Broadway's My Beat: The Howard Crawford Murder Case (EP4898)

Summary

---

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: Broadway's My Beat – The Howard Crawford Murder Case (EP4898)

Date: January 28, 2026
Host: Adam Graham
Original Air Date of Drama: August 5, 1951

---

Episode Overview

This episode features a classic installment of Broadway’s My Beat titled "The Howard Crawford Murder Case." Detective Danny Clover investigates a death initially presumed to be an accidental drowning at a public pool, but evidence quickly leads to murkier and more sinister waters involving theft, a second murder, and a web of secrets connecting a lifeguard, a petty thief, and the victim’s wife. After the drama, host Adam Graham provides insightful commentary on the story, its characters, and real-world references, notably the historic Kansas flood mentioned in the episode's original broadcast.

---

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Opening and Setup

• The episode begins with a PSA from Bob Hope about the 1951 Kansas flood and a quick word from the show’s sponsor.
• At [06:10], the poetic narration from Detective Danny Clover sets the atmosphere of a humid New York summer and the fleeting dreams of its residents.

2. The Drowning at the Pool ([07:14])

• Detective Clover is called to investigate a man drowned in a public pool.
• The lifeguard, Russ Gaby, describes attempting to save the man and applying artificial respiration but admits the rescue failed.
• The victim's locker was robbed, and police suspect foul play.

Notable Quote:

Russ Gaby: "A four-bit-a-week lifeguard does the best he can. He studies in classes, follows a first aid manual. You call him a murderer because he didn't make out with one poor sap?" ([11:21])

3. Discovery of Murder ([08:59])

• Dr. Sinski reports that the drowning was not accidental:

Dr. Sinski: "Whoever administered artificial respiration to that man killed him as surely as if he had driven a knife into his heart." ([09:14])

• The improper application led to fatal injuries, raising suspicions about Russ, the lifeguard.

4. The Investigation Deepens ([13:13])

• Detectives pursue clues about the drowned man’s identity and the missing contents of his locker.
• Pawn shop owner Mr. Hanson provides new evidence — a suit and valuables pawned by Bobby Kent, a young pool attendant.

Mr. Hanson: "What is there left for a decent man to think, Mr. Clover?" ([14:12])

5. Second Body ([15:13])

• Danny Clover and his team find Bobby Kent dead in his apartment, staged to appear as a suicide but clearly a murder ([15:13]).

6. Victim Identified: Howard Crawford ([19:11])

• Clothing and cleaner's marks identify the drowning victim as Howard Crawford. His wife, Edith, coldly confirms the identification at the morgue.

Mrs. Edith Crawford: "Can you imagine it? Howard getting himself a piece of marble in a police morgue." ([20:16])

• In a memorable exchange regarding her lack of grief:

Mrs. Crawford: "Every time I've thought of it, I've wished Howard dead every hour on the hour. I'd have wished him dead on the half hour, too. But that's when the race results came over the radio." ([21:30])

7. Motives and Relationships ([22:46])

• Interviews with Bobby Kent's girlfriend, Lucille Lang, reveal Bobby stole Howard's valuables, including $500 cash, and had dreams of running away.
• The investigation points toward Russ Gaby and Edith Crawford possibly having a relationship and motive for murder.

8. The Confrontation & Confession ([25:30])

• Danny finds Edith at a motel, with Russ waiting outside, car packed for departure.
• Under questioning, it’s revealed Russ and Edith planned to elope. Howard’s murder — and Bobby’s to cover the theft — are tied back to Russ, with Edith complicit.

Climactic Exchange:

Detective Clover: "I could have picked you up before, Russ, but I needed a motive. I had to find out why you murdered Howard Crawford. There she is." ([27:52])
Mrs. Crawford: "I'm a happy girl, Russ. I like to live happy. From just now on, you're gonna be a burden. As long as lover here's got you, I don't want you." ([28:00])

9. Classic Wrap-Up ([29:15])

• The episode concludes with Danny Clover’s signature reflection on the loneliness and drama of Broadway at night, masterfully tying the story’s themes back to the city’s pulse.

---

Host Adam Graham’s Commentary ([32:16])

Kansas Flood Context & Bob Hope’s Philanthropy

• Adam highlights Bob Hope’s opening message on disaster relief for the 1951 Kansas flood, noting Hope’s frequent advocacy for both military and humanitarian causes.

"If you listen to [Bob Hope’s] radio programs ... every second or third episode Hope was raising funds for a different cause." ([33:50])

Dramatic & Medical Critique

• Adam calls out the “far-fetched” nature of the plot’s medical premise — that a homicide detective would respond to a suspicious locker theft at a drowning, and that injuries from resuscitation would straightaway be considered murder:

"The delicate system of balances in the chest sounds really poetic, but that's just how modern medicine would have viewed things in the 1950s." ([35:10])

Humor & Style

• Adam praises standout hardboiled dialogue, particularly Mrs. Crawford’s sardonic wish for Howard’s demise.

