THE FRIENDS OF MR. CAIRO
|
Talk to us on the Cairo Discussion Forums
Information on everything CAIRO under the sun
See more summaries, synopses and scripts at the Cairo Radio Script Library
Sidney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe
Wally Maher as Archie (first and only episode)
Jeanne Bates as Gloria Kent
Howard McNear as Elliot Rodman
Jay Novello as Ben Sanford
Larry Dobkin as Halleck
Herb Vigran as Cross
Bill Johnstone as Inspector Kramer
* This is the script for the second broadcast of this episode (two broadcasts were usually made in one night, one to the east coast and one to the west coast). Various lines from the opening of the episode have been cut. The 'whole' script will be uploaded for comparison later on this month. Two versions of the broadcast also exist. Radio Spirits has the abbreviated version, Streamload has the full version.
Dated Death |
Archie |
My boss is the smartest and the stubbornest, the fattest and the laziest, the cleverest and the craziest, the most extravagant detective in the world...Nero Wolfe.
|
Sydney Greenstreet |
Announcer |
It's the adventure of Stamped for Murder, with that brilliant eccentric private detective, orchid fancier and gargantuan gourmet, Nero Wolfe, starring Sidney Greenstreet. Music |
Greenstreet made his movie debut in his sixties, in The Maltese Falcon. |
Wolfe |
Instructions for this morning, Archie - your notebook please. First, Mr. Sausenbeck. Inform him that the Long Island hen he sent were most unsatisfactory. |
Archie |
Dinner any day is going to be a problem if we don't pay Sausenbeck's bill. |
|
Wolfe |
Then pay it. |
|
Archie |
With what? The bank account's empty. |
|
Wolfe |
Ridiculous. There were four thousand dollars yesterday. |
|
Orchids |
Archie |
But you bought that shipment of orchid bulbs from Lionel Gutner. Mr. Wolfe, we need money. You've got to stop eating and drinking beer long enough to earn some. |
Wolfe |
Pfui. You're an alarmist. |
|
Archie |
Will you for the love of heaven stop turning down clients and turn an honest dollar! I've got a couple of prospects right outside the door! |
|
Wolfe |
Send them away! |
|
Archie |
No sir! |
|
Wolfe |
Send them away. Tell them I've gone to Egypt. |
|
Archie |
Nothing doing, sir. FOOTSTEPS |
|
Wolfe |
Confound you, Archie, obey orders. Send them away! OPENING DOOR |
|
Archie |
Miss Kent, Mr. Rodman, come in please. |
|
VOICES |
Thank you. |
|
Wolfe |
Confound you, Archie, you are mutinous. |
|
Archie |
Yes, sir, and you're stuck with it. This is Miss Gloria Kent and Mr. Rodman, they arrived as advertised with a pressing problem. |
|
Wolfe |
Good morning. You people are here by sufferance only. I shall speak to Mr. Goodwin about it later. Yes, INDEED. I know my pressing problems, Miss Kent. What are yours? |
|
Gloria |
Well, it's simply this, Mr. Wolfe. I had some money my mother left me. My father's just spent it, without my permission. I want it back, without a scandal. |
|
Wolfe |
Facts, Miss, Kent. How much? How spent? |
|
Gloria |
Ten thousand dollars. Father bought a treasure map. |
|
Wolfe |
Indeed, from whom? |
|
Gloria |
A pair of swindlers named Cross and Halleck. They've driven him crazy, talking about fortunes salvaged from the SS this and the SS that. He..he's got a map, an old letter he studies...he's childish! |
|
Wolfe |
Many fortunes have been recovered. Many more await on the sea bottom. How do you know your father's being duped. |
|
Howard McNear as Elliott Rodman |
Rodman Wolfe |
Well, I know!
