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A friendly skeet shooting match pits the skills of Philo Vance against DA Markham. The challenge is interrupted only when Ellen, Philo’s secretary, enters the shooting range with the next case of murder. There seems to be no motive, no clues, and the reporters have a field day with the crime. The locked door mystery involves a piano, a dead woman, and sheet music with mysterious blue ink.
Is the song in the sheet music actually a hit, or just one of those things that gets hyped, but nobody is buying? The music printer is Philo’s only clue, and he has just found the kind of shady printing house that seems to have the racket down to a science. Will his nosey nature land him in danger? Will the great detective actually bend to a blackmail demand?
In his absence, Ellen Dearing takes up the slack in questioning suspects. The job is one that could lead to a cat fight, as she goes on the prowl for her missing boss. What are the instructions she was left to follow in Philo’s absence? With DA Markham at her side, will it change things when they revisit the printshop? Will the racketeers be so desperate to kill them both?
A rescue is made, with fists flying when Philo returns. With the tables turned, we find ourselves where we came in, and now Ellen joins the skeet challenge. Stay tuned and listen to Philo’s reason for leaving town, and the clues that sealed this case for him.
