For Geoff Cooper, Michael T. Huyck Jr., and Michael Oliveri.
We are ka-tet. All for one and one for all…
To many men life is a failure
A poison worm gnawing at their heart
Then let them see to it
That their dying is all the more a success
Rejoice, young man, in thy youth
But know that God will bring thee
Into judgment
“I’m going to kill the bastard!”
“Forget it and grab the money!”
Farewell happy fields
Where joy forever dwells
Hail horrors, hail…
Thanks to Cassandra; Sam, who came along at just the right time; Anne Groell for the French Sushi; Josh Pasternak; Rich SanFilippo, for the bat and the murder ballads; Ed Gorman; Larry Roberts; Alan M. Clark; Duane Swierczynski, my partner in crime; Cullen Bunn; Judi Rohrig; Officer Tom O’Brien (no relation to the main character); Maria Cotto, for the swearing lessons; Carl, for help with the drugs; Matt Warner (drop and give me 1,000); Gina Mitchell; Mark Lancaster, for once again being my eyes and ears; Adam Pepper, who read this on the back of scrap paper; John Urbancik, for reading this during the carnival instead of going to Heaven by answering three easy questions; and finally, to the memory of the foundry sage Robert Fitro, whose wisdom is not forgotten.
Author’s Note: Though Hanover, York, and many of the locations in this novel are real, I have taken fictional liberties with them. If you live there, don’t look for your bank. You probably won’t find it.