But the second week after we arrived in New York, Weatherby spotted one of those damned free hipster newspapers lying in a gutter, and Viscount Wagner Stein’s face was plastered all over it. We dug it out, sat down in a diner and looked it over. There he was, sitting between top writers and artists in some juice bar poetry recital. Viscount Stein was wearing a broad-shouldered purple suit and tie, a matching fedora with a peacock feather in the brim, and his gold pentagram still gleamed on his chest. The article was a typical Beatnik screed, and even though I’d rather bite my tongue in half than hear those fruitcakes, I read every word in the article twice.
Here’s what it said:
Just What the Doctor Ordered:
A New Personality Hits the Village
Hey, all you cool kids and cats, a new face has been making the rounds in the Village, and his voice is being whispered by all the right people. His name is Doctor Twist and if you dig him, he can provide speedy transport to the moon and beyond. The Good Doctor’s got Uppers, Downers, Bombers, Bennies and good old fashioned Tea for sale, but if you’re feeling a little adventurous, just ask for some of his real gone ‘Special’ concoction, playfully called Panacea.
Nobody knows what’s in those potions but notorious Beat maven Neal Cassady declared that Twist’s Panacea was “just… THERE, you know. Just absolutely, totally, undeniably THERE.”
Infamous poet Allen Ginsberg shrieked that taking Panacea made him “walk with demons on the rooftops of the world, screaming out to Gods and presidents, thrusting madly while my mind burned, withered and died in an inferno that turned dreams into pale ash!”
Clearly, the Twister is serving out some premium stuff, and it’s no wonder that everyone’s clamoring for a taste.
Doctor Twist answered a question about the Panacea with his usual mysterious good humor. “The secret ingredient, my dear?” he replied to this reporter at an exclusive jazz performance in Harlem. “Grave dust and powdered bones.” Whatever his secret is, Doctor Twist’s fame and fortune are certainly on the rise.
Dig this, cool kids – the Twister is one cat you do want crossing your path.
I finished reading the article for the second time and then I stood up, reaching into my coat to feel the cold reassuring handles of my automatics. Weatherby grabbed my arm. “Where are you going, Mort?”
“Greenwich Village. To kill Wagner Stein.”
“No, Mort! You can’t do that! That’s precisely what he wants.” Weatherby sighed and pointed to the picture. “He’s become a cultural figure of these decadents, getting well-known and drawing people around him, just like I thought he would. We can’t get away with just gunning down such a well-known figure. We must wait, bide our time, and take him down without the public realizing the truth.”
I thought about Weatherby’s words. I didn’t like them one bit, but that didn’t stop him from being absolutely right. I sat down, and stared at the ceiling. “Damn it,” I muttered. “That’s bastard’s loose in the world. He’s getting more and more power and influence every day and it’s our own damn fault. And now we have to wait for the right opportunity to finish it.” I looked at Weatherby. He was upset, but he wasn’t fuming and he wasn’t crying. “Ain’t you bouncing off the walls about it, kiddo?”
“I am upset,” Weatherby agreed. “Gravely so. But I must remember Evelyn’s words. She’s extremely intelligent, you know, as well as being utterly beautiful.”
“So what’d she say?”
“She told me that we are the only ones who can stop Viscount Wagner Stein. So we have to do it correctly. And for now, that means waiting.” I could sense the tremor in his voice, the anger threatening to boil over and make Weatherby get as angry as his ancestor was cruel. But there was admiration and affection too. I guess our adventure hadn’t done much, but it did let Weatherby get closer with Evelyn, so at least one good thing had come out of it.
And as for Viscount Wagner, we just had to wait. Let him sit and steam with all those Bohemian punks and perverts, getting weaker and forgetting about me and Weatherby. We’d remind him, all right. We’d kill him – and this time, it’d stick. I was looking forward to making sure that it did.
Thank You For Reading.
Now that you have completed this book, we hope you will leave a review so that other readers may benefit from your perspective. Authors like Michael Panush live and die by your reviews, after all!
Please visit http://curiosityquills.com/reader-survey/ to share your reading experience with the author of this book!
About the Author
Author Blog | Follow on Twitter | Like on Facebook | Circle on Google+ | Friend on GoodReads
Twenty-Two years old, Michael Panush has distinguished himself as one of Sacramento’s most promising young writers. Michael has published numerous short stories in a variety of e-zines including: AuroraWolf, Demon Minds, Fantastic Horror, Dark Fire Fiction, Aphelion, Horrorbound, Fantasy Gazetteer, Demonic Tome, Tiny Globule, and Defenestration.
