Snatched from Fire

THE LURE OF MYSTERY IS ANOTHER HANNABLE HATHAWAY HOE MYSTERY.

A retired old man, an avid fisherman who spends a lot of time out on the west jetty protecting the entrance to Alametoes Bay, Long Beach, California, gets beat up at the end of the jetty by another fisherman who steals a big fish from him. Turlock Holmes sees an article in the newspaper about the incident, becomes interested, telephones the old man, and invites him to Hannable Hoe's office. The old man, whose name is Holbrook, meets Hannable and Turlock, who listen to the story of how he got beat up on the end of the jetty. The story doesn't add up to Turlock, so he and Hannable decide to investigate the case for Holbrook for free.

One of the oddest things about Holbrook's story is the fact that the big fish he caught was already dead when he reeled it in. At the time, he was using an unusual lure that he found snagged in the rocks when he was skindiving a few days before. And, why did the thug who beat him up take the big fish and the unusual lure Holbrook had found snagged in the rocks?!