Charlie Chan at Treasure Island Page #3

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ago for trick and return in many pieces.

- [Laughing]

- You're lucky you got it back at all.

Rhadini's improved now,

Charlie. He's a big shot.

Has his own theater

- the Temple of Magic on Treasure Island.

And my paper's backing him

in an expos of fake psychics.

Would you like to see

some of my press clippings?

Pete's paper's offering a

thousand dollars to any psychic...

phony or otherwise, whose stunts I can't

duplicate on the stage of my theater.

[Pete] And so far no one's collected

- not even the great Dr. Zodiac.

- Zodiac?

- Yeah, he's the big shot in the spook racket around here.

The only trouble is, he

won't fall for our challenge.

- He won't come out in the open where I can get at him.

- Now listen, you two mugs.

If you don't mind, I got Charlie up

here for a little private conversation.

He's heard all he wants about black magic.

No, no. Most interesting.

Sometimes black magic very

close relative to blackmail.

Now who said anything about blackmail?

Why, don't you get it? Those

phony psychics dig up the dirt...

hand it over to the customers

in a sance, then hold them up.

That might be the reason for

those three suicides recently.

Say, they all happened to

be clients of Dr. Zodiac.

Yeah, but they're dead. They

can't help us prove anything.

And the living ones won't

talk because they're afraid...

of rattling the skeletons

in the family closets.

[Kilvaine] Ah, you're

talking through your hat.

If there was any evidence connecting

Zodiac with those suicides, I'd-

Well, what can I do without evidence?

Uh, very little, perhaps. But will

ask coroner to perform autopsy...

on body of Paul Essex, who died most

suddenly on China Clipper this morning.

Essex, mystery writer?

He took a trip to Honolulu about six weeks

ago to write a story about the spook racket?

Say, we were talkin' about

Zodiac. Or does that connect up?

[Rhadini] It might-if Essex

was a client of Dr. Zodiac's.

- What are you holding back?

- Did you speak to Essex before he died?

- Did he tell you anything?

- Was he a client of Dr. Zodiac's?

- Did he commit suicide?

- Please, please. Cannot answer question now.

But in humble opinion, suicide

induced by blackmail is murder.

So sorry. Must leave now...

to meet unfortunate widow, Mrs. Essex.

Excuse, please. Excuse.

- Gimme that telephone!

- Outside! This is for official business.

Hey, Charlie said he was going

to meet Paul Essex's wife.

- One'll get you 10 he's on his way to Zodiac's right now.

- And he'll get in. Come on!

- What are we waiting for?

- To give him a head start. We'll crash Zodiac's gate with him.

Hey, Pop. The taxi starter told me a couple

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