The Case of the Tattooed Cobra: Nick Carter, Master Detective (May 23, 1948)

“The Case of the Tattooed Cobra” is an episode of Nick Carter, Master Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 23, 1948. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When a body bearing the distinctive tattoo of the missing heir to the Bristol estate is pulled from the East River, Nick Carter investigates a murder with three million dollars at stake. But when a man claiming to be Alec Bristol appears at the estate, Nick must determine which one is the real heir and who committed the murder.

New York City, including the Bristol estate, Nick Carter's office, and the East River

Characters: Nick Carter, Sergeant Matheson, Mr. Alvin Hammond, George Davison, Alec Bristol, Dobson, The Police Captain

Listen for: The clever use of a distinctive tattoo as identification, and the twist of two men claiming to be the same person

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.