Michael Shayne 450416 Date At Cliff House, Old Time Radio
Michael Shayne, Private Detective (1944-1948) was the inaugural iteration of the series, with Wally Maher lending his voice to the character of Michael Shayne. Broadcast on the West Coast Mutual network, this version stood out for its lighter tone in comparison to subsequent adaptations. Notably, Shayne’s investigative hub was located in Oakland, California, a departure from the more conventional Miami setting
The series delved into intriguing mysteries, and its protagonist, Michael Shayne, navigated the twists and turns of each case with wit and determination. While the later versions took on different tones and settings, this early incarnation set the stage for the enduring legacy of the Michael Shayne detective franchise.
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Remember that times have changed, and some shows might not reflect the standards of today’s politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Entertainment Radio
The series delved into intriguing mysteries, and its protagonist, Michael Shayne, navigated the twists and turns of each case with wit and determination. While the later versions took on different tones and settings, this early incarnation set the stage for the enduring legacy of the Michael Shayne detective franchise.
Listen to our radio station Old Time Radio https://link.radioking.com/otradio
Listen to other Shows at My Classic Radio https://www.myclassicradio.net/
Entertainment Radio | Broadcasting Classic Radio Shows | Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/entertainment_radio)
Remember that times have changed, and some shows might not reflect the standards of today’s politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Entertainment Radio
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00:00The Adventures of Michael Shane, Private Detectives.
00:12The people who make 76 gasoline and Triton Motor Oil, Union Oil Company present
00:22The Adventures of Michael Shane, Private Detectives, starring Wally Mayer and Kathy Lewis.
00:29Most private detectives, when they're called into a case by a wealthy patron, are ushered
00:44into the library or the gun room or the master's private den.
00:49Not so Private Detective Michael Shane and his attractive assistant Phyllis Knight.
00:53Oh no, they find themselves at San Francisco's Cliff House to keep a date with, well, let
00:59Phyllis tell it, which she is doing without any of the poetry she knows so well.
01:03Now there's no use arguing, Mike Shane, if she weren't a blonde and good-looking, you'd
01:07have turned the case down.
01:09For the thousandth time, honey, I tell you I haven't seen the girl.
01:12Oh, really?
01:13She isn't blonde and I don't know whether or not she's good-looking.
01:16I'll bet, I'll bet.
01:17I only know, honey, that she's frightened.
01:20She said she was a brunette, five foot two and wearing a Kelly green raincoat.
01:23Well then, there she is, staring out the window.
01:26Right, Angel.
01:27Well, leave us ankle over.
01:29You know, she does look scared.
01:30Oh, she saw us.
01:31Hey, does she know you?
01:32No, but I told her I was bringing you along and there aren't any other couples around.
01:36Mr. Shane and Miss Knight?
01:37Correct.
01:38And you're Miss Jones?
01:39Well, no.
01:40That is, I used that name over the phone, but my real name is Wright.
01:42Not Patricia Wright?
01:44Yes.
01:45Oh, then it was your brother.
01:46I mean, I read the article in the papers.
01:49Say, what is all this?
01:50My brother was killed Monday.
01:52The police said it was an accident.
01:53He fell over the cliff, they said, but...
01:55But you think he was killed deliberately?
01:57Yes.
01:58Why?
01:59Well, I just know he was pushed over that cliff.
02:03And now, whom do you suspect?
02:05I don't know.
02:06My father's manager, Mr. Haberman, for one, and a Mr. Armstrong, a businessman dealing
02:11with my father, and...
02:13And your father?
02:14Yes.
02:15Well, not that I think my father killed my brother, no, but, well, I am suspicious of
02:19some of my father's business dealings and very suspicious of some of his associates.
02:24Miss Wright, your brother was in the business with your father?
02:26Yes, and, well, he didn't approve of some of their deals.
02:29Did he complain to you or to your father, or both?
02:32Both.
02:33They've had bitter quarrels over some of their transactions.
02:36How about you, Miss Wright?
02:38Are you afraid for your own life?
02:40Yes, terribly afraid.
02:42Okay.
02:43Okay, that settles it.
02:44So far as I'm concerned, we'll take the case.
02:46Now, how about going out to your place and looking over the ground?
02:49But we can't.
02:50That's why I used the assumed name, and that's why I met you here instead of at the house.
02:54Listen, Patricia, your best safeguard is to let the murderer know that you have a detective
02:57on the job.
