The Best American Mystery Stories 1998 Read online

  1998

  The Best American Mystery Stories

  Sue Grafton, editor

  Otto Penzler, series editor

  “Nowhere is iniquity, wrongdoing, and reparation more satisfying to behold than in the well-crafted yarns spun by the writers represented here . . . we’re plunged into the darkness by their skill and imagination.”

  — from the introduction by Sue Grafton

  In this volume, guest editor Sue Grafton and series editor Otto Penzler offer up their choices for the best suspense, crime, and mystery stories of the year. Included in these thrilling tales is Scott Bartels’s dark and violent “Swear Not by the Moon,” in which a drug-addicted Creole is caught between good intentions and bad decisions. In Janice Law’s haunting “Secrets,” an Irish immigrant mother and daughter are faced with unexpected cruelties as they try to make a new life for themselves. And in Lawrence Block’s clever Edgar Award-winning story “Keller on the Spot,” a contract killer uncharacteristically saves a life and finds his assignment becoming increasingly complicated.

  The diverse styles and themes employed in this collection showcase an impressive array of talent certain to further the popularity of the genre. Already a bestseller in its first year, The Best American Mystery Stories, as evidenced by this year’s edition, promises to keep readers intrigued and coming back for more.

  The Best American Mystery Stories 1998

  The Best American Mystery Stories 1998

  Edited and with an Introduction by Sue Grafton

  Otto Penzler, Series Editor

  HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK I 998

  Copyright © 1998 by Houghton Mifflin Company Introduction © 1998 by Sue Grafton All rights reserved

  No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. With the exception of nonprofit transcription in Braille, Houghton Mifflin is not authorized to grant permission for further uses of copyrighted selections reprinted in this book without the permission of their owners. Permission must be obtained from the individual copyright owners as identified herein. Address requests for permission to make copies of Houghton Mifflin material to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.

  issn 1094-8384

  isbn 0-395-83586-0

  isbn 0-395-83585-2 (pbk.)

  Printed in the United States of America

  qum 10987654321

  “Child Support” by David Ballard. First published in New Mystery, Vol. V, number 2, Fall 1997. Copyright © 1997 by David Ballard. Reprinted by permission of Charles Raisch.

  “Swear Not by the Moon” by Scott Bartels. First published in Tamaqua, Vol. VI, Issue II, Fall 1997 (Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois). Copyright © 1997 by Scott Bartels. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Keller on the Spot” by Lawrence Block. First published in Playboy, Nov. 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Lawrence Block. Reprinted by permission of Knox Burger Associates, Ltd.

  ‘The Man Next Door” by Mary Higgins Clark. First published in The Plot Thickens (Pocket Books, Nov. 1997). Copyright © 1997 by Mary Higgins Clark. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  ‘This Is a Voice from Your Past” by Merrill Joan Gerber. First published in The Chattahoochee Review, Vol. XVII, number 4, Summer 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Merrill Joan Gerber. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  ‘The Old Spies Club” by Edward D. Hoch. First published in Ellery Queen s Mystery Magazine, May 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Edward D. Hoch. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Beyond Dog” by Pat Jordan. First published in Playboy, August 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Pat Jordan. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Find Miriam” by Stuart Kaminsky. First published in New Mystery, Volume V, number 1, Summer 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Stuart Kaminsky. Reprinted by permission of Charles Raisch. v

  “Secrets” by Janice Law. First published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine,July / August 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Janice Law Trecker. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  ‘The Adventure of the Giant Rat of Sumatra” by John T. Lescroart. First published in Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine, Summer/Fall 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Lescroart Corporation. Reprinted by permission of Lescroart Corporation.

  “Night Crawlers” by John Lutz. First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, April 1997. Copyright © 1997 by John Lutz. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Con Doctor” by Jay Mclnerney. First published in Playboy, Jan. 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Bright Lights Big City, Inc. Reprinted by permission of International Creative Management, Inc. •

  “Prayer for Judgment” by Margaret Maron. First published in Shoveling Smoke: Selected Mystery Stories by Margaret Maron (Crippen & Landru Publishers, 1997). Copyright © 1997 by Margaret Maron. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Black Dog” by Walter Mosley. First published in Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, (W.W. Norton, 1997). Copyright © 1997 by Walter Mosley. Reprinted by permission of the author and W.W. Norton 8c Company, Inc.

  “Faithless” by Joyce Carol Oates. First published in Kenyon Review, Winter 1997. Copyright © 1997 by The Ontario Review, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage” by Peter Robinson. First published in Malice Domestic 6 (Pocket Books, 1997). Copyright © 1997 by Peter Robinson. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  ‘Twelve Days Out of Traction” by Dave Shaw. First published in South Dakota Review, Vol. 34, number 4, Winter 1996, published in February 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Dave Shaw. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Power of Suggestion” by Helen Tucker. First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, May 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Helen Tucker. Reprinted by permission of McIntosh and Otis, Inc.

