The Meridian Job

Cut at the bow, not filed. Pell never gave out keys — he kept them on a ring behind the counter. Whoever took it was already inside the shop, and the lock had not been forced.

Two lines, typed on a machine with a bent lowercase e. The same machine turned up in a furnished room on Ninth, rented to a man who paid in cash and left a grey thread on the radiator.

Meridian Club, corner of Fifth and Vine. Twelve matches gone, eleven dollars left in my coat. The club closed in '39, but somebody still lights candles in the back room.