The Black Stiletto's Autograph Read online

  ***

  Nicole stared at me with an open mouth. “You know, grandpa, I’ve noticed you always refuse wine or beer at dinner. Is that why you never drink?” she asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “It’s because of what she said to you? What did it mean?”

  “I have no idea. All I know is that the next day, I went and enrolled in City College to get my teaching certificate. When I graduated, I got a job working at Taft High School in the Bronx. After five years of that, I decided to get a Master’s Degree and went to Columbia. That’s where I met your grandmother, you know. Then I started teaching there, got tenure, and the rest is history, as they say. I never touched another drop of alcohol because I knew I’d fall back on my rear end if I did. I can’t explain why, but I owe my life to the Black Stiletto.”

  My granddaughter looked up at me with those bright blue eyes and asked, “What happened to her, grandpa?”

  “Well, no one really knows. That night was pretty early in her career. She was in New York for two or three years and then she moved to California and was active in Los Angeles for a short time. Then she disappeared and was never heard from again.”

  “You think she’s dead?”

  “Nobody knows. Maybe. She lived a very dangerous life. But she could very well be an old lady somewhere, just like your grandma.”

  “Who’s an old lady?”

  Uh oh, my wife of several decades overheard us. Nancy entered the living room from the kitchen and put her hands on her hips. I looked at Nicole and nudged her. “You think grandma could’ve been the Black Stiletto? She’s pretty enough. She’s tough enough, too! She beat me up lots of times when we were younger.”

  Nicole slapped my shoulder again and stood. “Oh, grandpa! Here, grandma, come and sit.”

  “You don’t have to get up, dear,” Nancy said as she made her way to the chair.

  “It’s all right, I’m gonna go watch TV.”

  My wife sat, sighed, and said, “You sure are getting more beautiful every time I see you. Are you enjoying your summer vacation?”

  “I sure am!” Nicole gave me a hug and a big kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for the story, grandpa.” She then went to Nancy and gave her a hug and kiss, too. After that, she was up the stairs.

  Nancy nodded toward the frame on the wall across the room. “You sure love that old autograph…”

  “It’s very valuable,” I said. “Not many people have the Black Stiletto’s autograph, you know.”

  “Oh, I know, I know. You’ve been telling me that for fifty years.”

  “It’s my most prized possession.”

  Nancy raised her eyebrows. “Is it now?”

  I reached over, took her hand, and replied, “Except for you, of course, my dear.”

  She made “tsk tsk” sound, but I knew she was pleased. Then she added, “You do always know the right things to say.”

  THE END

  The Black Stiletto

  The First Full-Length Novel in a New Series!

  Available from Oceanview Publishing, September 2011

  Follow the Black Stiletto at:

  www.theblackstiletto.net

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Raymond Benson is the author of over twenty-five published books, including the James Bond novels The Man With the Red Tattoo, Never Dream of Dying, DoubleShot, High Time to Kill, The Facts of Death, and Zero Minus Ten, as well as the novelizations of the films Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough, and Tomorrow Never Dies. His Bond short stories have been published in Playboy and TV Guide magazines. His Bond works were recently collected in the anthologies The Union Trilogy and Choice of Weapons. He is also the author of the suspense novels Face Blind, Evil Hours, Sweetie’s Diamonds, Torment, Artifact of Evil, the “rock ‘n’ roll thrillers” A Hard Day’s Death and Dark Side of the Morgue, and the non-fiction books The Pocket Essentials Guide to Jethro Tull and The James Bond Bedside Companion (the latter was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Biographical/Critical Work in 1984). As “David Michaels,” Raymond is the author of the New York Times’ best-selling action/adventure novels Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell—Operation Barracuda. He has also written novels based on the popular videogames Metal Gear Solid and Homefront (the latter with John Milius). His newest work is The Black Stiletto, available September 2011. The author is also a film historian—he teaches Film History at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois—and has extensive experience directing stage plays, composing music, and designing and writing adventure computer games. He is married, has one son, and is based in the Chicago area.

  For More About the Author, Visit

  www.raymondbenson.com