Ladies and gentlemen, the ringing of that phone bell brings you mystery, adventure. Mero Wolf's office, Archie Goodwin speaking. Just a moment please. Hey boss, Mr. Tom Wilcox wants an appointment. How about one o'clock? Archie, no appointments today. I intend to pot some dendrobium offsets. One o'clock will be fine, Mr. Wilcox. You see the Tom Wilcox who was acquitted yesterday of the murder of the singer Keith Hanson? Mr. Wilcox, are you the Tom Wilcox who... Oh, you are. I see. What does he want with me? Mr. Wilcox, why do you seek Mr. Wolf's services? I see. Well, our fee is a thousand dollars with a retainer of five hundred, okay? Oh yes, Mr. Wolf will see you. What's that? Hey, what was that? Hey, hey Mr. Wilcox. Archie, stop shouting hey. He whispered someone was at the window. Then I heard a shot and he dropped the phone. Boss, I'm afraid we've just lost a client. Ladies and gentlemen, it's that renowned genius who is the bulkiest, bulkiest, most ponderous and most brilliant detective in the world. Yes, none other than that chair-born mass of unpredictable intellect, Nero Wolf, created by Rex Stout and brought to you in a new series of adventures over this NBC network in the person of Mr. Sydney Greenstreet. This episode, as one Nero Wolf refers to, is a slight case of perjury. It all started with a phone call from Tom Wilcox and the ensuing shot which I was sure had brought our newfound income to an early end. Anyway, there was the shot and... Hello? Mr. Wilcox? Hello? Oh, boss, I've certainly waited long enough for him to come back to the phone. We may have just lost a nice bankroll. Nonsense, Archie. Other clients will rescue us. Now for a cold bottle of beer, Archie. We're almost out of beer. I better get over there and see what happened to Mr. Wilcox. The beer first. Nero Wolf's office, Archie Goodwin speaking. Oh, Wilcox, you all right? Was that a shot? It was, huh? I'm glad it missed. Tell him to come right over here. Yeah, you dug the slug out of the wall. Well, come right over. Boss, the police never found the gun that killed Keith Hanson. No gun was found. Wilcox said he thinks he was shot at with a.32. He dug the bullet out of the wall. The murderer of Hanson must now be after Wilcox. If Wilcox is telling the truth. He was acquitted. The society gal, Mrs. Patricia Park, established his alibi, said she was with Wilcox at the time the murder was supposed to have occurred. I read the papers, Archie. Where's last night's paper? Wow, boss, look at her picture. Oh, she's a honey. Archie, will you get me some beer? Well, if you move your arm six and a quarter inches, you can't possibly miss it. Mr. Wolf, this is Tom Wilcox, our new client. How do you do? Archie, the red leather chair for Mr. Wilcox. Mr. Wolf, I'd like your aid in finding the murderer of Keith Hanson. Gee, why do you suppose you were shot at this morning? I gave a statement to the press last night, which was printed this morning, saying that I was going to seek out the killer of Keith Hanson. The killer obviously wants me stopped. Here's the bullet, a.32, I'd say. Why did you go to Keith Hanson's apartment on the day of his death? I went there to tell him to stay away from my sister. We had a fight. The manager came and stopped us. I told Hanson I'd kill him if he didn't lay off. The manager heard this. Then I went home. What time was that? About 8.30. The police claimed I returned to Hanson's apartment and shot him. I couldn't prove I was at home all night. It was going rough for me until Patricia Park testified she was with me at the time when the crime was said to have been committed. Why didn't you tell the police in the first place that this Patricia Park was with you? Well, that's a whole trouble. She wasn't. What? Her claim that she spent the hours and nine till midnight with me was a lie. In fact, I'd never met the woman in my life. Have you contacted this Patricia St. Jor-a-Reece, Mr. Wilcox? Yes, but she refuses to see me. Gee, phone Mrs. Patricia Park and tell her that you must see her at once for her own good. Time is of the essence. What else can you tell me, Mrs. Park? Mr. Goodwin, I haven't anything more to say than I've already