You do, Mr. Rodman? |
|
Rodman |
Yes. Cross and Halleck bought some old letters from me, written by my old grandfather from Hawaii. They used them to manufacture the map, and evidence, and that's what they sold to Kent. |
1778- Englishman James Cooks discovers the inhabited islands and names them after the Earl of Sandwich. |
Gloria |
Father thought he was being so clever. He had the paper analyzed. Of course the document research laboratory said the letters were genuine. They were! But something new had been added. (Tearful.) I'd have never known if Mr. Rodman hadn't told me! |
Wolfe |
You were a party to this swindle, Mr. Rodman? |
|
Rodman |
I was not! I never knew what they were up to! |
|
1810 - King Kamehameha unites the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom under his rule. 1820 - First American Protestant Missionaries arrive in Hawaii. |
Gloria Wolfe |
Mr. Wolfe, you've got to help me! I can't do anything with father. I can't convince him...even Mr. Rodman can't...
No, Miss Kent, I am sorry, this is not for me. |
Gloria |
But you must! You... FOOTSTEPS |
|
Wolfe |
Archie, when Miss Kent has finished her disgraceful exhibition show them out. FOOTSTEPS. DOOR CLOSES |
|
Archie |
Oh, aren't you ashamed of yourself walking out like that on that poor kid. |
|
Wolfe |
That hysterical gammer, pfui. |
|
Archie |
I charge high fees, Archie. |
|
Wolfe |
So charge a small fee! Do you want her to starve? |
|
Last Hawaiian King, Kalakaua
Last Hawaiian Queen, Liliuokalani |
Archie |
Oooh, very well, go back in to them. Get names, addresses, facts. I am not committed to Miss Kent's case, but ...we'll see. Be the tribute I pay for your weakness for a pretty face. MUSIC Rodman and Gloria Kent were gone, however, so all I had were the few facts they'd given me before they met Wolfe. I felt guilty about that when he came back into the office and sat down in his specially built chair. He closed his eyes, and I glared at him. Did you tell me you were going to help this girl just to get her out of the office, or did you mean it? |
Wolfe |
Mumble |
|
Archie |
No, sir, no sir, you made a promise and you're stuck with it. |
|
Wolfe |
What did you get from Rodman? |
|
1893 - Liliuokulani's brother dies and she becomes Queen. She is soon deposed by American businessmen who annex Hawaii to the United States in 1898.
|
Archie Wolfe |
Name, address, occupation. He's a librarian, that's all.
Very careless, Archie. You missed the significant point. |
Archie |
Such as? |
|
An envelope mailed from Hawaii |
Wolfe |
How did Rodman discover the letters he sold were being altered by forgery? And used for swindle? How did he locate the duped Mr. Kent? |
Archie |
Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll ask him next time. |
|
Wolfe |
Get Cross and Halleck. |
|
Archie |
On my way. |
|
Wolfe |
You'll find them at the Hotel Bogard. |
|
Archie |
Ha hah. Wrong sir. According to my notes their address is.. |
|
A tribute to Humphrey Bogart? |
Wolfe |
Never mind their address. The Hotel Bogard is the headquarters for successful confidence tricksters. They celebrate their victories there while the money lasts. You will possibly find Cross and Halleck drinking whisky or lunching. Probably both. |
Hawaii remains a territory until 1959 when it becomes the 50th state (9 years after this story). Charlie Chan in books and movies lived and worked in the territory of Hawaii. |
Archie |
I located Cross and Halleck in the hotel bar, and lured them back to our place on 35th street. Wolfe was sitting behind his desk with his hands crossed on his impressive middle, at peace with his lunch and the world when I ushered them in. He sat bolt upright and scorched me with a look. |
Archie |