"That line just cracks me up. That's probably the one line from Broadway's My Beat which could ... have been reused from Pat Novak." ([36:18])

Production Notes

• The final fight scene’s music is lauded as an effective, jazz-influenced complement to radio action, a technique rare for its time.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On murder by resuscitation:
  "Whoever administered artificial respiration to that man killed him as surely as if he had driven a knife into his heart." – Dr. Sinski ([09:14])

• On marital satisfaction:
  "Every time I've thought of it, I've wished Howard dead every hour on the hour. I'd have wished him dead on the half hour, too. But that's when the race results came over the radio." – Mrs. Crawford ([21:30])

• On lost dreams and Broadway’s bite:
  "It's the time on Broadway when the crowd gives up, goes home. Then it's the street of the dim moonlight and the dark whispers..." – Detective Danny Clover ([28:50])

---

Important Timestamps

• 06:10: Poetic narration introduces the city and crime
• 07:14: Detective Clover confronts Russ Gaby
• 09:14: Dr. Sinski discusses murder by improper resuscitation
• 14:12: Mr. Hanson introduces stolen goods evidence
• 15:13: Discovery of Bobby Kent’s murder
• 19:11: Victim ID’d as Howard Crawford
• 20:16: Mrs. Crawford's callous morgue scene
• 21:30: Mrs. Crawford’s dark comedic line
• 22:46: Lucille Lang reveals Bobby Kent’s theft
• 25:30: Confrontation with Russ and Edith at the motel
• 28:00: Edith renounces Russ; both are arrested
• 32:16: Host’s post-episode analysis

---

Tone & Style

The episode is shot through with hardboiled, sardonic wit delivered in the classic New York noir style. Adam Graham maintains a warm, slightly tongue-in-cheek tone in his commentary, offering both historical insight and affectionate criticism of the show’s melodrama. The story itself weaves poetic urban imagery, wry humor, and sharp dialogue, remaining emblematic of the mystery dramas of the Golden Age of Radio.

---

Summary for First-Time Listeners

This episode encapsulates why Broadway’s My Beat endures: crisscrossing plotlines, flawed but captivating city dwellers, a detective haunted by every case, and a city that never quite sleeps nor forgives. The drama unravels a double murder at a pool, exposing greed, passion, and betrayal — while host Adam Graham reminds us how art, real life, and radio lore all intersect in the bright (and sometimes shadowed) lights of Broadway.

---

Transcript

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot and turn real time reporting into big time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today.

[Adam Graham]

This is the story of the One as the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, she knows the only thing more important than having the right safety gear is having it there when you need it. That's why she partners with Grainger for auto reordering, so her team members can count on her to have cut resistant gloves on hand and each shift can run safely and efficiently. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Ranger for the ones who get it done. Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Orlando, Florida. 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 show on a one time basis using the Zell app to box [e-mail] and become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month at patreon.greatdetectives.net now from August 5, 1951, here is the Howard Crawford murder case.

[Bob Hope]

This is Bob broadcasting from Topeka, Kansas. Hope and thanking the sponsor of your regularly scheduled program for this two minute interruption. Ladies and gentlemen, in the last ten years I've visited many dramatic spots in this world. But just a few minutes ago I returned from a tour of what was once North Topeka, Kansas. I've just seen block after block of total destruction. Streets caved in, buildings undermined and flattened, entire new housing developments a shambles with the houses jammed together like battered boxes. As we toured this sickening area, I thought of the heroics that must have accompanied this disaster as it happened. The emergency operations of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, veterans organizations, and the thousands of civilian volunteers all striving to hold this hungry Kaw river within its banks. Then the complete frustration when it crashed into the streets. But the excitement of that time has passed. Today, it's a dismal task of dirty drudgery. Imagine the heartbreak of returning to what was once your home and finding three feet of dried mud on the front porch. After scraping and digging for hours, you finally get the door open, only to find dried, drifted mud banked throughout the house with everything in it destroyed beyond repair. Countless are the heartbreaking stories of human despair. This great flood of 1951 is written. But you and I, neighbors of these Cau Valley folks of Kansas, can help, and I mean help, with dimes and dollars. The Red Cross and other agencies have done a magnificent job taking emergency care of 10 to 15,000 refugees, and they're still doing great work in helping the needy with rehabilitation. But that's a far cry from the tremendous job that lies ahead. In Topeka alone, The loss is 100 million. That amounts to $1,000 for each and every person in this city. I'm appealing to that great heart that has made America. It's never failed before. Won't you send your contribution, large or small, to Flood Topeka, Kansas? That's all the address you need. Flood Topeka, Kansas. And join me, Bob Hope, in bringing new hope to thousands of unfortunate American folks.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Thank you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The William Wrigley Company has donated the.

