Night Beat and Strange Wills

Summary

Relic Radio Show: "Night Beat – The Will of Mrs. Orloff" & "Strange Wills – The Mad Concerto"
Episode Summary – January 20, 2026
Podcast: The Relic Radio Show / Host: RelicRadio.com

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of The Relic Radio Show presents two classic radio dramas, each centered on the theme of the strange legacies people leave behind—through both their literal wills and the choices that shape their lives and deaths. First is “Night Beat: The Will of Mrs. Orloff” (1951), a gritty urban tale that probes the dignity, mystery, and sacrifice of a humble scrubwoman, followed by “Strange Wills: The Mad Concerto” (1946), the tragic story of a musical prodigy imprisoned by wealth and willpower. Both pieces examine the intersection of love, money, human frailty, and the sometimes devastating cost of ambition and devotion.

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1. Night Beat – The Will of Mrs. Orloff

[00:47–28:55]

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

• Opening Night in the City ([00:47])

  • Randy Stone, a Chicago newspaper reporter, narrates his nocturnal beat, setting a somber, noirish tone as he encounters the "night army of cleanup women".
  • Memorable quote: "The city's got her makeup off and her hair down... Downbeat." (Randy Stone, 00:47)

• Martha Orloff’s Death ([02:00–03:34])

  • Witnesses the sudden death of elderly scrubwoman Martha Orloff, an incident barely warranting more than a two-line obituary.
  • Stone is approached by her colleagues, who urge him to inform Mrs. Orloff’s son.

• Investigation into Martha’s Life ([04:01–13:38])

  • Randy examines Martha’s sparse possessions: a crushed corsage, latex knee pads, black bread sandwiches, and a meticulously kept box of money order receipts—all donated to the polio fund.
  • Finds a faded photo of a sickly boy (her son) and a hidden bank book showing a mysterious $50,006 balance, casting her as either a miser or someone hiding much more than poverty.
  • Notable moment: "A scrub woman in Polish town with a bank balance of $50,000 and some $6..." (Randy Stone, 14:25)

• Community Reactions and Son’s Whereabouts ([07:18–13:38])

  • Encounters resistance from neighbors and the janitor, illustrating the complex web of assumptions about Martha and her son, Stanley.

• Talking to Genevieve Hall of the Polio Fund ([15:16–17:04])

  • Mrs. Hall reveals Martha's relentless charity, even as it meant going hungry.
  • Reveals Martha’s sense of debt and duty to the fund that once helped her son.

• Unraveling the Mystery of the Money ([17:07–24:02])

  • Stone traces the bank book’s large deposits, suspects the money is from a recent stick-up.
  • Visits Ace High Club and police station, learning the suspect in the major robbery was Ace Brannigan—not Stanley, but Stanley is clearly involved.

• Climax: The Will is Revealed ([24:02–26:04])

  • In a tense confrontation, the real purpose of Martha’s bank account comes to light; a will is produced, leaving everything to the polio fund, nullifying any criminal claims and protecting her son from criminal prosecution and from inheriting tainted money.
  • Memorable quote: "She leaves all her worldly goods, everything, to her favorite charity, the polio fund. And that means along with her other dress and her pair of shoes, the bank book." (Randy Stone, 25:28)

• Ending Reflection ([27:02–28:08])

  • Stone chooses to write Martha’s story as an obituary, focusing on her anonymous generosity and quiet heroism, rather than exposing her son or returning the illicit money to the bookie.
  • Notable quote: "Yeah, I got a full portrait of Martha Orloff now framed in gold. $50,000. Martha Orloff, patron of polio foundation, leaves fortune copy boy." (Randy Stone, 28:08)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On ordinary heroism: "You stand in the presence of death and you come up with a two-line obit." (Randy Stone, 03:35)
• Janitor’s bluntness: "You not satisfy? You kill your mother." (Janitor, 25:04)
• Irony of legacy: "An old lady dies and her son inherits the proceeds of a stick up." (Randy Stone, 24:07)

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2. Strange Wills – The Mad Concerto

[29:05–57:48]

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

• Program Introduction ([29:05–31:30])

  • Introduces the series’ central theme: strange and sometimes sinister wills reflecting the "deadly sins that cry out from the depths of the grave for vengeance."
  • Sets the gothic melodrama tone: “I devise and bequeath to my heirs the seven deadly sins…”

• J.C. Walker’s Last Will ([32:23–33:13])

  • Young lawyer John Francis O’Connell is summoned by the dying tycoon J.C. Walker to draft his “urgent and unusual” last will.

• The Tragedy of Nadia Winter ([34:28–39:46])

  • The narrative shifts to the object of Walker’s obsessive love: Nadja Winter, a musical genius he 'rescued' in Vienna and sponsored.
  • Walker’s manipulative love is revealed: he leaves Nadia a fortune ($10 million), on the condition she live alone, never marry, and reside in his mansion, thus controlling her from beyond the grave.
  • Memorable quote: "I want to die knowing that she will never love another man. That her every living breath will be devoted to her music and to my memory." (J.C. Walker, 39:06)

• Nadja’s Dilemma: Freedom vs. Power ([40:26–42:54])

  • She accepts the terms out of ambition: "But I want money. I want power more than anything... Yes, I'll stay. And I'll get everything I want from life. Everything." (Nadja, 42:53)

• Love, Loneliness, and Decline ([44:37–48:10])

  • O’Connell falls in love with Nadja but is rebuffed; she chooses career and security over intimacy.
  • Their parting is painful and definitive: "You are a lawyer retained by my benefactor… My life is mine to do with as I choose. Hereafter, you will mail my check. And I ask you not to come back until I send for you." (Nadja, 47:35)

• Years of Isolation and the Final Crisis ([48:17–53:12])

  • Eighteen years pass in increasing isolation and madness for Nadja, culminating in her summoning O'Connell to witness her final act—a furious, despairing piano performance as her dilapidated mansion burns, destroying herself and her life's work.
  • Memorable moment: “Through the crackling of the flames, I still heard the piano. Nadja was ending her mad concerto. Then...the whole house collapsed.” (John Francis O’Connell, 52:37–53:12)

• Aftermath and Moral Reflection ([53:59–end])

