by Ross Pennie
“It was mostly my fault,” said Dr. Szabo. “Anyway, he’s got his teeth into something challenging at the moment.”
“It involves photography?”
“The camera’s for a photo-story of the wedding process. Start to finish. Including shots of you and Ibrahim getting us fixed up today.” Dr. Szabo raised his hands. “If that’s okay?”
They heard a shriek at the door, and a woman dressed in yoga gear charged into the shop. “Does anyone in here know first aid?” She pushed Jesse to the side. “An elderly woman just got hit. By a big truck. I think she’s unconscious.” The woman leaned against the desk to catch her breath. “One of her legs is broken — there’s a bone sticking out. Oh my God, it’s awful.”
“We’d better go,” Dr. Szabo said, pulling at his cape. “Whip this thing off me, will you?”
They raced together toward the door, but Dr. Szabo stopped short. “You know what, Hosam? What she needs is a trauma surgeon. You go ahead. This is your show, my friend.” He grabbed the phone. “I’ll call 911 and bring you a stack of towels.”
Acknowledgements
It takes a village to publish a book, and Zol Szabo is fortunate to have found a happy and productive home at ECW Press where Jack David and David Caron have been pillars of support from the start. My barbers Marwan Haydar and Rewar Kamil, along with Dersim Kamil, sparked the idea that became this tale. My tireless editor, Cat London, revived the plot and the characters wherever they stumbled. Yousery and Margaret Koubaesh, and Jen Knoch, got things back in tune when they strayed off-key. Video gamers Kevin and Eric Peng introduced me to the basics of Fortnight’s jargon and culture. Rick McIsaac’s knowledge of electricity and skulduggery added plenty of Hamilton colour. And, as always, Lorna inspired the better angels of my characters’ natures.
About the Author
Ross Pennie has been a jungle surgeon, pediatrician, infectious-diseases specialist, professor, and novelist. He lives with his family in Southern Ontario.
Copyright
Copyright © Ross Pennie,
Published by ECW Press
665 Gerrard Street East Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4M 1Y2
416-694-3348 / [email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Bitter paradise : a Dr. Zol Szabo medical mystery / Ross Pennie.
Names: Pennie, Ross, 1952- author.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20200158015 Canadiana (ebook) 20200158031
ISBN 978-1-77041-465-5 (Softcover)
ISBN 978-1-77305-474-2 (PDF)
ISBN 978-1-77305-473-5 (ePub)
Classification: LCC PS8631.E565 B58 2020 DDC C813/.6—dc23
Cover design: Eric Mohr, Made by Emblem
Author photo: IPC Canada Photo Services
The publication of Bitter Paradise has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country and is funded in part by the Government of Canada. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays. Ce livre est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada. We acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), an agency of the Government of Ontario, which last year funded 1,737 individual artists and 1,095 organizations in 223 communities across Ontario for a total of $52.1 million. We also acknowledge the contribution of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit, and through Ontario Creates for the marketing of this book.