Petite, brown-haired Lucy Hamilton, long-time secretary and confidant of Private Detective Michael Shayne, was jailed early this morning on orders from Chief of Police Will Gentry. Miss Hamilton was charged with common burglary. The arresting officer was Patrolman Mark Hanna Hagen, who was personally commended by Chief Gentry for apprehending Miss Hamilton and securing a full confession from her. According to an exclusive interview granted by Officer Hagen to a representative of this paper, he surprised the prisoner lurking in the bedroom of a local hotel which had been engaged the previous afternoon by another guest. “She claimed that it was just a natural mistake,” Officer Hagen stated. “That she was a guest in the hotel and the clerks had given her the wrong key. She also tried to cover up with a story of having been attacked by some man immediately upon entering the room, which prevented her from noticing her mistake until she was caught there.”
The story went on to say that due to the early hour of the morning, and the fact that he had seen no one fleeing from the hotel, he correctly assessed Miss Hamilton’s story to be an outright falsehood.
Miss Hamilton tearfully confessed to a long career of petty hotel-room thievery, aided by a male accomplice whose name she steadfastly refused to reveal.
Shayne’s head ached and his nostrils flared with anger. He was interrupted by the waitress with a pot of coffee and cup and saucer which she set before him.
“Three scrambled eggs with crisp bacon and buttered toast,” Shayne ordered curtly. He sipped his coffee as he resumed reading the Herald’s version of Lucy’s arrest.
The next paragraph told of the modus operandi as set forth in Lucy’s confession, of Officer Hagen’s frank admission that he had no idea whatsoever of the real identity of Miss Hamilton, nor of the bombshell that would be exploded by her arrest. Thinking it merely a routine crime, the up-and-coming young officer immediately hustled her to headquarters and booked her on a Jane Doe warrant when she refused to give her name and the name of her accomplice.
At police headquarters, however, she had the misfortune to be recognized by an eagle-eyed representative of the Herald as none other than Lucy Hamilton, secretary to the notorious and headline-grabbing crime-buster, Michael Shayne. As soon as her identity was established, Miss Hamilton was taken before Chief of Police Will Gentry for questioning where it is believed she refused to implicate her employer by naming him as her accomplice. When questioned on this point, Chief Gentry refused to give a statement to the press, stating only that Miss Hamilton had stood on her constitutional rights and refused to divulge further information without advice of counsel.
Shayne folded the paper four ways, put it in his pocket, eased his chair back, got up, went to a telephone booth, and dialed a number.
When a man’s voice answered, he grated, “Have you read the Herald extra?”
“Mike!” the voice exploded. “Of course I’ve read it. What the devil is this all about?”