  • The official verdict: “Fire of unknown origin.” But the host muses that it was truly the result of "the green-eyed monster of greed"—and leaves the audience pondering if genius, love, and normalcy can ever coexist.
  • Concluding quote: "Greed is the cause of endless suffering...What would have happened to Nadja Winter...if she'd been able to live a normal, carefree life and still retain her genius?" (Warren William, 56:00)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Start | Description | |----------------------------------------|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | Night Beat Intro & Stone's narration | 00:47 | Randy’s beat, city at night, discovery of Martha Orloff’s death | | Money order discoveries in locker | 04:07 | Randy finds evidence of Martha’s charity and hidden funds | | Janitor confrontation | 07:18 | Reveals son’s absence, suspicions about Stanley | | Genevieve Hall interview | 15:16 | Polio fund, Martha’s sacrifices | | Police records & bank book mystery | 20:03 | Randy explores criminal angle to the $50,000 | | The Will's reading & confrontation | 24:02 | Legality of Martha’s will, criminal plot foiled | | Night Beat Closing Reflection | 27:02 | Randy’s choice: expose or honor Martha’s story | | Strange Wills Introduction | 29:05 | Series general premise | | J.C. Walker’s request | 32:23 | Summoning O’Connell, will requirements | | Walker & Nadja’s backstory | 34:28 | Artistic obsession, career sponsorship | | Will’s cruel conditions | 39:46 | Details of the trust and Nadja’s dilemma | | Nadja’s isolation and breakdown | 44:37 | Two-year and 18-year leaps; descent into madness | | Nadja’s final performance and demise | 52:26 | The burning of the mansion | | Aftermath & host’s philosophical wrap | 53:59 | Reflection on greed, genius, and what might have been |

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Concluding Thoughts

Both "The Will of Mrs. Orloff" and "The Mad Concerto" delve deep into the lives of those whose legacies are not measured by fame or prosperity, but by the burdens they carry, the choices they make, and the people they try (and often fail) to save. Whether through Martha Orloff’s humble rebellion against poverty and crime or Nadja Winter’s tragic imprisonment by wealth and ambition, these stories resonate with enduring questions of sacrifice, love, and the temptations of fortune.

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For more old time radio drama, visit relicradio.com.

Transcript

[Relic Radio Announcer]

This is the Relic Radio Show. Old Time Radio Entertainment still standing the test of time from relicradio.com. This week on the Relic Radio show, our hour of radio drama begins with Nightbeat. We'll hear the episode from June 1, 1951 titled The Will of Mrs. Orloff. After that, it's Strange Wills and the Mad Concerto. That story aired June 8, 1946.

[Show Announcer]

DC presents Frank Lovejoy in.

[Randy Stone]

Night Theme. Hi, this is Randy Stone. I cover the night beat for the Chicago Star. And it's just that night beat. Plotting pounding pavements, looking always looking for that story that beats with the pulse of the city at night. There's a bite in the air. A penetrating drizzle goes through your bones. Tired, pallid faces look out at nothing through the streetcar windows. I turn up my collar and try to remind my spring, but there's nothing warming in the thought. The city's got her makeup off and her hair down. Downbeat. I wander through the loop, walk through the deserted cavern of concrete that by Day is LaSalle Street. It's tall gray buildings walling me in like giant tombstone. Just for a minute I feel like a kid in a graveyard. And like a kid, I reached for the light spilling out through the big plate glass window. There they were, the ones who inhabit the caves by night. A night army of cleanup women, busy like so many beavers with their mops and waxes, polishing the brass, the elevator doors, the mailboxes, the stairs. I watched the one nearest to me, dipping the brush, sloshing the suds and wiping them up. She was old, white haired and small, not much bigger than a child. She seemed tired. She stopped and she looked up and saw me. She smiled. I winked at her. She took a deep breath, like a sigh, and she turned back to her pail. But she never made it. Let me in. Hey, you in there. Let me in. The other little beaver saw us, crawled across the pale and rushed to her, blocking my vision. Then one woman stood up, terror on her face. It wasn't much of a story, just an item for the Opitz. This is Martha Orloff, age 62. Scrub woman. Death by natural causes. Heart failure. Natural? What's natural about killing yourself with a scrub brush? The police came and took the body away, and the little beavers went back to work. And in half an hour you wouldn't have known it had happened. Yeah, you stand in the presence of death and you come up with a two line obit. That's all it would have been if the other scrub woman hadn't stopped me on my way out of the building.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Oh, mister, please. Please excuse, but somebody should tell him.

[Randy Stone]

Who?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Mrs. Orloff's boy.

[Randy Stone]

Oh, the police will take care of that.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I don't think a bright boy should learn his mother is dead.

[Randy Stone]

Through police.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I would go myself, but they're very strict here.

[Randy Stone]

I would lose job.

[Show Announcer]

Okay, okay. What's his name?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I don't know. She just called him my boy.

[Show Announcer]

All right, I'll find him.

[Randy Stone]

Mister, please. Now it's the matter.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I don't know what to do with her stuff.

[Randy Stone]

What stuff?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

In her bike. In the locker.

[Randy Stone]

Okay, let me see. Misses Orloff shared a locker with three other women. The police had taken her purse, but her cardboard treasure chest and her coat they left behind. I opened the box. In it was a crushed corsage she'd picked up off some littered corridor and a picture postcard that had caught her fancy. The Eiffel Tower in the sunlight. And a pair of latex knee pads. They'd been issued to her, but she never used them. Even Dupont can't change the habits of a lifetime of drudgery. I left the cardboard box in the locker, but I took a coat with a shabby coat, but it was clean. In one pocket was a sack containing a sandwich. Two slices of black bread with a little mayonnaise in between. In the other pocket, a pair of white gloves mended in the fingers and a door key pinned to the lining of the pocket with a safety pin. The funny thing, 4 million people in the town. They worked to death, played a death, and you rub shoulders with them every day, but you only meet a handful. I don't know why I felt drawn to Martha Orloff. Maybe it was because I was the last person she smiled at. I went over to her flat. She lived in Polish Town in a little walk up tenement, the second floor back. It was very late, in deference to the fire laws. A 20 watt bulb burned uncertainly in the hall. A heavy smell of cabbage and cooking grease lingered in the air. I knocked again and lo, if anybody was inside, they should have heard me. I didn't want to wake up the whole building, so I unpinned the key from her pocket. I opened the door and I flicked on the light. It was Mother Hubbard's cupboard. It was bleak to the bone. Two rooms with a kitchenette curtained off with faded crayons, a little canned milk, a little black bread, one boiled potato. No rug on the floor. One cot with a lumpy mattress, one poor withered geranium trying to live without life. But no sign of any son. Nothing in the place belonging to man or boy. But in the sideboard drawer, there was something interesting. A package of money order receipts crisscrossed with rubber bands. Hundreds of them, all for the same amount. $2. And issued about a week apart. And all made out for the polio fund. And with the receipts, a personal letter from one of Chicago's richest women. Thanking Martha Orloff for her charity. An old lady. Scrub's floors. And every two weeks, every week, two.

[Show Announcer]

Bugs go to the polio firm.

[Randy Stone]

Why? Well, the answer was right in front of me. All I had to do was look.

[Nadja Winter]

Up.

[Randy Stone]

On the wall a picture of a sickly finley boy. About 12 years old with braces on both legs. Look, you're no good. Mom.

