The Big Story: The Poison Pen Murders (EP4932)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: The Big Story – The Poison Pen Murders (EP4932)

Host: Adam Graham
Original Air Date of Drama: July 20, 1949
Podcast Release Date: March 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode features a rebroadcast of The Big Story: "The Poison Pen Murders," where a reporter investigates the murder of a despised laundry owner amidst a web of hatred, poisoned letters, and red herrings. Host Adam Graham bookends the audio drama with insightful commentary, connecting the fictional case to its real-life inspiration and engaging with listener questions and feedback.

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Key Discussion Points & Episode Breakdown

1. Introduction and Setup ([01:28]–[02:20])

• Adam Graham introduces the show and outlines ongoing listener support campaigns.
• Establishes the format: a different vintage detective drama daily, with context about the episode's original broadcast.

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2. The Big Story: "Poison Pen Murders" Dramatization ([02:20]–[26:57])

Setting the Stage

• The drama opens in Cincinnati, Ohio on Armistice Day. Herman Witt, disliked laundry owner, is found murdered with his friend Henry Long wounded but alive.

The Crime Scene & Immediate Suspects ([02:20]–[06:56])

• Reporter Tom Mercer arrives at the scene, greeted mockingly by Detective Lt. Vincent, due to Mercer’s previous erroneous reporting.
• The official theory: Witt and Long got drunk, fought over money, and shot each other.
• Mercer challenges the theory, noticing inconsistencies: wrong gun caliber, not enough wine consumed.
• Ballistics confirm Mercer’s doubts—a different gun was used.

Quote:

“That's right. Then maybe it was a left-handed Irishman, Lieutenant.” — Tom Mercer ([07:48])

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Digging into Motives—Hatred and Poison Pen Letters ([09:26]–[14:01])

• In the hospital, wounded Long mentions Witt’s constant poison pen letters and multiple enemies.
• Mercer systematically interviews those Witt wronged, focusing on:
  • Fired bookkeeper Emmons, who agrees Witt was “nuts.”
  • First violinist Tabor, recently tormented by Witt, but Tabor has an ironclad alibi (playing a concert in Indianapolis).

Quote:

“He always said Tabor stole his job. Used to call him up in the middle of the night, two o'clock and scare Tabor's wife.” — Emmons ([13:18])

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A Misdirected Investigation—Red Herrings and Dead Ends ([14:01]–[15:12])

• A laundry slip with the address 2231 Vine Street is found, but it’s a boarding house for women—no connection to a male suspect.
• The “carnation in the buttonhole” lead proves fruitless; too many florists, too little to go on.

Quote:

“I sell maybe a hundred carnations a day to a hundred different people. Do you honestly expect me to give you a clue?” — Florist ([16:55])

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A Break in the Case: The Missing Gun ([18:24]–[21:15])

• The boarding house landlady, Ms. Rinker, reveals a tenant, Ms. Bascom, kept a .45 automatic—matching the murder weapon’s caliber.
• Bascom admits she lent the gun to an acquaintance, John Turner, on Armistice Day.

Quote:

“He tried it out, miss Bascom. About 4:45. He tried it out on two men. He killed one of them.” — Tom Mercer ([20:26])

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Revelation: Motive Was Not Hate, But Robbery ([21:16]–[22:36])

• Turner is a crook with a criminal record—robbery, not revenge, was his motive.
• Mercer reflects on being misled by the obvious motive—everyone hated Witt, but a random robbery was the answer.

Quote:

“When a hated man gets killed, hate, we figure, must be the motive. ... But it wasn't any of these people. It was an accident. A pure and simple accident. The motive was robbery.” — Tom Mercer ([21:23])

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Case Resolution and Coda ([22:36]–[26:57])

• Turner is caught months later after another attempted robbery.
• His flaw: gave a boarding-house address during the laundry robbery, which helped tie him to the crime.
• He admits, “the chief trouble all my life has been that I can't help telling the truth.”
• Turner is convicted and executed.

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3. Host Adam Graham's Post-Episode Commentary ([27:58]–[33:30])

Contextualizing the True Story

• The Big Story episode is close to fact: Inspired by a 1933 real-life murder of an Italian immigrant and veteran, Nardi.
• The killer, Richard Keller, similarly bungled a robbery due to a traceable clue.
• Adam shares differences and similarities with the dramatization, adding historical context and referencing sources.

Meta-Commentary on the Show's Tone

• Comments on Jackson Beck, the lead actor, usually playing respected detectives, but here the brunt of jokes until vindicated.

