Public Defender in Action #12

Richard Manning, Public Defender, takes on blackmailer Mark Belker after a wealthy man named Eric Jaynes is arrested for breaking into Belker's office—a desperate attempt to retrieve a ledger containing damaging secrets about Jaynes's fiancée, Elaine Ross. When Manning discovers Belker has been using the "Black Book of Tears" to extort and manipulate his victims, he devises a scheme to expose the blackmailer's crimes and recover the dangerous book before it destroys more lives.

When public defender Richard Manning crosses paths with Link Braden—a young man accused of embezzling from his employer—he suspects the evidence is too neat, the case too easy. As Manning digs deeper into his client's innocence, he uncovers a dangerous truth that puts him directly in the sights of the real culprit, who'll stop at nothing to keep his crime buried. "Plea of Guilt" is a taut courtroom mystery where instinct and careful observation become a public defender's best weapons against a frame-up.

Detective Al Norton recounts a puzzling case involving an unexpected visitor to his home while his wife was away helping a relative—a situation that draws the attention of attorney Theodore Witsman. As Norton pieces together the circumstances, he begins to understand a criminal scheme that hinges on a misconception about where people keep their valuables. This true crime account reveals how a seemingly innocent household situation nearly became the setup for a calculated robbery.

When a loan shark named Leo Gart shoots down one of his victims, the wounded man manages to scrawl a desperate accusation on a steamed bathroom mirror—but the evidence is fading fast. Public Defender Richard Manning must piece together the crime before the arrogant gangster can cover his tracks, all while racing to save his client from certain death. A tense race against time that proves even the cleverest criminals can't outrun justice.

When a wealthy woman is found dead in her hotel room, Captain Longman discovers she'd separated from her husband and was living apart—hardly the picture of domestic bliss. As the investigation widens beyond the obvious suspect, a crucial detail emerges: the real culprit may not be the grieving husband at all, but someone connected to a scheme involving jewels and hidden commissions. The true killer reveals themselves through one small, damning clue that points to an entirely unexpected motive.