Ghost of a Chance - Barrie Craig | 12/19/1951
Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator was an old-time radio detective drama that aired on NBC from 1951 to 1955.The series starred William Gargan as Barrie Craig, a suave, laid-back private investigator who operated from a Madison Avenue office in New York City. Unlike the stereotypical "hard-boiled" private eyes of the era, Craig was known for his calm, methodical approach and professionalism, with his business motto being "your man when you can't go to the cops—confidentiality a specialty." Each episode featured Craig solving various mysteries, from routine missing persons cases to complex conspiracies, often working alongside his police contact, Lt. Travis Rogers.
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Speaker 1: William Gargan stars as Barry Craig, confidential investigator.
Speaker 2: There's a place somewhere, folks, away from the hurly Burley,
where everything is slow and easy, and you can sleep
around the clock without being tackled. I could be referring
to the cemetery.
Speaker 1: The National Broadcasting Company presents William Gargans in another transcribed
drama of mystery and adventure with America's number one detective,
Barry Craig, confidential Investigator.
Speaker 2: Barry Craig speaking, I'm crawl like I am as a
confidential investigator. There the open door, Come one, come all.
You don't always get cases that run. According to Hoyle Emily,
once in a while you catch yourself a Lulu case
that puts a strain on your imagination. A case, say,
in the category of the Spookeroo, you find yourself hobnobbing
with ghosts and talking turkey to the dead. One like
that began for me in the New York office of
the Trans Southern Insurance Company of Omaha. I've been urgently
requested to come calling please by a claims agent named Brenahan,
Roy C. Brenahan. I'll explain the assignment we have for you, Greg,
before you do answer me this, what's with your regular investigators?
Why pull an outside of it? We want this investigated onnofficially.
We don't want to stir up anything that will expose
us to an ibel suit. I catch in case you're
pulling your boner. That's abut to harrassing innocent people. Yes,
what's the story? Our file number one, five, four six six, Uh,
double indemnity case now officially closed. We paid out fifty
thousand dollars to the widow of a subway accidents victim't
named Remo Torch. This was ninety days ago. So and
I'll play you a recording I secretly made of an
anonymous telephone call. I was party two yesterday. Uh listened carefully, Craign. Hello, Hello,
mister Roy Brenahan. Please, this is Roy Brenahan speaking. I've
got some information for you. Yes, your company paid a
fifty thousand dollars claim to a miss is Remo Torch
three months ago. You remember it? Of course, sir, Uh
Remo Torch fell to his death off a subway platform.
What about it? The claim was a fraud. It wasn't
Remo Torch who fell under a train, but here his
widow identified the body identification was false. So who are
you a friend? Goodbye, mister Waite, don't hang ouf identify
yourself and as a bonus, But uh my anonymous caller
hung up Craig without identifying himself. I had thought about
it overnight and today I called you in Oh. It
could be a court call or an envious relative with
a weird sense of humor. You must get a thousand
crackpot telephone call. Yes we do. We can't ignore them,
even if there's the smallest possibility of recovering or paid
out claim. Yeah, I've heard about the insurance claims agents,
the fanatical watchdogs. You fellows get to be. You're hoping
in praying I turn up a scheming widow and proof
that the third party was pushed off that subway platform
and the corpse palmed off on you as remote torch.
Handle this delicately, as if we have nothing to do
with it, like it's a case of Europe. I can't
be too delicate about exuming your body. I need to
get a court order for that. But you want to
get yourself another boy. Uh. I'll stick with you, Craig,
or be stuck with me ten percent Branahan any money
as I recover for good old trans Southern. They a
marked ten percent for Barry Craig. While waiting for red
tape to unravel. On the court order for exhumation of
a corpse. Yeah, I went to see the scheming widow.
One sixty nine Seneca Street was the last known address
the street where the drunks outnumbered everybody else. I ran
into a very curious development of one sixty nine Seneca.
No widow Torch. The janitor, who looked like his mind wanted,
explained the widow's absence. We're no Torch dead, a dead
policy holder and a dead though lich beneficiary. I had
quite a cast of live suspects. The next evening I
drove myself to the Hillcrest Cemetery on Sycamore Street out
in Long Island, where the mangled remains of Remo Torch
had been buried. I had a signed court on a
okaying exhumation to Cervoni caretaker. There an old geezer named
Sam Billing. Going through the big Iron gate, I heard
the night chime. Night is a nice time that you're
calling on a graveyard. If you hate yourself, every superstition
you had as a kid comes back to haunt you.
