by Tom Savage
Who keeps the kitchen clean,
Thruppence for the doctor,
Tuppence for the knave,
And a penny for the hangman
To send me to my grave.
That beats “forty whacks” any old day of the week! One day, many years hence, someone will find this notebook, and they’ll take this poem and give it to the world so everyone can see what clever fellows we were.
I know how people are. When it comes to celebrity, bad eclipses good ten times out of ten. The human race is in love with outlaws, and its thirst for violence is unquenchable. Nobody’s going to give a damn about dreary Anne Frank in a few years, but Lizzie Borden will be celebrated for a long, long while. And they’ll remember us forever.
FOREVER!
Rodney Harper
Hangman Cay
March 12, 1959
For Marcia
And in loving memory of Suzy and Mom
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my editor, Dana Isaacson, and everyone at Random House/Alibi who contributed to making this novel a reality. Dana’s advice and guidance were always excellent. I thank my copyeditor, Dianna Stirpe, for doing such a thorough job preparing the manuscript for publication.
My agent, Robin Rue, worked long and hard to find this book a home. I’m also indebted to her colleague at Writers House, Beth Miller, and the folks in the Writers House e-book department who made all my other titles available online, especially Julie Trelstad, Bakara Wintner, and Katie Zanecchia.
Beth Tindall of Cincinnati Media designed and activated a website/blog for me on very short notice, and the result is terrific. She’s an electronically challenged writer’s best friend.
My writing group supported me every step of the way. My thanks and love to Betsy Harding, S. J. Rozan, and the late Royal Huber. (We miss you, Royal.) And the Friday Night Club keeps me going: Sharon Bogart, Jennifer Jaffee, Tina (“T”) Meyerhoff, Kathy Pontillo, Larry Pontillo, S. J. Rozan (again!), and the “floating” Friday Nighters—John Douglas, Andrea Knutson, Skip Richards, and Ann Romeo. (Some of you will find your names hidden in the book!)
My family has recently become smaller. My sister Marcia and I really miss Mom and our sister Suzy. They instilled in me my love of reading, and they were always the first readers of everything I wrote. A Penny for the Hangman is my first work they never saw, but I wrote it for them, anyway. I write everything for them.
About the Author
TOM SAVAGE is the author of six previous novels and numerous short stories. His books have been published in fifteen countries, and his bestselling novel, Valentine, was made into a Warner Bros. film. Raised in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, he now lives in New York City, where he worked for many years at Murder Ink®, the world’s first mystery bookstore. Visit his website/blog at tomsavagebooks.com.
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