The Two Confessions

New Orleans, the spring of nineteen thirty-three. There are certain cities which, even before one has committed a crime in them, seem already to know the secret. Arthur and the Belgian Detective have come for a rest. They have been in the city less than four hours when the telephone rings in their suite at the Roosevelt Hotel. A prosperous man named Charles Rabito has been shot in a warehouse by the river. Two men have already confessed to being present when it happened, and each of them says the other fired. The statements were taken independently, and they agree in every particular but one. The same summons at half past eleven. The same argument over money. The same warehouse, the same hour, the same quarrel — and two different hands on the revolver. One of them is lying, which seems simple enough. The Belgian Detective looks at his friend for rather a long time before answering. A ledger with three sets of initials in it. A woman in ivory who receives visitors at eleven and answers only the questions she chooses. A trumpet player who was paid to keep playing. And a song that everybody in this story seems to have heard at exactly the wrong moment. The Two Confessions is an original Golden Age-style mystery about the difference between a lie and a contradiction — and about a family that would rather send two men to separate trials than let one thing be said aloud. FOR LISTENERS This is an original mystery written by Nocturnal Tales, inspired by the spirit of the great Golden Age crime writers. The plot, the characters as we portray them, and the text are our own creation. It takes its starting point from a real Louisiana case: Charles Rabito was murdered, and John Capaci and George Daleo were each prosecuted in connection with the killing, each placing the shot on the other, and the conflict was serious enough that they were tried separately. Everything else here — the motive, the relationships, the setting and the solution — is invented, and we discuss the real case factually in the closing Epilogue. All characters as depicted are fictional. No affiliation, endorsement, or official connection is implied. Two men describe the same room, the same hour and the same quarrel with perfect accuracy, and still both mislead us. Which of the two did you believe first — and how long did you hold on to it? CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction 02:09 - Chapter One - The Two Confessions 11:14 - Chapter Two - The Warehouse on the River 22:52 - Chapter Three - The Woman in Ivory 33:34 - Chapter Four - The Song Behind the Warehouse 46:01 - Chapter Five - The Man Who Disappeared 59:19 - Chapter Six - The Third Story 1:09:38 - Epilogue 1:11:28 - Closing SUPPORT & LISTENING OPTIONS CREDITS TAGS / KEYWORDS golden age mystery audiobook, new orleans 1930s mystery, louisiana true crime mystery, historical mystery audiobook, belgian detective audiobook, arthur mystery audiobook, charles rabito case, two confessions mystery, closed circle whodunit, full length mystery audiobook, classic detective story audiobook, vintage detective fiction HASHTAGS