One False Move

Jessica did not return the phone message. And Myron told only one person about his final meeting with Mabel Edwards.

Epilogue

September 15 Two weeks later

The cemetery overlooked a schoolyard.

There is nothing as heavy as grief. Grief is the deepest pit in the blackest ocean, the bottomless ravine. It is all-consuming. It suffocates. It paralyzes as no severed nerve could.

He spent much time here now.

Myron heard footsteps coming up behind him. He closed his eyes. It was as he expected. The footsteps came closer. When they stopped, Myron did not turn around.

«You killed her,» Myron said.

«Yes.»

«Do you feel better now?»

Arthur Bradford’s tone caressed the back of Myron’s neck with a cold, bloodless hand. «The question is, Myron, do you?»

He did not know.

«If it means anything to you, Mabel Edwards died slowly.»

It didn’t. Mabel Edwards had been right that night: he was not the type to shoot a woman in cold blood. He was worse.

«I’ve also decided to quit the gubernatorial race,» Arthur said. «I’m going to try to remember how I felt when I was with Anita. I’m going to change.»

He wouldn’t. But Myron didn’t care.

Arthur Bradford left then. Myron stared at the mound of dirt for a while longer. He lay down next to it and wondered how something so splendid and alive could be no more. He waited for the school’s final bell, and then he watched the children rush out of the building like bees from a poked hive. Their squeals did not comfort him.

Clouds began to blot the blue, and then rain began to fall. Myron almost smiled. Yes, rain. That was fitting. Much better than the earlier clear skies. He closed his eyes and let the drops pound him – rain on the petals of a crushed rose.

Eventually he stood and trekked down the hill to his car. Jessica was there, looming before him like a translucent specter. He had not seen or spoken to her in two weeks. Her beautiful face was wet – from the rain or tears, he could not say.

He stopped short and looked at her. Something else inside him shattered like a dropped tumbler.

«I don’t want to hurt you,» Myron said.

Jessica nodded. «I know.»

He walked away from her then. Jessica stood and watched him in silence. He got in his car and turned the ignition. Still, she did not move. He started driving, keeping his eye on the rearview mirror. The translucent specter grew smaller and smaller. But it never totally disappeared.

Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben’s latest novel HOLD TIGHT debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list – and simultaneously debuted at #1 in the London Times.

Wi

Harlan’s novel TELL NO ONE has been turned into the commercial and critical smash hit French film of the same name, starring Francois Cluzet and Kristin Scott Thomas. The movie won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar) and won four, including best actor, best director and best music. To see the trailer, click here and for stills and to see Harlan appearing in the film, visit our gallery page. The movie was released in the US on July 2. You can visit the movie site here. To keep up with the latest information, sign up for the newsletter.

In his first books, Coben immersed himself in the exploits of sports agent Myron Bolitar. Critics loved the series, saying, “You race to turn pages…both suspenseful and often surprisingly fu

Coben was the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES op-ed page. His Father’s Day short story, THE KEY TO MY FATHER, appeared June 15, 2003.

Since his critically-acclaimed Myron Bolitar series debuted in 1995, Harlan Coben has won the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Allan Poe Award and was nominated for the Edgar two other times. Harlan also won the Anthony Award at the World Mystery Conference, was nominated for another Anthony Award, won the Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America, was nominated for another Shamus, and was twice nominated for the Dilys Award by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

In the United Kingdom, his novel ONE FALSE MOVE earned him the prestigious “Fresh Talent Award”, given a

Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Amherst College a political science major, Harlan worked in the travel industry. He now lives in New Jersey with his wife, A