Quote:

“It's interesting to hear Beck playing a character who is the butt of the joke and whose every opinion is doubted. And it's kind of like, you're wrong until you're proven right. But he, in the end, was proven right.” — Adam Graham ([28:32])

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4. Listener Mail & Community Q&A ([33:30]–[40:01])

• Adam addresses listener questions—about previous episode's real-life inspirations, odd terminology, and how cases made news.
• Discusses the role of unusual details in what makes stories newsworthy, and the impact of personal scandals turning into headlines.
• Encourages listeners to explore older series and the show's archives.

Quote:

“What makes this news is that he did an elaborate attempt to fake his own death...there are emotional stakes and there are little details that make this far more interesting to the reading public than your typical story.” — Adam Graham ([36:39])

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5. Preview for Upcoming Episodes ([40:01]–[41:44])

• Next episode will be from “Broadway’s My Beat,” with sneak-peek monologue: a character contemplates violence and tangled relationships in a dramatic, poetic style.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On being the butt of jokes:
  “For years now, you've been the butt of bad jokes, Tom Mercer.” — Narrator ([15:13])

• On investigation pitfalls:
  “The long arm of coincidence is a funny thing...When a hated man gets killed, we figure hate must be the motive.” — Tom Mercer ([21:13])

• Cynical take on the victim:
  “How many friends does a skunk have?” — Lt. Vincent ([11:22])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------|-----------| | Host Introduction | 01:28 | | Main Drama Begins | 02:20 | | Crime Scene/Initial Theories | 02:20–06:56 | | Witness Statement: Long | 09:25–11:06 | | Suspect Interviews | 12:01–14:01 | | Boarding House Lead | 14:12–15:12 | | Carnation Clue/Florist | 16:55–18:24 | | Gun Discovery/Bascom Interview | 18:24–21:15 | | Case Solution | 21:16–22:36 | | Killer’s Capture & Coda | 22:36–26:57 | | Adam Graham Commentary | 27:58–33:30 | | Listener Mail & Q&A | 33:30–40:01 | | Episode Preview | 40:01–41:44 |

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Overall Tone and Style

• The dramatization is classic hard-boiled radio: snappy, sardonic, and filled with colorful supporting characters.
• Adam Graham’s commentary is informative, lightly humorous, and deeply appreciative of old-time radio’s storytelling quirks.

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Summary for the Uninitiated

If you missed the episode, this Big Story entry exemplifies why classic detective radio endures: a snarky, outcast reporter is vindicated by dogged, logical work. The drama skillfully sends listeners down red herrings before revealing the simplest answer – random crime trumps presumed revenge. Adam Graham's engaging postscript ties fact to fiction, deepening appreciation for the golden age of audio drama and the real journalists who inspired their tales.

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Want more detective drama?
Tune in next time for “Broadway’s My Beat”—and check out The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio for a daily dose of mystery and nostalgia!

Transcript

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[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 the Big Story. But first I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and our listener support and appreciation campaign continues. You can become more one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month. Just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net now from July 20, 1949, here is the poison pen murder.

[Tom Mercer]

