 Okay two beers coming up. Thanks Mike. Mud in your eye. That's 20 cents paid before your hoist in Trusting guy Yeah, oh Mike. Yeah. Here's a tip for you a little something extra. It's a good gag, huh? But you know, I don't think Mike appreciated it So big Mike is dead Murdered by two unfriendly strangers It seems from the listening to be an open and shut case You simply find the two men who went into the bar at that particular time Finding them shouldn't be difficult Since they each had a drink Left their glasses on the bar Oh creeps This is T4Y Opening the doors to the mystery plan tonight. We bring you another story by your old favorite William Irish It's called leg man You've already heard the crime being committed Now we plan to lead you slowly through the maze of clues and evidence See if you're as smart as you think you are Now then The rest of leg man by William Irish the scene Mike's tavern on the lower west side of Manhattan The place is jammed with policeman detectives photographers sprawled behind the bar is the body of Mike two bullets in it All right boys put those two glasses on the bar and let these reporters get some pictures Spectre house chances of some info. My name is Burgess from the globe. Oh, yeah How much they take the place for it wasn't a cash killing not much dough in a bar at nine in the morning We got it figured for a grudge killing that yourself a suspect. No, we've got the culprit solid He's cooked wash and bother see those glasses. We just put back there in the bar. Yeah, I see him Whiskey jigger and a beer glass. Yeah Well the whiskey jigger was covered with fingerprints who's a guy named Hastings Chuck Hastings motive Plain as the nose on your face That's some kind of a row with Mike and threatened to get even with him in front of about a hundred people any alibi none at all Says he was alone in his room all morning. Who's Prince on the beer glass? None Wipe clean. That's funny, isn't it? If the beer glass was wiped clean. Why not the whiskey jigger, too? Sounds fishy to me. Hey you looking for trouble One of the two guys had more presence of mind than the other one remembered to wipe the glass one forgot The one who forgot was too busy. He was firing the shot. That's all the case is closed It's a very simple case a grudge a killing and some fingerprints plastered all over a whiskey glass And the man who made them locked up everybody was satisfied except Chuck Hastings the man They locked up and a pencil happy leg man called Burgess who was crazy enough to start messing around in an open and shot murder case All right Burgess speaking No, wait a minute boss. I don't have the whole story Well as a matter of fact the arrest has been made already a guy called Hastings He had a grudge against the owner and his prints are on the death glass Listen boss. I noticed something. I think the police have missed and it makes me think this whole thing may be a frame Boss give me a break Hello, give me two fingers coming up You're the newspaper guy was in here this morning asking questions about the killing ain't you yeah Don't I'd seen you before Hey, yeah, that's 40 cents. What's the matter? Don't you trust me till I finished it? Sure, just have it I guess The owner Mike he never trusted anyone He always collected for drinks right as he put him down instead of waiting until after picked it up from him I guess sounds like a tight guy Mike you said I'm mouthful Guy like that must have plenty of enemies sure like who for instance I don't know there's a safe bet. I'd pick this fella Chuck Hastings the police pulled in What's this grudge they say had against Mike? Well, I don't know as I could say I was just wondering For the paper, you know, I thought I could court you Yeah Well, of course, it's no secret Hastings and Mike had a row in here one night This Hastings hands a boss a ten dollar bill to pay him off And the boss just gives him change for five Things start to get rough and Mike jumps over the counter and throws this Hastings out. I wouldn't say that was too much of a Mike throws him out Hastings picks himself off the street and hollers in the door. I'm gonna get you for this if it's the last thing I do I guess he did all right Funny thing though Looks like Mike still didn't trust him made him pay up this morning when he got his drink like always When I came in the register was rung up at 20 cents at 20 cents. Are you sure of that? I got eyes ain't I? You know it It strikes me that a man as tight-fisted as Mike sounds would have a lot of people who'd like to bump him off Well, he did knock up against a few tough customers like Just for the heck of it Minds you I ain't pointing a finger at no one in particular about this shoot. No, no, of course not well There's a fella named Edge Joe Edge in the wholesale liquor racket He and Mike have had it in for each other for a couple of years now. How come? Well Edge had the old squeeze play pretty much on He soaked Mike the limit for the liquor he sold him and then was plenty sore when Mike got tired of it and switched To another out sore enough to kill him now look I didn't