02:58The very fact that you've engaged me will make them wonder how much you know.
03:02We'll watch out for you, Miss Wright.
03:03Nothing's going to happen to you while Mike's on the job.
03:06Well, all right, I'll do it.
03:08Fine.
03:09Good.
03:10Now, get in your car, then, and we'll follow you out, and even if he turns out to be your
03:12father, we'll get the killer.
03:23It's over here, just by that white post.
03:35That's where he fell.
03:36Uh-huh.
03:37Oh, boy.
03:38Did they take your brother's body away from the bottom of the cliff or bring it up here
03:45on ropes?
03:46They took it away from the bottom in a boat.
03:48I see.
03:50Was there much of a crowd here at the top?
03:51No.
03:52Why?
03:53Well, there are footprints here.
03:54The ground is pretty well tramped down.
03:56But there weren't any people here at all.
03:58This is private property.
04:00The murderer tramped the ground to confuse...
04:02Hey, wait a minute.
04:03What?
04:04What is it, Mike?
04:05Honey, you see those marks?
04:07Yeah.
04:08Those marks were made by a dead man's heels as his body was dragged to the edge of the
04:12cliff and thrown over.
04:13And the killer hid behind the tree?
04:15Yes, and probably hit his victim with a rock.
04:17Yeah.
04:18Patricia, did your brother have a date with anyone the night he was killed?
04:22Yes, with Mr. Haberman, Daddy's partner.
04:25Mr. Haberman came out to the house at 8 o'clock and said that he'd made an appointment to
04:29meet my brother.
04:30At about 10 o'clock, he decided to go home.
04:33Just as he was leaving, the chauffeur came to the door and said that they'd found the
04:36body down on the rocks below the cliff.
04:38Was the chauffeur looking for your brother?
04:39No, he didn't know anything was wrong then.
04:42The chauffeur was out fishing and was just coming into the little cove when he saw a
04:45hat on the water.
04:47He turned the boat along the rocks and found my brother's body.
04:50The chauffeur is up at the house now?
04:52No, he left.
04:53He left?
04:54He left?
04:55What do you mean?
04:56Well, he'd been doing a lot of drinking, and my brother fired him about a week ago.
04:59Oh, fine.
05:00We seem to be turning up suspects wherever we move.
05:02Yeah, right, Angel.
05:03Well, Miss Patricia, will you get your father's manager and Mr. Armstrong up to the house
05:08right away?
05:09Use any excuse at all.
05:10I'll get Inspector Parody to find the chauffeur, and we'll have a little quiz contest with
05:15Mike Shane as quiz master.
05:22I don't know what on earth you could be thinking of, Patricia, to do such a thing.
05:32But, Daddy...
05:33Not another word.
05:34You tell this Shane fellow to get about his business.
05:36When any private detectives are hired to come to this house, I'll do the hiring.
05:39Daddy, I'm more convinced than ever that my brother was murdered.
05:42Murdered?
05:43Stuff and nonsense.
05:44My dear, you're upset.
05:45I don't blame you for that.
05:47You were very fond of your brother.
05:49But thinking for one moment that any of my business associates could be guilty of such
05:53a thing, the idea of dragging Mr. Haberman and Mr. Armstrong out here to be cross-questioned
05:57by a private detective, why, it isn't as if there was any suspicion about your brother's
06:01death.
06:02The police were satisfied it was an accident.
06:04I'm not satisfied, however, Mr. Wright.
06:06Who are you, sir?
06:07Michael Shane, private detective, and this is my assistant, Miss Knight.
06:10Hello.
06:11I'm very happy to meet you, Mr. Wright.
06:12I'm sorry I can't say the same.
06:14I hate to appear impolite, but I must ask you to leave my house immediately.
06:17Well, let's go, Mike.
06:18We don't have to take this sort of thing from anybody.
06:21Just a minute, Angel.
06:22Oh, really?
06:23Mr. Wright, I suppose you realize that by your attitude, you're casting a lot of unnecessary
06:26suspicion on yourself.
06:27Why, you impudent young whelp, if I were a younger man, I'd thrash you within an inch
06:31of your life, you yook.
06:33Will you leave quietly, or will I have to have you thrown out?
06:37Evidently, there's company at the door, and I'd much prefer not to have to introduce you.
06:41Pardon me, sir, but you missed your parody.
06:44Parody?
06:45Detective Inspector parody, sir.
06:46With a choker, sir.
