Stories I’m Reading: JOHN GREGORY BETANCOURT “Pit and the Princess.”

JOHN GREGORY BETANCOURT “Pit and the Princess.” First appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, December 2014, Not reprinted or collected. Peter (Pit) Geller is what;s called a fixer, and he works primarily for a mob boss in Philadelphia. One distinguishing feature is that he has a photographic memory, but while it’s mentioned a couple of times, it really doesn’t come into play in this case, which involves his being sent to Vegas to look for his boss’s niece who has gone missing. The case nearly solves itself. When he;s dropped off at a guest house once he arrives, the niece and her boy friend are already camped out there. Case over? Not so fast. So is a dead body. The kids didn’t do it. But who did? Being only a short story, there aren’t many suspects, and Pit makes short work of the rest of the case. Betancourt is head honcho at Wildside Press (editor and publisher), but he’s a decent writer as well, a;though being perhaps better known in SF and fantasy circles. This is no more…