A woman who keeps house for an inventor is walking along a country road in the dark, singing to herself, when suddenly a bright light appears in front of her, heading straight for her, and just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappears. Terrified, she runs to the house of her employer, and discovers him hanging.
When Detective Murdoch and Constable Crabtree arrive and start interviewing the locals, it turns out that several saw strange lights in the night, and one is convinced that the lights were due to extraterrestrials. Murdoch, having been in such conversations with Crabtree before asks if Crabtree believes this was the work of Martians, only for the Constable to triumphantly explain that it must be Venusians. Murdoch pricks Crabtree's bubble by pointing to some earthbound tyre tracks left by a carriage.
The dead inventor had been working on electric battery technology, and was working with someone the housekeeper thinks was called James.
When they return to the Police Station, Inspector Brackenreid has a delicate matter to discuss with Murdoch: the Inspector suspects his wife, who has lied to him about spending time looking after a sick friend. Murdoch suggests a private investigator, but the Inspector decides to make other arrangements.
Back on the case, Crabtree asks Murdoch for advice, because Brackenreid has put him on his wife's tail. While they are discussing this, an electric vehicle draws alongside, driven by none other than the entrepreneur James Pendrick, who, it emerges, was the James remembered by the housekeeper. He had been using the inventor's batteries in this electric prototype car.
Quickly a number of alternative suspects appear, but even though they had made peace some time ago, Murdoch is convinced that Pendrick is number one. The evidence is gathered...
Along the way we discover that Pendrick is competing with no less a figure than Henry Ford, over the future of road transport - will the power be electric or gasoline? Crabtree does find out what Mrs. Brackenreid has been doing, and his report leaves the Inspector with a dilemma about how to deal with her misdemeanour.
This amusing episode moves along at a cracking pace, and by the end, the murderer is caught, and one of the characters ends up very unhappy, while two others are much happier. We also discover that Dr Grace never settles for five words when twenty will do, as well as that while Ford would only sell his Model T in black, in 1899 he was driving a red car.
When Detective Murdoch and Constable Crabtree arrive and start interviewing the locals, it turns out that several saw strange lights in the night, and one is convinced that the lights were due to extraterrestrials. Murdoch, having been in such conversations with Crabtree before asks if Crabtree believes this was the work of Martians, only for the Constable to triumphantly explain that it must be Venusians. Murdoch pricks Crabtree's bubble by pointing to some earthbound tyre tracks left by a carriage.
The dead inventor had been working on electric battery technology, and was working with someone the housekeeper thinks was called James.
When they return to the Police Station, Inspector Brackenreid has a delicate matter to discuss with Murdoch: the Inspector suspects his wife, who has lied to him about spending time looking after a sick friend. Murdoch suggests a private investigator, but the Inspector decides to make other arrangements.
Back on the case, Crabtree asks Murdoch for advice, because Brackenreid has put him on his wife's tail. While they are discussing this, an electric vehicle draws alongside, driven by none other than the entrepreneur James Pendrick, who, it emerges, was the James remembered by the housekeeper. He had been using the inventor's batteries in this electric prototype car.
Quickly a number of alternative suspects appear, but even though they had made peace some time ago, Murdoch is convinced that Pendrick is number one. The evidence is gathered...
Along the way we discover that Pendrick is competing with no less a figure than Henry Ford, over the future of road transport - will the power be electric or gasoline? Crabtree does find out what Mrs. Brackenreid has been doing, and his report leaves the Inspector with a dilemma about how to deal with her misdemeanour.
This amusing episode moves along at a cracking pace, and by the end, the murderer is caught, and one of the characters ends up very unhappy, while two others are much happier. We also discover that Dr Grace never settles for five words when twenty will do, as well as that while Ford would only sell his Model T in black, in 1899 he was driving a red car.
