Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of Danger with Granger.
But first I do want to let you know that
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Well now, from nineteen fifty six or nineteen fifty seven,
here is the Triple X.
Speaker 2: Murders Danger with Stranger, Least of Them and Rich Greener.
Speaker 3: I'm coming from a church store and Anthea mcdonne, I'm
at your.
Speaker 2: Plea here immediately. Oh here I am, officers. I'm the
man who called who said something about bodies. Yes, I
was walking along one of the drives. I found them
in a car and show us where it's this world
to the right, a red convertible. It's put right along.
Oh there there it is just up ahead. Who one girl?
They're just youngsters, bookman's shot. How'd you have no final fellow?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 2: I told you. I was walking here in the park.
It's a nice night. I happened to look in. At
first I thought they were just sitting sort of connection, yes,
Then I took a closer look.
Speaker 1: That.
Speaker 2: That's when I ran to the drug store and called, hey,
what's the matter, officer. We're in for a lot of grief.
You look at these marks made biolipstick three x's. This
must be the work of some some speed. This is
Steve Granger, private attractive with a story about a killer
with a trademark a triple X, which meant murder plus mania.
In just a moment, I'll take you back to one
of my most interesting cases. There is Granger. I was
sitting in my office reading the paper an account of
a twin killing in Pelham Bay Park the night before.
A killing was signed by three x's on the forehead
of each body. Was a sort of case that gave
you a cold, creepy feeling in spite of the fact
that the sun was shining outside. Then my door.
Speaker 4: Opened, mister Granger, mister Granger, I've come here for help.
Speaker 5: I need you.
Speaker 2: Sit down, man, thank you.
Speaker 4: I'm Matha Morton.
Speaker 3: I want you to try to exonerate my son John.
Speaker 2: Why was he done?
Speaker 3: I haven't read that in Piastre in your paper, mister Grainger,
Where wouldn't what? John is in jail. He's under suspicion
of being a free excuer. But he couldn't con those murders.
I know he couldn't.
Speaker 2: Why not. He's just not that sort of boy.
Speaker 3: I know I've not been able to give him all
the time he should have had. But he's not the
kind of boy to do anything as horrible as that.
Speaker 2: You could be wrong, you know, Missus Martin.
Speaker 3: No, I'm not wrong. That's why I want your help.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'll drop down. I'll have a talk with him.
I see he's being held downtown. Mister Granger. Please, if
you make it easy, Missus Martin, if he's innocent, he
won't be convicted. I grabbed some transportation and went down
to police headquarters. I explained my arm and was rushed
into the office of Lieutenant my Carting Granger, I think
you picked a bad one this time. Why what have
you got on, young Martin? Everything? A girl came to
us earlier this morning. She was scared of death, hysterical.
She went a protection from home and why. The dead
girl and boy were both friends of hers. They all
had a date last night. The dead girl forgot about
the second date she had with the Morton boy. Both
boys showed up. They tossed a coin. Morton lost. He
went away angry with the girl, who later reported him.
That's still not proof of murder. The lampman made some
casts around the car. They fit the boy's shoes. Shoes
gonna be similar. Cut it out. We matched the tires
on Morton's car with some tire prints. They were alike too.
I want to go talk with him, Mike, Okay, come on,
how's a kid impress you? Oh it looks like a
nice boy. And i've seen angel face killers before by
Yeah she's nice too. Yeah, this is herself, John. I'm
Steve Granger. Your mother employed me to turn and get
you out of this.
Speaker 5: I didn't do it.
Speaker 2: I didn't take it easy, kid. I'll do everything I can.
What happened after you flipped the nickel and lost, I
left him went out with the other girl, the one
who reported you. Yes, annalong, I was mad. See. I
took a home early, and then I drove my car
around the park looking for the other couple. Yeah, I
wanted to spoil their fun if I could. They wanted
to pick a fight with the other guy. I didn't
like him, but mister Greener, I never killed them, but
you did find them. Sure. I spotted the car pocked
on that side driveway. I coasted up in back so
they wouldn't hear me. I wanted to see what was
going on, so when I got to the car, I
could see there was something wrong. When I saw the
three exits marked on the fire and I went home
as fast as I could. Why didn't you notify the police? Well,
I was going too, But just as I got back
in my own car, I heard the sirens I got
out of there. I guess I lost my head. Yeah, yeah,
I guess you did. Okay, John, try and relax. I'll
do what I can. I didn't think you've got the
boy wrong. It's got a pretty straight story. But no
witness did your par his hands? Granger, you stick to
your business and let me stick to mine.
