Last Laugh A story in "Black Coffee"

Hustlers and harlots, cops and robbers, philandering husbands and wayward wives, gangsters and priests and dames who know how to use a gun; they take us on a murderous journey across the country, around the world and back through time. We rub up against sin and deceit, sacrifice and sensuality, shimmering evening gowns and blue jeans and white blouses—and yes, the requisite cats. And while these tales tell of death and despair, wrack and ruin, they also offer the possibility of redemption. After all, what are noir stories, if not modern takes on cautionary tales of old?