 This is Orson Welles speaking from London a repository of death Here in the grim stone structure on the Thames, which houses Scotland Yard is a warehouse of homicide Where everyday objects a pin a garden hose a handbag all are touched by murder Here's a car tire There were three others all attached to a sedan. They were removed Great Scotland specter for those vandals they've stripped the car of everything even the four tires There's nothing left except evidence Now today one of those tires the one that became a vital clue in the case Can be seen in the black museum? All of the criminal investigation department of the London police We bring you the dramatic stories of the crimes recorded by the objects in Scotland Yards gallery of death the black museum Well, here we are in the black museum Scotland Yards Museum of murder rise death on the shelves around the walls death in many disguises Here's a length of electric wiring The protective insulation has been stripped away Ma'am touched it. He died Jury found it was murder. Here's a card Invitational party the invitation was accepted death was the end of that. I here's the tire It's an ordinary car tire once it belonged to a sedan that stood in a garage at south end On a certain night some years ago two men entered the garage quietly After first forcing the lock There we are Good work, Harry. Look at a Ben spocking you and she's ours once we get her out of the garage All right quietly does it I'll take up the break Right, we'll push her out in the street and down the road a bit Okay, I'm ready. The object of this stealthy midnight visit was a new car The two men pushed the automobile down the slope of the road jumping in when the car began to gather speed All right, I get in get a Scotty did right We got away with it. I was easy by morning. We'll have everything we want off this car tires Airpods the seat and then we'll ditch what's left. Hey, we'll make our fortune this way out of my boy Sounds easy money. It is come on. I'll show you what this car can do flat out fast along the road eastwood It's twin lights cutting beans in the darkness of the night The policeman cycling home. What's that up there? Hey, what a man in the center of the road? Oh wait till our lights pick him up clearly It's a it's a cop. Oh, he's got his hand up signal unless to stop okay You don't think what the words got out this car has been pinched not a chance And what's this copper doing? Oh might want to lift down. You never know There's his bike at the side of the road Ted, I don't like take it easy will you bluff our way out if he makes trouble like an Go easy on using that guy leave it to me Good evening constable anything the matter I'll have to ask you not to speed like that along this road sir. Were we speeding? Well, I think you know you were saying that there's been a number of serious Accidents around here lately. Oh dear and now may I see your license mark my license. Oh, yes You know funny thing. I'm fed. I don't have it on me constable. They know I'll have to request some other means of identification, sir Well, I yeah You know, I haven't done anything on me at all. Well, where are you going sir, and where do you come from? Well, we uh We're just driving Is the car yours? No constable the car belongs to me. Oh, I see sir. Then Would you tell me his number? It's on the front of the car if you want to see it. I know the numbers, but do you look? Well, no not all fans as I thought sir This is a stolen car. You know you'll both better get out. Oh, come on. I'll have to take down some particular Yeah, yeah, what makes you think you can order us around there doubt I said come on I want your name and Put that gun away. Say your prayers copper. Give me that gun. Don't let him take it Yes, I won't don't buddy. You ask for trouble couple. You're gonna get it A murder has been committed Murder of a policeman the morning paper Dom nothing in it, but crime. Oh, you won't find much crime Yeah, what's the matter with your dog? Found something it's not like him to get that excited. What's the matter with him? Yeah, wait a minute George Unless I'm mistaken. It ain't only in the morning papers. You'll find crime. What do you mean? Well ahead there? Over by the side of the road. It looks like a man Come on. Why? It's Charlie Acker He's dead running Scotland Yard was represented the scene of the crime by Inspector Clancy and Detective Sergeant Reading He was shot three times reading nasty business up. Oh, here's a notebook lying on the ground presiding Yes, and he was holding a pencil in his right hand. Well, that seems fairly straightforward So he was about to take down some particulars from a person or persons who meet myth Evidence suggests that sergeant wait a minute inspector is torches here in his pocket Is it and there's no street lighting nearby? How could you have been writing? By the light of a vehicle presumably of course Either the headlights or the interior lighting of a car or a truck more likely the interior lighting Don't you think inspector? Well, we'll work on that assumption first, which means it was a car There are some tracks here. You can see the skid marks now They might be caused by a car starting fairly fast. I want those tracks photographs the photographs would Julie sent to certain experts It's Scotland Yard and a report came back to Inspector Clancy Report from the arts. Yeah, yes, Sergeant Reading