[Show Announcer]

I told you don't come. Oh, I thought you are. Stanley, what you doing here?

[Randy Stone]

Who are you?

[Show Announcer]

Never mind who. I'm. I'm janitor. What. What you doing in Mrs. Orlo's flat?

[Randy Stone]

I'm looking for a son.

[Show Announcer]

Stanley.

[Randy Stone]

Well, that's his name. That's who I'm looking for.

[Show Announcer]

You from the police?

[Randy Stone]

I'm a newspaper man. Randy Stone. I came to tell him that his. His mother died tonight.

[Show Announcer]

She died?

[Randy Stone]

Yes. This his picture?

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, that's Stanley die. I'm not surprised. She worked to that old time scrub. Scrub? What for? I tell her million times what for. Your work, Martha. Let that big honk son take care of you. But no, he big lazy bum.

[Randy Stone]

Too good for work.

[John Francis O'Connell]

He's good.

[Randy Stone]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Are we talking about the same kid?

[Show Announcer]

Oh, that. That picture take 10, 12 years ago. The old fjord. Now he wore good like me. Twice as strong as me.

[Randy Stone]

That's fine. I'm glad to hear it. Well, would you notify him that his mother is dead?

[Show Announcer]

Me, I don't tell that no good nothing.

[Randy Stone]

All right. Okay, okay. Where do I find him?

[Show Announcer]

I don't know nothing about Stanley Orlov. I not want to know. Nothing is just as good. Maybe she did just as good. All right, mister, you go now.

[Randy Stone]

Without another word, he walked me down the stairs, ushered me out and closed the front door. Leaving me out there with a cold and some puzzled reactions. I stood in the recess of the doorway and tried to make up my mind. Should I forget about Stanley Orloff or not? The police would reach him. Somehow or other, they'd tell him. But then I'd never fill in the sketchy picture I had of a kid in braces. The scrub woman buying a money order. Every week for the polio fund? Yes. An old lady dies in front of you, and she's no longer a stranger. You've got an obligation, so you find her son and you tell him. But where do you look? Yes. The letter in the sideboard drawer from Mrs. Genevieve Hall. The polio fund should know where Stanley Orloff was. I went back up. This time I was quieter. I opened the sideboard drawer, got the letter. Only when I went to shut it, it stuck. I tried to force it. The kid's picture fell to the floor. I stooped to pick it up just as the door opened.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

What are you doing with Stanley's picture?

[Randy Stone]

That's that. A girl stood in the doorway. She was tall, high cheekbones and a broad forehead. Anybody else wearing a Beacon bathrobe would have looked lumpy and misshapen, but not her. This is a very active place tonight.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

You're the man from the newspaper, aren't you?

[Show Announcer]

Yeah.

[Randy Stone]

Randy Stone.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I have to talk to you, but be quiet.

[Nadja Winter]

Papa'd be mad.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

He thinks I'm in bed. How'd he tell you about Stanley? He tell you Stanley was no good?

[Randy Stone]

That's a pretty good summation.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Everybody says he's a bum. Or he is. It's her fault. Aye, his mother. I'm glad she said, wait, baby. And picking him up when he fell down, like he could walk a long time before she knew he could. And then when she found it out, you know what she told him? Stand on your own feet now, she said, and be a man. As if Dan Orloff wasn't more men than anybody on this block.

[Randy Stone]

Haven't you got your little drama, Ms. Cast? Seems to me the heavy in the piece is a bug by the name of poliomyelitis.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I don't know what that means. Probably smart, tough men. And you don't like Stanley like the rest of them.

[Show Announcer]

How?

[Randy Stone]

But you do.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

You bet I do. Dan could have been anything in the world. He's that smart. Just because he don't take any old job that's handed him. They say he's a bum because he wants to be something. To get out of this hole and live like a human being. They say he's no good.

[Randy Stone]

Oh, but it's all right for his mother to break her back to support him, huh?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I don't like you.

[Randy Stone]

Well, miss, you're just going to have.

[Show Announcer]

To get in line.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I thought you were here to help Stanley, or I wouldn't have come up to talk to you.

[Randy Stone]

Look, I don't know Stanley Orloff. I don't know his mother. Unless watching somebody die constitutes an introduction. I came to give him a message, that's all. Now if you'll tell me where to find him, I'd appreciate it.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I'm sorry. Guess I didn't mean that about his mother.

[Show Announcer]

Just.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I guess I'm mad. And I guess because I miss him.

[Show Announcer]

Where does he live?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I don't know. He'd never tell me. Moved out of here two months ago. But he ran around with a fellow for a while. I didn't like him. We had a fight about it. This fellow runs the Ace High Club. But it's not a club, it's a pool hall. Maybe you could find Stan there.

[Randy Stone]

What's the fellow's name?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Brannigan. Ace Brannigan.

[Randy Stone]

Thank you.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Oh, if you do find him, you.

[Randy Stone]

Want me to tell him that a.

[Show Announcer]

Certain tall black eyed girl is still around.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

I guess I was wrong. I guess I do like you. You upset her, Papa.

[Randy Stone]

She ran out of the flat like a frightened rabbit. I started to leave before I got thrown out when I noticed that Mrs. Orloff's coat had fallen to the floor from the chair where I'd put. Didn't seem right in a flat as frugally neat not to hang it up. I opened the closet door and I suddenly felt guilty. Guilty for having eaten the square meal and guilty for having a pair of twelve dollar shoes. In the closet was one dress, one pair of shoes half soled. An all black straw hat with a pink flower on it. Pair of slippers with one toe out, a bathrobe. The clean flannel nightgown that had been mended so much it looked quilted. The wardrobe of Martyrolov. I closed the door, I picked the kid's picture up and I started to hang it back on the wall. And then I saw it. Our bank book pasted to the back of the picture with a Scotch tape. A bank book belonging to Martha Orloff with a balance of $50,006.

[Show Announcer]

NBC is bringing you Nightbeat, starring Frank Lovejoy as Randy Stone. Three chimes mean good times on NBC. There's more mystery later this evening with two rough and tough crime fighters. That's the amazing Mr. Malone, a daring private detective equally proficient at romance or solving murders. Followed by the Man Called X, starring John Lund, who travels to all the dark and mysterious corners of the world, combating the evils of international intrigue as an intrepid soldier of fortune. Yes, there's action and adventure every Friday here on NBC. And now back To Nightbeat and Randy Stone.

[Randy Stone]

Martha Orloff, Miser. Yes, my little obit that had been growing so nicely into a human interest yarn. Had fallen flat into a cliche. How do you figure it? A scrub woman in Polish town with a bank balance of $50,000 and some $6. But there were some angles that didn't fit. Like that glorifying letter from Mrs. Genevieve hall praising her generosity. And those fiddling little weekly donations to the polio fund. I thought how ironic it was that I was sitting in a mansion on Lakeshore Drive. Waiting to discuss Martha Orlov. If Chicago had an aristocracy, Mrs. Hall would have been at least the Duchess. She was strictly first family. Her father built an industrial empire on the lake shore when Mrs. O's cow was still a cat.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Mrs. Stone, I tried to be friendly with the press. But was it necessary to waken me in the middle of the night?