06:47Hello, Mike.
06:49Fellas?
06:50Hello, Inspector.
06:51Mr. Wright here was just about to order us thrown out.
06:54He won't have a private detective around the place.
06:56I see.
06:57Well, maybe he'll let you stay as my assistant.
06:59What on earth are you talking about?
07:00I'm talking about the fact that we're here to investigate the death of your son.
07:04I'm just as soon to get on with the questioning if you haven't any objections.
07:07Will you have everybody come in here?
07:08Uh, Inspector, they're all out in the front hall.
07:10I don't know what this is all about.
07:12I'm only the chauffeur.
07:13I haven't done anything.
07:14I'll sue you for arresting me.
07:15That's right.
07:16Be sure and do that.
07:17Everybody get right into the front hall.
07:20Well, which one of you is Haberman?
07:23I'm Mr. Haberman.
07:24Why?
07:25And Armstrong, that's you, I suppose.
07:27Mm-hmm.
07:28Correct.
07:29Now, I don't know much about this except what Mike told me over the phone, but I understand
07:32that you, Mr. Haberman, had an appointment with Mr. Wright, Jr., the deceased, the evening
07:36he was killed.
07:37Yes, that is true.
07:38Now, what was that meeting about?
07:39Well, I don't see that's any of your business.
07:41You can answer that question here and now or at headquarters later.
07:44Take your choice.
07:46Well, it was a business matter.
07:47Don't answer him.
07:48But, Wright, if I don't, he'll take me in and...
07:50And he'll have to answer in the long run.
07:52It was business, and young Mr. Wright was going to tell you that he wouldn't play along
07:56with the kind of deal you and his father were cooking up, correct?
07:59Well, that's putting it rather strongly.
08:01He was a young fellow with too many idealistic ideas for the business world.
08:06I was quite certain I could straighten him out when we sat down and talked it over.
08:10And when he wouldn't listen, you threatened his life?
08:12Of course not.
08:13You didn't see him that night at all?
08:14No, I didn't.
08:16You weren't anywhere near the top of the cliff between 8 and 10.30?
08:19I most certainly was not.
08:20Can you prove that?
08:21I can.
08:22I sat and talked with Mr. Haberman all evening.
08:24And Mr. Armstrong, I suppose you have an alibi, too?
08:27Well, I don't know.
08:29I think I was at a picture show that night, but I wasn't keeping track of my movements.
08:33I wasn't anywhere near this house, though.
08:35Mm-hmm.
08:36Oh, Inspector.
08:37Yes, Mike.
08:38Come here.
08:39I think we ought to do some checking on the murdered man's papers.
08:42We might find something that would give us a lead.
08:44You're probably right, Mike.
08:45Okay.
08:46You can all go now, but don't leave the place.
08:49We may want to do a few more answers before we leave.
08:51Miss Patricia.
08:52Yes, Inspector.
08:53Will you take us to your brother's room?
08:55We'll see what that leads us to.
09:04Did you find anything, honey?
09:05Uh-uh.
09:06Nothing important, Mike.
09:07How about you, Inspector?
09:08Nothing.
09:09I hope we're not on a wild goose chase.
09:10Oh, I know we're not.
09:11Hey, wait a minute.
09:12Wait a minute.
09:13What did you find, Mike?
09:14It's a memo pad.
09:15Here's an entry.
09:16It says, must talk to father about Haberman's inability to do things honestly.
09:21If he can be so dishonest with the people we are doing business with,
09:24there will come a day when he will be as dishonest with us.
09:28Hey.
09:29Hey, look at that later entry, Mike.
09:30The one made the day he was killed.
09:31Here.
09:32Oh, yes.
09:33We'll have showdown with Haberman tonight.
09:34Either he goes or I get out of the business.
09:37I've called him and made appointment for seven o'clock.
09:39Wait a minute.
09:40Seven o'clock?
09:41Haberman said he made the appointment for eight o'clock.
09:43Yeah, that's right.
09:44He did.
09:45Come on.
09:46Come on.
09:47We'd better hurry up looking through this stuff
09:48and then a little more questioning for Mr. Haberman.
09:49What's the matter?
09:50What's the matter?
09:51What's the matter?
09:52Mr. Shane, Inspector, it's unbelievable.
09:53It's horrible.
09:54What is it?
09:55What is it?
09:56Haberman.
09:57I went to the stables a few minutes ago.
09:58Go on.