[Bob Hope]

Time for this message from Bob Hope. Now, after a short pause, we switch.

[Detective Danny Clover]

To Hollywood for your regular program, Broadway Is My Beat.

[Wrigley Spearmint Gum Announcer]

Wrigley Spearmint Chewing Gum. The refreshing, delicious treat that gives you chewing enjoyment presents for your listening enjoyment.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway's My Beat. From Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world.

[Wrigley Spearmint Gum Announcer]

Broadway's My Beat. The exciting drama of mystery and murder and the people who walk the Great White Way with Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. For refreshment while you work. For enjoyment anytime, chew a stick of Wrigley Spearmint Gum. The delicious, long lasting, real mint flavor of Wrigley Spearmint cools your mouth and freshens your taste. The good, smooth chewing helps keep you feeling fresh and alert. Adds enjoyment to whatever you're doing. So indoors, outdoors, at work or play, enjoy chewing Wrigley Spearmint gum. Wrigley Spearmint. Refreshing, delicious.

[Detective Danny Clover]

When the summer becomes August, Broadway pauses for a while, considers what happened to the springtime dreams to be fulfilled in the middle of July at the very latest. And what of the blonde on last month's snapshots? The one with sunny legs, the one you tried with poetry and she touched your cheek. The fawn of Camp Never Care, Jewel of the Catskills, she's back in the Bronx. Shoe store kid and the last time you walked by she didn't look so good. And walk the streets furious with people and heat. And feel your throat tighten when it suddenly comes to you another summer's rushing away. Maybe next year, Kid May. And uptown east of Broadway, where I was in the outdoor swimming pool, catering also to the seekers after something or other. The crowd was divided into swimmers, non swimmers, sand sitters, ukulele players, miscellaneous. And the man in the swimming trunks lying on the concrete walk. The man who had drowned and the police emergency crew working over him with a respirator. And the man from headquarters who had gotten there before me.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

They've been working on it for quite a while, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Why'd you call me to come down, Muggleman?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

I asked the same question of Patrolman Kenny. It's like this, Danny. Kenny was flagged off his beat when this man was dragged out of the pool. Took off the man's locker, check went to the locker, you know, for identification. The locker was empty, forced. Uh, now, those locks answered with dime store skeleton key. Robbery gets a dozen calls a day from these pools.

[Detective Danny Clover]

So you figure that man's drowning and his lockers being robbed had something in him.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Maybe a coincidence, Danny. Maybe something else. Else? I don't know. I wanted you to be here. Okay, let's take a look.

[Detective Danny Clover]

One of you men called the mortgage.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

A lifeguard who pulled him out is that one Danny? You want to talk to him? Huh?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'm from the police. Danny Clover. Russ Gaby. What happened here? I was on my stand. Him. He started to yell. I went in as him.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

How'd you get those scratches on your shoulder?

[Detective Danny Clover]

He fought me. Had to take him under to break his hold. And when he stopped struggling, I got him out. By that time, he needed artificial respiration. I gave it to him until your man came.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

All right.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did Detective Mugman here tell you this man's clothes are gone? That it's going to be pretty difficult to identify him now? Yeah, he told me. Any ideas about it? Nope. Okay, Russell, back to the office at headquarters and sit with it. A man had been drowned in a public pool. From a policeman's point of view, worth only a quarter page form in triplicate. However, the fact of his lockers being robbed may be something else again. Probably not more forms. Then a couple of hours later, when the office gathers up its private shadows, a door opens, a man walks in.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Danny, you busy?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come in, Dr. Sinski. Sit down.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Thank you. I just came from the autopsy room, Danny. And has that man brought in from the swimming pool. The drowned one has he been identified, Danny? Not yet.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What's on your mind?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

He was murdered.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Murdered? How?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Whoever administered artificial respiration to that man killed him as surely as if he had driven a knife into his heart.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Dr. Sinski.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Gently, Danny, gently. I'll explain. Inside of the chest, Danny, is a delicate system of balances. Balances which cannot be upset. Else a man's heart will be affected and his lungs.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What's that got to do with murder?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Simply that the autopsy I just performed on the drowned man revealed small internal hemorrhages, bruises of the muscles and bones of the chest. From too active a manipulation.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You mean that lifeguard didn't do.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

I mean he did a very bad job of artificial respiration.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's why you call it murder, not premeditated.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Of course, Doctor, this is not the question in your mind. You wanted to ask if it was premeditated, didn't you, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

