Broadway's My Beat: The Eleanor Corbett Murder Case (EP4843)

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio
Host: Adam Graham
Episode: Broadway's My Beat: The Eleanor Corbett Murder Case (EP4843)
Original Air Date: May 26, 1951 (radio drama), November 12, 2025 (podcast episode)
Detective: Danny Clover (voiced by Larry Thor)
Case: The Eleanor Corbett Murder

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of Broadway's My Beat immerses listeners in the investigation of Eleanor Corbett’s murder—a case emblematic of the show’s blend of gritty police work and poetic atmosphere. Detective Danny Clover traverses the shadowy streets and battered tenements of New York’s Broadway, seeking justice for a young woman found dead in a tenement yard. The purpose is both to unravel the central mystery and to highlight the emotional toll such cases take on victims' families and the detectives involved.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Discovery of the Body

• Setting: Night in a tenement district; moonlight, city spotlights, and the squalor of back alleys (02:22).
• Crime Scene: Eleanor Corbett’s body is found—apparent signs of foul play, strangulation, thrown from a tenement window.
  • Detective Clover: “No, I don't. This girl fell or was pushed. Neck broken. See the attitude of her body?” (03:50)
  • Sergeant Tartaglia: “Bruises on the throat… from a beating.” (04:10)

2. Initial Investigation & Victim ID

• Victim Identified: After a night of checking with locals and family members, Eleanor Corbett’s husband, Walter Corbett, identifies her at the morgue (05:41).
  • Mr. Corbett (Husband): “Eleanor’s my wife… Why did it have to happen to her? You tell me. Why?” (05:43)
• Questions on Marriage: Clover probes the marriage and Eleanor’s habits—hints at secrets or unusual behavior.
  • Clover: “Your wife went out like this at other times? Stayed out all night?” (06:29)

3. Tracing Eleanor’s Final Moments

• Witness Statements: The building’s handyman, Lusk, saw Eleanor the night of her death, asking for Al Martin’s room (08:44).
  • Lusk: “About 10. She rang the bell, wanted to know where was the room of Al Martin.” (08:49)
• Al Martin’s Room: Al’s roommate, Frank Hagen, acknowledges Eleanor’s visit but claims to have left right afterward for an all-night movie house (09:44).
  • Frank Hagen: “I said hello and walked out… got back here long enough to put on a clean shirt and go look for the job again.” (09:53)

4. The Fate of Al Martin

• Deflecting Suspicions: Search for Al Martin leads to workplace and bar. He is ultimately found dead, stabbed with a steak knife—another victim, not the culprit (13:00).
  • Bar Owner: “All last night he was in here… Wiping his tears on my bar apron.” (12:44)
  • Clover observes: “None of it would ever wake him. Stain of blood under his coat told me…” (13:00)

5. Grief & Complexity in Corbett’s Marriage

• Walter Corbett’s Behavior: Alternates between sorrow and suspicious evasiveness. He is packing Eleanor’s things for donation; emotional reminiscences about their life and happiness (17:27–18:35).
• The Cover Story Unravels: Initially claims Eleanor was out at the movies; later admits she attended ceramics class with neighbor Bernice, raising questions about her actual whereabouts (18:40).
  • Corbett: “She went to school. Ceramics. Her friend next door talked her into going.” (18:43)
  • Clover: “Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?” (18:53)

6. Neighbor Bernice’s Revelation

• Affirmation of Secret Meetings: Bernice reluctantly admits Eleanor occasionally broke plans for “something better,” ultimately revealing Eleanor sought to confront an unnamed man about unwanted advances (21:04–21:40).
  • Bernice: “She said there was two boys living in this room together and one of them had been making advances and she wanted it to stop.” (21:39)

7. Piecing Together the Motive

• Interview with Frank Hagen: Frank, the roommate, expresses both frustration over his circumstances and bitterness towards Al and the police, but provides no evidence against himself (22:28–22:56).

