Man from Homicide 51-08-06 007 Drowned Girl Case

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Man from Homicide 51-08-06 007 Drowned Girl Case"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Harold's Old Time Radio
• Host/Author: Harolds Old Time Radio
• Episode: Man from Homicide 51-08-06 007 Drowned Girl Case
• Release Date: July 2, 2025
• Description: Relive the Golden Age of Radio with classic-style radio shows featuring iconic characters like The Shadow, Abbott & Costello, Amos & Andy, Dragnet, and more.

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Introduction to the Case

The episode kicks off with a brief introduction by Henry J. Taylor, setting the stage for a gripping homicide investigation. As Lt. Lou Dana, portrayed by Dan Duryea, takes center stage, listeners are immediately drawn into the grim reality of homicide work.

Notable Quote:

Henry J. Taylor (00:02): “Listen for Henry J. Taylor's penetrating analysis on your land and mine.”

The Drowned Girl Incident

Lt. Lou Dana delves into the central case: the mysterious drowning of a young girl. Initially labeled a suicide, the circumstances surrounding her death raise suspicions.

Key Points:

• Location & Time: The incident occurred at a pier jutting into the bay at two in the morning.
• Eyewitness Account: A cop witnessed the girl’s scream and attempted rescue, but she was already submerged when help arrived.
• Physical Evidence: No identification was found on the girl—no labels on her clothes, no purse, but she was wearing a distinctive hat.

Notable Quotes:

Lt. Lou Dana (00:56): “It’s the beginning of a dirty, dangerous job that doesn’t end until a killer is found. I don’t like killers.”

Lt. Lou Dana (03:10): “Stick of gum, Pappy? No, no.”

Investigation Unfolds

Dana's meticulous investigation uncovers several anomalies:

• The Hat: The girl was wearing an elaborate, expensive hat from Martha Wayne's millinery shop, Vogue Millinery.
• Lack of Identification: The absence of labels suggests a deliberate attempt to conceal her identity.
• Designer's Records: Attempts to trace the sale of the hat lead Dana to Martha Wayne, who is uncooperative and evasive.

Notable Quote:

Lt. Lou Dana (05:24): “She was drowned. Water in her lungs. Water that tested out as bay water.”

Confrontation with Martha Wayne

Dana confronts Martha Wayne, attempting to extract information about the victim. Their interaction is tense, revealing possible connections between Martha and the drowned girl.

Key Points:

• Martha's Evasion: She initially denies knowledge of the girl but becomes increasingly defensive.
• Sketch Presentation: Dana presents a sketch of the hat to Martha, pushing her to identify the purchaser.
• Suspicious Behavior: Martha's reluctance and nervousness hint at deeper involvement.

Notable Quotes:

Lt. Lou Dana (10:27): “A bad taste is what I’ve got. Get me that sketch, will you, Dave?”

Martha Wayne (10:44): “I have a very bad memory for faces.”

Unveiling the Truth

As the investigation progresses, Dana connects the dots between the hat, the drowned girl, and potential foul play orchestrated by Martha Wayne. He theorizes that the girl's death was staged to appear as a suicide, implicating Martha in a murder plot.

Key Points:

• Design and Deception: The elaborate hat was a means to disguise the murder, making the drowning seem accidental.
• Assistant's Role: Dana suggests that Martha had an assistant who discovered the illicit activities, leading to her demise.
• Barlow's Involvement: Barlow, a known burglar, is introduced as an accomplice who assists in covering up the crime.

Notable Quotes:

Lt. Lou Dana (26:04): “She did it all. I didn’t know the paper I was writing on. I saw a young girl... lying dead and watery on the rough wood of a pier.”

Lt. Lou Dana (26:30): “You’d have to make sure she wouldn’t go to the police. One way would be to murder her.”

Climactic Confrontation

The climax unfolds in a dramatic confrontation at Martha Wayne's apartment. Dana and the local authorities corner Martha, piecing together her motives and methods.

