'Til Death

87th Precinct #9

by Ed McBain

Death stalked the groom and the groom was about to marry Steve Carella's sister. Tommy and Angela's wedding party suddenly became a deadly game of hide-and-seek for Steve and the boys of the 87th. Tommy was "it" and Steve had only a few precious hours to find a killer and prevent Tommy from being tagged out for good.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Procedural, Detective, Thriller, Police

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

"Ed McBain" is one of the pen names of American author and screenwriter Salvatore Albert Lombino (1926-2005), who legally adopted the name Evan Hunter in 1952.

While successful and well known as Evan Hunter, he was even better known as Ed McBain, a name he used for most of his crime fiction, beginning in 1956.

He also used the pen names John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Dean Hudson, Evan Hunter, and Richard Marsten.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dancing was more frenetic now than it had been. Drinking had begun in earnest once the last course of the meal had been served. This was a wedding, a time for high celebration, and relatives from the far corners of the earth were out there on the floor whopping it up. The whopping up was causing consternation among many of the wives at the reception, but the consternation was tempered by the knowledge that this was a once-a-year day and that hasty kisses stolen from very distant cousins would hardly be remembered the next day. The only thing likely to be remembered the next day - when the gongs and hammers began to reverberate inside the skull - would be the fact that far too much liquor had been consumed the night before.

Detective Steve Carella's baby sister Angela is getting married, but the joyous event may be marred when on the big day. the groom-to-be receives a box containing a black widow spider. Is it a practical joke or a serious threat? Carella's not taking any chances, so he plants a few of his fellow 87th Precinct pals as wedding guests to keep an eye on things. Before long, a series of mishaps leads the detectives to believe the spider was no joke - someone really is trying to off the groom. Now they've got to act quickly before Angela ends up a widow on her wedding day.

Between Steve's sister asking him for embarrassing advice concerning the wedding night and the elder Mr. Carella's worries over how he's going to pay for the damned reception, there are a lot of laughs in this one. A fun time is had by most of the guests and I suspect, most readers, too. I only wish there had been a better description of the cake - that's the only reason I go to weddings. Yum!

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another early installment in the 87th Precinct series and the second in a row in which the action all occurs over the course of a single day.

Steve Carella's little sister, Angela, is getting married in a big outdoor wedding in the backyard of the Carella family home. Steve's day begins early with a call from the bridegroom, Tommy Giordano. Tommy is alarmed about something and wants Steve to come over to his house. Carella arrives to find that someone has left a present "For the Groom" on Tommy's front porch. In the box is a Black Widow spider.
Is it a lame wedding day joke, or is someone seriously threatening Tommy's life?

Steve decides to take no chances and calls in a few of the other off-duty detectives to attend the wedding and keep a sharp eye out. They'd better, because it soon becomes clear that the danger is real and it seems to be coming from every direction. And as the afternoon wears on, there's the very real chance that Tommy and Angela's marriage might not even last long enough for the honeymoon to begin. To add to the complications, Steve's wife, Teddy, is very, very pregnant, and Carella has only a week or so to go before he's going to be a father.

This is a short, entertaining read, and all of the characters are in high form. Fans of the series will certainly enjoy it.

[Kuszma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed McBain. Azt hittem, ilyen névvel csak kemény krimit lehet írni. Ha már úgy kopognak benne a betűk, akár a földre hulló réz töltényhüvelyek. De nem. Ez egy tinglitangli. Kezdjük ott, hogy az egész sztorinak a nyomozó húgának esküvője ad keretet. Sőt, még a nyomozó felesége is mindenórás terhes. Ajvé! Fogadjunk egy ezresbe, hogy a lehető legrosszabbkor folyik el a magzatvíz! Az ügy maga kellően komolynak tűnik - valaki ki akarja nyírni a vőlegényt. Ami szívás, ilyenkor a rendőri kézikönyv, ha jól sejtem, a lakodalom halasztását irányozza elő, de nyomozónk, Carella nem reszkírozza meg ezt a botrányt. Inkább pár kollégával elvegyül a násznépben, kedélyeskednek, táncikálnak, de sasszemük a potenciális gyilkost keresi. A szálak meg bonyolódnak, mert a szálak azok olyanok.

