Checkmate

Police detective Marian Trout gets a phone call from a man who says before dying that he’s been murdered. Her superior, Sgt. Digger Boles, opposed to women police, scoffs when Marian tells him about the call but does agree to accompany her to the scene of the crime. The victim has been stabbed in the eye with a needle-like instrument. To Boles it’s a cut-and-dry case: The murder was committed by a neighbor, an elderly lady who admits that she has at times used a hat pin to defend herself. Marian disagrees, demanding further investigation.

Detective Digger Bowles teams up with his clever partner Marion Trout to solve the killing of Saul Bender in a busy apartment building. Bender's death has upset the shaky calm among the people who live there. The detectives dig through complicated connections between residents and uncover old anger and hidden truths that point them to the killer.

Detective Digger Bowles and his sharp-witted partner, Marion Trout, probe the mystery of Saul Bender's murder in a crowded apartment house, where Bender's death has shattered the uneasy peace of the residents. As they sift through the tangle of relationships, they find old grudges and secrets that lead them to the murderer.