Key Points:

• Admission and Denial: Martha oscillates between acknowledging and denying her involvement.
• Evidence of Guilt: The presence of stolen goods and the methodical nature of the girl's death point towards Martha's culpability.
• Final Revelation: Dana solidifies his case against Martha, leading to her arrest and the closure of the case.

Notable Quotes:

Lt. Lou Dana (27:46): “You’re marrying the hat that was wrong. But the dead girl was blonde. You’re brunette, Ms. Wayne. You had to wear a hat for a masquerade. That hat will hang you.”

Lt. Lou Dana (29:17): “I don’t like killers.”

Conclusion and Reflection

Lt. Lou Dana wraps up the case with introspection about the nature of his work and the toll it takes on him. The episode concludes with Dana reaffirming his disdain for killers and the relentless pursuit of justice.

Notable Quote:

Lt. Lou Dana (29:17): “I don’t like killers.”

Final Thoughts

"Man from Homicide 51-08-06 007 Drowned Girl Case" offers a classic detective narrative filled with suspense, intricate plot twists, and compelling character dynamics. Through Lt. Lou Dana's relentless investigation, listeners are immersed in the dark underbelly of homicide work, highlighting themes of deception, justice, and the psychological burdens carried by those who pursue it.

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Produced By:

• Writer: Lou Vitis
• Director: Dwight Hauser
• Broadcasted From: Hollywood, America on ABC

Closing Note:

Dan Duryea (29:18): “You have just heard another in a transcribed series starring Dan Duryea as the man from Homicide. The man from Homicide is written by Lou Vitis, directed by Dwight Hauser. This program came to you from Hollywood. America is sold on ABC.”

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This detailed summary encapsulates the essence of the episode, providing listeners with a comprehensive overview of the plot, character development, and pivotal moments that define the "Drowned Girl Case."

Transcript

[Henry J. Taylor]

In just a few moments, the man from Homicide, starring Dan Duryea. Henry J. Taylor, author, journalist and ABC commentator whose commentaries on world affairs are heard each Monday evening on abc, is on a fact finding tour of European countries. Periodically, Mr. Taylor takes trips abroad to examine activities at first hand during the weeks he's in Europe, his Monday evening commentary, your Land and Mine, will be broadcast each week from a different European capital. He speaks tonight from Heidelberg. So listen for Henry J. Taylor's penetrating analysis on your land and mine.

[Dan Duryea]

A man from Homicide. According to Webster's Dictionary, homicide is the killing of one human being by another. According to Lt. Lou Dana, it's the.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Beginning of a dirty, dangerous job that doesn't end until a killer is found. I don't like killers.

[Dan Duryea]

Every week at this time, the American Broadcasting Company brings you transcribed the star of stage and screen, dan Duryea as Lt. Lou Dana, the man from Homicide.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

One way or another, people keep dying all the time. That interests doctors, insurance companies and statisticians. But sometimes people are helped to die, and that interests us. In Homicide, we work at it. The death that comes because somebody was afraid, because somebody hated. Because somebody killed.

[Dave]

The declare case of suicide, Lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

The place was a pier jutting out into the bay. The time was two in the morning. The occasion.

[Dave]

Don't often get an eyewitness to suicide, Lou. But this time we've got one. A cop, too.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

The girl they'd fished out of the bay was young. At one time she might have been pretty. But that time was before the waters of the bay got out of her.

[Dave]

Yes, sir. One of our men saw her go in.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

They were working on her with a pull motor. What they needed was a miracle. Yeah.

[Dave]

Uniformed man was maybe 50 yards from her when he heard her scream. He started towards her. She was easy to see. Kind of the lamppost right near the spot she jumped from. By the time he got there, she was under Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

The sergeant was fat. Probably made getting clothes to fit him tough. I thought it was a good thing he didn't have to wear a uniform anymore.

[Dave]

Lord.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sorry, Dave. I guess I was dreaming. Stick of gum, Pappy? No, no.

