The Nude on the Postcard

She started to rise slowly, using the alcove wall for support. About two-thirds of the way to a complete standing position, she stopped, tilted her head back, and looked directly at him. "The door is locked." He debated. Not whether to answer but whether to put his snubnose away. She looked harmless enough. He put it back in the holster. "Yeah, it's locked. Why do you want in?"

So begins the search for the daughter of a world-wise woman—a daughter purposely made addicted to heroin and cocaine and forced to work in a brothel to provide money and information to a Nazi spy organization operating in New York City prior to America's entry into World War II.