Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net. Follow us on Twitter at
Radio Detectives, and check us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com,
slash Great Detectives. I do want to encourage you, if you've not already,
to pick up your copy of Slime Incorporated. It's my first ever detective
novel, was published a few years back, and it tells a story of
murder and dirty politics set against the backdrop of the Idaho gubernatorial election. It's
a modern novel, but with a lot of nods to classic detective fiction.
You can check out all my books, audiobooks and ebooks at store dot Great
Detectives dot net. Well, now it is time for this week's episode of
Final Vans. The original air date is January the twenty third of nineteen forty
seven, and the title is The President Murder Case. I get in texts.
That's brought Old ninety six back home, got him back safe for a
long time. Johnny, you're a little looking over. We're here all right,
Front driver. I got awful hard on the run. I'll check it
coming down. I'm on the way. Oho was firing for your texts?
Where is he? Ah? They gave me a new fellow, an old
man Morris's son Eddie. I just decided he wanted to be a railroad man,
and I gave him a job as fireman this morning. None the ninety
six too well, let him by the attacks. Old pal the ninety six
doesn't care whether guys knew or not, as long as he keeps shoveling coal
into it. Letty Morris couldn't even do that good. He's young and he's
willing. He'd never seen the insight of an engine before. Oh help,
let's take a look under the ninety six. Pretty proud of this baby yours,
ain't you? Text? Why shouldn't it be? Been running her wide
open for twenty years? When I get a clear block, she doesn't have
to take a thing from anything on wheels. Well, we'll just go to
work on her. Now, straighten her out. If the right front driver
got hot on you, the trouble must be it. Hey, Tex,
what's the matter? Look back there under the first car. Somebody's been riding
the rods on he isn't getting out. Come on, let's go back and
see why. Maybe he's hurt. Awful chances these hoboes take maybe they fall
off or a stone from the road bed and hops up and hits him on
the head, and they're gallut. Yeah, this guy's lying awful still under
there. I'll squat down and get him out. I'll hand him to you,
all right, good enough? Yeah? Here he is? Okay,
here, you got him? Johnny. Yeah, I'm texting, come on,
we'll lay him out on the ground. Yeah, I'm a hobo,
Johnny, I don't know tex Come here. Look he was hit by no
gravel. He's got a bullet wound in his chest. He's dead. Let
me see. Yeah he sure hasn't He sure is, Johnny? Yeah?
What text? You know? That hobo? Obo? Oh? This guy
riding the rods was William Christopher Jenkins, the president of this railroad. Listen
to yea, you don't have to call VANS. I tell you you don't
have to, don't I Sergeant Heath, a railroad president, found shot to
death underneath a car of one of his trains, and I don't have to
call Vans. Yeah, but listen, I'm sorry, but I don't agree
with you, and I'm quite sure Vans for since when is that news?
Look, mister Markham, we know this. Mister Jenkins wasn't dead when he
crawled on the rods that first car. He'd been shot, but he wasn't
dead then, Yes, we know that. What we don't know is whether
the file of Vans private investigator. Miss Woods speaking, Miss Woods? Where's
miss Jerry? Oh? Miss Deering's gone to visit her mother. Mister Vance
is out of town. Two Vans out of town? Or is he?
Oh? This is just you to tourney Markham. It's very important. Mister
Vans won't be back for a couple of days, and I'm feeling in mister
Markham. Anything I can do well, I don't know. A hold of
phone a moment, will you, Miss Woods? Yes, Vans won't be
back for a couple of days. Good. By that time we'll have this
case cleared up. Hang up to you, Oh, Miss Woods. Yes,
please send Vance a while. Tell him I'm extending him a personal invitation
to attend a murder investigation. Murder. If that doesn't bring him back,
nothing will. Please listen to me, man, I quiet you, fellows,
man, I have the very unpleasant task of informing you of the death
of your president. For the time being, I'm taking over his duties.
I ask you all to cooperate with the police and go on with your work.
That's all alright, ain't all? Mister Burton, Mister Jenkins was murdered.