[Dave]

Thanks, Lou. Okay if the boys remove the body, she's dead.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Yeah, it's okay.

[Dave]

All right, boys, get her out of here.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

There was no identification on her, Dave?

[Dave]

No.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

No labels on her clothes. And no purse, huh? How about a hat?

[Dave]

She was wearing one when she went in.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Where is it? The hat. The hat.

[Dave]

Well, I guess nobody bothered fishing for us.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I want somebody to bother.

[Dave]

Well, okay, Lou. I'll Put a couple of the boys.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

On it, but call it attention to detail. Dave. I don't like it.

[Dave]

Don't like what?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That girl dying the way she did. She was young, Dave. Pretty. Death by drowning hurts.

[Dave]

She picked it for herself.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Maybe she was too alone. Dave.

[Dave]

Suicides don't usually look for company.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

They don't bother dying incognito, either. Well, sure, I know it could have been that way.

[Dave]

Did you notice her hair, Dave was blonde.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

She'd had a permanent. Even the bay water didn't bother it much. A recent permanent. Nah.

[Dave]

Something's working on you.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Yeah. Suicides are tired and worn. Bitter sometimes. This girl's face was untouched. She hadn't lived long, Dave. She hadn't lived much. Not nearly enough to find out what life was. Not nearly enough to ask for death. And, Dave. She screamed. I went back to headquarters and waited. I wondered how it felt to breathe water instead of air. I wondered why any man chose to be in homicide. After a while, I stopped wondering and just waited.

[Dave]

Lou?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Yeah, Dave?

[Dave]

No sign of the hat. You know, the bay is kind of big.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Autopsy in yet?

[Dave]

I got it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks.

[Dave]

Anything?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sure. She was drowned. Water in her lungs. Water that tested out as bay water.

[Dave]

Well, that cleans it up, don't it?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I don't know, Dave. Get a hold of the copper. So I'll go in, have him describe the hat to one of the lab men and have the lab man make a sketch of it.

[Dave]

Sure. Only why.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm trying not to believe that life's so lousy. A girl like that wouldn't want it. Her clothes were cheap. It's been a warm night. Why was she wearing a hat?

[Dave]

Maybe you got something there.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A bad taste is what I've got. Get me that sketch, will you, Dave? If nothing else, it'll look good in her file. The rest of the routine went along fine. Pictures of her to go to the papers and the request for identification would go with them. There might be trouble, though. The people who'd known her hadn't seen her dead. Her lungs filled with bay water. It makes a difference.

[Dave]

Here's your sketch, Lu.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks. Wow. This is quite a hat.

[Dave]

Designer must have just heard about the birds and the bees. Not to mention the fruit.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Elaborate and expensive. It's a wrong note, Dave. Too much hat.

[Dave]

Oh, you're a stubborn man, Lou. Maybe the girl just blew a week's salary on that hat.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Kind of a splurge just before she decided to die. No one's come in to identify her, huh?

[Dave]

Not yet.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Not ever.

[Dave]

You're guessing wild.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

No, I'm not. Why were the labels on our clothes removed? Dave, I have copies of that sketch made. Put a few policewomen on the job. A hat like that means a designer. It's not mass production stuff like the girl's clothes. I want that designer found.

[Dave]

Okay, Lou. And if we turn him up, make.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sure our people don't get spotted as cops.

[Dave]

Yeah, and then what?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Then I'll go visiting. I never heard her scream, Dave. Just a report about it, but somehow that scream's in my ears. I want to get rid of. Took time, but the dead girl had all the time there was. Finally, I got an address and a name. The name was printed large in gilt letters on a shop window. It read Vogue Millinery. Underneath, in small letters, martha Wayne. I went in.

[Martha Wayne]

Hello.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Hello.

[Martha Wayne]

I rather like to have a man stop in. I get so tired of. Well, women are fine. They're the ones who buy my hats, mostly. But you did want to see me about a hat?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I did. You're Mrs. Wayne?

