What happens
Miriam Wells, private secretary to politician Mark Hartwick, and his campaign manager Joe Craig are scheming against him. Their plan begins when Miriam finds a 1924 newspaper clipping about a prospector's murder in Texas, which seems to link Hartwick to the crime. As a blackmail letter arrives from a man calling himself John Singer, Miriam and Joe move to exploit Hartwick's fear and his savings. The Whistler series, first broadcast on August 25, 1948, presents this story in the first part of the episode. The cast includes Doris Singleton, Barney Phillips and Willard Waterman.
A small town in the United States, with a campaign office and Mark Hartwick's home; a 1924 murder backstory in Smith, Texas.
Characters: Miriam Wells, Mark Hartwick, Joe Craig, Judge Cantrell, John Singer, Murdock, Martin Henderson, Moore
Listen for: Miriam's discovery of the newspaper clipping in the safe, and the blackmail letter signed John Singer.
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.