Innocent Bystander
Page 17
The roar reverberated in the narrow confines of the low-hung, mirrored ceiling. The echoes bounced crazily around, from mirror to mirror, as though each one reflected the sound as well as the sight.
And in the big, distorted mirror across the room, Ellen seemed to melt, rather than fall, from sight.
It was a little while before either Smith or Tony moved or spoke.
At last Tony took out the gaudily monogrammed handkerchief he always wore in his breast pocket and laid it over her still lovely face.
And Smith said quietly, as though it explained everything, “She had a mouth like a bruised rose.”
About the Author
Craig Rice (1908–1957), born Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig, was an American author of mystery novels and short stories described as “the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction.” In 1946, she became the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time magazine. Best known for her character John J. Malone, a rumpled Chicago lawyer, Craig’s writing style was both gritty and humorous. She also collaborated with mystery writer Stuart Palmer on screenplays and short stories, as well as with Ed McBain on the novel The April Robin Murders.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1949 by Craig Rice
Cover design by Andy Ross
ISBN: 978-1-5040-4847-7
This edition published in 2017 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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