The Hand From The Past
Written by
Christopher Anvil
Copyright 1972
Printed in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 1972. Reprinted in the collection
A police detective pulls Richard Verner in to assist in a hostage situation when "hoodlums" entered a courtroom and snatched the presiding judge. Now the kidnappers and the victim could be anywhere in the city. All that Verner has to go on is a note, written by the judge in longhand, ordering the immediate release of a jailed prisoner."