Speaker 5: I know the.
Speaker 2: Routine, Okay, no offense after all? Is the logical suspect,
isn't it? Yeah? Maybe too logical. Anything else I can do?
Or will you permit me to go about my own affairs? All?
Lieutenant Harding, I've been waiting for you, but I want
to help that poor boy. I wish you too would
go someplace and get lost. Oh, Grainger, this is Graham
Dwyer Steve Gringer. According to the papers, you found the body. Yes,
I did, but I don't believe that youngster did the killing.
I offered my services to the lieutenant here, but he's
refused them. I happen to be interested in crime. I'm
an amateur criminology. I see well, So long Harding. Oh,
one moment Grainger has the boys, not that retains you?
Suppose she has stain. Why can't we work together? My
work would be free, of course, you know, Granger, that's
an excellent suggestion. The second hand, and I have both
of you shirlocks out of my hair. I got away
from grand Wire by simply telling him to get in
touch with me later at my office, a place i'd
try not to be at that time I knowed so
long at him left the building and grabbed a cab uptown.
Thanks driver to keep the change. I moved towards the
entrance of my building. I'll continue with this interesting story
in a minute. When the shots came, I dropped the
sidewalk fast. You gotta be pretty fast on the fall
in my profession. Hoday. They were waiting for some more shots,
but they never came. Only the son of a car
roaring off. I could look at the license plates and
made it in a hurry to my telephone. Ah, this
is range was my guy just took a pot shot
at me from a car. I got the license number.
Could you check the owner phone?
Speaker 3: How do I know?
Speaker 2: I'm no profit? You're not. While waiting for Haunting to
call back, I studied the newspaper account of the three
X killing. The police said only one suspect, and that
was John Martin. I hoped I could dig up an
alibi for him, because the law was going to be
tough about this. I'd got the address of the girl
who put the finger on John Martin. Her name was
Anna Long. I decided to talk with her. Was in order.
Anna a long lived on Colonial avenue a Jason Fullam
Bay Park. I phoned told her I'd be out. Yeah,
you're Anna Long, I'm Steve Granger the menophone.
Speaker 4: Oh yes, come on in this scranger.
Speaker 2: Thanks.
Speaker 4: You said it was about John.
Speaker 2: I want you to tell me everything you know about him.
Speaker 4: Well, he always acted off.
Speaker 2: His sweet then why did you report him to the
police that night?
Speaker 4: He was sort of different. He wanted that date with
Nell and he was terribly upset when Tommy showed out.
Did he make any threats, No, he just grumbled about
it always being her or something like that.
Speaker 2: You said he acts a different What do you mean
by that?
Speaker 4: Well, we we rode around and then we stopped off
Pistoda at the corner, and well, John wouldn't talk for anything.
Speaker 2: Then he took me home just like that, didn't even
say good night. Do you think he could have killed
his two friends?
Speaker 4: He didn't like Tommy at all, and he was crazy
jealous of new.
Speaker 2: The talk with an along brought out nothing. There was
no way of establishing an alibi for John Morton since
he'd been driving around alone. I think the girl left
the house and started down the streets in search of
a cab. I walked along and joined the clear weather.
I hardly noticed the car as I came up to it.
It was facing me. I dropped to the ground, but
not until I got a good luck at that driver,
and he was wearing a gray half dark glasses and
a mustache. I got something else too, the license I'm
on the plates the same as before.
Speaker 5: Well, honey, sure, sure, I've got to make on the
car for you.
Speaker 2: Thanks. You took your time about it, didn't you come?
I just don't like being shot at.
Speaker 5: You want to protection and be glad to sign a
uniphone opposite the body.
Speaker 2: He's that comedy and give me the information.
Speaker 5: It won't make you happy.
Speaker 2: We checked with the car.
Speaker 5: He lifted his peas in the car. It disappeared naturally,
and it's thanks.
Speaker 2: There's one thing about you, Mike. They're always useful. About
as useful as a Nihilon shirt and a bladded. As
I hung up the phone, a thought struck me. The
man who'd fired me from the car had fired high.
Thence he had a perfect sight on me. Apparently he
was just trying to scam me off the Morton case.
The trouble was he was practically to succeeding. In just
a moment, I'll bring you with the climax of the case.
On my way back to my office, I passed pretty
near to cal Hendrick's place, since I was getting nowhere
fast with this case. Since Cow has more than once
been able to help, though, i'd pay him a call. Well, Well,
in trouble again, Steve, What do you mean again? I'm
just a sucker for it, Strife. Read about the three
ex killer, Steve. I'm working on it. That Morton kid.
