Originally Aired: January 10, 1950
Philo Vance #79, "Left Handed Murder Case,"
When Jan wakes screaming from the sight of her ex-husband Steve at her bedroom window, her parents David and Helen face a terrifying dilemma. Steve Cayley is a known gang leader whom the police have been unable to touch, and Jan fears he wants to kill her. Meanwhile, Steve himself appears at Philo Vance's office with a surprising proposition: he wants out of the criminal life and needs help escaping his own gang. Steve's lieutenant Lefty and the other gang members are already questioning his leadership and considering more permanent solutions to replace him. Steve agrees to meet Vance and District Attorney Markham at six o'clock to discuss turning evidence against his associates.
When Steve fails to appear for the meeting, a call from Homicide Detective Douglas reveals why: Steve Cayley has been found murdered at 300 Roslyn Drive. As Vance and Markham head to the crime scene, suspicion naturally falls on those closest to the victim, including his embittered ex-wife Jan and her protective father David, who arrives home late that evening acting strangely evasive about his whereabouts.