by C. J. Box
That’s where my protagonist, Angelo, was born in my imagination. He was a product of a system that thrived in the Ohio Valley when the steel mills were at their zenith. My late father said that the reason the Ohio Valley economy boomed was because the 60,000 steelworkers who lived and worked there spent every dime they made. A portion of those paychecks went for prostitutes and gambling. But when the mills died, there was no money for playing the daily number or the spot sheets, and there was certainly not enough money for a turn with the girls on Water Street. With no profits to be had, the mob retreated from the valley.
When that happened, I remember wondering what became of the old guard, the low-level mobsters, bagmen, and enforcers who made their money protecting the prostitutes, collecting debts, and breaking bones. You know, doing mob stuff. Does the mob have a retirement plan or offer severance packages? I’m betting no.
As the story unfolds, that’s where we find Angelo. He’s an admitted dinosaur who has lost his usefulness to the family. The story explores my version of what happens when a longstanding member of the mob is no longer mission critical. I can’t image it would be good.
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KLEIN, DAVID
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KNOPF, CHRIS
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Letters from Toby. Epoch, vol. 68, no. 1
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Final Interview. The Strand Magazine, July–November
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The Province of Saints. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January/February
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Gethsemane. Antioch Review, Summer
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Blind Spot. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May/June
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About the Editors
© Dave Neligh Photography
C. J. Box, guest editor, is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of twenty-seven novels, including the Joe Pickett series.
Otto Penzler, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstore solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than sixty crime-fiction anthologies.
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