Decoder Ring Theatre

The day they carried Sam Merk out of the courtroom, he swore he'd never serve the life sentence he'd been given. He promised that the judge, the jury... everyone that had had put him behind bars would suffer a voodoo curse until he was freed. Of course, no one took him very seriously; until his victims started dropping like flies. Now The Red Panda may have only hours to crack the mystery... of The Empty Box!

A string of industrial accidents is plaguing the city, each more serious than the last. Little by little fear spreads, public confidence erodes and the economic engines of the city grind to a halt. Is this simple coincidence? A conspiricy of terror? Or are there forces still more sinister at work? The Red Panda must find out, or fall before the power of... Barton's Charm!

With that Pompous Pirate of the Pen known only as The Poet on the loose, it was only a matter of time before clues in couplet form started sprouting up all over the city, each promising new crime more fiendish than the last. But Baxter's Law says "When the Goony-birds start changing their tune, there's usually something else goin' on." Will The Red Panda find the key to the villainous verse in time? Or will the city and it's masked protectors fall before... The Terrible Two?

Return with us now to the thrill-packed exploits of the masked protectors of 1930's Toronto as they hunt down one of their oldest and most diabolical foes! But with mechanical walking bombs appearing all over the city, it looks like the world's greatest criminal mastermind just became the least of their problems - to say nothing of the unkown threat of the mysterious... Red Squirrel!

They say that music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. But like just about everything "they" say, truth is in the eye of the beholder. When Jack and Trixie spend a little time in the company of musicians, the experience is neither particularly charming or remotely soothing. But at least thirty-five dollars a day hath charms to soothe the savage landlord.

Everywhere you looked, there were goods to be gotten, and the getting often fell to Black Jack and Trixie. But there were consequences to be paid that often had nothing to do with the princely sum of thirty-five dollars a day, plus expenses. When it looks like their client may have stormed off half-cocked to do who-knows-what, it's up to our his-and-her shamuses... (shamuses?... Shami?... Whatever...) to reach deep for the ever-elusive happy ending.

It sounded like a nice, simple job. Two sisters, estranged long ago over a man who was long gone. An apology... a reunion... the restoration of family ties in a cold and cynical world... Yes sir, it all sounded too good to be true. But Jack and Trixie know when it comes to family, nothing is ever quite that simple.

It wouldn't be quite right to say that Trixie had a soft spot in her heart for old Button-Down Theo. But she had a soft spot in her head for him anyway. After all, anyone who can make private detecting seem dull as dishwater must have some hidden talents. But when Theo gets himself in hot water, will the Girl Detective be able to persuade ol' Square Jaw to intervene? And if so, just who exactly is footing the bill.

"Law stands mute in the midst of arms" they say. Well, that proves one thing anyway; old man Cicero never met Police Lieutenant Victor Sabien. He'd never stood mute a day in his life. And with ol' Square Jaw and the Girl Detective working at cross purposes through his office... to say nothing of the dynamic duo of Sgt Nelson and Freddie the Finger Hawthorne underfoot... well, can you blame the poor guy?

"...But to me, it was as if the city had emptied out at the word of Jack Justice's return. As well they might. As well they might..."

Yes, Jack Justice and Trixie Dixon, Girl Detective return for all-new hardboiled adventure and mystery. But with Jack out to settle a score, and Trixie trying to close the books on a murder that's still unsolved at least partly due to the efforts of our intrepid private eyes, it's anyone's guess if they'll both wind up on a slab, if Lt. Sabien'll run them both in, or if ol' square jaw will finally get some... Payback!