Sherman, you still here? I finished it. I just finished it. Sit down, Henry, listen. It's armistice. Dave, what are you doing in this store? You aren't working a masterpiece. Listen, listen. Mr. Adam Hemopolis conduct this Cincinnatus Symphony Orchestra. No, Herman, not another letter. In your so called orchestra is a so called violin player named Tabor. If there is a worse violin player in the world, I do not know him. It is not enough that he is a power musician. As a human being, he is garbage. Herman, someday you will write one too many of them. Someday you will be sitting here like now, alone afterwards and the door will open. And Herman, the door it's opening with a customer. No, Herman, it's not a customer, it's Herman. Cincinnati, Ohio. The story of a man who was hated. And of a reporter who proved that death and hate are often partners. Now the story as it actually happened. Tom Mercer's story as he lived it. Cincinnati, Ohio. You're a big man, Tom Mercer. 200 pounds big, 6ft 1 inch big. And because you're big and easygoing, you're a target, an easy mind. A couple of years ago, as a young reporter, you made a mistake. You took an ordinary death and called it murder. He went and solved that murder in print. And then it came out it wasn't murder at all. And the laugh was heard all over Cincinnati. It's still heard wherever you go, they say of you. Ah, there goes Mercer, the great flute. Not to make another name for himself. And so when this story broke, a killing in the standard laundry at 6216 Central Parkway. All the boys in the press room at police headquarters said, well, we don't have to cover it, not with Mercer on the job. If it's murder, Mercer will solve it. You took the laugh and went down to the scene of the crime, the Standard Laundry. But the laugh follows you. But when you open the door of the laundry, Detective Lieutenant Teddy Vinson greeted you well. All right, men, all you cops sergeant, can all go home. Thomas is here. We got nothing to worry about. Hi, Lieutenant Vincent. Man, do you want to see a real Sherlock go to work? Very simple. Taking the scene a laundry. The day, Armistice Day. Not a working day. The man there on the floor, Herman, with the owner is dead. Bullets in his head. Near him, as you see, a friend, Henry Long, also shot but not dead. Unconscious but not dead. A gun. See the gun, Mercer? Gun. On the floor. Between. Also on the floor. $60 and $1 bill. On the table, a half consumed bottle of wine. Give us your verdict, Sherlock. Oh, cut it out, will you, Lieutenant Vincent? Haven't you solved it yet, Mercer? It was slipping. What happened? I just told you with the owner is dead. Long, his so called friend, badly wounded. The money, the bottle of wine. That's all this to us. Can't you figure it out? No, I can't. What's your idea? Well, the great Mercer is stumped. What do you know? I said I'll let you in on a secret. That man, Whit killed him. How? How? He says how? Why a gun, that's how. Oh, please, miss, will you. Okay. Word is no joke, is it? Well, there it is, open and shut. The two of them were friends. I called friends. They got into a fight. A little too much to drink. Got a round of money and that's all. Wit shots long. Wrong shots, as we say on the force. Can I look around?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Look around?

[Tom Mercer]

Well, of course, Mr. Mercer. Look around, by all means. No doubt we overlooked some special clue which proves the Murderer was a left handed Irish. I think you're wrong, Lieutenant. How? Where's the other gun? What other gun? You said Long shot. Wit and Whit shot Long. What did they do, use one gun between them? Where's the other gun? Maybe, maybe he tossed it somewhere. No, no. You said they were drunk, got to fighting. Look at that bottle. That's sweet wine. More than 2/3 of the bottle still left. They didn't have enough to even warm them up. They weren't drunk. You don't know what you're talking about. Have you taken the bullet out of Long yet? You see, he's still unconscious. Of course not. When you do, I'm pretty sure you'll find it didn't come from Whit's gun. Whit didn't shoot Long and I don't think Long shot Wit. Want to bet? I don't bet, Lieutenant. Not on murder. Okay. Okay. Hey, Sergeant, get ballistic. Get ballistics here fast. And hurry up that ambulance for Long Mercer, the great sleuth. Okay, Mercer, just watch. The Lieutenant is a good guy, you know that. Just a guy who with everybody else. Likes to kid you, Tom Mercer. But you can take it. And you don't gloat. You don't gloat when later ballistics gets through examining the bullets removed from Witt's body and from the chest of Henry Long still unconscious at the General Hospital. You don't gloat when the Lieutenant says both bullets, the one in Wit and the one in long, were fired from.45. And the gun on the floor of the laundry was a.38. That's right. Then maybe it was a left handed Irishman, Lieutenant. All right, Mace, some other time. I got work to do. So have you, Tom Mercer. You have work to do too. A murder's been committed. And if Long dies, maybe a double murder. You ought to end the laughter. Just being right on the bullets doesn't do that. You want to solve this murder? Oh, you wait. You wait. At General Hospital we're the only man who can possibly tell what happened in the laundry that Armistice Day. Henry Long is still unconscious. You wait in the cart outside his room for 10 hours. For the moment when he'll regain consciousness. If he ever does. And when the nurse says he's conscious

[Lieutenant Vincent]

now, Mr. Mercer, he's talking.

[Tom Mercer]

You quietly enter the room. Go Long. Can you tell me what happened? I told him dope Friday. A poison pen letter. All the time he wrote them. He hated him. Tabor. Tabor? Who's Tabor? But he wrote it. He wrote it I said, someday the door will open and someone will walk in. And it opened the door open. When was this? Maybe the man was a customer. He said, where's my laundry? Herman said, I'm closed today. He said, where's my laundry? Did you see him? Then it happened. Herman came back. He opened the desk. The money fell out. He took out his gun. He tried to fire a shot, but the man fired first. Herman's gun went off and he fell. And I screamed. The man shot me. I couldn't move. I dragged myself to the stone. I call the police. Everybody hated him. Everybody. Mr. Long, can't you hear me? Did you see him? When the man said, where's my laundry? Herman said, what's the name and address? I couldn't hear the answer. Only Herman said, I'll write it down. Did he write it down? He was tall, thin, with black hair. A carnation in his lapel. I saw it. And he hated her. He hated him. In his eyes, he could see it. I told him, don't write poison pen letters. Enough people hate you already. Don't. Well, he did. And now he's dead. Mr. Long. Mr. Long.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

It's no use, Mr. Mercer. He's unconscious again. That's right. I was Mr. Witt's secretary. Payne's my name. Gloria Taine.

