Bad Moon (Kat Campbell Mysteries) (39 page)

She looked to the chair in the corner. James was asleep, eyes closed, chest rising and falling in gentle rhythm. He looked so peaceful like that, so innocent. Watching him sleep, Kat had a hard time believing he was capable of hurting anyone, let alone a classmate.

But he had. Over something as silly as lunch. Now, Kat needed to deal with it. She had to spend time with him, to listen to him, to help him become the responsible adult she needed him to be. If she didn’t do that, then James’s behavior would get worse. It happened. Charlie Olmstead was proof of that.

“James needs me,” she said. “And your father needs you.”

Eric did a bad job of trying to hide his disappointment. His smile never wavered, but his eyes dimmed ever-so-slightly.

“So nothing can ever happen between us?” he said.

“Not right now. But maybe someday. Someday soon.”

Although they had been speaking in whispers, their voices were loud enough to wake James. He stirred in the chair, eyelids fluttering.

“I’m going to leave you two alone,” Eric said, backing away from the bed. “Take care, Kat.”

Although Kat hated to see him go, she knew she had made the right decision. There would always be a place in her heart occupied by Eric. But her heart was owned by the boy waking up a few feet away.

“You sleepy, Little Bear?”

When James nodded, she slid to the side of the bed to make room for him. He crawled in with her, burrowing under the covers.

“Am I still grounded?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Again, it hurt Kat to say it. But she had to be strong. James did something wrong, and he needed to be taught to never do it again. She knew he’d hate it. She knew he’d be mad at her. But it was for his own good.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” he said.

“I know. And you’ll do bad things again later. We all do. But you’re my son and I love you. I will always love you. And no matter what you do, I’ll never let go of you.”

Kat closed her eyes and pulled James close. Soon they were both asleep, sleeping soundly. James tossed and turned a bit, uncomfortable in her grip. But true to her word, Kat didn’t let go.

Most of the towns and places mentioned in this book are fictitious, including Perry Hollow. The major exception is Centralia, a modern-day ghost town that has passed into Pennsylvania legend. While it is true that Centralia did succumb to a long-burning mine fire, I toyed with the town’s timeline and its geography to better suit my story.

With the Apollo moon missions, however, I stuck to the script. All mission dates and details are according to official NASA records. If there is an error, it is mine alone and completely unintentional.

Now, on to the thank-yous. I am indebted to my editor, Kelley Ragland, her assistant, Matt Martz, and everyone at St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books. A special thanks goes to Sabrina Soares Roberts for her eagle eye and for dealing with my poor attempts at Vietnamese. I also must thank my wonderful agent, Michelle Brower, and Dana Kaye, publicist extraordinaire.

On a more personal note, I’d like to send love and thanks to both the Ritter and Livio families. Your support is inspiring and greatly appreciated. Same goes for Sarah Dutton, who kindly read the book and told me what worked and what didn’t, and Felecia Wellington, for reading it and telling me she liked it better than my first book. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the friends and family members who saw a lot less of me as I once again fell down the all-consuming rabbit hole of writing a novel.

Finally, the bulk of the thanks goes to Mike Livio for being a fantastic partner, driver, therapist, traveling companion, and sounding board. Once again, all the thanks in the world just isn’t enough.

Death Notice

TODD RITTER, author of
Death Notice
, is a career journalist and is currently at
The Star-Ledger
. He lives in suburban New Jersey. This is his second novel.

Visit him online at
www.toddritteronline.com
.

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.

BAD MOON
. Copyright © 2011 by Todd Ritter. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ritter, Todd.

Bad moon / Todd Ritter.

p. cm.

eISBN 9781429978170

1. Children—Crimes against—Fiction. 2. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 3. Missing persons—Fiction. 4. Small cities—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3618.I79B33 2011

813'.6—dc22

2011018799

First Edition: October 2011