[Randy Stone]

I thought so.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Well, young man, get on with it. I'm no girl, you know. To be lolly gagging in the parlor all night. What is it you want?

[Randy Stone]

Mrs. Martha Orloff died tonight.

[Show Announcer]

Orlock.

[Randy Stone]

So you wrote her this letter. She was one of your regular contributors. Sent $2 every week.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Oh, of course. That dear little Polish woman. You say she died?

[Randy Stone]

Yes, of heart failure. Tell me, what did you know about her?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

What do you mean, Mr. Stone? She was a generous, hard working woman.

[Randy Stone]

And her son?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

He was stricken with infantile paralysis about 10 years ago. He had a slow recovery. And the fun took care of him.

[Randy Stone]

Like so many others. And those two dollar donations, well, that.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Should be clear even to a journalist. She wanted to pay us back, naturally.

[Randy Stone]

For what we'd done for him.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

She dedicated her life to it. We didn't want to take her money, but we couldn't refuse. I happen to know she went hungry many times, but she never failed to send the $2.

[Randy Stone]

Or did she? I mean, did she go hungry?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Why, of course she did.

[Show Announcer]

You're sure?

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

What are you trying to do? Take a simple act of charity and.

[Randy Stone]

Twist it into oh, no, no, please. Relax, Mrs. Hall. I'm only trying to understand why. Mrs. Orloff, that's the bank account of $50,000.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

It's ridiculous.

[Randy Stone]

Well, see for yourself. Here's the bank.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Young man, I've been around a few years and I know human nature. You can show me 20 bank books.

[Randy Stone]

And I still won't believe it.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

If she had any money, she would have given it to us by last year. When the polio fund fell short of its quota, she took it as a personal Disaster. And you know what she did about it? Instead of resting her tired old heart on her days off she baked pies.

[Randy Stone]

And sold them in her neighborhood.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

She made $25 that way and she gave every cent of it to the fund. Now have you any more questions?

[Show Announcer]

Yes, Mrs. Hall.

[Randy Stone]

You take contributions from the working press. The night was almost gone, but I couldn't quit. I had to have the full portrait of Martha Orloff and my story, my $50,000 story and the elusive threads that would tie it up into a column of Linotype. I went into a little all night deanery and had a bite to eat. While I was waiting for the coffee I dug out the bank book again. $50,006. A lot of deposits. How did she do it? Now wait a minute. There were a lot of deposits alright, but it didn't add up. The book was practically full. There were pages of deposits and there were just about as many withdrawals. At one time her account got up to $50 and then she drew it down to six. She left it that way for a long time. 11 months. And then these three big deposits within the last month. 25,000, 10,000. 15. Maybe Stanley Orloff had the answer to that one. The Ace High Club was sandwiched between a Polish theater and a secondhand store off Division Street. And militarily speaking, off limits. Business wasn't very brisk. One lone pool player was shooting a lethargic game. On the other table a bull necked individual was rolling dice. And against the wall in a tilted chair a mildewed club member was dozing under his hat. And over them all a green glow hung like mold. One dice player looked up.

[Show Announcer]

What's on your mind, John?

[Randy Stone]

I'm looking for dice.

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, Lots of people looking for Greg.

[Randy Stone]

What's your point?

[Show Announcer]

Four cop I newspaper man.

[Randy Stone]

I'm looking for Stanley Orloff.

[Show Announcer]

Never heard of him.

[Randy Stone]

I was told I could find him here.

[Show Announcer]

No dice. I gotta get that cushion fixed.

[Randy Stone]

Yeah, yeah, do that. He looked at me in a cold dead way. He was lying. That was obvious. It was also obvious that the interview was over. A drowsy individual was sitting up now, very alert. The pool player had transferred his interest from the game to me. And since I prefer to make an exit under my own steam, I walked out. But it didn't matter because now I had an angle on the bank book. The money was hot. Stan Orloff was hot and he was hiding out. And Mrs. Orloff had stashed the dough for him. Protecting him even to that. All I needed to wrap up. The story was a record of three stick ups corresponding in amount and date with the three deposits. I grabbed a cab for the police station. It was a dull night in robbery detail. Sergeant Doyle was happy to break the monotony by dragging out his record.

[Show Announcer]

Olson Upstein. Honest now, Randy?

[J.C. Walker]

No.

[Show Announcer]

All off.

[Randy Stone]

Well, how about suspicion of robbery? You ever bring him in for questioning?

[Show Announcer]

No.

[Randy Stone]

I don't get it. There's got to be an oil up.

[Show Announcer]

What do you want, facts or fiction?

[Randy Stone]

Let me see those unsolved robberies.

[Show Announcer]

If you're using this information to criticize the police force.

[Randy Stone]

Oh, Doyle, relax. Did I ever say anything against the boys in blue? Okay, then. Now, the month of May.

[Show Announcer]

Here. Here's a heist. Mink coat, some jewelry.

[Randy Stone]

What was the value?

[Show Announcer]

Now, this stuff was recovered. Here's one. The chain store for 600 bucks.

[Randy Stone]

Not enough.

[Show Announcer]

Here's a gas station knocked over for 150 in the till. Never got a line.

[Randy Stone]

No, no, no, no, no. Three stick ups. Big one.

[Show Announcer]

Want a big one? All right, here's a big one. 50 grand.

[Randy Stone]

But that's too big. Now what about 25, 15, 10?

[Show Announcer]

What do you want me to do, make change? What's wrong with 50 grand in one piece? What are you working on anyway?

[Randy Stone]

Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute.

[Show Announcer]

Wait a minute. Yeah, yeah.

[Randy Stone]

Maybe it isn't three. Maybe it is one. Where was it?

[Show Announcer]

What?

[Randy Stone]

The big stick up.

[Show Announcer]

What, that? That was a candy store.

[Randy Stone]

Candy store? 50 grand?

[Show Announcer]

That's right. I don't mind telling you, that's one robbery. I'd feel very happy if we never saw.

[Randy Stone]

Never? Well, that's a twist. How come?

[Show Announcer]

Candy store. A guy by the name of Burke runs it. But it's a front. He's a bookie. We know he's a bookie, but we can't get anything on him. So a guy comes along and sticks him up for 50 grand. And Burke comes yelling to the cops, said it was his life saving.

[Randy Stone]

Was there a suspect?

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, but we couldn't hold him. Insufficient evidence.

[Randy Stone]

Because you couldn't find the dough.

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, that's right.

