Black Mask (Vol. 22, No. 2 — Mary 1939)

Mr. Lester Barnes,

Clam Shell Hotel,

Laguna Beach, Calif.

Dear Les:

The worst has happened! Remember me telling you about old man Youngblood? He’s the rich old banker who loaned me the five hundred bucks I needed to start my agency three years ago. I told him at that time if he ever needed a detective for anything that he could call on me and that I would do the job free-gratis.

Well, he telephoned from San Diego today and wants me to come down there

right away for something that he wouldn’t discuss over the phone, but you know I’m all tied up here in court on the Jenson case. I can’t get away for ten days, so I’m asking you to postpone your honeymoon for a few days and drive down there to see what he wants.

San Diego is only another seventy miles from where you two are. Tell Mary how it is. She’ll probably be as sore as a strip-tease dancer with a stuck zipper because I’m interrupting your honeymoon, especially since you were only hitched yesterday, but if it wasn’t for the dough Youngblood loaned me you wouldn’t be working now. We can’t let him down. We may need some more dough sometime.

Give Mary my love and get going for San Diego right away. You’ll find Youngblood at his bank. I told him you would handle the case and would be on the job sooner than soon. That should be soon enough. Which is why I’m sending this airmail.

You can pick up with your honeymoon where you leave off after the job is done.

Regretfully,

Jim.

P. S. How do you kids like married life?

Jim Handmore,

Red Star Detective Agency,

San Francisco, Calif.

Dear Jim:

If I’d read your letter before I opened it, I’d have tom it up. How do we like married life? That’s a laugh. Give us a chance! Mary says that Youngblood has his nerve wanting me to come down there. Didn’t you tell him that we just got married?

We were just going to take a swim in the ocean when your letter came, but after Mary read it I got all the water I wanted in the tears Mary cried down my back. She’s all right now, though, and is going to stay here at the Clam Shell while I make a hurried trip to San Diego.

I’d take her with me, but I paid the hotel bill here for two weeks in advance and the hotel won’t kick back with the dough. Some joint, huh? I figure that I can take care of Youngblood in a day or two, at the most. So then I can come back here and really make up to Mary for lost time.

Your faithful employee,

Les.

P. S. I’ll write you from San Diego and let you know what it’s all about.