8. The Critical Clue: The Painted Coat

• Break in the Case: Clover investigates the clothes Walter Corbett sent to Goodwill for cleaning and finds paint matching that in Al Martin’s tenement.
  • Clover: “The mission will get it back. They'll have to clean it. But they've got ways to take paint off clothing… Paint. Green paint. From the tenement…” (26:18–28:23)
  • Corbett denies until cornered by the details: “It was yellow. The color of the paint in Al's tenement house.” (28:39)

9. Confession and Tragic Motive

• Walter Corbett’s Confession: Overcome by rage following a confrontation with Eleanor, he beat and killed her, then disposed of her body. Later, he also killed Al Martin out of misplaced jealousy and anger (28:51–29:53).
  • Corbett: “...She slapped me... and that made me furious. I hit her. I hit her. Then I didn't want her anymore, so I... I threw her away.” (29:00–29:53)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Detective Danny Clover’s Opening Narration:
  “Broadway's My Beat, from Times Square to Columbus Circle... the lonesomest mile in the world, Broadway is my beat.” (02:22)
• On Approach to Crime Scenes and Tenement Life:
  “The rows of Mazda lit windows... the kids leaning far out, shrieking to each other across the littered yard, littered now with a new refuse. The dead girl with the black hair. Broken, thrown away.” (04:29)
• On Grief and Denial:
  “Even if you find out, I don't want you to tell me. You've got to promise me that, Mr. Clover. Even if you find out why Eleanor was where she was, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I. I don't want to know.” – Walter Corbett (19:07)
• On the Key Evidence—Paint Transfer:
  “Paint. Green paint. From the tenement where Al lived... On your coat. Green paint.” – Clover
  Corbett: “It was yellow. The color of the paint in Al's tenement house.” (28:18–28:41)
• The Confession:
  “She slapped me. Eleanor hit me… and that made me furious. I hit her. I hit her... Then I didn’t want her anymore, so I... I threw her away.” – Walter Corbett (28:51–29:53)

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Host Adam Graham’s Commentary (Post-Drama Discussion)

(32:26)–(35:57)

• Key Observations and Praise:
  • Tartaglia provides the crucial clue with the paint, helping Danny solve the case.
  • Adam singles out Howard McNear’s nuanced performance as Walter Corbett: “He was believable right up to the end. Even when he was getting indignant and you looked at the time remaining, you're like, okay, there's no way he's not the murderer. I still wasn't 100%.” (32:48)
  • Reflects on the emotional complexity of Corbett’s character: “It wasn't like that episode from 1950 where he played a killer and was totally fabricating the grief. There was some real complexity there.”
• Comments on Production Quirks:
  • Odd scenario of the bartender closing up with a drunken, soon-to-be-murdered man still inside—remarking on “all kinds of ways that could have ended badly. And this was just one of them.”
• Podcast Housekeeping:
  • Addresses a listener’s question regarding the release gap (series was preempted—not a missing episode in the archive).
  • Reads listener feedback praising the depth and cadence of the series’ dialogue.

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 02:22 — Detective Danny Clover’s atmospheric introduction to Broadway’s seedy underbelly
• 03:41 — Discovery and examination of Eleanor Corbett’s body
• 05:41–06:51 — Husband’s poignant, emotional identification of his wife’s body
• 08:44–09:09 — Lusk the handyman provides key witness testimony
• 11:00–13:00 — Sequence tracking Al Martin—leads to discovery of his murder
• 17:05–18:35 — Walter Corbett’s reminiscence while packing his wife’s things
• 19:07 — Husband’s devastating plea not to be told of his wife’s real actions
• 21:04–21:40 — Bernice’s admission of Eleanor’s secret confrontation
• 24:39–25:44 — Paint-stained suit at the Goodwill Mission provides the breakthrough clue
• 26:16–29:53 — Final confrontation, confession, and unraveling of Walter Corbett
• 32:26–35:57 — Adam Graham’s analysis and listener feedback

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Tone & Style

• Original Drama: Noir, poetic, emotionally heavy, reflective of mid-century urban despair
• Detective Narration (Clover): Wistful, observant, empathetic, with a touch of hardboiled grit
• Host Commentary: Warmly appreciative, slightly humorous, insightful about both performance and storytelling

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Conclusion

This episode exemplifies Broadway’s My Beat’s evocative mix of procedural investigation and emotional, human storytelling. The murder of Eleanor Corbett unspools from the garish lights of Broadway to its darkest alley, revealing the tragedy at the heart of broken relationships and the shadows cast by jealousy and pride. The drama’s effectiveness hinges on tightly-woven clues (the paint, the testimonies), but it’s the complex portrait of Walter Corbett, brought to life through both script and performance, that leaves a lasting impact.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

This is the story of the 1. As head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shines with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support his venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Adam Graham]

Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of Broadway's My Beat. But first I want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the program using the Zell app to box Thirteenreatetectives.net and you can also become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month at patreon.greatdetectives.net and I want to welcome our latest Patreon supporter, Tommy, who's supporting the podcast at the rookie level of $2 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Tommy. And now, from May 26, 1951, here is the Eleanor Corbett Mur.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway's My Be from Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world, Broadway is my beat. With Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. Special Moon over Broadway. It dips low and mixes with the laughter, the clack of heels, and the light flung downward from the spectaculars. And occasionally people notice it and squeeze somebody's hand, point at it, wink at it, then walk into whatever shadow they've planned for the night. The moon holds, briefly rides its long slow curve cross town, then drives the river. Broadway's happier, but where I was in the land of the tenement, the district of the rat, and the low rent, the moon completes its transit rapidly. That's why the light had to be furnished by the city. Specifically the spotlight from the squad car parked in the alley, cutting the darkness out of the backyard. The smoke from Detective Mugavan's cigarette curls up into it. He points too.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Right there. Danny. Huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Died not too long ago.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Could be suicide, you think?

[Detective Danny Clover]

No. No, I don't. This girl fell or was pushed. Neck broken. See the attitude of her body?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Yeah, I saw it. That's why I said maybe suicide women.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Don'T Pick backyards of tenement houses, Mugman. They register in high class hotels or find a bridge.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

You know that. Yeah, most of them, Danny, not all.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And take a look. Bruises on the throat. Here.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Look here, Bruce.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Another one here. This girl died instantly. These bruises were from a beating.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

And she got thrown, huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'd say so.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Who is she?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I can't tell.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

No identification, Danny? I'd say she was about 22. Huh? 22 what? Nothing.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Take care of the technical boys when they get here, Mugman. I'll get back to you later. And the rows of Mazda lit windows like yellow posters piled one on top of the other against the soot grime. Tenement walls. And centered in them, the leaners upon sills, the man whose arm warms the bare shoulders of the woman at his side. The kids leaning far out, shrieking to each other across the littered yard, littered now with a new refuse. The dead girl with the black hair broken, thrown away. Finally the shroud over her that draws the curtain on the spectacle and turns out the 20 watt bulbs in tenement galleries. Then the night time used up by the seekers of their private dead. Men and women beckoned out of sleep to identify the girl lying in the morgue. And while rubbing sleep out of their eyes, they tell you they don't know or had never seen her. The halting, dragging parade of lost faces. And then the one that dawn touches, the one you won't easily forget. The one who looks at the girl and knows her.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Tells you she went out last night early. Said she'd be back a little while.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who is she, Mr. Collins?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Eleanor. That's Eleanor.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Someone you've known long? A friend?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

My wife. Eleanor's my wife. May I sit down? Please. Is it all right if I sit down? No, of course.

[Detective Danny Clover]

On that bench against the wall. Mister. Can I get you something? A glass of water?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

You understand, I'll have to. You know something? I didn't know that she was gone all night. I woke up this morning and she wasn't beside me. That's the first I knew. And I reported to the police and they asked me to describe her. And I did, in detail. And they said, please come down. Why did it have to happen to her? You tell me. Why?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Help us find out why, Mr. Coleman.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I can. I don't understand it. I just don't understand it at all.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Your wife went out like this at other times? Stayed out all night?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

What are you trying to say to me?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We have to know, Mr.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Car.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But if you want your murderers, you'll have to Tell us a lot of things that maybe.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Well, there's nothing to tell us. Ellen's a good wife. She was beautiful. Sometimes she liked to go out in the evening alone to movie or just for a walk.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She told you she was going to a movie last night?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Yes, that's what she said. But I never checked on her. I just go to bed and read and wait for her. Last night I fell asleep. Just leave me alone with him. Just for a minute. Please. Please.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'll wait in the hall for you, Mr. Corbett. I waited for as long as it took me to smoke two cigarettes. For as long as it took Mr. Corbett to consider that his wife lay dead in a public morgue. Then Mr. Corbett came out into the corridor, took a drink of water from the fountain and nodded. The was ready to go. I showed him to the street. I watched him go. Near the corner he stopped walking, leaned against the building, held his head, ran his hand alongside his cheek. Once a woman stopped and stared at him, then hurried away. Then back into my office to consider the various reports from the coroner, the technicians, the lab boys and stare at the photograph taken of Mrs. Eleanor Corpus and death printed and retouched to represent a reasonable facsimile of Mrs. Corbett living. And go now back to the tenements. Knock on the door, show the picture, ask the questions, get no answers. And between the fourth and fifth floors a man walks your way. He's painting the banisters and you wait until he straightens up. Tough job, huh?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