[Randy Stone]

And his name was Stanley Olaf.

[Show Announcer]

You're a stubborn guy, Randy. There's no all up on the record. Oh, well, all right. That's all right. Thank you, son.

[Randy Stone]

Hey, what was his name?

[Show Announcer]

Who?

[Randy Stone]

The suspect on the candy store height.

[Show Announcer]

Well, let me see. Brannigan. Yeah, that was his name. H. Brannigan.

[Randy Stone]

Well, thank you. The meeting of the Ace High Club was still in session. The three members were just as I left. Good evening, Mr. Brannigan.

[Show Announcer]

Well, so now you know my name. That's real polite.

[Randy Stone]

I'll be brief. Are you sure you don't know where Stanley Orloff is?

[Show Announcer]

You're making me out a liar. Look, I told you before, I don't know him.

[Randy Stone]

Well, all right. If you should get acquainted with him, will you give him a message for me?

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, like what?

[Randy Stone]

Would you tell him that his mother died?

[Show Announcer]

Tonight.

[Randy Stone]

I went back to Mrs. Orlas flat. I let myself in quietly and waited in the dark. All the threads were there. Now, if my hunch was right, all I had to do was wait and the story would tie itself up. Pretty soon I heard what I was waiting for. Footsteps. One dragging a little like a limp. I couldn't see them. I was in the kitchen, but I heard them. The man with the limp walked across the room to the sideboard.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Ace. Ace.

[Show Announcer]

It's gone. What do you mean, it's gone? The bank book.

[Randy Stone]

I have it right here stuck on the back of the picture.

[Show Announcer]

What are you trying, Orloff? A fast one.

[Randy Stone]

Why should I do a thing like that?

[Show Announcer]

I don't know. Maybe you think the use of your old lady's bank account is worth more than 10% of 50 grand. Or maybe because you're going to inherit all that dough. You got ideas that belongs to you.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Oh, I wouldn't do a thing like that, honest Ace.

[Randy Stone]

Yeah?

[Show Announcer]

Then it's your old lady. She got wise to the whole setup.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

But how could she?

[Randy Stone]

She didn't know the account was still open. I told her I took her last six bucks months ago. Well, that book's got to be around.

[Show Announcer]

Here someplace and find it.

[Randy Stone]

Is this what you boys are looking for?

[Show Announcer]

Oh, it's you again. Still looking for a guy.

[Randy Stone]

I found him.

[Show Announcer]

Give me that bank.

[Randy Stone]

It doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Stanley. Now, an interesting angle. An old lady dies and her son inherits the proceeds of a stick up.

[Show Announcer]

Yeah, yeah, and it's all legal. Now. Give me that book.

[Randy Stone]

I think I'll keep it. Police might find it interesting. They might jump to the same conclusions I had.

[Show Announcer]

That dole's mine and I'm going to have it.

[Randy Stone]

Well, sure it's yours, but you're going to have a tough time getting it. You'll have to go to the cops and tell them how you got it and how come it's in somebody else's bank account.

[Show Announcer]

Are you going to hand it over or do I take it the hard way?

[Randy Stone]

I didn't have any rebuttal for the Gun. He turned on me. I handed him the book as the door opened.

[Show Announcer]

I'll hear you come back.

[Randy Stone]

It was the janitor.

[Show Announcer]

He didn't see Ace and the kid. They'd step back into the shadows.

[Randy Stone]

He held a piece of paper out.

[Show Announcer]

I'll just say you pray for Mrs. Oil. Maybe you take care of this paper, huh?

[Randy Stone]

Sure. Sure, I'll take it. What is it?

[Show Announcer]

I. I keep it for her cuz I'm on ground floor. She's always afraid there'll be fire. It get burned and st. What you do here you not satisfy. You kill your mother. All right, Grandpa.

[Randy Stone]

You said you please who you are.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Oh, this is terrific.

[Show Announcer]

What's so funny?

[Randy Stone]

Here. Read it, Ace. The last will and testament of Martha Orlov.

[Show Announcer]

Huh?

[Randy Stone]

She leaves all her worldly goods, everything, to her favorite charity, the polio fund. And that means along with her other dress and her pair of shoes, the bank book. What does it mean? It means, Stanley boy, that you can't touch this. Go. Either one of you. But it's it. Yes, it's legal. You bet it's legal. As legal as an English barrister. Ace's face went white. He wasn't very bright. But he was bright enough to know that I had him by the tail feathers.

[John Francis O'Connell]

What are we gonna do, Ace?

[Show Announcer]

Do? Who's gonna know about the whip? But they know and.

[Randy Stone]

Oh, no, no, Ace. I don't want any part of that. I don't wanna.

[Show Announcer]

All right, snooper, you open it. And watch your step.

[Randy Stone]

Ace moved against the wall, his gun concealed.

[Show Announcer]

But he had a perfect beat on me.

[Randy Stone]

I opened the door. There was the prettiest sight I've ever seen. Two big ugly cops. And one of them was Sergeant Doyle.

[Show Announcer]

Randy, you finally got me into the act. Which one of these guys is all off?

[Randy Stone]

Oh, that's him over there.

[Show Announcer]

Thanks, Stanley. Olaf? Yeah? Sorry, but we got bad news for you. Your mother died tonight. The body's at the county morgue.

[Randy Stone]

Well, it's 5:00am it's not time. I should go home. But I haven't finished my column. There's one item left to write. What makes it tough? I've got a choice. One way I ride, it might make the front page. Bucky, hoodlum, swindle. The other way, it only amounts to an obit. Oh, but what an obit. I was tempted to tell the cops about the 50 grand, but, well, they'd only give it back to the bookie and then nobody wins. Yeah, it's dough thrown down a muddy track. The suckers don't know it. But all their little soup bucks on the nose and two bucks to place and show is really going to buy something. Yeah, I got a full portrait of Martha Orloff now framed in gold. $50,000. Martha Orloff, patron of polio foundation, leaves fortune copy boy.

[Show Announcer]

Night Seat, starring Frank Lovejoy, is produced and directed by Warren Lewis. Tonight's story was written by John and Gwen Bagney with music by Robert Armbruster.

[Randy Stone]

Featured in tonight's cast were Virginia Greggs.

[Show Announcer]

Myra Marsh, Paul Dubov, Ed Max and Lou Merrow.

[Randy Stone]

Frank Lovejoy can currently be seen co starring with Joan Crawford and Robert Young in Warner Brothers.

[Show Announcer]

Goodbye, my fancy.

[Randy Stone]

Listen next week at this time and.

[Show Announcer]

Every week as Randy Stone searches through the city for the strange stories waiting for him in the darkness.