Good afternoon, Mr. Wolfe. The tall one's name is Cross, the short one is Halleck. They want to help me invest my money. Gentlemen, Mr. Nero Wolfe. |
|
Halleck |
Wha? Who? Nero Wolfe? |
|
Cross |
What is this? |
|
Wolfe |
Confound you, Archie. How drunk are they? |
|
Archie |
Not too drunk for business. |
|
Halleck |
Let's get out of here. Come on. FOOTSTEPS. |
|
Archie |
Wait a minute! You want me to keep 'em here, Mr. Wolfe? |
|
Cross |
Still ....duck decoy. |
|
Wolfe |
Not by violence, Archie. Come back here, gentleman, unless you want seven years in the state penitentiary. |
|
Cross |
Unless what? |
|
Halleck |
You got nuthin' on us, Wolfe, nuthin.' |
|
Wolfe |
I have the Kent case. |
|
Cross |
The Kent case! |
|
Halleck |
That's a laugh. We're sitting pretty. Sitting pretty. |
|
Wolfe |
You are not, sir. You imagine you possess legal immunity. Mr. Kent believes your grotesque balderdash and will not sue for fraud. Miss Kent cannot sue because she is reluctant to accuse her father of wrongfully obtaining her money. Ergo, you think you are invulnerable. |
|
Halleck |
Now listen. |
|
Wolfe |
But you forget me! I'm a detective with a fee to earn. |
|
Archie |
A big fee! |
|
Wolfe |
Quiet, Archie. I am determined to get that fee. Therefore, as Miss Kent's agent I can and will bring action against you. I'm indifferent to her tears or her father's disgrace. I am indifferent to anything outside of money. You will return the ten thousand dollars to me at once, sir, or you will be in jail by morning! |
|
Cross |
You mean that? |
|
Wolfe |
I do, Mr. Cross. |
|
Cross |
Halleck, come here. |
|
Halleck |
Yeah. FOOTSTEPS |
|
Wolfe |
Come on, hurry! |
|
Cross |
FOOTSTEPS Un, okay, Mr. Wolfe. Here. Mr. Wolfe. Halleck and I have decided we don't want to get into any trouble with you. Here's your ten grand. |
|
Wolfe |
Ah, let's have it. Snatch of envelope, rustle of paper |
|
Cross |
Give the dough to Mr. Kent, and get the letters and map back for us. You've got a reputation for being tricky, but honest. We trust you. FOOTSTEPS. Come on, Halleck, let's go. |
|
Halleck |
Yeah DOOR CLOSES |
|
Archie |
Ha ha. Well, how about that? |
|
Wolfe |
Preposterous. |
|
Archie |
No, sure! Take a look. Ten thousand dollars. Genuine coin of the realm. |
|
Wolfe |
That man Cross is a fool. Does he imagine I am to be fooled so easily? |
|
Archie |
What do you mean? He left the money. |
|
Wolfe |
He surrendered too quickly, Archie. Too easily. And that money in the envelope, he was carrying all ready to refund, why? |
|
Archie |
Well, maybe he's got a better sucker. I heard him mention a Ben Sanford. |
|
Wolfe |
Nonsense. Does he need Kent's forged letters and map to cheat this Ben Sanford. Couldn't he prepare another set? |
|
Archie |
I guess you're right. Something's fishy. |
|
Wolfe |
In any event its no concern of mine, thank heaven. |
|
Archie |
Why not? |
|
Wolfe |
I'm not committed to Miss Kent in any way. As a favor to you I undertook to regain her money. I have done that . You may take it back to her, and obtain the forged papers in return. |
|
Archie |
But... |
|
Wolfe |
Silence, Mr. Goodwin. Go to your red head charmer. Leave me in peace. I intend to spend this afternoon with my new world atlas. MUSIC |
|
Archie |
I left him 3,000 miles up the Amazon with his magnifying glass and drove up to east 69th street. The Kent house was a broken down little brownstone and as I went up the stoop..the door opened and Gloria Kent burst out like a sky rocket. Hey, Miss Kent! Easy. Easy. |
|
Gloria |
Let go of me, let go! |
|
Archie |
What's wrong? What's wrong? |
|
Gloria |
Wrong? Wrong?!! Nothing's wrong! Nothing at all! |
|
Archie |
Well, how about seeing your father? |
|
Gloria |
You want to see my father. Come inside! |
|
Archie |
Well for the love of heaven... |
|
Gloria |
