Superman and The Shadow Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 0.5 5/26
Rated PG-13
/ “text”/ indicates telepathic communication
*text* indicates bold
<text> indicates thoughts
{text} indicates over the telephone
Universal Locator designation Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
Universal Locator designation Alpha 025 x Gamma - 086 x Tau 142 Alt 25 Shadow
Preeviously:
“You do bring up a very interesting possibility that I hadn’t even considered.”
“In that case we worked on; the drug was called ‘Resurrection’. One of the gang members turned a sample over to the A.D.A. They killed her, the A.D.A., when they found out that she had it. That was what broke the case,” her expressions turned rueful as she continued, “that and me getting trapped in the coffin with one of the escapees. Fortunately for me, he was a dwarf so there was plenty of room in the coffin. There for a few minutes I thought I had been wrong and was being buried alive. It was a relief when I felt the coffin start to move, but when it was opened, they caught me.”
“We will need to see if something like that is being done here. If he faked his death somehow, then he could, in fact, be the murderer.”
Lamont said, “I have some other things to check on, so I will ask you to take care of this part of the investigation. The Shadow has to contact Commissioner Weston to see how much he knows.”
“No problem, as you said, this will be right up my alley.”
Looking her up and down, Lamont said, “Your attire is a little out of step with the times. What is that material, anyhow?”
“It’s a polyester blend. I like it because it is wash and wear.”
“It is also a bit short compared to the current style.” He pointed at a door and said, “Margot keeps changes of clothes in the spare bedroom.
Before Lois had a chance to change, Lamont called Burbank and asked that he have Shrevvy pick her up at the door. “Shrevvy should be here in about ten minutes.” He reached into a drawer in the side tablet and produced a couple of items, a key and a card. On the card he wrote a phone number. As he handed these items to Lois he said, “This is a key to this apartment. Please make yourself at home. On the card is the phone number for Burbank. If you need anything, call him. He can reach me whenever he needs to. When you are here, in the apartment. if the phone rings; answer it. Use your last name. If I have a message for you it will come through Burbank.”
Lois put the key and card into a pocket, that way if she lost her bag somehow, she would still have those items. “Thank you. Once I have something, I’ll be back.” Lois disappeared into the bedroom, only to reappear five minutes later dressed in a Floral Crepe de Chine skirt that terminated at mid-calf and turquoise, short sleeve silk blouse. The crowning touch was a turquoise pillbox hat. She grabbed her bag where she had dropped it. Before she left she asked, “Well, what do you think?”
With a smile of approval, Lamont replied, “Now you look like Margot. I’d have a hard time telling the two of you apart.”
“I guess if I pass your inspection I should be able to get by. Once I finish at the prison, I’ll return here, that is unless I get a lead to something.”
“So like Margot. Follow your instincts. I’ll see you later.”
“Shrevvy’s gonna be waiting. I’d better go.” So saying she headed out the door. She was thinking, <Maybe the elevator operator won’t be quite so distracted with me dressed this way.>
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 5 –
New York 1937
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 025 x Gamma - 086 x Tau 142 Shadow
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When Lois, faux Margot, stepped from the building Shrevvy was there waiting for her, a testament to the planning and execution of the jobs assigned within Lamont’s organization. Shrevvy was standing by the back door of the cab as she came out and he opened it for her and handed her in. When he was in his seat he turned and looked over the front bench seat to ask, “Where to Miss Lane?”
“The prison, please Shrevvy. Lamont wants me to get some information for him.”
“Sure teng, Miss Lane. I’ll have you dere in a jiff.” Starting the cab he pulled out into traffic.
As they started the drive, Lois heard a newsboy crying the headlines, “Extree! Extree! Read
all about it! Another death from the Powers curse! Read all about it!”
Lois addressed her driver, “Shrevvy, could you get a paper for me, please?”
“Sure teng, Miss Lane.” When he stopped for traffic, he leaned from his window and shouted, “Hey! Boy! Poiper?”