Tipikus egyszerolvasós könyv. Fáj azonban, hogy ennek a Carellának se íze, se bűze. Egyetlen érdekesség vele kapcsolatban, hogy a felesége süketnéma. Bezzeg ha Carella lenne az! Meg is emelném a kalapom! A többi zsaru se egy nagy etvasz (a legerősebb jelző, amit használni merek velük kapcsolatban, az "aranyos"), lelkiismeretesen loholnak a nyomok után, mi meg drukkolunk, hogy időben odaérjenek, ahová kell. Nem mondanám amúgy, hogy túl nehéz dolguk van - ahogy az olvasó sincs megizzasztva. McBain ugyan megkísérel elterelő szálakat szőni a sztoriba, hogy megzavarjon minket, de olyan átlátszóan teszi, komolyan, helyenként azt érzem, nagyon alacsonyra kalibrálja a krimiolvasói intellektust. Inkább a lendületesen végigvitt akcióra meg a visszafogottan jópofa zsarufigurákra épít, mint a rejtélyre. Sőt, ami azt illeti, a rejtélye igazából nem is rejtély. A rejtély nélküli detektívregény pedig sótlan leves, hús nélkül.

[George K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Δώρο από το δολοφόνο", εκδόσεις Bell.

Χρονολογικά είναι το ένατο βιβλίο της πολύ ωραίας σειράς του 87ου Αστυνομικού Τμήματος, όγδοο που διαβάζω εγώ. Και δηλώνω ξανά άκρως ικανοποιημένος και ψυχαγωγημένος. Ομάδα που κερδίζει δεν αλλάζει, λένε, έτσι και το στιλ γραφής του Εντ Μακμπέιν παραμένει ίδιο και απαράλλαχτο και σ'αυτό το βιβλίο, ένα στιλ που απολαμβάνω να διαβάζω. Οι πλοκές των βιβλίων της σειράς αυτής είναι σίγουρα ικανοποιητικές και ενδιαφέρουσες, όμως το βασικό προτέρημα των βιβλίων του Μακμπέιν είναι η τρομερή γραφή του, ο ρεαλιστικός τρόπος αποτύπωσης των αστυνομικών διαδικασιών και της καθημερινότητας των αστυνομικών, καθώς και οι απίθανοι διάλογοι, που είναι όσο πιο αληθινοί και ανθρώπινοι γίνεται, με χιούμορ, γαμάτες ατάκες και σκληράδα ανάλογα την περίσταση.

Όσον αφορά την ιστορία, ο ντετέκτιβ Καρέλα παντρεύει την αγαπημένη του αδερφή και πάλι καλά που έχει άδεια την ημέρα του γάμου, για να την δει ντυμένη νυφούλα, δίπλα σ'έναν συμπαθητικό νέο. Επιπρόσθετα έχει την γυναίκα του που από μέρα σε μέρα αναμένεται να γεννήσει για πρώτη φορά. Το θέμα είναι ότι κάποιος έχει βάλει στο μάτι τον γαμπρό του: Μια ένα απειλητικό δωράκι (μια αράχνη μέσα σ'ένα μικρό άσπρο κουτάκι), μια ένα περίεργο ατύχημα με το αυτοκίνητο... Ποιος όμως θέλει το κακό του; Μήπως ένας συμπολεμιστής του από τον πόλεμο της Κορέας, που του κρατάει ακόμα μανιάτικο για ένα "λάθος" του; Μήπως ο κολλητός του φίλος, με τον οποίο είχαν συντάξει... αμοιβαίες διαθήκες; Μήπως κάποιος πρώην γκόμενος της μέλλουσας συζύγου του; Όπως και να'χει, ο Καρέλα θα πρέπει να έχει το νου του τόσο στον γάμο, όσο και στο γαμήλιο γλέντι...

Μου άρεσε πολύ η όλη ιστορία, το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της οποίας διαδραματίστηκε κατά την διάρκεια ενός γαμήλιου γλεντιού. Η δράση, το μυστήριο και οι αποκαλύψεις ήταν στα γνωστά ρεαλιστικά και ψυχαγωγικά επίπεδα που μας έχει συνηθίσει ο Μακμπέιν, η ατμόσφαιρα πότε πιο ευχάριστη και πότε πιο σκοτεινή, το όλο κλίμα με αρκετή αγωνία για την κατάληξη του δράματος. Δεν το συζητάω, ο Μακμπέιν είναι ένας εξαιρετικός συγγραφέας, με τον οποίο πάντα θα περνάω τέλεια την ώρα μου. Μακάρι να είχαν μεταφραστεί όλα τα βιβλία της σειράς του 87ου Αστυνομικού Τμήματος... Τι θα κάνω όταν τελειώσουν και αυτά που έχω ακόμα στην λίστα με τα αδιάβαστα;

[Deb Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe that anyone who enjoys reading police procedurals -- or if this is their first one -- will agree that Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series are the stories against which all other books of the genre should be compared.

