The White Lilly

Ellis was at the Checkers Pool Hall that Saturday night and saw it all. He got several automobile license tag numbers and traced them to get some identities positively known. Later the guns were delivered to Howie at an abandoned construction site. A crime buddy of Howie let him borrow his car to carry them away in the trunk. He visited Howie a few more times. Ellis brought whiskey and got Howie drunk. Later Howie came to the Bland Street Liquor Store to visit Ellis. He gradually got to like Ellis. Ellis in the stockroom gave Howie whiskey, got him drunk, and pumped him for more crime gang facts. When Howie drank alcohol, he saw angels. He became loose and without much will power. Howard Skinner felt suddenly strange for a few moments. His mind went empty. He thought of nothing in particular. The whiskey put Howie under its magic spell. It relaxed him and dulled his mind. His will power was partially neutralized. Howie when drunk had not the courage of a flea. Booze made him answer questions truthfully. Ellis learned names of the whole gang, how they got the guns, stored them, sold them, other jobs they pulled, and a good description and approximate location of their warehouse hideout.