The newsboy ran into the stalled traffic and handed Shrevvy the paper in exchange for the nickel Shrevvy handed him. Shrevvy said, “Don’t spend it all in one place,” and laughed.
The boy gave him an annoyed look and stuck the nickel in his pocket as he ran back to the sidewalk.
Shrevvy handed the paper back to Lois as the traffic started to move again.
Lois looked at the front page. The main headline was of the Japanese invasion of China, but still on the front page, below the fold, was the story she was interested in. She started to read:
”The Powers Curse still working.
Since the day that Carlton Powers was moved from his cell to the death house the members of the jury, the D.A. and the judge have lived under the threat of death. On that day one of the members of the jury was murdered. For the following three weeks one of them has been murdered every other day and the police are no closer to catching the perpetrator now than they were on the first day. The day that Carlton Power was executed, the D. A. was murdered and last night it was the judge’s turn. At this point there are only two members of the jury, the Governor and The Shadow left on the list. The police have been proven completely ineffective in protecting any of them. The mayor has threatened to have Commissioner Weston’s job if an arrest is not made, and soon! Continued on A2”Lois glanced over the remainder of the article and some of the issues on national news before folding the paper and setting it aside. She simply contemplated what she had read and knew of the situation.
A short time later, she was shaken from her reverie when Shrevvy pulled up to the prison. As he held the door for ‘Margo’ he said, “I’ll be here to take you back when you finish.”
“Thanks, Shrevvy. I don’t know how long this will take. I hope not long.” She threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door.
The guard at the door asked, “Who are you and what is the purpose of your visit?”
Lois’s response was automatic; she flashed her press pass, too quickly for the guard to get more than an impression of what it was and said, “Lane with the Planet. I’m here to get information on the Carlton Powers execution.”
“Wait a minute. I never heard of the Planet.”
“Oh, well, we’re a new paper. We’ll be on the newsstands soon. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got an editor I have to satisfy.”
He looked her up and down and decided that she didn’t pose any threat so he opened the door and allowed her to enter. She approached the desk and announced her intention, “I need to speak with someone that knows what disposition is made of the bodies, once a prisoner is executed.”
“That would be old Hank. He works that area. He isn’t usually too busy. I’ll call him up. You can wait in that room over there.”
Lois entered the indicated room and sat down. Opening her bag she pulled out a notepad and a sharp number two pencil. Through force of habit, she started to bring out her mini-recorder, but thought better of it. That modern technology might raise a few eyebrows. While she thought of it, without bringing it out of the bag, she turned off her cell phone. It wasn’t going to be responding to any calls since the cellular system had not been invented as yet, but there was no sense wasting the battery power. It might just come in handy later.
A few minutes later, Hank came in. Hank was an older guard, older, but not old. He was probably in his forties and he started to smile as soon as he spotted Lois. He sat down close to her and asked, “What can I do for you, girlie?” Acting like he thought of himself as a ladies’ man.
Playing to that, Lois crossed her legs and hiked her skirt up a couple of notches, showing more of her calf. Her ploy was successful, she could see his eyes divert as she did. She picked up her pad and asked, “I was wondering what you could tell me about the disposal of the bodies after an execution.”
Apparently it wasn’t often that Hank was asked about his job and he wanted to impress this young woman with his knowledge. “I’ve handled the disposal of every stiff since I started here over twenty years ago. I seed it all. I remember one time, we fried Jack Duggins, Jack was unusual, when they unclamped him from the chair, he was really a stiff, he was frozen in position. We had to pick him up and lay him on his side on a stretcher just to get him out of the execution chamber. That was the way we loaded him into the hearse, laying on his side. I bet that undertaker had to break all ‘o his joints to get him flat. Then there was the time …”
Lois interrupted his flow of words and reminiscences by asking, “I’m particularly interested in Carlton Powers. He was executed just a couple of week ago. What can you tell me about him?”