It is.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you work here all the time or just this job of pain?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Who are you, mister?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Police. Danny Clover.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I work here all the time. Name's Lust the soup. Where I go with the rent in the cold water. Right now I'm up to my elbows in yellow paint. That answer you take a look at this picture. It's coming now, huh? What? I've been expecting cops to tap me on the shoulder. The picture. What about it?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Ever seen this girl before?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Uhhuh. Last night about 10. How? Explain the last question. What do you mean how?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Under what circumstances? That means how.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I just finished putting on the first coat of paint and I was in my room. She rang the bell, wanted to know where was the room of Al Martin Ruber. I told her, Went back to my coffee and locks.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where's Al Martin's room?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Top of the stairs, right there. Look, mister, you want to know why I didn't come running to the police? The girl's dead. I don't scratch over nobody's grave. That's for you. To come scratch.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Stick around, Lusk. Sure.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I got a week's banisters yet to think.

[Frank Hagen]

Yeah?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm Danny Clover, Police.

[Frank Hagen]

Come on then. You want a drink? Some Johnny Walker on the bottom of that bottle.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Your name?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Al Martin.

[Frank Hagen]

Al Rohm's here with me. I'm Frank Hagen.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's about what happened last night, Frank.

[Frank Hagen]

Yeah, I know.

[Bernice]

I figured.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Have you ever seen this girl before?

[Frank Hagen]

Let me see. It's the girl you found, huh?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Yeah.

[Frank Hagen]

Yeah, I saw last night with your roommate. Came to see him. I got introduced.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Her name's Eleanor Corbett.

[Frank Hagen]

That could have been. I didn't take the time to remember. I said hello and walked out.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How long did you stay away?

[Frank Hagen]

As long as it takes to walk from here to 42nd street, see a double feature and come back. Wait a minute. It was longer than that. All night movie house. I fell asleep. Got back here long enough to put on a clean shirt and go look for the job again.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Was Al here when you got back?

[Frank Hagen]

Nobody. Just a smell of perfume. Had to scrub a lipstick stain off a cheese glass to get a drink of water.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where's your roommate now, Al?

[Frank Hagen]

Al wakes folks. Rivet down at Atlas airframe. If he ain't on his way to California. He always wanted to go to California. I'd say this was an A1 excuse for going.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Wouldn't you say it was an A1 excuse for going?

[Bella Faff]

You no loitering. No loitering around my work area. I have permission and I got a schedule.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Approach.

[Bella Faff]

See this sign? The front office pinned on my denim? It says Bella Fap. Final assembly. And you see this yellow river on the sign? That means I'm the picture and attention must be paid.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'll pay attention, Ms. Faff. I promise.

[Bella Faff]

Mrs. Mrs. F. I'm working at it. For no hanky panky, huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I wouldn't think of it.

[Bella Faff]

Hey, they sent you to me for work. I got news for you that'll break your heart. This morning I can use you that bank with a work of missing from the front of it. You take that one too. Dirty your hands a little in honest toil.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Let me try to explain it to you, Mrs. F. I'm from the police.

[Bella Faff]

From the police? So that'll prevent you from picking up a few part time nickels.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'd like to talk to Al Martin.

[Bella Faff]

Al Martin? A worker who don't show up for work.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You mean Al Martin hasn't shown up this morning?

[Bella Faff]

Now the telephone. How much can they demand from a woman? Bella Fab Sacriance, huh? El Martin that's no good. Where? All right, so I'll send some boys down to mop him up. You want a job as a four lady, mister? Police. Take mine. Well, with some good health.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Martin drunk?

[Bella Faff]

Drunk as a skunk. In Patty's Bar on nightcap.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Keep pushing, Mrs. Faff. I'll go get Martin for you. My pleasure.

[Bella Faff]

Good night.

[Bernice]

I find the light.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Al Martin. Is he here? Since last night. You'll need a drink to make you as equal. Honest you will.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

You'll need a Carlos.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where is he?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Ed? Bend your nose to the crook of my long, slender finger. I'll glance your eye along it. And that will be Al Martin in.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The back booth around the corner through.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

The paper flower drape doorway.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thanks.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Hey, don't go yet. I'll give you a jig around the house for taking them out of here.