09:59Go on.
10:00Haberman was lying there, dead.
10:12In just a moment, we'll rejoin Mike Shane
10:17and his assistant Phyllis in their adventures.
10:20All of us know that some restaurants always seem to serve better food than others,
10:25even though their menus may read the same.
10:28The reason, of course, is simple.
10:30Better ingredients plus extra attention on the part of skilled help.
10:34The same principles apply to car lubrication.
10:38For example, union oil stopware lubrication is more than just a grease job.
10:43Stopware lubrication is a highly specialized servicing process.
10:47Only trained attendants using the latest and most modern equipment
10:50are allowed to service your car.
10:52Each fitting and bearing is thoroughly lubricated with the finest, high-quality greases
10:57in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.
11:00While your car is on the hoist,
11:02the minutemen inspect out-of-sight points and check them for danger signs.
11:06With final evidence of the care and exactness with which stopware lubrication is performed,
11:10you receive a thousand-mile written guarantee with each job.
11:14Definite proof of reliable service.
11:17So, ladies and gentlemen, since careful, thorough lubrication is so vital to the life of your car,
11:22why not buy stopware?
11:25Stopware-guaranteed lubrication is available only at union oil minutemen stations,
11:30and it costs no more than ordinary lubrication.
11:33Just look for the sign of the big orange and blue 76.
11:44It is a few minutes later.
11:45Mike, Phyllis, and Inspector Faraday have reached the stables
11:49and stand looking down at Haberman's body.
11:53Now, how did it happen?
11:54Well, he just got too close to Prince, and Prince lashed out and kicked him.
11:58I found him lying here when I came by.
11:59Was anybody else around the stables?
12:01Yes, Armstrong was here, the groom, and the gardener.
12:04Isn't it a bit odd that everyone should gather at the stables?
12:08No, I don't think so.
12:09Everybody's interested in the horses, especially Prince.
12:12Why Prince?
12:13Well, I've warned them all to keep away from him.
12:15He's a killer.
12:16Why have you kept him, then?
12:17Because I can handle him.
12:18So can the stable hands, and he's a very valuable horse.
12:21He just lashes out at strangers or people who don't talk to him as they approach him.
12:26Surely you don't think this is murder, too?
12:29Why, it's ridiculous.
12:30Nobody in their right mind can have any doubt as to how Haberman was killed.
12:34The mark of the horseshoe is as plain, too plain,
12:37where you can see the curve of the shoe across as far as...
12:40Perhaps I'm not in my right mind, Mr. Wright,
12:42but when two men engaged in the same business
12:44die within a few days of each other, I'm suspicious.
12:47You and me both, Mike.
12:49Mr. Wright, you just walked out from the house and found Haberman lying dead.
12:54Well, more or less.
12:55I came out from the back of the house,
12:57saw that the upper half of the door to Prince's stall was unlatched.
13:00I came over to latch it and found Haberman.
13:02I couldn't see him lying on the ground from where I was
13:04because, as you can see, he was hidden by the water trough.
13:07Yes. Yes, I see.
13:10So, Inspector, depending on how you look at it,
13:12everybody has alibis or nobody has an alibi.
13:15You're right, Mike.
13:16They all have alibis if they're telling the truth.
13:19Well, I most certainly have.
13:20I was talking on the telephone from the time I left you until I came out here.
13:24The servants saw me in the hall when I was on the phone.
13:26Oh, yes, and the chauffeur and the stable boy, Joe, saw me at the back of the stables.
13:30I didn't even come around front until Wright called out.
13:32That's true.
13:33I'm his alibi and he's mine.
13:35So I'm afraid, Mr. Shane, you'll have to pin the guilt on the horse, after all.
13:39Yeah, it looks that way, doesn't it?
13:40Oh, Mike.
13:41Yes, Inspector?
13:42How about running down to headquarters with me?
13:44Okay, but you're going to leave someone here.
13:46Well, I hardly think we need...
13:48Inspector, Inspector, for 24 hours,
13:50I'd like someone posted at the stables and at the west side of the house
13:53looking out toward the cliff.
13:54Yeah, but Mike...
13:55If only to guarantee the safety of Miss Wright.
13:57Okay, Mike, I'll leave the sergeant and one man.
14:00Will that satisfy you?
14:01Excellent, Inspector, excellent.
14:03Now I'm quite ready to accompany you to headquarters.
14:06Okay, here you are, Inspector.
