Crime and Peter Chambers.
Created by Henry Kane, transcribed and starring Dane Clark.
A well-known investigator, duly licensed and duly sworn, Peter Chambers.
You're a private eye, that's your business. Anything else? That's for laughs.
This one figures for a lot of laughs and you're being paid for it which adds a rare quality to the laughter.
You're at the apartment of a jeweler, George Reiner, and you're being
invited to a masquerade party at the Riverdale mansion of a famous or is it
infamous millionaire Robbie Tamville and who hasn't heard of Robbie Tamville and
I'd like you to get there before I do mr. Chambers all the arrangements have
been made what will you wear I don't quite know mr. Reiner you sprung this on
me rather quick like a man of your resourcefulness come now mr. Chambers
think of your reputation yeah I'm thinking tonight eight o'clock well let
me see now well I've got an idea something's that's never been done before
yes pirates costume go no patch over the eye very good and just so that I'll be
sure don't wear a sword then I'll know for certain that you're my pirate okay
mr. Reiner I'll be your pirate no cutlass no patch now let's get back to the
business end of the deal please well sir you've heard of the Opal of Ramsey's
well yes owned by King Ramsey's and a priceless of J.D.R. only wasn't supposed
to have brought hard luck to this ancient Egyptian king and hard luck to
everyone that's owned it since it was dug up oh sure mr. Chambers superstition
pure baseless superstition so how come Robbie Tamville is so anxious to get rid
of it well he's had a run of bad luck now that it is offered for sale I have the
opportunity to purchase yeah you and this what's his name William Zucko and
good old eccentric Tambo makes it a bidding contest between you and this
William Zucko I'm to come dressed as a clown there there's the costume you like
it yeah it's peachy a William Zucko is coming dressed as a Persian prince
anyway one way or another tonight Robbie Tambo gets rid of the ring yes he'll
have the opal there tonight at the party first he'll interview Zucko and then
he'll interview me whoever bids highest that one gets the ring there'll be
contracts to sign and then the cash is to be deposited with his bankers tomorrow
how much is that thing worth oh about a quarter of a million I know a collector
right now who'd pay two hundred thousand and my job to accompany me back to town
as bodyguard and to remain with me as custodian of the Opal until I can reach
my office tomorrow and where proper transfer roles of insurance can be
executed okay I'll see you tonight I'll be there PD the pirate afternoon mr.
Reiner and remember you know the costume I'm the clown
so that evening you're living it up amongst the swells everybody's wearing
masks and everybody's wearing costumes but your client the clown hasn't shown
up yet meanwhile you've latched on to a female with a lush and lovely figure
incongruously attired as a witch you've danced you've chortled you've chuckled
but now you're dying of curiosity so you waltz her off to a corner yes my
dashing Buccaneer pray what wish you of the witch a mask a witch else this pirate
walks the plank if anything is prosaic as a plank and he found in his diamond
studded shack will you unmasked too because I'm just bursting with curiosity
you take your mask off and she follows suit and brother you hit the jackpot blue
eyes tiny nose dimples and a wicked little smile that just verges on being
seductive like oh I love good because I like what I see too so let's get
acquainted my name is Patricia home Peter chambers what do you do well I'm
a detective of sorts detective how very interesting you look like an actor a
leading man type you know and you like an engine oh say what do you do I'm a
doctor a doctor well now disappointed I'm flabbergasted for further information
over 21 and unmarried specialized in fluoroscopy and x-ray look doc I got a
small pain that hurts me here see I conduct my examinations at my office I'd
love to visit you may at that I combine my office and my apartment for 41 Park
I didn't take my car I was driven here by a group of friends so if you've a car
I have well mr. chambers after this party I'd admire to have you take me home and
there isn't a thing in the world that I'd admire more doctor well thank you
but all the while you're talking some jokers jostling you from the rear true
enough to join his crowders but that crowded it ain't and finally you're
whirl on the guy who's wearing the toga of a Roman senator sorry Mac it's a
little crowded wait a minute buster it's not that crowd real sensitive our dear
old private up to can is it because he's engaged in conversation with so
beautiful a damn
detective lieutenant Louie Parker New York City Police Department fine cop good
companion and great friend you introduced him to the lady good to know
you miss home likewise hey what are you doing here Louie well I got a hunch it
approximates your reasons being here I'd like to talk to you Pete that means that
the courteous lieutenant would like to talk to me alone but in the
circumstances he finds it difficult to express your beauty in this home makes
it even more different hey hey you like most gallant lieutenant if you promise
not to keep mr. chambers away too long I promise good enough then I'll see you
later she cute Louie listen Pete I'll tell you why I'm here
develops Tamville isn't too eccentric after all but with carrying that Opal
ring around in his person he invites Parker to his party so as you can have
some Lauren order around the house just in case you give Louie the dope on why
you're present which means that outside of you and me and Tamville the only ones
who know that this ring is here tonight a George Reiner and this William Zuko
that's straight from the horse's mouth which is tamper now Pete hey look you
look and you see the Persian prince strolling out of the garden he looks hot
he's taking off his mask let's go join him Petey just for the heck of it huh
yeah it's cooler out there uh-uh mustn't forget the bottle oh we mustn't this is
