The Knife Slipped E-Book

Erle Stanley Gardner

• Herausgeber: Hard Case Crime
• Kategorie: Krimi
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

At the time of his death, Erle Stanley Gardner was the best-selling American author of the 20th century, creator of crusading attorney Perry Mason and the hardboiled detective team of Cool and Lam, stars of 29 novels, and one that's never been published until now. Lost for more than 75 years, THE KNIFE SLIPPED is a glorious return to the heyday of private eyes and shady dames, of powerful criminals, crooked cops, blazing dialogue, and delicious plot twists.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Acclaim for the Work of Erle Stanley Gardner!

Some Other Hard Case Crime Books you will Enjoy

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter I.

Chapter II.

Chapter III.

Chapter IV.

Chapter V.

Chapter VI.

Chapter VII.

Chapter VIII.

Chapter IX.

Chapter X.

Chapter XI.

Chapter XII.

Chapter XIII.

Chapter XIV.

Chapter XV.

Afterword by Russell Atwood

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Shamus Award Winner for Best Original Paperback Novel of the Year

Acclaim for the Work ofERLE STANLEY GARDNER!

“The best selling author of the century…a master storyteller…A clean, economical writer of peerless ingenuity.”

—New York Times

“Gardner is humorous, astute, curious, inventive—who can top him? No one has yet.”

—Los Angeles Times

“A fast and fiery tough tale…very very slick.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Erle Stanley Gardner is probably the most widely read of all…authors…His success…undoubtedly lies in the real-life quality of his characters and their problems…”

—The Atlantic

“One of the best selling writers of all time, and certainly one of the best selling mystery authors ever.”

—Thrilling Detective

“Zing, zest and zow are the Gardner hallmark. He will keep you reading at a gallop until The End.”

—Dorothy B. Hughes,Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster

I heard running steps on the sidewalk behind the car. It was a woman running. I turned to take a look, and saw Ruth Marr. She was carrying something in her right hand, something that glittered, and her face was frozen into a mask of terror.

She flashed me a swift glance from glassy eyes, started to run on past, and then suddenly checked herself.

“Donald!” she said, in a voice that sounded as though her mouth was dry.

“What is it?”

She climbed into the car and sat down beside me.

“What’s that in your hand, Ruth?” I asked.

She shook her head, refusing to meet my eyes. I slid my arm around her shoulders. She was trembling like a dead leaf in a breeze.

“Ruth,” I said, “what is it?” and slid my hand down her arm, pulling her hand out into view. Then I switched on the dashlight, took a good look, and switched it back off.

“Thirty-eight caliber, Smith and Wesson police positive,” I said. “What’s the idea? Did you stage a holdup or something?”

She made a quick, convulsive half turn, flung her arms around my neck, and started to cry…

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A HARD CASE CRIME BOOK(HCC-127)First Hard Case Crime edition: December 2016

Published by

Titan BooksA division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd144 Southwark StreetLondon SE10UP

in collaboration with Winterfall LLC

Copyright © 2016 by the Erle Stanley Gardner Trust

Cover painting copyright © 2016 by Robert McGinnis from photos of Dita von Teese by Steve Diet Goedde

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Print edition ISBN 978-1-78329-927-0E-book ISBN 978-1-78329-942-3

Design direction by Max Phillipswww.maxphillips.net

The name “Hard Case Crime” and the Hard Case Crime logo are trademarks of Winterfall LLC. Hard Case Crime books are selected and edited by Charles Ardai.

Visit us on the web at www.HardCaseCrime.com

Chapter I.

Bertha Cool’s secretary was pounding away when I reported at the office, to see whether I worked that day, or sat twiddling my thumbs and speculating whether my monthly wages would total up to anything above Bertha Cool’s guarantee.

That guarantee gave me just enough for bare necessities. Working regularly, I could have made a little surplus. So far, I’d never had a full month’s work, but, on the other hand, business had never been so slack Bertha Cool had been called on to pay anything under her guarantee.

She was a wise baby, was Bertha Cool. If you made anything out of her, you sure as hell earned it.

The secretary was a good-looking girl—or would have been if she’d given herself a chance. Some discouraging experience in her background had made her feel that she couldn’t be bothered with sex appeal, and so she slicked her hair back, used no make-up, and hated men. She didn’t seem to get much fun out of life and habitually kept her lips clamped in a tight line as though afraid a word might inadvertently spill out when it wasn’t absolutely necessary. For the most part, she made conversation by nodding or shaking her head. If I’d taken the time to have made a form chart, I have an idea the shakes would have outnumbered the nods about three to one.

I closed the door behind me. Its frosted glass bore the legend, “B. COOL, INVESTIGATIONS.” A glance at the open door of the private office showed me that Bertha Cool wasn’t in. The secretary kept pounding away at her typewriter. I walked over to a chair in the corner, picked up a newspaper, and sat down. I didn’t say, “Good morning,” or she to me. After you’ve worked for Bertha Cool just so long, you don’t waste social amenities on anyone. I hadn’t been working quite that long, but the secretary had.

I read down the front sheet of the newspaper. Half of it was devoted to statements by politicians that the citizens would never have to fight another war on European soil, and listing new legislation that was planned to keep America isolated from European troubles. The other half was devoted to the speeches of high officials calling European rulers liars, crooks, thieves, and gangsters.

I turned over to the sporting section, and wondered if I could find something that looked good enough to carry two dollars of my money on its nose, and if I lost, what I could do without that would save two dollars.