[Randy Stone]

Night Beat came to you from Hollywood.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Strange Wills. Stories of strange wills made by strange people. Starring the distinguished Hollywood actor Warren Williams and featuring Loreen Tuttle and Howard Culver, with the original music of Del Castillo. I devise and bequeath to my heirs the seven deadly sins. Pride, envy, hate, jealousy, anger, despair and greed. And here is Warren William. These are the stories of strange wills made by strange people. Men and women who defy and defile every moral law of respectability and decency to satisfy a mad desire to right an imaginary wrong that burns like a raging fire in their shriveled souls. Strange Wills are stories based upon actual wills gathered from courts all over the world. Names, places and time have been changed so that no reflection can fall on any person or persons, living or dead. Only the sin remains. Deadly sins that cry out from the depths of the grave for vengeance. You'll presently see what I mean. But first, a word from your announcer.

[Show Announcer]

Sa.

[John Francis O'Connell]

And now back to Warren William as John Francis o' Connell in the Mad Concerto. This is the story of a woman who voluntarily became a prisoner of love because of greed. It's not a nice story. Quite the contrary. Mad Concerto is the story of a beautiful woman who gave up every feminine and human desire for the power that goes with dollars. 10 million of them. It happened a short while after I'd begun the practice of law in an eastern city on the Atlantic seaboard. I remember I was standing near the window of my office, looking out over the myriad of skyscrapers. Oh, how I craved excitement. How I prayed for one case to pull me away from the small, inconsequential work that is a young lawyer's lot. Perhaps I prayed too hard because. Mr. O' Connell speaking.

[J.C. Walker]

Mr. O', Connell, you don't know me personally. But many years ago I retained your father as my lawyer. And I have every reason to believe that I will find you just as sincere and trustworthy.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Well, thank you, sir.

[Randy Stone]

Don't thank me.

[J.C. Walker]

I haven't done anything for you yet.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, sir.

[J.C. Walker]

Have you a pencil Handy?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, sir, Mr. Then take this address down.

[J.C. Walker]

127 Kingsbury Road.

[Show Announcer]

Have you got it?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, sir, I have it. 127 Kingsbury Road.

[J.C. Walker]

I want you here at 10 o' clock tonight. Come prepared to draw up a last will and testament. My last will and testament. I expect you to live up to every vow of privacy between client and lawyer.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Oh, of course, sir. That goes without saying.

[J.C. Walker]

Good. My matter is urgent and, well, let's say, unusual. My name, Mr. O', Connell, is Walker. JC Walker. Good day, sir.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Had I heard correctly?

[Show Announcer]

Walker.

[John Francis O'Connell]

JC Walker. No, it couldn't be true. Why, JC Walker was one of the richest financiers in America. Retired, he'd lived abroad and had recently come home. Why? My prayer was answered. I was excited. I tried to go back to the ordinary office routine, but the clock on the wall stood still. I'll never forget how long that day lasted. At exactly 7:00', clock, I got into my car and began the long 60 mile trip to the country estate of my client. I was tingling with anticipation. You can't drive in there, mister.

[Randy Stone]

Private property.

[John Francis O'Connell]

I'm looking for 127 Kingsbury Road. Mr. Walker's residence.

[Randy Stone]

What's your name?

[John Francis O'Connell]

O'. Connell. John Francis O', Connell, attorney at law.

[Randy Stone]

Oh, yes, go right in. Mr. Walker is expecting you.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Thank you. I drove up the long driveway and stopped at the Walker Mansion entrance.

[Nadja Winter]

Come in, please. Mr. O', Connell, Mr. Walker is waiting for you. He's in his study on the second floor.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Thank you very much. As I enter the door, I stopped. It was like a beautiful dream come true.

[Show Announcer]

I mean her, of course.

[John Francis O'Connell]

She was sitting at a concert grand piano, completely engrossed in her music. She was exquisite. Something out of a picture book. She had a wild, barbarous look. And her blond hair seemed to keep tempo with the strange, savage music she was playing. As I passed her, she glanced up for just a fleeting moment and I saw she had brown eyes. Eyes that seemed to probe deeply into my soul. She held me with a long and tense look. And then I lowered my eyes and followed the servant up the stairs. Who was this strange creature? This most beautiful, most sensuous of women? Even the scent of her exotic perfume reached out like tentacles of doom and encircled me. Unfortunately, I was to Learn later.

[Show Announcer]

Glad you're here.

[J.C. Walker]

Ok.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Sit down over here by my desk.

[J.C. Walker]

And go to work.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Thank you, sir. I feel very honored. Don't be.

[J.C. Walker]

You may yet rue the day I called you. Drink?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, thank you.

[J.C. Walker]

Here's to a momentous night.

[John Francis O'Connell]

And to your health, Mr. Walker.

[J.C. Walker]

You gave me a hollow toast, Mr. Okell, because my doctor has given me just two weeks to settle my affairs and die.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[J.C. Walker]

I'm not unhappy about it. I've made millions, had everything. It's time to let someone else have a chance. Now, here are the bequests I've made. They're all down here on a slip of paper.

[Randy Stone]

All but one.

[J.C. Walker]

And that's what I want to talk to you about. Mr. O', Connell, you saw Nadia playing the piano as you entered, didn't you?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Oh, yes, sir, I did. I think she's very unusual.

[Show Announcer]

Very lovely.

[J.C. Walker]

Mr. O', Connell, you're out here to draw Will.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, sir.

[J.C. Walker]

Okana. I love Nadia. I love her because she is a genius. I recognized her unusual talent from the first day I met her in Vienna, almost nine years ago. I'd read that Nadia Winter was making her debut at the Willemstrasse theater, and I attended, yes, and stayed to worship at the throne of genius. Never in my life had I seen such technique, such warmth and feeling. I remember as she was ending her.

[Nadja Winter]

Final number.

[J.C. Walker]

I left the theatre before she had taken her final bow and took the liberty of going backstage to make her acquaintance.

[Nadja Winter]

Yes?

[J.C. Walker]

My card. Miss Winter, I hope you'll pardon this intrusion, but as a sincere lover of music, I could not refrain from.

[Nadja Winter]

I'm very thankful for your interest, Mr. Mr. Walker. Won't you sit down, please?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes.

[J.C. Walker]

Thank you. I won't detain you for more than a moment. Perhaps you'll be made happy with what I have to tell you.

[Nadja Winter]

What?

[J.C. Walker]

It's simply this. I'm old, retired, rich and frank.

[Nadja Winter]

And, you might add, interesting, too. Mr. Watt.

[J.C. Walker]

Be that as it may, I want to tell you that your work tonight has impressed me tremendously. So much so that I want to help finance the completion of your musical studies here in Europe. And later, I will arrange a series of concerts for you throughout the United States.

[Nadja Winter]

Oh, Mr. Walker.

[J.C. Walker]

Quite frankly, Ms. Winter, I consider you a potential genius, and your talent belongs to all of us.