To us to find out who murder him. It was one of us
who won't take care of whoever did? Right, man? Yea care of
I guess a moment. Please, Missus Jenkins would like to talk to you,
please, please, all of you, gentlemen. You all know me,
we know your Missus Jenkins. But it was my idea to ask you
all to gather here in the yard so that mister Burton could talk to you.
Please do as he asks. My husband would have wanted that. I'm
sure. Okay, Missus Jenkins, that's what you want. That's what we'll
do. Okay, what do you say? We got into sable. Let's
get back to work. What are we heading? Texts must be about eighty
Just keep painting that, priatey, I'll take care on on this train.
I was only asking texts no use, and you're getting sore. I'm not
sore. I'm finkers about what happened to mister Jenkins on his last means all
nothing or something, depending on your conscience. You're pretty fresh from a new
guy at eight. Maybe I'll knock some of that freshness Outrea. You're a
little old to try an you text? Why you y'all? Come on now,
let's stop this. I didn't mean nothing personal in what I said.
Okay, let's live in like that. Sure, the way I figure it,
there was anybody that wanted to know who killed Jenkins. He ought to
first find out about that Burton guy. He's the new president, isn't he?
And why Jenkins is dead? Had that up? I got my old
ideas about hoop, Hey, how Anny yanking the emergency card? Hold everything?
How holland stay here you I'm gonna find out what happened back on the
train. You won't have to text. Here come Johnny Yellen climbing along my
side of the engine, Hey, Johnny, what's up? Who yanked that
card? Oho yanked it? The conductor yanked it? And why not?
He just found the murdered body of that guy Burton, a new president of
this road. He'd been shot and he was all alone back there in his
private car. I certainly. I'm glad you're here at the railroad yard,
Advance. Two murders in two days and no trace of the murderer. That
could be, of course, because there's been no Evans here in two days.
Thank you, Markham. You're very complimentary. It would have taken me
quite a while to have found out the information you got for me, so
I start about even check your notes with me, will you, Markham?
Glad to vance. Mister Jenkins, the road president was at one time an
engineer working his way up from the ranks. While an engineer, he worked
with a man named Tex Duncan, whose engine was pulling the car under which
mister Jenkins was found dead. The fireman on that engine was a brand new
man working his first day on the job. His name was Eddie Morris.
You don't need my nodes, Vans, not with your memory. That's correct,
that Eddie Morris first day on the job. The president of the road
is killed that day, was found on his train. Sounds like something to
work on, Markham. Actually it's not Vance, is he. Marris wasn't
really a fireman. He was a troubleshooter hired to investigate trouble among the men.
I know that for a fact he took the fireman's job only to work
more closely with the employees. I see now about this Burton who was killed.
Vance Let's take care of one murder at a time. Markham Jenkins' death
has a priority. I have all the information now on mister Jenkins. Yes,
Vans, you have you remember, of course that missus Jenkins inherits the
railroad and quite a bit of cat Yes, I do now, markham In.
As much as we have all the information, let's go to work and
make it mean something. Very kind of you, mister Morris, to drive
me down here. I want to thank you. All's no trouble, Vans.
I'm kind of glad to be able to climb out of those overalls and
stop posing as a fireman. I don't know one end of the engine from
another, but I got by the short time I've been working by just shoveling
all the time. It's kind of rugged on the back of that coal routine.