those tracks were made by an Evans car an Evans Eh get a full list of all stolen cars within a 50 mile radius. We'll see if there was an Evans amongst them There were two one was found Inspector Clancy interviewed the owner of the other Yes, it was taken the night before last inspector Some bounder picked the lock of my garage and got away with the car. I'll get a full description from you, sir Yes, certainly. Yeah, but I say I say never the Scotland Yard doesn't usually go the chasing stolen cars Does it not usually a car no Pinterest? Oh, there's something else behind it. Is that? Hello Yes, yes, yes, just a moment. It's for you inspector. Thank you, sir Hello Yes, reading At Rayleigh I See Yes, yes, I'll come down right away Mm-hmm. There's something happen Inspector an Evans cars being found sir abandoned in a ditch outside Rayleigh a new Evans index mark TW 6120 But but that's mine by Joe, and you'd better come along sir They found the car the police going over it for fingerprints Curious crowd gathered around it. There's a vastly different car from the one Colonel Finchers had locked in his garage two nights earlier Great Inspector those vandals they've stripped the car of everything even the four tires There's nothing except evidence What do you mean inspector? This was the car concerned in the murder of Constable hacker on Eastwood Road my car Concerned in that killing come with me a colonel. I'll show you the evidence to prove it That car is the first link in the long chain at the end of which is the murderer And a further link is the missing four tires One of which became the vital clue in the case That tire can be seen today in the black museum Abandoned in a ditch outside Rayleigh You can see for yourself colonel ventures on the running board. Yeah, I mean a dark stain there It's blood. Yes, it's blood and see this Yeah, oh a spent cartridge case. It was found on the floor of the car Then my car was concerned in that poor fellow's murder. We'll make Confirmatory tests, of course the blood stain will be checked against the constable's grouping and the cartridge case will go to ballistics These routine checks must be carried out But colonel ventures and you and inspector cramps in you But the driver of the stolen car taken part in the policemen's murder and knowing this Inspector was able to reconstruct the crime We don't know why constable hacker pulled the car up sergeant He was cycling home. Perhaps the evidence car was speeding Well, whatever the reason he called on it to halt and in the process of questioning He came to realize the car was stolen he'd have brought out his notebook and pencil to take down some particular, sir And for doing that he was killed The picture of the crime was clear, but now how to find the driver of the car Nothing was known about it. There were no eyewitnesses One man had seen the driver and he was dead Why would they begin searching? We'll begin right here at the car sergeant It's funny about those tires, sir very funny, but not only the tires are missing No, the toolkits been taken and the jack and most of the spare parts the windscreen wipe has been removed So the headlamps and the car radio colonel ventures had installed Vandalism sir. Well, if it was vandalism, it was well planned sergeant. Yeah, no There are a lot of tracks over there The stuff was loaded on and driven away Car stealing sir for spare parts and tires a very profitable pastime What was taken out of this car would probably be worth from Two three hundred pounds on the second-hand market black market sir for the tires I wonder who handles second-hand parts and tires around this district Come on. We're doing spectacular the nearest garage They found a garage less than half a mile away The proprietor reassured that he was not under suspicion proved to be helpful Spare parts and tires quite a few places around here who handles them inspector I could you list them for us, sir? Certainly coming to the office. There were six names on that list Six visits to make Sergeant redding made them posing as a driver in search of new tires Oh, good morning. I need four new tires for an evans car. Can you help me out? Williams and sons were sorry they hadn't had any tires to sell for months past Field and company said the same thing. So did Hammond and Barton Kennedy and sons Then sergeant redding paid his last visits The sixth name on the list a small motor workshop on the road out of eastwood A car was being overhauled by a mechanic A lorry stood on the vacant block of land beside the workshop A sign at the front of the building said Randolph and burns motor engineers and spare parts Yes, sir. Oh, I need four new tires for an evans car. Can you help me out? An evans You own an evans car Don't me charm now much for the governor. I've been everywhere trying to get these tires Well You know I might be able to set you up Of course they're in short supply We'll pay whatever you ask for them. Okay Okay What is it Fellow here wants to buy some evans tires. Huh? Show her aren't you mate? Yeah, that's right Well, you can set him up. Can't we? No, we can't But tell you'll pay the right. I tell you we can't we can't set him Now can we when we haven't seen an evans tire in months? People just don't bring us second-hand tires anymore, mister. Sorry The sergeant went out went back to where inspector Clancy was waiting for his report Something had seen deep in