The Wench is Dead — Fredric Brown

Howard Perry has become a drunk -- a skid row bum. It wasn't always so and he has hopes of returning to be a respected university student. But now he spends his days washing dishes to buy enough booze to hopefully blackout at night. His only friend is a prostitute name Billie the Kid. But Billie is just a working girl, and it would be stupid for him to care too much for her. Of course Perry isn't exactly making the smartest choices as he continues his downward spiral. And when he goes to borrow a drink from Billie's neighbor, whom soon turns up murdered, things are looking even worse for Perry.