Parker's night for relaxation you bring a bottle and three glasses out to a table
in the garden the Persian prince is nearby and mask off you call him over
introduce him and offer a drink William Zuko is a tall guy whose black eyes give
off about as much expression as a couple of shuttered windows in an empty house
you're about to hand him his glass when it slips to the ground well you can't
hand the Persian prince a dirty glass so you pick it up wipe it clean with a
handkerchief and you try again then you pour for the three of you and you all
drink ah good that hits the spot as they say thank you mr. Chambers would you
like another as they say oh no no thank you you know you look real right
handsome as a Persian prince mr. Zucko oh no no no not really that was Robbie
Tambele idea and you don't cross Tambele not when you intend to do a little
business with him you were intending to do business with mr. Tambele just then a
butler comes out and tells Zucko that Tambele is ready to see him you all go
back into the house and the butler opens an oak door for William Zucko you can
see inside it's a big room with wide French windows and the far side opening
to another garden Tambele's inside the only guy at the party not in costume
Zucko goes in and the door closes you lose Parker and you find Patricia home
again and you keep her with you finally Zucko comes out and goes up a flight of
stairs and then not five minutes later your client the clown appears you wave
to him but he doesn't wave back he proceeds directly to the oak door goes
in and then the shots are from Campbell's room and you and Parker
bust in there fast the French windows are wide open there's no one in the room
except Tambo and he's very dead all right all right everybody out of here
I'm detective Parker police now get them out please everybody out come on you
stick around pity nice huh yeah real nice whoever pulled it beat it through those
French windows but the guns here you pick it up with the pencils with the
trigger guard like so hey Pete I'll take a look at Barrow look at the scratches
fresh ones yeah it looks like there was a silencer on that barrel Louie not too
long ago but say we heard the shots yeah any ideas not a one you not on this
silence a bit but I got a lot of ideas on friend murderer really you saw who
came in here last uh well yeah your client that's so the clown guy mask and
all but the only clown at the party now look Louie don't let's jump the
conclusions after all the conclusions Pete this conclusion don't have to be
jumped at this comes up it hits you on the jaw like a hook from Marciano let's
have a look at the late mr. Tamville
ain't on him Pete motive for murder an opal ring worth maybe a quarter of a
million bucks missing
15 minutes later the joint is jumping with cops the search of the ground
turns up a clown's costume and an idea starts to percolate in your mind so you
do a little searching too you pick up an item which might be of unusual interest
and you safely deposit it in your car no guest is permitted to leave until he or
she is thoroughly searched by an expert and that turns up nothing no opal ring
the search of the guest does develop one item of importance one guest is missing
your client mr. George Reiner driving down the car there's Patricia home
there's Parker and as you mr. George Reiner well I'm saving him for me no
use sending anyone else if he skipped he skipped he's at his apartment then he's
for me personally but why lieutenant how I won't go into the why but here's the
how he bumps Tamville cops that opal ring goes through those French doors gets
rid of the clown costume and blows period I sent that gun downtown well in
advance I'm curious about the check on that meeting which means that after we
drop miss home we stop first at headquarters then we call on mr. Reiner
very good very satisfactory what are you so happy about just a minute what are
you reaching in the glove compartment for this glass well what's what I handle
a gingerly lieutenant you're gonna do a fingerprint check on it I once set
figures to be mine I'm very curious about the other set where did you get
that glass stole it from the mental from Tamils party
Louie will you have that fingerprint check done for me sure Petey you insist
you deliver Patricia home and you promise to come back there to bring her
up to date on developments no matter what they are and then you deliver
Parker to headquarters and you wait in the car while he goes in with the glass
when he comes out he's got a peculiar glint in his eye he tells you the
fingerprint checks on the glass will take some time but that he's put a rush
on it and then he clans and when Parker clans he's tighter than a barfly at
curfew time finally you're a George Reiner's apartment Oh mr. Chambers I'm
so glad to see you but Parker pushes through and shoves a gun under his nose
mr. Reiner is this your gun wait let me see yes it's my gun that's nice of you
to admit it but whether you admit it or not the serial numbers prove it's your
gun fingerprints on of the smudges but ballistics show this gun killed him now
anyway you look at it kiddo you're up the creek killed killed home oh well you
look at him making with the innocent baby act killed Robbie Tamville Robbie
Tamville mr. Chambers is this true yeah who is this man lieutenant Louie Parker
homicide who thought he was gonna have an evening of relaxation you deny that
you killed him you stole that ring that opal from King Tut to one of those other
wrapped-up mummies of course I denied brother you were seen to go into his room
the shots were heard the gun was yours the bullets from the gun killed him the
French windows were open the clown costume was found on the grounds you
were the only guest missing and you knew he had the opal on him now where's the
ring I don't have it now look you don't wait a minute Louie just a minute just a
minute now mr. Reiner you heard the lieutenant yes do you have any
explanation well I can only tell you what happened or what did happen mr.