  ‘Take It Away” by Donald E. Westlake. First published in Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine, Summer/Fall 1997. Copyright © 1997 by Donald E. Westlake. Reprinted by permission of Knox Burger Associates, Ltd.

  “The Rest of Her Life” by Steve Yarbrough. First published in The Missouri Review, Dec. 1997, Vol. 20, number 3. Copyright © 1997 by Steve Yarbrough. Reprinted by permission of International Creative Management, Inc.

  Foreword . ix

  Introduction by Sue Grafton . xii

  DAVID BALLARD

  Child Support • 1

  SCOTT BARTELS

  Swear Not by the Moon • 17

  LAWRENCE BLOCK

  Keller on the Spot • 39

  MARY HIGGINS CLARK

  The Man Next Door • 58

  MERRILL JOAN GERBER

  This Is a Voice from Your Past • 84

  EDWARD D. HOCH

  The Old Spies Club • 96

  PAT JORDAN

  Beyond Dog • 113

  STUART M. KAMINSKY Find Miriam • 134

  JANICE LAW

  Secrets • 152

  JOHN T. LESCROART

  The Adventure of the Giant Flat of Sumatra •

  JOHN LUTZ

  Night Crawlers • 179

  MARGARET MARON

  Prayer for Judgment • 200

  JAY MCINERNEY

  * Con Doctor . 214 WALTER MOSLEY

  Black Dog . 224

  JOYCE CAROL OATES Faithless • 238

  PETER ROBINSON

  The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage • 262

  DAVE SHAW

  Twelve
Days Out of Traction • 277

  HELEN TUCKER

  The Power of Suggestion • 284

  DONALD E. WESTLAKE

  Take It Away • 299

  STEVE YARBROUGH

  The Rest of Her Life • 309

  Contributors’ Notes • 333

  Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 1997 • 344

  Foreword

  For just how many years have we heard the publishing axiom that short story collections don’t sell? When I was too young, too naive, to know this truth, I filled shelf after shelf with short story collections, unaware of my deviant behavior for engaging in this apparently unusual, if not outright bizarre, act.

  Having continued down this awkwardly antisocial path for more years than it would be polite for anyone to enumerate to me, I am now struck by the fact that I have never had difficulty finding enough excellent collections (the work of a single author) and even more anthologies (stories by a variety of contributors) to satisfy my unending thirst. Can there be such generosity, such out-and-out charity, on the part of publishing houses to continue to publish these money-losing projects? If we are reading the same newspapers and magazines, with their endless lamentations about the strangulation of publishing houses by their new leaders, all accountants and lawyers still awaiting their first actual reading experience, that seems unlikely. Or — could it be? — short stories do sell.

  When I consider the number of periodicals, anthologies, and collections I read to accumulate the best stories of the year, I cannot help but be cheered by the many markets open to short story writers. Nothing like the golden age before television, of course, but enough to ensure that any worthwhile piece of fiction will find a home.

  While there are too few magazines specializing exclusively in the type of fiction contained in this volume, there are many mainstream consumer publications that use some mystery fiction, just as there are many small literary magazines that might be a trifle too blue-blooded ever to consider a mere mystery story but are happy to feature a tale of passion, fear, violence, suspense, or revenge that results in murder or its attempt or its aftermath. Finally, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in anthologies of original mystery fiction. Adding it all up, we counted nearly six hundred mys-tery-crime-suspense stories published in the calendar year 1997.

  It has always been my practice to define mystery fiction broadly as any story in which a crime, or the threat of a crime, is central to the theme or plot. This definition opens the door to much that is not structured as a classic detective story.

  In the United States, the professional organization of authors who produce this type of fiction is called the Mystery Writers of America. Its English counterpart is the Crime Writers Association. The members of both organizations are writers of mysteries, or stories essentially told from the point of view of the detective in which an attempt is made to discover who committed a crime or, more often nowadays, why the crime was committed. Both also count among their members writers of crime fiction, which is largely told from the point of view of the criminal: we see the crime committed, generally understand why it has been done, and then wait to discover how or why it all unravels.

  As Sue Grafton points out in her introduction, there seems to be a preponderance of crime stories in this volume. It has, it seems to me, become more and more difficult for detective story writers to find new motives, or new clues, with which to fool readers. Agatha Christie consumed more than her share of original plot notions, leaving a pretty skimpy carcass for those who followed. On the whole, there seems a wider range of opportunity in the areas of suspense and crime than in the tightly plotted story of observation and deduction, so it cannot be a surprise that the output of contemporary authors reflects that shift of direction.

  As is the custom in the Houghton Mifflin series of distinguished anthologies, the series editor (in this case, me) does the preliminary reading and passes along the best fifty stories to the guest editor (in this case, Sue Grafton), who selects the twenty stories to be published, with the remaining thirty listed in an honor roll at the end of the volume. To further enhance the reading experience,

  each author is invited to provide notes about his or her story and its genesis or other pertinent anecdotal material.

