Short History Of... - Introducing: Detectives Don’t Sleep - Murder in Paradise (Part 1 of 2)

Episode Date: March 27, 2023

From Noiser, comes the brand-new podcast Detectives Don’t Sleep. The show takes you beyond the police tape to shadow the real detectives who worked history’s most intriguing cases. In this taster episode, we’re in the Bahamas in 1943. One of the wealthiest men in the islands, Sir Harry Oakes, has been murdered - bludgeoned and burned in his mansion. The prime suspect is Oakes’ son-in-law, Count Alfred de Marigny. But Oakes’ daughter Nancy refuses to believe in her husband’s guilt and hires New York-based PI Ray Schindler to clear de Marigny’s name. Ray flies to the paradise island of New Providence and gets straight down to work - interviewing witnesses, following up clues, and piecing together the circumstances of Oakes’ death. Before long, he finds himself drawn into a complex mystery straight from the pages of a classic whodunnit. If you enjoy this taster episode, search ‘Detectives Don’t Sleep’ in your podcast app and hit follow to get new episodes every Tuesday. Part 2 of Murder in Paradise is live now on the Detectives Don’t Sleep podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi listeners, John here. I just wanted to give you a heads up about a brand new podcast from the makers of Short History Of. If you enjoy detective shows and crime mysteries on TV, then you will love Detectives Don't Sleep. It's the new Whodunit podcast. Detectives Don't Sleep takes you beyond the police tape to shadow the real detectives who

worked history's most intriguing cases. The show features true crime stories from all over the world and from different historical periods. In the episode I'm about to play, we'll travel to the Bahamas. It's 1943, and we're shadowing the most prolific private investigator of all time, Ray Schindler, as he sets out to crack the biggest case of his career. At the start, it looks like a classic murder investigation. But as Ray digs deeper, he'll find himself smack bang in the middle of a conspiracy involving Nazis, corrupt tycoons, and if you can believe it, the former King of England, Edward VIII. If you enjoy this Taster episode, search Detectives Don't Sleep, and hit follow to get new episodes every Tuesday.

Or listen at Noiser.com. Part two of Murder in Paradise is live now on the Detectives Don't Sleep podcast. It's July, 1943. We're in New York City. Skyscrapers, barely 40 years old, most of them, tower overhead. Life is never slow here. But Manhattan's moving a little more sluggishly today. It's swelteringly hot. Over on the west side, the traffic moves slowly over melting tarmac. On a

regular block is a regular building divided into regular offices. From a window on the third floor, you can see the surface of the Hudson in the middle distance, glinting in the sun. Inside the office, a fan slices the humid air and rearranges it without doing much to lower the temperature. This is a true story, despite how fantastical it might sound, and it begins right here, in 1943, on this blistering July day, at the headquarters of Ray Schindler. And there, across the room, reclining in his chair amidst his papers and files, is the man himself. Ray Schindler is a private detective.

He's the boss of a highly successful agency called the Schindler Bureau of Investigation. He's got an army of detectives on the payroll. Ray has a taste for good living. His figure shows how much he likes dining in the best restaurants. He has a lifestyle to maintain, which means his services don't come cheap. But then again, he is the best detective money can buy. Across the desk from Ray sits a young woman with her wavy auburn hair and aristocratic good looks.

She looks a little like Katharine Hepburn. Nancy de Medigny, formerly Oakes, is 19 years old. She was born into money, a lot of money, but that didn't even stop Ray feeling sorry for her. She's a damsel in distress. And he is a modern-day knight in shining armor. Nancy tries to compose herself. She can take all the time she needs.

Ray has a fair idea already what she's going to say. The case has been splashed all over the newspapers, but he's about to hear it from her own immaculately made-up lips. Nancy pulls herself together and launches into her story. Her father is, or was, the multimillionaire Sir Harry Oakes. Oakes made his fortune as a prospector when he discovered what many believe to be the richest gold mine in the world in Northern Ontario. A few days ago, the night of July 7th to be precise, Oakes was murdered at one of his homes in the Bahamas. The man accused of murdering Oakes is none other than Nancy's husband, Count Marie Alfred

Foucault de Medigny, otherwise known as Freddy. The two men had fallen out. Oakes didn't approve of his daughter's marriage to the French aristocrat de Medigny, whom he saw as a feckless playboy and something of a sexual predator. At 33, de Medigny is 15 years older than Nancy. But Nancy had fallen head over heels in love with the dashing yachtsman when she was still a freckled-faced girl. The two had married just weeks after her 18th birthday, without her parents' knowledge. Nancy swears Freddy is innocent. Whatever else he is, he's not a murderer, she insists.

