The Thin Man Goes Home Page #4

Stinky...? I mean, in your coffee?

Just imagine:
Four murders, all

strangulation, no fingerprints, no clues.

- The police were baffled.

- Of course.

All they had were four bodies.

What did they do?

They dumped the whole thing

in Nick's lap.

I see.

Nobody suspected Stinky,

because he'd been a cripple...

...since nitro went off while he was

cracking a canister in Salt Lake.

Everybody thought it was Rainbow Benny.

But Nick knew...

...that Rainbow was an expert with

the shiv. Strangling was out of his line.

Smart Nick. They turned the heat

on Slasher Martin...

...who ran a dice joint in Chinatown.

Slasher had an alibi with Squinty Burke

and Studsy Green. That took care of him.

But all the time Nick was certain

that Stinky Davis was the killer.

Why? Because he had him

pegged right away...

...for a two-timing, double-crossing rat.

Would the police listen to Nick? No.

They told him it was a hophead theory.

Wild as loco buttons...

...because Stinky was a cripple

and couldn't navigate.

Nick got the brushoff

from the police.

They coldshouldered him out.

But did that stop him?

No, sir. He knew the case was hot...

...and he was set to cook

on the front burner.

He said, "Stinky, you're the two-timing,

double-crossing rat...

...who strangled Knobs McClure,

Greasy Joe...

...and Horse-faced Dan

and Denver Mike."

And then he turned his back on Stinky.

And the trick worked.

Stinky got up out of his wheelchair

and tried to strangle Nick...

...with a wire he'd hidden in his mouth.

But just in time, Nick turned around,

gave him the old one-two...

...and knocked Stinky colder

than an ice flounder.

Stinky wasn't a cripple at all. He was

just using it to cover up his crimes. Now...

...what do you think of that?

- Well, if Nick suspected...

...that Stinky wasn't a cripple, why

didn't he have him examined by a doctor?

The whole thing's so silly.

Dr. Charles...

...you are impossible.

Now, you see. You've upset her.

Spirited little thing, isn't she?

Well, you know how women are.

No, how are they?

Mother, come here.

Isn't he beautiful?

Mother, what's wrong between

Nick and his father?

- Hasn't Nick ever told you?

- No, he's seldom talked about it.

It seems silly, but the

doctor had his heart set...

...on Nick becoming a doctor

so they could work together.

That's how the whole idea

for the hospital started.

- But Nick had a mind of his own.

- And became a policeman.

Yes, that's about it.

I wish he could do something to

impress his father while he's here.

Is there any crime in Sycamore Springs?

Gracious, no. The only excitement we ever

had was a runaway horse last Christmas.

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