Arizona sun., 1948-03-05
We|
FICTION
Corner

~ aging Editor Pepper brisbane
exclaimed as he clicked down the
receiver. Excitedly, Police Chief
Lawton had just shouted into the
telephone, "This guy is looking for
blood-don't take any unnecessary
risks"
In the editorial room of the Hart
field Herald, brisbane sat with his
head in his hands and mornfully
looked over his city staff-two old
men and seven girls. Thirty years
in newspapers and this has to hap
pen to me-a chance to make head
line history and here I am saddled
with bunch of sob sisters"
The Salustri case had been spec
tacular from the start. The self
styled big shot Of the numbers
racket had challenged repeatedly:
''There amt nobody going to pin
rap on me. This gazabo's got
protection all the way to the state
house and back and don't forget
it,"
But Jerry Cowan, erstwhile re-
portorial star of the Herald, and
Managing Editor brisbane chose to
forget it to the tune of pinning
20-year federal sentence on the num-
bers king. Then the slipup; while
waiting for the train that would
carry him to prison, Salustri out
witted the guards, slugged the mar
shall and was on his way.
With the news of his escape, Jerry
and brisbane knew Salustri would
be back. The Herald's constant and
,merciless headlines had CALLED the
gangster, bored right into his pride.
"Sure, he'll be back" the re-
porter told his editor, land when he
does, he'll head for our office first"
That was two years ago. Now Jer-
ry was on assignment in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, the managing editor
waited. Of course, he was junpy;
who wouldn't be when each corner
might turn into hail of hot lead?
And now the chief of police had
passed the word that Salustri had
been spotted in Bayside, just II
miles this side of fairfield.
The managing editor was dismal
ly lingering the last cigarette in
his squashed pack when Publisher
Jim Geldhorn came into the room.
brisbane blinked his eyes and drop
ped the cigarette-doggone, if it
wasn't another girl. Attractive and
well built, but still another girl.
Geldhorn hustled the young wom-
an over to an empty desk and hur-
riedly left.
ION a newspaper a girl reporter
isn't worth the powder it takes to
to camoudage her nose," brisbane
had exploded when the publisher
unobtrusively attempted to install
the last girl on the city staff.
"All I hear these days is I've
got an appointment with the hair
dresser, the dressmaker, the butch
er, the baker These girls have
an Appointment with everyone but
me and their work." he ranted. ''Is
this newspaper office or a sorority
house?"
''Chief," said thin-pated, fiftyish
Mike Bales, the papers only bache-
lor, coming up to the managing edi-
tors desk, "I'm going to hop down
to Nick's for a shave" Generally
Mike shaved every second day and
today was a first.
Darn" muttered brisbane,
"we're off again and it'll take an
other three weeks to see who is
really queen bee of this hive"
The managing editors head was
poked under his desk in search of
his lost cigarette when a pair Of
shapely legs approached.
''Mr. Drislane," he heard a fem
inine voice say, ''I'd like to be as
signed to the Salustri case"
Abruptly, hush fell over the
Herald editorial room and light ex-
pectant reportorial heads poised