IRISH NEED NOT APPLY

July 4, 1943

Dear Captain Flattery:

Here are the stories I thought your folks would be interested in reading because you are featured in each story.

I find that I’ve featured you in 15 stories, but I can find copies of the published versions or copies of the finished manuscripts in only 12 of the 15. So I’m force to enclose the original manuscripts on three of the 15 stories.

You will find the original mauscripts (Forssel Case, The McCabe Case and the Trifon Case) difficult to read but they will give you an idea anyway. The originals are exactly as my typis gets them from me and she is probably the only person living who can read my handwriting and understand my interlineations.

You will find that I’ve written these stories under various pennames and most of the pennames are those of living persons, to wit; Royal Riley, Hans Seikel, Willie Keegan, Brenda Wright. Correction: Brenda Wright is not a person; she is my landlady’s little fox terrier.

Four of the enclosed stories have not yet been published. These for are the Kaplan Case, Rose Lander Case, Talking Corpse and Footprints to Rose. All the others have been published but I have only the enclosed five stories in published form.

You’ll understand why I have to use different pennames for different publishers under different names.

Nevertheless, you understand, these are TRUE detective stories, so if you should run across any item that is not exactly true, please keep it to yourself because the readers of True Detective Magazines live for one purpose only, it seems, and that purpose is to find something wrong in a story and then write to the editor about it.

John J. Sheehan Jr.

166-02 90th Ave., Jamaica.
Phone: Republic 9-0281