And let the question take over the room, add the weight of its violence to the oppressive night heat, the stifling remembrance of other such questions posed in the same room, quietly, fearfully. Because a policeman, too, reacts to the touch of death. It fills the room. And against its pressure, you lift the phone. Make the call to the Department of Public Works. Have them check personnel files. Come up with an address for Russ gave a lifeguard. Go there to the hall bedroom, furnished in the style of Brownstone, east 20s. Find it empty of Russ gave me. Be told on the way out by the woman spread wide on the stoop. You should have asked before. Russ was across the street in the park on that bench, fighting for his share of the night air. Walk up to Russ, let him chew the last fiber of a matchstick. And taking my well earned rest. You Want to help, Mr. Corbin? Sure. Mind if I sit down, Russ? Yeah, sit down. You were almost a hero today, Russ. You're kidding. That's how I make my daily summer bread. 50 bucks a week. Ogle a girl, save a life. How long you been a lifeguard, Russ? Six, maybe seven summers. Time out for a frolic on Anzio beach then. You've had a lot of experience saving people from drowning? Am I allotted share? The medical examiner down at headquarters says that man you tried to save. Yeah, I remember. Our medical examiner says he was murdered. Huh? How come our man says it was murder? Because artificial respiration wasn't applied properly. Well, your man is a smart man, but a four bit a week lifeguard does the best he can. He studies in classes, he follows a first aid manual. You call him a murderer because he didn't make out with one poor slap. You tell me, Russ. You murder the man. Considering the percentage of lives that are saved and not saved by such as we, that's a question you may never be able to answer. Okay, I'll keep trying, Russ. You won't mind?

[Gino Tartaglia]

Danny, why don't you never turn on a light? You sit like this in the dark by yourself. It's. I got one of the Tartaglia kids at home does the same thing. You both make me feel the same way.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You've got your problems, haven't you, Gina?

[Gino Tartaglia]

I could do without them. You in the mood, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Sure. For whatever. What have you got?

[Gino Tartaglia]

Nothing. No progress on identification of the drowned man. No progress on a connection between him and that lifeguard. Russ Gaby reports on Gaby's state. He is looked up to at the pool by girls and ladies sized swimmers. Occasionally he buys for one or the other a beer at the concession stand. Occasionally escorts one or the other type to her home, deposits it, goes to the newsstand, buys super type magazines, goes to his room. Healthy, normal muscle boy.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Maybe a murderer. Gino.

[Gino Tartaglia]

Pardon me, Danny, but I must take. Sergeant Artaglia speaking. Yes. Yeah, I got it. Hanson's pawn shop, East 34th. I told you I got it. They bother us with such.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Such what, Gino?

[Gino Tartaglia]

A man with a pawn shop got the nudges in the midst of a nice conversation because somebody who works in a pool hocked the suit of clothes. Valuables look to this. Mr. Hanson likes stolen goods.

[Detective Danny Clover]

On East 34th.

[Gino Tartaglia]

Yeah? Then why bother yourself with it, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Because maybe it'll give me the name of a murdered man. You might ask me why I called the police, Mr. Clover, after so many months of abstemiously staying away from your fellows. All right, Mr. Hanson. Why? Because there was something fishy about it this time. This suit, this watch ring, money clip was brought me by a boy who's an attendant at a public pool pool on Upper Broadway. Inevitably. That pool where that unidentified man was drowned. His thing stolen. You read about it?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Of course.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who brought these to you? A boy. Know him? Well, I've had dealings with him intermittently. Who's the boy? Bobby Kent. He's got a room in one of those crates on East 37th. 1654 East 37th. Just ask for Bobby. We all know him. And you think these things belong to the drowned man? The man was robbed where Bobby works. Died where Bobby works. Bobby pawns things that obviously don't belong to him. What is there left for a decent man to think, Mr. Clover? Then the three walk to the languid summer night, the city bound and the dream bound. People on the sandstone steppes who find their delights in a pop bottle or by taking possession of a star in the sky or by cooling themselves with a fan courtesy of Swanson's Chicken Frecassee. Pass them and mind the kiddies at their nighttime. Play the patter of little feet up an alley and arrive at the address on 37th Street. And over one of the bells see a name. Bobby Kent, Apartment three. And the sound you hear is the far off thunder made of heat and air currents and stratosphere. And the lightning through the window at the end of the corridor lights up the number three on a door briefly, then again. Bobby. Bobby Kent, this is the police. Bobby, open up. I'm coming in. Bobby. Bobby was in. His shirt was ripped, his face bloody, hands tied behind his back, belt around his neck and the belt was strung over a pipe near the ceiling. When I brought over a chair to stand on, there was lightning again and the whole room was stark white for an instant. It took a while to get Bobby down, but it didn't matter. Bobby had been dead when I got there. Bobby had been murdered.