Reiner well sometime after you left my doorbell rang I answered it opened the
door but there seemed to be no one there I stuck my head out and was struck on the
back of the head that's all I remember when I regained consciousness I was
bound and gagged it took me hours to untie myself when I finally did I looked
about thinking it was a robbery trying to see what was stolen was anything
stolen with just my clowns costume and my gun okay mr. Reiner suppose just for
the sake of my friend Ian whose client you are suppose I try to buy your story
now show us some proof huh where's the rope that bound you or is it wire or tape
maybe and the gag around your mouth where I'm sorry lieutenant I was bound by a
couple of my neckties and the gag was one of my own handkerchiefs but I do
have a bump on my head I'm sorry Pete I gotta take this guy
downtown you tell Parker where he can reach you and then off they go to
headquarters and off you go to Patricia Holmes apartment dr. home is comfortable
in satin lounging pajamas and no doctor ever looked better in lounging pajamas
you bring her up to date on your facts and then she takes you about showing you
her equipment the fluoroscopes and the x-ray machines and then you're settling
down in a comfortable divan with a good doctor for some conversation about
doctoring when hello Peter chambers then just a minute for you Peter thanks hello
is the dope on that glass deal yours one set of prints yours the others belong to
a guy a bill so Kalsky what about him Russian emigre used to work in a circus
yet ground glass nails tax you know one of those guys did a bit about eight
years ago for assault and disappeared look Pete what's your interest in the guy
and who is look Louie pick up our Persian Prince and bring him down here to
Patricia Holmes place and do it fast William Zucco you know what you're doing
absolutely and please Louie fast her
half an hour later Parker shows of William Zucco you don't waste any time
you accuse Zucco of the murder of Robbie Tamville and the theft of the Opal ring
yeah you are talking through your hat miss if I had that opal on me they
found it I didn't have it and I don't have oh yes you have have I then prove
it instead of talking like a big guy and doing nothing talk is cheap proof prove
it demonstrate first step in the demonstration is to clip him under the
chin then you drag Zucco to dr. Holmes fluoroscope and you stand him up behind
it and she starts the do-jigger going hey I see it clear as day where do the
fluoroscope thing it's in his stomach clear as day the ring with the stone in
it come on out Pete take a look at this sure enough there it is
William Zucco born Bill Zucalski who can swallow nails and tax and glass oh what a
hideaway hey Louie yeah how can you frisk a guy when he's got the loot in
his stomach
and ten minutes later when you've convinced Zucco or Zucalski or whatever
his name is that you've got him dead to rights he straightens out the deal for
you okay so you knock out George Reiner and you clip his clown costume and his
gun yes and I bring the stuff up to Tamils and hide it in an upstairs room
and then when you're drinking with us the butler calls you know it's a good
thing I dropped your glass because I wiped it clean with a handkerchief which
after I handed it to you left only my prints on it and yours inside I killed
him I used a silencer on writers gun one bullet then I came out went upstairs put
the clown costume over mine went back into Tamville's room supposedly as Reiner
took the silencer off and put three more bullets into him then I ran out the
French doors through the silencer into that brook nearby but left the clown
costume on the grounds making sure to leave Reiner's gun in the room then I
came back and once more I was one of the guests the Persian Prince the way it
looked Reiner killed him dropped off his costume and ran away I thought no
suspicion would attach to me and you might have been in the clear if not for
my friend the Shama's here Pete where did you get the idea for the Prince on a
glass from you yeah I know from me well you're the guy that told me that aside
from us and Tamil himself only two people knew about that Opal being on him
Reiner and Zuko yeah now Reiner retained me and paid me a fee to act as a bodyguard
when he would buy it if he's planning robbery and murder what would a
reasonable man do that no he wouldn't well whom would that leave if anything
happened to the Opal Oh our ex circus birdie come on pal oh I'm gonna have to
handle you gently after all in a way you're sort of a receptacle for evidence
and like that you're pretty valuable
and so after Parker and the valuable mr. Zuko take their departure you and the
darling dr. Patricia home finally settled down to some quiet conversation
and peaceful tette-a-tette oh you Peter chambers you oh doctor
and there you've had crime and Peter chambers Dane Clark was starred as Peter
Chambers crime and Peter chambers transcribed was created and written by
Henry Kane others in the cast were Bill Zuckert heard as Lieutenant Parker Joe
Bolander's Reiner and Nancy Wilder as Patricia it was directed by Fred way this
is Fred Collins inviting you to tune in next week same time same station what
Dane Clark in crime and Peter chamber
so
Crime and Peter Chambers has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the
United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.