"Do I Have to Put on My Monkey Suit?"

"New Year's Pitfall."
By Johnston McCulley (1883-1958).
First appearance: Popular Detective, January 1949.
Short story (10 pages).
Online at Pulpgen (HERE).

"For some reason, somebody wants me to be at the Club Brilliant tonight — sitting at a certain table."

A devious gang of European jewel thieves nicknamed The Ice Miners know all about Detective Lieutenant Keith Powrey of the Dress Suit detail and intend to neutralize
him—but good; Powrey, however, has something up his fashionable sleeve—under
his armpit, actually . . .

Resources:

- We have Robbie Burns to thank for the words, if not the music, to that perennial favorite, "Auld Lang Syne"; see Wikipedia (HERE).

- Another story set in the late '40s about a plan to murder someone on New Year's Eve was lensed for The Adventures of Ellery Queen TV series, "The Adventure of Auld Lang Syne" (1975), presently available on Dailymotion (HERE; run time: 49 minutes 46 seconds).