About This Episode
What is this episode about?
The episode Bad Bet from Small Town Dicks covers a volatile period in Edinburgh when Deputy Chief Constable Tom is called to the scene of a shooting, a rare crime in the UK. The victim is a low-level criminal, and police fear the killing could mark the start of a gang war.
Investigators press local criminal networks for information, but the effort yields no new leads. With the case stalled, the investigation changes course, turning instead to a closer examination of the people who witnessed the shooting. What those witnesses reveal sends the case in a direction no one anticipated.
Deputy Chief Constable Tom was one of Scotland's most senior police officers, a graduate of Edinburgh University and The FBI Academy. His last operational role was commander of a linked murder investigation commonly known as The Worlds End Murders. He writes a regular "Inside Justice" column for The Scotsman and has authored several books, including "The Worlds End Murders: The Final Verdict" and "Ruxton: The First Modern Murder," a study of forensic science. He is currently working on a new book examining the sex industry and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Hosts and release
Yeardley Smith and Detective Dan host Small Town Dicks, a true crime podcast built around in-depth investigations and stories from small towns across the United States, often told across multi-part series with detailed research. This episode, "Bad Bet," runs 48 minutes and was released in October 2026.
