Target Lancer
Page 27
Among the books on Bobby Kennedy that helped form his portrait were Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years (2007), David Talbot; The Dark Side of Camelot (1997) by Seymour Hersh; Robert Kennedy: His Life (2000), Evan Thomas; and RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert Kennedy (1998), C. David Heyman.
Of the scores of Kennedy assassination books in my library, those that proved most helpful were Conspiracy (1989 edition), Anthony Summers; The JFK Assassination Debates: Lone Gunman versus Conspiracy (2006), Michael L. Kurtz; JFK: The Dead Witnesses (1995), Craig Roberts and John Armstrong; To Kill a President (2008), M. Wesley Swearingen; Who Shot JFK: A Guide to the Major Conspiracy Theories (1993), Bob Callahan, illustrated by Mark Zingarelli; and Who’s Who in the JFK Assassination (1993), Michael Benson.
Works consulted that specifically explore the organized crime aspect of the assassination include Contract on America: The Mafia Murder of President John F. Kennedy (1988), David E. Scheim; The Plot to Kill the President (1981, 1992), G. Robert Blakey and Richard N. Billings; and The Kennedy Contract: The Mafia Plot to Assassinate the President (1993), John H. Davis.
Nate Heller’s world of early ‘60s Chicago is reflected in Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream (2008) by Steven Watts. Playboy was not the only men’s magazine published in Chicago during those years, and issues of it—as well as of its local competitors, Rogue and Cabaret—played a big part in my re-creation of those days in these pages, as all three carried much coverage of the Windy City scene. It seems I really have become a man reading Playboy for the articles, and for the advertisements, reviews, and other material, particularly as relating to Chicago.
Several specific articles are worthy of citation: “America’s Oldest Stripper” (Sally Rand) by Stan Holden, Cabaret, December 1955; “American’s Most Refined Strip Show” (Silver Frolics) by Stan Holden, Cabaret, July 1956; “The Windy City’s Hottest Night Spot” (606 Club) by Henry Darling, Cabaret, April 1957; “Satirists à la Sartre” (Second City) by Bruce Cook, Rogue, December 1960; “Chicago: Backstreet Blues” (Smitty’s) by Gabriel Favoino, Rogue, February 1961; and “Rogue Swings at an Art Fair” (Old Town), unsigned, Rogue, August 1964.
General Chicago information and color was supplied by the following books: Chicago Confidential (1950), Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer; Kup’s Chicago (1962), Irv Kupcinet; Vittles and Vice (1952), Patricia Bronte; and The WPA Guide to Illinois (1939). There has of course been considerable newspaper research as well, leaning upon The Chicago Tribune.
Special thanks to George Hagenauer, whose many trips to Iowa for brainstorming sessions and research planning ultimately resulted in the approach taken here. George was always there to give me firsthand information on Chicago in the ‘60s at my last-second request.
Thanks also to my frequent collaborator, Matthew Clemens, who advised on matters of sports and forensics; my friend and agent, Dominick Abel, who has helped me keep Nathan Heller alive; and my editor, James Frenkel, who gave Heller and me the chance to finally take on the JFK case.
Of course, Barbara Collins—my wife, best friend, and valued writing collaborator—was on hand with suggestions and encouragement, on this sometimes harrowing ride.
BOOKS BY MAX ALLAN COLLINS
The Memoirs of Nathan Heller
Target Lancer
Triple Play (novellas)
Chicago Lightning (short stories)
Bye Bye, Baby
Chicago Confidential
Angel in Black
Majic Man
Flying Blind
Damned in Paradise
Blood and Thunder
Carnal Hours
Stolen Away
Neon Mirage
The Million-Dollar Wound
True Crime
True Detective
The Road to Perdition Saga
Return to Perdition (graphic novel)
Road to Paradise
Road to Purgatory
Road to Perdition 2: On the Road (graphic novel)
Road to Perdition (graphic novel)
With Mickey Spillane
Lady, Go Die!
Kiss Her Goodbye
The Big Bang
The Goliath Bone
The Consummata
With Barbara Collins (as Barbara Allan)
Antiques Disposal
Antiques Knock-off
Antiques Bizarre
Antiques Flee Market
Antiques Maul
Antiques Roadkill
Quarry Novels
Quarry’s Ex
Quarry in the Middle
The First Quarry
The Last Quarry
Quarry’s Vote (aka Primary Target)
Quarry’s Cut (aka The Slasher)
Quarry’s Deal (aka The Dealer)
Quarry’s List (aka The Broker’s Wife)
Quarry (aka The Broker)
Writing as Patrick Culhane
Red Sky in Morning
Black Hats
With Matthew Clemens
No One Will Hear You
You Can’t Stop Me
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MAX ALLAN COLLINS has earned an unprecedented sixteen Private Eye Writers of America “Shamus” nominations, winning for his Nathan Heller novels True Detective (1983) and Stolen Away (1991), receiving the PWA life achievement award, the Eye, in 2007.
His graphic novel Road to Perdition (1998) is the basis of the Academy Award–winning 2002 Tom Hanks film. It was followed by two acclaimed prose sequels and a graphic novel sequel, Return to Perdition (2011). He has created a number of innovative suspense series, notably Quarry (the first hit-man series) and Eliot Ness (the Untouchable’s Cleveland years). He is completing a number of Mike Hammer novels begun by the late Mickey Spillane; his audio novel The New Adventures of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer: The Little Death won the 2011 Audie for Best Original Work.
His many comics credits include the syndicated strip Dick Tracy; his own Ms. Tree; Batman; and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, based on the hit TV series, for which he has also written ten bestselling novels. His tie-in books have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list nine times and the New York Times list three. His movie novels include Saving Private Ryan, Air Force One, and American Gangster, which won the IAMTW Best Novel “Scribe” Award in 2008.
An independent filmmaker in the Midwest, Collins has written and directed four features, including the Lifetime movie Mommy (1996); he scripted The Expert, a 1995 HBO World Premiere, and The Last Lullaby (2008), based on his novel The Last Quarry. His documentary Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane (1998/2011) appears on the Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray of Kiss Me Deadly.
His play Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2004 by the Mystery Writers of America; a film version, written and directed by Collins, was released on DVD in 2008 and appeared on PBS stations in 2009. His documentary Caveman: V.T. Hamlin & Alley Oop (2005) was also released on DVD after screening on PBS stations.
His other credits include film criticism, short fiction, songwriting, trading-card sets, and video games. His coffee-table book, The History of Mystery, was nominated for every major mystery award, and his Men’s Adventure Magazines (with George Hagenauer) won the Anthony Award.
Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins; they have collaborated on nine novels, including the successful “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mysteries—their Antiques Flee Market (2008) winning the Romantic Times Best Humorous Mystery Novel award in 2009. Their son, Nathan, is a Japanese-to-English translator, working on video games, manga, and novels.
Although the historical incidents in this novel are portrayed as accurately as the passage of time and contradictory source material will allow, fact, speculation, and fiction are freely mixed here; historical personages exist side by side with composite characters and wholly fictional ones—all of whom are summoned, act, and speak at the author’s whim.
TARGET LANCER
Copy
right © 2012 by Max Allan Collins
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Steven Youll
Edited by James Frenkel
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Collins, Max Allan.
Target Lancer / Max Allan Collins.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-2180-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4299-4706-0 (e-book)
1. Heller, Nathan (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Private investigators—Fiction. 3. Kennedy family—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3553.O4753T37 2012
813'.54—dc23
2012019943
e-ISBN 9781429947060
First Edition: November 2012