Eighteen Read online

  Eighteen

  Jan Burke

  The acclaimed author of the Irene Kelly mystery series (Goodnight, Irene, etc.) and the Edgar award-winning novel Bones delivers this superb collection of short stories, hitherto available only in a limited trade edition from A.S.A.P. Publishing. These early works, which appeared in publications like Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, display an impressive range of styles, voices and settings. Burke offers ghost stories ("Ghost of a Chance"), romantic suspense ("The Muse"), a whodunit ("A Fine Set of Teeth"), a tale of revenge ("Miscalculation") and a humorous intrigue ("The Man in the Civil Suit"), and the voices she adopts are as disparate as an abused wife and an aristocratic gentleman (and, at one point, even a non-human narrator). It would be a challenge for readers to choose their favorite, as all the stories are carefully crafted gems: "Mea Culpa" follows a crippled boy as he deduces what his stepfather has in store for his mother; "Miscalculation," which is based on the wartime service of the Queen Mary ocean liner, effectively transmutes history into mystery; and "Unharmed" tells a surprising tale of domestic strife. Several of the stories won or were nominated for awards, and virtually all of them repay the reader handsomely.

  Jan Burke

  Eighteen

  Introduction

  Let me tell you about Jan Burke.

  I remember thinking sometime during the early 1990s that the baby boom had finally hit the mystery field. Each month brought a crop of new young writers to publishers’ lists, people I’d never heard of and probably would never read. When Jan Burke’s first novel about reporter Irene Kelly, Goodnight, Irene, appeared in 1993 it caused barely a ripple on my consciousness. Even when it was nominated for both the Agatha and Anthony Awards that year I didn’t feel the need to read it. There were too many other books and too little time for them all.

  My opinion began to change the following year when Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine published her small gem of a story called “Unharmed,” which promptly won that magazine’s annual Readers Award. While publishing a new Irene Kelly novel each year, Jan was also turning up with increasing frequency in magazines, anthologies and limited editions. One story, “A Fine Set of Teeth,” was unique in having an audio version read by the author with music by her husband Tim Burke. It was the first Irene Kelly short story and I found it a delightful mixture of music and mystery, with some very funny musician jokes along the way.

  Though I’d seen Jan at various writers’ gatherings over the years, the first time we had a real conversation was at the 2000 Left Coast Crime gathering in Tucson. We were sharing a table in the signing room after our panels, autographing books and magazines for fans, when a member of the organizing committee came along, urging us to attend the 2001 Left Coast Crime in Anchorage the following year. The event included a plan to fly some writers in small planes to remote communities that had rarely if ever been visited by an author. Inviting someone from cold and snowy Rochester to visit cold and snowy Alaska in February was an exercise in futility and I quickly declined. However I was more than a little surprised when Jan seemed interested in the trip. It occurred to me then that she was a rare writer indeed, one interested not just in promoting her own books but in publicizing all mysteries, all reading, to those who might never have been touched by the pleasures the written word can bring.

  Two months later at the Mystery Writers of America awards dinner in New York, Jan Burke won the Edgar for Bones, judged the best novel of 1999. It was the first of her novels I’d read, but certainly not the last. In February of 2001 Jan did indeed go to Alaska, and in May of that year she won the Agatha Award for her story “The Man in the Civil Suit,” published within Malice Domestic 9.

  Jan has played an active role in writers’ organizations, chairing several promotional programs for Sisters in Crime and most recently serving as president of MWA’s Southern California chapter. But it is her short stories that interest us here. Those readers who know her only through the Irene Kelly novels will be surprised at the wide range of style and subject matter in these eighteen stories, two of them published here for the first time.

  Certainly Irene is here, and one new story “Devotion” brings back some familiar characters from Bones. But you’ll also find unusual historical mysteries like “Miscalculation,” “An Unexpected Condition of the Heart,” “A Man of My Stature,” and “The Haunting of Carrick Hollow,” all showing remarkable degrees of research. There are stories of kidnapping and murder, stories for dog-lovers and Hitchcock-lovers, and one new story, “The Mouse,” that has no crime in it at all. You’ll even find a couple of ghost stories lurking here. One of them, “The Abbey Ghosts,” is a fine tale already included in an anthology of the year’s best mysteries.

  Read them, enjoy them! Jan Burke is the real thing.

  Edward D. Hoch

  Rochester, New York

  Notes on the Stories

  This collection includes my first short stories and my most recent. I haven’t been at this all that long, but I hope you’ll enjoy the mixture of tales within. Here’s a little background on the stories you will find here.

  “Devotion” and “A Fine Set of Teeth” feature characters created in my novels. “Devotion” is a new story written especially for this collection, and several of its characters are from Bones.

  Ben Sheridan plays a major role in “Devotion”, and as always, I enjoyed writing about him. Judging from my mail, readers like him too. Like other amputees, he is who he is-not defined by this one difference. If he helps to dispel some myths about amputees along the way, that’s thanks to the many people who helped me create him by openly talking to me about their own lives after limb loss.

  The dogs are also back. In addition to what I learned about SAR dog work from dog handlers who helped me with Bones and Flight, bloodhound handler Milica Wilson of Colorado gave me information that was invaluable for this story.

  “A Fine Set of Teeth” is the first Irene Kelly short story, and was first published by A.S.A.P. Publishing. My husband, Tim Burke, is a musician, and some of Irene’s experiences in this story are drawn from life. Our friends had a field day contributing the musician jokes.

