Lock Up

Robert Arnold, an ex-con who's "gone straight," is at the scene of a drug store hold-up by a former cell-mate that leaves one cop dead. To clear Arnold's name, Maris goes in search of the killer.

Maris is called into the case of Tom Sheppard six weeks after the young man was convicted of murdering an ex-girlfriend. An old lady across the street says she saw him chase the woman out of a bar and whack her in the head with a rock.

Tom Chambers, the co-owner of an archery range, is charged with killing his psychologist. After a quarrel, the doctor is found at his desk with an arrow sticking out of his back. Chambers, who claims his innocence, admits to being on edge lately.

The warden asks Maris to investigate the case of Ron Davis, a man on death row whom he thinks may be innocent. Fellow inmates testified that Davis stabbed a prison thug to death.

A shipment of steel tubing fails on the job and the precision machinist who worked on the project is fired. He's also charged with murdering his supervisor afterward in a fit of anger. Maris begins asking questions.

Herb is asked to represent rich society friend Helen Allison who's found at the murder scene of private eye Harry Bourne. Bourne was a sleazy character hated by all who knew him, including his wife and clients.

Ex-con Frank Harbach comes to Herb Maris when a couple of old prison mates pay him a visit. The thugs force him to hold the $30,000 they stole in a robbery, or they'll implicate him in their crime and do harm to his wife.

A bartender from the Golden Grill restaurant is arrested for selling stolen jewelry to a pawn shop. The gems were heisted from a couple dining at the Grill; at the same time, their house was being robbed.

Businessman Martin Reeves knows his teenage son Paul is somehow involved in an attempted robbery and shooting. With a big merger pending, Martin is more concerned with his own reputation, and bribes witnesses to tell his version of what happened.

Hot-tempered soldier Blake Newman is accused of killing his best friend, a fellow soldier, who'd kept him waiting at the train station because of a girl. Maris' old commander asks him to help the boy.

Former boxer Andy Keel is arrested for murdering a gym owner who he blames for the death of his son. Maris knows something's up when a boxer who worked with Keel bets against himself in an upcoming fight.

A theatrical producer is murdered in his apartment and robbed of $2000. An elderly Shakespearean actor who was coming to ask for a part and a loan is arrested at the scene. Maris, a fan of the old actor, believes he's innocent.

Mark Clayton is charged with murdering his shrewish wife after one of their frequent arguments. On the surface, Eleanor Clayton appeared to be a "plain Jane" type. Maris discovers she was secretly a high-stakes gambler who'd run up a debt of $9,000.

Texas oil millionaire Curly Simmons asks Maris to clear his partner, Tex. At a party they threw, Tex had become jealous when another man was getting too close to his gal. The woman is found dead, but Tex claims he's not the killer.