
CHAPTER - I. THE PROPOSITION II. A SECOND EMPLOYMENT III. TWO ENCOUNTERS IV. UNSPOKEN ANTAGONISM V. THE "SHADOW" VI. THE CORONER VII. A STARTLING DISCOVERY VIII. WHERE CLEWS MAY POINT IX. A SUMMONS X. A COMPLICATION XI. THE SHOCK OF TRUTH XII. A DISTURBING LOSS XIII. A TRYST IN THE PARK XIV. A PACKAGE OF DEATH XV. SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES XVI. IN QUEST OF DOROTHY XVII. A RESCUE BY FORCE XVIII. THE RACE XIX. FRIGHT AND A DISAPPEARANCE XX. NEW HAPPENINGS XXI. REVELATIONS XXII. A MAN IN THE CASE XXIII. THE ENEMY'S TRACKS XXIV. A NEW ALARM XXV. A DEARTH OF CLEWS XXVI. STARTLING DISCLOSURES XXVII. LIKE A BOLT FROM THE BLUE XXVIII. A HELPLESS SITUATION XXIX. NIGHT-WALKERS XXX. OVERTURES FROM THE ENEMY XXXI. THE FRET OF WAITING XXXII. A TRAGIC CULMINATION XXXIII. FOSTER DURGIN XXXIV. THE RICHES OF THE WORLD XXXV. JOHN HARDY'S WILL XXXVI. GARRISON'S VALUED FRIEND XXXVII. A HONEYMOON
CHAPTER I - THE PROPOSITION
CHAPTER II - A SECOND EMPLOYMENT
"DEAR SIR:
CHAPTER III - TWO ENCOUNTERS
CHAPTER IV - UNSPOKEN ANTAGONISM
CHAPTER V - THE "SHADOW"
CHAPTER VI - THE CORONER
CHAPTER VII - A STARTLING DISCOVERY
CHAPTER VIII - WHERE CLEWS MAY POINT
Jerold Garrison has just opened a modest criminology office on a noisy New York block, his frosted‑glass sign still half‑painted. A former Ohio farmhand turned scholar, he steps into the city with little money but a fierce confidence that the streets will soon feel his influence. The cramped room smells of fresh paint and a battered treatise on poisons, hinting at a mind already mapping the city’s darker corners.
A tall, impeccably dressed woman slips through the hallway, her eyes flashing between calm and a sudden crimson fire. She places a gloved hand and a cryptic note on his desk, asking for “peculiar services” that go beyond ordinary detective work. Her tone mixes shyness with defiance, suggesting a desperate need that could test Garrison’s fledgling reputation. The encounter pulls him toward a case that entwines his own secrets with hers, setting the city’s endless noise as the backdrop for a fragile partnership.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (339K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2006-10-10
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

A British crime writer with a practical eye for detail, he builds detective thrillers around the messy choices people make under pressure. His books mix police procedure, personal stakes, and a grounded, everyday realism.
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