Sin In Their Blood

Начало книги

     Ex-fighter, ex-cop, ex-private detective. Home after fighting in Korea, he wanted quiet—but a killer had other plans for him.

     HARRY LOUGHLIN

     He and Matt had been partners before the war. Was now a professional blackmailer.

     FLO

     Sensual blonde Matt had gone with before the Army. Was now tied up with Loughlin. Matt couldn't see the combo.

     AUSTIN

     Pint-sized eccentric. Had a queer hobby which Loughlin used as a source of information for his blackmail racket.

     MADY

     Matt moved into her house to keep tabs on her— wound up falling for her. Was somehow tied up with the killer.

     SAXTON

     Hired Matt to find the murderer of his sister. Paid him a large retainer—but Matt wasn't sure Saxton was on the level.

MONDAY

     It was almost 10 a.m. and starting to warm up as I walked slowly down the main street, stopping every few minutes to rest my light bag. It's the kind of a street you think about a lot when you're out of town... and then return and wonder why the hell you ever looked forward to seeing it again. I took in the skyscrapers, the movie houses, the gin mills, the bookie joints that passed as cigar stores, the radio-station tower that disappeared into the blue sky, a modern monument to nothing. I watched the people hurrying by, the crowded restaurants and orangeade stands, the heavy traffic—and I knew the street didn't mean a thing to me any more. I suppose in the hospital I'd thought about it so often because it had been a dream then, a symbol of living. Now, as I looked up and down the busy street— this street that had been a big part of my life—all I could think was, where had I got it? In what bar or eating place or movie had somebody breathed deeply and given me the damn bug?

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