Dead Deal

"Dead Deal" is a short Cthulhu Mythos story by author Drew Nicks. It was published in the first issue of short-lived horror magazine The Asylum Diaries by Oscillate Wildly Press in May 2019.
==Synopsis==
Baker Martin, a small-time private investigator in debt to the mafia, is recruited by Santino Sforza, a tough mob enforcer with an interest in black magic, to retrieve a valuable book of ancient lore. After witnessing a mysterious woman annihilate a barroom full of hoods, Martin is approached by a shady-looking man who offers him the book, along with a piece of paper with a star-shaped symbol for protection. Giving the book to Sforza, Martin bears witness to the gangster's demise at the hands of the three entities which manifest upon its opening: the mysterious woman, the shady man, and an enormous, eldritch abomination.
==Mythos Connections==
*The book which Tini Sforza is in search of is stated to be the Kitab Al-Aazif [sic], an ancient name for the Necronomicon.
*The mysterious woman's name is given as Lucy Delapore, a reference to the main character from H. P. Lovecraft's 1924 short story "The Rats in the Walls". Whether Lucy is intended to be a relative to Lovecraft’s Delapore or simply a throw-away nod to the authors work is not clarified.
Category:Drew Nicks works
Category:Expanded Mythos Works