Rogue Island Page 25

  “Rewrite!”

  She leaped at me and almost knocked me down.

  Her hair was matted and she smelled bad. A note was tucked under her collar: “You take care of the bitch for a while.”

  I fed her some cold cuts from the fridge. Then Marie helped me give her a bath in the tub.

  “What am I going to do with you?” I said out loud as I rinsed the suds from her thick, curly coat. Rewrite cocked her head and looked at me with her glistening brown eyes. The landlord would pitch a fit, and with my crazy hours, how could I take care of her anyway?

  Then it dawned on me.

  There was a nice couple in Silver Lake who knew how to love a dog.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Patricia Smith, one of our greatest living poets, edited every line of every draft and helped this befuddled male create credible love scenes—both on the page and off. Thank you, baby, for permission to excerpt your poem “Spinning ’til You Get Dizzy.”

  Paul Mauro, a New York City police captain; Ted Anthony, an Associated Press assistant managing editor; and Jack Hart, the world’s greatest writing coach, read the first draft with care and made many insightful suggestions. Every writer should have such friends.

  Thank you, Otto Penzler, for reading the book, making useful suggestions, and recommending me to LJK Literary Management. Susanna Einstein at LJK is much more than an agent. She is the best editor I have ever worked with, and I’ve worked with some of the greats.

  I am in Jon Land’s debt for recommending my book to his publisher, Tor/Forge. My thanks to all the folks at the publishing house, especially Eric Raab, for taking a chance on a first-time novelist and doing a fine job with the final edit.

  And to sixteen of my favorite crime novelists—Ace Atkins, Peter Blauner, Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Alafair Burke, Sean Chercover, Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Thomas H. Cook, Tim Dorsey, Loren D. Estleman, Joseph Finder, James W. Hall, Dennis Lehane, Bill Loehfelm, and Marcus Sakey: Thank you for your encouragement and support along the way.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  ROGUE ISLAND

  Copyright © 2010 by Bruce DeSilva

  All rights reserved.

  A Forge® eBook

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-2726-0

  eISBN 978-1-4299-4887-6

  First Edition: October 2010

  First Forge eBook Edition: September 2010