A Deadly Track: The Record Store Homicide A Sydney Chase Mystery | Cozy Detective Story

0:03 Speaker 1: The Casebook of Sidney Chase, produced and edited by Crimson McKenzie, written and directed by Winslow Swan, and featuring Dave Arkapov as Lieutenant Anthony Ferraro, Winslow Swan as Dr. Alex McDougall, and starring Crimson McKenzie as Sidney Chase. Tonight's episode, 33 1 3rd RPM.

0:51 Speaker 2: Okay, Alex, I'm here. What is the big emergency? What is that awful sound?

0:59 Speaker 3: Sidney, please, come in.

1:02 Speaker 2: Alex, what's going on?

1:06 Speaker 3: Just come in and I will explain.

1:09 Speaker 2: You look like you could use a drink.

1:11 Speaker 3: Oh, please, help yourself.

1:15 Speaker 2: I thought you only listened to classical music. Ha!

1:19 Speaker 3: I have a very eclectic taste in music, Sydney.

1:23 Speaker 2: I don't exactly call that music.

1:27 Speaker 3: Yes, well, let me turn it off. I think I've quite exhausted my listening abilities for today.

1:33 Speaker 2: You were actually listening to that noise?

1:37 Speaker 3: Please, Sydney, sit down. Are you working on anything at the moment?

1:43 Speaker 2: Just this glass of wine. Oh, come on, Alex. Give us a little smile.

1:50 Speaker 3: I'm sorry, Sydney. The last couple of days have been very stressful.

1:57 Speaker 2: Alex, I've known you for a long time, and you're the most optimistic doctor I've ever met. If it had not been for you and David. Well, you were always there for me then, and I will always, always be here for you.

2:19 Speaker 3: Thank you, Sidney. You know that your husband was my favorite patient. I suppose my optimism came from him.

2:28 Speaker 2: Now, tell me what's going on. Don't leave anything out. You know how I like my details.

2:36 Speaker 3: Are you familiar with a store called Waxworks?

2:41 Speaker 2: Isn't that the record store that opened a few months ago?

2:45 Speaker 3: Yes, over on 9th Street. I discovered it a few days ago.

2:49 Speaker 2: I've never been. What's it like?

2:52 Speaker 3: Ah, wall-to-wall vinyl records, all nicely cataloged in a fantastic inventory.

3:00 Speaker 2: I heard vinyl is coming back. Even new artists are releasing their music on it.

3:05 Speaker 3: I have always said that the digital age was the downfall of pure music.

3:11 Speaker 2: Is that why you don't have a CD player?

3:15 Speaker 3: I never joined the so-called digital revolution.

3:19 Speaker 2: You do have a most impressive collection. Bach, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Beethoven, and... Alex! What is this?

3:34 Speaker 3: I told you. I have a very eclectic taste of music.

3:40 Speaker 2: No! But this is the first issue of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Do you have any idea how much this is worth?

3:50 Speaker 3: Oh, you will find all kinds of treasures in my collection.

3:55 Speaker 2: Oh, moody blues, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin. Wait a minute.

4:04 Speaker 4: Kiss?

4:06 Speaker 2: You actually listen to Kiss?

4:09 Speaker 3: Only when the mood strikes me.

4:15 Speaker 2: Okay, okay, okay. So, tell me about this record shop of yours.

4:20 Speaker 3: Oh, well, a few days ago I was browsing through their jazz section. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just seeing what they had to offer. That was when I met Susan Quartemaine.

4:37 Speaker 2: Ooh, a woman. The plot thickens. Tell me.

4:44 Speaker 3: It wasn't anything like that, Sidney. She simply works there.

4:51 Speaker 2: I've always said that you could use a good woman in your life.

4:56 Speaker 3: Would you please be serious for just one damn minute?

5:01 Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sorry, Alex. Something really is bothering you.

5:08 Speaker 3: Sidney, Miss Quatermain is dead.

5:13 Speaker 4: What?

5:14 Speaker 2: But you said... Wait a minute. Start at the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.

5:27 Speaker 4: Good afternoon, sir. Is there anything that I can help you find?

5:31 Speaker 3: Oh, no, no, thank you. I'm really not sure what I'm looking for.

5:36 Speaker 4: Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'm Susan Quartermain.

5:40 Speaker 3: Dr. Alex McDougall. And very pleased to meet such a lovely woman.

5:46 Speaker 4: Thank you kindly, sir.

5:48 Speaker 3: Are you the owner of this establishment?