Come inside, Mr. Goodwin. I'll introduce you. He's in a back room. Come right through the living room. |
|
Archie |
What else went through this living room, a hurricane? |
|
Gloria |
No, Mr. Goodwin. Something else. DOOR OPENS There's my father, Mr. Goodwin! |
|
Archie |
What in the dev... QUICK FOOTSTEPS He's dead. His throat's cut. |
|
Gloria |
Father. This is Archie Goodwin from Nero Wolfe's office. He and his boss refused to help while they could. Maybe he can help you now. All I'm good for now is revenge. |
|
Archie |
Stop it. |
|
Gloria |
Revenge, that's all! |
|
Archie |
Stop it and look at me! When did it happen? |
|
Gloria |
I don't know. |
|
Archie |
When did you find him? |
|
Gloria |
Just now. |
|
Archie |
Keep looking at me. Who went through this house like a hurricane? You? |
|
Gloria |
No. |
|
Archie |
Where did you go after you left the office? |
|
Gloria |
Document Research. The place that checked the map.... |
|
Archie |
How long were you there? |
|
Gloria |
Until an hour ago. I was with Mr. Rodman. |
|
Archie |
Keep looking at me. And then? |
|
Gloria |
I had lunch. |
|
Archie |
With Rodman? |
|
Gloria |
Alone. And then I came home. |
|
Archie |
All right. All right. Now listen to me. I want you to go to Mr. Wolfe's house right now. Have you got cab fare? |
|
Gloria |
Yes. |
|
Archie |
All right, take a cab. I've got to stay here but I'll call Mr. Wolfe and tell him you're on the way. Now, get! MUSIC I called Wolfe, told him everything, and he instructed me to advise Inspector Kramer, who arrived with the homicide squad. I gave the Inspector everything while the squad photographed and measured, print dusted and detected. At three thirty Kramer took me back to the house on 35th street for a fight with Wolfe. |
|
Bill Johnstone (ex-Shadow) as Kramer |
Kramer |
It's a great story, Wolfe, great. Kent buys a phony treasure map. Everybody knows its phony except Kent. But Cross and Halleck try to buy it back and Kent gets himself murdered. |
Wolfe |
Did you find the map and letters in the house, Inspector? |
|
Kramer |
No. No, I didn't. |
|
Wolfe |
The killer was after the map. |
|
Kramer |
The phony map? |
|
Wolfe |
Certainly. |
|
Kramer |
Why? |
|
Wolfe |
||
Archie |
SNAPS FINGERS Maybe its not phony! |
|
Kramer |
I'd better see the girl now. |
|
Wolfe |
Oh, you fancy her for the murder? |
|
Kramer |
Well, I'll know after I ask a few questions. |
|
Wolfe |
Tonight. She's had a shock, Mr. Kramer. She needs rest. |
|
Kramer |
Look, Wolfe, I want her! |
|
Wolfe |
Why bother with her when there's no much work to be done? |
|
Kramer |
Yeah? Such as? |
|
Wolfe |
Cross and Halleck. Find them. And the mystery man they spoke of, Ben Sanford. He's the man you want now, not this poor, overwrought girl. |
|
Kramer |
Well, okay. The girl will be here for questioning tonight, though, eh? |
|
Wolfe |
Tonight, Mr. Kramer. |
|
Kramer |
FOOTSTEPS. Okay. You'll hear from me later on. |
|
Archie |
Heh heh, Well, you buffaloed him out of that, okay. Say, why don't you want her questioned. Is she guilty? |
|
Wolfe |
I don't know. |
|
Archie |
Well, what did she say when she got here? |
|
Wolfe |
She said nothing. She never arrived. |
|
Archie |
She never what? |
|
Wolfe |
She never arrived. |
|
Archie |
Well, then why did you tell Kramer she was resting? |
|
Wolfe |
Would he have believed the truth? Pfui. She must be found. More important, we must learn forged letters and forged map produces turmoil. |
|
Archie |
Find the killer and you find the map. You said so. |
|
Wolfe |
I said the reverse, which is an altogether different statement. Archie, I want a photograph of that map. Get it. |
|
Archie |
Oh, sure. Sure. Any particular camera you want me to use? |
|
Wolfe |
You'll find the photograph at 200 Vanderbilt Street. |
