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NO WONDER MURDERERS REMAIN FREE

This newspaper received a publicity photo (below) of movie star Stan Colt and Homicide Sergeant M. M. Payne, getting out of a police car at the Mayor’s Reception for Colt at the Bellvue-Stratford last night. The press release went on to say that while Colt is in town raising money for West Catholic High School, his alma mater, Sergeant Payne is showing him how things really are in the Philadelphia police department.

The way things really are in the police department are that there are two open unsolved recent cases of brutal murder, and one can only guess how many “old” unsolved murders on the books.

One of the new open cases is that of a young woman who very probably was raped and murdered in her apartment while police officers chatted with her neighbors.

The second is that of a single mother of three who was murdered in a fast-food restaurant during a robbery. When the police finally responded to that call for help, the murderers killed the responding officer.

At last report the Philadelphia police department doesn’t have a clue as to the identity of the murderers.

Perhaps they would if Sergeant Payne were spending his time doing what the taxpayers hired him to do, investigate homicides, rather than spending it showing a movie star how things really are.

And it’s not only Sergeant Payne. Earlier yesterday, Payne was seen taking into Colt’s hotel an attractive young woman later identified as Detective Olivia Lassiter. Presumably, she was showing Colt how things really are in the Philadelphia police department.

And it’s not only the junior officers. At midnight, Inspector Peter Wohl, Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Division, who is supposed to be heading up the Mayor’s Task Force to solve the murders at the fast-food restaurant, and Homicide Lieutenant Jason Washington were seen showing how things really are in the Philadelphia police department by feeding Stan Colt beer and cheese steak sandwiches at D’Allesandro’s.

But maybe that’s the way things really are in the police department.

And maybe it’s time for a change in the police department, starting at the top with the commissioner, who permits this sort of thing to happen.

Or maybe in City Hall itself. After all, one of the primary responsibilities of Mayor Alvin W. Martin is the supervision of the police department.

And ten seconds after that, the radio went off.

"C-2, go,” Halloran said to his microphone.

"C-2, meet the commissioner at the Roundhouse.”

“Radio, we are en route. Estimate ten minutes.”

“I guess somebody else has been reading the morning’s papers,” Deputy Commissioner Coughlin said.

SIXTEEN

The editorial in the Philadelphia Ledger was brought to Mayor Alvin W. Martin’s attention by Mr. Philip Donaldson, who decided the editorial was worth finally playing one of his aces in the hole, this one the mayor’s unlisted and carefully guarded home telephone number.

After this call, Phil was sure, the number would go unanswered until another unlisted number could be obtained and the original one taken out of service.

“Yeah?” the mayor said, somewhat less than charmingly, into his kitchen telephone.

“Am I mistaken, or did the Honorable Alvin W. Martin, our mayor, answer his phone himself?”

The voice was familiar, but the mayor could not quite place it.

“This is Alvin Martin,” he said, now far more pleasantly, “who not only answers his own phone, but whom you caught in the midst of making his own breakfast.”

“The little woman didn’t make it for you, Mr. Mayor?”

“No, she didn’t. Who is this?”

“Phil Donaldson, Mr. Mayor, of Phil’s Philly. And you’re on the air!”

How the hell did you get this number?

Just in time, the mayor stopped himself from asking that thought aloud. Instead, mustering what charm he could under the circumstances, he said,

“Well, good morning, Phil.”