“Ah, there ain’t nothin’ special about him. He was fried and when we went to get him outta the chair he was limp as a wet dishrag. We wheeled him from the chamber and turned him right over to the mortician. We have a contract with Happy Hollows Cemetery. If the family don’t claim the body, that is. If’n there’s a relative, they get first dibs. Anyhow, Powers didn’t have no relatives so he was turned over to Happy Hollows.”
“Where is Happy Hollows located?”
“I’m pretty sure that they have that information at the desk.”
As Lois stood, she offered her hand and said, “You’ve been a big help, Hank. Thank you.”
As Hank took her hand, he smiled and asked, “If you’re free later, I could tell you more stories, maybe, over dinner?”
Lois smiled and said, “My boyfriend might have something to say about that.”
“He don’ need ta know.” He gave her what he thought of as a sly wink.
“I’m afraid I’d have to tell him." She flashed her engagement ring. "You see, I don’t step out on him.” As she released her hand from his grip, Lois repeated, “Thanks for your help.”
Exiting the room, she went to the desk and asked for the information on Happy Hollows. She wrote it down in her pad and the placing it and her pencil back in her bag, headed for the door.
Exiting the building, she spotted Shrevvy standing next to the cab a short distance off and headed in his direction.
Once in the cab she said, “Shrevvy, we need to go to Happy Hollows.” She tore out the address and handed it to him.
“Sure teng, Miss Lane. I’ll have you dere in a jiff.”
Lois sat back and picked up the paper again. Turning to the back she found the comic section. She was amazed at what she saw because she didn’t recognize any of them. Buck Rodgers was involved in an interplanetary war with Venus. Barney Google was there. The Katzenjammer Kids were up to some ridiculous hijinks. None of the cartoons that she was familiar with were there except Snuffy Smith. She thought, <Wow, I hadn’t realized that this strip was this old.> Doonsberry, Dilbert, Garfield, none of them were around.
She turned to the movie listings and saw a familiar title,
“A Star is Born”, but she didn’t recognize the stars, Janet Gaynor and Fredrick March. <Oh well, that must have been the original.> She recognized the name Hopalong Cassidy as a famous western star. Then there was everyone’s favorite detective, Dick Tracy.
She stopped reading when she saw the name
Shirley Temple. That really brought it home to her just how far back in time she was. Shirley Temple was still a
child star here. In her time, she was a
grown woman and an ambassador. She folded the paper and put it aside.
From that point on she enjoyed the ride occasionally exchanging comments with Shrevvy. When they arrived, Shrevvy opened the door for her and said, “I’ll be right here when you come out, Miss Lane.”
Lois smiled and said, “Thanks, Shrevvy. This shouldn’t take long.” She started thinking, <This girl Margot sure has it soft. A personal cab, her own Clark, uh, Lamont. Things just seem easier in this time period, somehow.>
Lois’s interview with the mortician was profitable. He gave her the location of Carlton Powers burial plot. Everything seemed normal; nothing was raising any red flags.
Returning to the car, Lois said, “Back to the apartment, Shrevvy.”
“Sure teng, Miss Lane. I’ll have you dere in a jiff.”
Lois mused that Shrevvy seemed to have certain favorite phrases, but that didn’t detract from his work.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Once back at the building, she was whisked to the top floor where she used her key to enter. Earlier, things had been happening so quickly that she had not had a chance to take in her surroundings. She took a few minutes to coordinate her notes and then she decided to explore. She started in the main room.
First she noticed the plush oriental carpets that covered the floors. In a corner of the room stood a large radio and next to it was a record player. The furniture consisted of the side table where Lamont had prepared the coffee, a sofa and a couple of chairs. The sofa and chairs were upholstered in rich fabrics with a Chinese design. Several end tables were scattered around, mostly convenient to the chairs and sofa. A large fireplace dominated one wall and over the mantle was mounted an African tribal mask. She recognized it as being the same as one that Clark had. There were several shelves on the walls. One of them held another familiar objet d’art, the fertility idol that Clark had picked up on his travels. There were several other items that she recognized. The one thing, conspicuous in its absence, was the picture of Clark, uh, Lamont and his family. Maybe that was the main difference.