14:24Report on a threatening telegram.
14:26A threatening wire addressed to Haberman
14:28was handed in at San Francisco's main office.
14:31No one remembers what the man looked like.
14:33Be paid no attention.
14:34Okay, follow through on the chauffeur, will you?
14:36Yes, sir.
14:38Well, it's not much help.
14:39Well, why don't you give up, Mike?
14:41After all, we're just following nothing but a hunch from that girl Patricia.
14:45Now, that's right, Mike.
14:46I admit it's a bit gruesome having two deaths in the same household,
14:49but it's happened before.
14:50Oh, there's something wrong about the whole thing.
14:52What do you mean, Mike?
14:53Well, as I see it, the father of Mr. Wright isn't above entering into shady deals.
14:59No, that seems apparent.
15:00So one can legitimately assume that his manager, Haberman,
15:03wasn't averse to entering into the same sort of deal.
15:06We don't have to assume that.
15:08We know it from the son's memo pad.
15:09Yeah, that's right.
15:10The son actually accused him of being crooked.
15:12And we have Armstrong, a business associate.
15:15We can assume in his case, too, that he's not above earning a sort of twisted penny.
15:19To all of which the son is opposed,
15:21to such an extent that he actually puts in writing that he's going to talk to his father
15:25and that either the crooked manager goes or he does.
15:27Right.
15:28Right.
15:29And if we assume, too, that the father would rather have his son in the business
15:31than the crooked manager, we have motive for murder.
15:34For some men, at least.
15:35And we have Haberman making a date to see the son.
15:38Which Haberman says was for 8 o'clock,
15:40but which we know for a fact was at 7 o'clock.
15:43You're building quite a case, Mike, but it all hinges on supposition.
15:46Suppose, Mike, that you're right.
15:48Yeah?
15:49And if you are right, and Haberman did kill the son,
15:52justice has already overtaken him.
15:54Yeah, but there's something wrong with the whole thing, Inspector.
15:57You say I'm building the whole case of a supposition.
16:00Well, plus a hunch of the girls, Mike.
16:02And a funny little quirk that keeps running through my own mind.
16:06What?
16:07Well, when I was a kid, I used to hold horses at the old Fairfax Hunt Club.
16:11Yes?
16:12Sometimes for a whole day's work, I made two bits.
16:14One day, well, I hadn't made my two bits.
16:17I guess I was a little on the anxious side.
16:19I stepped up too quickly to a horse.
16:21He lashed out at me, and I jumped back.
16:23But that hook, with its iron shoe, seemed to be following me.
16:27It was a huge, as huge as a barn door.
16:30A great big black iron shoe that would mash my face in from chin to forehead.
16:35A great big letter U coming out.
16:37Go on, go on.
16:39Wait a minute.
16:40Wait a minute.
16:41A big U.
16:42That's it.
16:43That's what's wrong with the picture.
16:44Oh, what a blockhead I've been.
16:46Say, what goes?
16:47What is it, Mike?
16:48Oh, come on.
16:49Can't you picture Haberman lying there on the ground by the stable?
16:51Well, sure I can, but...
16:52Can't you remember what Wright said?
16:53The mark of the horse shoe is as plain, too plain.
16:57You can see the curve of the shoe across his forehead.
17:00I remember him saying that, but what an...
17:02Mike, you're right.
17:04Well, I don't get it.
17:05Huh?
17:06Yes, I do.
17:07Haberman would have had to be standing on his head for the horse shoe to have left a mark like that.
17:12Attagirl, honey.
17:13The mark was upside down.
17:15Come on, come on.
17:17Back to the Wright stables as fast as that squad car of yours will take us, Faraday.
17:22All right.
17:34Go right back to the stables, Inspector.
17:35We can park there.
17:36Right, Mike.
17:40I'm going to call on my hunch as long as I'm in the mood.
17:42What do you mean, hunch?
17:43If I were a killer and killed a man at the stables...
17:45Yes?
17:46And I was so certain that everybody would think it was an accident,
17:49and so nobody would even think of looking for a weapon...
17:51Yeah, yeah.
17:52Where would I go to hide the weapon?
17:54The hayloft.
17:55Right, so come on, up these steps.
17:58Here, honey, I'll help you there.
17:59Well, I'm not very good at this.
18:00I know that, but come on.
18:02There we are.
18:03Now you take the car in, honey.
18:04All right.
18:05And I'll tie him up onto the raft.
