The Scarlet Shroud

THE SCARLET SHROUD

Creator: Chris & William Carney

Characters

Alexander Hold

Miles Hawkins

Takeshi Haradi

Hannah Salem

Lawrence Farley

Detective Lester Cheevers

Detective Mick Alphonse

Mrs. Baine

Lao Sun Shu-Hui

Alexander Holt is the Assistant D.A. He was certainly attractive. There was almost a predatory quality to him, a tall, slim figure, and a sense that a tiger lived beneath the dark tailored suit. His dark hair with the stray lock hanging across his strong forehead, the angular features and chiseled cheekbones, the strong chin and straight nose. Beneath the dark suit you could tell he was well built and muscular, with great strength in his shoulders and arms.

Holt rushed out of a side room, sliding a pair of .45 automatics into a fancy, two-gun shoulder holster. He’s switched out of the tux into a dark gray suit and long black coat. At his hip was slung another gun, an odd-looking art deco affair reminiscent of a Saturday Matinee serial. Next, he donned a wide-brimmed black hat. Sewn to the inside band was a red leather mask that completely concealed his face. Only his steely gray eyes remained visible. The Scarlet Shroud was ready for battle.

Takeshi Haradi is Holt’s houseman and chauffeur. A tall, whisper-thin Japanese anticipated Holt’s emergence from the club, the cop close to his heels. Dressed in a crisp gray uniform, the chauffeur opened the back door of Holt’s sleek Duesenberg as soon as his boss came out of the building. And … in the center of the warehouse, Takeshi had also changed into dark clothing and was climbing into the autogyro. The propeller blades began to whirl as he switched on the quietly humming engine.

Miles Hawkins didn’t cut an impressive figure. The hair beneath his cap was receding, and his rumpled tweed jacket hid a doughnut of flab growing around his belly. The bitter, vinegary smell of the chemicals he’d been working with clung to his clothes. The overall impression he left was brown: brown mustache, brown pants, and brown eyes. He looked like any of the haunted, unemployed laborers wandering Manhattan’s streets, but hidden beneath his broad forehead was a keen, brilliant mind. He was responsible for many of the gadgets The Scarlet Shroud used in his battle with the underworld.

Hannah Salem is a reporter of the New York Observer. The plucky, golden-haired reporter wore a stunning blue silk gown that hugged her luscious curves, and her hairdo must have taken hours. She doesn’t know the identity of The Scarlet Shroud, but often helps with important information she digs up in the newspaper files.

Hidden deep in the gloom of New York’s underworld Lao Sun Shu-Hui ruled Chinatown with an iron talon. As the sinister, spectral lord of drugs, gambling, smuggling and murder in the area, he was feared by the mobsters of Little Italy. The police had never been able to trace him, and the Italian and Irish gangs steered well clear of his fiefdom. Even other tongs like the Hip Sings and On Leong feared him. He operated in a world all his on, lurking in the deepest bowels of the mysterious enclave of Chinatown. The Scarlet Shroud has penetrated his hideouts several times when after information. If it is to the Chinaman’s favor, the information will be given, if not, then The Scarlet Shroud must escape the den and try another day.

Lawrence Farley is the D.A., and Holt’s boss.

Detective Lester Cheevers and Detective Mick Alphonse are the police officials usually on the cases that The Scarlet Shroud is also working.

Mrs. Bains is Holt’s maid, but only works a few days a week.

There have been four short stories and a novel published in the series so far. A shame, this one could become a good series if it continues.

“Dark Night of The Leaper”  (WCB 2007) Lost Sanctum $3.

“The Adventures of The Scarlet Shroud” (WCB 2010) Contains four short stories:

“Dark Night of The Leaper”

Bitter Night of The Dynamo”

“Day of The Vengeful Viper”

“An Evening of Reflection”

“Dagon’s Disciples”  (WCB 2011)