Paul Carpenter is a crime magazine writer who is up for the editor job. He feels the job is his and lets his girl, Paula Byrne, in on the info. Carpenter is all smiles since this will mean a large pay bump.
The next day, Carpenter is called into the director's office. Carpenter is told that the other candidate, Ferdy Mayne, is the new editor. A somewhat annoyed Carpenter returns to his office. He tells his office mate, Hazel Court, he feels ripped off. He decides to call it a day and heads home.
What does he find at home? It is Byrne packing her stuff with help from Mayne! Byrne tells Carpenter she likes Mayne's bigger bankroll. Now peeved, Carpenter flattens Mayne with a couple of rights and tells him to expect more of the same. He then heads out to get good and truly soused.
After a few drinks, he meets a blonde who agrees to help him paint the town. Later that night, the blonde, June Ashley, checks the blitzed Carpenter into a cheap hotel.
The next day, a somewhat worse for wear Carpenter leaves the key at the desk and heads home. He needs a shower and a shave. What he finds inside his flat is the body of Mayne. Someone has bashed his head in. Carpenter calls the Yard.
Carpenter tells the inspector, Trevor Reid, that he has an alibi. He was out with the blonde etc. The Police let him go for the moment.
Carpenter heads to the office where he has a talk with the company director, Russell Napier. He tells Napier everything that has happened. Napier tells him to just get back to work.
Carpenter hits his desk and tells Court about his less than happy night. Inspector Reid shows and says there is a problem with the alibi. His name does not appear on the hotel book ins.
Reid and Carpenter return to the hotel to chat with the clerk. Once there, Carpenter remembers the woman, Ashley, had signed him in as a Mr. Smith. They find a Smith in the book but the clerk denies ever seeing a blonde. Reid again lets Carpenter loose.
Carpenter heads back again for a talk with Miss Court. Court suggests they both return to the hotel for another talk with the clerk. Instead of a talk what they find is the dead body of the clerk. A quick call to Reid is made. Reid arrives, goes over the body and gives our man Carpenter a dirty look. Court says it could not have been Carpenter as he was with her.
After a couple of drinks to calm the nerves, Carpenter heads home. Carpenter is just inside the flat when he discovers another man. This one is masked and quite alive. He belts Carpenter who ends up on the wrong end of a beating. The masked man flees leaving a crumpled envelope on the floor.
Minutes later, Carpenter recovers and takes a look around the room. He finds the envelope. It has the name and address of the blonde, Ashley, from the night before. Carpenter decides not to call Reid. He will handle this himself.
Our man finds the address from the envelope and heads for the flat. The door is open and Carpenter enters. Needless to say there is another stiff, Ashley. Now Reid and a constable arrive. They had received a phone call about a murder. Reid tells Carpenter he is in the bag. Three corpses is a bit too many in one day. Leaving the Constable to watch Carpenter, Reid heads for a phone.
It dawns on Carpenter that someone is doing a frame job on him. He jumps the copper and escapes. He makes a bee-line for Court's place to hide out. The two sit while Carpenter tries to think this mess out.
The next morning, Carpenter decides he has the answer. The only person besides Reid, Court and himself, who also knew the details of the first mess, was his boss, Napier. He tells Court he will confront him and see if he is right. He is a crime writer after all.
Court and Carpenter grab a cab to the office. He tells Court to make a call to the Police as he confronts Napier. Carpenter rushes into the director's 4th floor office and throws the accusation at him.
Napier smiles, he admits killing Mayne and the others. It seems that Mayne, while doing research for a story, had discovered that Napier was wanted for a murder in South Africa. He had moved to the UK and changed his name etc. But instead of going to the Police with the information, Mayne had decided that blackmail was his game.
"Hearing of the exchange of words and blows you and Mayne had gave me just what I needed. A patsy! Then you told me about the blonde and the hotel clerk." "I paid a visit to the hotel clerk, bribed him for the blonde's name, and to say nothing about her to the police. After you left, I returned, killed the clerk, then went to your place. When you came home, I belted you around and left the envelope. You like an idiot, did the rest rushing off to find Ashley. A quick call to the Police should have taken care of you."
Napier then opens a desk drawer and pulls a small automatic. "I don't think the Police will look very deep when I kill an escaped 3 time murderer." Carpenter dives at Napier and the two wrestle for the gun. Reid and the Police now burst in and put the grab on Napier. It seems Napier had left several fingerprints in the wrong places. They matched a warrant for a murder in South Africa. Napier decides against the rope and throws himself out the office window. Case closed.
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