A BID ON DEATH [Death for Auction, the Adventures of Jonathan Knox #4] by Emmett McDowell

WHY WOULD ANYONE KILL FOR A BUNDLE OF TRASH DUG UP FROM UNDER A SIDEWALK?

When the Emco Construction Company ripped up the pavement in front of city hall and took away some baled wastepaper from under it, they were working under city orders. Or so they thought, until they tried to collect their bill.

The cops had no idea who had ordered the crazy job. And when Jonathan Knox, the murder-wise auctioneer, stepped in and paid the bill in exchange for a claim on the trash, the cops were even more mystified. Knox had never been known to part with a penny unless he thought there was a buck to be gained from it.

But whatever Knox thought he was buying, he got more than he'd bargained for. Whoever had ordered that job would stop at nothing—not even murder—to get his hands on that trash.
Soon the auctioneer-detective and his Watson—Elly Watson, his gal Friday to be precise—were up to their ears in danger. And what Jonathan sees through a window being done to Elly leads to one of the most hilarious scenes since the Thin Man.

Once again the elegant auctioneer finds he has made a bid on death but Elly and not Jonathan may be the one to pay the price!