Fri, Feb 6, 1959
An old friend asks Mike to reason with a young man who refuses to identify the murderers of a drugstore owner in his old neighborhood. Mike is no more successful than his sister or the police in persuading the youth to talk, but when the witness is found murdered the next day, Mike decides to bring in the killers on his own.
Wed, Apr 1, 1959
Mike receives an anonymous letter with a $300 retainer hiring him to investigate the disappearance of a parking lot attendant. Mike learns that the man was defrauding the owner by marking wrong arrival times on parking tickets and pocketing the proceeds. When the man was found murdered, he traces the killer back to the company's headquarters.
Wed, Jun 17, 1959
Showgirl Ruby Duvall is roughed up by her future sister-in-law, arrogant society snob Joyce Conroy, and offered $5000 not to marry Philip and soil the family name. It seems an open-and-shut when Ruby is found dead in her dressing room after a visit from Joyce. It's all too obvious for Mike after learning of another backstage visitor that night: Ruby's violent ex-con ex-boyfriend who refused to let Ruby go.
Sat, Sep 27, 1958
A friend from the old neighborhood asks Mike to travel to Chicago to claim the body of her son. While visiting the Windy City, Mike learns that the young man was murdered and the police don't appear to be interested in investigating the crime. When Mike visits the murdered man's room to pick up his personal effects, he is attacked and brutally beaten by a pair of thugs who want to know where "it" is. Mike has no idea, but he's determined to find out and make the two goons who attacked him which they'd never been born.
Thu, Sep 24, 1959
Mike's slippery friend Al Sparks skips town because of a gambling debt. He turns up in Forge River charged with murdering the female owner of the diner where he worked. Hammer discovers everyone fears Todd Stryker, the man who runs his wife's huge lumber company and wields all the power in town. Stryker's relationship with the dead woman is a secret he wants to keep.