Search for an Unknown

In “Search for an Unknown,” ruthless gambling boss Duncan McKay receives a chilling anonymous letter threatening his life—one identical to letters sent to two complete strangers, hatcheck girl Julie Wilson and hardware clerk Albert Dobbs. Hiring private investigator Frank Ferguson to uncover the connection, McKay grows increasingly paranoid as one recipient turns up dead and Ferguson uncovers unsettling coincidences. As the investigation tightens, McKay takes matters into his own hands and kidnaps Dobbs, convinced the frightened little man holds the key. The truth finally snaps into focus: “Dobbs” is actually Albert Maxwell, the brother of a grocer McKay murdered years earlier while working as a protection thug in Los Angeles. The letters were bait, designed to lure McKay out from behind his fortress and into confronting his past. Just as Ferguson alerts McKay and calls the police, Maxwell reveals his true identity—turning the hunter into the hunted, and proving that some crimes never stay buried.