The Vanishing Lady: Nick Carter, Master Detective (April 29, 1945)

“The Vanishing Lady” is an episode of Nick Carter, Master Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 29, 1945. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When Harold Ashford's pregnant wife Nora suddenly vanishes on her way to Mercy Hospital, he calls in Nick Carter to investigate. The mystery deepens when the taxi driver who drove her to the hospital swears he saw her climb the front steps and open the big door, yet the hospital staff insists she never entered. Nick must uncover what happened to the vanishing lady.

Nick Carter's laboratory in a brownstone on the corner of Fifth and Fourth; later, the streets and Mercy Hospital.

Characters: Nick Carter, Mrs. Patsy Bowen, Harold Ashford, Nora Ashford, Chief Petty Officer Jim Stanley, Uncle Timothy Brent, Uncle Paul Brent, Joe the taxi driver

Listen for: The mysterious letter from a supposedly dead man that triggers the crisis; the taxi driver's account of seeing Nora enter the hospital; the puzzle of how she entered but was never found inside.

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.