Madame Storey

When Madame Rosika Storey, a renowned detective, receives an anonymous phone call warning of a murder to be committed at a specific address that very morning, she is duty-bound to investigate despite suspecting a hoax. The address belongs to Aline Julian, a frivolously wealthy widow with a penchant for attracting con artists and charlatans. Upon arrival, Storey and her secretary, Miss Brickley, interrupt a seance led by the oily Professor Ram Lal, a supposed mystic who claims to read the future in a crystal ball.Before the disgruntled guests can disperse, Ram Lal collapses and dies in the darkened room-apparently from heart failure. But Storey is certain it was murder. The other attendees-a shifty doctor specializing in poisons, a skeletal beauty culturist, and an eccentric inventor-all had motives and opportunity. As the police arrive, suspicion falls on each of them, especially when a hypodermic needle and a collection of rare toxins are discovered. But who sent the death notice, and is the true target still alive?