You begin to see things and hear things. Going up
a narrow path toward the caretaker's house, I heard a
scream as if somebody was being murdered. Not fifty yards away.
I got to the scream. It was the old caretaker
buildings on the ground near an open grave, and a dead,
faint caretaker came to popeight as if you'd seen the devil,
and cloring at me as if I was the devil.
Quite a selling keep choking me, and I'll have to
flat you. I'm Barry Craig, a confidential investigator and now
concentrating on insurance. Now if you can collect your wits,
O man and the mist who just think I was
him him, he isn't It makes sense though, man.
Speaker 3: Who was making me around like every night, and I
heard a noise nose I'll never forget about there to
be one.
Speaker 2: Hundreds of yards are away against you, the hypertension you've got.
Speaker 3: I turned to look, bringing my light close, and it
was the lid of a coffin coming off as if.
Speaker 2: By itself made a strick at the century. And then
what happened. We've already been throw.
Speaker 3: That the dead man got up and stood there, and
I was just standing here, all green under the moon.
Speaker 2: How did the rest of the hallucination go?
Speaker 3: Watched him go off, not making a sound and walking
in a funny little hup, and then.
Speaker 2: You screamed and fainted dead away. The next thing you know,
you had your fingernails on my neck. Now, get your
bearings and throw a light on that coffin. I want
to have a look. See the casket is empty, empty.
It is so a stiff came to forster the little
group green under the moon and then went on the town.
Speaker 3: It's something to believe, but I saw it with my
own eyes.
Speaker 2: It's that twenty twenty vision you don't have. Did you
also see who dug them up?
Speaker 3: Dug them up?
Speaker 2: That's what I asked, If you'll really open your eyes.
Six feet of dirt piling two need hills on both
sides of the grave. See it, Yes, get out from
unday your stif needed a muscular accomplice on the outside.
Who was supposed to be buried in that grave? I
can't make out the name on the tombstone.
Speaker 3: Touch remote touch.
Speaker 2: The case was coming to life, but literally I left
caretaker Billings to sleep off his jitters and got into
my car. Driving down three shaded Sycamore Street, my headlights
picked up a character moving along the sidewalk and a
funny little hop, A funny little hop for exactly the
words the caretaker you describing his stiff who'd come alive.
My man on the sidewalk was loping along like that
kind of hop skip, like a guy who had no
control over his reflexes. I switched from bright's to dim,
slowed the car down to a crawl, and trailed him
into a cabin a big neon sign advertised as bonds
stable in m I went in after him. My man
wasn't after eat or a bottle good. He was out
to make a phone call. I watched him come through
a directory, then get into a booth. As soon as
it was safe, I eased into the adjourning booth to
hear what I could hear. I must see it at
once tonight. Well you must come and burnside partly the fun.
I'll be there waiting for you. I watched him start
for the open door of the tavern. I checked the
phone directory where he'd left it open, and read off
the name where his finger nail had left a line
under it. Missus Bernard Talbot had said twenty five eighty hum,
a guy risen from the dead was dating a woman.
I was right there at Burnside Park in a grandstand
seat behind a row of bushes when they met. My
man was hanging off to a side as if he
wasn't really meeting the woman but ambushing her. I could
hear her high heels clicking toward him.
Speaker 4: Hello, Mary, Mary, you're calling me Mary. Yeah, you're not
who you said you were on the telephone.
Speaker 2: No, I'm not. It was a ruse to get you
to come. I'll come out of the shadows so you
can see. Might say, Well.
Speaker 4: Your faces chalk.
Speaker 2: It's a dead sea.
Speaker 4: And your eye.
Speaker 2: Said said Larry, I've been dead, but I come back.
I've come back to claim you, marry, marry my wife.
Speaker 5: I don't even know you said.
Speaker 2: He wasn't just claiming area was strangling. I got the
suppose me postpone introductions for later might have been Risen
from the dead, But he reacts to the old one
too like anybody else. It was out cold, stiff, like
Gregor Mortis had come back while he slept it off.
