1950 was both a simple and perplexing time. When Marlowe Black resigned the NY Police Force, he understood legal limitations. They allowed some vicious criminals to walk free due to what he perceived as a flawed justice system. Laws on the books included loopholes for the wealthy, or men willing to convince witnesses to forget what they saw or knew using threats of violence against their person or a loved one would gain their freedom. He knew as a private cop he could do better.
However, the shield that a blue uniform provided, albeit a sometimes thin layer of theoretical armor afforded cops by those who feared the consequences of crossing them, disappeared and left Marlowe Black vulnerable to those same people he was unable to jail when he worked for the city.
His solution became a way of life. If you can't get the evidence to convict in court, get enough to execute punishment that fit the crime in a style that became known as Black Justice.
Black never crossed the line into illegality, but always exacted payment regardless of what anyone thought, including his army buddy Paul Dunbar with whom he'd fought Nazis at the Battle of the Bulge.
Perhaps his war years taught Black about revenge and justice coated with a thick viscous layer of crimson, but he was not a man prone to self-incrimination if he considered his actions prudent and necessary. When he leveled his old army Colt .45 automatic, he did so with intent, and often deadly aim.
Criminals learned to avoid him, help him, or desired to put him in an unmarked grave. His reputation grew rapidly as did his successes and long list of enemies. Yet as Marlowe Black said, "A private cop is not doing his job correctly if he doesn't accumulate enemies and their respect."
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