[Detective Danny Clover]

He made trouble. Not trouble, only grief. All last night he was in here.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Wiping his tears on my bar apron.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Then he passed out over that table to sleep it off. I come to open the joint in the early morning hours. He's waiting for me.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Still passed out. I'm tired. Sobering him up.

[Detective Danny Clover]

This time you try. Can I go now? I just thought I'd explain him being a defense worker.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

He can't afford moods like this at.

[Detective Danny Clover]

A time like this. This is a time when every man must come to the aid, not go to California. Al. Al. I'm from the police. I want Al. Wake up. Wake up. I shook him. The bottle slipped out of his fingers, fell, rolled on the floor. The jukebox bled and Patty at the bar blew on the glass and polished it. I shook him again, none of it woken. None of it would ever wake him. Stain of blood under his coat told me that the paper flowers on the doorway rustled with a new wind. Al Martin was dead. You are listening to Broadway's My Beat, written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and starring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. The new summer's day is only a few hours old on Broadway and already the street wads up its screaming and bounces it against the morning. The gutters have been swept down, washed clean, the neon dusted, the bulbs replaced. In the spectaculars, the swarm released from the steel traps, hurtling, shuttling underground. And the summer's day stretches out before Broadway, languid and empty, waiting to be filled, waiting to be torn apart. At headquarters, we didn't have that problem. The day was planned. Maybe the night and the days and nights after. All that had to be done was to fill it in with reasons that two people were newly dead in the city, Eleanor Corbett and Al Martin, who had met for a time in a tenement room, then parted, then in another place, in another darkness, found death waiting for them. And to help you rid yourself of it, your left hand, Sergeant Protaglia.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Danny, I am not in the mood for chit chatter this morning.

[Detective Danny Clover]

All right, Gino, any way you want it.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

The adventure. The past two days, the murders have drawn a blind, so to speak, down across the my naturally good natured self. If you say so, G. I will not even regale you with the flavor of the Zimmerman buns. Now lying in my locker waiting for my teeth to sink into them.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Take it back a notch, Gino. Zimmerman bun.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Baked by my neighbor, the baker down the street from me, Mr. Zimmerman. His specialty. Zimmerman bun.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Oh, thanks for clearing it up for me.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Don't mention it. To work. In the matter of the death of one Al Martin, the murder weapon, the steak knife, is now being handled by the boys and technical.

[Detective Danny Clover]

They come up with anything?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Two dozen assaults. Recorded fingerprints from the fingers of inhabitants of the bar who have been questioned, recorded and sent on their way. As not one so far has failed to produce an alibi.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Anything else?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Established by technical that according to the position of her body in the yard, Mrs. Corbett was pushed out of the tenement hall window after death. Established that Frank Hagen, roommate of Martin, is a man who cannot hold a job. Established something else. No. Yeah. A personal question, Danny. How is it a man doesn't know where his wife disappears tonight? I'm speaking of Mr. Corbett, Danny. How can a husband not know?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Good question. Why don't I go ask the man such a good question. Your mind goes without saying.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I need an answer to such a thing. Go, Danny. Oh. Oh, hello, Mr. Clover. I'm bus. Oh, well, come on in, Mr. Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thanks. You started to say you were busy, Mr. Clover.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Oh, no, no, no, it's all right in here. In the bedroom. Look, it's a small bedroom, Mr. Clover. No chairs, if you don't mind.

[Frank Hagen]

I know it's not made up, but.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Don'T sit on the bed. Look, I'll bring in something. No, that's all right.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'll stand right here.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I was packing Eleanor's things, storing. No, no, look, don't think I. Well, I know other husbands save their wives clothes. I'm giving Eleanor's away. I call the Goodwill Mission. They're sending a truck.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Just go ahead with your pat.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

She looked nice in this dress. Fitted her well. Guess that's no way to talk you're happy together, Mr. Carver? Oh, I was proud when I was with her. Maybe there wouldn't be people anyways around, but people didn't have to see me with it and make me feel proud just to touch it. She had beautiful hair, I see. Oh, just beautiful. You should have seen me in this, Ms. Clover. When she got it. She danced around the room. I watched her. When she got near me, she threw her arms around my neck. She kissed me. I remember because her hair was flying and got between her lips. We laughed, Mr. Carpet. We laughed and danced and lay there.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Mr. Carpet, did you know where your wife went the night before last? The night she was killed?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Of course I do. She went to school. School?