[Tom Mercer]

He wasn't very well liked, was he, Mr. Witt?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Are you kidding? How many friends does a skunk have?

[Tom Mercer]

What do you mean?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I'm not saying anybody'd kill him. But Mr. Long, who was a friend of his. He cheated long out of $2,000 a year ago. Anybody in the shop will tell you he worked out like slaves. He never had a good word for anybody.

[Tom Mercer]

Ever hear of a man named Tabor? No. Sure.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I don't lie. He lied. Lied all the time. He lied to everybody and about everybody. I'm not sorry he's dead.

[Tom Mercer]

And there are a lot more who feel the same way.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Well, everybody who knew him.

[Tom Mercer]

Hate is the clue. Who hated him enough to kill him. You begin digging. Two weeks ago, you find he fired a man who'd been with him 12 years. A man named Emmons. A bookkeeper. Sure, I hated him. 12 years I gave him. Worked late, sweated for him. What did he give me? My walking papers. But Mr. Emmons, you didn't hate him enough to shoot him. I wouldn't waste a bullet on him. You know something, mister? 15 years ago, he played the fiddle. Played with some orchestra. The Cincinnati Symphony, I think. And he got tired. He never forgot it. He kept writing letters. Poisoned Pen letters every week saying this fiddler was no good, that one was no good. That's the kind of a man he was. Take what he did to Tabor. Tabor? That's right. First violin in the symphony. He always said Tabor stole his job. Used to call him up in the middle of the night, two o' clock and scare Tabor's wife. She had to go away to a sanitarium. He was nuts, mister. That's what he was. Wish he died years ago. Wish I never met him. What happened to Tabor's wife? His wife? I. I don't know. I. I think she died in the sanitarium. Tabor still with the symphony? Sure. Why? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just an idea. Yes? I'm Tabor, Mr. Mercer, and I'll defank you. No news of the past 10 years pleased me as much as. But as to what you're thinking, since I'm tall and thin and have dark hair and occasionally wear a carnation at the time of the murder, 4:45pm on Armistice Day. You see, I read all the details. I enjoyed the story. I was playing a concert in Indianapolis. I was playing the solo part at that precise moment of the Beethoven violin concerto.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Dead end.

[Tom Mercer]

Hate comes to a dead end. What now? Back at the laundry, still probing, still asking questions of Whit secretary. Suddenly she says, this is funny. What? This slip.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

This laundry slip. I make out all the laundry ships, but this ain't in my handwriting.

[Tom Mercer]

Let me see it. 2231 Vine Street. You have a customer there.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

No, I checked it. That's what's funny.

[Tom Mercer]

Is this his writing? Oh, Mr. Wits.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Hey, that's right, it is.

[Tom Mercer]

Where'd you find it?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

In his desk drawer, crumpled up.

[Tom Mercer]

Give it to me. Give it to me quick.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Yes? Can I help you, ma'?

[Tom Mercer]

Am? I'm looking for a man. Tall, thin, dark haired, sometimes wears a carnation in his buttonhole.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

A man? Oh, dear, no. This is a boarding house for businesswomen. No gentlemen allowed here. None whatsoever.

[Tom Mercer]

Oh, you're sure?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I'm quite sure, young man, quite. Only the most respectable women and I require two references. And you can believe me that I know my denim. I never pry, but I know my ladies.

