by Maia Chance
Lem didn’t answer for two full drags and exhalations of his gasper. Finally, he said. “Okay—”
I could breathe again.
“—’cause I like the photographs you sent down. They didn’t come out too nice, but getting those shots took guts. I like dames with guts. And I guess your crazy detective work shut down that oyster-poaching operation up in Carvington, so I’m back on top of the oyster biz here in New York. I like that, too. So, okay. You’re on for the catering deal.”
“Thanks awfully, Mr. Fitzpatrick,” I said, unclasping my handbag. I filled out the blank deposit check my father had given me ages ago, and slid it over. It was as crumpled as a hankie, but Lem didn’t comment on that, and the four of us sealed the deal by clinking teacups of gin. “You won’t regret it,” I said.
A schoolmarmish little voice in the back of my head said, He won’t regret it, but you probably will.
* * *
Back outside, the clouds had sunk lower. Berta went to the curb to hail a taxicab.
“Want to go out after you have dinner with your mother?” Ralph asked me. “I’ll take you dancing. Help you forget all the bad stuff.”
Frigid wind whipped down Fifth Avenue, slicing through my coat. I shivered. “You know, I think tonight’s a night for cuddling with one’s sweetie in front of a crackling fire. Not dancing.”
Ralph brushed the backs of his knuckles across my cold cheek. “Crackling fire? Cuddling? Okay. I think I can handle that.”
As Berta waved for a taxi, as Cedric tangled his leash around our ankles and snagged my last good pair of silk stockings, Ralph and I kissed. Nope, it wasn’t picture-perfect. A moth had fluttered out of my fur collar, and we had motorcar honks and the scent of roasting frankfurters for ambience. But Ralph was in my arms again, the Discreet Retrieval Agency’s future was rosy, and I held out hope that my mother would never know that her younger daughter’s society wedding of the year was to be catered by a gangster.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was all mine.
Also by Maia Chance
DISCREET RETRIEVAL AGENCY MYSTERIES
Teetotaled
Come Hell or Highball
FAIRY TALE FATAL MYSTERIES
Beauty, Beast, and Belladonna
Cinderella Six Feet Under
Snow White Red-Handed
About the Author
MAIA CHANCE was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington. She is writing her dissertation on nineteenth-century American literature. She is also the author of the Fairy Tale Fatal mystery series. You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
St. Martin’s Press ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on the author, click here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Also by Maia Chance
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
GIN AND PANIC. Copyright © 2017 by Maia Chance. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photographs: dog illustration by Lexi Earle; couple © alaver/Shutterstock.com; art deco background © Fears/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-10905-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-10906-4 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250109064
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: October 2017