5:51 Speaker 4: I wish. No, I'm just a lowly employee who happens to know a lot about music.

5:58 Speaker 3: I've never been in here. When did you open?

6:01 Speaker 4: Only a couple of months ago. It seems that people are starting to discover vinyl records again.

6:07 Speaker 3: Yes, and I'm very glad you hear it.

6:10 Speaker 4: I'm glad that you stopped in. Now, what can I help you find? If you have any questions, just ask.

6:17 Speaker 3: Oh, I thought I might look over your jazz selection.

6:20 Speaker 4: Well, we just got some new ones in. I haven't had time to put them out yet. Would you like to see them?

6:27 Speaker 3: Oh, well, it's no bother.

6:30 Speaker 4: No bother at all. Come on, back here.

6:33 Speaker 3: Hmm, Miles Davis, Buddy Rich, and this one.

6:41 Speaker 2: Ah, yes.

6:42 Speaker 4: Big Bill Bronzy, from Chicago.

6:44 Speaker 3: But these are all original 78s!

6:48 Speaker 2: Okay, Alex? First, explain to me what a 78 is?

6:56 Speaker 3: Records were pressed at different speeds, depending on what was being released. You're familiar with the long play recordings, or albums. They are played at 33 and a third revolutions per minute.

7:10 Speaker 2: Oh, so a 78 is played at 78 RPMs. Right.

7:16 Speaker 3: They were considered singles at the time. Just enough room on the record for one, sometimes two songs per side. Then, of course, came the 45s.

7:27 Speaker 2: Okay, I'm up to speed. If you'll pardon the pun. I mean, continue.

7:37 Speaker 3: There isn't much more to tell. I wound up buying the aforementioned collector's item.

7:44 Speaker 2: Was that what you were listening to when I came in?

7:47 Speaker 3: Oh, hardly. What I was listening to, as you put it, was an extra record that I found among the collection.

7:56 Speaker 2: Oh. Is it a rare recording?

7:59 Speaker 3: Here, take a look at it.

8:02 Speaker 2: There isn't a label on it.

8:04 Speaker 3: Which is why I began listening to it in the first place. I... First off, that perhaps the label had simply worn off.

8:11 Speaker 2: And after you heard it, what did you do?

8:15 Speaker 3: I decided to take it back to the record store. I assumed that Susan had accidentally included it with the collection that I bought.

8:23 Speaker 2: When did you do that?

8:25 Speaker 3: Yesterday. It was around three in the afternoon when I was able to return to the store. I remember how silent it was when I walked in. Before there had been music playing, but now everything was deathly silent. Hello? Anyone here? Thirty-three. Collection thirty-three. The squirt of me. What happened?

8:57 Speaker 4: Record.

8:58 Speaker 3: Devlin.

8:59 Speaker 4: Collection.

9:01 Speaker 3: Thirty-three. Thirty-three.

9:04 Speaker 4: Collection 33.

9:05 Speaker 3: Try not to move. I'm calling an ambulance now.

9:14 Speaker 2: I take it that she didn't survive her injuries.

9:19 Speaker 3: Correct.

9:20 Speaker 2: What happened?

9:22 Speaker 3: She was severely beaten. I've seen victims of muggings, robberies, even home invasions. But never have I seen injuries so bad.

9:34 Speaker 2: Did you talk to the police?

9:35 Speaker 3: Well, of course.

9:37 Speaker 2: What did they say?

9:38 Speaker 3: That Miss Quatermain was the victim of a robbery that went terribly wrong.

9:44 Speaker 2: Let me guess. You talked to Ferrari.

9:49 Speaker 3: One and the same.

9:53 Speaker 2: Well, do you agree?

9:54 Speaker 3: Sidney, I have known you for a long time. I have had the pleasure of being with you on many of your cases. I have learned the art of observing.

10:08 Speaker 2: And what did you observe?

10:12 Speaker 3: There was nothing missing from the store. The register was closed. All the money was in it. The safe, which was in the office... Had not even been touched.

10:21 Speaker 2: Who owns the place?

10:23 Speaker 3: Mr. Hans Devlin. He was there when the police arrived.

10:28 Speaker 2: What did he have to say?

10:29 Speaker 3: Oh, the usual. How dreadful he felt that one of his employees was murdered by the dregs of society. That sort of thing.

10:40 Speaker 2: So why the interest in that record you were playing?

10:43 Speaker 3: Well, that's just it. I don't know. As you heard, it is a rather... A terrible sound.

10:53 Speaker 2: I think it's time I had a talk with old Ferrari.