[Nadja Winter]

Well, thank you very much, Mr. Walker. I am just a bit confused. All this is. It's so unexpected. Of course, I realize only too well that a professional career in music is long tedious, quite expensive as well.

[J.C. Walker]

There need not Be the slightest objection to my offer. Ms. Winter, you may rest assured that your private life will remain your own.

[Nadja Winter]

I will consider your offer in the same frankness in which you have given it. Mr. Walker, please. Let me think it over for a day or two. I. I'm staying at the Tyre house. Call me later in the week.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

And you've been very, very kind.

[J.C. Walker]

As you can surmise, Nadia finally accepted my offer. I engaged the finest teachers for her, both here and abroad. Through the years, I think she grew to love me. Oh, not me personally, perhaps, but rather that innate sense of security that clings to wealth. Yes, Mr. O', Connell, this is a strange love that has borne strange fruit. I intend to perpetuate it. I want to die knowing that she will never love another man. That her every living breath will be devoted to her music and to my memory.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Forgive me, Mr. Walker. I wish to withdraw from the case.

[J.C. Walker]

Some other attorney Nonsense, o'. Connell. You're just infatuated with Nadja. All men are. It will pass. Nadja will see to that. Nadja has one weakness. She loves power. Needs it in order to successfully concentrate on her career. I honestly think she would sell her soul for power in order to accomplish her goal. This is my only chance to hold her. And I'm going to do just that. Even though it's from my grave. The last request in my will, Mr. O', Connell, is one to you for $10 million.

[John Francis O'Connell]

To me. $10 million?

[J.C. Walker]

$10 million. To be held in trust by you for the use and benefit of Nadia Winter. She is to receive the entire income for the rest of her life, so long as she lives here in this house alone and never marries.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Mr. Walker, you can't be serious.

[J.C. Walker]

On the contrary. I was never more serious. This girl has one of two choices. To live in luxury the rest of her life, enough to satisfy her every whim and aspiration, or to fall in love and lose her genius. What she will ultimately do rests in the lap of the gods and in the green eyed monster of greed.

[John Francis O'Connell]

The will of James Carlson Walker was duly signed and executed three days later. And none too soon. For true to the doctor's prediction, J.C. walker did not live beyond the following week. Nadja knew nothing of the trust. So I was instructed by the testator to advise her of the fact. The day after the funeral, as I was admitted into the Walker residence, Nadja Winter was again at the piano. And her music more emotional, more savage than ever. She didn't hear me. Entertainment and I stood quietly in the darkened shadows of the room as the music swelled to a crescendo. Oh, I Beg your pardon, Ms. Winter. I am Mr. O'.

[Show Announcer]

Connell.

[John Francis O'Connell]

John Francis O', Connell, attorney at law. Mr. Walker asked me to come here and discuss certain business matters with you.

[Nadja Winter]

Please sit down, Mr. O'. Connell. And pardon me for not hearing you enter. I was lost in, shall we say, a musical? What?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Thank you, Ms. Winter.

[Nadja Winter]

Please don't be so formal, Mr. O'. Connell. Call me Nadja.

[John Francis O'Connell]

It would make me happy to.

[Nadja Winter]

Mr. Walker told me just before he died that you would come to see me.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Nudger, Mr. Walker has been exceedingly generous with you in a queer sort of way.

[Nadja Winter]

I don't understand. He was always most kind and considerate.

[John Francis O'Connell]

I don't know if his bequest to you was either kind or considerate, but he was determined that it should be final and absolute.

[Nadja Winter]

He was always unusual, Mr. O'. Connell. That is what made me love him. I never knew what to expect next.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Nudger, I am trustee over a fund of a considerable amount of money. $10 million, to be exact. You want to receive the entire income from this trust as long as you. Well.

[Nadja Winter]

Oh, come, John. It can't be as bad as that.

[John Francis O'Connell]

As long as you live in this house alone and never married?

[Nadja Winter]

As long as I live here in this house alone and never marry.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, Nadja. But if you prefer to leave or marry, the money is to go to certain charities.

[Nadja Winter]

I don't know what to say or do. He has made me a prisoner. A prisoner of love. And $10 million to form the bars of my k. But I want money. I want power more than anything the world or life can offer. And $10 million will get it for me. I'll stay, Mr. O'. Connell.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Yes.

[Nadja Winter]

Yes, I'll stay. And I'll get everything I want from life. Everything.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

You wait.

[Nadja Winter]

See?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Part two of Strange Wills follows in just a moment.

[Show Announcer]

Sam. Sa.

[John Francis O'Connell]

And now back to Mad Concerto and Warren Williams. For the first few months, I saw Nadja regularly. She seemed gay and carefree, and her music was light and restful. Then, quite suddenly, I noticed a change. The transition was abrupt. There was a distinct violence in her mood, as if a storm was brewing. I decided to have a serious talk.

[Show Announcer]

With her for more than one week.

[Nadja Winter]

Oh, John, I don't know what I'd have done without you these last two years.

[John Francis O'Connell]

But why must it be for only two years, Nadja?

[Nadja Winter]

Because that's the way I've taught myself to live. Never to look beyond the horizon, especially where you are concerned, Mr. Counselor.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Nadja I came over this afternoon to have a serious talk with you.

[Nadja Winter]

Well, darling, haven't you always found me to be a good listener?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, that's the trouble. You listen very dutifully and very beautifully too. But somehow I never win my point before this lovely court of law.

[Nadja Winter]

You simply won't conform to my pattern of reasoning, will you, John?

[John Francis O'Connell]

No, because it's fallacious, Nadra. Now listen to me for a moment. For two years, you've been working over eight hours a day on nothing but music. You've become a machine. Oh, why won't you give up my inheritance?

[Nadja Winter]

And marry you? You said it a thousand times before, haven't you, John?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Yes, I've said it a thousand times. But only because I love you, Nadra. I've loved you from the very first day I entered this house. I can't believe that your career is more important than a happy marriage. Especially when you're forced to live alone. Alone? Like a prisoner in this house.

[Nadja Winter]

I do it from preference only, John. You see, I don't think you understand my temperament. I am an artist. My whole life has been devoted to one principle. To force where the world. For music. Don't think I'm the first to do this. Oh, all the famous composers of sacrifice in one way or another, their devotion to create. I am no different. I eat, sleep and love, to be sure.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

But never for a moment do I.

[Nadja Winter]

Forget why I am here. My music will one day be my monument. Your love for me, my affection for you must remain secondary and without hope for fulfillment.

[John Francis O'Connell]

But can't you see You've been changing, Nadya, and not for the better.

[Nadja Winter]

Oh, John, don't you realize the hopelessness is at all.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Oh, darling, you're young and beautiful. Your money's a curse that's not only permeated your body, but is affecting your soul. I beg you, let me turn it over to charity. Marry me now, Nadya, before it's too late. Keep your career. I'll do everything in my power to help you reach your goal. Oh, for the love I bear you, Nadya. Now, today, let's end this nightmare of horror.