A master storyteller, concise, witty, true-to-life drama and characters.

I can't recommend it highly enough. The books can be read as standalones, but the greatest reading pleasure is to read the titles in order to be able to enjoy the character development that takes place.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed Mcbain's 9th in the ever entertaining 87th Precinct is a bit of a departure, lighter than usual with McBain in a playful mood throughout. The plot is slight of stature with Steve Carella responding to an unsubstantiated threat to his soon to be brother-in-law's life on his wedding day. A threat that comes with company, in the tiny but dangerous form of a black widow spider. As plot devices goes, McBain might have to beg pardon for his cliches. But never mind that. Once the ball is rolling McBain goes to work. He populates every blind corner and opportunity with the threat of impending death, has suspects crawling from every shadow and he has a ball doing it. Carella drafts in two of his off duty colleagues, Kling & Hawes with girlfriend in tow, and tasks them with keeping vigil during the big day. Carella himself attends with his heavily pregnant wife Teddy. Even with impending murder lurking, the tensions and distractions of a good wedding can keep even the most professional detective's senses blunted. Before long things escalate and Meyer Meyer and O'Brian are also drafted, tracking a trombone case all over the city.
I've mentioned in previous reviews McBains attitude to editorial directives. Cotton Hawes was one such directive when his publishers deemed Carella too old and too married to persistently carry off the hero's role. Subsequently McBain proceeded to create a young hero, Cotton Hawes, that he would delight in sending up and humiliating at every opportunity. At the same time in 'Til Death, the author spends nearly an entire book introducing the extended family of the detective he was directed to ditch, developing Carella's relationships and history yet further. 'Til Death is a bit of an oddity in the series, being several steps closer to being a theatrical farce than to the gritty police procedural we are used to, but as ever McBain's easy prose, the banter and snappy dialogue coupled with the carefully nurtured cast of regulars makes for a short though enjoyable interlude in city cop life.

[OSCAR BAGAN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hasta que la muerte… supone un punto de inflexión en la evolución de la novela policiaca, marcando una clara ruptura con el modelo clásico heredado del detective individual, casi caballeresco, que se enfrenta en solitario al mal. En la novela de Ed McBain el protagonismo ya no recae en un héroe aislado —un Marlowe o un Holmes moderno—, sino en una comisaría de barrio y en el conjunto de agentes que la integran. Este desplazamiento del foco narrativo permite convertir la comisaría en un auténtico microcosmos social, un espacio donde se cruzan clases, caracteres, frustraciones y formas de entender la autoridad y la violencia.
Este cambio estructural se refleja también en la concepción del antagonista. El “malo” ya no responde al arquetipo del criminal brillante o del genio del mal racional y calculador, tan propio de la tradición clásica. Aquí nos encontramos con un nuevo tipo de villano: un sociópata marcado por el estrés de la guerra, dominado por una fijación obsesiva, más enfermo que perverso. No es tanto un mal moral como un mal patológico, una figura que anticipa el criminal moderno de la narrativa negra posterior y que apenas tenía presencia en la literatura policiaca tradicional.
La innovación alcanza igualmente al modo de narrar. McBain abandona la primera persona y la mirada subjetiva del detective privado para optar por una narración fría, objetiva y distante. El relato no busca la identificación emocional, sino la exposición casi documental del procedimiento policial: la rutina diaria, los interrogatorios, los informes, los errores, la paciencia, los medios técnicos y, en ocasiones, la pura casualidad que permite resolver el crimen. El tono es seco, desprovisto de compasión, y recuerda más a un informe o a un documental que a una narración psicológica clásica.
Esta objetividad extrema tiene consecuencias claras: los personajes no se definen por un análisis interior profundo, sino por lo que dicen y por cómo lo dicen. La psicología no se desarrolla, se insinúa. El ambiente social, en cambio, emerge con fuerza. La ciudad —imaginaria— funciona como una ciudad media cualquiera de los Estados Unidos de la época, lo que refuerza la idea de que lo narrado podría estar ocurriendo en cualquier lugar. Es el escenario idóneo para mostrar la fragilidad mental y afectiva del hombre moderno, incapaz de controlar del todo su vida, rodeado por una violencia silenciosa, casi estructural, carente de sentido último.
Uno de los aspectos más discutibles de la novela es la representación de los personajes femeninos. Las mujeres aparecen con frecuencia reducidas a dos modelos: amas de casa que actúan como comparsas del protagonismo masculino, o figuras de femme fatale presentadas como dominadoras y castradoras. En ambos casos funcionan más como reflejo del hombre herido y dañado que como personajes con entidad propia, una limitación evidente desde una mirada actual.
Los detectives, en cambio, están retratados como profesionales competentes y eficaces en su trabajo. Dominan la acción en el ámbito laboral, pero esa seguridad se desvanece en su vida privada, donde aflora la inseguridad, el desorden emocional y un cierto vértigo existencial. Esta grieta entre lo público y lo íntimo añade profundidad al retrato del oficio policial y anticipa rasgos que se desarrollarán con mayor crudeza en novelas posteriores del género.
Con todo, Hasta que la muerte… no es una obra completamente pesimista. Frente al tono nihilista que dominará buena parte de la novela negra posterior, McBain introduce destellos de optimismo y humor.Precisamente en ese equilibrio entre frialdad, observación social y humanidad contenida reside buena parte de la vigencia y la importancia de la novela.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed McBain’s 87th precinct series has been a long-standing favorite of mine. Till death, is no exception to the idea that McBain knew how to write dialogue, weave an entertaining story in remarkably few pages, and keep his fan base satisfied.

