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DOWN RIVERRobin waited for me to say something, but I couldn’t answer. I looked outthe window before she could see that tears were rising in my eyes, too.Robin left a few minutes later to catch the seven o’clock briefing at the policestation. I took some Percocet and pulled her sheets around me. Pain tunneledthrough my head; hammer blows at the temples, a cold nail at the hairline. Inall of my life, I’d seen two things make my father cry. When my mother died,he’d wept for days; slow, constant tears, as if they welled from the seams of hisface. Then tears of joy, once.My father had saved a life.The girl’s name was Grace Shepherd. Her grandfather was Dolf Shepherd,the farm’s foreman and my father’s oldest friend. Dolf and Grace lived in asmall cottage on the southern edge of the property. I never knew what had happenedto the child’s parents, only that they were gone. Whatever the reason,Dolf stepped up to raise the girl by himself. It was a trial for him—everybodyknew it—but he’d been doing well.Until the day she’d wandered off.It was a cool day, early fall. Dry leaves clattered and scraped under a dull,heavy sky. She was barely two, and let herself out the back door while Dolfthought she was upstairs, sleeping. It was my father who found her. He was highin one of the pastures when he saw her on the dock below the house, watchingleaves spin on the surging current. I’d never seen my father move so fast.She went in without a splash. She leaned too far and the water just swallowedher up. My father hit the river in a loose dive, and came up alone. Imade it to the dock as he went back down.I found him a quarter mile downstream, cross-legged in the dirt, GraceShepherd on his lap. Her skin shone as pale as something already dead, butshe was round-eyed and wailing, her open mouth the only slash of color onthat bleak riverbank. He clutched the child as if nothing else mattered; and hewas weeping.I watched for a long second, sensing, even then, that the moment was a sacredthing. When he saw me, though, he smiled. “Damn, son,” he’d said. “Thatwas a close one.”21
JOHN HARTAnd then he’d kissed her head.We wrapped Grace in my jacket as Dolf arrived at a run. Sweat poureddown his face and he stopped, uncertain. My father handed the child to me,took two quick steps, and dropped the girl’s grandfather with a single blow. Thenose was shattered, no question, and Dolf bled there on the riverbank as hisoldest friend trudged, wet and weary, to the house up on its hill.That was my father.The iron man.22
Page 1 and 2: Excerpt ofTHE LAST CHILDIncluded!
Page 3 and 4: ALSO BY JOHN HARTThe King of Lies
Page 5 and 6: This is a work of fiction. All of t
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Page 9 and 10: ACKNOWLEDGMENTSadvocate and collabo
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Page 13 and 14: JOHN HARTthe wheel, Manhattan a sin
Page 15 and 16: JOHN HARTgreen. The needle touched
Page 17 and 18: JOHN HARTHe looked me over again.
Page 19 and 20: JOHN HARTyears ago you were the cro
Page 21 and 22: JOHN HARTfeet of solid metal with a
Page 23 and 24: JOHN HARTThe doors slipped shut beh
Page 25 and 26: JOHN HART“Robin—”“Never min
Page 27 and 28: JOHN HARTof it was my fault. “Wha
Page 29 and 30: JOHN HARTI rubbed my hands over my
Page 31: JOHN HART“No rest for the wicked,
Page 35 and 36: JOHN HARTseeing it; but it must hav
Page 37 and 38: JOHN HARTA: He is my stepson. His f
Page 39 and 40: JOHN HARThalfway in the river. The
Page 41 and 42: JOHN HARTsen to miss, that in the l
Page 43 and 44: JOHN HARTit.” He squeezed my shou
Page 45 and 46: JOHN HARTof it. I was feeling the p
Page 47 and 48: JOHN HARTsleep with you under any c
Page 49 and 50: JOHN HART“Do you have a wife?”
Page 51 and 52: JOHN HART“What doesn’t?”She u
Page 53 and 54: JOHN HARTback there, that was five
Page 55 and 56: JOHN HARTWe stared at each other. S
Page 57 and 58: CHAPTER6It was a short drive. I pas
Page 59 and 60: JOHN HARTIt was happening again.“
Page 61 and 62: JOHN HART“You were with her. You
Page 63 and 64: JOHN HART“I want you to give him
Page 65 and 66: JOHN HART“I never knew the boy th
Page 67 and 68: JOHN HARThe looked at the caller ID
Page 69 and 70: JOHN HART“Can we see her yet?”T
Page 71 and 72: JOHN HARTThe cops got nothing.Back
Page 73 and 74: CHAPTER8Ilooked for Jamie as we hit
Page 75 and 76: JOHN HARTGeorge hesitated. “The h
Page 77 and 78: JOHN HART“Adam?”“You found a
Page 79 and 80: JOHN HARTI slammed my open palm aga
Page 81 and 82: JOHN HARTMy friend.He ducked low an
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CHAPTER9They stuffed me in the back
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JOHN HART“Talking a bit.”I nodd
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JOHN HARTupon her shoulders like a
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JOHN HARTthe time. Then something c
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JOHN HARTIt was a good offer. He me
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JOHN HART“Maybe a good thing you
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JOHN HART“Because she’s going t
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JOHN HART“What kind of mythology?
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JOHN HART“If this had been in the
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JOHN HARTmy father, sensing this, t
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JOHN HART“Mom wants you,” she s
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JOHN HART“I did what I felt I had
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JOHN HARTMy father’s face went wh
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JOHN HARTraised a hand and said som
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JOHN HARTwas in trouble, but he nev
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JOHN HART“That’s about what I f
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JOHN HARTlooking for arrowheads. Th
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JOHN HARTAnd there was something el
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JOHN HARTme. She’d chosen her mom
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CHAPTER13We drank bourbon in the st
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JOHN HART“On what grounds?” Dol
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JOHN HART“I thought that this was
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JOHN HART“I’m asking,” Granth
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CHAPTER15Iwoke at five and saw ligh
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JOHN HARTI searched for something t
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JOHN HART“Get some rest,” I tol
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JOHN HART“Your stepmother was slo
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JOHN HARTHe studied the group, and
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JOHN HART“I didn’t mean it, you
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CHAPTER16Idrove to the farm, took t
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JOHN HART“She looks bad.”An eye
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JOHN HARTMy father looked at Dolf.
