Crime Does Not Pay #22

Louis "Lepke" Buchalter rose through the ranks of organized crime from strongarm work in Kid Dropper's gang to controlling the multi-million-dollar fur racket through intimidation and violence, but his empire of brutality eventually drew the attention of the F.B.I. As the net tightens and resources dwindle, Lepke and his associate Gurrah find themselves hunted through the underworld's darkest hideouts in this hard-hitting account of one of America's most ruthless criminals.

Wild Bill Hickok takes the marshal's position in Abilene, determined to enforce a strict no-guns ordinance and clean up a town run wild by gamblers and hardened gunmen. When local gamblers grow tired of his iron-fisted methods, they hire the notorious gunslinger Wes Harding to challenge him—but as Harding grows drunk on confidence waiting for a showdown that never comes, he finds himself tangled in Hickok's carefully laid plans. It's a frontier tale of reputation, reflexes, and one lawman's unyielding grip on order.

Officer Edward Maher patrols the streets of New York during a brutal crime spree perpetrated by the Esposito Brothers, two ruthless killers leaving a trail of blood across Fifth Avenue. When a payroll robbery turns violent, Maher responds to desperate cries for help—only to face the deadly consequences of confronting armed murderers willing to kill without hesitation. This 1942 crime story honors the memory of a cop who gave everything in the line of duty.

In Utrecht, Holland, the cruel and despicable Jon Overs—a retired ferryman who rules his household with violence and contempt—hatches a scheme to discover who among his servants and family might actually be loyal to him. When he stages his own death to test their true feelings, the plan spirals into an ironic tragedy that exposes the darkest consequence of his own brutality.

A phantom pianist leaves a trail of dead women across Chicago, his crimes marked only by mysterious clues that baffle detectives Slater and Davis—until a monogrammed handkerchief points them toward Zilla, a talented musician with a deadly obsession. As the killer evades capture and flees to Ohio, the detectives must devise an elaborate trap to finally corner their elusive quarry.

A twisted cigarette stub becomes the linchpin in solving a murder when Dick Williams is brought in for questioning over the death of Ross Arnold in Florida's swamplands. As detectives piece together evidence from the crime scene—a bloodstained car, a discarded shirt, and three peculiar cigarette butts—they realize the killer's nervous habit may be the key to his conviction. But Dick insists he's innocent, even as the evidence mounts against him.

Mrs. Marky, a wealthy but compassionate woman living on Hudson Hill, throws a blackout party during the city's wartime air-defense exercises, hoping to bring joy to those around her—but her gathering of guests (some with sinister designs) turns tragic when she's found dead after the lights go out. Can you unravel the mystery of her murder before the truth is lost in the darkness?

In "null," wealthy Bill Reed, paralyzed since childhood and humiliated by a college rival, finds new purpose when he develops wings and learns to walk again. Over two years, he transforms into a vigilante who fights hijackers and criminals, dedicating himself to justice—until the Wrench, a war-scarred enemy from the First World War, emerges to threaten the S.S. Atlantic.