Secret Master of Fandom and Private Detective Spade faces an impossible mission: He must save Celebcon Five from itself. The convention that's trying to out Comic-con Comic-con has decided to make Dmitri Karnikov its guest of honor.

Spade doesn't want the mega-celebrity anywhere near a science fiction convention. When a celebrity of Karnikov's wattage agrees to attend, something's wrong. Then Spade's mysterious friend Paladin reveals the secret to Karnikov's attendance, and Spade must act quickly - or Celebcon Five might become a crime scene of the worst possible kind.

"The Karnikov Card" first appeared in the January/February 2011 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch's short mystery fiction has won the Ellery Queen Readers' Choice Award twice, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards. Her mystery novels appear under the names Kris Nelscott and Kris Rusch. For more information on her work, go to kristinekathrynrusch.com.

If you like this story about Spade and Paladin, you might also try:

Stomping Mad (Spade alone)
The Vanishing Boy (Spade/Paladin)