Hit and Run

Note: This story is available in Black Cat Weekly #250

~The patrol sergeant in charge, a lean woman with the posture and bear-

ing of a military commander, waved them over. “When did they start send-

ing the murder detectives to hit and runs?”

“Oh,” Broyhill said as he shook the woman’s hand, “you know us.

We’re always looking for a reason to get out of the office.”

“The Crash Reconstruction Squad is down in Miami at a conference

this week,” Halsman explained. “The other squads are covering. Today’s

homicide’s day.”

“Well, you’re in luck, if you can call it that.” The sergeant nodded a

few yards away toward a crumpled form covered in a white linen sheet.

“We have a dead body, so at least that part will be familiar.”~

Ambrose Broyhill came into being as the answer to one simple question: what if the smartest guy in the room wasn’t the fittest or the best dressed? Nero Wolf was famously overweight, and Columbo practically weaponized getting suspects to underestimate him, but in modern times, it seems like sleuths come with their square jaws or shapely legs factory installed.

From the beginning, Ambrose was meant to be different. The years of reviewing evidence, interviewing suspects, and writing detailed reports hasn’t left him much time to work out. He’s fat. Regardless of what the tags say, all his clothes end up “no-iron.” He doesn’t spend much time perfecting the dimple in his tie. What he does do is solve cases, and if his friendly demeanor and slovenly appearance helps the criminals and his coworkers underestimate him, then so much the better.

“Hit and Run” was the first story I wrote focused on Ambrose, written well before either of us knew Friday Hampton was going to come into his life. By getting to know the famous detective through his partner’s eyes, we find Ambrose at the height of his powers, establishing the reputation that is so often referenced in the stories set after his retirement.

This is a longer mystery, a novelet. I consider it a “fair play mystery,” but in a very true-to-life way; see, in most cases, the police know who committed the crime fairly early. All the work comes from collecting enough evidence to secure a conviction. The fun of these types of stories isn’t picking the killer out of a limited cast of characters before the detective can, but if you can add up enough clues to close the case. Give it a read, and let me know how you do!