 I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the crime club. I'm the librarian. The Topaz flower. Yes, we have that crime club story for you. Come right over. Take the easy chair by the window. Comfortable? The book is on this shelf. Here it is, the Topaz flower by Charlotte M. Russell. The exciting story of a flower that was plucked by the hand of death. Let's look at it under the reading lamp. It was a little after 7 o'clock in the evening. The family and friends were scattered through the rather austere house. And Mr. Sloan was even more than usually indifferent to their comfort and his responsibility as host. Wally Kent was the only person there who did not fear the old man. He even admitted to himself that he liked him in a strange sort of way. And that was good, especially as the Sloans were inclined to be clannish. And Wally intended to propose to Natalie if he could find it. After having looked everywhere else for her, he finally decided to try Mr. Sloan's room. Perhaps she had been closeted with her uncle. Standing at the door, he hesitated. Then squaring his shoulders, he knocked. Mr. Sloan. Mr. Sloan is Natalie there. Mr. Sloan. Hey, Mr. Sloan. Nice luck. Natalie. Mr. Sloan. Natalie, darling, I've been looking all over the house for you. Well, honey, what's the matter? Let me go, Wally. Oh, but listen. Let me go, I tell you. Oh, what the... Oh, my good God. Natalie, what were you doing? Did you call Mr. Sloan? Oh, Mr. Kent. Oh. Take it easy, Bauer. Oh, but he's murdered. Mr. Sloan has been murdered. Get to the phone, Bauer, right away. Call Captain Tom Vane of the Homicide Bureau. Tell him what's happened. He'll be here right away. Yes, sir. Oh, and Bauer, just see that nobody leaves until he gets here, will you? Well, sir, I don't know, but I'll try, sir. Oh, poor Mr. Sloan. And if you see Miss Natalie, tell her to come up here, please. It's very important. Captain Vane is here, Mr. Kent. Oh, thanks, Bauer. Bring him right in here. Yes, sir. Come in, please, Captain. Thank you. Hello, Tom. Hello, Wally. You got a murder here. Got a dead man, anyway, Tom. Let's have a look. Right in here. He's dead, all right. Harry's Sloan, huh? Yeah. Nobody saw it down there, I suppose. As far as I know. Now, let's see. Two glasses, drinking with somebody. Looks like it. Wonder who? Search me. Anybody in here besides you? No, oh, yes, there was two. Young Raymond Sloan, his nephew, came roaring in when the news got out that the old gentleman was dead. I kept the others out. Well, maybe we can get some prints off those glasses. Yeah. Oh, see, though, Raymond Sloan picked up one of the glasses. This one. Picked it up. What for? Well, he was kind of upset and he wanted a drink. So he just grabbed the glass, poured a shot into it. Yeah, since we had the prints all over the place done, the luck, I always get the tough jobs. Why couldn't he have picked up the old gentleman's glass? Well, how would he know which was which? Yeah, he got something there. Well, well, thanks anyway. Let's go see these folks, shall we? Sure. Downstairs and to your right. I'll show you. The old man had a lot of dough, didn't he? He was pretty well off. Is this the room? That's right. Please. I'm Captain Tom Vanne of the Homicide Bureau. I know while they can't hear but you others, will you please tell me who you are? You first, sir. I'm Bauer, the butler, sir. No. I'm Maria Sloan, Mr. Sloan's sister-in-law. And I'm his son, Raymond Sloan. Clarinda Bell, Mr. Sloan's secretary. And this gentleman here in the corner? Joe Vanister. I'm an old friend of Harry Sloan. Uh, shouldn't there be someone else? Well, Natalie. My daughter. Where's she? Well, I think she's... Sorry, I'm made. I'm Natalie Sloan. All right. Now sit down, please, everybody. Let's just check those names again so I know to whom I'm talking. Bauer the butler. Yes, sir. Mrs. Maria Sloan. Yes. And Miss Clarinda Bell. I'm right here. See, and you're Joe Vanister. I am. Miss Natalie Sloan. Yes. Have I forgotten anybody? Oh, yes. Raymond Sloan. Present. And me. Mm-hmm. Well, I can't. Okay, here we go. We know that Mr. Sloan was shot about 7.15 by someone with a revolver with a silencer. He'd been drinking in his locked room with someone who apparently killed him and took the, uh, topaz flower. What, uh, what is the topaz flower? It's a jewel, a cluster of jewels, a family heirloom. Easily recognizable, Miss Natalie? Oh, yes. The topaz flower is also a gold mine in Canada that Harry Sloan and I discovered. Oh, thank you, Mr. Vanister. You're