[Tom Mercer]

Murder and 2231 Vine street don't mix. You walk down the steps, dejection written on your face, and on the sidewalk you meet new wood. With your luck. Detective Lieutenant Vincent. Well, Hawkshaw, I hear you got it all wrapped up. Yeah, the secretary told me. 2231 Vine. No doubt when Wit asked him the murderer gave his right address. Okay, Lieutenant, I was wrong. Wrong? You? Impossible. Listen, I'll give you a tip. That carnation in the buttonhole, remember? Well, I checked, and guess what? There's only several hundred florists in town selling carnations. Why don't you check them, Mercer? Why not? Go ahead. For years now, you've been the butt of bad jokes, Tom Mercer. They call you Hawkshaw and Sherlock Mercer, the sleuth. And in the present case, it looks like you're going to make a fool of yourself again. For you, Tom Mercer, reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Have tracked down every lead in the slaying of Herman Witt, laundry owner. And every lead has led to the same place. Nowhere. First you went after people who hated Witt. An employee, the first violinist in the symphony orchestra. Each time you drew nothing. Then the address on the laundry slip. Nothing. Less than nothing. An absurd spinster running a boarding house for business ladies. Might as well, as Lieutenant Vincent of Homicide put it, track down all the stores that sell carnations. Why not? Crazy as it sounds, it might be something. Say that again. I said, can you recall selling carnations regularly, mind you, to a man. Tall, thin, with dark hair, well dressed. I imagine. Fellow who bought carnations all the time would be well dressed. And that's what I thought you said. What are you, a detective? Well, not exactly on that wood killing, huh? Yeah, that's right. Well, I've heard of some pretty stupid things in my time, but if that's the way you fellas work, it's no wonder there's so many unsolved crimes in this city. Now, why do you say that? Why, I sell maybe a hundred carnations a day to a hundred different people. Me and a couple of hundred other florists. Do you honestly expect me to give you a clue? Why? The man asks. He's right. Of course he's right. You were grasping at a straw and hoping you'd come up with the answer. Carnation idea is crazy. You give it up and then on your desk at the paper a day later is a message. Call Ms. Eulaly Rinka. City 711 4. The address is 2231 Vine. 2231 Vine, Eulaly Rinker. The lady who runs the boarding house of businesswomen. You don't call, you race over.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Now, mind you, I don't pry into the affairs of my tenants. I understand, Ms. Rinka, and I'm very strict in my requirements. Two references are essential.

[Tom Mercer]

Yes, so you told me.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

They Don't. After you were here. Mind you, I don't pry, but I did do a little inquiring and, well, after all, it was a murder, now, wasn't it?

[Tom Mercer]

That's right, a murder.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Well, the lady on the third floor area, Ms. Sands, a very sweet old lady. Yes, she's really secretly married and estranged from her husband. Can you imagine?

[Tom Mercer]

Is that all you found?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Quite the contrary. That was only the beginning. And Ms. Curtis on second floor front, she drinks. I found, can you believe it? Six empty whiskey bottles in her Darrow drawer. The bottom drawer.

[Tom Mercer]

Look, Miss Rinker, I. Oh, I haven't told you all.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Then There's Ms. Bascom, first floor here. Very quiet. A sweet person, really.

[Tom Mercer]

I've got to get back.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

She's a confidential secretary, but I never hire her. Do you know what Ms. Messer?

[Tom Mercer]

She keeps live mice.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Not at all. But she has a.45 automatic in her desk drawer.

[Tom Mercer]

What?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I had my handyman in and he told me it was a.45 caliber. Is that the word? Caliber?

[Tom Mercer]

Yes.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

A.45 caliber automatic revolver in her desk drawer.

[Tom Mercer]

Miss Bascom?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

That's correct.

[Tom Mercer]

Would you mind coming down with me to police headquarters?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Indeed I would mind a great deal.

[Tom Mercer]

All I want to do is have them examine your gun, Miss Bascom.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I have no gun.

[Tom Mercer]

Not now you haven't. I have it. That is, Ms. Rinker, and I have it.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I have a permit for the gun.

[Tom Mercer]

Did you know the gun was fired? I'd guess within the past week. Did you know that? That it was?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

No, it wasn't. How could it have been?

[Tom Mercer]

You tell me, Miss Fashion.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Look, I don't want to go to the police. Please, I don't. If I tell you, will that be enough?

[Tom Mercer]

It depends on what you tell me.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Well, I. I lent it to a man, a casual acquaintance. He said he wanted to buy a gun. I wanted to sell it, so I lent it to him to try it out. He took it and later he brought it back and said, this won't do.

[Tom Mercer]

When was this?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

About a week ago.

[Tom Mercer]

I missed this day.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

I think it was. Yeah, I missed this day. Yeah, I wasn't working that day.

[Tom Mercer]

What time did you lend it to him?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

About two o'.

[Tom Mercer]

Clock. When did he bring it back?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

About 5:30, I think. Yeah, he just said he wanted to try it out. Why? What happened?

[Tom Mercer]

He tried it out, miss Bascom. About 4. 45. He tried it out on two men. He killed one of them. No. Yes. Now, what was his name, this casual friend of yours?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

John Painer.

