On the night they were to elope, a spurned lover returned. A gift, she claimed. But the clockwork contraption unwound a poisonous bloom, sending Lady Emily and Luca, her gypsy love, on a desperate race to reach the cure.

Richter’s War: Case of the Japanese Alien
In this sci-fi thriller short story, a World War II battle engulfs Los Angeles, and sweeps a hard-boiled detective into