welcome. Now, let's just check what each of you were doing when, uh, Wally Kent. I, I discovered the body, Captain. I was looking for Natalie. Oh, where were you, Miss Natalie? Well, I was dressing. But... What? Well, I didn't say anything. Okay. You, young man, Raymond Sloan. I was having a drink in the living room, down here. He's always having a drink, aren't you, Ray? What were you doing, Mr. Vanister? I don't remember. Oh, you don't remember? I see. I was downstairs here all the time. You're the secretary, Clarinda Bell. Yes. And may I go home? You may not. You, Mrs. Sloan? I was dressing. You can ask my maid. I will. And the butler? I, I was in the front hall all evening, sir. Mm-hmm. Wally, you're supposed to be an amateur detective. What's your theory since you found the body? Was there, um, anybody else in the room? Not when I found the body, Captain, nor. Well, how'd you get in there if the door was locked? What? I said, how did you get in there if the door was locked? Oh, that. Yeah, that. Well, I, I never thought of that time. One minute the door was locked and then it was unlocked. That's right. I never thought of that. There must have been somebody in there. Sure must have been. And you didn't see anybody when you went in? No. No, I didn't see anybody. Well, perhaps whoever it was got out through the French doors that opened on the terrace. Oh, they were locked, Mrs. Sloan. Were there any fingerprints on the glasses that they were drinking out of? Well, thanks to young Mr. Sloan here now, he smeared his own prints all over them. Well, I was only trying to help. Well, great help. Well, whoever killed Mr. Sloan took the topaz flower, I suppose. That couldn't have been the motive for the murder. It was only worth about $5,000. Only $5,000. Mrs. Sloan, you'd be surprised what people do for $5,000. Wait a minute. Young Mr. Sloan, how are you treated in your father's will? What? What do you mean? Easy, easy lad. Do you come in to a lot of money? If he does, Captain. So does practically everybody in the room here. Marie Ria here is his sister-in-law. Natalie's his favorite niece. Pa has been an employee of Sloan's for... 28 years, sir. I know I'm provided for in his will. Everybody here, except Wally, can't stand to benefit by the will. How about you, Wally? You wanned, Miss Natalie, I take it. Tom, could it be that the murderer took the tow-pass flower to direct suspicions along another line? It certainly could be, Mr. Kent. Ah, Miss Clarinda Bell. Incidentally, you didn't say anything when Bannister was talking about people who might profit by... No, I stood to lose a great deal by Mr. Sloan's death. You mean he wasn't going to do the right thing by secretary? By his first will, yes. First will what? What do you mean? There was only one... Now, hold it, hold it. What do you mean by that, Miss Bell? Mr. Sloan dictated a new will to me only a week ago. Why didn't you tell me this before? You didn't ask me, Captain. Well, I don't believe it. I don't either. Miss Natalie, what do you think? Well, I don't know what... Let's find out about this new will. Yes, by all means. What did you mean about losing by the terms of the new will? Will you explain that, please? I will. Mr. Sloan and I were to be married. Why? Ah... And the new will named Clarinda Bell Sloan, his wife, as the principal beneficiary. However, since I'm still Clarinda Bell, probably always will be, you see. Where is this will, Miss...? In the safe, Mr. Sloan's office. So, Captain, now that I've demonstrated that I have no possible motive, do you suppose I might go home? Ah, sure. Sure, you can go home. I'll be in touch with you. Thank you. Good night. Oh, wait. Wait a minute. Good night. Well, people looks as if we're out of luck. No, we're not out of luck yet, Joe. That second will can't be probated, so the first one is still good. Oh, no, dear, my dear. The intent of the will is a thing. We're still out of luck. I didn't know there was another will. A telephone, Captain Bain. Headquarters calling, sir. Oh, thanks. The rest of you clear out for a few minutes. Bowers, see that they don't run all over the place and get lost. Oh, yes, sir. Ah, hello. Oh, you did? No, hold it a minute till these people get out of here. All right, let's go, please. Let's go. Natalie. What, Wally? Come in here a minute, will you? Where? Here in this room, I want to ask you something. No, wait. Let's see if there's anybody in here. No, come on. What do you want? No, honey, look at me. What were you doing in your