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Doc Malone, Private Eye: The Moonlight Cafe

“Miss Maple, I presume?”

She held out her hand and permitted him to kiss it.

“Charmed, I’m sure.”

Her voice even throatier in person. Doc lingered over her hand for just a millisecond before letting go. He decided she was harmless. For now, at least.

“Shall we go inside?” She nodded her head in assent and they walked into the crowded cafe. Clem was at the piano, playing jazz like only he knew how. He saluted Doc as the couple entered. The waitress seated them at a table next to the window and took their orders.

“I’ll have a Bloody Mary, extra bloody.”

“Nothing to eat, Miss Maple?”

“I never dine past 6 pm.”

Doc shrugged and ordered himself a martini and a steak. No sense going to bed hungry, he thought, as he observed the woman across the table. “So tell me your story, lady.”

She was lighting a cigarette. He noticed that her hands were shaking slightly. “My lover Ben has been missing a week now.”

“Why did you come to me? Why didn’t you go to the police?”

She took a deep drag before continuing.

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