  Happily, The Best American Mystery Stories enjoyed success with its initial volume in 1997 and gives the appearance of a series that will have a nice long run. It would be a shame to miss any eligible stories, so if you are an American or Canadian author of a mystery story published for the first time in the calendar year 1998, or if you have read one in a source that I am unlikely to have discovered, I would be happy to hear of it. Please write to Otto Penzler, Mysterious Bookshop, 129 West 56th St., New York, N.Y 10019.

  O. P.

  Introduction

  This collection of short fiction might more properly be labeled the “Best American Crime Stories of 1998.” Regardless of the angle of attack, all of these stories feature crime in some form, either as the central driving force or as the anchor for other, sometimes disparate, elements. Certainly, the mix includes many stories constructed along the lines of the classic mystery, but there are unconventional approaches to the subject as well. In reviewing the many fine submissions, we were impressed with the ingenuity employed by writers whose styles and stratagems ranged from the formal to the offbeat. Almost without exception, crime here is the metaphor for human beings in distress, and violence, whether actual or implied, provides the compression chamber for the resolution of interpersonal hostilities.

  These stories are exquisite studies in the complexity of human nature. Whether told from the point of view of the criminal, the victim, or representatives of law enforcement, each story touches on a facet of evil and, by implication, sheds light on its counterpart, good. Stanley Ellin has defined the mystery story as “short prose fiction that is, in some way, concerned with crime.” This definition, while serviceable, scarcely speaks to the varied techniques these writers utilize to achieve their effects.

  The construction of the crime story requires the establishment of a world easily recognizable to the reader. Whatever the parameters of this fictional universe, the reader must, early on, accept its reality, regardless of how alien it may seem to the reader’s own. From the moment of this connection, the reader is led through a dark and tangled wood to the light of revelation on the other side. At the end of the journey, the reader has experienced a shift in perception . . . the ahh! of understanding that gives a story its impact. It is the marvel of the short story that it can accomplish so much in so few words.

  Ross Macdonald once said: “An unstable balance between reason and more primitive human qualities is characteristic of the detective story. For both writer and reader it is an imaginative arena where such conflicts can be worked out safely, under artistic controls.” Crime is the battering ram that breaches our defenses, forcing us to acknowledge how vulnerable we are. Given the daily newspaper accounts of crimes committed in cities across America, we’re forced to construct a wall of denial around us in order to keep functioning. How else could we dare to venture forth from day to day? Murder, assault, robbery, gang violence, muggings, random freeway shootings . . . these are the threats to our personal safety, dangers we must somehow find a way to keep at arm’s length.

  Crime fiction is the periscope that permits us to peer over the wall without having to deal directly with the horror beyond. The crime story allows us to scrutinize the very peril we’re afraid to face. At the same time, crime fiction seduces us into acknowledging aspects of ourselves that we might prefer to repudiate. Through crime stories, we can wear the mask of the killer without risking arrest and conviction. Through crime stories, we can experience the helplessness of the victim without suffering real harm. Thus, the writer’s imagination authorizes an examination of the felonious outer world and our own concomitant emotional transgressions without compromising our humanity or surrendering our staunchly held moral views.

  The stories
in this collection serve as a seismograph, charting the effects of violence on the world around us. Sometimes what’s recorded is a brutal upheaval of the visible landscape, sometimes a subtle tremor occurring far below the surface. With the crime narrative, there is always the tension of not quite knowing when the next eruption will occur. Where suspense is created, we find ourselves subject to a heightened awareness, our comprehension of events distinctly sharpened by dread. Ordinary people are seen with extraordinary clarity. Extraordinary events are reduced to their baser components: greed, rage, jealousy, hatred, and revenge.

  Since the biblical moment in which Cain killed his brother, Abel, we’ve seen the reflection of our Shadow side in the stories we tell. What can be darker than the taking of human life? What more illuminating than such a tale brought to consciousness? We’ve always been attracted to the sly charms of the crime story. Look at the list of best-sellers in any given week. Of the top ten best-selling books, close to half are devoted to crime and mystery. The form may vary from the legal thriller to romantic suspense, from the hard-boiled private eye to the police procedural, but the appeal is the same.

  “Crime doesn’t pay,” or so the old saying goes, yet watching a fictional character violate the law is irresistible, not necessarily because we wish such misfortunes on our fellow humans, but because, through reading, we can watch the perpetrator’s destiny unfold without penalty to ourselves. Watching others get caught gives us the delicious sensation of our own safe delivery from our inner lawlessness. Crime fiction, like a report of political chicanery, allows us to identify with evildoers while we cling to our innocence, stoutly maintaining our disapproval of such behaviors. We can safely condemn offenses we might (with sufficient temptation or provocation) be capable of committing ourselves, staying a comfortable distance away from our own blacker aspects. A crime story allows us to plead “not guilty” to the sins of any given character. He was caught, and we weren’t. She crossed the line, while we remained on the side of right. Fiction points the finger at someone other than ourselves, and we feel giddy with relief. How else can we explain the universal fascination with trials and public executions? We want to see justice done ... to someone else. We like to see the system work as long as it isn’t operating at our expense.