|
Archie |
Are you kidding? |
|
Wolfe |
The lab cannot check the authenticity of old papers without photographing them in ultraviolet light, infrared light, and so on. If this document research lab has examined those papers, they will have photographs. Get them! MUSIC |
|
Archie |
He got out of his chair and waddled back to the house elevator. It was four o'clock and time for his regular afternoon session with the orchids. I drove down to the Document Research Laboratory on Vanderbilt and got such a shock that I grabbed the office phone and dialed Wolfe at once. ROTARY DIAL TONE PHONE PICK UP |
|
Wolfe |
This is Nero Wolfe. |
|
Archie |
Mr. Wolfe. Archie here. |
|
Wolfe |
What's the matter, are you lost? |
|
Archie |
No, sir. No, sir, but I found something. |
|
Wolfe |
Photographs? |
|
Archie |
No Mr. Wolfe, I don't think you'll ever see any photographs of the Kent map. I don't think any were taken. |
|
Wolfe |
Indeed. |
|
Archie |
But guess who runs the Document Research Laboratory? No, no, no, no no, don't guess. You probably know. A man named Ben Sanford and he's sitting right here looking at me. |
|
Wolfe |
Bring him home with you. |
|
Archie |
Home! But it's four in the afternoon! MUSIC |
|
Sanford |
Hey, how about this place? How about it? There must be a million flowers up here. |
|
Archie |
LAUGHS No, not flowers. Orchids only. Mr. Wolfe has ten thousand plants. |
|
Sanford |
WHISTLES Never saw anything like it. |
|
Archie |
And you never will again, brother. |
|
Sanford |
Hey, what, eh, what kind is that, on the bench? |
|
Odontoglossumgrande |
Archie |
Oh, that? That's our pride and joy. Odontoglossum Harryanum. Above 'em the Vanbeetersaerana. And the pink ones are the selogiannia panderotas. Now, the large object mulching flower pots is Nero Wolfe. Mr. Wolfe. Ben Sanford. |
Wolfe |
Good afternoon, sir |
|
Sanford |
Hi. I came along to be obliging. I've got nothing to say about anything. |
|
Wolfe |
How much have you offered Cross and Halleck for their treasure map? |
|
Sanford |
No comment. |
|
Wolfe |
Mr. Sanford, I'm going to make some assumptions. I assume that you are not in fact a document expert but an accessory to the fraud of Halleck and Cross. |
|
Sanford |
No comment. |
|
Wolfe |
That you actually prepare fraudulent maps for those swindlers, and then in the guise of an expert guarantee their authenticity. |
|
Sanford |
No comment. |
|
Wolfe |
But this you must answer. You did guarantee the authenticity of the map and letters Kent bought. It's on record. |
|
Sanford |
All right, I did. |
|
Wolfe |
Then will you admit, they were forged. |
|
Sanford |
What are you, a comic? No! |
|
Wolfe |
You guarantee the value of the Kent map? |
|
Sanford |
Yes. |
|
Wolfe |
As an expert? |
|
Sanford |
Yes. |
|
Wolfe |
Then you've convicted yourself of murder. |
|
Sanford |
Murder! What is this? |
|
Wolfe |
Mr. Kent was murdered, sir. Evidently for the map and letters he bought. But of all persons involved, you alone believe in the value of the map. No one else does. Therefore, you alone would have murdered Kent for the map. |
|
Sanford |
For the love of....wait a minute. Wait a minute! |
|
Archie |
Heh, heh. Chew it over, brother. Chew it over. Either way he's got you. |
|
Sanford |
Okay, okay, you want me to level? Here it is. |
|
Wolfe |
Level, Archie? |
|
Archie |
Okay, boss. Thief type talk. It means, tell the truth. |
|
Sanford |
It's like ya say. The letters were bought from Rodman. I forged the map and evidence on them. I guaranteed them to Kent. A...swindle. |
|
Wolfe |
The letters are without value? |
|
Sanford |
Oh, sure, they're old. That's all. From 1851. Just tired family gossip, and stuff. |
|
Wolfe |
