"Kiely of the Dispatch, Liddell. A reporter of mine, Larry Jansen, had been murdered. I want you to find the killer."

"Okay," Liddell sighed into the phone, replacing the receiver. He stared into the slanted green eyes of the girl, patter her on the knee, and sighed again, "Don’t go away. I’ll be right back."

But several murders - a trip to Vegas - assorted racketeers - and a couple of dolls - kept Johnny a little longer than he expected.

It started with murder - but that was only the beginning . . .