I don't think he didn't. Thanks, you're my first friend today.
A kid like that might kill an anger. But when
they start marking their corpses with three x'es on the forard,
look for a psychopathic murder. If you'll just find him
out to me, I can say, missus Morton law of heartbreak,
and this is one time I can be of no help.
I thought i'd probably find you here, Grinchent. Wow, Well,
well the boy lieutenant from homicide. All right, that's enough,
Hendricks yere, you're holding an innocent kid for murder. I'll
look here, I'll needle him. Cow, we'll tell him his
high blood pressure. What do you want with me, sir?
That Graham Dwyer remember him. He said that now you
and he were working together, you would have a startling
revelation to make fine morning. Oh he said, that is
it true? No, Mike, it'll make you feel better than that. Thanks,
even if my feet are sore. That no, was what
the trip up here? I left Cal's place one of
my office and reported to missus Morton, Well, I couldn't
encourage it too much. I couldn't insinuate I was getting
a break on the case. At midnight. I got it.
Speaker 5: Hello Granger, have you been listening to the radio?
Speaker 2: No? Who is this?
Speaker 5: What is scream here? The man who's whipping with you?
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah? The radio?
Speaker 5: And they didn't look at proved that didn't kill it?
Speaker 2: Going through what proves? What? What are you talking about?
Say that again? The report, same place Ulm Park.
Speaker 5: Sure in this pring it was only a woman only
she was shut and killing Mark three acts of the
pork with a lipstick.
Speaker 2: Got out. Pick you up and we can go up there.
There's no sense in doing that to wire. By this
time the police have removed the body. The examination will
be over. Okay, okay, I'll get dressed, go down and
get him out. If I can in the morning. Why
are you pitch the wheel killer? Wow? Thanks, thanks a lot.
I hung up on that nauseating prospect and mudded this
latest development over in my mind. Then I got into
my clothes and went down to the mark. But Jennon
Harding was there ahead of me, as ugly as a
bear with a singed tail, and I might have known.
You show up sure as sort of clear as my client.
So you'll be in such a hurry if you identify
the murdered woman in her purse. She carried a driver's license,
a hotel credit card, and the birth certificate. Now have
we don't be so grumpy, Mike. This means you'll have
to release that kid. Yes, his mother will be down
here with a wrist. I'll have to let him go.
But that doesn't mean he won't still be under suspicion.
Find the clues in the park, footprints, millions of her
made by the curious public as they trampled the place
like a bull, ring anything of the dead woman's effects.
No newspapers are gonna get on you, weren't they might grange.
Don't needle me. This isn't funny. Murder never is. At
ten The next morning, I was reading the account of
the latest murder when my pal walked in. Well, mister Grange,
I am just as I promised. I've been waiting with
vated Breathwire. Good. Now here's what we can do. Go
out to that dead woman's place and look around. Why
just a minute, the police have done that already. They
could miss something. Pardon me right here? Yeah, I know
he'd been released. Let me advise you, missus Martin, keep
John one way. You can watch him for a while.
The police still have him under suspicion. Don't bother. I
didn't do a thing. Real killer clear Joe boy, and
you're by That was Missus Martin. Else, I knew that
boy wasn't guilty from the very first. The real three
X killer is a clever man, not a kid. Now,
why don't we go out to that woman's price? I
want to, but I can't, Wire, But why don't you
go out and look around? Use my name if you
want to, thank you, and if anything breaks about another killing,
we'll investigate it together. Right, Ranger, that's the deal. It
was such a logical way of losing Grand Wire. I
took it in a hurry. Also, he would do no
more harm swooping around Pelham Bay Park during the morning.
A few minutes after he left, I went out to
see Lieutenant Harding. He still hadn't been to bed. Don't
you start anything this morning. Don't you'll out. Take it easy, Mike,
you're losing your perspective. Have you seen the papers? If
we don't do something about this three X Killer, I'll
lose more than my perspect if my God, I said
take it easy. All I need now is that nutty
Dwyer character around. I got rid of him. I sent
him out to pell him bay look for clues. I
hope he falls in the lake. How have you ever
figured that you're dealing with a psychopathic killer? I figured everything,
but he's still loose. I think I know how we
can catch him weed, and what have you got to
do with it? Figured I could help you trap him?
A grange heer. If this is another stunning Listen will
go on. The three X Killer must be an egomaniac.
He loves to see his trademark written up on the papers.