said. All I want is a simple answer as to why you lied about being with Tom Wilcox. Well, Tom Wilcox is a very fine man, but he isn't telling you the truth. Did you commit the murder and succeed in establishing your own alibi by swearing you and Tom Wilcox were together ten miles from the scene of the crime? I did not. Do you own a gun? Don has one around. Who's Don? Don's my husband. Oh, is he here? I doubt it. He's never here. Spends most of his time at the bookies throwing away every cent he can get his hands on. I've had to cut his allowance to practically nothing. Doesn't he work? No. He studied medicine, but gave it up. He was an illustrator for years, but gave that up when his eyes were burned in a plane crash. Where's the gun? It's in the desk. It used to be in here. What caliber? I don't know. Where were you at ten o'clock this morning? Well, I think I was with the cook. Someone fired a shot at Tom Wilcox this morning through the window. No. Oh, no. Archie, please don't continue with this investigation. Please. How well did you know Keith Hanson? Not very well, but enough to realize he was no good. Mr. Goodwin, if you will drop this case, I'll give you a thousand dollars cash. Not interested. But I am interested in learning why you lied, why Tom was shot at this morning, and why you should try to bribe me. You must stop for your own sake. How will it benefit me to step out of it? The killer tried to stop Tom Wilcox. You might be next, and he may not miss this time. Go on. Why have you been protecting Wilcox? I believe Tom Wilcox was innocent. And I didn't want him to be sentenced to die, so I lied at the trial. He told us today he'd never seen you before. That's true. But he looked so innocent, so clean and good and decent. That's not very believable. If you don't think Wilcox killed Hanson, who do you think did it? Please believe me, Archie. I don't know. I don't, I tell you. Hi, sis. Hey, what's the matter? Are we intruding? Oh, hello, Marge. Brad, come in. This is Mr. Goodwin, my sister and brother, no, Marge and Brad King. How do you do? Hello. What gives? And who's Mr. Goodwin? A private detective, Marge. I've just explained to Mr. Goodwin that I wasn't with Tom Wilcox at the time of Keith Hanson's murder. Pat! Why did you tell him that? Mr. Goodwin, I hope you will not use this knowledge against Pat. Did you all know Keith Hanson? Yes. And my husband and Keith went to school together. Keith, Don and I were on the same polo team. Where were you at the time of the Hanson murder, Mr. King? He and Don were attending a horse show at Madison Square Garden. Marge and I didn't want to go. We stayed here. Where were you at 10 this morning, Mr. King? Why, I had an appointment with my dentist, Dr. Flagg, Rockefeller Center. And you, Mrs. King? I was shopping. Ilsa's Salon. A sale on dresses. Why all this questioning? Marge, someone tried to kill Tom Wilcox this morning. What? May I use the phone, Mrs. Park? Yes, of course. First order you're left. Suppose you try to find the gun. Marge, that gun is missing from the desk. I haven't seen it. Do you know the caliber, Mr. King? 32, I think. It must be in the house. For your sake, I hope you find it. Neal Wolk speaking. Archie, boss. You should have reported long ago. She must be very pretty. That Park admits she lied. She claims now she was with her sister, Marge King. Marge and her husband, Brad, have alibis and all have alibis for this morning. I'll check them before I return. Where were they the night of the Hanson murder? Well, Brad and Don Park, that's Pat's husband, were at the Madison Square Garden horse show. Pat and Marge were together here at the house. Impossible to verify the Madison Square alibi at this date. Check all the rest and come home for lunch. It's Oyster's Rockefeller. Has Inspector Kramer arrived yet? He has and left the police records on the Hanson murder. He has taken the bullet Wilcox brought to be checked at ballistics. Good. Pat had a 32 caliber gun in the desk in the library. It's now missing. Gee. And boss, Pat just offered me a thousand dollars to quit the case. When I refused, she said if I didn't lay off, something might happen to