Past Due (46 page)

For their generous help with this manuscript, I wish to thank a number of persons. Barry Cosgrove, one of Cardinal Spellman’s most illustrious alumni, gave me an intimate tour of his hometown, Brockton, Massachusetts, bought me a beer at the Lit, and told me all the lore surrounding Dee Dubs. John Pomerance hung around and was a general nuisance during our time in Brockton, especially in the bar, so I thought I’d mention him, too. Barry Fabius, M.D., examined, diagnosed, and treated Jesse Carl for me before he transferred the patient to Dr. Hellmann. Lloyd L. Reynolds, Commander USNR (Ret), was instrumental in giving me a history of, and a sense of what it feels like to be inside, the SS
United States
as it currently sits on the Philadelphia waterfront. Victor’s references to the ship as a boat are not the commander’s fault. The SS
United States
has recently been purchased by Norwegian Cruise Lines and, though it still sits as Victor describes, a seemingly ruined hulk on Pier 84, it appears to have a future as bright as its past. Much thanks also to Ronald Eisenberg, chief of the Law Division of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, for discussing with me the statute of limitations as it currently applies to Philadelphia. Many thanks also to Josh Marwell, Penn fencing class of 1978, for fixing my sabers. My editor, Carolyn Marino, has been an extraordinary partner, and I can’t thank her enough for the kindness and wisdom she has shown
me. I also wish to thank the entire crew at William Morrow, including Lisa Gallagher, Debbie Stier, Jennifer Civiletto, and Claire Greenspan for their tremendous enthusiasm and support. My literary agent, Wendy Sherman, has been unfailingly encouraging to my literary efforts. Finally, the most important support I have is my family, who give me more than they could ever imagine. Much gratitude especially to my mother, who continues to instruct me on grammar; to my children, Nora, Jack, and Michael; and to my partner and love, Pam.

William Lashner
is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He was a criminal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. His novels—
Past
Due;
Fatal Flaw
;
Bitter Truth
;
Hostile Witness
—have been published worldwide in ten languages. He lives with his family outside of Philadelphia.

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Hostile Witness

Bitter Truth (
originally published as
Veritas)

Fatal Flaw

Past Due

Credits

Jacket design by High Design

Jacket illustration by John Lewis

Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint lyrics from the following:

“Mambo Italiano,” written by Bob Merrill. Copyright © 1954, 1982 by Golden Bell Songs. Reprinted with permission from Music and Media International, Inc.

“Wild Thing.” Words and music by Chip Taylor. Copyright © 1965 (Renewed 1993) by EMI Blackwood Music Inc. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.

“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).” Words and music by Irving Burgie and William Attaway. Copyright © 1955; renewed 1983 by Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. (ASCAP), Lord Burgess Music Publishing Company (ASCAP) and DreamWorks Songs (ASCAP). Worldwide rights for Lord Burgess Music Publishing Company and DreamWorks Songs administered by Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. International copyright secured. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

PAST DUE
. Copyright © 2004 by William Lashner. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ePub edition April 2004 eISBN 9780061749391

FIRST EDITION

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