by Jack Kerley
“Harry kept dragging me over to see Noelle. I didn’t want to look at the kid. All I saw was someone killing a baby by pushing it out into the ocean. It was the most inhuman act I could conceive.”
“So the child came to represent futility? The world was hopeless?”
“As simple as that,” I admitted. “And I expect my unhappiness was enhanced by the crap Fossie was slipping me.”
“But as it turned out, things weren’t as bad as they seemed.”
“Like Harry said, the story had a happy ending.”
Kavanaugh stared into my eyes so long as to make me uncomfortable. When she spoke, her voice was gentle.
“You need happy endings, don’t you, Detective Ryder?”
I slung myself off the couch and walked to the window, staring into the trees. It seemed I could feel the earth turning. I spun back to Kavanaugh.
I said, “Thanks, Doctor. I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here.”
I walked outside. The sun felt glorious on my skin. A thousand years to become what we’re supposed to be? Is that what Matthias said? Hell, if we’ve been here a hundred thousand years, we’re in the last one per cent of the journey.
It’s just a kiss away, as the Rolling Stones say.
“Come on, partner,” I said. “Let’s head home and go for a walk.”
I picked up the bowl I’d left on Kavanaugh’s stoop and tossed out the remaining water. Mr Mix-up bounced on his front paws, yipped like a chihuahua, roofed like a basset. He tumbled to the grass, rolled over twice, and stared at me with perfect joy.
The complete mutt.
He was miles ahead of us, but we’d get there.
Acknowledgements
I thank decades of exposure to high-voltage television preachers for my basic research, making the list too lengthy to attach here. I can, however, name the superb folks at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency and the team at HarperCollins UK: Julia Wisdom and Anne O’Brien. There are many more stars behind the scenes, including the booksellers and librarians who recommend my work. I thank you all for the input and kindnesses.
About the Author
In the Blood
J.A. Kerley worked in advertising and teaching before becoming a full-time novelist. He lives in Newport, Kentucky, but also spends a good deal of time in Southern Alabama, the setting for his Carson Ryder series, starting with The Hundredth Man. He is married with two children.
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Also by J.A. Kerley
The Hundredth Man
The Death Collectors
The Broken Souls
Little Girls Lost
Blood Brother
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © Jack Kerley 2009
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EPub Edition © APRIL 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-38047-3
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