Through an archway there was a small kitchen. Both of the bedrooms opened off of the living room, on opposite sides of the entryway.
Moving into Margot’s room she found it to be a typical woman’s bedroom. There were personal items scattered around, items ranging from hairbrush and comb, to cosmetics, a closet full of clothes and several pairs of shoes. There was a group shot of Margot with her father, her mother and her sister. As anticipated, it was also
her father, mother and sister in the picture. <Well, if I wind up being stuck here, at least I’ll have my family.>
Not knowing how long she would have to wait for either Lamont to return or for the phone to ring, she decided to lie down and take a nap. After removing her clothes, she laid down in her underwear and pulled the covers over herself. There was no telling what the evening would bring.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After Lois had left on her errand, Lamont had changed into a nondescript outfit and taken the elevator down to the ground floor. He had taken a taxi to a spot near police headquarters and exited. Making his way to a back entrance, he entered and ducked into a closet. From a compartment behind a panel, he pulled out a workman’s coverall, a wig, a mirror, makeup putty and some grease paint. After slipping on the coverall he propped the mirror up and applied the wig, used the putty to change the shape of his nose and grease paint. A pair of glasses completed his disguise. A few seconds later, Lamont was disguised as Fritz, the doddering, apparently slow-witted janitor, stepped from the closet and made his appearance, carrying a bucket, with water in it, and a mop over his shoulder. He made his way to the precinct office area and began mopping. As he mopped, he listened with keen ears. He made his way into Commissioner Weston’s office and there he overheard a telephone conversation between him and the mayor.
Fritz was almost a fixture around the precinct and was basically ignored, like a piece of furniture so the commissioner carried on as if no one were there.
“I’m very well aware of that Mr. Mayor.” He listened and then replied, “You know we haven’t a clue. All of members of his gang are accounted for; either dead or in prison and none of them has escaped.” He listened again.
He replied to an apparent question, “We’ve checked the register and the only visitor he had in prison was his brother. Do you think it could be him?” He listened again.
Finally he replied, “No, we don’t think so. He came back from the war with some mental and emotional problems. He can’t even hold a job. He’s living with another relative part time, the rest of the time he is in the hospital. He shouldn’t be a factor.” Once more he listened.
He was becoming irritated as he answered, “I have
already given the remaining jurors a police guard and the state police are guarding the governor. So far all of the killings have been here in the city. That shouldn’t be construed to mean that the governor is safe because he is in Albany. So far twelve have died here in the city.” He listened again.
Now he was becoming defensive, “I realize that Your Honor and I am doing the best I can, but how do you defend against a ghost?” He listened some more.
In incredulity, he burst out, “You can’t be serious! I don’t even know how to contact him…” He apparently was cut off so he listened again.
In a defeated tone, he replied, “All right, I’ll do the best I can.”
As Weston hung up the phone, ‘Fritz’ heard him mutter, “The mayor must be crazy.” Then he called out, “Stephens, get in here.” When a uniformed officer stuck his head in the door, Weston ordered, “Contact the radio station that we hear The Shadow over and ask them to make a broadcast. Tell them that we need The Shadow to contact us. When I asked how we could defend against a ghost, the mayor suggested that we enlist The Shadow’s aid. ‘Use a shadow to fight a ghost’ was what he said. It was the Shadow that brought him in initially so it might be worth a try.”
‘Fritz’ continued his work. Eventually he was out of sight and he returned to the closet. After removing his disguise he exited the building and entered a corner drug store. Moving to the phone booth in the back he dropped a nickel in the slot and dialed police headquarters.
When the phone was answered, in a sepulchral tone, that The Shadow used to instill fear in evil doers, he asked for Commissioner Weston. The operator, having heard that voice numerous times on the radio, instantly recognized it and immediately said, “Just a second,” and plugged in the cable that would direct the call to the commissioner’s office.