As I am at you, so, I never thought you'd wind up
as a locomotive fireman when you started your career as a troubleshooter, did you,
Morris? Oh? I didn't, but You never can tell what happens
in our line of business, can you, vans? No, I guess
not. Did you know the Jenkins family, mister Morris, I've met missus
Jenkins. She had a lot of motive for murdering mister Jenkins. You're gonna
forget that, Fance, I might say. So. Watch that curve in
the road. I see it. Mister Marris, you were hired by the
railroad to find out something exactly what well the men were having trouble. That
means nothing now in view of developments. You see. The instigator of the
men's problems was mister Burton, and he turned up dead too, Yes,
so he did. Look, mister Marris, tell me what happens at the
station we're headed for right now? For sure, train stops here just before
it pulls into the last stop, stops right about there, and the train
holds here for fifteen minutes. Passengers go out to stretch their legs, or
smoke or buy magazines. And I understand the engineer runs the train up the
line for last stop checkup. I want to get out vance, yes,
I do. Oh, I see, Sergeant Heath had an ide similar to
mine. It is over there questioning the station master. Do you mind waiting
here, mister Morris, Oh that at all. I won't be long,
oh, Heath shout Heath, Oh, hello Vans. What's bringing you down
here? Oh? I just thought i'd look around. I'll trade notes with
you. Ethan. Tell me what you found out, and I look the
same. It's a deal. Actually, I got nothing here, but at
the repair shack up the line and found out something. Seems that mister Jenkins,
and railroad president, was there when in June ninety six pulled into the
repair shop. He left when the ninety six pulled in started to walk up
the line a little while later in ninety six and the train it was pulling
followed mister Jenkins. Of course, the guy in the repair shop didn't think
anything about it, No, na, he figured text was giving it a
little extra workout or something. Next thing, he remembers, the engine and
the train. We're backing up to the station again, and you forgot about
the whole thing till I questioned him, really, well, Heath, what
do you think it all means? Nothing? Right? Yet? It doesn't.
What does it mean to you? Vent? I'd say it meant nothing
to me either. Heath nothing, that is, except to indicate who killed
mister Jenkins. Coming coming, Why, Missus Jenkins, I'd like to come
in, text, if you don't mind, come in, of course,
come in. Please come in, Come into the living room, sit down,
make yourself comfortable. No, no, I'd rather not text. I
came to tell you something. I've been thinking this over and I believe what
I'm doing is right. You were jealous of my husband, me jealous of
Bill. Oh, Missus Jenkins, you don't know what you're saying, don't
I I wouldn't say that if I were you. Text. You started on
this road at the same time that Bill did. He worked and studied nights,
and he became president of this road. Every time you saw him,
you realized how much more he'd made of his life than you did of yours.
I admired him for it, Missus Jenks. You hated him for it.
You hated him so much you couldn't stand to see him, and you
killed him. Text. You killed him so he wouldn't continue to be a
constant reminder of your own failure. I'm giving you your choice having me tell
the police what I know. Are you doing something that will make neither of
those choices important. You mean you want me to kill myself? Why not?
You killed a man who was a whole lot better than you. This
is District Attorney Markham. The president murder case began when Bill Jenkins, railroad
head, was found murdered riding the rods of one of his trains. Vance's
investigation enlists the support of Eddie Morris, a trouble shooter who was working as
a fireman aboard the locomotive which pulled the murder train. We have found the
tech Duncan, the train engineer, and Missus Jenkins are logical suspects. A
second murder occurs before Vans arrives, but he has tabled it temporarily to work
on the first one and has gone to see the President's widow. You should
come in, please, mister Vans. Thank you, Missus Jenkins. Oh,
juiceit down, yes, thank you. You don't mind if I continue
with my knicking with you. I really need something to keep my hands occupied.
I understand, Missus Jenkins. I won't bother you too much. What
will that be when it grows up? Sweater for myself? Missus Jenkins,
I think I need your help. Yes, mister Vans, yes, I
believe I know how your husband was killed. Oh, I think this is
what happened. Your husband was inspecting the repaired depone near the spot where the
trains make their last stop before arriving here. I think he was shot there,
left for dead, managed to crawl under a train and climb onto the
rods. I'm listening, mister Vans. I think the engineer of that train
then backed it up to the station, took on its passengers, and continued
to the depot where your husband's body was found. You think too, that
the man who ran that train killed my husband, mister Vans, don't you?
Yes, As a matter of fact, I do. That means you
think techs Duncan killed him, perhaps, don't you. I don't know,
mister Vans. After the little talk I had with him, I who won't
know about that until tomorrow. I got all day, I got all night
ticks, and I got this whole thing figured out. All I need from
you is a confession. Well, I didn't kill anybody's argentieth I never did.