say I forget it forget it say by the way was it a Glass like this they found on the bar this morning. Yeah a whiskey jigger and a beer glass front of the other seat Do you keep an account of how many jiggers like this you're having stock not usually but it just happens We got in three dozen yesterday Lost any since then no, I'm pretty careful And you ought to have 35 not counting the one the police took right well 35 and 18 we were down to before we reordered that makes it a 53 look I'm not one of those betting guys, but I've got nothing else to do Here's a dollar bill says you haven't got 53 in stock right now Fade me. Well That's an easy way to double my money Yeah, see this stick I'll hit the glasses so they sing out and you can keep count with me. Okay, right? one two three four five six 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 well, I'll be darned. I must have figured wrong No, you didn't needed an eye. Oh, don't you see you have one extra shot glass? Find out where it came from and you've got the guy who killed Mike Yeah, buddy. Listen was a whiskey jigger like this taken from your bar within the last few nights No, I'll take a thing like that. Don't bother me. Okay. Thanks. Anyway Did anyone take a shot glass like this from your bar? Are you kidding mister? Okay? Thanks No jigger taken thanks Nope, thanks Listen was a jigger like this taken from your bar the last couple of nights. Yeah, okay. Thanks. Hey wait, mister Was that you asked me? I said was one of these shot glasses swiping your bar within the last couple of nights Yeah, how did you know that? Who told you you got any idea who took it? Yeah, a fellow named Hastings He comes in here a lot Hastings Hastings did you see him take it well? No, but it was the one he was drinking from so he must have when I went over to clean up There was no glass there. I couldn't figure it. Just beginning to see the light myself Quite a bit of light. I think I'll try and get a few more gleams from Hastings himself You'd think this was old home week in the detention cells Hastings is being held for murder and you walk into whole hands or something. I just swing it the power of the press officer This is so yeah Happy here. What's the fan here? Five minutes beat it up Hastings. I had a hard time getting in here. I didn't listen. I've got to talk fast Answer me straight with you. It's the only way I can help What do you want to know? Who'd you shake hands with last night? What are you a little punchy or something listen? I mean it Who'd you shake hands with in a bar the night before you arrested for the killing? I don't I Didn't mean anyone. I knew I was by myself the whole time You were in a place called Sullivan's on Union Avenue Sullivan's Wait a minute. I Didn't shake hands with anyone, but somebody did grab my method and pump it Remember that now It was one of those drunks next to me look like a mechanic wearing overalls First he apologized for slapping over against me then he said No hard feelings and meets down and pop my hand about 16 times Now what you wanted that's exactly what I wanted. Did you notice your hands when you got home last night? Was there anything on them? What are you mind reader? It was grease on them axle grease or something Hastings. I'm on the right track Was he anyone you ever saw before? No, I never saw before my life He was just some stray barf. He wasn't strain. He was no barfly, but never mind about that now Hastings who hates you pretty much the whole world away. It looks tonight Look, I'm trying to help Who hates you enough to frame you for a murder? Sometimes you don't know it when they do. Oh, you usually have a pretty fair idea Well, this Harlem Maybe Tom Strickland Al Vogel ever since that mix up in Jersey City Joe Edge Joe Edge. What's he got against you? He's a liquor distributor now, but he used to operate a speakeasy during prohibition. I worked for him One night we were rated and federally tried a Lot of inside dope turned up during the trial as though someone had ratted He always thought it was me. I got off pretty light and he got a stiff term prohibition ended in 1933 I mean he'd wait 12 years to get even he's always had it in for me. I wouldn't be surprised I wouldn't be surprised either Hastings. I Wouldn't be at all surprised Is this the Joseph Edge who's in the liquor distributing business? Nothing, I figured maybe there was something I could do for you. I'm in a phone booth at Mike's tavern That's where you were this morning at about nine nine fifteen, weren't you? That's where they shot Mike I'll explain I Was the first customer at Mike's tavern this morning. I went in a minute or two after the place was opened up. I Went into the washroom. I Was in there when you came in you Didn't think to look in there Well, tell that to the cops. The only drawback is they don't pay I've been saving this for a rainy day and it's pouring cats and dogs right now You don't believe I was there to I'll draw you a picture There was another guy with you You stood up against the bar on the right-hand side. He stood on the left After the shooting one glass