[Martha Wayne]

Ms. Wayne.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You design all these hats?

[Martha Wayne]

Yes. Guilty as charged.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

They're manufactured here.

[Martha Wayne]

Manufactured is such a large word. They're made here. I usually have someone help me.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Isn't that a lot of work?

[Martha Wayne]

Not really. You see, I make only one of a kind. Not very many at that.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Then any hat bought here would be absolutely unique.

[Martha Wayne]

You're thinking of surprising your wife.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm not married.

[Martha Wayne]

Well, you're thinking of surprising someone.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

In a way. I have a picture here.

[Martha Wayne]

Oh.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Look at it.

[Martha Wayne]

I see. She's very pretty, of course. But the photograph isn't terribly good, is it? I mean, it looks distorted.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Maybe you don't recognize her.

[Martha Wayne]

Recognize? Oh, she must be a celebrity, and I'm very stupid. But no, I don't recognize her.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

She's no celebrity. She bought a hat here.

[Martha Wayne]

She did?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's why I thought you'd recognize her.

[Martha Wayne]

I have a very bad memory for faces. Now, if you showed me the hat.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

She bought, I've got a sketch that might help. Take a look at it.

[Martha Wayne]

You're quite an artist, aren't you?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

This is one of your hats?

[Martha Wayne]

Well, I think so. Your. Your friend told you she bought it here?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

No. Well, then, however, you put labels in the hats you make, don't you?

[Martha Wayne]

Of course. I'm terribly dense. All you had to do was look inside the hat.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You keep records of the sales you make?

[Martha Wayne]

Well, naturally. The kind of clientele I have. Besides, there's so many taxes we have to pay.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I want the name of the girl. You sold that hat to her name.

[Martha Wayne]

But if she's a friend of yours.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I didn't say that. Well, no, but I assumed I'd like her name.

[Martha Wayne]

I'm sorry, I don't think I can give you that information.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Why not?

[Martha Wayne]

I don't know that the lady would want you to have it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

The lady's wishes don't matter very much. Not anymore.

[Martha Wayne]

I beg your pardon?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

My name is Dana. Lieutenant Dana. My credentials.

[Martha Wayne]

Oh, well, there isn't anything wrong about your hats.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That wouldn't be my business. I'm homicide.

[Martha Wayne]

Homicide? Or then you'd be Lou Dana. You're the celebrity.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Well, the papers run out of copy every once in a while.

[Martha Wayne]

I didn't recognize you, although I've seen pictures of you. You look younger.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

And the name of the girl?

[Martha Wayne]

I'm sorry. My records? In the back room. If you'll wait a few moments.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'll wait.

[Martha Wayne]

I'll be right back.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

It was a long distance from the cold waters of the bay to the warm perfumed shop where Martha Wayne made hats. I wondered how the dead girl had got from one place to the other. It kept me from wondering about Martha Wayne and the things that had nothing to do with death. Martha Wayne was taking a long time. Too long a time. Ms. Wayne? Ms. Wayne? Ms. Wayne. There was a back room. It held a couple of sewing machines, odds and ends of equipment, a desk, a chair and an open window. The window looked out onto an alley leading to the next street. It was empty. As empty as the room I was in. Lieutenant. Dana. I want an address for a Martha Wayne. She's not in the phone book, but she runs a hat shop on Miller Avenue. Yeah, that's right. Sales tax people would have it. No, make it fast and call me here. The number's Arden 48747. I'm in a hurry and I don't know why. Dana? Uh huh. 39, Carile. Thanks. The house was an old brownstone. The steps were worn that led up to the stoop. The windows were shuttered. No one was in a hurry to answer the doorbell. The door was locked. The neighborhood wasn't good. Streets littered sidewalks, cracked doors sagging. I tried a few keys. One of them worked. The lights weren't on. That figured no one was home. I was wrong. For a while I felt fine. Things were soft and dark and warm. Nothing mattered. That was the way it would be when you died, I thought lazily. But I was wrong. It didn't last. Light came back and sound and pain.

