A priest asks Novak to meet escaped prisoner Joe Feldman after a break from Alcatraz. What begins as an errand of mercy leads to murder, a dead policeman, and another attempt to frame Novak for the violence.

This Pat Novak, for Hire broadcast aired on April 2, 1949. It is listed as episode 8 in the archive. ABC Radio Network carried the broadcast. The cast includes Jack Webb, Raymond Burr, Tudor Owen, Paul Frees, and Parley Baer. Other credited names include William P. Rousseau as director, William P. Rousseau as producer, Richard Breen as writer, and George Fenneman as announcer.

The surviving recording runs about 30 minutes. Characters credited in this version include Pat Novak.

A dark, sharply written San Francisco detective series starring Jack Webb as waterfront operator Pat Novak, whose jobs repeatedly lead into murder, corruption, and clashes with Inspector Hellman.