Two women, one a detective, the other an apparent felon and fugitive from the law, strike up an edgy romance that leaves one of them short a thousand dollars. But that’s not the problem, is it? By the time she finds out the whys and wherefores of Roberta Blue, Detective Delores “Duke” Avante is also missing a big piece of her heart. Losing a grand starts looking like good news.

This short story tribute to the Noir and Hard-boiled genre and eras of crime writing of Vin Packer (Marijane Meeker), Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler comes with an O. Henry twist.

Includes an excerpt of the author's most recent full-length novel, Mistress of Mogador.