Ray is skeptical, but he agrees to take on the case on one condition If I find evidence of your husband's guilt, I will not conceal it or twist it I'll turn it over to the prosecution Nancy is mildly relieved Ray Schindler is on the case If anyone can clear Freddy's name, he can. For Ray, this will prove to be the biggest case of his career. Journalists from around the world will descend on the Bahamas to cover it. Ray will come up against powerful individuals with vested interests.

His considerable skills will be tested to the limit. And all the while, a man's life depends on what he discovers. It's a setup straight out of Detective Noir, with all the hallmarks of a classic case, except this one really happened. My name is Mark Dodson, and welcome to Detectives Don't Sleep. Each week, we'll shadow the world's most remarkable sleuths,

real detectives who worked extraordinary cases. In this episode, we're tailing Ray Schindler, an esteemed P.I PI who dared to probe a murder in paradise. That's the thing about great detectives, they dare. Theirs is an obsessive desire to uncover the truth. That's what keeps them awake at night and never lets them rest until they've closed the case. From Noiser, this is part one of Murder in Paradise. And this is Detectives Don't Sleep.

So, who killed the millionaire Harry Oakes? His son-in-law, Freddy? Or someone else entirely. Ray's first move is to head south, to Florida. In Miami, he boards a Pan American Airlines flying clipper ship. It's

bound to Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. It wasn't long ago people thought Zeppelins were the future of commercial aviation. Flying by seaplane? What a novelty. The Silver Plane gleams in the sunlight

as it leaves the grand hotels of Miami Beach behind, its twin propeller engines throbbing monotonously. its twin propeller engines throbbing monotonously. Now remember, this is 1943. That being the case, far away in Europe, Africa, and Asia, World War II is raging. Pearl Harbor was 18 months ago, and the war in the Pacific is well underway. But onboard the flight there isn't the slightest indication. Most of the passengers are wealthy holidaymakers. This is the era when people dress up to travel. The men are in linen suits and panamas.

The women in colorful two-piece outfits with matching wide-brimmed hats. As everyone else chatters away excitedly, Ray sits quietly in his window seat, pouring over a bulging file of press cuttings and reports. The murder of Harry Oaks is making headlines all over the world. In Britain, it's knocked the war off the front page of the Times. A global conflagration? Old news. A man has been murdered in Nassau. That's the big story on Fleet Street. The report in the New York Times is typical of many. Added, son-in-law held in Oaks murder. It goes on. Nassau, Bahamas. July 9, Alfred de

Medigny, 36, was booked at the police station here tonight on the charge of killing his father-in-law, the multi-millionaire British baronet Sir Harry Oaks. A formal charge of murder was placed against the bearded accused, who denied any connection with the slaying. The charge against Amedonyi came as a sensational climax to the death of Sir Harry, one of the world's richest men, with a fortune estimated to be as great as $200 million. The paper quotes Captain E.W. Melchin of the Miami Police Department, who had been called in to help with the investigation. Melchin says that the case against Demetanyi rests on hair analysis, fingerprints, and interrogation. On the face of it, the evidence seems stacked against Freddie.

Ray will have his work cut out if he's going to prove him innocent. against Freddy. Ray will have his work cut out if he's going to prove him innocent. In most accounts, Freddy de Metigny is portrayed as something of a playboy. The kind of man no father would want their young daughter to marry. And everything Ray reads makes him distrust de Metigny. He's even suspicious of the title he claims to have. Is he really an aristocrat? and suspicious of the title he claims to have. Is he really an aristocrat? After all, anyone can call himself a count. There's also a rumor that Metanyi wasn't divorced from his previous wife

when he married Nancy. Ray makes a note to call the office to get someone to dig deeper. If Freddy's a fraud and a bigamist, maybe he could also be a murderer. It's a 70-minute flight from Miami to Nassau. Plenty of time for Ray to familiarize himself with the details of the case, as the perfectly mannered cabin crew served daiquiris to the travelers. The big question for Ray is motive.