Michael began telling stories when he was only nine years old. He won first place in the Sacramento Storyteller’s Guild “Liar’s Contest” in 2002 and was a finalist in the National Youth Storytelling Olympics in in 2003. In 2005, Michael’s short story entitled, Adventures in Algebra, won first place in the annual MISFITS Writing Contest.
In 2007, Michael was selected as a California Art’s Scholar and attended the Innerspark Summer Writing Program at the CalArts Institute. He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 2008 and has recently graduated from UC Santa Cruz.
The Stein & Candle Detective Agency series launched in the Winter of 2012, with Vol. 1: American Nightmares being Michael's first title published under the banner of Curiosity Quills Press, with Vol. 2: Cold Wars and Vol. 3: Red Reunion coming soon. More exciting series will also be announced, including the El Mosaico and Horrorwood, P.I. series.
A Division of Whampa, LLC
P.O. Box 2540
Dulles, VA 20101
Tel/Fax: 800-998-2509
http://curiosityquills.com
© 2012 Michael Panush
http://www.clarkreeper.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information about Subsidiary Rights, Bulk Purchases, Live Events, or any other questions - please contact Curiosity Quills Press at [email protected], or visit http://curiosityquills.com
Cover Design by Ricky Gunawan
http://ricky-gunawan.daportfolio.com
ISBN: 978-1-62007-032-1 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-1-62007-033-8 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-62007-034-5 (hardcover)
More from Curiosity Quills Press
Worlds Burn Through, by Vicki Keire.
(http://bit.ly/worlds-burn-through)
Chloe Burke has nightmares of a world burned to ash and the strange boy who saves them both. Underneath the dreams lurks a deeply buried reality; Chloe and a handful of others are survivors of a decade old apocalypse that burned their home world to the ground.
Now their ancient enemies hunt them again. To keep their adopted world safe, Chloe must undergo a ritual of blood sacrifice that will have life-long consequences if she survives. Her lethal protector, Eliot Gray, must keep her alive long enough to do it.
Together they will uncover even more dangerous secrets buried in the past’s deepest, darkest ashes.
Dinosaur Jazz, by Michael Panush.
(http://bit.ly/dinosaur-jazz)
Acheron Island is a world lost to time, home to prehistoric creatures from earth’s savage past – and Sir Edwin Crowe, son of one of the world’s last Gentleman Adventurers. When ruthless American businessman, Selwyn Slade, brings an army of corporate cronies and modern industrial power to conquer this world from the past, it’s up to Sir Edwin to protect these prehistoric lands.
Its Jazz Age meets the Mesozoic Age in a world where cave men, gangsters, hunters, zeppelins, pirates, warlords and dinosaurs clash for a chance of surviva
l. All that and more is waiting for you in Dinosaur Jazz, a tale of high adventure in a prehistoric world.
Blood Redemption, by Vicki Keire.
(http://bit.ly/blood-redemption)
Trapped in the Dark Realms, Caspia finds herself the unwitting leader of a growing Nephilim rebellion. Plagued by strange dreams and intrigue, she learns to master her Azalene abilities when all she wants is to find her way back home. To Whitfield. To Ethan.
But a new enemy gathers, and it isn’t just Belial. To avoid another Nephilim war, the Realms of Light decide to attack their ancient enemy first. Caspia, her hometown, and everyone she loves happens to be in the way. She and Ethan must fight their way back to each other and try to protect the life they’ve built.
Wilde’s Army, by Krystal Wade.
“Hello, Katriona.”
Those two words spark fear in Katriona Wilde and give way to an unlikely partnership with Perth, the man she’s been traded to marry for a favor. Saving her true love and protector Arland, her family, and their soldiers keeps her motivated, but the at-odds duo soon realizes trust is something that comes and goes with each breath of Encardia’s rotting, stagnant air.
Now, Kate must unite her clashing people, and form an army prepared to fight in order to defeat Darkness. When so many she’s grown fond of die along the journey, will she still be Katriona Wilde, the girl with fire?
Please visit http://CuriosityQuills.com for more great books, serialized stories, and discussions.
Table of Contents
Appetizer:
Book Cover
Title Page
Main Course:
Tiki Terror
Crimson Catch
Mort Candle's War
Pharaoh's Palace
The Hollow
Business Proposition
Crypt Crashers
Dessert:
Closing
About the Author
Copyright & Publisher
More from Curiosity Quills Press
The Stein & Candle Detective Agency, Vol. 2: Cold Wars (The Stein & Candle Detective Agency #2) Page 22
