He was a heel . . . a blue-blood gone bad, a low-brow with class, a bum with an income. He liked low-slung cars and top-heavy girls, and he took his pleasure where he found it. He was the consort of bookies, dope-peddlers, crooks; the buddy of has-beens, tough guys, and junkies. He dreamed the big dream, but played it small . . . free wheeling it down hill all the way, with a crack-upâand murderâat the bottom.
Too many slow horses, too many fast women, and finally, one loaded cigarette; and after that . . . trouble: a woman who wouldnât stay, a dead manâs face that wouldnât go away, and an alibi that wouldnât stick . . .