Freddie's portrayed as a fortune hunter. The assumption is that he married Nancy for the money she would one day inherit, and that he killed her father for the same reason. But Ray is thorough. He's already had his researcher look into this claim. Turns out that Nancy won't inherit until she's 35. If Freddie was hoping to get his hands on the Oaks fortune immediately, well, he's in for a nasty surprise. But it's more likely that Freddie knew this already, which makes the money motive tenuous, to say the least. Besides, the file shows that Freddie is a successful businessman in his own right.

He owns a lucrative chicken farm on the island, as well as several properties and an expensive racing yacht. On the face of it, he's hardly a typical fortune hunter, though Ray doesn't rule out the possibility of hidden money problems. Ray's team have also put together background information on the victim. It's quite a story. Ray settles back to soak it in. Despite the New York Times describing him as British, Harry Oakes was American by birth.

He was born in the small town of Sangerville, Maine in 1874, making him 69 at the time of his death. He came from a respectable middle-class family. When he was a student at Bowdoin College, Oakes boasted that he was going to make a million. It wasn't until 1896 that he knew how he was going to do it. That was the year gold was discovered in northwest Canada and the Klondike gold rush began. Oakes was bitten by the bug. In 1897, at age 23, he headed north to look for gold himself, bankrolled by his family.

For 13 long years, Oakes experienced failure, humiliation, despair, and near bankruptcy. Finally, in 1916, Oakes' luck changed. He struck the richest seam of gold ever found in Canada, breaking all the records set during the Klondike era. Harry Oakes was on his way to becoming a very rich man indeed. But prospecting for gold is a lonely occupation. The lean years had taken their toll on him. The optimistic young man

had turned into a surly and suspicious loner. By all accounts, he was blunt and bad-mannered, with a hair-trigger temper. Despite this, Oakes acquired a wife, marrying Eunice McIntyre, in 1923. She was half his age, and as gregarious as he was sullen. Around this time, Oakes renounced his U.S. citizenship and took a British passport, possibly to avoid American taxes. In 1934,

Oakes moved his family to the Bahamas. He was afraid that the Canadian government was going to come after him for up to 80 or 90% of his profits. The Bahamian tax regime, on the other hand, was far more welcoming. In fact, he would pay virtually no tax at all. For all his private beaches, luxury hotels, and idyllic mansions,

the Bahamas, at this time, has a reputation for lawlessness. Its most recent boom industry had been smuggling booze into America during Prohibition, a throwback to the island's heyday in the 17th and 18th centuries as a base for pirates. Although it's a British colony, it's far enough away from London to escape rigorous oversight. In fact, the Mandarins in the colonial

office barely give it a second thought, which means those in power in Nassau can pretty much do what they like. Now, by 1943, it's a magnet for a wealthy white elite, an emerging tax haven, where you can wait out the war and hold on to your millions. Oakes also had a record of philanthropy. His good works earned him a baronetcy in 1939 when he became Sir Harry Oakes. Born in 1924, Nancy was the Oakes' first child. She always was her father's favorite. And now it's her husband in the frame for her father's murder. How about that for family drama? This taster episode, find Detectives Don't Sleep in your podcast app of choice and hit follow to get weekly episodes or listen at noisa.com.

Part two of Murder in Paradise is live now. All right, so that's what Ray has to work with. The victim, Harry Oaks, prospect return investor. The chief suspect is Playboy's son-in-law, Freddie Dometicni. The setting? Nassau, where behind the veneer of tropical luxury lurk shadowy networks of financiers and criminals. Ray looks out the cabin window,

down at the aquamarine waters of the Gulf Stream. Vibrant colored reefs come into view. A flock of flamingos take flight at the approach of the plane, a pink cloud exploding in the air. The palm-fringed harbor of Nassau draws near, the surface of the water littered with diamonds. The island of New Providence is laid out like an artist's palette, filled with color. Golden beaches, turquoise sea, and foaming surf. The lush green of the semi-tropical interior. All the colors of paradise.

But somewhere in that paradise, there's a room stained with blood. The plane comes in to land on the water. As soon as he disembarks, Ray gets down to work on the investigation. It's straight out of the clipper and onto the dock, bathed in Caribbean sun. Hurrying through NASA, there's little time for leisure. No time to stop at the market stalls on the busy street lined with palm trees and whitewashed wooden dwellings. One of the first people Ray speaks to is a lawyer called Ernest Callender. He's part of the defense team Nancy has hired.

