Cocktail Talk: A Minor Matter of Murder
I’ve had a number of Cocktail Talk posts here from Day Keene, from his novels and short stories. Most of the latter I’ve read in the series from Ramble House, which does a fairly fine job of reprinting all of his stories that appeared in pulp mags in the 40s – and there were a lot of them! He was ridiculously prolific, and kept the quality bar really high while doing it. I just picket up the third volume, called Death March of the Dancing Dolls, which has seven longish stories, including one called A Minor Matter of Murder, which is where this post’s quote comes from. It also contained one of my favorite non-boozy lines in a while: “to hell with that heifer dust!” Drop that in your next meeting.
I guided her on into the bar and one of the wall tables. “There’s been some trouble at the office. But if you faint, I’ll fire you.” I ordered two double ryes and waited until they were served to tell her than young Schermerhorn was dead.
–Day Keene, A Minor Matter of Murder
