Crime Does Not Pay #41

Luis Deshelly fancies himself too clever and charming to get caught counterfeiting franc notes for the exchange, but Officer Common Sense has other ideas—a ghostly guide determined to steer the cocksure criminal away from ruin. When Luis ignores the warning and doubles down on his criminal ambitions, he discovers that no amount of worldly polish can outrun the law's long reach.

J. Wellington Smith arrives at a hotel claiming to be a Warner Brothers advance publicity man, spinning tales of upcoming film productions and the arrival of major Hollywood stars to win over the staff and secure accommodations and favors. As he charms his way into the community—offering contracts, promising bit parts, and cashing rubber checks—his carefully constructed facade begins to crumble when the truth about his schemes catches up with him. This slick con artist's house of cards finally collapses when the authorities track him down.

A hard-working farmer marries a mysterious woman from out of town, only to discover her true nature when his daughter falls gravely ill—and he follows. As suspicion falls on his new wife and poison is found on the farm, detective work uncovers a sinister pattern behind her "smile of death." This chilling tale of greed and deception shows how Emma Sapana's calculated cruelty brought ruin to those around her in Wentzville, Missouri, 1940.

A wealthy man with a talent for cruelty invites his resentful relatives to a pirate-themed costume party on his private island, where he further humiliates them with a cruel treasure hunt before being shot dead—and the detective hired to protect him must uncover which guest pulled the trigger when they all claim to have been outside at the moment of the murder.