Callender is a native Bahamian. He speaks with a deep, gently accented voice and is easy to spot in a brilliant white suit. Ray quizzes Callender about the case. What does he think his client's chances are of getting off? Callender just shrugs. It's not going to be easy. Minds are made up. It's not so much the evidence against Freddie as the prejudice. As a Frenchman with a reputation as a libertine, Freddie doesn't really fit in with the English-speaking Bahamian establishment.

He says that Ray wouldn't believe some of the gossip making the rounds. One rumor is that Oaks was killed in an Obeah ritual, a local form of a belief system more commonly called voodoo. His body was covered in feathers before being set on fire. Chickens are sometimes sacrificed and obey our rites, either to ward off evil spirits or cause harm. Ray lets out a low whistle, then presses Calendar on whether he thinks there's any truth in it. It's true there were feathers, Callender confirms, and also true that the body was set on fire.

The killer had even doused it in accelerant to make sure the flames took. Ray speculates that if the obeya theory is true, then surely that puts Freddy in the clear. Ray presumes Callender's client is not a practitioner of ritual magic.

Calendar is noncommittal. The problem is, he explains, Freddy doesn't do himself any favors. His lifestyle has made him unpopular on the island. There's talk of naked orgies, though Calendar insists it's all greatly exaggerated. But Freddy's just rubbed too many powerful people up the wrong way. The case against him may be flimsy, but the fact is he's a convenient scapegoat. Ray's heard enough rumors.

It's time to hear the story from the man himself. He heads to the local jail to talk to the count. Ray is admitted to the cell where Freddy's being held. Tall and athletic, with a muscular physique, the dark-haired aristocrat regards him with an arrogant tilt of his head. When he finds out that Ray's a private investigator hired by Nancy, he's not impressed. In his opinion, getting Ray involved is just a waste of time and money. As for the crime he's accused of, Freddie seems to think the whole thing's a joke. Of course he didn't kill Harry Oakes.

Admittedly, he couldn't stand the stupid fool, but he didn't want him dead. Only an idiot would think that. Ray interrupts his rant. If that's the case, why have the police arrested him? Freddy claims he's an easy fall guy. He'd argued with Oaks and married his daughter. Nancy was always daddy's little girl. Ray brings the conversation around to Harry Oaks' wealth.

Freddy shrugs as if he couldn't care less. He tells Ray that Oaks had offered to give him a house and set him up in business as the president of a bank he'd bought. But he turned both offers down. He already had a house, so he didn't need another one. And as for the business proposal, he says, I'm not a banker, I'm a farmer. He says, I'm not a banker, I'm a farmer.

Again, Freddie's proud independence doesn't fit with the motive of killing Oakes for his money. Besides, why would he kill him now? Freddie hasn't even spoken to his father-in-law for three months, and he was nowhere near Oakes' house, Westbourne, the night he was murdered. Freddie claims he's been framed. born the night he was murdered. Freddie claims he's been framed. The governor of the Bahamas has been out to get him ever since Freddie was heard making insulting remarks about him in public. This mention of the governor intrigues Ray. Now listen close. When we say governor, we're not talking about some pencil-pushing bureaucrat. This governor of the Bahamas is none other than the former British king, Edward VIII.

Emphasis on former. These days, he's just the plain old Duke of Windsor. Edward became king on the death of his father, George V, in January 1936. But he reigned for just 11 months, giving up the throne in December that same year, when his brother George VI took over. Ray's researcher had included some background on the Duke in the file. But Ray knows his story well enough. The abdication of Edward was big news

all over the world, especially in America, as the purported reason he gave up his crown was to be with an American, the divorcee Wallace Simpson. In his abdication speech, he famously said, I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love. But there's more to the story. What's less well known is that figures in the British establishment helped encourage Edward out of the door, at least in part because of his and Simpson's pro-Nazi leanings. The former king and his new bride have even spent time in Nazi Germany, meeting Adolf Hitler and inspecting SS troops. There are whispers in Nassau that

Winston Churchill himself was among those who pushed for Edward to be sent across the Atlantic to get him away from the Nazis in Europe. Edward's appointment to the governorship in 1940 caused much excitement in the Bahamas, though the Duke himself was less enthusiastic. though the Duke himself was less enthusiastic. In a letter to his lawyer, he described it as this wretched appointment and stated that he regarded it with profound gloom and despondency. Despite the fact that he's a reluctant governor, the Duke of Windsor is a powerful man on the island, and apparently someone Freddie has offended.