[Wrigley Spearmint Gum Announcer]

For refreshment while you work, for enjoyment anytime, chew a stick of Wrigley Spearmint Gum. When your mouth feels dry, when you're warm or tired, Wrigley Spearmint is really refreshing. The lively, full bodied, real mint flavor cools your mouth, moistens your throat, freshens your taste. And the chewing itself gives you a little lift, helps you feel your best and do your best. So for chewing enjoyment plus pleasant refreshment, chew delicious Wrigley Spearmint Gum. We now continue with Broadway's My Beat, written by Morton Fine and David Friedkin and starring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Broadway leans against a doorway, flips a coin and makes odds on the 31 days of August this month, kid. It'll come in the Philly in the third, the dreamboat, the oil on that little piece of property, at least in the Texas badlands, gotta come in. Otherwise, what have you been building, kid? Gotta come in so you can indulge the whim of the hour. Enjoy it, own it. All that neon, yours to turn on or off that music of the dance calling to you from basement dance lands. Yours to play soft or loud or cut off like that dance in dark and in stillness if you want the traffic signals pushing back the people yours to make, say stop, go. You're a king man, with headlines at your feet. Boy murdered, hung by belt in tenement room. Unknown man drowned in public pool. All yours, kid. Clean shuffle. A minute of luck and it's all yours. And the next morning at headquarters. Consider your share of it yours and Detective Mugavan's.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

You still stick with that, Danny? That the man in the pool was murdered?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. You don't like it?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Oh, it's not that, Danny. It's only so many people drowned. So many can't be saved. You gonna go back and call everyone that wasn't the murder victim Russ gave?

[Detective Danny Clover]

He is a trained lifeguard. He told me the man fought him, had to be pushed under.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Happens that way sometimes, Danny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Could have been the other way around. Could have been Russ wanted the man dead. It could have been he fought the man, drowned him, finished him with his own brand of artificial respiration.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Could have been. But where's a string that knots it, Danny? What connection?

[Detective Danny Clover]

That kid that was hung, Bobby Kent, the attendant of the pool. That could be a connection because he.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Stole a man's clothes out of a crummy locker. We're not even sure they belong to the drowned man.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What do we know about them, Magdalen?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Well, from the cleaner's marks, they belong to a man named Howard Crawford. Married. I checked his wife. She'll be at the morgue to identify in a half hour. Would have come sooner. Wanted to go out and buy a dress first. I let her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

I'll go down and meet her. You get whatever you can on Bobby Kent. Friends, people he stole from, whoever wanted him to. I'm working on it. Put a tail on Gavey. Every breath he breathes, I want to report.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Got it. Anything else, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yeah. Why does a woman need a new dress to look at a dead man?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

I don't know. Ask her when you see her.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Are you ready, Mrs. Coffin?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Waiting for you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

All right. Just look at this man and tell.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Me if he's okay. Okay. Put him back. He's mine. Can we get out of this place now?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Of course. I'll throw this door. Want to sit down on this bench for a minute?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Or else, huh? Sure, I'll sit. What do you think of my husband, Mr. Clover? Can you imagine it? Howard getting himself a piece of marble in a police morgue.

[Detective Danny Clover]

When did you see him last?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

I got out of a warm bed yesterday morning on account of the phone ringing. Was for Howard. He pinched my cheek, said, goodbye. Honey, I'm going out of town.

[Detective Danny Clover]

This happen often? His going out of town in his line?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Salesman.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And you didn't see him after that?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Look, Boyfriend. I was in the Middle of a beauty exercise. Bend overs for the figure. I was grabbing my ankles. I looked back. There he was going out of the house.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Doesn't it seem strange to you that he didn't go out of town? That he was found?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

It's strange to me he's dead, but I'm gonna get used to it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Who do you know had a reason for murdering him?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Murdered? Thought you said he'd drown.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Do you like to swim, Mrs. Croft?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

You see this sunburn? You think I got it standing under a hot iron? Look at it. See how you like it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you get it at that swimming pool uptown?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Coney? I know a part of Coney where they carry a pretty good crowd. That's where this burn came from.