[Dave]

Wake up, will you, Lou? Wake Up.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

What? Oh. Oh. Hello Dave.

[Dave]

Oh, you had me worried.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I seem to be lying down. Yeah, on the floor. Dirty floor. Help me up, Dave. Okay. Thanks.

[Dave]

For a minute there I was scared.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Nobody kills Dana.

[Dave]

Now that could be wrong.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Sure, but I don't want to know about it.

[Dave]

Why did you phoned in for this address and you didn't check in? I got worried.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

How long is it?

[Dave]

It's 11, Lou.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

11? Yeah, I must have been out for a good four hours. Correction. A bad four hours. Dave, did you see anyone?

[Dave]

When?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Oh, now. Let's go look through the rest of the house.

[Dave]

Now you feel all right?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I feel lousy. We'll look anyway.

[Dave]

A what?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A dark haired girl named Martha Wayne. A girl who runs a hat shop. Right now maybe just a girl who runs. We looked through the rest of the house. We didn't find Martha Wayne. I hadn't expected to. We found lots of other things though.

[Dave]

Well, that's Hitler times.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's it.

[Dave]

House full of antique furniture, old silver paintings.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Very high class.

[Dave]

Very expensive. Also too much.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A lot too much. Yeah.

[Dave]

Not a house for a family to live in.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A warehouse, Dave.

[Dave]

What?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I was thinking a warehouse for stolen goods.

[Dave]

We'll get the burglary detail on it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Ah, they'll love us for finding the merchandise.

[Dave]

What does all this make Martha Wayne, Lieutenant?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A receiver of stolen goods at best. And at worst a killer. The burglary detail came and loved us. The house that Martha Wayne had lived in was filled with the loot from half a dozen big robberies. That took care of that. We put out an alarm for Martha Wayne. That did not take care of that.

[Dave]

What's that thing you're fiddling with?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

This? Yeah. Something I picked up in the room Martha Wayne lived in. It's a medal, Dave.

[Dave]

Medal?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Yeah, she's been a girl scout. Also a senior lifesaver. What flavor?

[Dave]

Trying to be funny?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Relax, Pappy, I don't bite. I hope that's for me. Dana here. Yeah. Uh huh. Yeah, good. Thanks a lot. Goodbye.

[Dave]

What was that?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Burglary detail. Good old routine. The cop's best friend.

[Dave]

Yeah, I'm not only getting fatter, I'm getting stupider.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

They've been worried about a cat named Barlow. A lot of burglaries bore his trademark. The last few months. They haven't been able to get anything on them though.

[Dave]

Well, what good is that?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I don't know yet. I'll go ask Barlow.

[Dave]

But if burglary already worked, they were gentle.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

All they had to worry about was stolen property. I won't be gentle, Lo.

[Dave]

You better take it easy, Dave.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

There's nothing in my life except what death killers, pain and violence. I'll take it as easy as I know how. But I'm not worrying about stolen property. I'm worrying about murder. Burglary had mentioned the yellow disc. It turned out to be a saloon with a girl singer, an out of tune piano and a tough doorman. Yeah, I'm coming in.

[Dave]

Mention a name.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

[Dave]

I don't like that name.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm still coming in.

[Dave]

Now look, mister, Nobody gets in the yellow disc without invitation. You ain't got one.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I got this.

[Dave]

A badge. A real badge. You know what?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I bet you're a cop.

[Dave]

You win the bet, you still ain't coming in.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Let's find out.

[Dan Duryea]

You know what this is?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A SAP. Technically, a concealed weapon.

[Dave]

Well, it ain't concealed.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Now you're frightening me.

[Dan Duryea]

You're gonna get it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I've been SAP before tonight. I'm getting used to it.

[Dave]

Well, you must like it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Hey, my arm. Hey, you could break it. Don't suggest things to me. Drop the SAP. Okay, Kate.