Indeed. There we have the problem again, Archie. Mr. Kent is swindled with a map and letters that are known to be worthless. He alone believes the fantasy of the treasure. |
|
Sanford |
There isn't any treasure. Never was. |
|
Wolfe |
Yet Cross and Halleck refunded the swindled money so eagerly. It's obvious they want those worthless documents back badly. Someone else wants them back so badly he murders Mr. Kent. Why? |
|
Sanford |
I don't know. |
|
Wolfe |
Archie, we must find the girl. There's a chance she turned to Mr. Rodman for refuge. I'm sorry, you'll have to go there at once. If the girl isn't there bring Rodman. BUZZER OPEN DOOR |
|
Rodman |
Yes? |
|
Archie |
Hello, Rodman? Remember me? I'm Archie Goodwin, from Nero Wolfe's office. |
|
Rodman |
Oh! Yes, of course. |
|
Archie |
I've come to get Gloria Kent. There's been a change in plans. Tell her to come out, please. |
|
Rodman |
Gloria? She's not here. Why should she be? |
|
Archie |
Haven't you heard? |
|
Rodman |
Heard what? |
|
Archie |
Well, I guess you better come down and see Wolfe. |
|
Rodman |
Mr. Goodwin, I'm afraid I can't. I'm rather busy. |
|
Archie |
Look, Rodman, maybe you ought to know. Old man Kent was murdered. |
|
Rodman |
What? |
|
Archie |
Yes, yes just after you and Gloria left us. |
|
Rodman |
Kent murdered? We...-oh, this is awful, Mr. Goodwin. |
|
Archie |
You want to see Mr. Wolfe now? Get your hat. |
|
Rodman |
Murdered?! Oh believe me I never wanted this...I'm going to tell Nero Wolfe the whole mess...every word of it. |
|
Archie |
Okay, then come on, let's go. |
|
Rodman |
Yes, of course, I'll get my hat, its in the bedroom (FOOTSTEPS) ...Kent...I never dreamed. |
|
Archie |
(Whistles briefly.) Come on, Rodman, come on, Rodman. Come on! |
|
Rodman |
Muffled gurgling |
|
Archie |
What, I didn't hear you. FOOTSTEPS OPEN DOOR CHOKING, GURGLING |
|
Archie |
Rodman...Rodman! Good lord, what next! (FOOTSTEPS. DIALING PHONE. Come on, come on. |
|
Wolfe |
This is Nero Wolfe. |
|
Archie |
Archie here. We got a tough break. |
|
Wolfe |
Yes? |
|
Archie |
While I was waiting for Rodman at the front door he went into the bedroom for his hat. The killer was there. |
|
Wolfe |
How do you know? |
|
Archie |
He cut Rodman's throat. |
|
Wolfe |
Tail him! |
|
Archie |
The back window was open. It's a ground floor apartment. He was out and gone before I had a chance! |
|
Wolfe |
Archie, where were your wits? |
|
Archie |
Let me alone! I've had a man murdered twenty feet from me. You think I'm cheering? |
|
Wolfe |
Mr. Kramer is here. He has news for us, Archie. He could not locate Cross and Halleck in their apartment. They had not been home all day. A maid informed him that she was waiting for her weekly salary. |
|
Archie |
Well, so what? |
|
Wolfe |
She was most angry, and peppery, (meaningly) Mr. Kramer informs me. |
|
Archie |
Red pepper? (Understandingly) |
|
Wolfe |
Exactly. |
|
Archie |
Okay, okay maybe I know what you mean. I'll try to deliver the goods this time. Good bye. MUSIC I drove down to the apartment house on Gramercy Square where Cross and Halleck lived. Took the elevator up to the tenth floor, found the right door, and slipped in with a passkey. FOOTSTEPS Come on out. Come out, wherever you are. I know you're in here. You fooled Kramer pretending to be the maid but you didn't fool Wolfe. You'd better.. BANG! |
|
Archie |
Gloria! BANG! BANG! BANG! Cut it out! Cut it out, you idiot! Lay off. Archie! Archie you dope! Archie Goodwin from Nero Wolfe's office. Remember me. SOUNDS OF STRUGGLING |
|
Gloria |
Let me go. |
|
Archie |
Give me the gun, Gloria, give it to me. Sighs Who did you think I was? |
|
Gloria |
Halleck. |
|
Archie |
Oh, brilliant. So Wolfe figured you out, huh? You are a brave girl. They killed your father. You came up here and waited for them. You were going to kill them right back, huh? Oh, that red-headed temper. And you bluffed Kramer into thinking you were the maid. |