[Tom Mercer]

I'm sorry about Your not wanting to go to the police, Ms. Bascom, because I'm afraid my friend Lt. Vincent would never forgive me if I didn't take you down with me. Shall we go? That's its picture, Ms. Bascom.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Yes, sir.

[Tom Mercer]

Lieutenant, there's no question this is the man. If you don't mind me, sir, let me do the asking. Sorry. There's no question this is the man.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

No, sir.

[Tom Mercer]

No question. He was just a friend of yours. His Turner?

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Oh, no, not a friend. I just met him once. Once or twice.

[Tom Mercer]

Okay, okay. You can go. But be on tap if I need you. Yes, sir. And I hope you have a permit for that gun.

[Lieutenant Vincent]

Oh, yes, sir, I do, if you want to see it.

[Tom Mercer]

All right, all right. Never mind. Use that door. Yes, sir. Well, Quite a record. Our friend Turner has. Larceny, breaking and entering, narcotics charge. Wanted in Kansas, auto theft. Can't figure it. Can't figure it? Why, the whole thing's crazy. A guy writes poison pen letters, his employees hate him, Everybody hates him. Then this turns out nuts. Can I say something? I said, can I say something? What? The long arm of coincidence is a funny thing. Don't give me police theories, Hawkins. Hawkshaw. I've heard it before. Now, don't worry. I'm not sensitive. Will you let me talk for just a minute? Go ahead. What stopped us, all of us? You, me, everybody. Was that Whit was a hated man. When a hated man gets killed, hate, we figure, must be the motive. So we suspected Taber or Emmons. I even thought for a while it was long, so. But it wasn't any of these people. It was an accident. A pure and simple accident. The motive was robbery. Pure and simple robbery. Turner's a pro. His record shows it. A professional gunman. He figures he'll knock over this laundry he takes Armistice Day because no one will be around. And the banks are closed, so there'll be cash there. He goes in, he puts on a front by asking for his laundry. When Whit gets suspicious and pulls out a gun. He kills him. He shoots long and escapes. Since when does a pro give his right address? It wasn't his right address. It was the first address that came to his mind. He hadn't planned it all the way. When he asked Whit for his laundry. Whit asked for his address. That surprised him. So he said, just like that. 22:31 Vine. Even pros make mistakes. Mistakes. You know something? What? I think you're right. No. Yep. Folks, Sure. I think this time you're right. Well, thanks, lieutenant. Never Mind the thanks. Now we've got to find Turner, and that won't be easy. Well, Lieutenant, I thought I'd leave something for the police to do. The laughter connected with your name, Tom Mertha, goes out of people's voices. When you write your story on who the killer is, how it was found out. The cracks begin to fade away. The wise guy looks and then the dragnet goes out. John Turner, tall, thin, dark haired. Carnation in the buttonhole. Wanted in Kansas. Wanted for breaking and entering, wanted for murder. You keep the story alive during the months of the search. You keep the people aware that he's around, what he looks like. So that one evening the laughter around your name goes away for all time. Because this happened in a fruit store on the outskirts of town. Closing up, mister? That's right. But if you want a dose of orange, maybe some apples, I get them for you. No. Consider the oranges, mister. Or the apples, mister. Give me what's in the cash register. What? You know. Get my money up. Stay there. I call the police. You're somebody I know. You're the man. That's right. You're the man I read about in the paper. You're the man killed the man who owned the laundry. That's right, Alfredo. You give me the police. That's right. Now, we read you that telegram from Tom Mercer of the Cincinnati Inquirer. Killer, in tonight's big Story, was arrested and brought to trial for the murder of the laundry owner. During the trial, I visited him in jail and asked why he had been foolish enough to give a traceable address at the time, time of the holdup, he replied. I was a little rattled then. But the chief trouble all my life has been that I can't help telling the truth. Inherently, I am an honest man. He was convicted and subsequently died in the electric chair. In order to protect the names of persons actually involved in tonight's authentic big Story. The names of all characters in the dramatization were with charged with the exception of the newspaper reporter. The Big Story was previously released by NBC, the National Broadcasting Company, for listeners in the United States and rebroadcast for our servicemen and women overseas. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of information and education. I've got Dan Morgan here on the pod. Say hi, Dan. Hey, how's it going today? It's going good, man. Tell us who you are and what you do.

[Adam Graham]

I'm Dan Morgan.

[Tom Mercer]

I'm an attorney and a managing partner

[Adam Graham]

at Morgan and Morgan, which is America's largest injury law firm.

