The last commandment

de George Harmon Coxe

"A combination of accident, design, coincidence, and luck had brought him here this afternoon, and he knew he was in for a rough time. . . ." But what Kent Murdock didn't know was that a luscious brunette, a struggling actor, a calculating spinster, and a day in the country would all add up to murder. When he was asked to take pictures of a birthday party at Courtney Alsop's home in Chestnut Hill, Murdock sent a crackajack news-photographer in his place—Jules Ragan. That afternoon Ragan dropped off the film in Murdock's office, and just a few hours later he was dead—with two bullet holes in his chest. But the web was to be drawn tighter. Even more baffling than his friend's sudden death was Murdock's mail the next morning: one more picture Ragan had taken, with a cryptic note attached—This one might be dynamite. What actually developed in Murdock's dark room confirmed Ragan's suspicion, and was to lead Murdock into the web of violence and death.