 Now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theatre of thrills. The theatre and the body that couldn't be found. We call it The Lonely Heart. So now, starring Ben Wright, here is tonight's suspense play, The Lonely Heart. Good morning, sir. I shall be a moment. Oh, poor dear. You'll be happy alone. So sorry to keep you waiting, sir. Quite all right. Well, terribly sad kiss that in the cage. Rather an odd hybrid, canary and citro. Wasn't at all happy with the others, not at all. Such hybrids are so often sterile. A tragedy. Yes. How may I serve you, sir? A canary, of course. Such lovely friends they make. Don't you think? Mr. Leach? Yes. Chief Inspector Finch is coming behind. Oh, my. I wonder if I may ask you a few questions, Mr. Leach. Your concern, your wife. We'd like to know what you did with her body. He was rather an extraordinary little man, quite round with an angelic face crowned by a fringe of fine white hair. He was obviously the kindest young man in the world. Unfortunately, Scotland Yard author suspected that he'd murdered his wife, yes, the Leach, two years before. There had been no concrete evidence under the woman's sudden disappearance. That and accumulated testimonies and clues gathered over a period of time. I disliked intensely what I had to do, but it had been at the insistence of Commissioner Blaine that the man be brought in for questioning. And therefore there was no choice but to take him down to the yard. You know right, you know no right at all. This shocking accusation, no right at all. You are not under arrest, Mr. Leach. But you're quite wrong. I mean it's absolutely absurd this accusation. Although I suppose you can't do any harm answering questions, can it? That's quite right. Mr. Leach, two years ago your wife Esther Leach disappeared. Yes. She left in her will an amount of money, I believe it was 2,000 pounds. Yes, but it's not being proved that she is dead. I have not collected one farthing. You were aware of the terms of the will? Of course. She was aware of the terms of mine. Where did you meet your wife? Through a club, as it were, souls and distress. They advertise you know, but are perfectly respectful. Oh, I'm sure of it. Mr. Leach, several of your neighbors have testified that on the last night that Esther Leach was seen alive, a violent quarrel took place at your home. Nothing. It's a sort. I deny it. I deny it. A lover's quarrel, perhaps, but violent. Oh, no. At the inquest, you stated that she left the following morning to take a holiday? Exactly. Esther was a strong-willed woman. She felt that we needed to be apart for a few days in order to replenish our souls. She didn't tell you where she would go? No. And yet for three months you didn't feel it necessary to notify the police when she didn't return? No. We were adults. Her need to stray from my side was understandable. She, uh, wrote to you? From time to time. Oh, you have those letters, of course. They were penny postcards and I destroyed them. When I realized she deserted me, I had no wish to commune with the past. Where were the cards posted from? Oh, great many places. Esther was a wanderer. She was famous, talkie, Bournemouth, or great many places she never gave an address. Your nephew, Richard Cade, stated that following your wife's departure, you showed little interest in her whereabouts and still less after the inquiry. Esther's nephew knows nothing whatsoever about anything. I'm sure Esther is alive and well. Happier without me. I see. Did your wife own your shop and the flat above before your marriage? We were a partnership. Before you married? She owned it. Yeah. Well, I think that will be all for the present unless you have anything to add. Nothing inspector, nothing to talk, except, well, that I am shocked to think that you suspect me of doing an injury to my wife. More, you son. Now, look here, Finchley. I took Adam Sol off the case because he wasn't making progress. Now you tell me that I made the mistake. Well, you asked me, sir. All right. What would you have done? Well, I would have gone on where Adam Sol left off. Kept to watch our leech, but not let him know that we suspected him. Lasted, man. We've got to do something. If the man's a murderer, he's been laughing at us for two years. Well, I'll do what I can, Commissioner. I want the body found. That's what I want. I want leech. Well, if he's our man, sir, you'll get him. What do you mean? If he's our man. Well, as I told you, sir, he didn't admit to the tribe, so until I can obtain the necessary proof, there's always a slight chance that he did not kill his wife. Nonsense. The man's guilty. You want me to arrest him? Oh, you know we can't do that. Insufficient evidence. Exactly, sir. I'm sorry. You're right. I'm not myself today. Liberation. Oh, I know, sir. I feel just about the same. I had bloters for breakfast. It was a nasty case. There was no doubt of that. And putting this aspect on guard had made it even more difficult. I went through Inspector Adams' report and noted one point which seemed to stand out. The nephew, Richard Cade, had been very insistent in his belief that his aunt had no intention of going away. And it was most unlikely to do so. I decided to pay a call on the gentleman. He owned a garage in the old Kent Road. Bob, when you're finished with that job, take care of the Blue Dangle with him. All in wash, right? I beg your pardon. Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Cade? That's me, Chum. Chief Inspector Finchley of Scotland Yard. Oh, what again? Look here, one of your bloters has been nosing around asking questions for two years now. I know. What's the matter? They give him the sack? Not exactly, sir. Oh, it should have done. Don't let it to my auntie, sir, and up. That's why I'm here, Mr. Cade. You were suggested that it was doubtful that Mrs. Leitch would have taken a trip under any circumstance. That's what I kept telling them. Of course they didn't listen. Why do you say that? I knew Auntie before she married that artful swine Leitch. She wouldn't take a step out of London. Said she was born here in the Dyer. Oh, she might have changed her mind. Oh, not Auntie. Not her. Stubborn old bleeder, Auntie was. Was, Mr. Cade? Well, what do you think? Oh, come on, come on. You know as well as me that Mr. Stanley Leitch did her in. Him and that girl, it is. Have you seen her? Works in toys at Selfridges. Oh, really? Oh, you've got a surprise coming, you have. Ada Willis. Ada's quite a piece of good. Of course, I don't know if I'd blame him. Auntie did have her face like a shoe it put in. Still? Still, no reason to murder her. Well, that's gone a bit far, isn't it? A bit, Mr. Cade, yes. Well, I'm sorry to have taken up your time. All right. I hope you do better than the other one. I'd like to know that poor old Auntie is not floating about. It doesn't seem right somehow. Your anxiety, does you credit, Mr. Cade? Well, I'll let you know what happens. Thank you so much. Now, this was something that had not been in Adam's House report. A girl. Ada Willis. That piece of information from the morning nephew, I hoped would bring us a step closer to the murderer. So, I went to Selfridges and to the toy department. It was early afternoon and the floor went crowded. A girl at the McConnell counter pointed out Ada Willis to me. She was winding her tiny mechanical doll when I saw her. And I remember how extraordinarily beautiful her hands were. Ms. Willis was not quite what I had expected. Good afternoon, sir. Oh, I'd like to see one of those dolls. How does it work? I'll show you, sir. No, I'm a dolly. You're in thick. Well, I'll have one, please. No, the policeman there is such a happy little chap. He's my favorite, too. Oh, you like policing? I don't know. There's one. I never thought about it, really. I'm a policeman. I should have said that when I first talked to you. Why? Because I'm here on official business. Oh, now I understand. May I ask you some questions, or I would rather wait until you get out? Are they concerned Stanley Leitch? I'm not allowed to chat with customers, but you're hardly there, are you? No. My name is Finchley. Chief Inspector Finchley. I know Stanley phoned me. What did he? He said you might find out about me and wanted to warn me. Do you know why? Yes. You think he murdered his wife? Oh, he told you about that? Oh, yes, some time ago. And I expect you believe that I had something to do with it, too. Did you? No. Is Mr. Leitch planning to marry you? Yes. May and December. Rather funny, isn't it? Are you going to marry him? If I have to? If you have to? Yes. Unless I can find out what I want before that happens. Well, I'm not sure that I'll follow you. You suspect that Stanley killed his wife. Well, I know that he did, and I'll marry him if I have to to prove it. What makes you so certain about Leitch? Because if she'd gone away, as he said she did, she would have written to me. Is that all? And she would have come back. Nothing could have made her stay away. How do you know? I'm afraid I can't tell you. Don't you know that if this to lead to an arrest, I'll have to find out? I suppose so. But at the moment, I can do more than you can. Even if you have to marry him? Even that. I think I went over every piece of information which had been gathered in the two years following after Leitch's disappearance. Alice and I questioned every night, friends, tradespeople. The answers were uniformly