The Big Almost No Show

Originally Aired: January 31, 1952 Dragnet #138, "The Big Almost No Show," presents Friday and his partner, Ed Jacobs, with a puzzling missing persons case. Edith Tabor reports that her younger brother Ralph, a 30-year-old interior decorator, has vanished without a trace since Sunday evening. The disappearance is particularly alarming because Ralph missed their standing Sunday dinner date and a movie they had specifically planned for Tuesday night—behavior completely out of character for a man his sister describes as stable and reliable. The siblings have been close since their mother's death, making his sudden absence even more troubling. As Friday and Jacobs investigate, they discover troubling inconsistencies. The last person known to see Ralph was his friend Andy Howard, a former Navy buddy who lives next door. When Edith tried calling Howard after Ralph failed to show for dinner, he bizarrely pretended not to know her. The detectives learn that Howard hasn't reported to work since Friday and moved out of his apartment without notice late Sunday night—the same evening he was last seen entering Ralph's apartment. When Friday and Jacobs examine Ralph's immaculate rooms, they find everything in perfect order except for one curious detail: a television antenna wire with no television set attached.