
A routine day at a small-town bank erupts into chaos when three masked men in identical shabby suits storm in, brandishing a pistol and a satchel full of cash. The tellers and customers are forced against the back wall while Miss English makes a frantic dash for the exit, only to be knocked unconscious by the gunman. The robbery spirals into a frantic shoot‑out as the thieves race to a nervous driver’s car, and police sirens wail down the street, their own guns blazing in the confusion.
The getaway quickly unravels when the criminals’ vehicle stalls after a reckless collision, leaving them vulnerable to the arriving officers. As detectives Stevenson and Pauling begin to piece together the botched heist, a shadowy figure known only as “the Scorpion” watches from the sidelines, his reputation for relentless vengeance already striking fear into both crooks and lawmen. The stage is set for a relentless pursuit that will drag the city’s underworld into the light.
Language
en
Duration
~57 minutes (55K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2020-01-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1933–2008
A master of comic crime fiction, this hugely prolific American writer was known for sharp plotting, sly humor, and an uncanny feel for how schemes go wrong. He created beloved series characters including burglar John Dortmunder and the harder-edged Parker, written under the name Richard Stark.
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