Conrad Faulkner's office, Inspector Hearthstone is saying to his assistant, Detective Sam Cooke.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Detective Cook, bring Isabel Gomez in here. Eric Jackson accuses her of theft and murder.

[Glenda Faulkner]

It is a lie. I do not steal. I do not murder.

[Eric Jackson]

I didn't say murder and stuff, Inspector Hearthstone. I said theft.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

One minute, Eric.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Swine. You pig. Eric.

[Eric Jackson]

Shut up, Isabelle.

[Glenda Faulkner]

He's a swine. A pig. Detective Cook. Eric lies, Inspector Hearthstone, but he will not deceive you. What do you wish with me?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I wish to know why you're wearing only one earring, Isabel.

[Glenda Faulkner]

What? Why? I must have dropped it in the other room. I go see.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

No, you needn't. Here is its mate. A black jet earring. I picked it off the ground directly under the window of the bedroom where Glinda Faulkner was murdered.

[Glenda Faulkner]

Those earrings, they can be bought at any department store in New York. Every woman you meet wears them. They're the fashion.

[Eric Jackson]

We'll check up on that one fast, sister. Heaven help me. Then she is Glenda's murderess, Inspector Hearthstone. And I'll prove by a dropped earring.

[Glenda Faulkner]

It is not my hearing. Eric Jackson.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

The earring was not the only clue I found beneath the window.

[Glenda Faulkner]

What?

[Eric Jackson]

What? Another.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

This star sapphire cufflink, can either of you identify it? Eric?

[Glenda Faulkner]

Isabel, I have never set eyes on it.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

And you, Eric?

[Eric Jackson]

I think it's Conrad Faulkner.

[Glenda Faulkner]

You lie, Eric. It is not Mr. Faulkner.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

You think it is the murdered girl's husband's cufflink, Eric?

[Eric Jackson]

I'm not certain, Inspector Hearthstone. But it looks like one of those he wore.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Thank you, Eric. And you, Ms. Gomez. You will both please go to your homes and remain there. This office will be closed and sealed for police inspection.

[Eric Jackson]

Come along, Sam. Okay, Inspector, time. Out of step, Inspector Hasstone. Slap me down. But why aren't we pinching that dame?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Do you think we could convict her on the evidence of this earring alone, Sam?

[Eric Jackson]

Well, it's a sensit. She and the murdered girl's husband were at Tosum. We got her earring and his cufflink. Hot off the murder scene. Right. So what are those newspapers you got under your arm, Inspector?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Two copies of yesterday's Star Telegraph, Sam. With the story of that highly interesting marriage annulment checked in pencil on one.

[Eric Jackson]

Where'd you get them?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

In the waste paper basket in the reception room of Mr. Faulkner's office. But he may not have put them there.

[Eric Jackson]

That marriage annulment clipping seems to be turning up everywhere.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

We are confront from Faulkner with it Sam. At his house within the next few minutes.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Inspector Hearthstone. Come in.

[Eric Jackson]

I'm here too, Mr. Faulkner.

[Conrad Faulkner]

My apologies, Detective Cook. My butler, Pickett left my employee suddenly and without reason, so I answered the door myself.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Your butler Pickett is a known criminal and blackmailer.

[Conrad Faulkner]

You astonish me, Inspector Hearthstone. I failed to check his reference when I employed him.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Oh. Does this cufflink happen to be yours, Mr. Faulkner?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Yes, it is one of a set that was presented to me. I never wore them. I put them aside in my desk at the office. You found it there, of course?

[Eric Jackson]

No.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

On the ground directly beneath the window of your murdered wife's bedroom.

[Conrad Faulkner]

How it got there, I cannot say. But this newspaper clipping may interest you, Inspector Hearthstone.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Newspaper clipping? It does, very much. Especially as it is a marriage annulment story from yesterday's Star Telegraph.

[Conrad Faulkner]

My butler, Pickett, attempted to blackmail me for $10,000 for it. He overheard my wife, Glenda, present it to me as a possible way to have her marriage to me annulled.

[Narrator]

Really?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

So you admit it now? Admit that your wife came to you to have your marriage annulled. Just as I thought.

[Conrad Faulkner]

I agreed to her plea quite readily. Ours was a marriage of convenience rather than love, Inspector Hearthstone. We did not live together as man and wife. Our marriage could have been annulled. But I thought no more of this clipping until Pickett attempted to use it as a means of blackmail.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Faulkner, earlier today you complimented me by calling me clever. And I returned it by saying perhaps you were the clever one.

[Conrad Faulkner]

You were very gracious, Inspector Hearthstone, but now is no, no time for pretty words. Undoubtedly, you have come to reveal who murdered my wife.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

There is such a thing as being too clever, Mr. Faulkner.

[Conrad Faulkner]

I quite agree, Inspector. After all, the proof of the pudding.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Is in the eating. And figuratively speaking, neither you nor I have eaten yet. But the records of the police show that the refusal of a wife to live with her husband provides a prime motive for murder. Good day, Mr. Faulkner.

[Eric Jackson]

I'm not asking you this time. Why? We're not making a pinch, Inspector.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Sam, radio headquarters from the car. One, to search this house for the butler Pickett's body.

