The James Deans (24 page)
“But—”
“No buts, Aaron. God, you’re just like your Great Uncle Aaron, may he rest in peace.”
“I’ll take over, Sarah,” I heard my kid sister Miriam say.
“Where’s Jack?” I said, my throat dry, my voice thin as a hair. I had trouble focusing my eyes. I saw the world through heat waves coming off hot tar and it smelled like a hospital.
“Take it easy, Moe. Rest. You really need—”
“Miriam, for chrissakes! Where’s Jack?”
“Who’s Jack?”
“Jack! Jack Taylor. Where’s Jack Taylor?”
“I’ll be right back.”
The door opened and closed. That much I could make out. Then it opened and closed again.
“He’s asking for someone we don’t know, someone none of us know,” Miriam was near frantic.
“It might be the drugs,” a man’s voice explained. “It might be the cancer. At this point, it’s impossible to know. Just sit with him and call the family in.”
“Miriam,” I called to her in a whisper.”
“What is it Moe?”
“No silver cats for me, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, though only I understood.
Then I went to sleep.
Reed Farrel Coleman—Brooklyn born and raised—is the former Executive Vice President of Mystery Writers of America. His third Moe Prager novel,
The James Deans
, won the Shamus, Barry and Anthony Awards for Best Paperback Original. The book was further nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, and Gumshoe Awards. The fourth Moe book,
Soul Patch
, won the 2008 Shamus Award, and was nominated for the Edgar, Barry, and Macavity Awards for Best Novel. He was the editor of the short story anthology
Hardboiled Brooklyn
and his short stories and essays appear in
Wall Street Noir, Damn Near Dead
and several other publications. Reed lives with his family on New York’s Long Island. Visit him online at
www.reedcoleman.com
.
Tyrus Books publishes crime and dark literary fiction, offering books from exciting new voices and established, well-loved authors. Centering on deeply provocative and universal human experiences, Tyrus Books is a leader in its genre and the centerpiece of the F+W Crime community.
Text copyright © 2005 by Reed Farrel Coleman
Foreword copyright © 2008 by Michael Connelly
Afterword copyright © 2008 by Reed Farrel Coleman
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
This edition published in 2012 by
TYRUS BOOKS
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eISBN 10: 1-4405-4102-7
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-4102-5
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
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