This is a short, quick read, focusing all of the action on one day. Steve Carella’s little sister is getting married, and someone is out to rain on the wedding. We have the usual cast of the precinct’s characters, and some interesting and entertaining side stories that all come together nicely.

The pace is rapid, the dialogue crisp and entertaining, and the characters are engaging. What’s not to like? Fans of the series should definitely include this one, and even if you’re new to the series, it might be a reasonable entry point. Dated, but still a worthwhile way to spend a few hours.

[Kev Ruiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★

I enjoy the short form of the 87th Precinct series, and Til Death is another solid read.

The wedding setting is a nice change of pace, offering a closer look at Steve Carella’s family. It’s great to see more of the ensemble cast, and the character development continues to be a strong point. The plot is engaging, but there are a few moments that feel a bit far-fetched.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable read with a good mix of character moments and intrigue, though it’s not without its flaws.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a newbie to McBain, I found out quickly not all are equal. I won't give up but will screen more carefully. This featured wedding of Carella's daughter with many absurd attempts on the life of her bridegroom.

[Christine PNW · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021 Summertime Summer Crime #2

Steve Carella, Cotton Hawes, Meyer Meyer & Bert Kling are all back to try to make sure that Steve's little sister doesn't become a bride and a widow on the same day.

The plot was fairly preposterous, but the characterizations are enjoyable and there was some pretty good humor when both the bride and the groom ask Detective Carella for advice about their wedding night.

A friend has recommended #14: Lady, Lady, I Did It!, so I'm trying to decide if I'm going to skip ahead to that one, or keep going with 10-13 before I get there.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment is focused on the Carella family... we get Steve's sister's wedding, and Teddy ready to have their baby.

The wedding, of course, goes a bit wrong.. not quite as bad as a comic book superhero wedding, but close. The mystery part was pretty interesting in that it was pretty straight forward.. no big twist or red herring... made me feel like the detectives were doing a good job.

In keeping with the theme of the series, we get 'introduced' to Bob O'Brien, who appeared briefly before but got some screen time today.. he seems to be the new 'heavy' on the force, but with that comes that he's a jinx, since there is always shooting when he's around.. should be interesting going forward.

Meyer is the lead here, and we see him doing some fine detecting, while Steve has his guys (Cotton Hawes and Bert Kling) as wedding guests to make sure nothing goes wrong... Cotton is especially incompetent this time out... to the point where he's going to have to make up for it soon.

I just hope we don't start getting too many crimes centered on the family and friends of the detectives.. while it was fun to 'meet' Steve's family, that can start pushing the suspension of disbelief pretty quickly.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Carella's sister is being married and the groom is worried about a threat with a Korean War implication. Shooting, blonde bombshells, spiders, poison and policemen with guns. What more can you want from a crime novel? Detectives follow their noses and catch their man or woman. All this with a happy ending.