[Eric Jackson]

Right.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Two, have the police auditors check the books in Faulkner's office. And third, here's the car. Back to headquarters. Quickly, Sam.

[Narrator]

Now, back in Inspector Hearthstone's grim office at the Death Squad, we hear Detective.

[Eric Jackson]

Cook say, I'll Give it to you fast, Inspector. The butler Pickett's not dead. He's drunk as a lord, shooting money like crazy.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Get on with it, Sam.

[Eric Jackson]

Report on Isabel Gomez, the murdered Glenda Faulkner's husband. Conrad is putting up for Isabel in a lush apartment on East 53rd Street.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Mm.

[Eric Jackson]

You got her Blackjet earring and his cufflink, already found at the murder scene.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Get onto the auditor's report on Faulkner's book, Sam.

[Eric Jackson]

Right here, sir.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Well, let me see it.

[Eric Jackson]

Haven't had time to read it myself.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

The solution is in Faulkner's book, Sam, and in this neatly cut out clipping of the marriage annulment story in the Star Telegraph.

[Eric Jackson]

Yeah, I got everybody outside. Inspector Hearthstone, Faulkner, Isabel and Eric Jackson.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Bring them in, Sam. The case is solved.

[Eric Jackson]

Come in, all of you.

[Conrad Faulkner]

I reach the conclusion, Inspector Hart's, that your cleverness is bringing my wife's killer.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

To arrest Mr. Faulkner. An audit of your books reveals that every dollar of your wife's estate held in trust by you was embezzled.

[Conrad Faulkner]

That is not a clever solution, Inspector. It is impossible.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Neither was it clever of you, Faulkner, to put up for this woman, Isabel Gomez, in one of the most expensive apartments in the city.

[Glenda Faulkner]

This passionate love. Proof of murder, Inspector. I proudly say the money Conrad Faulkner spent on me was not embezzled from his murdered wife, Glenda.

[Eric Jackson]

Let me at her. It's like I said, Inspector. Faulkner killed Glenda. He embezzled her money. Isabel helped him murder her. You have all the evidence. Her earring, his cufflink. Proof of a $500,000 theft. Easy, Eric.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I'll kill a bunk. Eric Jackson is the murderer.

[Glenda Faulkner]

What?

[Conrad Faulkner]

Eric?

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Yes, Eric Jackson.

[Eric Jackson]

You're a fool, Hearthstone. You're not fit to be a police officer.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

I deal at evidence, and you gave me too much. You planted Isabel's black jet earring on the scene. You planted Conrad Faulkner's cuplink along with it. And you cut this story of the marriage annulment from the newspaper.

[Eric Jackson]

That's a lie.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

You cut it out with these shears found in a search of your room, Eric.

[Eric Jackson]

Glenda cut it from the newspaper herself in her room with her scissors.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

The only scissors in Glenda's room wear pinking shears. Shears that leave the pattern of a saw. You gave her the story, Eric. Gave her the idea to ask her husband for an annulment of their marriage so you'd be free to murder her and have her husband accused.

[Eric Jackson]

He embezzled her money. The proof is in his books.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

The proof in his books is that you Eric Jackson forged entries and took the money. Here's proof you did.

[Eric Jackson]

All right, Hearthstone. I did.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Detective Cook, charge him with willful murder. Take him to the cells.

[Eric Jackson]

Out of that door, Jackson. Start moving.

[Conrad Faulkner]

Is it not as I said, Inspector Hearthstone? You are the clever one, not I.

[Inspector Hearthstone]

Through your sheer stupidity, Faulkner, you made me believe you were perhaps the most clever, suspicious I'd ever met in my long experience as a police officer. But that's neither here nor there. It's my job to bring murderers to heel. And your wife's killer will end up in the electric chair.

[Narrator]

And thus, Hearthstone of the Death Squad rights solved. In the files of the marriage annulment murder case, the part of Inspector Hearthstone was played by Alfred Shirley, written by Frank Hummert, directed by Henry Howard, and as a presentation of CBS Radio, listen in next Thursday night at this same time for Hearthstone of the Death Star Squad in Murder and the Little man with the Big mustache. Coming right up, CBS Radio is proud to announce the premiere performance of Stars in the Air, a new program featuring Hollywood stars in special adaptations of all time best screen comedies and romances. For tonight's premiere, Stars in the Air brings you James Stone Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life. Stay tuned for this Stars in the Air premiere which follows immediately. On most of these same stations, blood and blood plasma are saving the lives of many a wounded man in Korea. We owe it to these brave men to supply the blood for their care in the treatment of many casualties. There is no substitute for blood, and it is imperative that action be taken to ensure that an adequate supply is ready for immediate use. The Department of Defense is calling up for an immediate stepping up of blood collections this month. Our country is short 300,000 pints of blood. It's up to every one of us who is able to make up this staggering deficit. So call your Red Cross chapter or local blood donor center for an appointment to make your donation of blood for the armed forces. You will be doing your part in keeping America free. Listen for Hearthstone of the Death Squad in Murder and the little man with the big mustache at this same time next Thursday night. Your announcer is Harry Kramer. And remember, it's two hours of music, the nation's favorite songs, every Friday night on the CBS Radio Network.