me. Oh, dear me. That would be most upsetting, eh? After lunch, I want you to visit the late Keith Hanson's apartment. Bye. Before you join the others, Mr. Goodwin, I want to talk to you. All right. Close the door, Marge. Pat didn't mean anything when she offered you money, Archie. And she wasn't threatening you, honest. I'm convinced. Why the pressure? Why don't you sit down? Here by me. Okay. What's on your mind, eh? Archie, I can add another thousand to what Pat offered. Wouldn't that be enough, Archie? I can give it to you right now. Brad will write a check. Does Brad want me to stop too? He said you couldn't be persuaded. Every one of you seems to have had a reason for killing Hanson. None of you apparently liked him. Now be a good little girl, Marge, and stop trying to act like a Delilah. If you're innocent, you have nothing to worry about. You're stuffy. I hope you do get hurt. Thanks a million. Now let's join the others. Well, Pat, did you find the gun? I can't find it anywhere. Oh, Mr. Goodwin, this is Don Park, my husband. How do you do? How are you? Have you seen the gun, Mr. Park? Not for ages. You're a detective, eh? Yeah. May I ask where you were this morning, about ten? Why? Well, frankly, I was at my bookies. Where's that? I can't tell you. But I'll call them and you can check it. Were you and Brad together at all times during the horse show the night of Keith Hanson's murder? No. Brad wanted away a couple of times and I saw some people I knew. You know how it is. We'd meet at intervals. Archer, you're wasting your time. None of us is guilty. I made a fool of myself, that's all. Tom Wilcox was such a decent man that I hated to see him have to pay for taking Keith Hanson's rotten life. If a man's guilty, why should you butt in? You never use your head. Pat is one person who thinks of others before herself. Marge, forget it. Now you've got private detectives snooping around. What are you after, Goodwin? Who are you working for? Why don't you let my wife alone? The case is closed, isn't it? Maybe. Don, this just makes it more interesting to Mr. Goodwin. As a matter of fact, I think you all know more than you're telling. I still think Tom Wilcox killed him. And there's only one reason why Pat should protect him. Don, that's enough. Nice, happy family. Suffering all the torments of a guilty conscience, is that it? What are you trying to do, Mr. Goodwin? Get your nose poked? Not exactly. If not, you'd better leave. Okay, Mr. King, I'll run along. Mr. Wolf will be anxiously awaiting to hear about this. So long. Pat Park's cook verified an alibi for 10 o'clock this morning, then. What about the other alibis? Well, Brad's dentist said that he didn't get to Brad until about 10.30. His appointments had run over. He wasn't sure if Brad was there at 10 or not. The nurse was out at that time. Marge's alibi is no good. And that mob at Elsa's, the saleswomen, wouldn't have known their own mothers. Don's alibi checks if we can take the word of the bookie. Don and Pat, then, are the only ones who have alibis checked, huh? That's right. Are these the reports Inspector Crame brought? Keith Hanson's body showed obvious signs of battering. Lips were swollen and lacerated, clothes disarranged. Knuckles of the right hand were skinned, nose fractured, major contusion over the right eye. The eyes were closed. 32 caliber bullet was embedded in the left chest wall. Wow, what a battle. I have the opinion that Hanson was battered by two different people. I think someone arrived after Wilcox was thrown out by the manager, and this someone gave Hanson another beating. Really, boss? Certainly not. Then you must get over to Hanson's apartment. Boss? Yes, Archie? What have you found in Hanson's place? Well, the desk yielded one thing of interest. Keith's address book. Marge's name is in there. Apparently he'd known her before she was married, when she was Marge Van Cot. Archie? Her married name, King, was added in a different colored ink. Pat's phone number's there, and of course Don's and Brad's office numbers. There are a few bills, but no letters, no clues. Sure? Boss, I've combed the place, and there's nothing... Hey, wait a minute. I'll