The Avenger · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Avenger by Edgar Wallace.

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Chapter 1
I: The Headhunter
Captain Mike Brixan, a Foreign Office Intelligence agent, is recalled from Berlin just as he was close to solving the mystery of the Slovak Treaty. His chief, Major George Staines, assigns him to investigate the latest victim of a serial killer known as 'The Headhunter'—Francis Elmer, a clerk who had embezzled funds and disappeared. Elmer's head was found in a box near Esher, and Brixan is to interview Elmer's niece, Adele Leamington, who works for the Knebworth Film Corporation in Chichester. Brixan reluctantly accepts the task, noting a curious coincidence involving the word 'extra.'
Chapter 2
II: Mr. Sampson Longvale Calls
Adele Leamington approaches director Jack Knebworth to ask for a better part in his film, but he brusquely dismisses her, advising her to return home. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Sampson Longvale, an eccentric, old-fashioned gentleman who offers his haunted house, the Dower House, for Knebworth's film location. Longvale reveals an interest in cinema and a desire to be filmed in the role of his illustrious ancestor. After Longvale departs, Knebworth dismisses Adele again, leaving her no closer to her goal.
Chapter 3
III: The Niece
Adele Leamington, a struggling film actress, receives an early morning visit from a man claiming to be a reporter. He questions her about her uncle, Francis Elmer, who has disappeared. Adele reveals she barely knows him, having seen him only twice. The man, Mike Brixan, later investigates a news shop where Elmer had picked up a letter and finds a newspaper with a suspicious agony advertisement marked.
Chapter 4
IV: The Leading Lady
Adele Leamington is unexpectedly cast as the lead in Jack Knebworth's film after star Stella Mendoza quits in a rage. While studying her script, she encounters Michael Brixan, who recognizes the typed pages as matching the Headhunter's death tales.
Chapter 5
V: Mr. Lawley Foss
Michael Brixan, a detective from the Foreign Office, visits a film studio to investigate a mysterious sheet of script that may be linked to the Headhunter murders. He meets Jack Knebworth, the director, and the troubled scenario manager Lawley Foss, who is described as clever but difficult. Brixan reveals to Adele Leamington that her uncle was murdered, and his head was found at Esher. Foss is given the incriminating page to examine, though Brixan is uneasy about him.

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I: The Headhunter

II: Mr. Sampson Longvale Calls

III: The Niece

IV: The Leading Lady

V: Mr. Lawley Foss