The Black Mask, October 1, 1923

# "Arson Plus" by Dashiell Hammett

Black Mask, October 1, 1923

A detective story from the Continental Detective Agency's San Francisco office. When an insurance company suspects arson in the burning of Thornburgh's Sacramento County house, the narrator (working as "Peter Collinson") teams with Deputy McClump to investigate. The house burned to the ground around midnight, with Thornburgh perishing inside despite the servants' escape. Fire officials found traces of gasoline, though none was reported on the property. Investigation reveals Thornburgh as a reclusive, recently arrived man who spent time in a locked workshop, possibly inventing something. The Coonses—his servants, recently hired through an employment bureau—provide their account of the fire. The narrative follows the detective's interviews with the Coonses, their employment bureau, the real estate agents who sold Thornburgh the house, salesman Howard Handerson (who witnessed the fire while driving), and local neighbors—accumulating circumstantial details while uncovering no clear motive or culprit.