But could he really be responsible for framing him? And if that's the case, how will Ray prove it? Ray checks into the British Colonial Hotel, the most elegant and expensive accommodations on the island, naturally. It's a grand beachside palace built on the site of the old fort of Nassau. He sets up operations in his hotel room. Street noises drift up as the lace curtains flutter in the breeze. Horse-drawn carriages still outnumber motor cars on Nassau's streets. They pass by beneath his open window. From time to time, the native mockingbird in a nearby tree disturbs his chain of

thought. But with room service on hand to cater to Ray's every need, there could be worse places to work. The first thing he does is call his office. He wants his researchers to dig more into Freddie's background. Is he really a count? Could he possibly be a bigamist? Ray asks them to look for evidence he actually divorced the last Mrs. Demetanyi. Then he makes contact with the local police force. The officer he speaks to sighs heavily when Ray tells him the reason he's calling. The man says he can't help him. The case has been

taken over by two detectives from Miami, Captains Melchin and Barker, who were brought in by the governor. Ray remembers reading about Melchin on the plane. He asks the local officer about the evidence against Freddy, especially the fingerprints, but the other man is tight-lipped. He suggests Ray speaks to the American detectives. Ray gets the impression the Bahamian cops aren't too happy about having the case taken off them. Ray asks the cop outright if he believes Freddy killed Harry Oakes. The cop is evasive, but it seems he thinks Freddy is innocent. Ray presses him. So who did kill Oaks?

The police officer clams up. Then he tells Ray that if he's got any sense, that's a question he won't ask. The people who know the answer aren't going to talk, and just bringing it up could be bad for his health. Ray tries to unravel the unsettling conversation. The police seem to be suggesting that someone powerful may be behind the murder. Who could that be? Ray's first thought is the governor. After all, Freddy has already intimated that the man hates him. Okay, is it really possible that the former British king could be a murderer? Or even just implicated in some kind of conspiracy to murder?

It's a mind-boggling thought. But Ray can't get the idea out of his head. The governor's handling of the case raises too many questions. For example, why did he bring in two outside detectives in the first place? American police have no jurisdiction in the Bahamas. So they could only be there in an advisory capacity. And yet they seem to have taken over the case. So much so that the local police are upset about it.

Ray checks the briefing file for an explanation. He finds a note written by his extremely thorough researcher. The governor had recently visited Miami on an official trip. Captain Melchin was assigned to escort him. The two had gotten on famously, the governor describing Melchin in glowing terms. So, is the governor trying to control the investigation through two tame detectives? If so, why? It's not necessarily because he's mixed up in the murder.

He could simply be trying to minimize any scandal and get back at Freddy for insulting him. Or he could be trying to protect someone else, the real murderer. One thing's for sure. If people are afraid or unwilling to talk, then it's going to make Ray's job even harder. Ray needs to get a handle on the social circles Oaks and Freddy moved in.

From the background information his researchers have provided him with, it's clear there's one man he needs to talk to. The governor may be the former royal, but there's someone else they call the king of the Bahamas, a real estate tycoon by the name of Harold Christie. Christie was Harry Oak's business partner in the Bahamas and the closest thing Oak's had to a friend. And how about this for a coincidence? Christy was even staying in Oakes' house the night of the murder,

in a room very close to Oakes. In fact, it was separated only by an adjoining bathroom. The files from the local cops states that Oakes was murdered by repeated blows to his head with a sharp object that has so far not been found. The attack must have generated considerable noise. Most likely, Oakes cried out. Even if he didn't, the fatal blows couldn't have been administered in silence.

And yet, Christie insists that he heard nothing. Even though he was right next door the whole time. He also claims that he knew nothing about the fire in Oaks' room. Somehow, the acrid smell of smoke failed to reach him. Ray finds all this hard to believe. Well, you would, wouldn't you? It doesn't add up. Christy was the last person to see Oaks alive that night.

