Vanilla Murder Case

Originally Aired: December 21, 1948Philo Vance #24, "Vanilla Murder Case," opens with Philo Vance making a casual late-night visit to District Attorney Markham's office, hoping for an interesting case to break up his routine work. His timing proves fortuitous when a terrified young woman named June Mills arrives with an urgent plea. She desperately needs help preventing a murder, but the victim-to-be is her boyfriend Johnny Blake, who works at the soda fountain in the Kingsway Luncheonette.Despite her obvious terror and claims that someone intends to kill Johnny, June refuses to reveal who threatens him or provide any concrete details. She becomes increasingly frightened, realizing that even coming to the district attorney puts both her and Johnny in greater danger from mysterious killers. Before either Vance or Markham can extract useful information, she frantically begs them to forget she ever came and flees into the night. Left with only a name and a workplace, Vance determines to visit Johnny Blake at the luncheonette the next morning to uncover what deadly conspiracy has June Mills so frightened.