Rocky Lane Western #48

When a prosperous rancher is found dead beneath a hotel window with whiskey on his breath, Secret Marshal Rocky Lane suspects foul play—especially since the man was known to be a teetotaler. Checking into the hotel to investigate, Rocky keeps watch on a mysterious wheelchair-bound guest in the adjacent room, but his surveillance yields nothing but questions. As Rocky prepares to leave town, a chance encounter with the rancher's widow unravels a scheme involving a suspicious loan and a foreclosed property that points to someone with far more mobility than anyone realized.

When horse rustlers strike across Turango County, Rocky Lane arrives to help the overwhelmed sheriff track down the stolen animals—and a tip about a nearby horse fair sends him undercover into the corrals to hunt for clues. But what Rocky doesn't expect is to walk straight into a trap set by the real rustler boss, who's been using the fair as cover for his own operation. Written and illustrated by Howard Boughner, this 1953 western tale mixes action and detective work as Rocky uncovers a scheme that goes deeper than anyone realized.

A man named Webb stumbles into a saloon claiming to have found a dead body in his cabin, but when Rocky Lane investigates, the corpse has vanished—leaving only blood-stained sheets and a mystery. As Rocky tails a gang of outlaws and uncovers their role in the death, he must navigate conflicting loyalties when the victim's own son becomes entangled with the killers. Justice hangs on whether a young man will choose family truth over criminal survival.