[Detective Danny Clover]

There's a lifeguard at that pool.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

I go to Coney where they carry a million on a weekend. I don't confine me to public pools uptown.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you have anything to do with your husband's death, Mrs. Crawford?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Now, I'm a girl who's gonna tell you the truth. Boyfriend? Every time I've thought of it. I've wished Howard dead every hour on the hour. I'd have wished him dead on the half hour, too. But that's when the race results came over the radio. Howard. Things have come true. I've wished for him.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's all, Mrs. Crawford. You can get out of here now. Watch her reapply the lipstick and readjust her clothes and walk away from her, dead to a summer rhythm that no longer held any part of him. A woman starting the new day fresh. The memory she had submitted to now happily dead on a marble slab. And at the end of the corridor, the street sunlight touching her face for an instant, darting away, leaving only pallor and the smear of scarlet on her lips. Back in the office, order a shadow for Mrs. Crawford. Then a telephone report from mugging. He had found a girl who was the girlfriend of Bobby Kent. A box office girl in an all day, all night Movie on East 125th. Lucille Lang, on duty for the rest of the day and night. How many police, Ms. Lang?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Take back your badge. It don't buy you nothing.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You were a friend of Bobby Kent's.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Look, you. You want to lose me my job?

[Detective Danny Clover]

All we want, Ms. Lang, all you.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Want is to mark me lousy with the management. A sweaty cop sultan snooping around where I live. I know. My girlfriend called me. Told me he had his nose in my affairs, asked questions. She had to tell him I was cozy with Bobby.

[Detective Danny Clover]

All we want is something that'll give us Bobby's killer.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Search me up and down. You won't find Bobby's killer.

[Detective Danny Clover]

And maybe someone who wanted him dead.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

All the kid ever did was steal a buck here and there so he could make an impression on me, on my girlfriend. Boy has to die for that.

[Detective Danny Clover]

He was a thief.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Ain't everybody, kiddo. One way or another. To sweep out the locker room in a public pool. To empty the foot bath, scrub him out. You think that's the end of the rainbow for a kid?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Did you know about the clothes he stole from the pool? The watch, the ring, the money clip?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Sure, I know. He told me. I even know about the 500 bucks that was in the suit.

[Detective Danny Clover]

500?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

We were gonna take it and go off to faraway places. Did you know something, kiddo?

[Gino Tartaglia]

What?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Bobby's dead from hanging. And I'm cooped up in a cage. So I ain't gonna make it, am I?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come on in, Mugman. What do you want?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

An opinion.

[Detective Danny Clover]

About what?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

About how soon we should pick up Russ Gavey for the murder of Crawford and that pool attendant.

[Detective Danny Clover]

If we pick him up, how long do you think we can hold him?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

A killer, Danny, he.

[Detective Danny Clover]

How are you going to prove premeditated murder? By artificial respiration?

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Now, maybe we shouldn't start from there, Danny. Maybe we should start from the attendant. Now, he killed Bobby Kent because Bobby stole the clothes. Because Bobby would learn that the clothes belonged to Howard Crawford. Bobby was a sneak thief from there to blackmail him. One easy lesson.

[Detective Danny Clover]

So we get back to Howard Crawford. You know what we need, Mugavan? Yeah.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Motive. We gotta find our wife.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Danny. You got something, Gino?

[Gino Tartaglia]

Officer Rachi just called from a gas station on Queens Highway. Mrs. Crawford just registered at the Ritz Lodge Motel. About 10 miles out of the city.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Thanks, Gino. Mugavin.

[Wrigley Spearmint Gum Announcer]

Yeah, Danny?

[Detective Danny Clover]

That shadow you got on Russ gave you? Get him off. I don't want him followed.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

All right. Where you going?

[Detective Danny Clover]

To find out why a widow wanders far from home.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

It's open. Pour yourself a drink. I'll be right in. I had my hair done.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Where do you see?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Bought some new clothes. You'll like him.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Huh?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

You'll like him too, lover. You like him.

[Detective Danny Clover]

That's your going away dress, Mrs. Crawford.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

It could be for that, too.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You've got a home in Manhattan. Mrs. Crawford. What are you doing here?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Where's your home boyfriend? And what are you doing here?

[Detective Danny Clover]

I wanted to talk to you.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Me and my son, Vern. Made an impression, huh? See, I got a flunky to Follow me. You could have done it yourself. No uproar would have happened. Well, here we are.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Girl likes to get away sometimes. You'd be surprised how many phone calls I've gotten since Howard drank all that water. Here's a dime. Throw it in the radio. No. Then I'll throw it a dime.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yep.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Phone calls all day long.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Now it's your turn just to talk. Kill some time.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Ah, that Kenton. Oh, what'd you say, Lubbock?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Nothing. I didn't say anything.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Look, be a doll, will you? Go away. Come back another day.

[Ms. Brenner]

I'll be here.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Let's pick a Tuesday. Make a detonate, huh? Why don't you go right now out.