And now suppose somebody comes along and claims to be
the three X Killer, A real one gets jealous. You
want to get even with a fake one. In short,
you want me to take my gun murder an innocent
citizen to make it look like a three X killing.
You don't have to go as far as that. You
can get hold of a body, can't you. I'm an
unidentified woman. You no, You set up the whole thing.
Get a police officer and a policewoman is staged. The
woman is found dead after being shot by the reex killer.
The wagon comes up and takes her down here. Nobody
knows if she's alive or dead, and in the meantime,
the real three X killer pops up in Times Square.
It's a chance she'll have to take me. I thought
it was going to be we hiding. Demurred with every
demur could dig up, but I finally reasoned them into it,
and he agreed. It was one way the three X
killer could be brought into the open. That night, just
before midnight, the supposed killing took place. The police woman,
posing as a casual pedestrian, was walking down one of
the drives. The man slipped up behind her. The woman
staggered the grass and dropped. The man ran between some
trees and disappeared. Two plain clothesmen ran out with the
body of the woman brought from the mague a woman
wearing three exits on a forehead. They placed her where
a fake shooting had taken place. While the police woman
slipped out of sight. The stage was set. Justice hiding
and I had planned. The radio at midnight came out
with the news that another three X killing had taken place. Yeah,
we're here. Are you here? I just gonna call you.
Speaker 5: We're coming up there.
Speaker 2: The radio said it was the left dry spots right
up ahead. See the police car is my my? This
one really attracted crowd. Will out there, we can walk
this time, will pick up the clues. We can come
up with the three X killers. Don't be too sure.
We'll see you listening and hidings on the job. Yeah,
that poor guy hasn't slept for three days. You'll see
you're walking right along here. Yes, officer, Hi, you're Lieutenant Stranger.
Don't tell me you're what did you bring him along for?
We aren't going to find the three X killer for you.
You're going to mind your own business. I'll be locked up.
You can't do that. I'm a low bidy citizen. You'll
get on our way. You'll be obstructing justice. I'll behave
you missed it. Going with the story, I was quite
a waste down the drive when I heard the shot.
You see the man who fired it? I think so
good enough to describe him, Yes, I believe so. He
was wearing a dog sooth, his hat was gray because
he had a decided limb and anything else. He ran
over into those trees harding, looked at me, and one
eyelad dropped in a surreptitious wink. I nodded. A few
minutes later, a man wearing a dark blue suit, gray hat,
and sporting an assided limp was moving through those trees.
Nobody except the police and I. He knew that this
had all been rehearsed, but both the witness and the
man with the limp were really a police officer. I
looked around carefully, hoping to spot anyone who looked suspicious.
Then I discovered something, something that sent me on the
heels of a man posing as the three X killer.
It was not so light now, and I had difficulty
spotting my quarry. Then he moved up ahead, the limp
as evident as ever. I stayed behind, just a little
out of sight. The phony murderer was being obvious. Also,
he was taking a chance because some civic minded citizen
might choose first and ask later. Then another figure slipped
out of a clump of bushes up behind the supposed killer.
The gleam of a nickel plated revolver glinted dimly. The
second man prodded the first out of sight. I moved in.
Don't stand there.
Speaker 5: I can answer her.
Speaker 2: Why you killed that woman? I'm the three X killer. Okay,
you caught me. Take me back there. You're the three
X killer. The three or three X killer is clever,
his murders mited without leaving traces. You're a fumbling pool
and a three X killer. You're n this wife and
plans is a three X killer plans? This was stupid,
the three X killers intelligence. He uses reason You'll can't
frame that boy for between kimmings in the car. That
took reasoning. Yeah, you you're a fake. You're cashing one
the publicity into your original free X killer. Guys, you
were jeerious of a success. You're the cheapest of our people.
You're imitated. Oh you know, Beta, I happened to be
the original three eggs. It was I do you understand? Okay?
Why fight down that gun. So you find me, Rangy,
you knew all the time, didn't you drop the guys?
Until I take care of the people, say, well, fans,
that's the story. I'll beat to wrap up the case
in just a minute. I merely pulled the trigger and
Graham Wire dropped with a bullet in the leg. The
opisode had been posing of the fake killer grabbed his gun.
So that was that. Mike Harning asked me to meet
him the following day. Have you seen the newspapers? They're
playing up the hoaxwee pool like they know about it
all the time. They're good guys, and I suppose I'll
have to thank you. You know. When it was that
dreamboat idea he brought in from left field, it snared Dwyer.
I don't bother, dear boy. It was a pleasure to
get you off the hook. Yeah. I was hanging there
like a flounder. What happens with Dwyer? And he's insane.
