The Second Talmage Powell Crime MEGAPACK™: 20 More Classic Mystery Stories

Zeigler died instantly from brain damage inflicted by a .32-caliber bullet fired into the back of his head at close range, the medical examiner stated.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Zeigler left the Southside Juvenile Center at the closing hour of 10 o’clock, boarded a municipal bus, and got off at his usual stop six blocks from his home.

Taking charge of the case, Homicide Detective Lieutenant Thomas J. Heim said, “This should shock even a city calloused by violence and crime. Here was a fine young man quietly walking his street from bus stop to home. Halfway, someone calmly steps up behind him and blasts the life from him with a small-bore pistol, apparently for the sick thrill of killing. But whatever the motive, this is an all-out case as far as this department is concerned.”

As police activity and news of the shooting aroused the neighborhood, angered residents described Allan Zeigler as a young man without an enemy in the world, a capable athlete, and an outstanding student who recently graduated from State University and was working an interim daytime job before returning to the university for postgraduate studies toward a master’s degree.

Zeigler’s mother was taken to City Hospital where doctors reported her in shock and under heavy sedation.

Zeigler’s distraught father was unable to provide police with the slightest clue.

“I don’t understand...” The elder Zeigler wept as he repeated the words endlessly. “He wasn’t just a nice kid, he was a great guy. Everyone felt the same way about him. He liked people, and they liked him in return, respected and trusted him... Those kids on the southside... They’ll miss him. We’ll all miss him... I just don’t understand.”