Badge of Evil is a novel written by Whit Masterson (a pseudonym used by the authors Robert Allison “Bob” Wade and H. Bill Miller)[1] and published in 1956.
Assistant district attorney Mitch Holt is called to the case as well as police officers Leron McCoy and Hank Quinlan.
At first, Linneker's daughter Tara and her fiancé Delmont Shayon are the primary suspects until disgruntled employee Ernest Farnum makes a surprise confession and is promptly jailed.
When Holt accuses McCoy and Quinlan of planting evidence, Adair and Gould dismiss his allegation as an attempt to gain political mileage in the District Attorney's office.
Consuela is eventually released from jail and Holt is reinstated as assistant in the District Attorney's office where he is given full authority to investigate the McCoy-Quinlan cases.