In a city run by a powerful mobster, nobody wants to play the hero. Private investigator Charlie Madison just wants to pay the rent. When a little girl goes missing and no ransom demand is made, Madison takes the case. Time isn't on his side. After 48 hours, it's unlikely an abducted child will be found in one piece. But Madison's a champion of lost causes, and he'll be damned before he gives up on her—even if it means putting his life on the line. As the mystery unfolds, Madison learns a bizarre secret that seems too impossible to believe. But it could explain why the girl was kidnapped—and why she might still be alive. Novelette - 12,500 words - Crime Noir / Science Fiction Prequel to Immaterial Evidence Originally published by St. Martin's Press in the Girl Trouble anthology

A woman stalked by her double. A detective in over his head. In a city where the cops are on a mobster’s payroll, private investigator Charlie Madison stands in the gap. When a wealthy young socialite asks him to help her catch a threatening stalker, he takes the case. But things aren’t what they seem, and Madison has to act fast before he’s framed for murder. Novelette - Crime Noir / Science Fiction Precursor to Up in Smoke, Death Duel, and The Suprahuman Secret