And the one who discovered his body in the morning. Is it really possible that he knows nothing about what happened in between? Christie's an influence peddler on the island, hobnobbing with the white elite who run the colony. He has the governor's ear, and, if the rumors are to be believed, all the local politicians in his pocket. Nothing happens without Harold Christie's knowing about it. So it seems strange that he's completely in the dark about something that took place right under his nose. something that took place right under his nose. Ray's researcher has also discovered that the so-called King of the Bahamas may have an unsavory past. There are rumors he was arrested in the States for bootlegging during Prohibition. The story is, he fled to the Bahamas

and made a killing buying up land off poor black locals and knocked down prices, then selling it on to Americans for a huge profit. It's likely that Christie has his fingers in a lot of very dubious pies. His name's been linked to a Swedish industrialist called Axel Wenner-Gren, a prominent figure in NASA. Wenner-Gren is also a close friend of the governor. Awkwardly for the governor,

this guy Wenner-Gren, he counts Hermann Goering among his other friends. You heard it right, the Hermann Goering, Head of the Luftwaffe. And only the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany. Alarmed by the connection, British secret services have already looked into Werner Gren's background. They came to the conclusion that the Swede is a Nazi agent. And the fact that Werner Gren is pals with the governor of the Bahamas? Remember, the former King Edward has long been suspected of Nazi leanings.

It appears that being away from Europe may not have altered his sympathies. Ray's head is reeling. Christie, Werner Grin, Goering, the governor. What's going on? Could the reason Harry Oaks was murdered

have something to do with enemy agents? Perhaps it's nothing to do with Freddy Dometicni at all. Is Ray tiptoeing around a massive Nazi conspiracy? As if that wasn't enough to take in, there's also Christie's behavior when he discovered Oak's body.

Apparently, Christie attempted to revive Oak's by fetching him a glass of water and trying to get him to drink it. Ray looks at the photographs of the wounds to Oak's head. A spiked implement had been driven into his skull multiple times. It must have been obvious to Christy that the man was dead. The file also mentions that Christy didn't immediately call the police when he found the body. The first call he placed was to his brother. This is pretty suspicious, right? If you found your close friend murdered, wouldn't you call the cops right away?

There's one other detail that catches Ray's attention. The following day, police found blood smeared on the handle of Christy's bedroom door. To say there are questions Ray would like to put to Mr. Christy is an understatement. He places a call to Christy's real estate office to set up a meeting. The Old Gazebo cocktail bar on the hotel's private beach is the perfect venue for Ray's encounter with Harold Christie. Many years later, the bar will be featured in the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again when Barbara Carrera water skis into Sean Connery's arms. So, Harold Christie slips off his barstool to shake hands with Ray.

He's got a welcoming smile in place, but somehow it doesn't seem to reach his eyes, which remain cold and wary. For all his superficial charm, Christie seems nervous. His gaze flits about the open-air bar, as if he's looking for escape routes. Christy has a receding hairline with a high-domed forehead glistening with sweat. He's wearing a double-breasted suit with wide lapels and smoking an unfiltered cigarette. He watches Ray closely with his piercing green eyes. Ray asks Christy about the night Oakes was killed. Is it true that he didn't hear anything, even though his bedroom was next to the scene of the crime? Christy claims that a mosquito had gotten under his net and was

distracting him. Ray's eyes widen in disbelief. He must be joking. How is that possible? Could the sounds of a mosquito really drown out the sounds of a man being beaten and burned to death? It's laughable. But Christy insists he didn't hear a thing. Ray moves the subject on to the next morning. First, he wants to know why Christy took Oakes a glass of water when it must have been obvious the man was dead. Christy claims he was in shock, and he didn't know what he was doing. Was that why he called his brother before calling the police? Pushes Ray.

The slick charm that Christy has shown up to now deserts him. He makes it clear that the interview is over. But Ray has one more question. Can he explain how the blood got on his door handle? Christy has an answer for that. He must have got blood on his hands when he tried to revive Oaks. But the sweat that Ray had noticed earlier is now dripping from his temples. Freddy, the Governor, Harold Christie. Who's in the frame and who isn't? What's the connection? Over the next few days, Ray continues the investigation. He hears back from his head office in Manhattan.

His researchers confirm that Freddie is indeed a verified French count. Not only that, the divorce papers from his previous marriage were filed before he got together with Nancy. But it is true. For a while, Freddie and his last wife continued living together after the divorce. Not everything Freddie is accused of is true, it seems. But there are plenty of half-truths to confuse an already murky story. But there are plenty of half-truths to confuse an already murky story.