18:06Okay, and I'll take this end.
18:12It's not behind this feed box.
18:15It's not here either.
18:17Where is it? Where's Phyllis?
18:18Here.
18:19Here, under this load of hay.
18:20Okay.
18:21Anything up there, Inspector?
18:22No, everything up here is covered with dust,
18:24so I think this is all in the clear.
18:25Okay, come down then, before you break your neck.
18:28What is it, honey?
18:29Oh, it's something heavy and wet.
18:33Huh?
18:34And sort of sticky.
18:36It's blood, Mike.
18:37Let me have it.
18:39I'll use my handkerchief.
18:40There may be fingerprints.
18:41What is it?
18:42Just a second.
18:46The gods.
18:48Look, Inspector.
18:49A heavy piece of timber.
18:51Oh, but with a horseshoe nailed to the flat side.
18:54Upside down.
18:56Okay.
18:58Okay, let's keep our find a secret
19:00and continue our quizzing.
19:13We'll rejoin Mike Shane, Phyllis Knight, and Inspector Faraday
19:16in their search for the killer in just a moment.
19:22We'd like you to listen for a moment
19:24to one of the most sickening sounds of modern life.
19:36Lately, you've been hearing that sound more frequently.
19:39Traffic accidents in the United States
19:41are increasing to an alarming extent
19:43as our automobiles grow older.
19:46To reduce human casualties and conserve transportation,
19:49the International Association of Chiefs of Police
19:52has developed a program to emphasize the need
19:55for good brakes for all cars.
19:58For the next six weeks,
19:59law enforcement officers throughout the nation
20:02will conduct a brake-checking campaign.
20:05They are seeking to protect your life and property.
20:08This program on brake emphasis for traffic safety
20:12is supported by over 100 automobile clubs
20:14and traffic organizations,
20:16including the Office of Defense Transportation.
20:19Your cooperation is earnestly requested.
20:22You can help by checking your own brakes.
20:25If you can depress your brake pedal
20:26within an inch of the floorboard
20:28before the brakes take hold,
20:30they are inadequate and demand immediate attention.
20:33Remember, serious accidents can occur
20:36at speeds as low as 20 miles per hour
20:38if your brakes are in poor condition.
20:41So, ladies and gentlemen,
20:42if you have the slightest doubt
20:43about the condition of your automobile brakes,
20:46don't take chances.
20:47Have them inspected without delay.
20:55Mike, Phyllis, Inspector Faraday, and Patricia Wright
20:58are in the library
20:59waiting for the members of the household
21:01to put in an appearance.
21:03Are you sure you don't want me to get Daddy
21:05and the others in here?
21:06No, no, not yet.
21:07We let them wander in one at a time
21:09and take them by surprise.
21:10I have a reason.
21:11Hey, what about the chauffeur, Mike?
21:13For my money, he's out.
21:14Why, Mike?
21:15Well, as a suspect for the killing
21:16of the son who fired him,
21:17he was a possibility,
21:18but I see no connection
21:19between him and Haberman's death.
21:21No, perhaps not.
21:22But don't forget one thing.
21:23He's the alibi for Armstrong,
21:25just as Armstrong is his alibi.
21:26The way I'm thinking right now, honey,
21:28no one has an alibi.
21:29What do you mean?
21:30When all the suspects have alibis
21:32for their actions
21:33and yet you have two bodies to account for,
21:35there's only one actor.
21:36And that is?
21:37Someone or all of them are lying.
21:39And the alibis mean nothing,
21:40so just ignore them.
21:41Mike, somebody's coming.
21:43That's right.
21:44Oh, there you are, Pat.
21:45Oh, I thought you'd all gone back to the city.
21:48We did, sir,
21:49but we have a few more questions
21:50we'd like answered.
21:51If you don't mind my saying so,
21:53I think you're not quite right.
21:55Meaning what, Mr. Wright?
21:57Meaning that you're all following
21:58a completely senseless theory,
22:00trying to find clues to a murder
22:01when no murder's been committed.
22:03To everyone but you,
22:04it's obvious that Mr. Haberman
22:05had been kicked by Prince.
22:06Suppose we just skip that for a moment, huh?
22:09Uh, Mr. Wright,
22:10just exactly what is the relationship
22:12between your firm and Mr. Armstrong?
22:14I don't see that it's any of your business.
22:16Oh, now let's not go through that routine again.
