Badge of Justice #22

Crime Smasher juggles multiple cases—a missing rabbit, three troubled elderly women, and the hunt for Public Enemy No. 1, Killer King, who has a $50,000 bounty on his head. When his assistant Eve maneuvers him toward the dangerous criminal, Crime Smasher discovers that nothing is quite what it seems, and his investigation becomes a deadly game of cat-and-mouse where trust is a luxury he can't afford. Written by the Badge of Justice team, this 13-page crime thriller from 1955 proves that sometimes the most important cases aren't always the most obvious ones.

District Attorney Frances Delaney and her bodyguard Patrolman James Riley respond to what appears to be a suicide at 2379 Spring Avenue—a woman dead from carbon monoxide in a locked garage—but a crucial detail about the garage door's lock sets off alarm bells in Delaney's sharp mind. As she methodically interviews the grieving husband, a resentful chauffeur, and others close to the case, she begins to unravel the truth behind the seemingly straightforward death.

Desarro, a vaudeville escape artist with a dangerous obsession, turns to jewel theft and murder when a woman he's infatuated with reveals her secret marriage to another man. Pursued relentlessly by police through the city streets and across a bridge, the desperate criminal uses his acrobatic skills in a last-ditch escape that leaves him broken and hunted. Now stranded and gravely wounded, Desarro must decide how far he'll go to avoid capture in this gritty tale of ambition gone fatally wrong.

This 1955 crime guide breaks down how investigators use tire and footprint evidence to track down criminals, showing readers how tire treads can reveal a vehicle's make and weight, how plaster casts preserve impressions for comparison, and what telltale signs—from tread damage to oil drippings—can point authorities toward a suspect. A fascinating look at the forensic techniques that turn evidence from the road into solid leads.