Memory Man

“I didn’t say that.”

“So it wouldn’t be a problem for you?”

“I didn’t say that either.”

Bogart looked at him. “Can I cut to the chase and up the ante?”

Decker said nothing but gave a small nod.

Bogart held up his cell phone and flashed the light. A minute later Decker could hear footsteps coming.

Alex Jamison came into the ring of light thrown by the streetlamp. She had on a long winter overcoat and calf boots, and a scarf was wrapped around her head. She stopped in front of the bench and looked down.

Decker looked at her and then at Bogart.

“What am I missing?” he said.

“I thought it would be obvious,” said Bogart. “For a smart guy like you.”

Decker looked back at Jamison.

“He made me the same offer, Decker, although I think it had a lot more to do with you than me.”

Bogart said, “She made some good finds in the investigation. Showed some guts and intuition. I know she’s a journalist by trade, but I’m just looking for talent, wherever I can find it.”

“You’d leave Burlington?” Decker asked her.

“To tell the truth, I already have.”

“What about being a reporter?”

“Andy Jackson taught me to find the truth. I figure that holds true for your line of work too. And maybe I can do more good working with Bogart than I can seeing my byline on a story.”

Decker glanced at Bogart. “Does Captain Miller know you’re making me this offer?”

“Yes. He’s not thrilled about it, but he understands. And Lancaster is being promoted to his second in command. And in case you didn’t know, she’s taking meds for the tremor in her hand and it’s working. And she’s put on some weight now that she’s stopped smoking.”

Decker nodded to all this but didn’t break his silence.

Bogart said, “So you’ll think about it?”

“No.”

“Decker,” began Jamison in protest.

“I won’t think about it, because…because I’m going to do it.”

Bogart and Jamison exchanged surprised glances.

Decker looked at them both. “But tonight, I’d prefer to be…here. By myself.”

Bogart got to his feet at the same time that Jamison said, “And we’ll be back tomorrow. And you won’t be by yourself ever again. I think you’ve been alone long enough.”

They turned to walk off, but Jamison looked over her shoulder.

“Merry Christmas, Amos.”

He acknowledged this with a tilt of his head, and they walked on and were soon out of sight.

Amos Decker closed his eyes.

And with it his mind.

If only for a little while.

For just a little while.

Acknowledgments

To Michelle, for always being there for me.

To Mitch Hoffman, for doing such a great editing job.

To Arnaud Nourry and Michael Pietsch, for handling an extremely difficult situation with grace and aplomb.

To Jamie Raab, Lindsey Rose, Sonya Cheuse, Karen Torres, Anthony Goff, Bob Castillo, Michele McGonigle, Andrew Duncan, Rick Cobban, Brian McLendon, Lukas Fauset, and everyone at Grand Central Publishing, for taking such good care of me.

To Aaron and Arleen Priest, Lucy Childs Baker, Lisa Erbach Vance, Frances Jalet-Miller, John Richmond, and Melissa Edwards, for rolling along with me for more than thirty books.

To Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Maria Rejt, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Natasha Harding, Sara Lloyd, Lee Dibble, Stuart Dwyer, Geoff Duffield, Jonathan Atkins, Stacey Hamilton, James Long, A

To Praveen Naidoo and his team at Pan Macmillan in Australia, who have guided me to new heights “Down Under.”

To Sandy Violette and Caspian De

To Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy, for your outstanding audio performances. I love to listen to you both, even though I know how the story will end!

To Steven Maat and the entire Bruna team, for continuing to rock my career in Holland.

To Bob Schule, for rising above the pain and casting his eagle eye yet again.

To Roland Ottewell, for a great (and fast) copyediting job.

To Kristen and Natasha, for keeping Columbus Rose ru

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