Fast pace, no loose ends, very little complication. Easy reading.

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story simply unfolds, with no suspense and little mystery.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

When your wedding day gets started with a very tangible death threat, one might wish to reconsider the public nuptials and elect for elopement. But if everyone thought that way, this novel would never have been written.

This is book #9 in the 87th Precinct series and (by far) the one with the most unbelievable plot. When you have as many near misses in one day as these newlyweds did, well, I'm sorry, you just have to postpone the whole shindig for another day. But not this crew! Come rain, sleet, dark of night or assault with a deadly weapon, they soldier on despite the perils at every turn. If this is how the marriage begins, I predict a rocky road ahead for the happy couple.

Meanwhile most of the 87th detective squad is (supposedly) on hand to prevent the worst from happening. But given the moronic decisions, lack of communication and basic ineptitude, I felt like I was reading an unfunny novelization of a Keystone Kops short film.

All this to say that the only reason to read this book is because, like me, you're reading through the entire series of 50+ books. Otherwise, if you are just looking to sample an 87th Precinct story at random, this is NOT the book to read.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars and that's generous!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy the 87th Precinct. This is an early book and Teddy is just about to have her twins (she's a week from her due date). (Still aside: I have issues with this because how do the doctors not know it's twins and also most twins don't wait until the full 40 weeks to come.)
Steve's sister's fiance, Tommy, the day of the wedding, calls Steve for help. He has received a black widow spider and is worried an old enemy is out to get him. Steve calls in Hawes and Kling on their day off for help and they discover actually two men out to get Tommy - neighbor Ben Darcy, who wants Angela to leave Tommy and marry him instead, and Marty Sokolin, an army acquaintance who blames Tommy for the death of Marty's friend in the war. Marty has enlisted the help of Oona Blake, a very large and strong woman who ends up beating up Hawes and then tying him up with ropes in a neighbor's attic (she also kills that neighbor). No big plot twists, and Claire and Christine are both here as the girlfriends of Kling and Hawes respectively. Also of course Bob O'Brien, the cop who has killed more than a half dozen me in the line of duty, kills Marty in the attic.

Happens in June.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Detective Carella's sister is getting married and her prospective husband receives a death threat the morning of the wedding. Carella, his very pregnant wife Teddy, and his pals at the 87th Precinct crash the wedding on the lookout for anyone who might do this fella harm while also trying to let the family have its fun.

Verdict: "'Til Death" (1961) is an odd and mostly flat non-chase to catch a potential killer before he can carry out his evil plan. Beyond the read-hindering turn away from the inner city streets of Isola to the more suburban setting and family dynamics, "Til Death" has some "oh, give me a break" narrative turns that just stretch this episode from the realistic and gritty prior NYC street crime procedurals that came before it to an almost silly daytime soap opera.

Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. An entertaining yarn set in the 1950s. Steve Carella sister is getting married and her bridegroom receives a black widow in a small box. Steve enlists some colleagues as bodyguards at the wedding. Several attempts are made on the life of Tommy.

The atmosphere is very 1950s, hard boiled cops, humor and a few suspects. Is it a soldier from Korea who blames Tommy for his friend’s death or perhaps a rival for the bride’s affection or a friend who inherits all Tommy’s wealth if he dies before changing his will?

I enjoyed this procedural drama and the lack of forensic science as well as Steve’s determination that the wedding proceed.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Carella's sister is getting married! But someone doesn't seem to want her groom to survive their wedding day, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase " 'til death do us part"! To add even more pressure to events, Steve’s wife is close to delivering their first child!

A good, quick read, that really moves along at a nice clip! Maybe the best paced book in the series yet! Very enjoyable!

[AndrewP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to the last book, this one follows the events of just one day.
Steve Carrela's sister is getting married and the groom receives a threatening note. He pulls in a couple of off duty members of the 87th squad room to attend the wedding and keep an eye on things.

This is also a very linear story, no secondary cases being investigated at the same time although this one has a couple of minor twists

Not bad and as with most of the others it would make a good 1 hour TV episode.

[Vicky D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad, interesting twist.

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. They just keep getting better and better.

[Jason McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most of the others in the series this was always entertaining but maybe a little bit too light and whimsical for my taste.

[Bjorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

***1/2

[Fran Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Would have been 4, but for one tiny flaw in the plot ... one only a woman would catch. I wonder how many other readers have noticed it.