Wait a minute, he let me try something. Go ahead, text.
We know you were in your locomotive when the body of the second victim.
Mister Burton was discovered. Sure you know that? Doesn't that mean I
couldn't have killed him? Oh it doesn't. You see, he'd been dead
for quite a while. In fact, it was obvious to the medical examiner
that mister Burton was killed in his private car when the train was still in
the station. You could have killed him and then climbed into your engine and
waited for the body to be discovered. Maybe I could have, but I
didn't. You can't make me say I didn't. He's trying to get away,
won't get very far, and I'll can't be a nice guy. I'm
gonna sit out here. I won't let a frame. I won't get out
of get as market. You'll have to leave, all right. That should
do it. He won't wake up for a while. I'm sure he did
it, mister Markham, I'm positive. Listen, I know mister Jenkins walked
from the repair shop up towards town and that engine ninety six followed him the
day he was murdered, and who was driving ninety six texts dunk Up.
But Duncan insists he didn't take the engine up the road and away from the
repair shop. He says he went in to phone his wife. He was
on the telephone for about fifteen minutes. Of course, by that time the
train was back where it should be. Yeah, he's trying to throw the
heat on his fireman. That nice city Morris kid. That would mean that
Morris ran the engine up the line. Morris says, he walked out for
our magazine, and I believe him. When Tex wakes up, I'm gonna
drag him out of this railroad yard office and down to headquarters and I'll make
him talk. I'll sweat it. Hey, what happened to the heights?
Duncan was knocked as cold as you think. He's gone out that door.
Come on, let's go after him. But he's locked us in. He'll
get away, maybe maybe not final vans somewhere in the ard and all the
time keeper's office. I think it'll do us a lot of good. Come
on it, break down on this door. I'll get that Duncan. When
I do, he won't do anymore getting away, believe me. Come on
to you. Let's bust down this door, all right, Throw that church
sliding and back of those box cars over there. He want that way.
Two of you men going to the right. Two of you take the left.
I'm gonna straight down the middle here, all right, start moving you
will that church slide? Keep them moving around? Come on, man,
oh lucky eat no da, It's only a couple of minutes. As we
broke down that door. Duncan still in this railroad yard someplace, and I'm
gonna find him if it takes all night. Right at you, guys,
I don't want him to get away. I hope we'll find him heat Vance
says, Who cares? What? Vance says? This guy is on murder
and he's trying to skip. You kill Vance? Uh? Tell him yourself.
He's right here. Hello, he's what is it you wanted Mark him
to tell me? God? Nothing? Look, why don't you leave me
alone? I'm busy. I gotta kill it around up, that's go,
man. I want that guy. No one of them lie. It's a
good policeman, Markham, one of the best. Oh. Incidentally, I
know where a text Duncan is hiding. You do a man? Heath has
a dozen men searching this yard. Why don't you tell him? I have
a better plan. I think I can get Eddie Morris to help me.
And if you'll do one thing for me, I may be able to prove
who our murderer is well. As you know, you can call on me
for anything. But you don't really know who killed Jenkins and Burton yet,
do you, Old No Markham, I don't know, but believe me,
I do suspect it's pretty uncomfortable lying here in a couple of tons of hard
coal. Fans, I know it is, mister Morris. Soft coal wouldn't
be any improvement, though. Believe me, lying here in the tender of
a locomotive is a rather strange place for me too. Let's just hope the
results justify the means. I certainly hope so, fans. It's your opinion
that text Duncan will try to get in to this engine and escape that way.
I think that would be logical. With this yard full of police and
every exit watched, I think he might realize this is the one way to
break out of the yard. I've had the engine service, it has steam
open, It's all ready to go. If Duncan doesn't show up, maybe
you'll take me for a ride. Be glad to fans if I knew how
to start fans Misten, Yes, I hear it too. He won't get
me all ninety six. You'll see to that, won't you one minute to
start? This engineer? Now let him come, Let him try and stop
me. Now, just let him try. He'll ever get me now,
I'll vance you are right. What do we do now? Nothing? Just
bly haretly gets here of the yard. I want to know where he's going.