[Detective Danny Clover]

What school?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Well, my wife was learning ceramics. Her friend next door talked her into going. I didn't want her to go. Ceramics?

[Detective Danny Clover]

What's that?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Ashtrays. But Bernice talked her into going.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Because my wife was found in a strange place. My wife was found on the edge of an alley in a place she should never have been. So I lied. First thing any husband would have done.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you know what she was doing there?

[Frank Hagen]

No.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

And I don't want to know. Even if you find out, I don't want you to tell me. You've got to promise me that, Mr. Grover. Even if you find out why Eleanor was where she was, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I. I don't want to know.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I finally got his hands away from me, from clutching my coat and trying to pull out of its fabric the promise he wanted, needed so the pride could well up inside him once more. Then he turned away and began packing her things again. And the dead wife belonged only to him. He turned once to show me another dress she had worn. I never really saw it. The door I was closing blotted it out. Next door, the girl who asked me in was plain. Except for the eagerness in her eyes. Except for the hunger in them that waited to feast on the excitement I brought into her chintz curtained life.

[Bernice]

I did my whole room myself. Mr. Clover redid the whole thing. Well, you should have seen it when I moved in. Bare and ugly.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I only want you to tell me now.

[Bernice]

It's happy, don't you think? The room, I mean. Right. Happy. I lie awake at night and I can hear it sing. I mean, inside me, it's singing.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And you went to school night before last with Mrs. Corbett.

[Bernice]

That's the night she was found dead, wasn't it? In that Awful place. What happened to her, Mr. Clover? How was she killed, I mean. Well, you know the papers. They don't always.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She'd been beaten, thrown out of a window.

[Bernice]

So the paper said. I thought.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What, Bernice?

[Bernice]

I don't know. Don't ask me. I don't know what I thought.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Was it usual for you to go.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

To ceramics class with Mrs. Corbett every week?

[Bernice]

Of course, there was this time when she had somewhere better to go. She was very pretty.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where did she go?

[Bernice]

The secret. She made me swear I'd keep it a secret. Girls like Eleanor always chuck nemus to Clover. I'm that kind of girl.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She went to Al Martin's. Did she tell you that's where she was going? You can tell it now, Bernice. She's dead.

[Bernice]

Was the only time she ever went there. The only time she ever told me about it. I mean, she said she had to tell him off. He was bothering her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

She told you it was Martin?

[Bernice]

No, no, she. She didn't say his name. She just said there was two boys living in this room together and one of them had been making advances and she wanted it to stop. And why are some people so lucky, Mr. Clover? Me, I take night classes and try to improve my mind and. Oh, I should have been dead, not a girl like Ghost.

[Frank Hagen]

What do you want from me, Clover? Just tell me what you want. I got enough trouble. I gotta have you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What kind of trouble have you got, Frank?

[Frank Hagen]

I'm 32 years, Clover. My home's a stinking room and a stinking walk up. I got no job. I once had a friend, but he got stabbed. Now you tell me. Your trouble will knock our heads against each other and shed tears.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How come you're not working? Plenty jobs run?

[Frank Hagen]

Sure, plenty. Me, I got qualifications to get the kind of job where they call your boy. My old man was the same way. He filed things in a big office, called him Boy till I noticed the bald head. Then he was called Pop.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How do you live, Frank?

[Frank Hagen]

Sometimes I tout. Sometimes I rack pool balls. I know a man that drives a long black car. He thinks I'm good luck. Takes me to card games and rubs the back of me hand for luck. Go away, Clover. Leave me alone.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I can't do that. You're still my prime suspect.

[Frank Hagen]

Well, you think I lied to you?

[Detective Danny Clover]

It's been done in murder cases.

[Frank Hagen]

Like maybe it was the other way around.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's right. Like maybe Eleanor Corbett came to see you and it was Al who took.

[Frank Hagen]

The walk and later I killed him, huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Maybe. Come on, I said, come on, Frank, let's go downtown.

[Frank Hagen]

All right, all right. But Clover can't just wait till tomorrow. My friend wants me to play lucky tonight. He wins. He slips me a Starbucks sometimes. He gives me a couple of shites.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come on.