uncle's room when he was shot? I don't know what you mean. Natalie, darling, this guy, Bain, is a sharp cop. Now, look, I can't cover up for you all the time. Do you mean you think I shot Uncle Harry? Darling, no, but I... I mean, you were in there with the door locked. You weren't locked at yourself. I nearly got caught when Bain asked me how I got in. You're not going to tell him, Wally. Natalie, darling, listen, please, I... Oh, Wally, it can't. I've been looking all over. Excuse me. Wally, I want to see you. Oh, excuse me, Natalie, I'll see you later, huh? Okay, Tom, what now? Sorry, Miss Natalie. Wally, we found the topaz flower. You... You what? Yeah. John Jarbo of the hawk shop squad just called. That was the phone call. Found it in the shop, six blocks from here, and he's bringing the owner and the topaz flower first thing tomorrow morning. Well, how? It says fast work, Tom. Yeah, it sure is, isn't it? It says a woman hucked it. A woman? You suppose somebody could have gotten out of the house, run over to the hawk shop and... Well, what did the woman look like, Tom? Well, the fella said she was wearing a green hat, a purple scarf, and she had red hair. Red hair? Oh, thank goodness there's no red-haired woman in this house. I think again, Wally, there may be a red wig. I got Miss Bell on the telephone, Captain. She's on the way over. I told her what you said about the woman pointing the topaz flower, sir. Where's Mr. Kent this morning? I was looking for Natalie, Tom. Where's the topaz flower? Be here any minute. I look here, you're supposed to be an amateur, Dick. Yes, sir. Does this look like an inside job to you? I... I don't know, Tom. Oh, it does to me. Who are you? I mean... Well, the son of his. Ray? Well, he's kind of a young fella. They call him near to well in detective stories. Drinking, gambling. Women, you know. Yeah. He knocked off the old man if you made a mistake. How'd they get along? Not good out here. That's right. But I doubt he's got the nerve to do such a thing. And that sister-in-law, Maria? Well, now, she's kind of malicious. But she's harmless. Well, you'll pick out the murderer. Oh, no, Tom. Not for me. Not me. I wondered if you would like some coffee, gentlemen. Oh, no, thanks. Bauer, that's your name, isn't it? Yes. But you can tell the rest of the people I want them in here now, please. Very good, sir. You got snoops. Oh, no. Not Bauer. Well, how do you know he wasn't listening at the door? Well, I... Yeah, when you've been in this game as long as I... Ah, doorbell. Bauer'll get it. Must be nice to be so rich and get murdered. Yeah. Ah, that's right, too. A police officer captain and another, uh, person. Hmm? Oh, hello, Jarbo. Morning, Captain. Nice work, kid. Yeah. This here is Don, the hot shop fella. Oh, good. Uh, come on, we'll go in the other room where we have these people. There's more room in there. Everybody in there, Bauer? Yes, sir. They're waiting for you. Okay. In here, Jarbo. Don. Oh, well, I... Well, Don? Either one of these two ladies? Uh, nope. Not neither of them. You sure? Absolutely. I recognize that woman out of a million. Red hair, kind of deep voice, a green hat, purple scarf. Just what is this, please, Captain Bain? Jarbo, give us a stone. Yes, sir. Why, it's the dope-ass flower. Where did it come from? Where did you get it? Yeah, huh? A woman with red hair. And a green hat and a purple scarf with a deep voice. All right, all right. It was hot that this man's place last night. A woman with red hair and a green hat? That's enough. You say it wasn't either of these ladies now? Positively. I'd know her in a minute. Okay, okay. Take them back, Jarbo. Okay. Come on, Lenn. Is that all, Captain? That's all. Much obliged. You're welcome. Well, I must say, Captain... I must say, Captain, as long as this fellow is trying to identify women for you, and you better keep him here, it'll miss Vel gets here. Just to make it come out even, you know. Oh. Oh, yeah, sure. That's, uh... Hey, Captain! Hey, Captain! Captain! What's the matter with you now? Look, look. The green hat and the purple scarf. I found it. Where'd you get that? Well, that's my hat. And my scarf. Now, wait a minute. Let's see that. It was right there on that thing in the hall. I never noticed it when I come in, but when I went out, there it was. And I knew it right away. Look. Look, I bet there's maybe a red hair in it someplace. Look, huh? Well, what do you know? It is a red hair. Or am I colorblind, Kent? No. It's red all right. Well, Aunt Maria, now who's in