More Than a Simple Mugging: "One Man's Art" – A High-Stakes Sydney Chase Mystery Audio Play

0:05 Speaker 1: The Casebook of Sidney Chase, produced and edited by Crimson McKenzie, written by Dave Arkapov 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.

0:37 Speaker 2: Morning, Huckleberry. How are things in the precinct?

0:42 Speaker 3: Now I understand what the lieutenant is talking about.

0:46 Speaker 2: Whatever do you mean?

0:48 Speaker 3: You call him Ferrari when his name is Ferrari.

0:52 Speaker 4: You call me Huck just because my name happens to be Tom Sayre.

0:56 Speaker 2: Well, it sounded so much like the... I mean... I thought you might like the nickname. You know I only mean it in the nicest way.

1:07 Speaker 3: So, why do you call Ferraro Ferrari?

1:12 Speaker 2: Oh, my. Hasn't he told you?

1:15 Speaker 3: Well, I did ask, but.

1:16 Speaker 4: Oh, he doesn't want.

1:18 Speaker 2: To talk about it? Well, maybe if you ask me nicely, I will explain it to you one day.

1:28 Speaker 3: Thanks a lot. So what brings you down to the precinct this morning?

1:32 Speaker 2: I call it slumming. Just seeing if there were any cases that could possibly require my awesome special skills.

1:43 Speaker 4: Except for an epidemic on high-end shoplifting of celebrity shoes and gourmet foods, it's been pretty quiet.

1:50 Speaker 2: Tom, you should never, ever say it's been quiet. Now that is when everything happens.

1:59 Speaker 5: Well.

1:59 Speaker 4: It really has been quiet. Right now the men are mostly sweeping and cleaning up.

2:07 Speaker 2: It was worth a shot. Call it my civic duty.

2:11 Speaker 4: Here, let me polish that civic award for you.

2:16 Speaker 3: Business a little slow these days?

2:19 Speaker 2: If it doesn't pick up soon, I may have to resort to stealing a dog so that I can find it. Or worse yet, I may have to find a regular rum.

2:32 Speaker 4: The word is job, Sydney. And don't fret about it. Here, a pen, piece of cardboard, and a coffee cup. You can set up shop right outside our door.

2:43 Speaker 2: Very funny, Huckleberry. Any coffee in that cup?

2:47 Speaker 3: You know where the pot is?

2:48 Speaker 2: Did Ferrari make it?

2:51 Speaker 3: About an hour ago.

2:52 Speaker 2: Hard pass.

2:53 Speaker 4: Look, I've got to get back to looking busy.

2:57 Speaker 3: It's not that easy, you know. Well, of course, you would know.

3:02 Speaker 2: Well, I learned from the best.

3:04 Speaker 3: Who, Lieutenant?

3:06 Speaker 2: No, silly, you.

3:10 Speaker 3: Hey, hang on. I may have a little something, if you want to check it out.

3:16 Speaker 2: Ooh, anything at this point.

3:20 Speaker 4: Well, it was just an incident report. It could have been just an accident, and we don't want to waste manpower on clumsiness.

3:39 Speaker 6: How are things down at the precinct?

3:41 Speaker 2: How long have you been in my apartment, Dr. McGougal?

3:44 Speaker 6: Oh, just long enough to fix a drink and set up the chessboard. Would you like me to leave?

3:52 Speaker 2: Of course not, Alex. With business being so rotten, your company is greatly appreciated.

3:59 Speaker 6: Oh, don't worry, Sydney. I'm sure that things will pick up soon.

4:03 Speaker 2: Why? You see a lost dog poster somewhere? You know, Doc, you have the uncanny ability to find the bright spot in a dark, dark world.

4:15 Speaker 6: Call it my superpower.

4:20 Speaker 2: Well, I do have a Sort of case.

4:23 Speaker 6: Oh, do tell.

4:25 Speaker 2: Huckleberry gave me a possible client. Are you familiar with Dan the Paint Man?

4:32 Speaker 6: Oh, isn't he the one who finds a wall, uses spray can paint, and calls it art? That Dan the Paint Man.

4:46 Speaker 2: The very one. Someone found him unconscious in Grizzly Park this morning. Seems he tripped and hit his head.

4:54 Speaker 6: And how does that translate into a possible client for you?

4:59 Speaker 2: Not sure right now. He's currently recuperating at Our Lady of the Evening Hospital. I called and talked to the nurse. She told me that he's been in and out of consciousness all day, but is stable.

