What happens
Inspector Christopher McKee of the New York police investigates the death of Gilbert Shannon, a struggling writer found beaten in his shabby apartment on West 16th Street. His daughter Julie Shannon, who has been living with her uncle Oliver Gold and his wife Tamsen, is among those questioned. The inspector interviews the family and Shannon's old friend Santos D'Amora, learning of tensions over money and private affairs. A mysterious man named John Smith, who wears a loud hat, also becomes part of the inquiry. The episode is a Crime Club story adapted from Helen Riley's novel Mr. Smith's Hat, broadcast on January 23, 1947.
New York City, early summer heat, 1940s
Characters: Inspector Christopher McKee, Julie Shannon, Gilbert Shannon, Oliver Gold, Tamsen Gold, Santos D'Amora, Cassidy, John Smith
Listen for: The inspector questioning the family and friends about their whereabouts and motives after Gilbert Shannon's death.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.