call you back. Who's there? Archie, you know I dislike the banging of doors. Sign of ill-breathing. Archie, what happened to you? Target for tonight, Archie Goodwin. Your forehead's bleeding. You better have Fritz fix it. My head can wait. Some guy certainly surprised me at Hanson's. He creased me on the fart. Good thing I snapped off the lights. He emptied his gun at me. He scuffled it and he got away, and then I dug his slug out of a chair. I think it's a 32. But look at this, boss. A little round piece of glass. Found it on the floor. Hmm. It's very small, very smooth, and concave of convex in shape. Half an inch diameter. Watch crystal? Don't think so. The edges are too smoothly ground. I'll examine it under the magnifying glass. I'll get it, boss. Oh, hi, Tom. Come in. Mr. Wilcox, boss. Archie, hey, what's happened to you? Somebody tried to scalp me. Good evening, Mr. Wilcox. The red leather chair, Tom. Archie, please finish your report. Did you notice anything else of importance at Hanson's apartment? Is that where this happened? Yeah. Well, there were dozens of gal's photos scattered around. Photos, eh? But no letters, Archie? Not a one. There must be some letters, Archie. Love letters. Wherever we have girls' photos and telephone numbers, I assure you they're bound to be love letters. That is what we must find. But then we'd have a motive. Yeah, but where do I look, huh? Go to Hanson's dressing room at the Club Diablo. I have just phoned the place. A female singer is substituting for Hanson. But she won't arrive until supper hour. Mr. Wilcox, accompany Mr. Goodwin, if you please. Keep your eyes open. I need the boy. Then you do love me, boss. Come on, Tom, let's look at this Club Diablo. Well, I fixed it up with a stage dorming. Here, this is Hanson's dressing room. What a layout. Your dressing room's fancier than most of the Met stars get. Hanson fixed it up himself. Bar, refrigerator, hot plate, television set. He could live here. Some of this stuff could be the new girl singers. I don't think so. Well, let's get to work, Tom. Take the drawers in his dressing table first. What are we looking for, Archie? Mr. Wolfe says the motive means letters. There's nothing here. Nothing in the desk. New singer must have cleaned it out for her things. Nothing in the books. Don't pass up that refrigerator. Nope. Empty. Hey, there is something here. Back of the ice cube trays. Come here. Oh, well. Mr. Wolfe said there had to be letters, and so there are letters. Lots of them. Here's one from Marge. And another. Look here. Really confidential letters from a dozen society gals. There's something else in the back. A bank book. What do you know, a singer like Keith didn't make this much. No, that kind of money didn't come from crooning. This guy Keith was really shaking these babes down. Archie, someone's coming. Listen. Quick, behind the door and grab them. Douse the lights. Run, Marge. Run. Hold it, Mom. Well, it's you two. You dirty rat. Here you go, woman. Tom, what are you and Archie doing here? The letters. Archie, you found them. Archie, please, give me those letters. Don't touch. I'll just put them safely away in my pocket. Besides, you didn't write all of these. Give them to me. At least give me my letters. I'll tell you what, you go on home and stay there, and we'll leave it up to Mr. Wolfe. Tom, take him outside. I want to use his phone. Come along, ladies. Let us oblige Mr. Goodwin. I'll meet you at the stage door, Archie. Right. Hey, the lights. Who's there? Put the phone up, Goodwin. Who are you? Archie, what happened? Are you hurt? Here, let me help you. I'm all right, I guess. Oh, my head. Did you see anybody? No, no, I didn't. I shouldn't have left you. Turn out the lights before I saw him. He whispered. He got away with all the evidence. Where are the girls? I sent them home in a cab. Well, let's get over to Mr. Wolfe. This is tough luck. If I'm not mistaken, his next move will be to have a little get-together with all concerned. Come on. I'll see you at the door. I guess I'll be arriving. Excuse me, Tom. Come in, Inspector Kramer. Goodwin. Good evening, Inspector. Well, Mr. Wolfe got the killer. Said you'd