The little town of Fernville's only scarlet crime was borne of a corn cob pipe and grew to the stature of a celebrated case when its corpse vanished. The crime involved three men. One became the corpse, another the killer, and the third lived to record tonight's story. It all started one night in the Palace Bar where Sid, the town's police deputy, watched Fernville's newest resident amuse the mill hands with clever card tricks.