I revived the Dame and questioned her. I'm Barry Craig
and Investigatehi, madam, I'd like a few honest facts and
noad living. Remember I probably just saved your life. I'm grateful.
Speaker 4: The man is insane.
Speaker 2: You acted as if you didn't know him.
Speaker 4: I never saw him before in my life.
Speaker 2: He's allegedly a remo torch.
Speaker 6: He said he'd come back from the dead, so far
as we.
Speaker 2: Know right now, could be if you don't know the
man at all? Why did you agree to meet him here?
Speaker 4: He telephoned me and said he was Tom Avery. I've
known Tom Aby.
Speaker 2: Your name is missus Vernon Talbot.
Speaker 4: Why yes, how did you know?
Speaker 2: Never mind? How you'll live with your husband? Yes?
Speaker 4: I do, but he mustn't know. I came here to
meet Tom Avery jealous.
Speaker 5: Yes, we get along badly, my husband and I we're together,
but we lived separate lives.
Speaker 2: Oh may I please don't sure? I don't see why not.
I watched her melt into the night, half mink, half woman,
and I sat down to rest up, take stock and wait. Hum,
i'd shall find myself a bright way of making a
living there. I was in the public park at two am,
waiting for a call to rise for the second time
in one night, this time out of dreamland. Remote taught
show whoever he really was, slowly came out of the dreamland.
I locked him into He got up on his feet,
rubbing his jaw where I clipped him with a wild
gleam in his eye and his teeth showing as if
he were getting set to jump me. I threw a
gun on him. Fast. Don't try anything touch or I'll
prove to you the dead men bleed. Gotta do what
I say, nice and cooperatively. Do what you say. My
car's outside the park. We'll get into it and drive
to my apartment. To your button for a hot to
hot talk. Shake your head, and I turn you over
to the cops. It's all a choice you've got right now,
me or the cops.
Speaker 6: I'll go with you.
Speaker 2: I got him home with me, okay, put him to bed.
When he fell asleep, I handcuffed him to the bed
and tied his feet, and I showered and waited for
daylight and the good morning chat with Liu turning Trav
Rogers at Willie's coffee pot. I don't get half of
what you've told me, Craig. Half's enough to hold you
for now, seed ghost stories to little boys, a spoonful
of the time. An old teacher of mine used to say,
just you run down a few items, tu poun.
Speaker 6: You want me to find out when Mary Torch died.
Speaker 2: And who signed the death certificate? And where was she buried?
Call me the minute you know. Uh, Craig yell be
a blind helper? Just how did I get so degraded?
The coffee's my three? Have yourself her a second cup?
Jump Touch was wide awake when I got back from
Trav Rodgers. I tied his feet but kept the handcuffs on.
All recovered from your busy night thoughts. What do you
want with me? I'll settle for the story of your life.
I can only remember the story of my death if
I died August twenty eight, nineteen fifty one. Okay, I'll
play straight man. Go ahead and tell me the story
of your death. My last day alive was a Friday.
After breakfast, I left home and my wife Mary to
take a subway train downtown. In the subway, the express
platform was crowded, as it always was, but waiting for
my train, I could feel one man closest to me.
Why this one man he went everywhere I went. What
did he look like? Seeing him was like looking into
a mirror and seeing myself. He uh resembled you. This
man who was always behind me was a man with
my faith. Oh go on, he was behind me. This
man was my face. A train was coming in. I
heard it morning sound, and then I thought, come oat,
hissing like an iron dragon with enormous eyes. That helped
me spell down. I tried to push back, but hand
threw me forward, forward, into the jaws of the iron dragon. No,
that's how I died August twenty eighth, three months ago.
You don't believe the story of my death. When I do,
pedal made a bellevue. That's how you were supposed to
have died August the twenty eighth, last. That's the funny
story in the trans Southern Insurance files. You were supposed
to have died like that thought, Only you didn't. Somebody
else did? Somebody else did? Yeah, Patsy, whose remains were
identified as Remo Torch, the poor devil, who was really
in that coffin you supposedly stepped out of last night.
Excuse me, all right, Craig speaking Mary, This is trav Rodgers.