5:12 Speaker 6: And how is that a possible case?

5:15 Speaker 2: Well, when Tom told me about it, I told him that I smelled a rat. They just gave it a cursory glance, and that usually means they missed something. Well, well, well. Hello, Ferrari. What brings you down to the hospital?

5:41 Speaker 7: How are you doing, chaste?

5:44 Speaker 2: Did you just call me chaste?

5:47 Speaker 7: You can call me Ferrari. I'm going to start calling you chaste. And we all know what a joke that is.

5:56 Speaker 2: Very funny, but I don't think it has the same ring to it.

6:02 Speaker 6: Whatever.

6:03 Speaker 7: So what brings you and the good doctor to the hospital? I'm just along for the ride.

6:11 Speaker 2: So a little birdie gave me the so-called report on Dan the Paint Man. I thought I would come down and see what I could do.

6:21 Speaker 7: I was just on my way to see him. Care to tag along?

6:24 Speaker 2: Tony, are you actually asking me?

6:28 Speaker 7: Why not, chaste?

6:30 Speaker 6: She's right, Tony. It really doesn't have the same ring as a Ferrari.

6:38 Speaker 2: Try harder, Ferrari. Did you talk to the doctor, Alex?

6:51 Speaker 6: I did. He's stable at the moment. Must have been a rather nasty fall. I am troubled by one thing.

7:00 Speaker 7: What's that, Doc?

7:01 Speaker 6: Well, according to your report, he stumbled forward, but the wound is on the back of his head.

7:08 Speaker 2: So, Tony, you're a detective. Detect!

7:12 Speaker 7: The doctor said that he may have bruised his brain. I'm going to prompt him with a few questions and We can record everything he says.

7:20 Speaker 2: Good thinking. What else have you noticed?

7:23 Speaker 7: I found his art supplies and noticed something a little odd.

7:28 Speaker 2: Really? Do tell.

7:30 Speaker 7: Well, as a cop, I've seen a lot of graffiti. And every good piece of work is usually highlighted and shaded in black. He had no black can of paint.

7:44 Speaker 2: That is a good catch, Tony. And graffiti is usually done on a wall, not in the park.

7:51 Speaker 6: Were there any picnic supplies in his belongings?

7:55 Speaker 7: Not that I found.

7:56 Speaker 2: Let me try talking to him. Dan? Dan! Can you hear me? I.

8:05 Speaker 5: paint.

8:07 Speaker 7: where.

8:08 Speaker 2: Am... It's okay, Dan. You're in the hospital. Everything is going to be okay.

8:14 Speaker 6: I work. My colors. Maybe we should try later, Sidney. My work. Olfactory. Olfactory.

8:27 Speaker 5: Did you get that, Sidney?

8:29 Speaker 2: Sounded like he said olfactory.

8:32 Speaker 7: What does the sense of smell have to do with his art?

8:36 Speaker 2: Maybe it stinks?

8:37 Speaker 7: Ha ha. Let's go down to Grizzly Park. Maybe we can sniff out a clue.

8:43 Speaker 2: Alex, would you mind staying here in case he does wake up?

8:47 Speaker 6: Of course. Let me know if you find anything.

8:59 Speaker 7: This is where someone found him.

9:00 Speaker 2: Did they see anything? Like, what may have happened?

9:05 Speaker 7: Nope.

9:06 Speaker 5: Just him.

9:08 Speaker 7: And took him to the hospital.

9:11 Speaker 2: What the hell?

9:12 Speaker 7: You okay, Sydney?

9:13 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm good. I almost took a nasty fall myself.

9:17 Speaker 7: Trip over your own feet?

9:19 Speaker 2: Ha ha, no. Watch where you're walking. There's something under the grass here. Is that a rope?

9:27 Speaker 7: That's not a rope. It's a heavy-duty extension cord. Now, what would that be doing here in the east end of nowhere?

9:35 Speaker 2: Well, it has to go somewhere. Follow your nose for raw read. up there the cord goes up that light pole.

9:54 Speaker 7: Someone is stealing electricity we may not go away empty-handed after all.

9:59 Speaker 2: Spoken like a true cop. You paid by the crime.

10:02 Speaker 7: I get 10%.

10:06 Speaker 2: The real question is, why? Why would someone want to steal electricity? Look! Over there. The cord goes into that building.

