Effect on Men

Two stories for the price of one. Both 2017 Derringer Award Finalists. Derringer Awards are given annually by the Short Mystery Fiction Society to recognize excellence in short mystery fiction.

Effect on Men
2017 Derringer Finalist for the “Best Long Story”

Monday, April 7, 1947, and a long cool blonde walks into New Orleans Private Eye Lucien Caye’s office. Patricia Ruxton is a Lana Turner lookalike. Her angry, rich husband is with her. The job – retrieve letters and pictures from Mrs. Ruxton’s former boyfriend. Locating the former boyfriend isn’t hard, he works at a nearby gas station. First problem – he’s a disabled veteran. Second problem – he isn’t giving the pictures and letters back. He still loves Patricia.

Patricia understands. She has Lucien arrange a tearful meeting where Patricia decides her old boyfriend can keep the pictures and letters. She explains she has an effect on men. Not just some men, but all men. Lucien feels it as well – the magnetic attraction.

Is she coming on to Lucien? He wonders as he gets a late night call. The former boyfriend is dead and his place is ransacked. Is it suicide or did the angry husband kill him or is it something else entirely?

Lagniappe – a little extra.

A Just Reward
2017 Derringer Finalist for “Best Flash Story”

A stranger comes into the small town sheriff’s office with information that leads to the recovery of a stolen statue. He understands there’s a reward. There’s a problem, however.