the suit? Well, I haven't seen that purple scarf in a week. Well, the lady that hawked the jewelry wore it. Natalie, I... When did you wear this hat last? Why, it was in my room. Hard to get down here. Young lady, I think we're going to have a lot of fun finding out. But I didn't know... No, no, no, it wasn't her. Not her. So your hat and the scarf might have been lent to someone? You make another remark like that. I'll let him alone, please, Mrs. Sloan. Now, shut that doorbell. Oh, wait. Let's see who that is. Yes, sir. Probably Miss Bell and Mr. Bannister. Now, see here, Captain. Hold it for a minute or two. Mr. Joseph Bannister. Ah, come in. Come in. Bannister, we found the topaz flower. What? Yes. It was pawned at Mr. Dorn Shop last night. By a red-headed woman in this green hat? Ah, ah, ah, ah, yeah. Do either of you know any red-haired women? I know one in Calgary, Captain. Hmm. Bauer. Yes, sir? Will you take the gentleman somewhere for a few minutes, please? I want to talk to these two ladies. Yes, sir. This way, gentlemen, if you please. What are you going to do? I'll call you when I want you, Mr. Sloan. Let's go, let's go. Want me to go, too? No. You stay here. Thanks. Sit down, Natalie. Thank you, Wally. How long before you'll want us? I'll call you. Matt, is that your hat, really? Yes, of course. I think that man must be crazy. Well, I think it's something the police have coped up to try to scare us into. Scare you into what, Mr. Sloan? What do you mean by that? I don't know. I mean, I don't know. Sit down, sit down, Mr. Sloan. Now, are you sure you haven't lent that scarf to someone recently? Ridiculous. And you, Miss Sloan, your hat... The hat's been in my room for weeks. I haven't worn it and I don't know when. I see. Well, Brother Kent, it was an inside job after all, wasn't it? It certainly looks like it, all right. But I don't think... Go and ask the men to come back, will you? I'll go if I may. I want to get the handkerchief and... No, wait. Oh, never mind. Wally, you don't... It doesn't make any difference what Mr. Kent thinks, Miss Sloan. I'm the one... Mother! Mother! Come on. Mother! Natalie, get back. It's Maria. Linda Bell. Dead. They're murdered. How is Mrs. Sloan now? She'll be all right, Captain, but the shock... Yeah, I know. May I go up to her now, please? Sit down a moment, if you will. I won't keep you long. But... Sit down, please. Here, let me help you, Natalie. How did Miss Bell get in the house? Well, she had a key. She often came out here to work with Uncle Harry. I see. Do you know how she was murdered? She was stabbed, wasn't she? Yes. And when your mother saw her, she fainted. Well, what would you do? Faint, probably. Miss Sloan, this... This pencil was lying under Miss Bell's body. You ever see it before? That's my pencil. What is? Miss Sloan, the longings of yours seem to turn up everywhere. Your green hatch, your pencil. But I was in here and I lost that pencil three weeks ago. No, see here, Ben. I'll go from you. I'm reasonably sure you didn't murder Miss Bell, but you wouldn't have went the pencil... Please, I told you I lost it. This is a very odd pencil. You pull the end off, there's an eraser. I know that. It's got another trick, too. I don't know what you mean. Look. You pull the eraser, huh? A knife. A little knife. Yeah, a little knife with blood on it. Miss Sloan, who murdered Clarinda Bell with your knife? Now look here, Ben. Take it easy, Kent. Answer my question, young lady. I tell you, I don't know anything about it. All right, all right. You can go up to your room. But stay there, will you? I'll take you up, Natalie. No, you stay here. I want to talk to you for a minute. Go ahead, Natalie. Captain, baby. I'll see you later. All right. I don't get it. She didn't do it, Ben. No, I don't think so, either, but who did? Well, there's stuff from Clarinda Bell's purse, keys, lipstick, cigarette case, address book, matches, comp, papers. Well... What? Hey, look at this card. Read it. Hmm. I remember the Christmas party six years ago, just as well as you do. Well, what is it? Christmas card or something? I wouldn't know. Well, what? What's this? Well, last will and testament of Harrison Sloan. Yeah, but where's the rest of it? Somebody wanted that will badly enough to knock off the old girl for it. Now, just who could that be? We're just as badly off as we were before. Yeah, yeah. Except... Captain Bain, Mr. Bannister would like to speak to you. Oh, Bannister, send him in. Yes. Well, how are you doing, Cap? Oh... All