THE STOLEN MANUSCRIPT: THE DICTIONARY MURDERS
BY Ray E. Spencer
GENRE: Mystery, Crime, Comic Relief
LOGLINE: A Private Eye is hired to find a famous Horror author, one of Baltimore's own, and his latest manuscript.
SYNOPSIS:
In October of 1970, the citizens of Baltimore are in a baseball frenzy after Weaver's Birds conquered Bench and Rose's Big Red Machine of Cincinnati, 4 games to 1 in the World Series. Most Convincing. The community was in a sort of perpetual happy trance. But, when Jake Venom, Monument City's favorite son, turns up missing before he can drop his new story off at his Publisher, Premature Burial, the euphoria begins to fade. And, when the body of the Terror Master is discovered dead downtown behind a Dempsey Dumpster, reality begins to overcome the Baseball high that the community has been on for weeks. A silver lining for P.I. Tender comes as a substantial increase in Tim's overall financial fee. His meal ticket comes in the form of Vicki Venom, the "loving" wife of Jake, who, even at her somewhat advanced age, had the best body that money could purchase. But, in the beginning, did she hire Tender's outfit, one P.I., one officer manager, Bea E. Hopkins, Tim's fiancè, to locate her missing husband--or, his lost manuscript? Could it be that the 3 Sicilians, who claim that it should have been Don Varelli's story, not Don Corleone's and looking for justice, somehow be involved? Possibly, Morris Mechanix, the one-man Limousine Service Owner, frustrated Writer, who offers discreet services with his converted, Red 1951 GMC Panel Truck--minus any back windows, seeking Notoriety to publish. After all, Venom's previous bestseller, "Tender Nightmare," squeezed out a crisp $5 Million. The Challenge begins.