Next, Ray visits Freddy's cousin, one George DeVisdaloo. He shares a house with Freddy on Victoria Road. Ray asks DeVisdaloo about the night of the murder and learns that the two men were in fact hosting a dinner party. There had been a tropical storm that night, which caused a power outage. Freddy had lit some candles and hurricane lamps, inadvertently burning his hand on the flame. At the end of the evening, Freddy drove two female guests back to their rented cottage.

DeViz DeLue remembers that Freddy had tried to get some of the other men to go along with him, but no one was interested. This strikes Ray as significant. If Freddie had been planning to murder Oakes on his way back, surely he wouldn't have wanted to take witnesses along. Now, while Freddy was chauffeuring the women, DeVisdalu took his own girlfriend home. By the time he got back, Freddy's car was already in the garage and Freddy was in bed. DeVisdalu parked his car behind Freddy's, blocking him in. So, Freddy couldn't have gone out later to murder Oaks without getting his cousin to move his car, which didn't happen. The only opportunity Freddie had to commit the crime was on his way back from dropping the two women off. The question is, did he have enough time? Freddie has told Ray that he didn't go

anywhere near Oakes' house, Westbourne. But when Ray checks with the two female party guests, he finds out that their rented cottage is not far from there. In other words, Freddie lied to him. And Ray doesn't like it when people lie to him. Ray now sets to work, testing Freddie's admittedly shaky alibi. He talks to Freddie's house servants, who tell him that it took Freddie about 45 minutes to take the woman home. It's unclear exactly when he left, but probably between 11 p.m. and midnight, meaning that he would have been back at his house no later than 1 a.m.

Ray checks the file and discovers that the estimated time of death was given as between 1.30 and 4.30 a.m., which seems to put Freddy in the clear. But medical examiners can make mistakes, and the estimated time of death is just that, an estimate. Everything seems to hinge on that 45-minute car ride when Freddie took the woman home. Ray decides the only thing to do is to reconstruct the journey in Freddie's car, a Lincoln Continental Coupe. Ray cruises along the coast road with the top down, the Bahamian sun glinting on the chromework. The hiss of the surf seems to hurry him on his way.

The round trip's about 14 miles. In theory, it should be possible to do it in less than 45 minutes. In theory, it should be possible to do it in less than 45 minutes. But the roads on New Providence are a far cry from America's fast interstate highways. The first time Ray makes the trip, he arrives back at Freddy's house with time to spare. Then he remembers that on the night of the murder, there was a raging storm. So he decides to repeat the journey on the next stormy night. Luckily, it's the middle of hurricane season in the Bahamas.

Ray doesn't have long to wait. A few nights later, Ray hears the distant roll of thunder and sees a violent tropical storm approaching from the sea. When it makes landfall, he hops in Freddy's car, determined to make the journey. It's pitch dark. The wind is howling. Torrential rain hammers down on the car's canvas top. The windscreen wipers are going full pelt. Spray from the road flies up, cutting down visibility even more. The car bumps over potholes and aquaplanes around corners.

The headlights of cars coming in the opposite direction streak the night. Their blaring horns set his nerves on edge. Ray is forced to drive at a snail's pace. Not surprisingly, the round trip takes much longer

than the first attempt. Ray's pretty sure. Freddy wouldn't have had time to stop off at Westbourne, somehow get in without anyone seeing him, beat Harry Oakes to death, and then get out again. If he'd shot Oakes, that might be a different matter. But this attack would have taken time.

And that wasn't all he was supposed to have done, remember? The murderer also poured accelerant over Oak's body and set it on fire before sprinkling it with feathers. Just doesn't add up. Ray's beginning to think that maybe Freddy is telling the truth after all. But has he got enough evidence to convince others? In particular, the two Florida detectives who are leading the case. What he needs is solid physical evidence, and there's only one place where he can get that. Ray decides he can't put it off any longer. It's time to take a look inside the room where Harry Oakes was murdered.

Next time on Detectives Don't Sleep, in the second and final part of Murder in Paradise, Ray steps inside the murder room where he's confronted with forensic evidence placing Freddy firmly at the crime scene. He meets two American homicide cops convinced they've got the right man. But are the Americans fixing the facts to fit their theories? Ray's investigation will meet with strong resistance, while his evidence will play a crucial part at Freddy Dometicni's trial. But will it be enough to get him off? Or will Freddy hang for a crime Ray is increasingly convinced he didn't commit? That's next time on Detectives Don't Sleep. time on Detectives Don't Sleep.