We'll get him when we want him. Mister Morris, I have no
beer of that. We've been traveling twenty minutes, average speed sixty two miles
an hour. What are you figuring, Vans that we're just about ready to
take care of mister TeX's duncan? All right, adady, let's go.
We stop the train here. It's a little tricky walking this side of this
engine. Watch your step, Vans. It's not only tricky, it's windy.
When I'm with you, it's only a few steps, Vans. I'm
about ready to climb it. Now go ahead, I'll be riding the back
of you. Okay, take teddy, Hell that's a duncan? Would you
mind slowing down? This locomotive's hard time? Never look texts, don't make
me use this gun a lot good it will do you if you do shoot.
Neither of you can run this locomotive. You don't have any idea how
to stop it. You'll crack off. We'll all be killed. We'll be
killed. I I can't take anymore of this, oh vance he's painted.
Yes, I see, well, we're really in quite a predicament. I'll
try to do something with these controls, but I haven't the faintest idea where
to begin. I know, I sit up here in this seat here that
the engineer drives with his head out the window, like, mister Morris,
what is it? What is it? Van Ryon revived, mister Duncan.
There's a truck straddling the tracks about five hundred yards ahead. We've got to
stop this train and we'll all be killed. Get away from that vance.
Get out of that seat. Now, let me take over. I'll stop
this engine. We'll never crash into that truck. This lever here puts on
one break. This is Wattle takes care of the emergency. Well, thank
you very much, mister Morris for telling me just now that you murdered mister
Jenkins. Are you can't probably mister Burton too. You weren't supposed to be
able to handle a locomotive. Remember, Oh, I see now that you
know I can run one. What does that prove that my theory of how
mister Jenkins was killed was correct? That the murderer had to know how to
drive a locomotive, And the murderer is you. I hope you're joking Van.
Not that I know of your motive is a little remote, mister Morris.
But I think when you killed Burton you gave it to me. Isn't
it true that he hired you to kill mister Jenkins so that he could have
control of the railroad? Go ahead, you started this. I'm just a
bystanding. Burton hired you to kill mister Jenkins, but then either reneged on
paying you or you suddenly realized that he'd have a hold on you for life,
so you killed him too. You're a very clever man, Vance,
but you've overlooked one thing. I still have my gun. I'll get back
over against the side of the engine. Get moving. Sounds like bargain time
to me. If it is, I'm not buying anything. I'll take care
of you now, and then that text will pull the faint at the wrong
time. This is it, Fans, nice work takes bop him right on
ahead, mister Vans and with his own shovel. Hard to do? Was
that a good enough actor? You are great takes great mister Morris's shovel,
I'm sure has doug his own grave. There's only one thing I really wanted,
no Vans, and that's this. Were you taking your life in your
own hands just to prove that Eddie Morris could operate a locomotive? Why?
Certainly markham Vans well all right, Tex Duncan only pretended to faint in the
locomotive cab so that Marris would try to stop the locomotives. I still don't
understand how you got text in the locomotive in the first place. Tax what
he wanted to come after he broke away and locked you on heath in the
railroad office. He found me in the timekeeper's shack. You I wasn't a
policeman, and thought that I might believe his story. I did and dreamed
up the escape plot with your help. All I did was have old locomotive
ninety six all steamed up and ready to go. You got Eddie Morris there,
and he proved to you he could run a locomotive, and that proved
to me that he killed Jenkins. Don't forget. The only thing I knew
about mister Jenkins's death was that whoever killed him had run a locomotive up the
tracks from the service station. As I know that. In fact, I'm
cures about only one more point and then I'll let you close up shop.
Fans, Why did Eddie Morris deny he could run a locomotive? Why because
the fact that ostensibly he couldn't run one was the basis of his entire plan.