[Gav451 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brilliant where the author chose a single day and then built a story round it. One by one he lined the mysteries up and one by one he knocked them down again. There was also charatcer progression and life progression in the background for the future.

I loved the way the matters were investigated. I thoroughly enjoy these low-fi police procedurals. The way this book kept the suspense running right until the very was a marvel and a pleasure.

Its was a short, sharp and satisfying read. I'll move on to the next one in a couple of books time because this series is turning into a real joy.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok addition to the series, it's a little hokey and the wrap up was dragged out and sort of silly. Though the characters of the 87th are still well written and McBain does write amusing dialog most of the time so wasnt a slog to get through.

Wouldnt necessary recommend, but if you are reading the series I wouldnt say to skip it.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steve Carella's little sister (Angela) is getting married to Tommy, who receives a death threat, and Steve dragoons his fellow detectives to attend the wedding to prevent a murder; however, there is substantial mayhem, one death, as the squad closes in on the perp and saves the day.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

the story of murder threats on the day of the wedding of Carella's sister, including two red herrings along the way - the action all takes place in 14 hours on one day - compact and clever story

[Helen (Helena/Nell) · Rating 4 out of 5]

87th Precinct number nine, I gave it a four. Really it's somewhere between a three and a four, enjoyable with some delightful parts, and almost a comedy. There is serious risk to life but the context makes a horror outcome unlikely.

Steve Carella's sister is getting married, the bridegroom's life has been threatened, so Steve and the inner circle of 87th precinct detectives go to a wedding. You just know that bridegroom isn't going to die. Equally, you know that with Teddy Carella's baby due in about a week, there's every chance that something might happen in that department before the end of the day.

By this time, McBain has made it part of his metier to rattle off details of police procedure, the necessary forms, the necessary signatures, the scientific checks. But here he extends this even to tone. And this writer is interested in tone. Language and tone. What goes on between one remark and the next. Here he turns it into a surprising bit of lightness in the midst of various kinds of threat. Most of the detectives are at the actual wedding. But Meyer Meyer and Bob O'Brien are out on the street, looking for sightings of a man carrying a trombone case, inside which they suspect there is not a musical instrument, but a gun. Check out the use of language. You can't do what follows in a TV drama:

________________________________________________________

"The search was conducted by stopping passers-by and asking them if they had seen a man carrying a trombone case.

Now such painstaking investigatory technique is surely recommended by Scotland Yard and the Nassau County Police and the Surete and the Gestapo. It is calculated to separate, through a process of carefully phrased questions (such as, 'Did you see a man with a trombone case walk by here?') those citizens who had and those who had not witnessed the passage of the sought suspect.

It was important, of course, to snap off the questions with the properly authoritative and universally accepted police tone. Police tone is a part of police procedure. The sentence: 'Did you see a man with a trombone walk by here?' when delivered by a layman untrained in police tone could result in a plethora of confused answers. When delivered by a man who had attended the Police Academy, a man well versed in the ways of investigatory technique, a man skilled at the art of interrogation, the question assumed significance. Faced with its scientific inevitability, the person questioned was skilfully led to the point where only one of two answers was possible: yes or no. I did, or I did not see a man with a trombone case walk by here.

Meyer Meyer and Bob O'Brien, skilled inquisitors that they were, received a total of twelve 'no's' before they received a 'yes'.

The 'yes' led them up a street parallel to Charles Avenue. On the front stoop of a two-storey frame dwelling, they got their second 'yes' and began to feel that their luck was running good. The second 'yes' came from an old man with an ear-trumpet.

'Did you see a man with a trombone case walk by here?' Meyer asked scientifically.

'What?' the old man yelled. 'I'm a little deaf.'

'A man with a trombone case?'

'Got one inside if you want to use it,' the old man said.

'A trombone?'

'Yep. On the hall table. Just dial any number you want. This ain't an out-of-town call is it?'

'No, no, a trombone,' Meyer said patiently. 'A musical instrument.'

'Oh, a trombone. Yes, yes. What about it?'

'Did you see a man carrying one?'

'Fellow that walked by earlier this afternoon, you mean?'

'You saw him?'

'Yep. Walked right up the street.'

'Thanks,' Meyer said gratefully. 'That's swell. Thanks a lot.'

'You can go to hell yourself, young man,' the man with the ear trumpet said. 'I was only trying to be helpful.'