The Skyscraper Mystery by The Haunting Hour

Strange Tales (Old Time Radio)

Special investigators Maggie West and Steve Daly investigate a series of mysterious deaths involving window cleaners falling from skyscraper

Key takeaways

• Three window cleaners died from falls within a two-week period.
• The victims were experienced 'old-timers' with no history of accidents for ten years.

Main topics

• Window cleaner accidents
• Corporate sabotage

Notable quotes

If the mountain doesn't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.

Conclusion

A classic radio noir tale of suspense and clever detective work.

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Radio.com presents tales of the strange and bizarre, the weird and the wicked. Stories not necessarily of the supernatural, but of the unnatural. Now for Strange Tales, featuring radio drama at its most mysterious and unusual. Speaker 1 (0:52) Welcome back to Strange Tales. Thanks for joining me once again for a weird story from the golden age of radio. Before we get to today's story, a quick reminder. If you'd like to help support this and all of the Relic Radio shows, visit donate.relicradio.com. Click on that support link in the show notes. It's how all of this is made possible. My thanks, as always, to those who have helped out. The Haunting Hour was a series of 52 episodes produced for NBC stations from 1945 through 1946. Our story today aired sometime in 1945. It's titled The Skyscraper Mystery. Speaker 4 (1:27) Let's Speaker 2 (1:59) not break the stillness of this moment, for Speaker 3 (2:02) this is a time of mystery. A time when imagination is free and moves Speaker 1 (2:10) forward silently. This is Speaker 3 (2:17) The Haunting Hour. The Skyscraper Mystery. It is lunch hour on a crowded downtown street of a great American city. Speaker 4 (2:53) Come on, Sadie. Let's go into this store. I've simply got to get a dress today. Oh, gee, hey, who I don't side love to. The office is an hour now. My boss will be awful mad if I don't get back. Oh, come on, Sadie. It'll only take me a minute. I hear they've got some wonderful pies. Maybe you'll be having a thing to wear. Regional Insurance Company Executive Office. One moment, please. I'll connect you. Speaker 4 (3:50) Regional Insurance Company, Executive Office. I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Sanford is making no appointments today. Yes, sir. I'll be glad to see you. Why don't I Speaker 3 (3:57) BS himself once I talk to this Maggie? Speaker 4 (3:59) I'm the faintest idea, Steve, but it must be important. Otherwise, we wouldn't be called up to the front office like this. Speaker 3 (4:05) Mr. Speaker 4 (4:06) Daly? Speaker 3 (4:07) Oh, yes. Miss Speaker 4 (4:08) West? Yes, that's right. Mr. Sanford will see you now. Speaker 3 (4:10) Come on, Maggie. And keep your fingers crossed. Sit up. Thank you, Speaker 4 (4:18) Mr. Sanders. Speaker 3 (4:19) I've been informed that you two are the best special investigators on the company staff. Oh, well, I've got a special assignment I want you two to work on right away. Yes, Mr. Sanders. I want you to look into these window cleaner accidents. They've cost our company a lot of money in claims already, and we may have to pay much more. Speaker 4 (4:37) Then you think they may not be accidental? Speaker 3 (4:39) I don't know, Miss West. That's what I want you and Mr. Daly here to find out. Speaker 4 (4:53) Steve, I've just got the report. No window cleaner has died by accidental fall in over ten years. Speaker 3 (4:58) Thank you, Maggie. Yet three of the poor devils hit the pavement in the last two weeks. Speaker 4 (5:05) It could be coincidence. Speaker 3 (5:06) It could. Could be something else. Look, Maggie, add this up now. There are only two big contract window cleaning companies in town. Intercity and Superba. They're bitter competitors. Between them, they handle all the skyscraper business in town, and the business runs into millions of dollars. Speaker 4 (5:22) Well? Speaker 3 (5:23) Well, doesn't it strike you as peculiar? Speaker 3 (5:28) we insure and none to superba? Speaker 4 (5:30) Oh, I don't know. That could be coincidence, too. Speaker 3 (5:34) Yeah, that's just it. Full of coincidences, too, for. Speaker 4 (5:38) What are we going to do about it? Speaker 3 (5:39) I think we ought to drop down to the intercity company and have a little talk with a man in charge. Speaker 2 (5:56) Superintendent of intercity company. The firm is actually owned by, operated by a board of directors. I'll do anything to stop these terrible accidents. Speaker 4 (6:11) And you think they were accidents? Speaker 2 (6:12) I'm afraid they were, Miss West. I don't understand why they happened, but they couldn't have been anything else. Speaker 3 (6:18) Well, Speaker 2 (6:20) when the men fell... They were in perfect condition. Speaker 4 (6:25) Yes, that's right. That's what the police report said. Well, Speaker 2 (6:27) what about the bolts on the sides of the windows where the cleaners hook in their belts? They hadn't been tampered with. They Speaker 3 (6:31) were in perfect shape. And you think you're a man plunged to their death just through... I Speaker 2 (6:36) don't like to admit it, Mr. Dale. But aren't you a man trained to be careful? Yes, I'm trained to be very careful. These three men were old-timers. I knew them all well. I knew their wives and their families. Well, it hit me pretty hard first. Speaker 4 (6:59) Well, how have these accidents affected the company's business, Mr. Cooper? We're Speaker 2 (7:03) taking a beating, Miss West. We've lost two big contracts to Suburba already. We may lose a third. If that