Chapters 1-2 Summary

Spenser is in his office reading a biography about the poet Spenser that his girlfriend Susan gave to him when he receives a phone call from a former client. Spenser answers the phone imitating the great detective Allan Pinkerton, but the former client, writer Rachel Wallace, does not find it amusing. Wallace tells Spenser that she gave his name and number to a reporter in Los Angeles, who called requesting the information after having done a story on Wallace a few months before. The reporter, Candy Sloan, has received threats related to a corruption story she is investigating in the motion picture industry. Wallace tells Spenser that he should expect a phone call from Sloan. A few minutes after Spenser hangs up with Wallace, Candy Sloan calls. Candy offers to hire Spenser through the station she works for as a bodyguard...