10:17 Speaker 7: That's the old warehouse, closed down about 30 years ago.

10:20 Speaker 2: That's not creepy at all. Come on, but be careful. We don't know who we may be dealing with.

10:27 Speaker 5: I think I know what this place is.

10:37 Speaker 2: Enlighten me, Tony.

10:39 Speaker 7: It's the old buggy factory, closed down 100 years ago. It's been empty ever since. When I was a kid, we thought the place was haunted.

10:50 Speaker 5: You were a kid once.

10:54 Speaker 2: I thought you were born with a badge on your diaper.

10:58 Speaker 5: Very funny.

10:59 Speaker 2: Chased.

11:00 Speaker 4: Yeah.

11:01 Speaker 5: Still isn't as good as Ferrari.

11:03 Speaker 2: Hey, wait a sec. Did you call this place Old Factory?

11:09 Speaker 5: You don't mean.

11:11 Speaker 2: Shine your light over there.

11:13 Speaker 5: What is that? They look like Freezers? Well, what do you know? Look at this. Steak, lobster, caviar. There must be thousands of dollars worth of food in here.

11:26 Speaker 2: Look over here.

11:27 Speaker 5: Shoes, clothes, electronics.

11:29 Speaker 7: Got to be the stash from all those shoplifting cases piling up on Sayer's desk.

11:34 Speaker 5: Hey, Tony.

11:36 Speaker 2: Over here. Dan the Paint Man has been quite busy.

11:40 Speaker 5: What did you find? Half-finished wall art and.

11:44 Speaker 2: your elusive black paint can. Alex, how's the patient?

11:59 Speaker 6: No stable so far. He keeps saying olfactory when he comes out of unconsciousness.

12:07 Speaker 2: What did the doctor say?

12:08 Speaker 6: They would like to keep him a few more days for observation. But they think he is going to be fine. What did you and Tony find?

12:19 Speaker 2: The solution.

12:22 Speaker 7: Quite a bit, Alex.

12:23 Speaker 2: Oh, it's not every day that we solve two cases at the same time.

12:28 Speaker 6: Two cases?

12:30 Speaker 7: What do you mean, we, Chase?

12:33 Speaker 2: Oh, come on, Tony. If If we had not almost tripped over that extension cord that I saved you from, you would have just chalked it all up to an accident.

12:44 Speaker 7: And if I didn't know what the olfactory was, you never would have gone inside.

12:49 Speaker 2: Now listen here, Ferrari.

12:50 Speaker 6: Please, this is a hospital. Now just tell me what happened.

12:56 Speaker 2: Dan wasn't saying olfactory, like your sense of smell, but old factory. He was using the old buggy factory for his canvays.

13:05 Speaker 7: He must have found the freezers and the other stolen items. The gang found him, going to him on the head and left him in the park.

13:13 Speaker 6: Any idea who this gang is?

13:17 Speaker 7: I called Detective Sayre. He's got a crew out there now gathering evidence. Most of these gangs use the hired help from the restaurant's in the stores to get their stash.

13:27 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm sure that somebody will talk.

13:31 Speaker 7: Thank you, Sydney.

13:33 Speaker 2: Well, that must have been hard for you to say.

13:39 Speaker 7: Harder than you think, chaste.

13:43 Speaker 6: Lieutenant, you may want to rethink that moniker.

13:49 Speaker 2: Sorry, Tony. It's just not as good as Ferrari. Very funny.

14:03 Speaker 3: Okay, Sydney, you have got to tell me.

14:08 Speaker 2: Tell you what, Huck? Why?

14:11 Speaker 3: Why do you call the lieutenant Ferrari?

14:14 Speaker 2: Oh, that? When I was on the force, I sort of noticed that he tends to jump to conclusions faster than a Ferrari can go from zero to 60. Okay, yeah, I get it now.

14:29 Speaker 6: But if I were you, Detective, I don't think I would use it. At least, not to his face. I heard that.

14:47 Speaker 1: You've been listening to The Casebook of Sidney Chase. Produced and edited by Crimson McKenzie. Written by Dave Arkapov and directed by Winslow Swan. Featured in the cast... Dave Arkapov as Anthony Ferraro. Winslow Swan as Alex McDougal.

15:05 Speaker 6: Also featured in the cast, Raven Adams as Tom Sayre.

15:10 Speaker 1: 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.

15:35 Speaker 1: Epilogue The butler did it.