the eyes of the man called Ted Told him the search was at an end I don't know what spoiled it inspector. Perhaps he recognized me. Perhaps he was just being cautious You say the other man was ready to sell you the tires ready and willing sir I think the other ones we won't find more most sure of it All right, we'll make some further inquiries about them both Now first of all their business registration. We'll get their full names from that The business records office holds many secrets The directors of england's leading companies the balance of power and mighty industrial concerns It also lists the many thousands of small businesses company's partnerships sole traders Their trade and management personnel Uh, here we are sergeant Randolph and burns Motor engineers eastward partner zed woodburn. That'll be a friend Ted and Harold Randolph Probably the other man I spoke to well take a note of their names. We'll see if the method index section doesn't The method index section at scotland yard That's a vast room of records The walls are lined solidly with filing cabinets Here are the details of all the crimes from murder to petty theft Here are the names and the aliases of all the criminals ever convicted in any english court Filed and cross-filed for easy checking Those two men you asked me to check inspector clancy find anything on them severs. There's no record for Harold Randolph What about the other one burns? Yes, we know him ted burns motor mechanic four convictions The first uh from my hometown funnily enough oxford city police court their child as stealing a motor car And what were the other three charges severs all connected with motor theft sir One was for removing spare parts from parked vehicles Another time he was convicted for selling a stolen car. That's all I want. Thank you severs Inspector clancy and sergeant redding drove back to eastwood on the road They're about 50 yards from the motor workshop. They waited They saw two mechanics leave at 5 30 on their way home Then a few minutes later The obvious inspector that's harry randolph and is alone Was a very peaceful scene The casual passerby would have noticed a dark sedan slowing down beside a thick set man and over Mr. Randolph. Yeah Oh, it's you Still after them tires. I in a manner of speaking sir. This is inspector clancy From scottland yard scottland yard get in mr. Randolph. Not me inspector I have got nothing against me on the contrary. We have a great deal against you get in Randolph was defiant at first But when the advantages of turning king's evidence were pointed out to him he became almost verbose It wasn't me who thought of the scheme. I I was talked into it By him the scheme being to steal cars Sell their spare parts and tires and abandon them. Yeah Ted said we couldn't get enough parts and cars to stay in business. Otherwise He taught me into helping him to pinch the evidence. We're gone Well, everything was sweet and then on the way back to eastwood the cop signals us to stop Tills as we were speeding He'd have got our names and all so you shot him dead I didn't do it Ted shot him The guns hidden in the desk down at our works His fingerprints will be on it I told him not to shoot he wouldn't listen We took the lorry down and got everything we could from the car and brought it back And where is that stuff now? Some of it we sold and three of the tires went off late the day I would have sold a lot of the copper here, but Ted was wise to him. He can smell copper three were sold Then one tire is left on the premises. Yeah, but listen, won't you? I might have helped a pinch to go but I've nothing to do with the murder Ted did that He's got a cop there A report on the tire we found on the premises, sir It comes from an evan's car all right and matches the tracks near constable hackers body Then our case is complete sergeant The gun was found the fingerprints on the wheel rims belong to Randall from burns And now the tire and I'll give you one more chance to help us Where's burns Come on. You must have some idea right But you gotta look after me. I'm not promising anything Where's burns He's trying to get away overseas I I think he was in for Liverpool He was always talking about a pal of his who was a ship's mate. Can you remember the name of the ship? Oh, I think it was called the briar rose To believe your name is Ted Burns Ted what? You got the wrong man jam. I don't think so, mr. Burns I have here a warrant for your arrest on a charge of murder Hey, you've got nothing on me You've got no evidence. Oh, yes, we have mr. Burns All the evidence we need And today that tire occupies a place in the black museum Orson Welles will be back with you in just a moment the murder of constable hacker On the lonely eastward road was solved by the patient methods of scotland yard And by the talking of harry randoff whose verbosity put him behind bars for many years to come and brought his unholy friend Ted Burns to the last walk on the end of a rope One morning at eight o'clock a crooks plan misfired into murder And either burns nor randoff had the talent for outwitting the men of the yard So it wasn't another chapter of murder was closed Another record added to the method index section And another exhibit the car time Was added to the black museum And now until we meet next time in the same place and I tell you another story about the black museum I remain as always obediently yours