[Detective Danny Clover]

The back way through a window.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Just get up. Hi, Russell. Got a little trouble.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Come in, Russ. Close the door. I'll bet the lady told you to get out of here. Mr. Clover. Uh huh. You two know each other pretty well, don't you?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Yeah. Swimming pool romance. I saw him in those California feet flippers and it twisted my heart.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You two are planning on going away together? I only ask because the back of Russ car is loaded with suitcases. We're going to get married in Maryland. Is there a law? Yes, there is. There's a whole section in the penal code about murder. Back to that, huh? I could have picked you up before, Russ, but I needed a motive. I had to find out why you murdered Howard Crawford. There she is. How did I kill him? By drowning him. You made sure the resuscitator squad wouldn't revive him. You crushed out whatever life there was in him. Listen to him, Edith. Yeah, listen. You killed Bobby Kent. He was a petty thief. He took the clothes you'd stolen from Crawford. Sooner or later, he'd put two and two together. Probably would have blackmailed you. You couldn't afford to let that happen. You ready, Edith?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

I'm ready. Only one thing, Russ.

[Detective Danny Clover]

What?

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

I'm a happy girl, Russ. I like to live happy. From just now on, you're gonna be a burden. As long as lover here's got you, I don't want you.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Both of you. You're an accessory. Mrs. Crawford.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

Well, that changes things right away. Russ.

[Adam Graham]

Yeah?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Don't be a fool. Okay. You aren't. Why, Russell, you'll never be the same. You ready to go back to town, Mrs. Crawford? It's the time on Broadway when the crowd gives up, goes home. Then it's the street of the dim moonlight and the dark whispers. The wind of the night. The wind that scatters everything. Yesterday's headlines, yesterday's dreams, yesterday's people. It's Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My Beat.

[Wrigley Spearmint Gum Announcer]

Remember, friends, for refreshment while you work, for enjoyment anytime, chew a stick of Wrigley Spearmint Gum. There's lots of lively, real mint flavor in it to cool your mouth, freshen your taste and sweeten your breath. And chewing Wrigley Spearmint helps keep you fresh and alert. You feel better, work better, get more fun out of doing things. So indoors, outdoors, at work or play. Always keep delicious Wrigley Spearmint Chewing gum handy for refreshment while you work. For enjoyment anytime, chew a stick of Wrigley Spearmint Gum. The makers of Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum. Hope you've enjoyed tonight's story and that you're enjoying Wrigley's Spearmint Gum every day. We invite you to join us next week at the same time when Detective Danny Clover returns again with Broadway's My Beat. Broadway's My Beat, Brought to you by Wrigley Spearmint Gum is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed and conducted by Alexander Courage. Program is written by Martin Fine and David Friedkin and stars Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover with Charles Calvert as Tartaglia and Jack Crucian as Mugavin. In tonight's cast, Mary Jane Croft was heard as Edith Crawford, hi Averback as Russ Gaby, Stan Waxman as Mr. Hansen and Michael Ann Barrett as Lucille. Language. Bob Stevenson speaking. This is the CBS Radio Network.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

This is the story of the one as an H Vac technician. He and his digital multimeter are in high demand. So when a noisy office H Vac turns out to be a failing blower motor, he doesn't break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product information, he selects the product he needs to keep everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Adam Graham]