Mary Torch died a month ago a heart attack, and
Mary Cotter signed the death certificain. She was buried the
Helpless cemetery like her husband before. I got it, nice, Trav.
Can I be of any further service to you? Yeah,
you can send one of your boys over to my apartment.
I've got a prize package. I went on a lock
and key. While I are oam the world, I had
the graveyard have it there. I was again at Hillcrest Cemetery,
waiting another court order at old caretaker billing, this time
with the name Mary Torch spelled out on it. Old
Billings read the court order, staking a little foolish grin
at me as he read. He used to be an order.
Mister Greig, can you round up a couple of diggers
right away? They can build trans Southern for the labor.
It's easy to do for a guy who dooed by
the risen dead last night. You're looking mighty cheerful today.
I'll bet a toomstone you solve the mystery of the
empty coffin for yourself.
Speaker 6: You discerning men.
Speaker 2: Mister Greig, you found a body somewhere. The body the
real remote Torch sneaked out of that coffin before he
got into it. It's time for you to come along
and get a knife for I'm right. Huh, you're right.
They'm a foolish old man. Where'd you find the body
that was buried as remote Torch? You're twenty feet and
they was standing show me idea, My though, it's fair, baby,
very Channon. Sarah had been trapped down, and they went investigated.
I saw the dead had ben't turned over fresh, and
I noticed the foot, the foot sticky hot leaves. Something
to my imagination. Now go round up those diggers the
slab of marble read Mary Torch. Two beefy Shents were
digging her up. They wore a look on their kisses
that said they just love to make an argument of it.
They were the same team who buried the Merry Torch
coffin only a month ago. To them, I was some
creep undoing a work of art. Me and my court
order is that the coffin exposed. Enough man, now use
a crowbar on it. I soon got a look at
the contents of the coffin.
Speaker 6: No, Bobby, mister Craig, the case gets full.
Speaker 2: Full of the word buildings full of rocks. The answer
to the rocks was obvious. Mary touch his death with
a phony and ditto or a burial. I found out
how it was Wan Novood by an entry in the
cemetery record book. It's the name of the undertaker you want,
or whoever supervisor so called burial h here it is
very touch and Eric Conter supervisor Barrier. Does his name
mean something to you? Does it? Eric Totter is the
same jump who also signed the phony medical certificate. The
Great Insurance Windle and how it was accomplished began to
stitch into one piece. I had almost all the answers,
enough answers, anyhow to parley into a climax. Only somebody
was working his own idea of a climax, a climax
to Barry Craig, I'd left Hillcrest through the big iron
gates for the drive back to Manhattan. I switched on
the ignition good thing the cemetery was convenient to call
the fuss and bothered out of my burial. The risen
did I was getting a whack to trick myself. I
was dragging to a light, a light no bigger than
an arrow.
Speaker 6: I had waiting for me somewhere at the end of a.
Speaker 2: Long sleep, and bells bell tolling mourning.
Speaker 6: Morning.
Speaker 2: The bells were.
Speaker 6: Saying, and wake up Cray, wake up Gray.
Speaker 2: Look at me with a voice, the face the face
of somewhere I'd seen around the trail, Roger, How did
you come to die? Tram? I didn't I needed to do.
The miracle is You're in Shore Park Hospital in emergency
hind bomb hope to your start a cable, step in
the car, start and blow yourself up. A gimmick with whisks,
a long gray bed. It's an old murdered device. More theten.
But they got your Craig. Oh dad, am I you
won for ripley. I'm okay.
Speaker 6: Is that what you mean?
Speaker 2: Just lacerations of the head and neck shock. You're wearing
more bantages, King tut. You're also minus an automobile. I'll
go tran Southern.
Speaker 6: Try get me out of here.
Speaker 2: I want remote torch back as soon as I'm dressed.
He and I are going bye bye. I taxied remote
torch across town to an address in my Little Black
Book twenty five eight e Merridale Drive. I'm relionniting. You're
with the lady who made a scene over last night
Torch yet you huh? May we come in, but you'll
remember remote Torch?
Speaker 4: Well, yes, of course after last night.
Speaker 2: Could I forget I guess not, especially since he only
tried to strangle you. It'd be even harder to forget
him if you were his wife.