[Dave]

Well, it won't do you no good taking me. You did a nice job walking there.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You got trouble. Maybe I like trouble. Okay, okay.

[Dave]

I'm out of your way. You're tough. Sure you could handle me? There's half a dozen guys in there.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Open the door for me, huh?

[Dave]

Oh, sure.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks. Suppose you announce me.

[Dave]

Okay. What name?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Lou Dana.

[Dave]

Lou DA no wonder you took me.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You heard what I said.

[Dave]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Lieutenant Lou Dana.

[Dave]

That's this guy.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Now get back outside.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A saloon. The girl singer left quick. A small combo played background music. A handful of men sat around at small tables. They all balled at one place or another. Shoulder holsters or hip pocket rods. Concealed weapons. Most of them had a girl at the table with them. Their weapons weren't especially concealed. Dana make it, lieutenant. I feel formal tonight.

[Dave]

What do you want here?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Not a thing.

[Barlow]

Then get out.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You worried? About what?

[Barlow]

Something happening to you.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks.

[Barlow]

Let's not play games. I run this place. I run it without cops.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Keep right on running it. Which one is Barlow?

[Barlow]

I don't hear a word you say.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Which one is Barlow?

[Barlow]

You got a warrant for him?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

All the mugs in town are turning legal.

[Barlow]

I never heard of anybody named Barlo.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Which one?

[Barlow]

Move in on me and you'll stop asking questions. You get an answer, you won't like it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm crazy about answers, Any kind. Point them out. Okay. He's the one at the corner Table. Thank you. Hello, Barlow.

[Unknown]

Hello.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Let's go for a walk.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You'Re coming. Easy.

[Unknown]

Why not?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I wouldn't know. How about your little playmates?

[Unknown]

Must have been reading the papers about you.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Convenient. Come on.

[Unknown]

Since when you're doing burglary, Lieutenant?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'm not.

[Unknown]

Now, wait a minute.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Oh, no. We keep right on going. Or don't you believe what you read in the papers?

[Unknown]

We keep on going.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks, Mr. Barlo. Thanks.

[Unknown]

Hey, what are you stopping here for.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

This time of night? I'm crazy about the bay. Get out.

[Unknown]

I ain't interested in sightseeing.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Get out.

[Unknown]

Okay, but under protest. See?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Under protest. Come on. I want to get a closer look at the water.

[Unknown]

I don't know what you've got in mind.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I'll let you know in time. Right here ought to do. Up above and to your right, Barlow, that's a pier.

[Unknown]

Oh, thanks for telling me.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Down here we've got more privacy. Funny thing about that pier.

[Unknown]

Yeah?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A kid jumped off it last night, right into the bay. She drowned.

[Unknown]

What's that got to do with me?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

A cop saw her go over. With a little luck, she might have been saved. If somebody went into the bay from down here, nobody'd see him. Barlow. Hey, now, wait a minute. Oh, no. You're staying right here, Barlow.

[Unknown]

What do you want from me?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

An introduction to Martha Wayne.

[Unknown]

Martha, I don't know nobody named dad.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

From down here, you'd go into the water smooth and easy. Can you swim, Barlow? No. Too bad. Hey, let go of me. Try breathing water instead of air.

[Dave]

Let go.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

We're right near the edge now, Barlow. One push. Who'd hear you out here at this time of night?

[Unknown]

Okay, I'll take you to her.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Why, thanks, Barlow. Thanks very much.

[Unknown]

I don't know what you think you're doing.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Very simple. You're a burglar. Martha Wayne's offense. You steal the stuff, she disposes of it. The millinery stores a front.

[Unknown]

Oh, that's guessing. And besides, what's it got to do with homicide?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

That's what we're gonna find out. Knock, Barlo.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Martha Wayne]

How is it it?

[Unknown]

Barlow, what are you.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

We're Both coming in, Ms. Wayne.