|
Gloria |
I had to do something, (TEAR FILLED VOICE) It was the only thing I could think of, to come here and kill them. |
|
Archie |
Well, you're coming home with Archie. And just remember one thing. When Wolfe's working for you, don't try to do any thinking. It only gets in Wolfe's way. MUSIC I got Gloria Kent back to the house at 7 o'clock. I parked the car, brought her into the office and got the shock of my life. There was a convention on! Wolfe was there, with Inspector Kramer representing the cops. Cross, Halleck and Sanford were there, representing the crooks. When Kramer saw Gloria, he scowled first at her and then at Wolfe. |
|
Kramer |
So it was a slick one after all, Wolfe. You didn't have the girl. You had no intention of producing her. |
|
Wolfe |
Please, Mr. Kramer, that can wait. There are other matters more important. I dine at eight. That leaves me one hour to solve your murders. |
|
Kramer |
Murders? More than one? |
|
Wolfe |
Yes, two. Elliott Rodman. |
|
Kramer |
But by heaven, Goodwin, if you... |
|
Wolfe |
Please Mr Kramer, not now. First, Miss Kent. Good evening, Miss Kent. I presume you have met these gentlemen, Cross, Halleck and Sanford? |
|
Gloria |
I....I |
|
Wolfe |
I'll take your purse please. |
|
Gloria |
Why? I... |
|
Wolfe |
Don't think me as naive as Mr. Goodwin, Miss. When you left your home after the murder of your father you took the map and letters with you. They're in your purse now! |
|
Gloria |
That's not true. |
|
Wolfe |
Archie, purse. thank you. We have here an interesting situation. There exists some old letters and map, forged and fraudulent. They're worth ten thousand dollars and more to Cross and Halleck and worth two murders to a killer. Why? There must be something of great value in the letters. |
|
Kramer |
Well, such as? |
|
Wolfe |
Something which Mr. Sanford could not see although he worked on the document closely. Yet something which could be made manifest. What is the answer, Miss Kent? You know it! |
|
Gloria |
I swear I don't! |
|
Wolfe |
Secret writing, Archie. Bring the chafing dish from the dining room. |
|
Archie |
Right. FOOTSTEPS. |
|
Larry Dobkin (left) as Halleck |
Halleck |
Secret writing. |
Sanford |
I saw nothing when I worked on those letters. |
|
Wolfe |
Naturally, Mr. Sanford, the writing is invisible. But heat is an agent. Makes most forms of secret writing visible. |
|
Archie |
FOOTSTEPS. The chafing dish, boss. |
|
Wolfe |
Thank you, Archie. Place it before me and light it. |
|
Archie |
Right. |
|
Wolfe |
Now I open Miss Kent's purse. From it you see I withdraw these ancient letters which she took from her house after her father's murder. |
|
Gloria |
That's not true! |
|
Wolfe |
Archie! |
|
Archie |
(Whispers) That's enough, Gloria! That's enough. From now on you just listen. |
|
Wolfe |
We remove the letters from the envelope and toast them gently. Secret ink vintage 1851 will easily succumb to the agency of heat. |
|
Halleck |
Careful! Those envelopes will catch fire! |
|
Cross |
They've caught. |
|
Wolfe |
Don't be upset Mr. Cross, Mr. Halleck. |
|
Cross |
The envelopes! |
|
Wolfe |
They will burn safely in the dish. We can concentrate on the writing. Watch closely. I don't want to be accused of trickery. |
|
Cross |
You fat fool. The envelopes are everything! |
|
Halleck |
Put 'em out, Sanford. Don't sit there. Put 'em out! |
|
Wolfe |
Why, Mr. Halleck? |
|
Halleck |
Well, the stamps! The missionaries! They're worth a fortune! |
|
Wolfe |
The missionary. Of course. You know that. Mr. Cross knows. So does Mr. Sanford, right? |
|
Cross |
Yeah, yeah. |
|
Halleck |
Of course Sanford knows, you old fool. FOOTSTEPS. SOUNDS OF HALLECK TRYING TO RESCUE THE ENVEOPES |
