Boston Blackie Podcast; Master Detective · Humphrey Productions

The_William_Larson_Extortion_Murder_Case

·25 min·1 clip

Blackie uses Larson's coffee as evidence and exposes Aunt Carrie with a poison test.

1. Boston Blackie; Master Detective centers on the William Larson extortion-murder case, with William Larson, Jane, Roger, Carrie, Harry Wills, Jim Lawrence, Blackie, and Inspector Faraday all tied to the same investigation. 2. Dick Calmer voices Boston Blackie, while the script uses Faraday and the narrator to move the case between the Larson house, police headquarters, and the road outside. 3. The episode asks who killed William Larson after extortion money, family resentment, and a police investigation collide in one house. 4. William Larson tells Jane and Roger he supports them financially, then snaps that Carrie should get out if they do not like his behavior. 5. Carrie asks Larson for grocery money because "Food's terrible high these days," and Larson accuses her of stealing after handing out the household allowance three days earlier. 6. Harry Wills and Jim Lawrence confront Larson in the country and demand another payment after already getting money from him. 7. Wills calls their arrangement extortion, shows a rifle, and has Jim shoot a jug to prove that they mean business. 8. Larson refuses to pay another dime, and the men order him to expect a "little business meeting" at his house at 11 tonight. 9. Larson calls Boston Blackie and asks him to come to the house that evening because he needs help and does not want to go to the police yet. 10. When Blackie and Faraday reach the house, Larson is found dead in his study with two bullet wounds and an open window facing the street. 11. Faraday says Jane, Roger, and Carrie are all suspects, while Blackie argues that Larson's control over the family gives each of them a reason to be angry. 12. The episode uses a newspaper readout to state that Roger Larson is the chief suspect and that he told police he might know the killer's identity. 13. Roger is then released, and Blackie and Roger are shot at from a passing car, with Roger hit in the arm. 14. Blackie tells Faraday that the killers can be drawn out by letting newspapers and radio reports say Roger talked to him about the murder. 15. Later, Blackie and Faraday walk the streets under threat while a police car shadows them and a second attack vehicle turns the corner. 16. The car chase ends when the attackers crash, and one gunman, Jim Lawrence, is taken into custody badly injured. 17. Jim confesses that he and Harry were shaking Larson down, that Larson threatened to go to the police, and that they shot him through an open window. 18. Blackie later reveals that Larson had already been dead when the gunmen fired, because the police laboratory found poison in Larson's body and in the coffee. 19. The tone stays fast, procedural, and dialogue-heavy, with Blackie and Faraday trading sarcasm while the story moves through threats, arrests, and field work. 20. Listeners who like classic detective radio, poisoned-will mysteries, and Blackie-Faraday sparring should listen; listeners wanting slow character drama or a light comedy should probably skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Boston Blackie Podcast; Master Detective