Speaker 5: His wife, I'm Bernard Talbot. My husband is George Talbot
and manufacturer's representative.
Speaker 2: Hooray for employment. Is your husband around, yes, introduce him to.
Speaker 4: Us very well, George.
Speaker 2: Yes, Berna, this is my husband, mister, that's him to
him hold a man with my favorite it's my murderer, murderer,
but my apologies for my friend's behavior. Talot. It does
seem to be a superficial resemblance between you, same general features,
So the nonsense. This man's plainly insane, insane like a fox.
I'd say Torch has a pretty shrewd idea of what
he's up to. I'd even say he was trying to
drive a couple of schemers crazy before the law caught
up with him. I don't understand the thing you're saying,
mister Craig. Craig all greet to you. Huh suppose I
spell it out and you see if you get the drift.
Torch's wife had him marked for murder. The lady wanted
to cash in his insurance and then marry her boyfriend
and Eric Cotter. The boyfriend began following poor Torch around,
waiting for a chance to knock him more. But Torch
caught on to what was cooking and figured out a
way about smarting the schemers. Drop the insanity post, Torch,
and tell them how you did it. I hired an
unemployed bid actor to wear my clothes and play it
seeing me. He actually came down the steps of Torch's
house every morning, stopped at the same news stand, and
went into the subway to ride to his office, as
Torch would am, I right on that, Torch, Yeah, the
device worked. You fell for a talbot because you'd never
actually met Remo touch. Did you say I fell for it?
I said just that you pushed a stooge hired by
Torch under that train, Madam here. I identified what was
left of the stooge and collected her fifty thousand. But
Torch was really alive and kicking all the time. How
much does it take to coax the confession out of you,
mister Eric Carter alias Talbot, or you missus touch we
caught egh oh we're marry. I rather think I have
our little problem very much under control. Keep your hands
as they are, Craig, No good, Carter. How far do
you think a gun's gonna get you? I told you
we'd get up one of your full face that Carter.
The lady wants out the way it's stacking or bet
she turns state's evidence. Now drop that gun, go back, Craig,
I said, drop it, crazy poll go my Oh when
you shoot somebody, Carter, be sure you keep possession of
the gun quick. How did me to shoot you? It
was an accident in the struggle for the gun. Quit.
Don't shoot me. In a minute, I'm going to pass out.
I don't want you on the loose when I do.
T's the tent in the lake, just enough to make
you stay put, Craig, No torches. Call police headquarters, Rogers,
Lieutenant trave Rogers wake up from a long sleep and
there's the same face in front of the own like
a pin up on a wall. Don't look now, Craig,
but you're back in Shore Park Hospital emergency. What's my
medical complaint. This time, we'll.
Speaker 6: Letting your left.
Speaker 2: Fine, you'll be out in the week and live for
a month. Oh Gray, And now that you're bunches, you
wanna talk Eric Carter, master mind at the phony death
and burial of Mary Torch, and also planted the time bomb.
Uh one minute, Craig. Yeah, you'll forget that you played
the case very close to the vest, that you so
far only told me about half of it. Oh huh,
that makes the conclusions I'm giving you a little puzzling,
a little incomprehensible. How long did you say, I lay
over head a week? Pull up a bed trand pull
up a bed. I got a long story to tell you.
As a conscientious officer of the law, I know you
wanna hear it. Weak as I feel, and long as
the story is, I figure it would take about a
week to tell. Good Night, folks, see you next week.
Speaker 1: You've been listening to William Gargan in another exciting transcribed
mystery drama from the Adventures of Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator.
The night's story Ghost of a Chance, was written by
John Robert. Next week, it's the strange story titled Song
of Death, about which Barry Craig has this to say.
Speaker 2: The next week's story, Song of Death. I rescue a
young lady from a fate no worse than drowning, and
I meet a crack brained songwriter whose death lyrics are murder.
See you next week, folks.
Speaker 1: Featured in the role of Mary was Brian Carlin. Barry Craig,
starring William Gargan was under the direction of Hymon Brown.
Speaker 2: This is Don Parlow Seeking Now. Enjoy Meredith Wilson's Music
Room on NBC
Speaker 6: M