Think of a Number
Page 41
With the vitality of a leaping flame, her orange parka captured the rising sun. He got out of the car and put his arms around her, holding her as though she were life itself.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to my superb editor, Rick Horgan, who was a constant source of good ideas, whose inspired and inspiring guidance made everything so much better, who came up with the perfect title, and who had the courage in today’s difficult publishing environment to take a chance on the first novel of an unpublished writer; to Lucy Carson and Paul Cirone for their advocacy, enthusiasm, and efficiency; to Bernard Whalen for his advice and encouragement early on; to Josh Kendall for a thoughtful critique and a wonderful suggestion; and finally to Molly Friedrich, simply the best and brightest agent in the world.
About the Author
John Verdon has held several executive positions with Manhattan advertising firms, but like his protagonist, he recently relocated with his wife to rural upstate New York. Think of a Number is his first novel.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by John Verdon
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Verdon, John.
Think of a number/John Verdon.
p. cm.
1. Police—New York (State)—New York—Fiction. 2. Serial murderers—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3622.E736S59 2010
813′.6—dc22
2009028512
eISBN: 978-0-307-58894-4
v3.0