[Show Announcer]

Stop.

[Nadja Winter]

Stop. I'll not listen to another word. John, I have never really loved a human being. I have not the capabilities. I love only attributes and others. I love James Walker because he represented power, which to me is the greatest thing in life. And you too, John. I have love for your kindness and your understanding. Sometimes I wish that, but it's useless to discuss it further. You are a lawyer retained by my benefactor to carry out the provisions of a trust. I cannot. I will not ask for counsel or advice. My life is mine to do with as I choose. Hereafter, you will mail my check. And I ask you not to come back until I send for you.

[John Francis O'Connell]

I see. I see I'm too late.

[Nadja Winter]

Goodbye, Mr. O'. Connell.

[Randy Stone]

Goodbye, Nadra.

[John Francis O'Connell]

The savage way she turned to the piano horrified me. I left with a heavy heart. Yes, Nadja was losing her battle. Her power had been purchased at the price of freedom and sanity. I rode back to town, deeply depressed. I saw no more of Nadja for many years.

[Show Announcer]

18, to be exact.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Her check was mailed regularly and I'd heard rumors to the effect that she'd entirely withdrawn into herself and permitted no one to enter her home. Even tradesmen were required to leave their wares on the steps. Then, early one winter morning. It must have been round two o', clock, eh?

[Show Announcer]

Oh, hello, Mr. O'.

[Randy Stone]

Connell.

[Nadja Winter]

Mr. O', Connell, this is Nadja. Nadia Winter. Do you remember me?

[John Francis O'Connell]

Oh, Nadja. You haven't once been out of my thoughts these many years.

[Nadja Winter]

Come out right away. Mr. O'.

[Randy Stone]

Connell.

[Nadja Winter]

I have something of the utmost importance to discuss with you and I want you to come alone. And please hurry. Please hurry, Mr. O'.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Connell.

[John Francis O'Connell]

I'll be out there as fast as my car can get me there. In 20 minutes. I'd left the city behind me and was making 60 over ice and snow that begged for caution in memory. I was reliving the years the last time I'd seen Nadja. She was young and breathtaking, but greed had been her bedfellow and the power her counselor. I wanted to see Nadja again more than anything on earth. I left my car at the gate and trudged through the snowdrifts to the house. As I approached the once beautiful and ornate mansion, I could hardly believe my eyes. The front porch had crumbled. Even the steps had rotted away, leaving gaping holes in the foundation. The windows were broken and the holes stuffed with paper. I climbed up and pushed against the door. It responded grudgingly to my touch. Nadja was at the piano, just where she'd been the last time I'd seen her. An old, frayed dressing gown partially covered her gaunt, thin body. Her blonde hair, now streaked with silver, ran riot over her shoulders, looking like a thousand coiled serpents. Suddenly she turned and looked up at me. And then I saw her eyes. Their soft brown, luminous, had turned to stark, cold madness. She held me in her stare, much like a cobra holds its prey. Blood left my face. I was Terrified by what I saw.

[Nadja Winter]

Sit down, Mr. O'. Connor. Things have changed a bit since you were here last.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

Ephraim's birthday.

[John Francis O'Connell]

Nadja. I'll call a doctor. You need help. Medical and spiritual help.

[Nadja Winter]

No, Mr. O', Connell, I don't need help. I sent for you for a very special reason. As you know, years ago, I gave up the world in its pleasure. For money and for power. I wanted money because it gave me a chance to create. I wanted power because it would make the world listen to my music. All these years I've created, my music lies here in these boxes. It will live after me because you. You are going to publish it to night. Tonight I am giving my last concert. It is my greatest creation of all. I call it concerto finale. You, Mr. Forgotten, shall be the first.

[Various Female Characters (e.g., Mrs. Hall, Girl in Mrs. Orloff's flat)]

To hear.

[Nadja Winter]

First to hear.

[John Francis O'Connell]

The music started out softly, tenderly. It sounded like the sparkling water of a murmuring brook as it danced lightly along on its way through forest and glen. I imagined it to be the early childhood life of Nadja. When youth was gay and filled with the laughter of. Of crowded childhood. But in the next movement, I noticed a perceptible change. There were flashes of uncontrolled emotion breaking through to disrupt the calm tranquility of the theme. The tempo increased. The chords became discordant. It sounded like the cry of a distressed soul crying out for deliverance. Nadja was looking straight ahead, looking into the top darkness and the gloomy shadows of the room. But I knew she was looking far beyond. She was reliving her life. And the poignant sorrows interspersed with happier moments had all been interwoven into this. The bitter end of her musical career. And now she'd entered into the final tragedy of her life. The wild notes shrieked into the room and blended with the moaning of the winter wind. I shuddered. Never had I heard music played like this before. To me it seemed as if all the diabolical imps from Hades were striking the keys through her fingers. It was the discordant lamentation of the damned. I wiped the perspiration from my forehead. In spite of the cold within the room, I myself, Nacho and save her music at any time cost. Quickly, I formulated a plan. While Nudgeo was lost in her mad revelry. I'd slip out and phone for medical assistance. I hoped she'd keep playing until I could return. I arose quietly and slipped out of the door and ran down the long snow covered path to my car. I could still hear Nudge's music as it swept along in its mad theme of abject misery and despair. Just as I was about to enter my car, I heard a dull rumble come from the direction of the house. I looked up. Great soaring fingers of flame were shooting heavenward. The house was on fire. Even as I hurried back, I knew I was too late. Like something out of Dorothy's inferno, this house was becoming the funeral pyre of Nadja and her music. Through the crackling of the flames, I still heard the piano. Nadja was ending her mad concerto. Then, quite suddenly, the whole house collapsed. Like a tortured so. And so ended the Madrid concerto, a girl genius, the lust for power, and the green eyed monster of greed. But the sin did not die with Nadja Winter. It lives on in the hearts of men and women, secret and unconquered. Warren William will be back in just a moment to tell you what the official records say about the probate cause of the mad concerto. But first, a message from our sponsor. Here again is Warren Williams and the fire. The records simply say fire of unknown origin. Was it accidental? Could it have been a human sacrifice at the pagan altar of greed? Who knows? But greed is the cause of endless suffering. What would have happened to Nadja Winter, I wonder, if she'd been able to live a normal, carefree life and still retain her genius? Perhaps the two are incompatible. I don't know. Do you? Next week I'm going to tell you the story behind one of the strangest wills ever written. We're all familiar with the splendid results of modern psychiatry, but when you mix a mad, covetous psychiatrist together with a lovely, beautiful woman who has a husband, well, you've got a situation. We call this unusual story alias Dr. Svengali. This is Warren William inviting you to listen again next week.

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