Here's what actually happened. He was on the train that day mister Jenkins
was murdered. He saw Jenkins start to walk off. Why didn't he just
follow him on foot? Then? If he wanted to kill him? Mister
Burton paid him to kill mister Jenkins, but he wanted to be sure he
wasn't suspected. He saw a tech duncan go to make his phone call,
so he got in the cabin ran the engine after mister Jenkins. Oh no,
I'm getting this. If it was proved that somebody drove Old ninety six
after mister Jenkins, that somebody couldn't possibly be Marris because he allegedly couldn't run
a locomotive. Right, Well, Markham, I guess It's the end of
the line for mister Eddie Morris, it sure is, and it's the end
of the president murder case for us. Welcome back. Given the subject matter
of this episode, I would like to say that this story went off the
rails at some point, but for me, it didn't. It was a
reminder for me that I think that the earlier Filo Vance episodes but only had
some really good hooks, but tended to hold together a lot better as mysteries.
So this was a pretty satisfying puzzle. Now, of course you do
have Markham just being over the top and welcoming Vans to the investigation. Oh
great, follow Vans. Thank you for gracing our investigation and for only you,
the all seeing Filo Vans can come and solve this most baffling case.
Now. I know that there are other series where detectives are perhaps over praise,
but for some reason it bugs me a bit more on follow Vans.
Maybe it's because he seems to enjoy it so much. All right, listener
comments and feedback, and we turned to our listeners survey. Dan Right's good
job, Adam Jonny says, wonderful show. Love the comments. I feel
like I'm part of the conversation Keep it Up. Patrese says, I was
searching for Johnny Dollars serials and discovered this podcast. This podcast is truly one
of the highlights of my week. Julie Rights, I listen so much.
My husband's jealous of Johnny Doller. I told him it's really Bob Bailey he
needs to watch out for. I look forward to this each Tuesday and Friday,
and then Ace in Corsic Rights, I think Adam mc graham's Old Time
Radio is the best thing ever. Really really enjoying. I wish everyone my
age knew about it. Well. Thank you so much, Ace, and
I appreciate you taking time to fill out our listener survey at survey dot great
Detectives dot net. Now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day.
Thank you to Trevor. Patreon supporters since September of twenty twenty two currently
supporting the program at the shaw must level of four dollars or more per month.
Thank you so much for your support, Trevor, and that will actually
do it for today. If you are enjoying this podcast, please follow us
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download your podcast from. We'll be back next Thursday with another episode of Follow
Vans, but join us back here tomorrow for the conclusion of the Kalin matter
where. That's with a pe na. I won't get to that for another
three months. That's a buck even for the drink here. Y'all keep the
change. But thanks, hey, and this is a twenty you give me?
Yeah, I know, Oh, I see, well buston. The
answer is no, I can't fix you up with one of the girls.
All I want is some information like what like where is Marty midnight this evening?
Oh that I wouldn't know. She hasn't been around since well not for
the last four or five nights, since Eddie Cannon was murdered. Is that
what you're about to say? Police? Insurance investigator? The company I represented
you a policy oun Eddie Calin with insurance ain't taken out about two months ago.
Who's the better fishuary? His fine? Well? I never met the
gal, but I guess she's got something common. She must have took quite
a beaten off of Eddie. Man, oh man, that cat could really
operate. So I can't you happen to know where Marty lives. She moved
a few weeks ago after she took up with Eddie. I don't even know
her real name. Here's the manager here, I'm the manager. Bust I
hired him, fired them and in between just look at him. Oh man,
what a life? You know. A friend of Eddie's named Pete s
Timer sure I though he hasn't been around either, disappeared that same night.
Huh yeah, yeah, that was a bad night all around. There was
another guy dropped out of sight to a hood named Mike Kelso, one of
top of Leanley's boys, you know, Tompa. He comes in all the
time. He said, hey, hey, wait a minute, you must
be the cat that focus on who Congratulations, felicitations and happy days. I'll
have a drink myself on that real popular boy the most. I hope you'll
be with us then. In the meantime, do send your comments to Box
thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives,
and check us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives
From Boise, Ottaho. This is your host, Adam Graham signing off