«Hot Red Money» by Baynard Kendrick

A reporter is entangled in a Cold War conspiracy in this Golden Age thriller by the acclaimed author of the Duncan Maclain Mysteries.
Maurice Morel has had a successful career as a journalist. Reporting on Soviet activities in the United States, he digs out and exposes Communist coverups. His byline regularly runs on the front page of the New York Evening Globe-Star, and he’s even won a Pulitzer Prize. But he’s also garnered a few enemies along the way . . .
Now, Maury’s in disguise for a midnight meeting in a secluded café with a Lebanese sailor who supposedly has valuable information. There’s fifteen billion dollars in Soviet gold tucked away in Swiss and Lebanese banks, and the man controlling the money is in America. He’s using an alias and he’s up to something.
Maury’s not sure he can believe his source. He needs cold hard facts. Sadly, the proof comes when he discovers the seaman knifed in an alley. Now Maury knows he has a big story on his hands. He simply needs to follow the sailor’s lead—and not get caught by the men following him . . .
Baynard Kendrick was a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America, the holder of the organization’s first membership card, and a winner of its Grand Master Award.