hand him over to me this evening. In time, Inspector. You know Tom Wilcox, of course. Good evening, Inspector. What about the ballistics report, Inspector? The bullet was shot from the same gun that killed Hanson. And that gun, I am certain, came from the home of Pat and Don Parks. Marge and Brad King also had access to it. I have one more bullet here, Inspector, and one fired at Mr. Goodwin. I am sure it was also shot from the same gun. However, it isn't important now. It isn't important? It almost cost me my life. You can make it into a charm, if you wish. Inspector Kramer, before our other guests arrive, I must tell you... that Mrs. Park lied on the witness stand. She was not with Tom Wilcox at the time Keith Hanson was murdered. In fact, they were absolute strangers. What? Sit down, Inspector. Four other guests are due to arrive any moment. Well, who are the other guests? Pat and Don Park, Marge and Brad King. One or all is involved in the Hanson murder. Archie, do any of these people wear spectacles? No, none of them. You know why this person killed Hanson, Mr. Wolfe? First of all, Hanson was a blackmailer. The girl Marge was the current victim. The letters Hanson held were a threat. I'll explain later. Well, then Pat must have thought that Marge killed Hanson to get the letters... and she lied on the stand to save Tom's life because she believed Tom was innocent. Where is this Marge King? I'll have her picked up. Sit down, Inspector. Archie, I believe our guests are arriving now. Come in, come in. How are you? Good evening. Archie, cheers. Inspector Kramer, Patricia and Don Park, Marge and Brad King... and this is Tom Wilcox. We met at the Club Diablo this afternoon. All right, Mr. Wolfe, which one is it? Patience, Inspector. One of these five people is the murderer of Keith Hanson, a killer. What is this nonsense? Please sit down. Mr. Wolfe speaking. Go ahead, boss. Any one of you had sufficient motive to have committed the Hanson murder. Not one of you has established a bona fide alibi. You who are actually innocent must tell the truth... or you shall all suffer as accessories after the fact. Mr. Wolfe, you're wasting your time. Marge, several years ago you were secretly married to Keith Hanson. It lasted but one week. You gave Keith the money to get a divorce from you at Mexico. He didn't, which made you a bigger miss when you married Brad. Keith was all set to blackmail you. He knew your husband Brad was wealthy. Marge, is this true? Yes. Please, Brad, I thought he got the divorce. If I'd known that, I would have killed Hanson myself. Maybe you did kill him. One moment, Inspector. Patricia, you lied on the stand to protect Tom Wilcox here... because you believed your sister Marge was guilty of Hanson's murder. Why did you believe her guilty? Were you at the scene of the crime? Marge, it's time to tell the truth and clear all this up. You won't be satisfied until you're in jail. Will you shut up? Quiet, please. Go ahead, Marge. All right. Keith Hanson was shot from the bedroom... while I stood talking to him in the living room. You went there to buy back your letters? Yes. Pat drove me to his apartment. There was no place to park, so she said she'd drive around the block... until I came out. That's why she's never been sure whether I killed him or not. That's right. Because I feel I might have shot him if I'd been in your place... because of what Hanson did. What was it he did? Keith Hanson demanded $10,000 in exchange for the letters. Pat loaned me the money so Brad wouldn't know. What? Is that true, Pat? You loaned her $10,000? I got to Keith's apartment about 9.30. He looked awful. He obviously had been in a fight. The room was must up and his nose was bleeding. His nose? Gone? He went to the bedroom to get the letters and came back saying they were gone. I didn't believe him. Keith said he knew who had taken them and he'd have them back by morning. He grabbed the money from me and put it in his pocket. He was just about to tell me who took the letters... when there was a shot from the bedroom door. Keith Hanson fell to the floor, but I didn't see anyone. I wanted to get my money from his coat pocket, Pat's