“You don’t think any of them will make it?” Susan said.
“Kids in Double Deuce?” I said. “No, probably not.”
“Hawk did,” Susan said.
“Sort of,” I said.
“That’s an awfully grim view,” she said.
I shrugged.
“Maybe I’m wrong,” I said.
She leaned her head back against the seat cushion.
“Well, as you always say, ‘It’s never over till it’s over.’”
“Yes,” I said.
I could see insects little bigger than dust motes swarming in the streetlight, an occasional moth among them.
“First night apart,” she said.
“Yeah.”
She put her hand out and I took it and we were quiet for a while. Then she spoke.
“I have to say something.”
“Sure,” I said.
“I’m looking forward to being alone.”
“Me too,” I said.
“God, what a relief.”
“I know,” I said.
“See you this weekend,” she said.
“Yes,” I said. “I’ll pick Pearl up tomorrow night for a sleepover. Like before.”
“Yes.”
Susan leaned toward me in the dark and gave me a long, happy kiss.
“I love you,” she said and got out of the car. I watched her until she was inside, then pulled out and drove back across the river to my place on Marlborough Street.
The apartment was stuffy and I walked through it opening windows so that the spring night could circulate. Then I went into the kitchen and took some vodka from the freezer and some vermouth from under the sink and made a large martini over ice with a twist. I put it on the bedside table to let the ice work while I showered and toweled off, and turned back the bed, and got in. I propped up the pillows and turned on the television with the remote. The Braves were still in first place, and they were playing the Giants on cable. Fifth inning, Ron Gant hitting. I sipped my martini and watched the ball game and listened to Skip Caray.
Alone.
I could feel myself smiling. Gant spiked a double into the left-field corner. I took another sip and spoke aloud in the dark room.
“Perfect,” I said.
Click here to see a list of more books by this author
Robert B. Parker is the author of more than fifty books. He lived in Boston. Visit the author’s website at www.robertbparker.net
THE SPENSER NOVELS
Sixkill
Painted Ladies
The Professional
Rough Weather
Now & Then
Hundred-Dollar Baby
School Days
Cold Service
Bad Business
Back Story
Widow’s Walk
Potshot
Hugger Mugger
Hush Money
Sudden Mischief
Small Vices
Chance
Thin Air
Walking Shadow
Paper Doll
Double Deuce
Pastime
Stardust
Playmates
Crimson Joy
Pale Kings and Princes
Taming a Sea-Horse
A Catskill Eagle
Valediction
The Widening Gyre
Ceremony
A Savage Place
Early Autumn
Looking for Rachel Wallace
The Judas Goat
Promised Land
Mortal Stakes
God Save the Child
The Godwulf Manuscript
THE JESSE STONE NOVELS
Split Image
Night and Day
Stranger in Paradise
High Profile
Sea Change
Stone Cold
Death in Paradise
Trouble in Paradise
Night Passage
THE SUNNY RANDALL NOVELS
Spare Change
Blue Screen
Melancholy Baby
Shrink Rap
Perish Twice
Family Honor
THE VIRGIL COLE/EVERETT HITCH NOVELS
Blue-Eyed Devil
Brimstone
Resolution
Appaloosa
ALSO BY ROBERT B. PARKER
A Triple Shot of Spenser
Double Play
Gunman’s Rhapsody
All Our Yesterdays
A Year at the Races
(with Joan H. Parker)
Perchance to Dream
Poodle Springs
(with Raymond Chandler)
Love and Glory
Wilderness
Three Weeks in Spring
(with Joan H. Parker)
Training with Weights
(with John R. Marsh)
PRAISE FOR ROBERT B. PARKER’S
PAPER DOLL
“It takes Robert B. Parker exactly two sentences to get the tension crackling.” —Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times
“A new, very satisfying case . . . with the emphasis on sins of the soul . . . very well done.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Spenser fans will delight in the Boston PI’s latest adventure.”—Publishers Weekly
“It reads like a song . . . a story of interlocking deceptions and cover-ups . . . family scandals . . . a deftly webbed plot.” —Boston Globe
“Rapid-fire . . . witty . . . sure to be a bestseller.” —Mystery News
“A twisty tale . . . Paper Doll, as always, means spending quality time with Spenser.” —Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
“Spenser explores a world where nothing is what it seems . . . polished . . . skillful . . . elegantly economical writing.”—Mostly Murder
“Spenser has virtually become an American institution.” —Detroit News
“Spenser is back!”—Mystery Newsletter
PRAISE FOR ROBERT B. PARKER AND THE SPENSER NOVELS . . .
“A MASTER OF MURDEROUS IRONY.”
—Los Angeles Times
“ONE OF THE GREAT SERIES IN THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN DETECTIVE STORY.”
—The New York Times
NOW & THEN
Investigating a case of infidelity sounds simple—until it plunges Spenser and his beloved Susan into a politically charged murder plot that’s already left three people dead.
“This is vintage Parker, filled with banter and repartee, swagger and rule-skirting . . . a page-turner.”—The Boston Globe
HUNDRED-DOLLAR BABY
Deadly complications arise when Spenser crosses paths with a runaway girl he had helped years ago.
“Parker in top-notch form.”—The Seattle Times
SCHOOL DAYS
When a young boy is accused of a mass murder, only his grandmother is convinced of his innocence.
“Crackling prose and juicy repartee.”—Entertainment Weekly
COLD SERVICE
When his closest ally is attacked, Spenser redefines friendship in the name of vengeance.
“One hot mystery.”—The Washington Post
“DETECTIVEDOM’S MOST CHARMINGLY LITERATE LOUT.”
—People
“EVERYONE INTERESTED IN MYSTERY AND CONTEMPORARY WRITING IN GENERAL SHOULD READ AT LEAST ONE OF THE SPENSER NOVELS.”
