TODAY we depart from our usual practice of highlighting stories that are readily available online somewhere to highlighting one that presently only resides inside a dead-tree publication, to wit:
"The Suspension of Mickey Hackerstein."
By Arthur Vidro.
First appearance: Mystery Most Traditional - Malice Domestic Number 17, 2023.
For sale (HERE).
Short story (14 pages).
"I read a lot. Especially Christie, Queen, Sayers, Gardner, Grafton, Lovesey—"
"Who are they?"
"Never mind."
SHERLOCK HOLMES informed Watson that he had written a monograph about "the ashes of various tobaccos." The (very amateur) sleuth in today's story has almost certainly never read Holmes's treatise (who has?). Fortunately, as it turns out, she won't need any expert advice from the Sage of Baker Street to solve a killing that happens within just a few feet of where she works . . .
Main characters:
~ Mickey Hackerstein (the narrator), James Carr, Jedediah Gilroy, Teri Nelluc, Officer Calvey, Chuck Nelluc, Sergeant Salem, and the "beefy police sergeant."
References:
- Holmes's monograph:
"The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes was an expert in the study of cigar ash and wrote a monograph, Upon the Distinction Between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccos, about it. This expertise was used in his cases such as A Study in Scarlet, The Boscombe Valley Mystery and The Hound of the Baskervilles." (Wikipedia HERE.) (Also see Chris Lansdown's essay HERE and The Victorian Web HERE.)
- "Mickey Mantle":
"Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931–August 13, 1995), nicknamed 'the Mick' and 'the Commerce Comet,' was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York Yankees, primarily as a center fielder. Mantle is regarded by many as being one of the best players and sluggers of all time. He was an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player three times and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "some stringers":
"In journalism, a stringer is a freelancer who contributes writing, photos, or videos to a photo agency, news agency, or other news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work rather than earning a fixed salary. Stringers include journalists, photographers, or videographers.
"As freelancers, stringers do not receive a regular salary and the amount and type of work is typically at their discretion. However, stringers often have an ongoing relationship with one or more news organizations, to which they provide content on particular topics or locations when the opportunities arise." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "the paste-up artist":
"Paste up is a method of creating or laying out publication pages that predates the use of the now-standard computerized page design desktop publishing programs. Completed, or camera-ready, pages are known as mechanicals or mechanical art. In the offset lithography process, the mechanicals would be photographed with a stat camera to create a same-size film negative for each printing plate required." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "like Joseph Wambaugh":
"Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. (January 22, 1937–February 28, 2025) was an American writer known for his fictional and nonfictional accounts of police work in the United States. Many of his novels are set in Los Angeles and its surroundings and feature Los Angeles police officers as protagonists. He won three Edgar Awards, and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "my Chevy Citation":
"The Chevrolet Citation is a range of compact cars that was produced by Chevrolet from the 1980 to 1985 model years. The first front-wheel drive Chevrolet, the Citation replaced the Chevrolet Nova as the automaker downsized its compact cars." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "Virginia Slim cigarette":
"Philip Morris introduced Virginia Slims on July 22, 1968 and marketed the brand as a female-oriented spinoff of the company's Benson & Hedges brand. The blends, flavorings, color scheme and overall marketing concepts closely followed the Benson & Hedges model." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "a Winston":
"Winston was introduced in 1954 by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and quickly became one of the top-selling cigarette brands, using the slogan 'Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.' It became the number one cigarette sold in the world by 1966, a position it held until 1972 when Marlboro overtook the brand." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "to watch Picket Fences":
"Picket Fences is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on CBS in the United States." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "playing Good Samaritan":
"The term 'good Samaritan' is used as a common metaphor: 'The word now applies to any charitable person, especially one who, like the man in the parable, rescues or helps out a needy stranger'." (Wikipedia HERE.)
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| Artwork by Rembrandt van Rjin |
- "instant Sanka":
"Sanka is a brand of instant decaffeinated coffee, sold around the world, and was one of the earliest decaffeinated varieties. Sanka is distributed in the United States by Kraft Heinz." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "either second-degree murder or manslaughter":
"Generally, second-degree murder is an unplanned homicide caused by actions you knew or should have known could lead to the victim’s death.
"Getting into a sudden fight and battering a person to death could be an example of second-degree murder. You may not have planned to get into a fight. However, if you should have known your attacks could be deadly, it may be second-degree murder.
"The difference between first and second-degree is the mental state or mens rea. Even if you didn’t have the intent to take a human life, extreme indifference to serious bodily harm is enough to hold you accountable for the death of another person." (LawInfo HERE.)
"The definition of voluntary manslaughter under federal law is the unlawful killing of a human being upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion. Typically, this means that the defendant had no prior intent to kill.
"Voluntary manslaughter is a lesser-included charge of murder. So, when a prosecutor brings a murder charge, the jury can find the defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter without the prosecutor having to bring those charges." (LawInfo HERE.)
Resources:
- Arthur Vidro is, of course, the genial Editor-in-Chief of that superlative detective fiction magazine, (Give Me) That Old Time Detection, which we have occasionally run across (a comprehensive list starts HERE). He is also the author of "The Ransom of EQMM #1" (HERE).
We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
The bottom line:
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