“Like Rebecca?”
“Like Rebecca.” He gave up a wry smile. “She’ll play us both like banjos and use it as her ticket back to the big leagues.”
“Sorry, Pop.”
“Brian may wind up not liking you much, either.”
“What do I tell him?”
Now he gave her a sad smile. “No more than you have to. With luck the whole sordid story will never come out—just that Rhonda followed the band as a girl, had some unspecified bad experience in those days, and somehow a youthful trauma turned into adult psychosis.”
“You’re letting some awful behavior slide, Pop.”
He shrugged. “The dead paid and the living are paying now. Let Brian hold on to his high opinion of his father, if you can. What harm does it do?”
“None.” She yawned. “Rod says he’s pulling the plug on the reunion tour.”
“Good for him.”
Now she had a sad smile for him. “This hasn’t done much for your memories of the old days, Pop.”
“My memories—of your mom and me having fun, going to dances and concerts—are right where I keep them, whenever I need them, thank you.”
He rose and stretched, still in his HOT ROD & THE PISTONS ROAD CREW T-shirt.
“Thinking about the old days has its place,” he said, “but our job is living in the present. Now, why don’t you go out and get back to yours? There’s plenty yet to do tonight.”
She did.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Once again, I need to thank Police Chief Lori Huntington of the Galena Police Department, who has welcomed my wife, Barb, and me into her office many times to answer our questions and show us around the station. Throughout the writing of Girl Can’t Help It, Chief Huntington responded swiftly and patiently to my ongoing email questions about police procedure, both general and Galena PD specific. As before, however, liberties have been taken for storytelling purposes, and any inaccuracies are my own.
Again I must insist that Chief Huntington is not the basis of Krista Larson—these novels were already in development when research revealed the serendipitous coincidence of Galena’s actual chief being a young woman who had risen through the ranks.
Some real businesses in Galena, Illinois, particularly restaurants, have been mentioned (usually in passing) in this novel. Others are wholly fictional ones loosely suggested by real establishments, with fictional owners and/or management, and are not meant to do anything more than vaguely invoke their models to maintain the feel of this real tourist town.
Barb Collins, who writes with me under our joint byline “Barbara Allan,” provided vital editing and suggestions throughout. Fiction is largely the process of writers solving problems of their own creation; my gifted wife, who always helps me work through mine, was especially supportive this time—made particularly difficult because she was simultaneously working on the first draft of our next book together.
I have played in rock bands since 1966, more or less on a continuous basis, mostly as a weekend warrior but at times as a full-time working musician. A regional hit I wrote and sang, the somewhat notorious “Psychedelic Siren” by the Daybreakers, was released nationally on Atlantic’s Dial label in 1968 (and much anthologized, and covered by other bands, in more recent years). The Daybreakers and my ’60s retro band, Crusin’, were inducted into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and 2019, respectively, playing in the induction concerts at Arnolds Park.
This is the first novel in my long fiction-writing career in which I’ve drawn extensively upon my years in rock ‘n’ roll. I was actively performing in the early ’80s—including with my “comic con” band, Seduction of the Innocent, featuring actors Bill Mumy and Miguel Ferrer (and comics artist Steve Leialoha and comics fan/musician John “Chris” Christensen, who scored several of my films).
But Hot Rod & the Pistons is not based on any band I either appeared in or with. None of the characters are based on any specific musicians, or any real incidents. Not kidding about this, guys, so don’t bother going there.
Succinylcholine (alias sux), however, is a real, very dangerous drug, as outlined in a number of articles I referred to, including but not limited to “Homicides Using Muscle Relaxants, Opioids, and Anesthetic Drugs,” Robert E. Johnstone, MD, Ronald L. Katz, MD, and Theodore H. Stanley, MD (Anesthesiology magazine); “Succinylcholine: Is It the Perfect Murder Weapon?” (The Crime Fiction Writer’s Blog); “The History of Sux, the World’s Most Discreet Murder Weapon,” Dr. Rubidium (Gizmodo); and “What Drug Is the Perfect Murder Weapon?,” James J. Murray (Prescription for Murder).
Prospective murderers considering sux for their perfect crime, however, should keep in mind that I have taken dramatic license in several ways that I will not innumerate here, but which would very badly trip you up.
Other references, with less dangerous ramifications, include various issues of The Galenian magazine; Galena, Illinois: A Timeless Treasure (2015) by Philip A. Aleo; and Galena Illinois: A Brief History (2010) and Galena (Images of America, 2005), both by Diann Marsh.
I’d again like thank Liz Pearsons, my editor at Thomas & Mercer, and editorial director Grace Doyle for their support, belief, and patience. I would also like to thank Sarah Burningham and Claire McLaughlin at Little Bird Publicity for their support on the first Krista Larson novel, Girl Most Likely. And as usual, thanks go to my friend and agent, Dominick Abel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 M.A.C. Productions LLC
After earning the Eye, the PWA’s Lifetime Achievement award in 2006, Max Allan Collins was named a Grand Master in 2017 by the Mystery Writers of America. He’s earned an unprecedented twenty-three Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award nominations, winning two for his Nathan Heller novels. Those novels also earned Collins the PWA’s Hammer award for making a major contribution to the private-eye genre. His other books include the New York Times bestseller Saving Private Ryan, the USA TODAY bestselling CSI series, and Girl Most Likely in the Krista Larson series.
His graphic novel Road to Perdition is the basis of the Academy Award–winning Tom Hanks film, and is followed by two acclaimed prose sequels and several more graphic novels in the same series. His comics credits include Dick Tracy, Wild Dog, Batman, and Ms. Tree.
Collins is also a screenwriter, playwright, and a leading indie filmmaker in his native Iowa, where he lives with his wife, writer Barbara Collins. As “Barbara Allan,” they have collaborated on fourteen novels. For more information, visit www.maxallancollins.com.
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