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, Anna Bond, Sarah Willcox, Leanne Williams, Sarah McLean, Charlotte Williams, and Neil Lang at Pan Macmillan, for all your outstanding labors on my behalf.
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 Dennis, for always being so supportive.
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 running smoothly.