|
Wolfe |
Mr. Sanford is not alarmed. Why not, sir? |
|
Sanford |
I don't know what you're talking about. |
|
Wolfe |
Fifty or a hundred thousand dollars is burning before your eyes, Mr. Sanford. Cross and Halleck are burning their fingers putting out the flaming envelopes. And you sit there quite indifferently. Why? |
|
Sanford |
Well, I... |
|
Hawaiian 'Missionary' stamp |
Wolfe |
You know the value of the missionary stamps on the letters you bought from Rodman. But you know these aren't the real letters. Isn't that it? |
Cross |
Not the real letters? |
|
Sanford |
I told you I'm tough to crack, Wolfe. You didn't fool me with those dummies. |
|
Wolfe |
Dummies? How do you know? Mr. Cross didn't know. Mr. Halleck didn't know. How did you? |
|
Sanford |
Well, I.... |
|
Wolfe |
I'll tell you, sir. Only one man could know I was framing Miss Kent with a decoy. Only one man could know I prepared these dummy letters and pretended to take them from her purse, and that is the killer. The man who murdered her father and stole the map and letters this morning. You sir, Mr. Sanford. |
|
Halleck |
Well, I'll be. |
|
Wolfe |
Mr. Kramer. |
|
Kramer |
Yeah? |
|
Wolfe |
There's your killer. You'll find the missing map and letters on him or concealed in his home or office. You won't need the evidence anyway. Look at his face. He's self-confessed. |
|
Archie |
Self confessed, like fun! He was booby trapped. MUSIC |
|
Wolfe |
No, Mr. Kramer. Not a complicated case, really. Very simple. Elmer Rodman sold a packet of old family letters to the swindlers for a small sum. They used the letters to perpetrate their fraud on Miss Kent's father. |
|
Gloria |
And the stamps on the letters were valuable? |
|
Wolfe |
They were special Hawaiian issue 1851, Miss Kent. Nicknamed Missionaries because missionaries used them for writing home. They're extremely rare stamps worth upwards of 25,000 dollars each. |
|
Kramer |
Hey, no wonder they were worth two murders. We found five of them on Sanford. |
|
Wolfe |
Excellent. Somewhere or other Rodman discovered the value of the stamps after he sold the letters. In his effort to get them back he communicated his discovery to the swindlers, Cross, Halleck and Sanford. |
|
Archie |
So that's why they refunded the money so fast. |
|
Wolfe |
Precisely, in an effort to have the sale rescinded. Rodman sought out Kent and tried to convince him of the fraud. Alas, he would not listen to the truth, Mr. Kramer. |
|
Archie |
Oh, I get it. While the others were hassling around, Sanford tried to steal a march and quietly resorted to murder. |
|
Wolfe |
And there you have it. |
|
Archie |
Ha hah, great job, boss, great job. So Gloria not only gets her ten grand back but five times 25 which is about 125000 worth of goodies. Now figuring your rates by the hour that means you've done a gratis job worth about... |
|
Wolfe |
Miss Kent, I did not nor will I demand a large fee for what I have done. I will not go back on my word. But I can beg for a favor. |
|
Gloria |
I'll only be too happy to... |
|
Wolfe |
Wait, wait, I ask something that will not be easy to grant. |
|
Gloria |
What is it? |
|
Wolfe |
Will you use your red hair, your pretty face, your admirable figure and your ample fortune. to lure Mr. Goodwin away from this house tonight. I would like to enjoy my dinner in peace. |
|
Gloria |
That won't be difficult. |
|
Archie |
(LAUGHING) Let's have an understanding right now, Gloria. Difficult for you, or for me? |
|
Maui |
Goria Wolfe |
I'll be delighted.
Indeed. To spend an evening with Mr. Goodwin, there's only one word for you, Miss Kent. Intrepid! |
This page sponsored by these DVDs or Videos (click on cover to purchase):
Return HOME |
A BAP's Legacy website |
|