Missing men

Four flights above a Chicago street, Jimmie Lavender receives a police sergeant baffled by a missing picture broker. Soon a newspaper's reports of other disappearances and a visit from Shirley Minor widen the puzzle. She has returned from New York to find unanswered letters and no sign of her father. Lavender's friend Gilruth narrates the case, recording both the detective's easy confidence and their teasing exchanges.

Vincent Starrett sets this short detective story among elevated trains, business rooms, a north side mansion and the theatre. Lavender weighs possible coincidences, sends Gilruth to examine a desk and turns his own attention to a performer in the Tinfoil Revue. Their separate inquiries make observation and remembered details central to the unfolding mystery. The appeal lies in the pair's conversational wit as much as in the disappearances, with Gilruth's concern and occasional irritation bringing warmth to the investigation.