Crime Must Pay the Penalty #27

Wreck Tyson has built a reputation as gangland's most dependable shelter for hunted criminals—but Detective Stuart Kyle discovers the hatchetman is running a deadly con, luring wanted men to their deaths and collecting rewards on their corpses. When Kyle goes undercover with the help of Tyson's girlfriend Lola Simms, who's learned the truth about her cousin's murder, he sets a trap to finally catch the killer in action. This 1952 crime tale exposes how a predator exploits the underworld's trust for profit.

A triggerman with nothing but muscle and a gun, Hack Torner climbs from expendable hatchetman to racket boss of the West Coast after executing a job for his East Coast bosses—but his newfound power comes with a deadly catch. When Torner realizes the same fate that befell his victim awaits him, he hatches a ruthless scheme to turn the tables and seize control of the syndicates for himself. Crime Must Pay the Penalty presents a gritty 1952 tale of ambition, betrayal, and survival in the criminal underworld.

A criminal mastermind named Calvin Bornay orchestrates an elaborate scheme to blow up the mail car of the Pacific Limited and steal $1.5 million—but he needs help from Melvin Clapper, a railroad employee with a dark past, to plant the explosive device. When Clapper's conscience finally breaks and he tips off the police, they race against time to warn the train before the bomb detonates, setting off a desperate chain of events that will determine whether the thieves succeed or face justice.

A man and woman with nothing but small-time crime behind them hatch a scheme to cash in on a death insurance policy—by faking the husband's demise with a convenient stranger. But when their carefully laid plan begins to unravel in unexpected ways, the Flemings discover that playing for bigger stakes means the odds are finally stacked against them. This 1952 crime story shows how ambition and desperation can turn a clever idea into a noose.