money. But I couldn't touch him. His staring wide open eyes were horrifying. I ran, I ran. Poor baby, why didn't you tell me? I think you're lying, young lady. You took the gun from your sister's desk... and when Keith Hanson didn't produce the letters, you deliberately shot him. You didn't even offer him any money. You kept it yourself. No, I didn't. I didn't. Oh, Pat, don't believe him. Inspector Kramer, she's innocent. I know who did it. Oh, no, Brad, stop. Oh, Brad, what are you saying? All right, all right, break it up. Yes, so do I know, Brad. That's why you left the horse show. I thought you were guilty all along. All right, Inspector, now you know. I don't get this, boss. Inspector, ladies and gentlemen, please. First, which of you had some medical training? Medical training? Keith Hanson and I both went to medical school. Why? That is most enlightening, Mr. Park. Marge and I were nurse's aides during the war. Then perhaps you can interpret this medical phraseology for me. These few lines from this little medical book. Archie, hand it to Don Pop. Will you read it, please, at the top of page 75? It says, the form of pernicious anemia, commonly found in a human, is... Now, Don, hold your hand over your right eye and read on. What? Huh? Also common to the many lower... Now cover the left eye and read with the other. What is this? Go ahead. Now, the many, many lower... animals and... and this, this light isn't so good. Step close to me. Hmm. Yes, thank you. Mr. Park, here is the contact lens for your right eye. I am sure you've been tremendously handicapped without it all day. Inspector Don Park is your murderer. Don't move, Park. Keep away, I warn you. No! Drop that gun, Park. I'm sorry. Well, I got his gun. They are, Inspector, is all yours now. Okay, come on. Okay, Goodwin, but I'll get out of this. You trapped yourself, Don, by your contact lens. He dropped from your eye during the scuffle with Archie... in the Hanson apartment this afternoon. And the gun Archie just took from you is undoubtedly the murder weapon. And the gun that fired the bullets at Wilcox and Archie today. Hey, Tommy, you all right? There's blood on the side of your head. I just grazed my scalp. You and I must have hard heads. Well, that's that. Thanks so much, Inspector, for dropping in. Come again, won't you? This was a rough day's work, boss. Some beer, Archie, please. Right. Hey, what was that business about the medical training? Marge said the body of Keith had staring wide open eyes... preventing her from touching the body. But the police found the eyelids closed. How did they get closed? Well, he must have bothered Don, too, and he closed them. It was medical training. Right. A layman would never touch the eyes of the dead. Marge couldn't, not even to get back the $10,000. Here's your beer. Why did Don do all this, boss? Obviously, he learned of Hanson's blackmail scheme... and was trying to force him to agree to split Marge's $10,000. Don was quite startled a minute ago... to learn that Pat, his own wife, put up the money. However, when they heard Marge arriving... Don stepped into the bedroom, found Marge's letters in there... and must have hidden in the closet. Then as Keith Hanson was about to speak Don's name... Don shot him and took Marge's money. Of course, he planned to carry on a blackmailing of Marge himself... thinking the money would come from Brad. Yes. And you are warming that beer with your hot little hands. Pour it, please. There you are. You've had a rough day, beaten twice... and lost to interesting women. Tonight you may open your bedroom window. Tonight I'll... Ah! You have been listening to the New Adventures of Nero Wolf... and the new story of a young man living in Sydney Green Street. Tonight's transcribed story by Gladys Williams... was based on the characters created by Rex Stout. This is an Edwin Fadiman production... in the cast were Harry Bartel as Archie Goodwin... and Mary Lansing, Jean Bates, Paul Marion... Barney Phillips, Ken Peters and Bill Johnstone. Next week at this same time Nero Wolf and Archie... will bring you the case of the lost heir. Don Stanley speaking. Three chimes mean good times on NBC.
