“Last I checked. Why?”
“Because,” he said, “there ought to be a place for a couple of old dinosaurs.” And he picked up his glass. There was nothing in it but water, but all the same he held it aloft and gazed through it at the light.
Table of Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
Late One Night…
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
XXXII
XXXIII
XXXIV
XXXV
XXXVI
XXXVII
XXXVIII
XXXIX
XL
XLI
XLII
XLIII
XLIV
Early One Morning…
About the Author
Also by Lawrence Block
Copyright
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lawrence Block published his first novel in 1958 and has been chronicling the adventures of Matthew Scudder since 1975. He has been designated a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and has received Lifetime Achievement awards from the Crime Writers’ Association (UK), the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. He has won the Nero, Philip Marlowe, Societe 813, and Anthony awards, and is a multiple recipient of the Edgar, the Shamus, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon awards. He and his wife, Lynne, are devout New Yorkers and relentless world travelers.
ALSO BY LAWRENCE BLOCK
THE MATTHEW SCUDDER NOVELS
The Sins of the Fathers • Time to Murder and Create • In the Midst of Death • A Stab in the Dark • Eight Million Ways to Die When the Sacred Ginmill Closes • Out on the Cutting Edge A Ticket to the Boneyard • A Dance at the Slaughterhouse • A Walk among the Tombstones • The Devil Knows You’re Dead • A Long Line of Dead Men • Even the Wicked • Everybody Dies Hope to Die • All the Flowers Are Dying
KELLER’S GREATEST HITS
Hit Man • Hit List • Hit Parade • Hit and Run
THE BERNIE RHODENBARR MYSTERIES
Burglars Can’t Be Choosers • The Burglar in the Closet • The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling • The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza • The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian • The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart • The Burglar in the Library The Burglar in the Rye • The Burglar on the Prowl
THE ADVENTURES OF EVAN TANNER
The Thief Who Couldn’t Sleep • The Canceled Czech • Tanner’s Twelve Swingers • Two for Tanner • Tanner’s Tiger • Here Comes a Hero Me Tanner, You Jane • Tanner on Ice
THE AFFAIRS OF CHIP HARRISON
No Score • Chip Harrison Scores Again • Make Out with Murder The Topless Tulip Caper
OTHER NOVELS
A Diet of Treacle • After the First Death • Ariel • Campus Tramp Cinderella Sims • Coward’s Kiss • Deadly Honeymoon • The Girl with the Long Green Heart • Grifter’s Game • Killing Castro • Lucky at Cards Not Comin’ Home to You • Random Walk • Ronald Rabbit Is a Dirty Old Man • Small Town • The Specialists • Such Men Are Dangerous The Triumph of Evil • You Could Call It Murder
COLLECTED SHORT STORIES
Sometimes They Bite • Like a Lamb to Slaughter • Some Days You Get the Bear • Ehrengraf for the Defense • One Night Stands • The Lost Cases of Ed London • Enough Rope
BOOKS FOR WRITERS
Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print • Telling Lies for Fun and Profit Spider, Spin Me a Web • Write for Your Life
WRITTEN FOR PERFORMANCE
Tilt (episodic television) • How Far? (one-act play) My Blueberry Nights (film)
MEMOIR
Step by Step
ANTHOLOGIES EDITED
Death Cruise • Master’s Choice • Opening Shots • Master’s Choice, Volume 2 • Speaking of Lust • Opening Shots, Volume 2 • Speaking of Greed • Blood on Their Hands • Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves • Manhattan Noir • Manhattan Noir, Volume 2
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Lawrence Block
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Mulholland Books / Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com
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First eBook Edition: May 2011
Mulholland Books is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Mulholland Books name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
ISBN: 978-0-316-13273-2
Table of Contents
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
Late One Night…
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
XXXII
XXXIII
XXXIV
XXXV
XXXVI
XXXVII
XXXVIII
XXXIX
XL
XLI
XLII
XLIII
XLIV
Early One Morning…
About the Author
Also by Lawrence Block
Copyright
A Drop of the Hard Stuff: A Matthew Scudder Novel Page 27