The Gloved Hand

The story opens with a hard‑pressed attorney‑detective returning to his cramped office after a grueling series of court battles. Sweltering June heat presses against the windows, and he drifts into day‑dreams of cool fountains while the world outside crackles with summer sparks. An unexpected knock delivers a terse message from his longtime confidant, Jim Godfrey, a reporter who promises a quiet retreat at a secluded Bronx summer house—if the detective will agree to a few days of rest.

Enticed by the prospect of sleep and a break from relentless cases, the protagonist quickly packs his bags, his curiosity sparked by Godfrey’s hint of “certain phenomena” in the neighborhood. As he prepares to leave the bustling city behind, the narrative teases an uneasy blend of ordinary fatigue and the whisper of a new mystery waiting to surface, setting a tone that balances weary humor with the lure of the unknown.