was wiped clean and the other Now is it? Clouding up a little bit. You're in About how large an umbrella would it take to keep you dry? $500 one This is a pretty heavy rainstorm Look, there's no harm in getting together and talking this over Meet me tomorrow morning at nine o'clock In front of a barbershop called the empire. You can't miss it. It's on central Avenue Got it. Got it Okay Bye Who you kidding what time do you close up here? Well, the boys usually kept it open until about four But I thought I'd close up in about ten minutes Want a nightcap before I cork up with my yeah, give me a short one. Don't change Hey, just take it over to the register with you. Good night. Good night. I'll be He said keep the change And it's nothing but a piece of paper all scribbled up with some writing on it Keep the change Say something buddy What do you want me to say just that that would do very nicely Here's your matches back buddy, that's not matches that's a gun you've got there right you are It says get in and make yourself comfortable. Oh wait a minute Okay, step on it have I been in a warehouse where they store liquor. It's very instructive Frighten my time for us. No, this guy doesn't frighten so quick You don't have to be afraid buddy. There's a nice umbrother in this for you All we got to do first is find out if you're a phony or on the up. I see How are we gonna do that? Well, there's four of us here You say you saw two guys come in the Mike's tavern and shoot him yesterday All right Pick out the two you say you saw Give me a minute's time. I want to be sure of what I'm doing Yeah, you want to be plenty sure Well, there's You Number one granite face there number two Eyes a little shifty. Come on. Either you know you don't I don't know I Want to figure out what it's best for me to say Especially with that very efficient looking gun pointing at my stomach So you know who it was I Suppose you know why it was to I do It was a case of two birds with one stone or with one whiskey jigger a Guy had a long-standing grudge against tastings and a hotter one against Mike Oliver for refusing to be hijacked by his liquor distributing So he figured one murder should be enough to take care of both men Right Go on. We're listening. Oh, it's quite simple Joe Edge had one of his men with grease in his hand put on a south side Follow Hastings into a bar Shackens with him Hastings printed his own tips all over the glass he was using without even knowing it Then the would be south swiped it and brought it to edge Edge took at the Mike's with him Shot Mike switch glasses left at behind there to frame Hastings shall I go on? There's not much more except That the two guys I saw come into Mike's tavern and shoot Mike Oliver were you Joe Edge in Front of me with a gun You over there The fourth guy with a shifty eyes That was the wrong answer You're two were the ones that were there so what's wrong about it sure We were there That's why it's the wrong answer If you picked the wrong to you probably would have walked out of here alive But you picked the right So you'll have to take your 500 in capsule form now Hey The rest here keep not the places covered you all right Burgess. Yeah, I guess I am inspector lions Well, you sure got here just in time that look pretty close. We tagged the car and followed it You gambled heavily on that bartender son. I know I was afraid to talk to him for all I know someone of the gang was watching or listening. I I scribble a message for him to call you He did better than that. He saw you get in the car and phone the license in but look How did you ever figure out that whiskey jigger was a plant? Well edge got careless He he didn't think it mattered what he ordered at the bar from Mikey was taking his glass out No one would see it so he ordered beer and the character with him acting on the suggestion ordered beer, too but Mike Oliver was a peculiar cuss He insisted on being paid when the drinks were ordered and he rang up the money before they shot him When they found Mike's body the cash register said 20 cents. What what does that prove? Spectre you can't break 20 cents down into a whiskey and a beer any day of the week And there was a whiskey and a beer glass side-by-side on the bar. Yes, but well Even if the beer glass was just a chaser for the whiskey the price for the cheapest whiskey Mike carried was 25 cents 20 cents I'll buy two beers For the sake of simple arithmetic the whiskey glass had to be planted well, I'll be Son if you ever want a job on the police force. Thanks, sir. I'm plenty satisfied with a job. I have now Wait a minute. What's wrong? I just remembered. I haven't got a job. I was fired. Excuse me. I have to call my boss. Hey wait That was the story called legman written by William Irish An old friend to you mystery playhouse fans. There's a moral to the story too Moral of the story is Don't ever pay for your drinks So after you've dropped them Getting early again It's almost not night anymore This is T4 why closing the doors of the mystery playhouse and saying good night Sleep tight This is the armed forces radio service