[Tom Mercer]

That's pretty awesome. I think I saw a billboard of yours recently that said 20 billion one. 20 billion is an insane number. Yeah, 20 billion recovered. It's actually, I think somewhere north, probably

[Adam Graham]

closer to 22, 23 after this year.

[Tom Mercer]

And each year we get bigger, badder

[Adam Graham]

and our army grows.

[Tom Mercer]

So the number will hopefully keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. Awesome. So how does someone get in contact with Morgan and Morgan, what would I do if I got into an accident? Probably the easiest way is dialing pound law. That's £529 from your cell phone. We are always open or call center is always waiting to take your call.

[Adam Graham]

24.

[Tom Mercer]

7 365. Wow. Dan Morgan from Morgan Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. Thanks for coming by the show. Thanks for having me.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Visit forthepeople.com for an office near you.

[Adam Graham]

Welcome back. Well, we didn't have a cast list. However, if you've listened to a lot of New York radio, you know who the star of the show was. Axon Beck. Supporting Mr. Beck were Barbara Townsend, Alice Reinhart, Ted Osborne, Santos Ortega, Gil Mack, and Milton Herman. The somewhat amusing thing about this episode and Jackson Beck's role is that at the time, one of Jackson's big radio gigs, along with still being the announcer on the Adventures of Superman, was that he was playing Philo Vance for Ziv in that radio series. And in that series, the district Attorney Marcum practically worships the ground that Vance walks upon. So it's interesting to hear Beck playing a character who is the butt of the joke and whose every opinion is doubted. And it's kind of like you're wrong until you're proven right. But he, in the end, was proven right. And it's through a process of being willing to think and rethink a case, to do trial and error, and then just coming up with this OD that they were looking at the wrong motive. And it's a satisfying result overall. Now, in terms of the true story, again, it's pretty. It's pretty close to accurate. The events actually occurred in November 1933, and there was a reward placed out in March 31 for the robber killer. In this case, the killer, who was an ex convict named Richard Keller, really did pick the wrong victim. It was an Italian immigrant. The additional backstory was that that immigrant was a World War I veteran who knew Jiu Jitsu. And Dr. Joseph Webb quotes the story in the Minneapolis Star, Keller asked for a dozen oranges. And as Nardi Lodovico Nardi is the name of the grocer turned to get them. He felt a revolver thrust against his back. Without turning, the war veteran seized the gun in one hand and caught the intruder around the neck with the other. Now, Dr. Webb does note that there's no information regarding Mr. Mercer's career that could located. So we don't know about that false alarm story and the elements behind that. I will say that I do find it amusing when the narrator goes for something that the characters contradict, such as Mercer's assertion that he was not sensitive about the joking he got because of his inaccurate deductions. Either he was lying or the narrator was alright. Listener comments and feedback now and we have some comments regarding the respected Chemist Dead episode. Jeff writes thanks for the 1929 depression context to this episode because murder suicide seemed very improbable to me at first. Do you know if the Tolstoy play was actually part of the true story or something included for radio purposes? Well, Jeff, that's a good question. I can't say 100% for certain, but I am of the mind that if you actually had read that play you wouldn't get one person, let alone two people committing to it or say, you know what, I read this and this is a good idea because that was clearly not the point of the play. Now, do people occasionally miss the point and go off and do something weird? Yeah, sure. I mean one episode we did on the Great Adventurers old time radio was Toby Tyler or 10 weeks with the Circus and it was an unromantic look of what happened and the protagonist went through all sorts of trouble. It in no way romanticized circus life. Nevertheless, it has served as the inspiration for many a young boy who read it to go off and join the circus. Now admittedly in that case though, that book was written in kind of the bad boy genre and people who read it and go off and join the circus are kids. Tolstoy nor that story are particularly subtle. So I don't know for sure there's no real information, but I do think it makes more sense as a radio writer's inspiration and connection rather than something that where someone read it in real life and decided, yeah, let's do that. Mechanic66 wrote I and this one we're going to Spotify. I don't get the usage of the word for fled. Couldn't they just leave under their own names in the real story? It would be interesting if the insurance paid the widow and then the widower for the girlfriend sued the estate for alienation of Affection. Well, he could have sued, but I don't think there was a jury in the world that would rule in his favor in that case and, you know, be socially looked down upon in terms of why they use the word flat. Well, they were not wanting to be found. And certainly the chemist, at least at the time he began, and perhaps, I don't know, through the whole journey, may have believed that he was thought to be dead and wanted to ensure that his family would collect the life insurance goes around under his own name. That's not going to work. So, yeah, they would not flee under their own name. They are wanting to disappear. They're not wanting to be found by their spouses. Don was a bit incredulous writing this is a big story. A respected guy turns out to be a scumball in a midlife crisis. I understand the point, Don, but one thing that does make news news is the sort of unusual angle. And that's the case with so many crimes and stories that become scandals. Either the person involved is somehow different or there are details about it that make it really fascinating and draw readers in. One somewhat innocuous example is where I live. It is not going to make the news if a convenience store gets robbed or it's just going to be like, yeah, a little footnote in the paper. However, there is one particular story I remember reading in the newspaper and it was about someone robbing a convenience store in a ninja outfit. Now robbing the convenience store. Not really interesting. Doing it dressed as a ninja. That's worth a little bit more print. And it's the same thing here. If our man had just had a midlife crisis and ran off with his secretary, that's not really news. It's a scandal. Would be a personal scandal for the family in that era, but that's not going to go in the newspaper. What makes this news is that he did an elaborate attempt to fake his own death. In addition to that, you had the whole issue with the insurance company, whether they would pay off or not, and the fate of his family tied up in that. So there's emotional stakes and there are little details that make this far more interesting to the reading public than your typical story. Then staying on Spotify of a comment from Harrison regarding our twice told tale Harrison wrote. Overall, the Not Beat story felt more fleshed out despite some of the inconsistencies with the Nightbeat style of storytelling. However, this did make me want to hear more of the Silent Men. I enjoyed the recycled music from Cloak and Dagger and Dangerous Assignment to be honest and the idea of varied protagonists from various agencies. Thanks for playing them. Great selection. Well, thanks so much. And that is one of those things that I do hope whenever we feature an older series, either for like a twice told tale or when we're doing our encores, it'll make people curious to go and check out the back catalog. And of course we do have those all wherever you get your podcast from. Well, now we turn to YouTube and Jeffrey comments regarding the Jigsaw crime. Oh, were the police allowed to detain someone a few hours back then with no accusations to hold them? That is something that police will do even in more modern times. Of course you have to release the suspect on if a writ is filed, which I think would have been the situation back at the time of the episode. Then we have a question from Mark who writes why are Pall Mall cigarettes called Pall Mall Parliament Mall Lond nothing to do with Pell Mell frantic activity? Well, in this case, the brand pronunciation is a bit of a story. The cigarette was named, was named after a city street in the City of Westminster in London. That street in turn was named after a game, a lawn game that actually, because it developed in the 16th and 17th century in various locations, actually had a variety of spellings and pronunciations to describe the same lawn game. And that includes both the pronunciations that you seem to be thinking of. Thanks so much. Appreciate the question. Now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter Though day. I want to thank Jacqueline patreon Supporter since August 2018, currently supporting the podcast at the Shomas level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Jacqueline, and that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, 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 Tuesday with another episode of the Big Story, but join us back here tomorrow for Broadway's My Beat.