22:18If you'd let me finish,
22:19I still think it's none of your business,
22:21but I'm perfectly willing to tell you.
22:23Mr. Armstrong is an agent
22:24for some eastern industrial properties
22:26which we're considering purchasing.
22:27I see.
22:28And was Mr. Haberman
22:29in complete agreement with you
22:30about this purchase?
22:31He was up until a few nights ago.
22:33Uh, what or who changed his mind?
22:36Well, uh,
22:37my son wasn't too happy about the deal,
22:39and I think he changed Haberman's mind.
22:41When did your son tell you
22:42that you either fired Haberman
22:44or he would leave the company?
22:45What?
22:46No, no, no, no.
22:47Don't get all insulted and abusive.
22:49We know your son did tell you that.
22:51Patricia, if you...
22:52Your daughter had nothing to do
22:53with our knowing that, Mr. Wright.
22:55Ah, let's not argue about it.
22:56It is true, isn't it?
22:58Yes.
22:59And what did you decide?
23:00Well, go on.
23:01Answer.
23:02Well, I...
23:03I hadn't made up my mind.
23:04I...
23:05I never would have hoped
23:06that things would work themselves out.
23:07And they have, sir.
23:08First, by the death of your son,
23:09and next, Haberman.
23:11Both troublesome elements
23:12removed within a...
23:13Surely you don't...
23:14You can't think
23:15that I'd connive in the death
23:16of my own son.
23:18Patricia, you...
23:19Yes, Father?
23:20You don't believe
23:21that I had anything to do with...
23:22No, Dad.
23:23And I don't either.
23:24Nor do Miss Knight and Inspector Faraday.
23:26Well, I...
23:27I'm glad of that.
23:29I'm glad, too,
23:30that you're coming to your senses
23:32and realizing that my boy's death
23:33was an accident.
23:34No, Mr. Wright.
23:35Your son's death
23:36was not an accident
23:37any more than Haberman's was.
23:38But...
23:39Who could you possibly suspect?
23:40Who stands to gain
23:41by both deaths?
23:43Why, no one.
23:44What about Armstrong?
23:45Armstrong?
23:46But...
23:47Armstrong...
23:48You mean that Armstrong
23:49was afraid
23:50that my son's objection
23:51to our deal
23:52and later Haberman's objection
23:53might cause the deal
23:54to fall through?
23:55Exactly, Mr. Wright.
23:56And it's very easy to prove, that is.
23:57It will be easy
23:58if you will cooperate.
23:59Oh...
24:00Oh, certainly.
24:01I'll cooperate in any way I can.
24:02But...
24:03You haven't been
24:04very cooperative so far,
24:05Mr. Wright.
24:06I...
24:07Yes, well, I'll...
24:08I'll do whatever you ask me to.
24:09Now we're getting somewhere.
24:10Now, here's what we'll do.
24:11Phyllis, the inspector,
24:12and I will hide.
24:13Phyllis, behind the curtains
24:14leading to the terrace.
24:15The inspector in a closet.
24:16Got it.
24:17And I'll get behind the door.
24:18Yes.
24:19Patricia will go to her own room.
24:20You...
24:21You, Mr. Wright,
24:22will call Armstrong in
24:23and tell him
24:24you're not going through
24:25with the deal.
24:26I'm quite certain
24:27his reaction
24:28will be enough to convince you.
24:29Well, I...
24:30I don't think
24:31I'll find that difficult.
24:32I think Armstrong
24:33is coming in the front door.
24:34All right, all right.
24:35Now, quick, everybody, quick.
24:36Get set.
24:37You run upstairs, Patricia.
24:38Come on.
24:43Okay, Wright.
24:44Call him in.
24:45Uh...
24:46Oh, uh...
24:47That you, Armstrong?
24:48Yes.
24:49Did you want me?
24:50Uh, yes, yes.
24:51I...
24:52I think in spite
24:53of all the tragedy around here
24:54that we ought to arrive
24:55at some definite conclusion
24:56about this transaction.
24:57Well, I suppose you're right.
24:58I didn't want to hurry you
24:59or seem aggressive
25:00with all the things
25:01that have happened.
25:02Yes, yes, I understand.
25:03But it is an excellent opportunity,
25:04and I know you'll make
25:05a mint out of it.
25:06I'm not going through
25:07with it, however.
25:08Uh...
25:09What?
25:10I'm not going through
25:11with it, Armstrong.
