The Abduction of Smith and Smith
Page 27
As he approached the house, he thought of Jacob. He thought of his son and decided that he would no longer call himself Jupiter. That name belonged to a different person—a person with no family, a person with no history. Like his son, he would go by Jacob; a father and son should share a name.
He had seen himself as someone who was perpetually wronged, a man in constant pursuit of retribution. Could he stop building altars to perceived injustices? He needed to know that if he ever saw Barrett again he could resist the temptation to kill him. He had his answer.
Sonya and Jacob stood on the porch of the plantation-style home. When he saw them, something akin to an earthquake happened in his mind. His memory palace, his shrine for things that were meant to be forgotten, collapsed.
Acknowledgments
Many books aided in the research for this blend of myth and history, and those—to name a few—that proved to be especially helpful were: Shanghaiing Days by Richard H. Dillon; The Price of Liberty: African Americans and the Making of Liberia by Claude A. Clegg III; and Rulers, Guns, and Money: The Global Arms Trade in the Age of Imperialism by Jonathan A. Grant.
My thanks and gratitude go out to the following:
Scott Mendel, for his advocacy and gentle nudging. Malaika Adero, for her patience and support. Todd Hunter, for his diligence and dedication to seeing this through. The hardworking folks at Atria Books. Michael Yakutis, for turning my strange visions into compelling illustrations.
Debra and Jennifer, my very own Dynamic Duo.
My family and friends who offered their invaluable support to this book as well as my previous book: Doris, Roy, Dena, Mildred, Earl, Moses, Paula, Tom, and Steve.
To the newest member of the family: Son, you have inspired me in more ways than I can fully express. Much of what I’ve written contains messages for you, yet their contents remain a mystery to me. When you are older, we will decipher the code together.
About the Author
Photograph by Maia Rosenfeld
Rashad Harrison was the Jacob K. Javits Fellow in fiction at New York University. He is the author of Our Man in the Dark. He and his wife currently live in the San Francisco Bay area.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Rashad Harrison
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First Atria Books hardcover edition January 2015
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Interior design by Paul Dippolito
Jacket design by Janet Parr
Cover and interior art by Michael Yakutis
Illustration by Getty/Bridgeman Art Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-4516-2578-3
ISBN 978-1-4516-2580-6 (ebook)