Night Cry - Paperback

Kendell Paine, a returned war hero, gets into a fight with another gambler, who is later knifed at their gambling club. It looks like Paine might be the guilty party. It's Lt. Mark Deglin's job to track him down. But Paine is in no mood for the third degree, and Deglin ends up accidentally beating him to death. Deglin knows he will never be considered for promotion with a killing on his record-accidental or not-so he sets out to cover it up.

But Deglin doesn't figure on Paine's girl, Morgan, who is waiting for Paine to come back. She and Paine had argued that night but nothing so serious that he would completely disappear. And there's Smith, the journalist who just won't let the story go, and allies himself with Morgan. Now Captain Knight has put Deglin in charge of tracking down the missing man. As carefully as Deglin keeps covering his tracks, it all slowly begins to unravel.

Film Noir Classic #11