Picking up the phone before it had even stopped ringing, Weston said, “Commissioner Weston here.”
“Commissioner, it’s The Shadow.”
In an irritated tone, he challenged, “What are you blathering on about?”
“The Shadow! The Shadow is on the line for you.”
“Well … put him through!”
As she did, the sinister tones of The Shadow came from the receiver, {“HAhahahahahahahahaha Commissioner, I understand you wished to contact me.”}
Recognizing the voice, he spluttered out, “How … how did you know? I just issued orders to contact the radio station.”
{“I have methods of information gathering that are beyond the ordinary. You want my help. I believe the idea was ‘Use a shadow to catch a ghost.’ Rest assured, Commissioner, that I will do all in my power to protect the remaining people on Carlton Powers’ list. Earlier there were simply too many for me to protect. Now we can make an educated guess as to just who will be next. I will do my best to prevent any more deaths. You have the promise of The Shadow.”}
The line went dead in Weston’s hand as the Shadow hung up. He muttered, “Thank goodness, the Shadow is on the job.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lamont returned to the apartment. When he did, he noted that the door to Margot’s bedroom was closed. He approached and knocked softly.
A groggy, “Yes,” was the reply he got back.
“Please join me in the living room.”
“Okay, just give me a minute to dress.”
“Take as much time as you need. Please dress in something suitable for a rather formal dinner. I will be wearing evening clothes.”
“All right. I’ll see what’s here.”
Half an hour later, Lois was attired in a curve hugging amber floor length silk gown that had a small train, with little cap sleeves, a low cut bodice and a non-existent back. Evening gloves the color of the dress that reached above her elbows and some of Margot’s jewelry, mostly of the diamond variety; a choker and bracelet (worn over the glove) completed the outfit. Margo’s makeup was not the brand that she used, but the colors were comparable so she had made her face up for the evening. She carried a fur stole and a hat with some feathers crowning it. These she placed on a chair so that they would be handy as they left.
When she entered, she was stunned to see Lamont in evening clothes. He looked every bit as delicious as Clark.
When he heard the door to the bedroom open, Lamont turned to see Lois enter and his mouth almost dropped open at the vision of loveliness. If he hadn’t known better, he could have sworn that it was Margot standing there. “You are very lovely, my dear.”
“Thank you. I know I’m not Margot, but apparently we are the same size. Her clothes fit perfectly.”
“And you do them justice, I must say. Would you like a drink before we go?”
“No thanks, I’d rather have a clear head.”
Lamont smiled in appreciation as he replied, “So like Margot. She too would eschew a libation as we may be called upon to work tonight. All right, what did you find out today?”
“Right - down to business.” She pulled out her notes and read, “Okay, the prison has a contract with Happy Hollows Cemetery. If a body is not claimed by a relative it is sent there. Powers’ body was not claimed by a relative so…”
“That is odd. I learned that he had a brother and that his brother visited him several times while he was in prison.”
“Maybe he didn’t have the means to provide a decent burial.”
“Anything would be better than what is provided by the state. We need to look into that.”
“I went to the cemetery and checked. Apparently the body was prepared in accordance with the laws of the state, so I don’t think that it is him. I believe that he’s in that grave.”
“It would be best for us to make sure.” He moved to the phone and picking it up dialed. When it was answered, {Burbank,} he said, “Orders. Have ‘Cliff’ Marsland and Jericho Druke meet Margot and me at Happy Hollows Cemetery at ten PM. They should have shovels and other digging equipment. We are going to exhume a body.”
After hanging up the phone, he turned to Lois and said, “This evening we will be dining with Commissioner Weston, his wife and Inspector Cardona. Commissioner Weston believes me to be a simple playboy although I have helped Cardona on numerous occasions. The purpose of the dinner is to find out as much about these killings as I can, without raising his suspicions. Please pay close attention to the conversation. If there is something I miss, you may pick up on it.”
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