A Shriek in the Night

Pat Morgan and Ted Kord are rival newspaper reporters always trying to outscoop each other. They join together to solve a series of murders being committed in an apartment building. Pat Morgan is a reporter for the Morning News whose editor has placed her as an undercover secretary to philanthropist Adam Harker. He is mixed up in something with the local mob boss Josephus Martini. There is a shriek in the night; Adam Harker has fallen to his death from his penthouse. Police inspector Russell begins to suspect that Harker was pushed. He sees through Pat's cover as "Miss Terry", prying out of her a card she swiped from Harker bearing the image of a hissing snake and the words "You will hear it". Pat's rival reporter, Ted Rand, works for the Daily Express. He borrows a badge from his police friend Eddie, and gains access to the crime scene. He overhears Pat and Russell visiting, then phones the details of the case to his paper for an unethical scoop. Broken fingernails on Harker are consistent with scratches on a broken curtain rod in the apartment below his penthouse. The woman who lives there is dead, and her husband is missing. He is later found dead in the river. Harker's maid, Augusta, finds a secret compartment behind a bureau drawer while cleaning out the apartment. It is an anonymous threat to Harker for the role he played in the wrongful electrocution of Denny Fagan in prison. Pat and Ted now collaborate to gather further information on this case. Harker had been involved in placing blame on Denny for the murder of a Mr. Brinkman who had been applying heat on Harker. The apartment house janitor is behind all the murders. He is actually Denny's brother out for revenge. He uses gas to first subdue his victims. —Garon Smith