similar. They all said, or didn't say, the same thing. Each one suspected, swore, or made direct accusation, but not one could offer a shred of proof. I finally came to the next-door neighbor, claimed to have heard signs of a violent quarrel between the leeches. He was a middle-aged man who lived alone, and he had the appearance of a witness who would not be prone to exaggeration or malicious gossip. I don't love, as I can tell you, Inspector. It was two years ago now, and I gave my evidence to that other chap. Ed and so, wasn't it? Yes, that's right, Mr. Palmer. So, if you don't mind, I should like you to refresh your memory and do me best. Now, in your testimony, you stated that the only phrase you were able to hear clearly was, I won't have it in the house. Is that correct? That's right. Leitch kept saying it over and over. But how long would you say the argument kept up? I don't know, half, three-quarters of an hour. I mind my own business, Inspector. Well, in this instance, Mr. Palmer, I'm rather sorry that you didn't. Tell me, did you know Mrs. Leitch very well before she married? We have a word or two, a nice woman, I'd say. A bit sentimental. I suppose that came with loneliness. But would you say that until the time you heard the quarrel, they were very happy together? Yes, yes, I'd say that. Mind you now, I didn't like him from the first. There was something just I understand. Well, now, Mr. Palmer, please think very carefully before you answer. Did anything, anything at all out of the ordinary take place next door after Mrs. Leitch was missing? Is there something you may have seen in the shop or heard from the flat in the garden possibly? I'm not quite sure what would be out of the ordinary. Well, digging at night or hammering unusual amounts of smoke from the chimney? Anything, no, no, I don't think so. All right. Did you ever meet Mrs. Leitch's nephew Richard Cade, the youngest chap, single-looking? That would be a fairly accurate description, once. He visited her now and again after she married and before. She never spoke about him, do you? No, nothing except that once when she introduced us. What about the young woman, Mr. Leitch, to you? Yes, yes, that's all. Can't make her to take of him. If she'd come here often, I couldn't say. A few times, though, she's been to the shop. When did the visit start? First time I saw her was about a month ago. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Said I hadn't in much help. I'll show you to the door. Thank you. Hello? What's that? Carrots. Leitch keeps it upstairs in the flats. He used to belong to her. Oh? Just a moment. That reminds me of something. What? Must have been a week or so after Mrs. Leitch had gone. I remember it about ten o'clock. The parrot screamed like that. And about two minutes later, Leitch knocked on the door. He burnt his finger. He wanted something to put on it. Was it a bad burn, Mr. Palmer? Quite nasty. Could it have been caused by acid, sir? I don't know. Is that different? It was to a doctor, yes. He said he'd burnt it almost still. But he must have kept his finger there for a long time to get it to look like that. It didn't seem important enough to tell the police, though, and I forgot. Ah, that's exactly what I meant, Mr. Palmer. Thank you very much indeed. At Scotland Yard, we're in possession of several known facts concerning murder in the British Isles. We know, for instance, that approximately 140 murders will take place during a year, and some 35 of these will occur in London. We also know that a great number of these crimes will be solved within hours. Others, of course, take longer, according to the difficulties encountered by the scientific laboratories. In this case, however, we will face with the problem of few of any physical clues, the missing body of an outstanding example. But this fact, too, with the knowledge we now have worked to an advantage. In Britain, the murderous, cheap disadvantage lies in getting rid of the body. In the confines of this island, it poses a tremendous problem. Now, with this in mind, I assigned Harris a task which I hoped would, in a few hours, lead us to the body of Mrs. Stanley Leitch, for I knew now, without a doubt, that she was dead. Then I obtained the home address of Miss Ada Willis, and went then. Good evening, Miss Willis. I can enter a moment. I'm going out in a little while. Well, I shouldn't keep you long. Won't you sit down? Thank you. Miss Willis, I want you to tell me the truth. What is it that you know about Mrs. Leitch? Why is it so positive that she was murdered? I won't tell you. Because you're afraid? No. That's a lovely portrait. Is this your baby? No. A nephew. Oh, quite a resemblance. My sister. You