Ed McBain (44 page)

"No," Dave said.

"Hey, you got to try it, man," Tigo said excitedly. "You'll like it. Hey, you try it."

"Yeah, I was thinking maybe this Sunday I'd..." He did not complete the sentence.

"My spin," Tigo said wearily. He twirled the cylinder. "Here goes a good man," he said, and he put the revolver to his head and squeezed the trigger.

Click.

Dave smiled nervously. "No rest for the weary," he said. "But, Jesus, you got heart, I don't know if I can go through with it."

"Sure, you can," Tigo assured him. "Listen, what's there to be afraid of?" He slid the gun across the table.

"We keep this up all night?" Dave asked.

"They said ... you know..."

"Well, it ain't so bad. I mean, hell, we didn't have this operation, we wouldn'ta got a chance to talk, huh?" He grinned feebly.

"Yeah," Tigo said, his face splitting in a wide grin. "It ain't been so bad, huh?"

"No ... it's been ... well ... you know, these guys in the club, who can talk to them?"

He picked up the gun.

"We could..." Tigo started.

"What?"

"We could say ... well ... like we kept shootin' an' nothin happened, so..." Tigo shrugged. "What the hell! We can't do this all night, can we?"

"I don't know."

"Let's make this the last spin. Listen, they don't like it, they can take a flying leap, you know?"

"I don't think they'll like it. We supposed to settle this for the clubs."

"Screw the clubs!" Tigo said vehemently. "Can't we pick our own..." The word was hard coming. When it came, he said it softly, and his eyes did not leave Dave's face, "...friends?"

"Sure we can," Dave said fervently "Sure we can! Why not?"

"The last spin," Tigo said "Come on, the last spin."

"Gone," Dave said. "Hey you know, I'm glad they got this idea. You know that? I'm actually glad!" He twirled the cylinder. "Look, you want to go on the lake this Sunday? I mean with your girl and mine? We could get two boats. Or even one if you want."

"Yeah, one boat," Tigo said. "Hey, your girl'll like Juana, I mean it. She's a swell chick."

The cylinder stopped. Dave put the gun to his head quickly.

"Here's to Sunday," he said. He grinned at Tigo, and Tigo grinned back, and then Dave fired.

The explosion rocked the small basement room, ripping away half of Dave's head, shattering his face. A small cry escaped Tigo's throat, and a look of incredulous shock knifed his eyes. Then he put his head on the table and began weeping.

I was lucky to stumble into a job at a literary agency and to find in Scott Meredith a mentor who recognized my fierce ambition and possible talent, and who offered me opportunities to develop the skills I'd never been taught in all of my college writing courses.

"How would you like to write a novel?" he asked me one day.

"A
novel?
" I said. "No, no, I could
never
write a novel."

I was still learning to write short stories!

But the John C. Winston Company had asked the agency to provide a series of science fiction novels for young adults, and Lester del Rey (he of "Rattlesnake Cave" fame) had written short outlines for each of the novels. Scott offered me the outline for
Find the Feathered Serpent,
which became the first Evan Hunter novel I ever wrote, and then for
Danger, Dinosaurs!
and
Rocket to Luna,
two novels I wrote under the Richard Marsten pseudonym.

It was in
Manhunt,
though, that Scott offered me the greatest opportunities to develop as a writer. I was amazed earlier this year when my Hollywood agent reported that several studios had hoped for more "twists and turns of plot and less
character
in a novel he'd submitted. Back in the fifties, after decades of plot-driven pulp stories,
Manhunt
was bold enough to explore character—the kids and the women in jeopardy, the loose cannons, the private eyes, the innocent bystanders, the gangs ... and yes, the cops and robbers.
Manhunt
and Scott Meredith (and John McCloud, too) offered me the freedom to learn. I shall forever be grateful for the experience. From first offense to last spin, it was a remarkable journey.

Thank you for sharing it with me all over again.

D
ECEMBER 2004

1952:

"Eye Witness"—Hunt
Collins—Verdict
(August)

1953:

"Carrera's Woman"—Richard Marsten
—Manhunt
(February)

"Kid Kill"—Evan
Hunter-Manhunt
(April)

"Small Homicide"—Evan Hunter—
Manhunt
(June)

"Good and Dead"—Evan Huiiter—
Manhunt
(July)

"Still Life" - Evan Hunter
—Manhunt
(August)

"The Innocent One"—Richard Marsten—
Manhunt
(August)

"The Molested"—Hunt Collins—
Manhunt
(September)

"Accident Report"—Richard Marsten—
Manhunt
(September)

"Chalk," originally published as "I Killed Jeannie"—Evan Hunter—
Pursuit
(November)

1954:

"Runaway"—Richard Marsten—
Manhunt
(February)

"Association Test"—Hunt Collins—
Manhunt
(July)

"Chinese Puzzle"—Richard Marsten—
Manhunt
(July)

"Every Morning"—Richard Marsten—
Manhunt
(September)

"Bedbug"—Evan Hunter—
Manhunt
(September)

"Death Flight," originally published as "Ticket to Death" - Evan Hunter—Argosy (September)

1955:

"Kiss Me, Dudley"—Hunt Collins—
Manhunt
(January)

"Dummy," originally published as "The Big Scream"—Evan Hunter—
Real
(June)

"See Him Die"—Evan Hunter
—Manhunt
(July)

"The Big Day"—Richard Marsten—
Manhunt
(September)

"First Offense"—Evan Hunter—
Manhunt
(December)

1956:

"Downpour," originally published as "Murder on the Keys"—Richard Marsten—
Argosy
(February)

"The Last Spin"—Evan Hunter—
Manhunt
(September)

1957:

"On the Sidewalk, Bleeding"—Evan Hunter—
Manhunt
(July)

"The Merry Merry Christmas"—Evan Hunter—
Manhunt
(December)