25:12Oh, you're not, huh?
25:14Well, that's what you think.
25:16What was that you said?
25:17I said that if you think
25:18you're going to back out now,
25:19you've got another thing coming.
25:20Oh, wait a minute, Armstrong.
25:21You're not leaving me
25:22holding the sack.
25:23I've obligated myself
25:24to those properties,
25:25and you're going to buy them.
25:26I'm most certainly
25:27not going to buy them
25:28if I don't want to.
25:29And maybe that'll persuade you.
25:31The next time, be faster.
25:33What is this?
25:34Is this a trap?
25:35In a way, it is, yes,
25:36and apparently
25:37quite a justifiable one.
25:38I must apologize
25:39for the gunplay,
25:40and I must apologize
25:41for being quite slow
25:42and somewhat blind.
25:44Blind, Mike?
25:45Yes.
25:46Yes, I should have noticed
25:47long before this
25:48that Mr. Armstrong
25:49was left-handed.
25:50I didn't, however,
25:51until he whipped out
25:52that gun of his
25:53with his left hand.
25:54Left-handed?
25:55Yes, Phil, left-handed.
25:56What?
25:57What does that matter?
25:58I've been left-handed
25:59all my life.
26:00Yes, Armstrong, left-handed.
26:02I think you can produce
26:03the evidence now, Inspector.
26:05Right, Mike.
26:10Did you ever see
26:11that weapon before, Armstrong?
26:14Where did you find it?
26:16In the hayloft.
26:18That's where you hid it,
26:19isn't it, Armstrong?
26:21Okay, Inspector,
26:22I don't think we'll get
26:23any more argument out of him.
26:25You ready, Armstrong?
26:28Yes.
26:43You want some more coffee, Inspector?
26:45No, thanks, fellas.
26:46Mmm, that was
26:47an excellent dinner.
26:48Oh, say that again.
26:49Angel's a good cook.
26:50Flatterer.
26:51As well as being good
26:52at portrait reviews.
26:55Say that left-handed
26:56business.
26:57I've been turning it
26:58over and over in my mind.
26:59I don't see why on earth
27:00Armstrong's being left-handed
27:01had to do with a case at all.
27:03Well, I thought perhaps
27:04his being left-handed was,
27:05well, responsible for him
27:06nailing the horseshoe
27:07on the club the wrong way.
27:09Oh, no, Angel, no.
27:11That was just the inevitable
27:12slip that a murderer makes.
27:14Well, then what was
27:15the left-handed clue?
27:17When I remarked on
27:18Armstrong's being left-handed,
27:19you repeated it after me,
27:21remember?
27:22Yeah, sure.
27:23And I caught the look in
27:24Mike's eye and repeated it
27:25after you.
27:26Well, yes, I remember
27:27that, too.
27:28It impressed me,
27:29but I didn't catch on.
27:30Ah, it impressed Armstrong,
27:31too, and he didn't catch on.
27:33He didn't know why
27:34or what we had in mind,
27:36and the inspector and I
27:37didn't give him time
27:38to find out.
27:39We played cat and mouse
27:40with him.
27:42Armstrong thought that
27:43his being left-handed
27:44was a clue.
27:45He couldn't figure out
27:46what it was,
27:47but our tone of voice
27:48convinced him that we had
27:49him dead to rights,
27:51and, well, he broke down.
27:55Smarty.
27:56Hmm?
27:57It was nothing but
27:58playing up a guilty conscience.
28:00Right, Angel.
28:02One of the best weapons
28:03a private detective has.
28:05So let it be a lesson
28:06to you there, darling,
28:07and don't try
28:08holding out anything
28:09on your old man, Mike Shane,
28:10or your good old conscience
28:11will get you.
28:12See?
28:25Whoa!
28:29Whoa!
28:46Tune in again next week
28:48at 8.30 for another adventure
28:50with Michael Shane,
28:51Private Detective,
28:52starring Wally Mayer
28:53and Kathy Lewis,
28:54and Joe Forte
28:55as Inspector Faraday.
28:57Tonight's story was written
28:59and produced by David Taylor
29:01and based on the character
29:02created by Brett Halliday.
29:04Music was composed and directed
29:06by Bernard Katz.
29:08This is John Lang saying goodnight
29:10for the people who make
29:1176 gasoline
29:13and Triton Motor Oil,
29:15Union Oil Company.
29:18This is the Mutual Darnley
29:20Broadcasting System.