Death Calls at Dinner

During an anniversary party, a man named Sam Brown dies after eating dinner. The police discover that one of the soup spoons and a silverware spoon have turned black, indicating that the soup contained toadstools. Mrs. Brown, the hostess, is arrested for murder because she failed to wash the soup spoons, revealing her attempt to poison her husband. Join us now, Swerka's Radio Repertory Theater is on the air. Another five-minute mystery, an anniversary party is going on in the Brown household around the corner. One of the guests, George Taylor, pauses while eating his dessert, saying, Mmm, the best lemon pie I've ever tasted, Mary. Oh, really? I wish my wife could do as well. Hey, it doesn't look like Sam is appreciating it much, though. Goodness, dear, is my cooking that bad, Sam? Your head is practically in your plate. I guess he's falling asleep, everyone. I'm so sorry. That's all right. Sam, Sam, sit up. Sam, it's dreadful. I'd better shake him. Sam, Sam! Great guns! He's dead! How do you do? I'm Sergeant Barker, the Homicide Division, and this is Officer Grady. Where's the body? In the dining room at the table. We didn't move him. You might as well be comfortable, everybody. This will just take a little while. Dead, all right. Peaceful, too. Who's Mrs. Sam Brown? I am. Do you mind telling me what happened? I guess not. I'm so shocked. I don't know where to begin or what to tell you. Well, you might as well begin by telling me what you served for dinner. Well, we had soup first. Soup? What kind? Mushroom. And then roast chicken, green peas, mashed potatoes, and I served him coffee. But I don't see how this could mean anything. Just routine, Mrs. Brown. Did Mr. Brown eat everything? Yes, he did. He seemed to fall asleep over his coffee. And when I tried to wake him, I found he's had a heart attack. Yeah. Well, that will be all for a few minutes, Mrs. Brown. I'm going to take a look around. Notice anything about this table, Grady? No, Chief. Can't say as I do. Well, neither do I. Let's look in this kitchen. An orderly person, isn't she? Stacking dishes after each course. Yes, and here's the silverware over here. Oh, look, look, Chief. One of these soup spoons has turned black. Black? Let me see it. And a silverware spoon that's tarnished, too. Well, I was beginning to think it was a heart attack or a perfect murder, but this silver spoon is evidence enough. Mrs. Brown? Yes, Sergeant Barker? I'm sorry to interrupt your little party, Mrs. Brown, but I'm sure your guests won't mind. Oh, I don't understand. You will, Mrs. Brown, you will. You see, you're under arrest for the murder of your husband. You know why Sergeant Barker accused Mrs. Brown of murder? In a moment, we'll hear the solution. But first, a word from our sponsor. You worked too hard. You ate too much. The cheesecake made you greedy. Let your aching head and stomach hear this message from O'Steady. You worked too hard. You ate too much. The cheesecake made you greedy. Let your aching head and stomach hear this message from O'Steady. Ah, those speedy Alka-Seltzer bubbles burst into action to relieve your upset stomach and aching head fast. Use only as directed. Oh, what a relief it is. What a relief! And now, back to our story. Sergeant Barker, how did you know it was homicide? Well, Mrs. Brown took careful pains to wash the soup pans and soup dishes before she served the rest of the meal. Yes, I can see that. But she forgot one thing, to wash the silver soup spoons. What she didn't realize was that an hour later, by the end of dinner, the spoon her husband had used to eat his toadstool soup would give her away. She didn't know that toadstools make silver turn black. Mrs. Brown almost committed the perfect murder, but she forgot to wash one spoon. Be sure to join us next time when Swerka's Radio Repertory Theater will present a new play. Be seeing you. © SWERKA