[Tom Mercer]

Where once of such beauty, such beauty that would put all these my Grecian delicacies to shame. That torso, for instance. It would blush to its tippy toes at the beauty that once was Nola's, but no more. And she's going to die because there will be violence of one sort or another. Death. It is almost too much to hope for, is it not, though Nola deserves it how that old girl deserves it. She's done something. Mm, yes. She convinced a boy to come here all the way from Europe. Ladonna's of a boy, Kurt, could turn on the old girl. Young gods turn on old beauty sometimes destroy it because it offends their sense of the aesthetic. Kurt. Kurt Bower, A young thing with a pair of skis. I fear Nola is playing with her own demise in that boy. And she's not aware of it. No more than she's aware that. That what? That my daughter Connie, by a former, less colorful marriage, also has no love. Nola, you must talk to Connie at her place on Sutton. Ask her why she loathes Nola so helplessly. It'll amuse you. And you, Mr. Hanson? What about you? Moi? I too, am a creature of violence. Delicious, isn't it? I don't know, one day to the next how I'll react when something's taken away from me. I fear for Nola, Mr. Blober. Such an exquisite fear. That's why you called us. Not exactly. Nola's a lovely old girl. I'd fret if there was so much as a scratch on her. You'll prevent that, you people, won't you? If you can. If you can.

[Adam Graham]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to Box 13 at Great Detectives. Follow us on Twitter radiodetectives. Check us out on Instagram instagram.com greatdetectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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