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JOHN HART“Any message?” I asked
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JOHN HARTlooked like river bottom.
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JOHN HARTto her.” There was laugh
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CHAPTER17She left me without anothe
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JOHN HART“How so?”“Grantham w
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JOHN HART“Why?”“Nothing could
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JOHN HARTThe disquiet slid off Dolf
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JOHN HARTthought he was in Florida.
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JOHN HARTto look up. “The police
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JOHN HART“If I share my informati
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JOHN HARTa second. I opened my arms
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JOHN HART“It won’t happen like
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JOHN HARTWhen my father came out of
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JOHN HART“A warrant for whose arr
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JOHN HARTshattered. He kept an arm
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JOHN HART“I appreciate the though
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JOHN HARTDolf ’s name, and the ba
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JOHN HARTParks stood out in his imm
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JOHN HART“I’ll make some calls,
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JOHN HARTyou’re being overheard,
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JOHN HART“You need him.”Dolf wa
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JOHN HARTI stared.“That was his o
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JOHN HARTI heard Dolf ’s voice in
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JOHN HART“It was a strange thing,
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JOHN HART“I’ve got to go,” I
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JOHN HART“Let me get dressed.”S
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JOHN HARTtruck was gone. He was sti
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JOHN HART“Somehow, I don’t thin
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JOHN HART“And Dad doesn’t know?
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JOHN HARTShe withdrew further over
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JOHN HARTslipped the scrap of paper
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JOHN HART“You can have one minute
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CHAPTER23My father was drunk. He wa
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JOHN HARTHe waved a hand. “I can
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JOHN HARTsmiled broadly, hands on h
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JOHN HARTHe gave me the same unforg
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JOHN HARTThen he turned and was gon
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JOHN HARTThe facts on Danny’s dea
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JOHN HARTsomething to do.” She pa
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JOHN HARTmay be a bigger player tha
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JOHN HARTtimes before voice mail ki
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JOHN HARTfrom his shirt collar. Swe
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JOHN HARTmen smelling of smoke and
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JOHN HARTShe raised her hand to the
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JOHN HARTI crossed the Salisbury li
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CHAPTER25It was still dark when Rob
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JOHN HARTHe was clearly shaken, and
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JOHN HARTShe pulled up when we were
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JOHN HARTup. “I always knew he ha
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JOHN HART“I checked with the util
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JOHN HART“Grantham’s smart. I
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CHAPTER26Icalled Jamie and got his
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JOHN HART“He owns the Laundromat
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JOHN HART“Look, there’s not muc
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JOHN HART“Three hundred thousand.
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CHAPTER27The address for Zeb Faith
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JOHN HARTand stole the doll off the
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JOHN HARThouse. I pulled in behind
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JOHN HARTHe turned the key. I stood
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JOHN HART“You dated him?”“We
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CHAPTER28Isat up fast. Dead-of-nigh
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JOHN HARTbitter swell of it in the
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JOHN HARTdrinking day and night, su
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JOHN HARTThe door stood open a crac
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JOHN HART“The gambling is my prob
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CHAPTER29We spent the next six hour
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JOHN HARTHe walked straight up to m
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JOHN HART“I was in New York.”Hi
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JOHN HART“Did he kill his own son
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JOHN HART“Yes,” I said.“All r
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CHAPTER30Dinner was painful. I foug
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JOHN HART“What time did you have
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JOHN HARTShe levered herself out of
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JOHN HARThere, canoe at the dock. I
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JOHN HARTShe measured me, debating
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JOHN HARTHe moved to stand beside m
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JOHN HARTdread overtook me. I thoug
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JOHN HARTjaws two inches apart. The
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JOHN HART“I’m sorry,” she sai
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JOHN HARTThe pistol wavered. Miriam
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JOHN HARTfrom the truth of what Mir
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JOHN HARTyou to do something for me
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JOHN HART“You’re missing the on
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CHAPTER33Icalled George Tallman at
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JOHN HARTI tried to stay calm, but
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JOHN HART“I told her,” he said.
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JOHN HART“Get Janice,” I said.
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JOHN HARTMy father.My stepmother.Sh
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JOHN HARTI placed the card on the e
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JOHN HART“Maybe tomorrow.”I tho
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JOHN HART“I’ll make it.”“Da
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JOHN HARTIt was Dolf who finally ex
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JOHN HARTtrees spread above the nei
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JOHN HARTand shook like a leaf in h
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JOHN HARTwill. Jamie still had his
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An excerpt fromTHELAST CHILDbyJOHN
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John Hartsales type in a wrinkled s
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John HartThe boy spit chewing gum i
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Chapter OneJohnny learned early. If
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THE LAST CHILDJohnny studied the do
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THE LAST CHILDA hundred bucks.Food
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THE LAST CHILDhe was supposed to pi
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THE LAST CHILDHe waited.Johnny trie
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THE LAST CHILDHe put the car in gea
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THE LAST CHILDened her still had it
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THE LAST CHILDthat curved between t
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THE LAST CHILDdid not help neighbor
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THE LAST CHILD“Uncle Steve.”“
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THE LAST CHILDand level. He had thi
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THE LAST CHILDday she disappeared:
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THE LAST CHILDsaw recognition snap
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THE LAST CHILD“Johnny—”“The
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