"Nobody's Ring" by Terence Faherty

From: The Shamus Game ed. Robert J. Randisi. Signet, 2000.

In 1951 Hollywood, P.I. Scott Elliott finds an ostentatious sapphire ring left in the bathroom during a dinner party. No one at the party claims the ring, so Elliott visits local jewelers until one identifies the ring as his handiwork and tells Elliott who ordered it.

Elliott calls the jeweler's client to give the ring back, and the client requests they meet at a more private location. Soon after Elliott arrives there, he finds the client shot dead and is brought in by the police. Faherty keeps this long short story moving with many more twists. Well worth a read.

Garbo's Knees by TERENCE FAHERTY

On my own blog, I have written about Terence Faherty's writing before. Both his short novel In a Teapot and his short stories have really wowed me. This short story does the same.

In this story his detective, Scott Elliott of 1950's Hollywood, tries to figure out who might have stolen some concrete slabs complete with signatures and handprints that Grauman's Chinese Theatre had been storing in a warehouse. One of the slabs belonged to Greta Garbo. Another belonged to someone Scott cared about. Faherty is able to smoothly bring that time and place to life including a trip through the dark side of a city that is usually thought of only in terms of glitz and glamour. Little thought is paid to the stars once they've shined all they're going to shine. Unless you're Scott Elliot.

In any event, Elliott's ability to pay attention to the human side of Hollywood helps him solve this one. Faherty does an excellent job of presenting facets of Hollywood life through a well developed puzzle. Find it in the current issue of EQMM.