Mr. Moto's Gamble Page #5

Somebody took a shot at him.

We'll be right up. Somebody took a shot

at Gabby Marden up near Steele's camp.

- Oh, so?

- Gabby? Is he hurt?

Nah. They missed him.

And I presume Mr. Gabby

did not hesitate long enough...

to obtain any description

of the marksman.

Nah, he never saw him. It was another

mystery man, just likeJohn Howard.

- Perhaps it was John Howard.

- Huh?

- Who's John Howard?

- The guy who'll save your boyfriend Steele...

from doing a stretch in the pen

if we can find him.

What are we waiting for?

Send a police boat to the foot

of Lake Street right away. Right. Come on.

Of course, none of you people knows

anything about the attack on Gabby.

You were out doing roadwork

when Gabby was shot at.

I know that 'cause Miss Benton

tells me she was followin' you on a horse.

She would.

She would.

I don't expect you two

to give out with anything.

The same goes for you boys.

Gabby, maybe you et something

that gave you bad dreams.

Listen, I oughta know

when I'm shot at.

The gun went bang.

The bullet went zing. I ducked.

Yeah, and now you're full

of embalmin' fluid.

That's very funny. Now

Oh, you like chocolate, huh?

I've often noticed that a dog

and a human are very much alike.

Each will go to any length

to obtain something he desires

or to destroy something

he believes dangerous.

Uh, undoubtedly...

- someone considered you dangerous, Mr. Gabby.

- Why?

Because you know something

about the Stanton murder.

- What did you say?

- Look here, Gabby.

There's only one way to protect yourself.

- That's to tell the whole truth.

You know why you were shot at.

- Get to the point, Mr. Benton.

Gabby and I overheard a conversation

this afternoon between Nick and Clipper.

Clipper was accusing Nick ofhaving placed

some heavy out-of-town bets on the fight.

The bet was that Stanton

wouldn't come out for the fifth round.

Gabby and I decided to make

a quiet investigation.

We didn't get far

You know the rest.

It might prove interesting

to trace those bets.

- Oh, what a story to put under a banner headline.

- As long as you're printing it...

add that Benton also had a bet

of 10 grand on that fight.

- Oh, so?

- Holding out on me, hey, Benton?

- Is he telling the truth?

- Yes, but I never mentioned it

because I guessed wrong.

My bet was a legitimate one

on Stanton to win the fight.

Okay, I'll check that later.

I'm goin' into town

to get a line on those bets.

Get this. Don't anybody go where I can't find 'im,

or he'll end up in a cell where I can.

Maybe you'd better lock me up.

I don't wanna get shot at again.

You're perfectly safe.

The investigation you started is in my hands.

- I know it, but does the guy

that shot at me know it?

- He's gonna know it!

Mr. Benton, you'd better come along with us.

We may need your help in checking those bets.

Hey! Which one of you

is Lieutenant Riggs?

- I am.

- Well, I'm Sheriff Tuttle.

I got your phone call,

but I couldn't get here no sooner.

Say, I got a couple

of suspects for you.

I picked 'em up in a stolen car right down

here on the road to the camp.

- Yeah? Where are they?

- Right here.

Come on. Step

Come on.

Gee, Wellington, look.

It's Mr. Moto and Lieutenant Riggs.

Oh, what a laugh we'll have

on the sheriff now.

You better be careful of them.

They're pretty tough customers.

Oh, that's swell.

I like 'em tough.

- Hello, Mr. Moto.

- Hiya, Lieutenant.

Hey. They seem to know you.

And they have good reason to.

I assure you.

I congratulate you, Mr. Sheriff...

on capturing two extremely

desperate criminals.

And I suggest that you keep them

in safe custody until called for.

- But Mr. Moto

- Shall we leave for the city at once?

Yeah. Yeah, sure.

We're wastin' time.

- Wait a minute, Mr. Moto!

- Come on, you two. Go on.

Say, what's the idea

of leavin' those two in the jug?

My friend, the usual way

to avoid trouble is to lock it out.

In this case, we lock it in.

Oh, yeah.

If that idea of Benton's

is any good...

I know a couple of guys

that are gonna sweat plenty.

Hello.

- Ready with St. Louis.

- Okay, put him on.

Sure. I covered 20,000 bucks

in the Stanton fight, 21/2-to-1.

The guy's name is John Howard.

Yeah. Fifteen grand.

I paid him off here in Cleveland.

That's all I know about it.

Who? John Howard he said he was.

John Howard?

Yeah, that's the guy.

I paid him 20 grand.

Came to Detroit and collected

the day after the fight.

No. No, I haven't

seen him since.

John Howard. John Howard.

I've heard that name

till I'm goin' cuckoo!

Detroit, St Louis, Cleveland.

That guy covers more mileage

than a six-day bike rider.

Yeah? Now it's Kansas City.

All right, let's have him.

He took me for 10 grand.

What? Sure. He told me,

if I wanted to get in touch with him...

to wire him

at the Edgemont Hotel.

Right here in town?

Ho-ho! Boy, oh, boy!

At last we got a lead.

The Edgemont Hotel. Come on.

Isn't it strange that the man

who gambles like a prince...

should live here, like a pauper?

He's probably just using this joint as a hideout.

- Well?

- I'm lookin' forJohn Howard. What room is he in?

- He don't live here no more.

- He leave an address?

- Yeah. County morgue.

- What?

You

You mean he's dead?

We found him in his room.

The doc said it was heart failure.

Well, how do you like that?

We finally spot the guy. Then he lays down

and dies before we can make the pinch.

Well, I guess

that's the end of the case.

- Perhaps only the front end, Mr. Riggs.

- Huh? I don't get you.

Mr. Stanton's death

was also apparently natural...

until the autopsy

revealed to the contrary.

Like that fortunate gambler, Nick...

I, also, have a hunch.

Yes. I'll order a postmortem.

May I suggest that you also check

Mr. Howard's fingerprints?

Yes. Yeah, sur Huh?

Oh, fingerprints.

Oh, yes.

I was just thinking of that.

His name's not Howard.

It's Whitey Goodman.

- Remember him?

- So that's who he was.

Whitey was an ex-con.

He was out on parole.

Oh, so?

May I see the record, please?

Death was due to heart failure,

all right.

But the heart failure was caused

by a poison known as

- Don't tell me. I know. Amarone.

- Right.

Thank you.

There's no argument about it, Joe.

Goodman I mean John Howard,

or whatever you want to call him...

was just the fall guy

in this case.

He made the bets for a second party

and then got bumped off after he collected.

How can I be sure Steele

isn't that second party?

Oh, I admit the overcoat points

to Howard having killed Stanton...

but there's nothing to prove

that Steele didn't knock over Howard.

I'm sorry, gentlemen.

I don't deny

the facts you present...

but I still feel them insufficient

for lifting Steele's indictment.

But we're not asking you

to do that.

All we want is for you to have the boxing

commissioner lift Steele's suspension...

and let the fight go on tonight.

That's all you want, huh?

With the man under indictment. What for?

If the fight

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