The Case of the Missing Thumb: Nick Carter, Master Detective (May 4, 1947)

“The Case of the Missing Thumb” is an episode of Nick Carter, Master Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 4, 1947. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When a veterans' organization office is burgled and a watchman is killed, the stolen item isn't cash but a subscription list of 20,000 veteran names. Nick Carter identifies the safe-cracker's technique from his files and traces it to a man named Alfnyk—but discovers the suspect is actually Steve Evans' father Laurie, a hardware store owner who claims to have gone straight ten years ago. When Nick and Sergeant Mathers visit the store to question him, they find Laurie murdered behind the counter.

New York City, including a hardware store, a detective office, and the burgled office of United Veterans Incorporated

Characters: Nick Carter, Steve Evans, Sergeant Mathers, Laurie Evans, Patsy

Listen for: The clever way Nick Carter identifies the safe-cracker through his personal technique on the job, and the shocking discovery of Laurie Evans' murder that complicates the case.

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.