The Rawlins Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (January 26, 1951)

“The Rawlins Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast January 26, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond is reluctant to take a case from wealthy businessman B.E. Rollins, who wants him to find his brother Martin—recently released from prison after embezzling $100,000. But when someone threatens Diamond over the phone, warning him away from the job, his curiosity is piqued and he accepts. Upon meeting Rollins in his garden, Diamond agrees to investigate, only to have the old man shot dead moments later—an apparent murder by Martin, according to Rollins' secretary Collins.

New York City, including Rollins' estate garden, Virginia Carter's apartment, and a musicians' union office.

Characters: Richard Diamond, private detective, B.E. Rollins, wealthy businessman, Collins, Rollins' secretary, Martin Rollins, B.E.'s brother, Virginia Carter, Martin's former girlfriend, Lieutenant Levinson, police officer

Listen for: The clever twist that turns an apparent murder-suicide into a framed crime, and Diamond's deduction based on a simple physical detail.

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.