On the Trail of the Kaplan's Killer... (comic story)

On the Trail of the Kaplan's Killer... was a Thunderbirds comic printed in TV Century 21 in 1965. It was part of a multi-series crossover "Space War" story arc in the pages of TV21, which focused on a war between 2060s humanity and the inhabitants of the planet Astra, first mentioned in The Rescue — tying in directly with the ending of the Fireball XL5 story in the same issue, Assassination!.

Summary
Lady Penelope and Parker leave home, intent on finding the culprit for the murder of the Kaplan. She asks Parker who he would approach if he needed to hire an assassin; the chauffeur replies that he would surely try to get in touch with Count Lugosti, the "king-pin gunman of the underworld", who works through agents and intermediaries to stay clear of the law. Penelope asserts that he must be the culprit, as such an important job as the Kaplan's assassination would surely have been handed to the best.

Assuming he must still be in Unity City, as the World Security Patrol will surely nit let anybody get out of the City until the culprit is found, they leave England for Bermuda in a Fireflash Airliner. There, they head to a casino, guessing that Lugosti, being a gambler with a need to hide in a crowd, won't have been able to resist. Penelope, who knows all of the world's greatest public gamblers, has no trouble picking out the one strange face as Lugosti. Posing as an amateur, Penelope invites the Count to a game of Century where she cheats using a tie pin that is actually an infra-red camera transmitting to Penelope's spectacles — allowing her to see her opponent's end.

After winning everything from Lugosti, Penelope heads out and lures him into a dark alley, where, as she had expected, he threatens her at gunpoint for his money back. Calmly, Penelope answers by asking him if this is the same gun he used to kill the Kaplan; releasing a truth drug gas from her purse, she forces Lugosti to admit to the murder, which he says he actually committed using a rifle. She ties him to a lamppost and leaves.

Two hours later, Wilbur Zero and Steve Zodiac arrive in the same street thanks to an anonymous tip-off from Penelope over the phone, with Commander Zero deciding to take him in for questioning at least. Back home, Parker remarks that Lugosti's confession under truth drug is not acceptable in the eyes of the World Court, and Penelope concurs, saying that it is now up to Zodiac and his friends to prove what she and Parker know to be true.

Characters

 * Penelope Creighton-Ward
 * Parker
 * Count Lugosti
 * Wilbur Zero
 * Steve Zodiac

Story notes

 * Like most of TV Century 21's The Daleks comic stories from the same era, this comic serial was not given a title in the pages of TV Century 21 during its original printing; the title instead comes from later reference sources.

Continuity

 * Penelope and Parker are investigating the assassination of the Kaplan of Astra. (COMIC: Assassination!)