[Frank Hagen]

Oh, crowd me. Look, I got this one suit. It don't have to be ruined yet.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Yeah, yeah.

[Frank Hagen]

What?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Back in your room, Frank.

[Bernice]

Sure.

[Frank Hagen]

Sure thing, Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You keep your clothes in this closet, Frank.

[Frank Hagen]

Me and Al. There it is. The one suit, Al. Mine's on me back. But the combined shapes and unmentionables are in that chest of droid. You want to look, Clover?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Clover did. Frank helped me. He had tried a collection of shirts, monogrammed. But that's not what I was looking for, Al. Shirts were broadcloth and plain. But they didn't have what I was looking for either. I didn't need anything that was in that room. Then I went to a place in the. The guilt. On the window that spelled Goodwill Mission was flaked. And inside a man told me his name and told me the coffee and stew would be served right after the prayer meeting.

[Frank Hagen]

But you don't look like the kind.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Of man who needs a handout.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thanks. Mr. Stamponi? I'm from the police.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I suspected that. Whoever you want to see. Can't you wait until after the prayers? They start in 10 minutes.

[Detective Danny Clover]

From time to time, Mr. Stamponi, as I understand it, people call you and have you send around a truck, pick up magazines, newspapers, old clothes.

[Frank Hagen]

There are many such kind people.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did a Mr. Corbett call you?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Why, yes. Yes, he did. The truck received his donation just a few hours ago.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Has it been delivered to you?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Well, the truckload is all over there in the corner. After the prayers, the men will sorted. Hey, come on, I'll show you. Didn't have such a good day today. Let's see. I think this is it. Oh, yes. There's a tag on it from Mr. Walter Corbett.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you mind opening it, Mr. Stamponi?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

It'll have to be done anyhow. Ladies dresses. Mind if I look pretty? Dresses. That's a young woman's.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Does this look like a young woman's dress to you?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Of course not.

[Frank Hagen]

It's a man's suit coat.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

We can use that.

[Frank Hagen]

We'll clean off the paint.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Don't bother about it. I'll take it. Thanks, Mr. Stamponi.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Oh, you again, Mr. Clover. What now?

[Detective Danny Clover]

We'll talk about it inside.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I told you I didn't want to know anything more. Ellen is dead. Now just leave her alone. Leave her alone.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Let's just go inside.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Mr. Klooker. I've just come back from Eleanor's funeral. Very well. Come on. Come on. Now. What do you want?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you kill your wife?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Kill Ellen? Do you mean that? Yes, you do. I can see by your face you mean it. And I thought you were a kind man, Mr. Clover. Well, you're a cruel man.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you kill Al? Mar.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Is this what happens to people like you?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Nice piano, Mr. Carvin.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

It's paid for. Eleanor wanted to study music and I bought it for hers. She lost interest in it. Makes the place look homey.

[Detective Danny Clover]

It happens that way.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I didn't mind this snapshot album. Oh, all my life with. Eleanor's in there. Yes.

[Frank Hagen]

Here, now.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Just let me show you something. You remember I told you she had beautiful hair? Just look at that. On Far Rockaway last year when I took my vacation.

[Frank Hagen]

Look.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Look at that. Look at the sun on it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Then why'd you kill her?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Why, you. You filth. You make me remember things, good things. And then you say I destroy them. Are you through in here, Mr. Clover? You gonna get out now and leave me alone?

[Frank Hagen]

Mister.

[Detective Danny Clover]

This case of seashells. Another memento of your happy life together?

[Frank Hagen]

Put them down.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Put them down.

[Bella Faff]

I bought those.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I bought those for Eleanor. I told her I found them on the beach.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

But I sent away for them. I wanted to. She was so interested in so many things.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Sure she was. Al Martin. You followed her to his room, waited outside in the hall. When she left, Al, you slugged her and threw out of the window. I loved her. I was.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Even when no one was around.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And waited for Al. Followed him, too. To a bar. Sat with him, maybe. Talked to him. Stabbed him.

[Frank Hagen]

Never there. I never followed her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I never followed anybody. Mr. Corbett, I have a cold out in my car. A man's cold.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Yours?

[Detective Danny Clover]

The one you sent to the Goodwill Mission.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

What are you talking about?