10:56 Speaker 5: Chase, I don't have time for you today.

11:12 Speaker 2: Oh, but Tony, I thought you always... Had time for me.

11:19 Speaker 6: And don't give me that doe-eyed look. The only thing you want when you come in here is information. And I don't have any to give.

11:29 Speaker 2: Oof. Maybe I just wanted to see how my good friend, the lovely Lieutenant Anthony Ferrari, was doing.

11:37 Speaker 6: Flattery will get you nowhere, Chase.

11:40 Speaker 5: Okay.

11:42 Speaker 2: How about a bribe? Want to grab some lunch?

11:45 Speaker 5: Oh.

11:46 Speaker 6: What are you fishing for?

11:47 Speaker 2: Okay, what can you tell me about Susan Quartermain?

11:53 Speaker 6: Other than the case is still open, it's a simple robbery that turned into a murder case that got dropped in my lap.

12:01 Speaker 2: Wasn't there any surveillance in the store?

12:03 Speaker 6: The owner said that they had not had time to install it.

12:07 Speaker 2: So no suspects?

12:08 Speaker 6: We're checking the usual lowlifes in the area.

12:12 Speaker 2: So, no suspects?

12:15 Speaker 6: You have a wonderful way of stating the obvious, Chase. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have other things to do.

12:24 Speaker 2: I take it that Ms. Quartermain's murder is not exactly high priority.

12:30 Speaker 6: Chase, between the crime rate going up, the mayor's office calling me every time some protest comes up, and now the FBI waltzing in here, I don't have the time.

12:41 Speaker 2: Wait, what about the FBI?

12:42 Speaker 3: They came in last week.

12:45 Speaker 6: I wanted the department's help with surveillance.

12:48 Speaker 2: Surveillance? Don't my tax dollars supply them with enough agents?

12:53 Speaker 6: Sydney, I don't know. I don't know anything.

12:58 Speaker 2: Typical. Need to know.

13:00 Speaker 6: You got it. Now, was that offer for lunch real?

13:04 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm starving. You pick the place.

13:20 Speaker 1: Good afternoon. Is there anything that I can help you with?

13:23 Speaker 3: Um, don't you remember me?

13:26 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. I don't believe that I've had the pleasure of... Oh, wait a moment. Yes, you were the one who found poor Miss Quatermain.

13:36 Speaker 3: Yes, Mr. Devlin. Dr. Alex McDougal. And this is my friend, Sidney Chase.

13:43 Speaker 2: A very remarkable establishment you have, Mr. Devlin.

13:47 Speaker 1: It took me years to finally open the place. The resurgence in popularity of the vinyl record has been quite extraordinary.

13:55 Speaker 2: So I have been told. But why would anyone want to rob the place?

14:01 Speaker 1: We live in violent times, Miss Chase. Unfortunately, Susan was simply caught at the wrong place and time.

14:09 Speaker 3: Any idea who might have wanted to rob you?

14:13 Speaker 1: Probably someone looking for money to buy drugs. Isn't that always the reason?

14:18 Speaker 2: I noticed that you carry a lot of collector's items.

14:22 Speaker 1: I pride myself on those.

14:25 Speaker 2: Don't you think it's kind of funny how the thief or thieves didn't bother taking any of them?

14:32 Speaker 1: I chalk it up to the uneducated.

14:33 Speaker 3: I noticed this one that you have framed. The Beatles, let me do.

14:40 Speaker 1: My prized possession. A promotional. 45 that was given to radio DJs before its initial release.

14:48 Speaker 2: How much is it worth?

14:50 Speaker 1: Fifteen thousand.

14:52 Speaker 3: Apparently the robbers did not know what they had at their hands.

14:57 Speaker 1: Good luck on my part.

15:00 Speaker 2: Bad luck for Miss Quartermain. What about this one? Motley Crue, Too Fast for Love.

15:08 Speaker 1: A minor classic. Only nine thousand for that one.

15:12 Speaker 3: Thousand?

15:13 Speaker 2: Okay, well. Well, thank you, Mr. Devlin. Come on, Alex.

15:18 Speaker 1: Oh, Dr. McDougal. I believe that you purchased a collection. How do you like it?

15:25 Speaker 3: Oh, it's very nice, Mr. Devlin. However, there was a.

15:29 Speaker 2: A slight scratch on one of the records. Nothing major there.

15:32 Speaker 1: Oh, I'm very sorry. Perhaps you would allow me to try and find a replacement.