—Library Journal
BAD BUSINESS
A suspicious wife and a cheating husband pose a few dangerous surprises fo
r Spenser.
“A kinky whodunit . . . snappy . . . sexy.” —Entertainment Weekly
BACK STORY
Spenser teams with Jesse Stone to solve a murder three decades old—one that’s still cold as death.
“Good and scary. This [is] superior Parker.”—The Boston Globe
WIDOW’S WALK
Spenser must defend an accused murderess who’s so young, cold, rich, and beautiful, she has to be guilty.
“Delicious fun. Bottom line: A merry Widow.”—People
POTSHOT
Spenser is enlisted to clean up a small Arizona town.
“Outrageously entertaining . . . a hero who can still stand up for himself—and us.”—The New York Times Book Review
HUGGER MUGGER
Spenser hoofs it down south when someone makes death threats against a Thoroughbred racehorse.
“Brisk . . . crackling . . . finishes strong, just like a Thoroughbred.”—Entertainment Weekly
HUSH MONEY
Spenser helps a stalking victim—only to find himself the one being stalked . . .
“Spenser can still punch, sleuth, and wisecrack with the best of them.”—Publishers Weekly
SUDDEN MISCHIEF
A charity fund-raiser, accused of sexual harassment by four women, is wanted for a bigger offense: murder . . .
“Smooth as silk.”—Orlando Sentinel
SMALL VICES
Spenser must solve the murder of a wealthy college student—before the wrong man pays the price . . .
“His finest in years . . . one can’t-put-it-down story.” —San Francisco Chronicle
CHANCE
Spenser heads to Vegas to find the missing husband of a mob princess—but he’s not the only one looking . . .
“As brisk and clever as always.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
THIN AIR
Spenser thought he could help a friend find his missing wife. Until he learned the nasty truth about Lisa St. Claire . . .
“Full of action, suspense, and thrills.”—Playboy
THE SPENSER NOVELS
Sixkill
Painted Ladies
The Professional
Rough Weather
Now & Then
Hundred-Dollar Baby
School Days
Cold Service
Bad Business
Back Story
Widow’s Walk
Potshot
Hugger Mugger
Hush Money
Sudden Mischief
Small Vices
Chance
Thin Air
Walking Shadow
Paper Doll
Double Deuce
Pastime
Stardust
Playmates
Crimson Joy
Pale Kings and Princes
Taming a Sea-Horse
A Catskill Eagle
Valediction
The Widening Gyre
Ceremony
A Savage Place
Early Autumn
Looking for Rachel Wallace
The Judas Goat
Promised Land
Mortal Stakes
God Save the Child
The Godwulf Manuscript
THE JESSE STONE NOVELS
Split Image
Night and Day
Stranger in Paradise
High Profile
Sea Change
Stone Cold
Death in Paradise
Trouble in Paradise
Night Passage
THE SUNNY RANDALL NOVELS
Spare Change
Blue Screen
Melancholy Baby
Shrink Rap
Perish Twice
Family Honor
THE VIRGIL COLE/EVERETT HITCH NOVELS
Blue-Eyed Devil
Brimstone
Resolution
Appaloosa
ALSO BY ROBERT B. PARKER
A Triple Shot of Spenser
Double Play
Gunman’s Rhapsody
All Our Yesterdays
A Year at the Races
(with Joan H. Parker)
Perchance to Dream
Poodle Springs
(with Raymond Chandler)
Love and Glory
Wilderness
Three Weeks in Spring
(with Joan H. Parker)
Training with Weights
(with John R. Marsh)
PAPER DOLL
ROBERT B. PARKER
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
PAPER DOLL
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
G. P. Putnam’s Sons hardcover edition / May 1993
Berkley mass-market edition / April 1994
Berkley premium edition / December 2009
Copyright © 1993 by Robert B. Parker.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
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375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-54651-2
BERKLEY®
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BERKLEY® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
For J
oan: Music all around me
one
* * *
LOUDON TRIPP, WEARING a seersucker suit and a Harvard tie, sat in my office on a very nice day in September and told me he’d looked into my background and might hire me.
“Oh boy,” I said.
“You’ve had some college,” Tripp said. He was maybe fifty, a tall angular man with a red face. He held a typewritten sheet of paper in his hand, reading it through half glasses.
“No harm to it,” I said. “I thought I was going to do something else.”
“I went to Harvard. You played football in college.”
I nodded. He didn’t care if I nodded or not. But I liked to.
“You were a prizefighter.”
Nod.
“You fought in Korea. Were you an officer?”
“No.”
“Too bad. After that you were a policeman.”
Nod.
“This presents a small problem; you were dismissed. Could you comment, please, on that.”
“I am trustworthy, loyal, and helpful. But I struggle with obedient.”
Tripp smiled faintly. “I’m not looking for a Boy Scout,” he said.
“Next best thing,” I said.
“Well,” Tripp said, “Lieutenant Quirk said you could be annoying, but you were not undependable.”
“He’s always admired me,” I said.
“Obviously you are independent,” Tripp said. “I understand that. I’ve had my moments. ‘He who would be a man must be a nonconformist.’”
I nodded encouragingly.
“Do you know who said that?” Tripp asked.
I nodded again.
Tripp waited a moment.
Finally he said, “Well, who?”
“Emerson.”
“Very good,” Tripp said.
“Will this be on the final?” I said.
Tripp leaned his head toward me in a gesture of apology.
“Sorry, I guess that seemed pretentious. It’s just that I am trying to get a sense of you.”
I shrugged.
“They had no way of judging a man,” I said, “except as he handled an axe.”
Tripp frowned for a moment. And twitched his shoulders as if to get rid of a horsefly.
Robert B. Parker: The Spencer Novels 1?6 Page 68
