She said, “I suppose if you’re lucky, it’ll sail completely around the world and come right back to you.” This time, he didn’t answer. She added, “You know, it hurt more to kill that dog than to kill him. Is that possible? What does that make me?”
“Honest, which is more than most of us.”
“You think she has a chance?”
“It’s all any of us have.”
“Can I get a hug? Is that allowed?”
Boldt said, “Better ask him” and pointed to Miles, who clapped.
She came into his arms then and held him tightly. She sobbed. People stared. He didn’t care. Let them. Boldt cried, too, but for his own reasons. His life was right now. Okay. On track again, and he had her to thank for some of it. “I’ll miss you,” he whispered.
Miles clapped again, and Daphne laughed. It was good to hear that.
In the end, the kite trick worked. Miles fell asleep in the stroller. The kite sailed off toward the horizon, growing smaller and smaller. People pointed. Some people clapped. Miles slept through it all.
A few weeks later, Daphne followed it into the sky.
Acknowledgments
The original story that inspired The Angel Maker was told to me by Tona Backman on an autumnal evening in Hamstead, England. I owe a huge debt of thanks to her and to Clarence Stilwill.
I would also like to acknowledge the help and assistance of a variety of experts who educated and guided me through the maze of organ transplantation and criminal investigation, including but not limited to: Frances Campbell, psychotherapist; Dr. James B. Perkins, F.A.C.S., director, Division of Transplantation, University of Washington; Dr. Royal McClure, Sun Valley, Idaho; Donna Oiland, director, Lions Eye Bank, Seattle, Washington; Dr. Christian Harris, forensic psychiatrist, Seattle, Washington; Larry Merkle, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Joe Weber, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrology and Hydraulics Branch; Dr. Donald Reay, King County Medical Examiner; Lieutenant David Reichert, King County Police; Charles H. Duke, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Forensic Services, Idaho Department of Law Enforcement; Pamela J. Marcum, Principal Criminalist, Bureau of Forensic Services, IDLE; Mark Acker, D.M.V.; Randy Acker, D.M.V.; and Steve Edsall, D.M.V. (Thanks also to those who wished to remain anonymous!)
Readers: Premi Pearson, Brad Pearson, Karen Oswalt, Colleen Daly, Ollie Cossman, Franklin Heller.
Office management, Mary Peterson; manuscript preparation, typesetting, and proofing, Maida Spaulding; office assistance, Jenny Femling.
Special thanks to: Mr. Albert Zuckerman, Ms. Carole Baron, Mr. Brian DeFiore, and Mr. Chuck Adams.
Also thanks to: The Fulbright Commission; Wadham College, Oxford, England; and to Sue-Todd and Chuck Yates, Mino Tomacelli and the gang at Kailuum, Michael Lewis, and all The Rockbottom Remainders.
About the Author
Ridley Pearson is a New York Times bestselling author of crime fiction (Probable Cause, Middle of Nowhere); suspense/horror (The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer); and children’s chapter books (coauthor of Peter and the Starcatchers). His forty-plus novels include Undercurrents, Chain of Evidence, and The Body of David Hayes. In 1991 he became the first American to be awarded the Raymond Chandler/Fulbright Fellowship in detective fiction at Oxford University. Ridley, his wife, Marcelle, and their two daughters currently divide their time between the Midwest and the Northern Rockies.
www.ridleypearson.com
By Ridley Pearson
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red
(writing as Joyce Reardon)
Peter and the Starcatchers
(co-written with Dave Barry)
Cut and Run
The Body of David Hayes*
The Art of Deception*
Parallel Lies
Middle of Nowhere*
The First Victim*
The Pied Piper*
Beyond Recognition*
Chain of Evidence
No Witnesses*
The Angel Maker*
Hard Fall
Probable Cause
Undercurrents*
Hidden Charges
Blood of the Albatross
Never Look Back
*features Lou Boldt / Daphne Matthews
WRITING AS WENDELL MCCALL
Dead Aim
Aim for the Heart
Concerto in Dead Flat
SHORT STORIES
“All Over but the Dying” in Diagnosis Terminal, edited by F. Paul Wilson
“Close Shave” in Murder Is My Racquet, edited by Otto Penzler
COLLECTIONS
The Putt at the End of the World, a serial novel
TELEVISION
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (Movie, ABC TV, May 2003)
Investigative Reports: Inside AA (A&E Network, June 2000)
Copyright
Copyright ©1993 Ridley Pearson
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. For information address Hyperion, 114 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.
eBook Edition ISBN: 978-1-4013-0513-0
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First eBook Edition
Original hardcover and mass market editions printed in the United States of America.
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