The Truth is no Stranger. He was as hard boiled as a Private Detective can get. He was sitting in his office, working on a report of his last case when she walked in. She was a knockout, in her short red velvet fur trimmed skirt, so short it barely covered the half-moons of her derriere. And she was tiny. Not five feet. But, holy cow, did she make up for it in spades. She sashayed to his client chair and slid into it. She tried the old, "I've got a friend who's in trouble." It didn't work. It never does. They shared a couple of straight shots and she started to relax. Seems she took something she wasn't supposed. A book. THE Big Book. Took it home to see what all the fuss was about. She was going to bring it back the next day. But, the next day it was gone. And if she didn't get that book back to where it belonged there'd be hell to pay. HELL in all caps. There's never been a more hardboiled Christmas tale than Tim Holter Bruckner's TRUTH IS NO STRANGER. From Pro Se Productions.