Dark Alibi

Thomas Harley is arrested for a bank robbery he didn't commit. Fingerprints at the crime scene implicate him, but he has an alibi tied to being at the Carey Theatrical Warehouse. He is sentenced to death and sent to prison to await execution.

Harley's daughter June pleads with private investigator Charlie Chan to prove her father's innocence. Chan agrees to take the case, moved by the family’s desperation and the unclear evidence. He begins assembling a plan to uncover the truth.

With Harley's execution looming in nine days, Chan launches a full inquiry into the note and the crime, determined to find a solid lead. He focuses on verifying the note's origin and identifying potential insiders. The clock adds pressure to every decision.

The note that supposedly came from Dave Wyatt is traced to a typewriter owned by Mrs. Foss, the landlady who rents to ex-convicts. Chan suspects the note was planted to frame Harley and shifts the investigation toward the building's residents. This discovery reveals a possible inside link.

Chan interviews Miss Petrie, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Danvers, and Emily Evans. Evans's work costume is found near the warehouse crime scene, suggesting a connection. Both Danvers and Evans had been in other cities during the times of other robberies, raising questions about their involvement.

On the way to the prison to visit Harley, Chan, his son Tommy, and their chauffeur Birmingham are shot at. The attack convinces them they are on the right track and that someone is trying to derail the investigation. The danger underscores the high stakes of the case.

Chan realizes the fingerprints at the crime scenes may have been planted by another party. He discovers a pattern across multiple robberies: the same MO, and the perpetrators end up in the same prison. This points to a systemic manipulation rather than a single culprit.

The quiet Miss Petrie is revealed to be married to Jimmy Slade, a convict who works in the prison's fingerprint department. This insider connection raises suspicions that the fingerprint tampering could involve prison staff. The discovery broadens the scope of the mystery.

Miss Petrie is run over by a truck outside the warehouse, marking a deadly turn in the case. Johnson is at the scene when Chan arrives, suggesting a web of witnesses who may hold crucial information. The murder intensifies the urgency to expose the truth.

Jimmy Slade, Petrie's husband and a prison insider, hears of Chan's suspicions and attempts to escape. His gun explodes, wounds him fatally, and he dies without revealing information. The incident removes a potential insider who might have been a link in the conspiracy.

Chan orders fresh fingerprint cards from everyone living in Harley's building. Johnson's prints appear on one card, suggesting tampering and hinting at a mole within the system. This finding narrows the field and points toward internal complicity.

Chan returns to the warehouse and uncovers equipment used to forge fingerprints in the truck involved in Petrie's death. Danvers confronts Chan, confessing his role in the robberies, and is arrested for all the crimes. The warehouse confrontation becomes the turning point of the case.

Harley is finally released from prison, vindicated by Chan's findings which prove his innocence. The truth about the bank robbery frees him and closes the central mystery of the case. The community breathes a sigh of relief as the burden is lifted.

Chan reveals that June's boyfriend, Hugh Kenzie, was the actual leader of the robberies and had framed Harley because Harley opposed the troubled engagement. The revelation ties the loose ends together and clears Harley completely. The villain's plan collapses under careful detective work.