Pulp Fiction, 1939 · page 15 of 116
10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Page Analysis This is **story prose** from a hardboiled crime pulp magazine, specifically page 13 of "The Morgue Is Full of Heroes." The narrative depicts a tense interrogation scene where the narrator (Steve) confronts a man named Madden about a murder. A corpse—that of someone named Dart Ricconi, whom Steve was hired to remove from premises hours earlier—has been planted in Steve's car. Through aggressive questioning, Steve learns that a film producer named Hedgewick hired Madden to have Ricconi "eased out." The page concludes with Steve stealing Madden's roadster and driving toward a town called Larido to investigate further.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
reached out with his left hand to wipe it away and then forgot what he was doing and spread the stuff over his shirt front, pawing at his chest. I said: ‘For cripes’ sake, Madden. Snap out of it. This is a murder rap.” His hands stiffened suddeniy and I went on, giving it to him coid. “We're in deep, Madden. Up to our throats. Somebody left the stiff in my car.” He said, “In your car,” not knowing what he was saying, and I got sore. “T’ll whistle it for you, buddy, if that'll help. Somebody rubbed out Dart Riecconi. And Dart Ricconi’s the guy you had me bounce out of here about six hours ago. There’s the mo- tive. And the stiff’s parked out front. There’s the body. And you’re the guy who hired me. There’s where you come in. Maybe they’ll give us a love seat wired.” His face went white, but he forced the words out between tight lips. “You made a mistake, Steve,” he croaked, “T didn’t mean anything like that. I didn’t want you to kill the guy. This is terrible, Steve.” I said, “Holy mike,” and leaned across the desk at him. “T’ll read it again, Madden. I didn’t kill the guy. I don’t know who the hell did kill the guy. But if we don’t find out, it’s going to be pretty hot around here.” Madden said: “You better find out, Steve.”’ His eyes were suddenly veiled. “T ain’t in this. You better find out.” I said: “Sing that to the D.A. May- be he'll like the tune, not me. IT want to know why the hell you were so seared of the guy.” Madden said, “You got me wrong, Stevie. I wasn’t scared of the guy,” and I reached out and grabbed his fat head in my hands, twisting it back. I said: “No, you liked him. I could see that.” I let go of his head and went around behind him, catching his shoulders, and he squirmed forward, sprawling out on the desk. I said: “The guy knew you from way back when. And you'd crossed him up, some place. Right?” Madden said: “Stevie, I could’ve THE MORGUE IS FULL OF HEROES 13 ducked him. He didn’t even know I[ was here. I could’ve just kept out of sight. He wasn’t looking for me.” He had something there. I said: “Yeah, you could’ve ducked him, all right. He wasn’t looking for you.” I straightened up, trying to fig- ure what was wrong, and then it hit me. “Who hired you to get the guy bounced?” I demanded. “If you were ducking the guy, you’d’ve let him aione —if somebody hadn’t put up the dough to get him eased out. Who coughed up for that?” I swung him around, my eyes hard, and he sat there blinking at me. “He won't fit,” he said slowly. “That guy won't fit at all.” I said I’d decide whether he’d fit or not, and Madden stared at me for a minute, his eyes still blinking. When he spoke, I could barely make out the name, “Hedgewick.” That was fine. The boy wonder pro- ducer mixed in a murder case. And it would be easy as hell to tie him up with it, I didn’t think. I said, “Be seeing you,” to Madden and went out, closing the door care- fully behind me. I. was hoping he’d have brains enough to keep out of the cops’ way, at least for a few hours. I cut across the parking lot to the entrance and picked out Mafaden’s roadster, a big shiny boat with red wheels. Unlocked. I backed the car in close to the house, then sent it for- ward and out down the highway. CHAPTER III SUICIDE SCENARIO T TOOK me about three hours to reach Larido. There was a little shack that might’ve been a store and a gas sta- tion, and a pill box post office. That was the town. I went through it fast, the COMICMOooks (©