First Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Edition, August 1992
Copyright renewed 1971 by Mrs. Helga Greene
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Originally published, in hardcover, by Alfred A. Knopf, in 1943, and, in paperback, by Vintage Books, in 1976.
--- --- ---
"Her dark hair was parted and fell in loose but not unstudied waves." ~ p. 4
"She had a smooth ivory skin and rather severe eyebrows and large dark eyes that looked as if they might warm up at the right time and in the right place." ~ p. 4
"She put my card beside a pile of freshly typed letterheads. She leaned back and put one arm on the desk and tapped lightly with a small gold pencil." ~ p. 5
"She looked playful and eager, but not quite sure of herself, like a new kitten in a house where they don't care much about kittens." ~ p. 5
"I thanked her and went and sat in a chromium and leather chair that was a lot more comfortable than it looked. Time passed and silence descended on the scene. Nobody came in or went out. ~ p. 5
"The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips." ~ p. 6
"Ten minutes later the same door opened again and the big shot came out with his hat on and sneered that he was going to get a hair-cut. He started off across the Chinese rug in a swinging athletic stride, made about half the distance to the door and then did a sharp cutback and came over to where I was sitting." ~ p. 6
"He was about six feet two and not much of it soft. His eyes were stone gray with flecks of cold light in them. He filled a large size in smooth gray flannel with a narrow chalk stripe, and filled it elegantly. His manner said he was very tough to get along with." ~ pp. 6-7
"He's a big man with soft silvery hair and a cute little mouth to kiss babies with." ~ p. 7
"He reared back as if I had hung a week-old mackerel under his nose." ~ p. 7
"He reached himself a panatela out of a copper and mahogany box and trimmed it and lit it with a fat copper desk lighter." ~ p. 8
"He took his time about it. It didn't matter about my time." ~ p. 8
+--+Albrecht+D%C3%BCrer.bmp)
