Zodiac

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A mere acknowledgment doesn't fully reflect the contribution made by Marco Paul Johann Kaltofen; a spot on the title page would be more fitting.

In the category of plain old, but deserved, acknowledgments, it should be mentioned that the hard-boiled fiction of James Crumley got me going on this project; people who like this one should buy his books. Joe King put me on the hard-boiled trail with a well-timed recommendation. Jackson Schmidt read and corrected the manuscript with an attention to fine detail I would not have expected even if I had been paying him. My agents, Liz Darhansoff, Abby Thomas, and Lynn Pleshette, gave useful suggestions and then scorched the earth with their zeal, despite blaming me for a sudden aversion to eating lobsters and swimming in the Hudson. Gary Fisketjon edited it closely and intelligently, once again proving his more-than-casual acquaintance with the novel-a 250-year-old art form.

Jon Owens, Jon Halper, Jackson Schmidt, Steve Horst, and Chris Doolan all said or did things that got blended in. My wife, Dr. Ellen Lackermann, helped with the medical research, and refrains from becoming too despondent over my spending eight to sixteen hours a day welded to a Macintosh. Finally, Heather Matheson read the manuscript and told me that the main character was an asshole-confirming that I was on the right track.

TO ELLEN

Down by the river, Down by the banks of the River Charles

That's where you'll find me

Along with lovers, muggers and thieves

Well I love that dirty water,

Oh Boston, you're my home.

-THE INMATES