Curlie Carson Listens In

In a high‑rise tower overlooking the grid‑like streets of Chicago and the glittering expanse of Lake Michigan, teenage Curlie Carson spends his nights in a cramped, equipment‑filled room. Gifted with an uncanny ability to hear the faintest radio whispers, he serves as the city’s unseen “air detective,” tasked with catching crooks and “fools” who misuse the new radiophone. When a cryptic transmission—simply the words “A slight breeze from the west”—blips across a 1200‑meter wavelength, Curl’s instincts tell him something is amiss.

He shares the mystery with his close friend Joe Marion over a modest lunch, but the signal’s origin points to the city’s most opulent apartment hotel—an address that lacks any legal transmitter of that power. Determined to solve the puzzle before the authorities get involved, Curl begins to map the invisible web of frequencies, listening for hidden motives and potential danger. The story follows his clever, solitary investigation as the quiet city hums with secret conversations, and every new clue pulls him deeper into a web of intrigue that could change the way the airwaves are used.