Racket Squad in Action #26

O'Malley of the Racket Squad is hot on the trail of a sophisticated car theft ring that makes stolen vehicles vanish without a trace—until a clever plan involving marked differentials and patient detective work finally points him toward the Lenox Garage. But when he moves in for the collar, O'Malley discovers the operation runs deeper than anyone suspected, and he finds himself caught in a trap that turns the hunter into the hunted.

When Cyrus Wells—the mysterious "Oracle" of Lonesome Valley—makes predictions that come true with uncanny accuracy, young farmer Ben Drake and his wife Ellen grow suspicious of the charming stranger who seems to control the town's only information sources. As Drake dares to challenge Wells's monopoly by building an antenna tower to bring outside news into the isolated village, he discovers that the Oracle's power may not be supernatural at all—and that Cyrus will go to ruthless lengths to keep his secrets buried.

A woman withdraws her life savings from the bank and inexplicably finds herself in the park hours later with no memory of what happened in between—a mystery that leads detective O'Malley to a cunning swami who uses hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion to rob his elderly clients blind. When the swami proves too clever for a conventional undercover trap, O'Malley devises a patient stakeout and a clever scheme involving marked bills to finally catch him red-handed.

Ed Libby thinks he's found the deal of a lifetime when he buys a gleaming convertible for just $300 from a smooth-talking salesman named Rick Calla—but the bargain comes with strings attached when Calla insists on riding along to New York. When Ed's fiancée Mary arrives unexpectedly and the two decide to get married instead, Calla's true colors emerge, and Inspector Maloney of the Racket Squad realizes the car is actually a mobile hiding spot for $200,000 in stolen jewels and bonds.