by Rick Skwiot
“Here’s the bottom line. Part of the problem with the guys is that they lack role models. A lot don’t have fathers they know or trust. They need to figure how to deal with all the seductions and dangers on the streets—gangs, drugs, status issues, confrontations. They need to know things you know.”
“I see where there is leading, but I’m not following.”
“Come work with us, Carlo.”
“Screw you, Stone. I’m going to Mexico.”
“Mexico will always be there. You don’t have to do this year-round or five days a week. No commitment. Just lend us a hand. You told me you lectured in schools and worked juvenile crime. You have insights that none of us teachers have.”
Gabriel looked away. “You’re asking a lot, my friend. Too many señoritas waiting.”
Stone smiled. “At least come visit. No obligation.”
Gabriel looked at him askance. “I always said you were a sly mother. I come and have all these desperate kids hanging on me like I’m their daddy, kids I can’t say ‘no’ to. Forget it.”
“Think about it, lieutenant. What else are you going to do with your life now that you’ve gotten it back?”
“Gotten it back, my ass. I never lost it. Leave me alone with your moralizing, professor.”
“No more ‘professor.’ I’m just a teacher trying to do his job.”
“Fine for you. But I’ve done my job and done it for thirty years. I need some time away from all this.”
“Which means you’ll be back. That’ll do for now.”
Gabriel studied him. “You think you would have learned something through all this, Stone. Perhaps to be a little more pessimistic about people.”
“It’s your fault, Lieutenant Gabriel. I trusted you with my life. And here I sit, my faith in mankind restored.”
Gabriel shrugged. But his was too.
Acknowledgements
My sincere thanks go to those who contributed to this book. First, four colleagues and fellow writers: John Leslie, who, upon hearing my tale of once trying to teach remedial grammar to inner-city junior-college students, planted the seed that led to this novel; Kelly R. Daniels, for his close reading of the early manuscript and substantive suggestions for improvement; Terry Baker Mulligan, who gave critical feedback on literary, educational, and African American issues; and Jayne Navarre, who provided insight into military family life and whose multiple readings and suggestions helped shape the book and its characters. Thanks also to rapper Cuda Brown for his help with contemporary urban English, to Joe Koerner for aid with things Jesuitical, and to editor Kristina Blank Makansi for her deft work on the manuscript.
Further, Lieutenant Mike Muxo, Director of the St. Louis Police Academy, provided much needed background on St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department organization, procedures, and equipment; Baxter Leisure, Executive Assistant at the City of St. Louis Medical Examiner’s Office, gave me details about the city morgue, its operation, and its ambiance; and Cathy Heimberger, Director of Marketing for the Saint Louis Public Library, supplied information about the Central Library’s recent restoration.
Any factual mistakes are mine.
About the Author
Former journalist Rick Skwiot is the author of three previous novels—the Hemingway First Novel Award winner Death in Mexico, the Willa Cather Fiction Prize finalist Sleeping With Pancho Villa, and Key West Story—as well as two memoirs: the critically-acclaimed Christmas at Long Lake: A Childhood Memory and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: Memoir of a Sensual Quest for Spiritual Healing. He also works as a feature writer, book doctor, and editor. From St. Louis, he currently resides in Key West.