Nightmare Town Quotes

“Take any man you like -- unless he is the one in a hundred thousand with a mind trained to keep things straight, and not always even then -- get him excited, show him something, give him a few hours to think it over, and then ask him about it. It's dollars to doughnuts that you'll have a hard time finding any connection between what he saw and what he says he saw.”
― Dashiell Hammett, Nightmare Town: Stories

“Hammett claimed to have based the Op on the man who had trained him to be a detective, the Pinkerton Agency's Jimmy Wright of Baltimore. Wright taught young Hammett a basic code:
Don't cheat your client.
Stay anonymous.
Avoid undue physical risks.
Be objective.
Don't become emotionally involved with a client.
And never violate your integrity.
This code stayed with Hammett; it not only served him while he was a working detective, but it also gave him a set of personal rules that shaped his actions throughout his life.”
― William F. Nolan, Nightmare Town: Stories