James M Cain 
The Cocktail Waitress [EPUB ebook] 

Following her husband’s death in a suspicious car accident, beautiful young widow Joan Medford is forced to take a job serving drinks in a cocktail lounge to make ends meet and to have a chance of regaining custody of her young son. At the job she encounters two men who take an interest in her, a handsome young schemer who makes her blood race and a wealthy but unwell older man who rewards her for her attentions with a $50, 000 tip and an unconventional offer of marriage… Includes a 4, 000 word feature on the locating of this ‘lost’ Cain novel, by Hard Case Crime editor, Charles Ardai