Noir Oracle - Down These Mean Streets

… for “In a Wicked Age”

[main]

16,[no_art]. 110,.
 * main

1,“$200 a day, plus expenses” 1,A bank robbery … except nothing was stolen 1,A murder that left the police and the feds alike stumped 1,A mysterious phone call, giving hints to a crime not yet committed 1,An offer not to be refused 1,Found in a vacant lot: a woman’s nude body, horribly mutilated 1,G-men, fighting crime and resisting corruption 1,Gangsters, in search of ‘the big score’ 1,The acceptance of a small fortune – in exchange for one heinous act 1,The clattering typewriter of a popular pulp writer 1,The most powerful crime boss in town, under indictment for tax evasion 1,The only witness to a Mafia hit … now the hitman’s next target 1,The patriarch of a wealthy family, struggling to protect their façade of respectability 1,Two dozen telephone lines running into a nondescript storefront; the cover for a bookie joint 1,Two escaped convicts hiding out in a house, terrorizing the family 1,Two police detectives recover a suitcase full of stolen money
 * no_art

1,.38 Police Detective Special, with the serial number filed off 1,.45 automatic … still warm to the touch 1,‘Girl Friday’, more loyal to her boss than is wise 1,a hot lead, but from an untrustworthy source 1,abandoned late-model convertible by the roadside 1,accused murderer trying to prove his innocence 1,alcoholic physician, responsible for a terrible error in judgment 1,ambitious auto mechanic, induced by a sultry woman to drive a getaway car 1,amnesiac, awakened suddenly in a strange place 1,backroom card game, frequented by cheats 1,black and white, responding to a domestic violence call 1,bored housewife, trying to keep her infidelity secret 1,brilliant jazz musician, playing a late-night gig in a smoky club 1,British nobleman obsessed with his deceased former wife 1,businessman from out of town, victimized by a charming con artist 1,businessman, embezzling from his partners, fears he has made a mistake in his cover-up 1,car-chase through darkened streets 1,career criminal, recently paroled, and already under close observation by the police 1,cocktail napkin with the words ‘224 Fernside’ written on it 1,corpse; probably killed by someone he trusted 1,crime reporter, who has suddenly taken to carrying a gun 1,critically ill heiress, out to have a last fling before her death 1,crooked judge, in the pay of organized crime 1,crusading journalist, struggling with his personal demons 1,dark and dangerous cityscape under a full moon 1,dead woman, wearing nothing but high heels and an entry wound 1,den of iniquity and heroin, run by a madam who has seen all there is to see 1,deserted house, hiding a dark secret 1,desperate chase across the rooftops at night 1,dirty cop, caught red-handed by his rookie partner 1,disturbed heiress returns home after a crisis at sea 1,egotistical writer who killed her husband, who has received a blackmail demand 1,elderly professor, with the plan for a perfect robbery … but who cannot make it happen alone 1,elegant dinner party, attended by a reclusive philanthropist 1,escaped convict, on the run, trying to prove his innocence 1,ex-con, who has learned a lot in prison 1,fall from a fifteen-story building into a heated pool 1,fancy dame with a tear-streaked face 1,father, rushing his child to the hospital, fearing the worst 1,femme fatale, with a lie for every occasion 1,fixed horse-race; the fix revealed by a soft-hearted jockey 1,foreigner, smelling of cologne and desperation 1,fraudulent company set up to sell shares in a get-rich-quick scheme 1,glamorous nightclub owned by a mobster 1,glamorous singer, framed for robbery by her manager 1,greasy spoon with great coffee and terrible secrets 1,greedy woman who walked out on her lower-class life and is clawing her way to the top 1,grieving widow, seeking answers at any cost 1,handsome gambler whose luck is about to go bad 1,homicidal sexpot with little in the way of self-control 1,hotel detective, willing to look the other way for a bribe 1,jewel thief, with a diamond necklace he can’t unload 1,killer plays for time working on a small fishing boat 1,lady’s handbag, stuffed with little packets of heroin 1,late-night stakeout, where long-simmering resentments finally flare 1,lipstick-edged cigarette, smoldering in a cheap tin ashtray 1,luckless pawn, caught in the middle of a ruthless power-play 1,man making a tragic, ill-fated attempt to break from his lower-class background 1,meeting between a group of rivals, running out of time 1,Mexican cop crosses the border to hunt a murderer 1,misguided gentleman from New Orleans, searching for his runaway bride 1,motion picture camera containing a reel that could put the mayor away for life 1,mysterious parcel, delivered in the middle of the night 1,mysterious woman, accused of poisoning her blind husband 1,naïve heiress, tricked into posing for smutty pictures 1,newspaper editor, alternately worried about his paper’s reputation and his reporter’s safety 1,old Sicilian family, still taking care of the family business 1,pair of murderers who carry bubonic plague 1,pair of nicked-plated handcuffs, locked to a bedpost 1,penniless European charming a fortune out of rich and influential women 1,policeman more interested in making a collar than in solving a crime 1,priceless ancient Mayan mask made of gold 1,prisoner facing the electric chair, waiting for a last-minute pardon from the Governor 1,private detective, whose partner has just been murdered 1,private dick with a short temper 1,prizefight between middleweight contenders, widely publicized and heavily wagered-upon 1,prizefight, attended by the wealthy and the disreputable alike 1,prostitute with a heart of flint 1,punch-drunk boxer, whose next fight might be his last 1,purse containing valuable classified microfilm 1,quiet neighborhood bar where no one asks your name 1,rain-swept city street, deserted of people 1,restless young man meets a torch-singing girl in the hotel room across the hall 1,returning veteran finds that his hometown has turned into a corrupt, vice-ridden jungle 1,ruthless police detective, obsessed with nabbing a big-time gangster 1,safecracker, who just can’t seem to stay on the straight and narrow 1,shoeshine, running numbers for the local boss 1,skyscraper, towering over the downtown skyline, headquarters to the elite and powerful 1,small-time gangster, who has suddenly struck it rich 1,soda jerk who misses nothing 1,speakeasy, frequented by the city’s elite and trendy set 1,speakeasy, the entrance hidden down a flight of steep stairs and behind a narrow doorway 1,spotlight cuts through the fog on Pier 43 1,star reporter investigating his own murder 1,starlet-to-be sitting in a lonely bus station 1,steamship just arrived from the Orient 1,steamy greenhouse, now the only retreat for a dying cripple 1,tall butler with a thin mustache, armed with a cocktail shaker 1,taxi driver, who stops at 11 every night for coffee and pie 1,telephone cord, wrapped around the neck of a bookie 1,thug with a cheap suit and a chip on his shoulder 1,valise full of money, neatly strapped and in serial-number order 1,veteran, still haunted by what he experienced in the war 1,war veteran searching for his missing comrade, who earned a Silver Star 1,war veteran, suffering from blackouts and memory loss, accused of rape and murder 1,wealthy collector, for whom money is no object 1,wife visits her husband in prison, for the last time 1,wineglass with a unique color of lipstick 1,witness in a murder trial recanting his testimony 1,yacht, of foreign registry
 * art