15:37 Speaker 2: That would be lovely. But I'm afraid that we have to be leaving.

15:41 Speaker 3: But Sydney, I was just about to say... That.

15:45 Speaker 2: You will be back to see what other treasures you can find. Now let's go.

16:02 Speaker 6: That has got to be the absolute worst. Where did you find it, Alex?

16:08 Speaker 2: Never mind, Tony. Did you let your friends at the FBI know what I told you?

16:14 Speaker 6: Naturally. Can you deduce what they said?

16:20 Speaker 2: Let me guess. We don't take orders from some private eye, correct?

16:26 Speaker 6: Sidney, do you blame them?

16:29 Speaker 3: I'm a little lost, Sidney. Have I missed something?

16:33 Speaker 2: Miss Quartermain was murdered. But not because of the robbery. And if I'm right, I think we can get the FBI off your back, Tony.

16:42 Speaker 6: All ears, Chase.

16:45 Speaker 2: Alex, what exactly did Susan say to you before she passed?

16:51 Speaker 3: Let me see. She mentioned Devlin, then kept repeating the number 33. Are you sure?

17:00 Speaker 2: Are you absolutely positive that's all she said?

17:03 Speaker 3: As far as I can remember. Wait a minute. Well, she did say collection.

17:11 Speaker 6: What, let me in on it?

17:13 Speaker 2: Alex bought a collection of records from the store. When he got home, he noticed that there was an extra one.

17:20 Speaker 6: The one that you were playing?

17:23 Speaker 2: Yes. And I think that's what got Susan Quartermain killed.

17:27 Speaker 6: I still don't understand.

17:29 Speaker 2: Alex, you said that she kept saying 33 over and over. Can you play that same record at that speed? Oh, well, of course.

17:38 Speaker 3: Hang on. Let me just change the setting and, um...

17:46 Speaker 3: The formula is xy squared to the tenth power. The measurements for each ingredient is as follows. Nitrate oxidized to.

17:57 Speaker 1: Very good, Miss Chase. No, please, don't move.

18:03 Speaker 3: Mr.

18:03 Speaker 6: Devlin, how did you get in here?

18:06 Speaker 2: Alex, don't you ever lock the front door?

18:12 Speaker 3: Sorry, Sidney.

18:14 Speaker 1: I must congratulate you, Miss Chase. It's a shame that you will not live to tell anyone, least of all the FBI.

18:28 Speaker 2: How about a drink?

18:29 Speaker 6: Make mine a double.

18:32 Speaker 3: I think I need a triple.

18:34 Speaker 6: Where did you learn to shoot like that, Alex?

18:37 Speaker 2: He's been hanging around me way too long.

18:41 Speaker 3: Well, I thought that after being shot myself, I could use a little protection.

18:47 Speaker 2: It's a good thing, too.

18:50 Speaker 6: And a good thing that Alex was carrying it and Devlin didn't notice when he took it out.

18:56 Speaker 3: Who notices an old man's?

18:59 Speaker 2: Oh, Alex, I always notice you. Where's Devlin now?

19:05 Speaker 6: At the hospital. The FBI is taking charge.

19:09 Speaker 3: What exactly was on that record?

19:12 Speaker 6: It turns out that Susan Quartermain was working undercover. The FBI was watching Devlin for a long time.

19:20 Speaker 2: I had a chance to talk to one of those agents.

19:23 Speaker 5: Oh.

19:24 Speaker 2: He told me that Devlin was smuggling all kinds of information, but they couldn't figure out how.

19:31 Speaker 3: Ah, and when Devlin found out that Susan accidentally sold one of the records, he must have gone mad.

19:40 Speaker 6: That's about right. But Sidney, when did you talk to the FBI?

19:44 Speaker 2: Right after we had lunch. I just happened to run into him while he was getting caught.

19:50 Speaker 3: Tony, Sydney has the uncanny ability to catch people off their guard. Eventually, they will tell her everything.

20:01 Speaker 2: It's a gift and a curse.

20:09 Speaker 1: You've been listening to The Casebook of Sidney Chase. Tonight's episode, 33 1 3rd RPM, was written and directed by Winslow Swan, produced and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Featured in the cast, Dave Arkapov as Anthony Ferraro, Winslow Swan as Alex McDougal, and featuring Annie Mick, Mick Davis, and starring Crimson McKenzie as Sidney Chase. Music by Kevin MacLeod. This is your announcer, Mick Davis, inviting you to join us for another adventure from the casebook of Sidney Chase. Epilogue, The Butler Did It.