Welcome back. There's a few points here. First of all, it's been a couple years, but I think we played a dangerous Assignment episode that talked about this, but it's worth talking about again. The event that Bob Hope was referencing at the top of the episode was the great flood of 1951. There was extraordinary rainfall on the Kansas river and many of its tributaries overflowed their banks. July 13, 1951, was labeled as Black Black Friday by The locals. With local flooding reaching a level that hadn't been seen since the great flood of 1844. There were more than 25,000 people displaced in homes, neighborhoods and businesses dealing with ruins and debris. And so that's what motivated the appeal. And the damage extended not just to Kansas, but also to Missouri, with damage of around a billion dollars in $1951, obviously much higher today. And that was the reason for the appeal. And of course, it speaks to Bob Hope's role and national profile in the 1950s. Now he is rightfully associated with his work with the uso, where he was such a key leader from World War II to the Persian Gulf War. And I'm not laughing because of any disrespect for Mr. Hope's work. I'm just laughing because my note said OSS, which would be an entire alternate history. But I digress. Bob Hope did not work with the oss, but he did work with the uso. But if you listen to his radio programs from the late 1940s through the 50s, it really does express a broader amount of charitable concerns. It seems like every second or third episode Hope was raising funds for a different cause or raising awareness of a different issue, whether it was some disaster relief or some international problem or just the typical red feather campaign. He was utilized by a lot of humanitarian causes, which I think reflected broader concern. It also reflected his popularity during that period as one one of the biggest screen stars, in addition to being one of radio's highest rated comedians. Now, I have to say that the episode itself has one of the most far fetched beginnings. First of all, Danny gets called into a drowning with the thought it's suspicious that the guy's locker was robbed. Now, keep in mind, Danny is a lieutenant of Homicide. And Mugavins calling him based on that really should have kept the whole case to himself for a while. And then you have Dr. Sinski's conclusion of Homicide. Let's be clear. Could injuries result from resuscitation attempts? Absolutely. Particularly since the methods that were used in the 40s and 50s tended to be a little more crude and rough. But the thing is that the injuries that Dr. Sinski described are absolutely normal for even proper resuscitation attempts. And drowning itself could cause internal lung bleeding and chest strain. The delicate system of balances in the chest sounds really poetic, but that's just how modern medicine would have viewed things in the 1950s. And certainly not to the extent of saying confidently that it was murder. Now, we also have this great fantastic line every time I'VE thought about it. I've wished Howard dead every hour on the hour, and I wished him dead on the half hour, too. But that's when the race results came over the radio. I mean, that line just cracks me up. That's probably the one line from Broadway's My Bait, which could have been something that was being reused from Pat Novak. Finally, on a really positive note, I love the final fight scene with the music. Now, if you watch TV shows in the late 50s and early 60s, they often have these terrific fight scenes with this jazzy music playing, oftentimes with the music edited in, though occasionally it'll be something live or a record. It's rarely tried over radio, and I think part of the reason for that is that it risks distracting from the audio of the fight that you're trying to present. But I think they did a really good job mixing it so that it actually complemented the fight scene. So nicely done on that. All right, listener comments and feedback now. And we have some comments regarding the Broadway's My Beat episode, Buddy Malpaw and the jeweled Scimitar. Betsy writes really great episode, very funny and sweet. And Elizabeth says thank you from Mexico. Well, thank you so much. Appreciate you taking the time to leave those comments. Now it's time to thank our Patreon Supporter of the Day. Thank you to Margie, Patreon, Supporter, Since June 2016, currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support. And that will do it for today. We will be back next Wednesday with another episode of Broadway's My Beat. But join us back here tomorrow for Dragnet, where, I don't know.

[Ms. Brenner]

He didn't seem to have any friends. He and his wife had only been in the city a year before she died. He was retired, you know.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Yes, ma'. Am. We talked to some of the neighbors out there.

[Detective Danny Clover]

They couldn't tell us much about him.

[Ms. Brenner]

Maybe some of the people he did business with might know something. Have you tried the neighborhood bank out there? I know that's where Mr. Dillon had his account.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

No, ma'.

[Ms. Brenner]

Am.

[Adam Graham]

We.

[Ms. Brenner]

Well, I can give the bank's address. It's about all, though.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

That's the only contact you know of?

[Ms. Brenner]

I'm afraid so, yes. I didn't know much about Mr. Dolan's private affairs. Whenever I talked to him, it seemed the only thing he had on his mind was his wife's death. Just couldn't seem to get over it. Seemed like he didn't want to get over it.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You mentioned that when you leased his home, Mr. Dillon took an apartment. Do you happen to have that address, Ms. Banner?

[Ms. Brenner]

Well, I don't have it with me now, but I have it at home. I can call in and give it.

[Mrs. Edith Crawford]

To you, if you like.

[Detective Danny Clover]

If you would, please.

[Ms. Brenner]

Certainly.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Well, thank you very much, Ms. Brenner.

[Detective Danny Clover]

You have our card. When you hear anything at all from.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Mr. Dillon, we'd appreciate it if you'd call. Surely.

[Ms. Brenner]

I'll call you right away. You think something could have happened to him?

[Detective Danny Clover]

Well, it's possible. We don't know. All we have is a letter from his sister.

[Ms. Brenner]

Does seem kind of strange, doesn't it? Wasn't feeling too well. I wondered why he hadn't contacted me about sending the rent money to him. He's such a nice man, Mr. Dillon. I certainly hope nothing's happened to him.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Well, you say he was very depressed about his wife's death, ma'.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

Am.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Would you say that it was getting.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

To be a little abnormal with him, maybe?

[Ms. Brenner]

Well, I wouldn't know about that, Sergeant, but I didn't know. He brooded about it all the time. He felt that he'd lost everything. Didn't seem to want to go on.

[Sergeant Mugavin]

He ever give an indication that maybe he might take his own life? I mean, all this brooding over his wife.

[Ms. Brenner]

Well, no, nothing definite. Just depressed and moody all the time. Oh, now that I remember it, the last time I saw him, he did say something kind of funny.

[Detective Danny Clover]

Yes, ma'. Am. What was that?

[Ms. Brenner]

It was the day before he left. We were talking about the rent money, and I asked him if I couldn't send it to him. He got kind of a strange look on his face. Yeah, he said, where I'm going, I won't need the money.

[Adam Graham]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box Thirteenreatetectives.net follow us on Twitter at radiodetectives and check us out on Instagram. Instagram.com Great detectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.