Two small, trim feet, then shapely legs in thin silk swung below the fire-escape in the dim light of the area way.  They swung for only an instant then dropped ten feet to the concrete pavement below . . . Carlotta Wynn, active member of “Mort” Mitchell’s mob waited expectantly for the opportunity to plug the guys who had spoiled one of the prettiest lays the gang had had for many a month.

Now that’s how you hook a reader.  Although it turns out the “lay” is not Carlotta, but the criminal opportunity that was just lost.  Mort, Carlotta, “Rod” Crandall, and “Needle” Schwartz get into the getaway car and flee the scene of the non-crime, while “Needle” wonders why “Rod” gets all the girls.  For the 3rd time, the gang has been foiled in a planned heist.  They take the getaway car to their hideaway at bar Dapper Dan’s Speakeasy.

Mort wants to find the rat.  They retrace the crime from the very beginning, but start after the basic part where they are all sociopathic parasites.  They got the tip from The Hag.  She is a hideous crone who hangs out in front of the Metropolitan Opera panhandling with a sob-story that she used to be beautiful and a dancer in the show herself; on the plus side, she no longer has to listen to the operas.  She told the gang she overheard the Vanderdoodies would be away from home and their diamonds left unguarded.

Hmmm, come to think of it, she gave them bad intel on their last three heists.  Mort thinks The Hag might be working with “Blackie” Rang’s gang to run Mort out of the business.  He assigns Carlotta to go to The Met on Friday and watch The Hag. He doesn’t tell her to actually watch the opera; the man’s not a monster.  He is a little oblivious, though.  The beautiful Carlotta has the hots for him, but he throws it in her face that he is stepping out that night with the vivacious Vi Carroll.  Little does he know Vi is in cahoots with Blackie.

Back at Blackie’s lair, he tells Vi they will try the old “passing Mort a bum tip via The Hag” scam a FOURTH time to lure him to the ol’ Horton place for a hot lead dinner.  How dumb are these people?  He mentions that Mort’s moll Carlotta never bares her right shoulder and Vi nervously realizes she knew her by a different name back in Chi-town.

Thanks to Carlotta’s spy work, Mort does not take the bait this time.  So Rango tells Vi to try the exact same scam a FIFTH time!  This guy makes that meathead Sonny Corleone look like a master strategerist.  Mort and Carlotta are a step ahead of them, finally, and turn this into a set up.

The shoulder thing is explained, and the good guys win.  Well, not good guys, but at least our bad guys.  Actually, I’m not even sure why they are our bad guys; we just happened to be introduced to them first.

It is a fine story with some good twists and three interesting dames.

Other Stuff:

• First published in the August 1931 issue of Gun Molls Magazine.
• Born that month:  Barbara Eden and Regis Philbin.  One of them was prohibited from showing their belly button on TV on the 1960s.