right. Don't kid me, Cap. Oh, yeah, you've been drinking. Sure. Makes me think. Well, what do you think you want? Makes me remember things. Oh, isn't that fine? Like what? Like things I see. Come on, come on. I was out in the garden for a brother fresh air about the time Harry got killed. And? I looked up at Harry's room. French storage, you know. Know who was sitting there with him? Oh. Girl. You look around. You'll find out. Young girl. Bannister, are you insinuating? No. Just telling you. Goodbye. Hey, wait a minute. No. Goodbye. Huh. What do you think of that? Why that old... Hold your horses. He's not so junk. But, uh, why did he... Hey, wait a minute. Now what? He didn't see anybody in that room. What do you mean? Well, didn't you see those French windows? What do you mean? They're covered with frost all the way from the top to the bottom in this cold weather. Well, I'd be... That's right. Nobody could see in. Of course they couldn't. That's right. Now what do you suppose... All I know is he couldn't have seen in that room. Bob, you've got the makings of a detective after all. But why would he want to throw suspicion on Natalie? I wonder. Maybe he meant Clarenda. No, he said a young woman. He was a little drunk. I don't think Clarenda did it. Maybe the hot shop man said she wasn't the one that had the topaz flower. Yeah, that's right. What about that car, though? The, uh, Christmas car? Let's see it again. I remember the Christmas Eve party six years ago, just as well as you do. Bain, I've got an idea. That's swell. Ring for Bauer. Okay. You rang, sir? Yes, come in here, Bauer. Close the door. Yes, sir? Bauer, you've been here a long time. Yes, sir. Were you here at a Christmas party six years ago? That would be 1941. Yes, sir, of course. Who else of these people was here? Mrs. Sloan, Natalie? No, sir. They were in California. Let me see. I think Mr. Sloan and Miss Bell and Mr. Bannister. Anything special happened that night? Specials, sir? Something Miss Bell might remember, for instance. Let me think, sir. Why, yes, sir. It's indeed very funny. What? It was Mr. Bannister, sir. Bannister? What did he do? He was rather tight, and he came downstairs wearing a woman's dress and a red wig. A red wig? Yes, sir, I remember perfectly. Oh, he was a screamer. Bauer, go out and ask Mr. Bannister to step in here, will you? Yes, sir. I hope you won't tell him. Snappy Bauer, please. Yes, sir. Kent. Nice going. It all seems so simple, Captain Bay. Yeah, sure. Looking back on it, Sloan told him about the new will and about marrying Clarenda. What we didn't know, of course, was that Sloan had cut Bannister off of the new will. So Bannister figured he'd murder the old gentleman, take the will out of the wall safe in the room and get away with it, even if Clarenda did tell everyone about it. But it wasn't there, so he took the topaz flower to make it look like robbery. And when I came in the room, he locked me in. Yeah, that's right. Then he had to get rid of the topaz flower. So he dressed up in women's clothes, but he'd forgotten that Clarenda remembered the Christmas party and his act. He was going to pass them the note when she came here. Yes, only he got here first. Well, see, at the trial, and if you ever want a job in force, well... Oh, no, not me, Captain. I'm going to be pretty busy looking after the topaz flower. Sure. The logs to Natalie now. Oh. Yeah, I get it. Well, I look pretty good in soup and fish. What do you mean, Captain? Oh, pardon me. I just mean in case you want somebody to guard the wedding presents. Well, goodbye for now. So close is tonight's crime club book, The Topaz Flower, based on a story by Charlotte M. Russell. Willis Cooper did the radio adaptation, Roger Bauer produced and directed. Raymond Edward Johnson played Captain Bain, Chet Stratton was Wally, and Julie Stevens was Natalie. The cast included Eleanor Seltz, Reese Taylor, Barry Thompson, Irene Hubbard, Paul Hammond, and Ed Latimer. Oh, I beg your pardon. Hello, I hope I haven't kept you waiting. Yes, this is the crime club. I'm the librarian. Yes, come over a week from tonight. Good. We have a very intriguing story of a missing person that was found by death. It's called Epitaph for Lydia by Virginia Roth. In the meantime? Well, in the meantime, there is a new crime club book available this week, and every week it bookstores everywhere. Yes, it's available now. Fine. And we'll look for you next week. Graham came from New York. This is the world's largest network, the Mutual Broadcasting System.