[Detective Danny Clover]

The mission will get it back. They'll have to clean it. But they've got ways to take paint off clothing.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Paint.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Green paint. From the tenement where Al lived. Off the door, off the banister. Off something.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Where?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where you struggled with your wife. On your coat. Green paint.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

You're crazy. I was never there.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Green paint on your coat.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Oh, yes, I remember. Yes, I did get some paint on my coat. That's why I gave it away.

[Detective Danny Clover]

But it wasn't green.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

It was yellow.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's right. Yellow. The color of the paint in Al's tenement house. The color that's on your coat.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

I loved Eleanor. She didn't know how much. I tried to tell her. Even out in the hallway when she came from Al's room. I tried to tell her. I wasn't angry. I just wanted her to know how wrong she was. She was the one who was angrier. I tried to reason with her. And then she slapped me. Eleanor hit me. Eleanor. And that made me furious. I hit her. I hit her. I hit her. Then I didn't want her anymore, so I. I threw her away.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway is sleeping now. The furious avenues of the night are still. Only the sleepwalkers are there, the Seekers, the Swadden, the Huggers, Close of nothing at all. It's Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway My Beat.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Foreign Tonight on FDN Presents, you've been listening to some of the best in radio drama with Bibber.

[Detective Danny Clover]

McGee and Molly and Broadway is My Beat.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Join us again Monday evening at the same time 905 when Epian presents Dragnet and Escape.

[Bella Faff]

Sam.

[Narrator]

This is the story of the one as head of maintenance at a concert hall, he knows the show must always go on. That's why he works behind the scenes, ensuring every light is working, the H Vac is humming, and his facility shift with Grainger's supplies and solutions for every challenge he faces. Plus 24. 7 customer support. His venue never misses a beat. Call quickgranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Adam Graham]

Welcome back. It is nice to have Tartaglia provide the key clue. Quite intense intentionally that gets Danny looking in the right direction. Also, the Zimmerman roll is a great name for confection and if you're a baking minded Zimmerman or Zimmerman adjacent person, you could probably get away with it. The highlight of the episode had to be the performance of Howard McNear. He was believable right up to the end. Even when he was getting indignant and you looked at the time remaining, you're like, okay, there's no way he's not the murderer. I still wasn't 100%. It really only became apparent he was lying and the truth became undeniable at the end. And of course the way he played the husband, it wasn't like that episode from 1950 where he played a killer and was totally fabricating the the grief. There was some real complexity there. And again, McNear just does a great job bringing that out. The weird part of the episode was the bartender closing up, believing Al was drunk and leaving, apparently hoping Al find his way out. There are all kinds of ways that could have ended badly. And this was just one of them. Worth noting, there is a gap between last week's episode and this week's. There was no missing episode. In that gap, the series was preempted. However, there actually was a missing episode. I forgot to mention there was an episode one week before the first one we played from 1951, and that's actually the first missing episode of the Larry Thor era. All right, well, now it's time for listener comments and feedback now. And we have comments regarding the Harry Foster murder case. Over on Spotify, Peter writes, this is my all time favorite episode of Broadway's My Beat. I love it because Danny says very little at the end and gives Mr. And Mrs. Mason space to implicate themselves. Mrs. Mason's candid admission that going to jail wouldn't make a difference because she was already imprisoned in a wheelchair was also really powerfully delivered by the actress who played her. I could listen to this one over and over again. Thank you so much. Peter Mechanic, 66, writes, Good one. And then over on Facebook, Elizabeth writes, aside from the great stories, I love the unique cadence in the dialogue. Well, thank you so much, Elizabeth. And now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. And I want to thank lovingly, patreon Supporter since November 2024, currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support. Lovingly. And that will actually do it for today. If you're enjoying the pont podcasts, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back next Wednesday with another episode of Broadway's My Beat. But join us back here tomorrow for.

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Dragnet where Seem like a good kid. Never thought he'd turn. What do you mean? Jocko?

[Detective Danny Clover]

How'd he turn?

[Sergeant Tartaglia]

Why do you think I'm here? You mean he's the one who worked you over? Yeah. Where is he? Jocko? Do you know? No. Do you know where he's staying? Do you have any idea at all? No. Stole all my stuff. Every ounce. What was it? Heroin? Yeah. Listen. Yeah, get him fast. He's got enough junk to start a war.

[Adam Graham]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comment to box13reatdetectives.net follow us on Twitteradiodetectives. Check us out on Instagram Instagram.com greatdetectives From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.