haven't got a sister. Nor a brother. You're unmarried. I've got to go out now. An appointment with Stanley Leitch? Perhaps. Please. I think it would better tell me everything, Miss Willis. You see, we know a good deal already. It will make it much easier, I think. Although the information I received from Ada Willis was nearly enough, I made no arrest that evening. It was a matter of four more days to locate the body, and only then were we ready to proceed. With the evidence at hand, I called the principal witnesses and the murderer out of the yard. Now, this was not done for the sake of a dramatic accusation, but rather with the hope that confronted by absolute proof, the killer would make a confession there by saving the crown a considerable amount of money. Ready, sir? All right, Harry. Thank you. I need police. Mr. Leitch, will you sit here, please? Miss Willis here. Miss Kate over here. Thank you. Thank you. Now, begin with, Mr. Leitch. We know that your wife is dead. Oh. Oh, my. Due to the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, certain accusations have been leveled against you. I know. Unkind, terrible accusations. Then, Mr. Kate, you stated that your aunt would never have taken a trip away from London. What? Auntie Hattie did travel? Never did. Oh, for your mistake, and she did, she did go. Very well. Now, Mr. Palmer, you testified that you heard a quarrel that the words were not distinguishable except for one phrase. I won't have it in the house. That's what he said over and over again. Mr. Leitch, will you care to tell me what it referred to? I don't quite remember, but could it have been a baby? A baby that Mrs. Leitch was planning to adopt? Oh, good heavens, no. Mrs. Leitch, you said that had Mrs. Leitch gone away, she would have written and was certainly returned. Yes. I had a baby three years ago. It was sent to an orphanage. Mrs. Leitch was going to adopt it since I couldn't take him back myself. Ada, Ada, you didn't tell me. Go on, Mrs. Leitch. I was working at Selfridges. Mrs. Leitch shopped there quite often. We became friendly. I told her about the baby. She never had one of her own. After she married Mr. Leitch, she decided to adopt mine. Did you tell him about the idea? No, not until she made arrangements at the orphanage. That's when she told him the night before... The night before your wife took her trip, Mr. Leitch. All right, that's why we quarreled. I admit that, but she said she was going away to give me time to think things over. Mr. Palmer, you said that a week later Mr. Leitch came over one evening and asked for help. He had a burn on his finger. It was an acid burn. Mr. Leitch wasn't... No, no, no. I burnt it on stove. Really? Well, that brings it to the unfortunate woman's body. Sergeant Harris, would you ask Mr. Heath to come in, please? Mr. Heath, please? Mr. Heath, you recognize any one of the persons seated here? Mr. Beck, gentlemen. Mr. Leitch? Yes. Will you tell what you know, please? As I remember, about a year and ten months ago, I thought I'd be interested in buying something for the studio. You were done business with him before? Oh, yes. One was in the taxidermist business. We used to purchase animals and such like. Oh, your studio is a film company? Yes, that's right. I'm in property department. Yes, go on. And Mr. Leitch said he'd acquired a nice skeleton specimen. Oh, no! Yes, a minute, Mr. K. That's all right, Harris. Let him go. No, Mr. Heath. You bought the skeleton? Yes, and I have the belief so. Well, Mr. Leitch? You couldn't think that I... The dental work in the scour was identified. It was Mrs. Leitch. Yesterday, your workroom was examined. Wire and other substances were found and exactly matched the materials used in the skeleton. I'm not well. I shall ask to be excused. You married up her money. When she proposed the adoption, you realized that if she died, you would not receive the entire estate. You quarreled and in a fit of anger, you stuck her. I didn't mean to kill her. It was an accident. She was a good woman and I didn't... Stanley Leitch, you are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so. But whatever you say will be taken down in writing and may be given in evidence. Take him away, Harris. Our discovery of the skeleton involved a city-wide search and I think based on the knowledge we possessed of Stanley Leitch's background. Although the disposal of the body was bizarre, he very nearly accomplished the impossible of the murderers. A perfect murder. What does not appear on the skeleton yard record is the fact that Ada Willis was married a few weeks ago and her baby is once again with her. Spence. In which Ben Wright starred in tonight's presentation of The Lonely Heart.