When we raided his apartment, we found it was a
storehouse of information on murder. Finally went to his head.
Well were I never shot to kill? And he chased
me around in a stolen car. He explained, that he
loved making a monkey out of him. Thanks love being
a monkey and alive on me, Lieutenant of the bunch
at the office. I what for? They've been a shooting
on the west side coming along Grange yet No, this
one's on you. I figure on taking a rest, a
long rest. There's Steve Ranger. You've been listening to some
of the most interesting cases in my files. I hope
you enjoyed them. See you around sometimes.
Speaker 1: Welcome back. One thing I will say is that, in
terms of put downs of Granger, Lieutenant Harding in this
episode delivers some that are worthy of Ken Lynch's take
on Sergeant Corbett. The voice of the actor who played
Dwyer reminded me a lot of Dink Trout, who played
many character roles on radio throughout the nineteen forties, though
if you're not into old time radio, this thing that
he's probably most recognized for is the voice of the
King in Alice in Wonderland. Of course it wasn't Dink
Trout because the Volion production and that wasn't somewhere where
Trout were and perhaps even more relevant, Route passed away
in nineteen fifty. But I wonder if the actor who
performed it based his performance on Trout, either from having
heard him on the radio at some point or seen
Alice in Wonderland, or if this was a voice he
typically used. As for the mystery itself, I'm not certain
if it could have been made more obvious that Dwyer
was the killer. I was kind of suspicious of him
a little bit from the beginning, but then I was
certain of it after the initial suspect was cleared and
he started making comments about the Triple X killer being
a clever man, that he was definitely the guy. So
a lot of this episode was obvious in terms of
where the solution was going. All right, Listener comments and
feedback now starting out on Spotify, Mechanics sixty six riots
regarding the episode the rainy damer or good one, though
Pat was a bit annoying, And then I have an
email from Lawrence who writes, never mind the eye in
granger or Granger. I wish the OZ folks would have
learned to pronounce the American way of the word garage
instead of garage. Continued success and on a similar note,
Ryn Sir set over on YouTube regarding the episode hired
help Yanks, Don't say garage that way, well, thanks so
much and a fair point, and it does illustrate the
challenge of trying to write about another culture in a
way that will be believable. And certainly, given the intention
of having the syndicated in the States, it was important
to make it sound as naturally American as possible. But
it kind of illustrates how hard it can be to
write another culture believably and seamlessly to the degree that
people who belonged to that culture aren't going to find inconsistencies.
And it's very hard to really get into the mindset
totally of another culture. And I think it was even
harder back in the mid nineteen fifties because often our
experience of other cultures was limited to what we saw
in media, which could often be quite stereotyped. Although it
should be said that many Australians had interacted with Americans
during the war, and of course some American films had
made their way over to Australia, and so there were
some cultural exports that they could draw from, But there
are so many finer points that can be missed. Serby
said that American media could be far worse at the
way we wrote people from other countries. British might have
the best chance of getting a fair shake, but even
then it'd be off and way off. And of course
the British didn't do a great job of portraying us.
Whenever I listened to an old babyc audio drama from
say the nineteen fifties or sixties, and they said, oh,
let me go ahead and introduce you to my friend.
He's an American, I'm like, okay, let me brace myself
and just hope that they happened to cast someone who
was an expat, either an American or Canadian, or we
are going to be in for an adventure here. In
the twenty first century, this has gotten a bit easier
as access to other cultures and ways to understand how
they live and have become more readily available. In fact,
I've heard actors for audio drama state that the way
they prepared to play a character of an unfamiliar ethnicity
is they went on to YouTube and search for videos
of how people in those countries or areas happen to speak,
and we hear a lot more of each other's voices.
I have to admit that the way that British people
can do American accents these days is a bit Unkenny,
but you'll still hear occasional oddities like I've heard some
British productions that have had Americans say things like I'll
get that sorted, which is not something we say. It's
a saying that means I will go ahead and take
care of it, solve that problem for you. But it
is not a phrase I've ever heard an American youth
in real life or in a media production that isn't
made by a British people. So again, it seems like
no matter how good we get at this and how
much information we have, there are still things that a
local is going to be able to spot and say,
wait a minute. But thanks so much. I do appreciate
the comment, Lawrence. Well, now it is time to thank
our Patreon supporter of the day, and I want to
thank Ken, Patreon supporter since March of twenty twenty, currently
supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of seven
dollars and fourteen cents or more per month. Thanks so
much for your support, Ken, and that will do it
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