Hollywood Cold Case: The Masked Marauder Murder Mystery

Sunday, September 12, 1943. Venice California. World War II is in its second full year. The movie business and the Aircraft manufacturing business dominate the economy of Southern California. It's a delicate time in the lives of the inhabitants of the Los Angeles area. The War in the Pacific is going no better than the war in Europe. But in Southern California, the Japanese are perceived as the more imminent threat. On this Sunday afternoon, a young man stumbles from his wrecked English car and dies in a bean field of a stab wound. But this young man is no ordinary young man. He is the son of a rich New England Aristocratic family, an alumnus of Yale, and, of all things, an actor. The actor who portrayed The Masked Marauder in the Saturday matinee kiddie serial. The investigating officers, Lieutenant Adam Freeman and his young partner, Detective Harry Lloyd, are prodded by LAPD Chief Douglas Gaines for a quick case closure. But that is made impossible due to being blocked in their investigations by every powerful institution in Los Angeles, including the LAPD. Pressured for a speedy end to the case, Freeman enlists, for the first time ever, Female Officers of the department to assist in his investigations. These three ladies prove invaluable to the investigation. Sergeant Sarah Lovejoy, Officer Olive Branch and Officer Laura Murphy have been stuck in the homicide division doing filing and clerical jobs, but always hoping to be asked to perform 'real police work' by someone. Finally, given the opportunity, they tackle the assignment with a drive fueled by past frustrations. The case quickly centers on two locations, RKO Studios and a mysterious, walled and gated, Tudor mansion high in the Hollywood Hills. Inside the mansion resides a European Diva who is married to the victim. Also in the mansion is a "French maid" who becomes a professional distraction for young Harry Lloyd. Very distracting indeed as she proves her "French charms." But Officer Laura Murphy has designs on the young detective also. She's at a disadvantage because of LAPD uniform regulations on clothing, hair and makeup. But that goes away when she's off duty. As Harry eventually learns. Lieutenant Adam Freeman, recent widower, finds distractions of his own when he has to work closely with the Crime Lab supervisor, Jean Darrow. Freeman is emotionally walled off, but Darrow is finding cracks in the fortress. Each new discovery leads them ever deeper into the twisted lives of the rich and powerful of 1943 Los Angeles. Investigating those discoveries, however, take them further and further away from the murder itself. Film stars, studio executives, Los Angeles politics and big money all play a part in the unraveling of the revealed truths. Finally, we understand why this case was never solved ... for reasons that had nothing to do with the crime itself.

About the Author :
David S. Hager has been writing murder mysteries since the fourth grade. He spent many years in Los Angeles. The book is dedicated to "All the Dreamers who walked alone down Hollywood Boulevard. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams." David was fifty when he first took that walk. He knows the territory. He lives now in Wilson, North Carolina with his Wife Sandra and their poodle/terrier Apollo. He continues to act. His film credits can be found at Imdb.com/DaveHager.