[Martha Wayne]

Lieutenant. Dana.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You remembered.

[Martha Wayne]

You're not an easy man to forget, Lieutenant.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Thanks. This apartment's a lot nicer than the brownstone.

[Martha Wayne]

What brownstone?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You're listed as the owner.

[Martha Wayne]

There's no law against having more than.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

One place to live tonight. Everybody's quoting the law to me.

[Martha Wayne]

Why did you bring Barlow here?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

He brought me.

[Unknown]

I had to he would have drowned me.

[Martha Wayne]

Shut up.

[Unknown]

Okay, I'll shut up.

[Martha Wayne]

You were really anxious to meet me, weren't you?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I still want the name of the girl who bought that hat from you.

[Martha Wayne]

You're very persistent. So why not forget her, Lieutenant? Wouldn't be hard. I'd help.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

All this for a burglary rap.

[Martha Wayne]

That's an act, Lieutenant, isn't it? Because you do respond when I'm close to you like this.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

I respond all right. I remember the kid who went into the bay.

[Martha Wayne]

The kid who what?

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Last night, a girl wearing one of your hats jumped into the bay. A cop on duty heard her scream and looked around. She was near a lamp post. He saw her go over.

[Martha Wayne]

Well, that's very sad.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

But it's more than sad. It's murder.

[Martha Wayne]

Murder? But you yourself just told me she jumped in.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

She did. But she wasn't the one who died.

[Martha Wayne]

She wasn't the one who. You're confusing me.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Oh, no, I'm not. You run a millinery store. In that store, you have an assistant. Let's suppose that assistant is a girl. A girl who finds out by accident what your business really is. A receiver of stolen goods. Suppose that girl is young, naive, tells you she's going to inform the police. What would you do?

[Martha Wayne]

You're the one who's supposing all these things.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You'd have to make sure she wouldn't go to the police. One way would be to murder her. But that's dangerous. People get executed for murder. So with a little help, Barlow's, for example. You get the girl down to the bay and drown her.

[Martha Wayne]

That would be murder anyway. Besides, the policeman saw her jump by herself.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You drown her in the bay, in the water underneath the pier. Then you go up on the pier yourself. You're dressed exactly the same way she is. You wait until a policeman's around some little distance away. You pick out a place near a lamppost. Then you scream. The policeman sees you. He starts towards you, but you jump into the water. The harbor detail, dredges comes up with the body of a drowned girl. The policeman would swear it was the same girl he'd seen go over.

[Martha Wayne]

It wasn't very, very clever, Lieutenant, but only a guess.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You could do it. You were a senior lifesaver. You swim well. The dead girl was already in the water under the pier. You hit the water, you swim away, climb out of the bay a few hundred yards from the pier. A perfect murder setup.

[Martha Wayne]

A guess.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Why would a suicide pick a lamp post? Why would a suicide scream before Jumping not a guess.

[Martha Wayne]

You'll never be able to prove it.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

Barlow isn't a very strong character. He brought me to you. And he'll testify. Hoping he might get away with a second degree murder rap. Won't you, Barlow?

[Unknown]

Well, she did it all. I didn't know what she was planning.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

You see.

[Martha Wayne]

I have nothing to say.

[Lt. Lou Dana]

No, you haven't. Not anymore. Not in this life. And it all came from a hat. The hat that was wrong. But the dead girl was blonde. You're brunette, Ms. Wayne. You had to wear a hat for a masquerade. That hat will hang you. That was all. They were booked. They'd be tried in a due time. Time they die. I finished my report and signed it. I didn't see the paper I was writing on. I saw a young girl with an untouched face and all of her life before her, lying dead and watery on the rough wood of a pier. I don't like killers.

[Dan Duryea]

You have just heard another in a transcribed series starring Dan Duryea as the man from Homicide. The man from Homicide is written by Lou Vitis, directed by Dwight Hauser. This program came to you from Hollywood. America is sold on abc. The American Broadcasting Company.