Le Petit Roman Policier Complet: À la Poursuite du Mort

About this issue

"À la Poursuite du Mort" (In Pursuit of the Dead), an unpublished detective novel by Albert Bonneau, opens with the death of Professor Cobb, a scientist researching explosives at his Cape Florida home. Police Chief Sam Beatty and Inspector Jim Perkins suspect foul play: a week earlier, Professor Carlotti died under suspicious circumstances—struck by an automobile owned by Marquis Hiroshima, a suspected Japanese spy—and Carlotti's stolen formula for "Motor 311," a defense-critical invention, vanishes. Perkins had been intensively surveilling Cobb's villa, "Les Magnolias," believing the missing formula hidden there. Cobb's sudden death raises questions about whether it was suicide, murder, or murder disguised as natural causes. Perkins insists surveillance continue, convinced Cobb's associates will attempt to retrieve the formula. An attempt on Perkins' life by a Japanese driver reinforces his suspicions. A solicitor named Matthews arrives from Alabama claiming to represent Cobb's estate.