  In addition to “Devotion”, two other stories will be new to most of my readers. “The Mouse” is published here for the first time. It isn’t a mystery story, but it’s close to the bone. “The Loveseat” was my first published work, but until now, it has never been published in English. Although I had sold Goodnight, Irene before I wrote “The Loveseat”, the book was not published until almost a year after this story appeared in a suspense anthology in the Netherlands. Meulenhoff, which publishes my novels in Dutch, will always hold a place in my heart because my editor there recognized the story’s dark humor.

  “Why Tonight?” was the first of my stories to be published in the U.S. I sold it to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine not long before Goodnight, Irene was released. I was thrilled to make it into this magazine, which I had read for many years. After several years, I still have an attachment to this story, although I’m not exactly sure why-perhaps it’s the Kansas setting.

  “Unharmed” debuted in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine-another magazine stacked in piles next to my bed. On the way home from work one night, Tim heard a news story on the radio. He thought I might be able to do something with it if I wrote it from a certain perspective. He had no sooner finished telling me about it, than I excused myself, ran into my office, and wrote “Unharmed” in one sitting. Tim had to finish making dinner that evening, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  Many of these stories reflect my love of history. I’m especially grateful to Sharan Newman, who heard me complaining about a character-a medieval knight in my imagination who really wouldn’t leave me alone. She offered me the chance
to write an historical short story. She didn’t get the story about the knight (he still pesters me from time to time), but she did give me a home for “A Man of My Stature”-it’s inspired by a true crime which took place in the U.S. in the late 19th century. I took the basic idea behind the crime and came up with a different set of problems for the narrator than the ones which led to the capture of his real-life counterpart.

  Others inspired by true stories are “The Haunting of Carrick Hollow”, “Two Bits” and “Miscalculation”.

  “The Haunting of Carrick Hollow” was the result of my first and (so far) only attempt to work with a writing partner. I doubt anyone else could have made it as painless as Paul Sledzik did. Paul’s a good friend who works as a forensic anthropologist, has been the Curator of Anatomical Collections at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, and (among other areas of expertise) is known for his ability to recognize tuberculosis in skeletal remains. He came up with the question that became the center of this story, and wrote some of the most difficult scenes. My hope is that he’ll continue to try his hand at fiction, because I found his work on this one to be exceptional. The story is set in late nineteenth century New England.

  “Two Bits” was inspired by a famous kidnapping case of the nineteenth century-I read about it while researching Hocus. I married this true story to some observations made by a searcher concerning a much more contemporary kidnapping. The outcome and the family portrayed in the story are entirely fictional, a blend of all these elements with lots of “what if?”

  “Miscalculation” is set aboard the Queen Mary and based on a little known fact about the ship’s wartime service. I read a single sentence in a large book about the ship, and that sentence so disturbed me, I decided I needed to explore the Queen Mary’s history for more information. As it turns out, it’s not easy to get anyone to talk about this particular tragedy, and I appreciate the help given to me by those who confirmed my early research into the matter.

  Two stories are set in Regency England: “An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart” and “The Abbey Ghosts”. I became attached to the Regency through the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. Terry Baker of the Mystery Annex bookstore knew I loved Austen’s works, and introduced me to those of Heyer. Heyer’s wit, insight, and knowledge of that period helped me to escape the grim images that were left dancing in my head while I researched Bones. When I read her books at night, I’d be magically transported to the world of the haut ton before I fell asleep. “An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart” is an homage to Ms. Heyer, but no one should take that to mean that I think I’ve captured her style or come close to her achievements-she was one of a kind. I enjoyed writing it, but I have never done so much research for so few pages in my life. I have a fondness for this narrator, so he may return.

  “The Abbey Ghosts” is a different style of story, although also set in Regency England. Audrey Moore of the bookstore Mysteries to Die For, in Thousand Oaks, California, asked me to write a Christmas story. To my surprise, it also ended up being a ghost story. Cathleen Jordan kindly chose to publish it in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

  “The Man in the Civil Suit” is a humorous story written for the Malice Domestic 9 Anthology. The anthology was a tribute to Agatha Christie, and contributors were asked to include some reference to a Christie title or work somewhere in the story. The Man in the Brown Suit has always been a favorite of mine.

  Writing short stories allows me to venture beyond the world of Las Piernas, the contemporary beach city in the Irene Kelly books. “Mea Culpa” is set in the 1950’s, and allowed me to explore writing from the point of view of a young boy. “White Trash” and “Revised Endings” allowed me to play “what if” in situations where one might feel frustrated enough to do violence. “The Muse” allowed me to write a story interwoven with references to the films of Alfred Hitchcock.

  Some years ago, I’d been reading ghost stories in preparation for a Halloween event at Beth Caswell’s Sherlock’s Home mystery bookstore when I decided to try my hand at one that might be a little different. “Ghost of a Chance” was first heard by Beth’s customers.

  To all the mystery writers, past and present, whose short stories have delighted me, my thanks for giving me a love of this form. My thanks to Jim Seels, Cathleen Jordan, Janet Hutchings, Martin Greenberg, Sharan Newman, Miriam Grace Monfredo, Elizabeth Foxwell, Lia Matera, and the many others who’ve work so hard to bring mystery short stories to readers. And most of all, my thanks to you who read our stories, who keep the fine tradition of the mystery short story alive. I hope you’ll enjoy this collection.

  Jan Burke

  Southern California

  The Loveseat

  The shovel half-rang like a muted bell as it struck the metal. Leila Anderson sighed and stopped digging, wiping the back of her leather glove across her forehead. She was hot and tired, but determined to finish planting this last section of her garden.

  She turned from the corner where she had been working and looked across the big backyard. It should have been our garden, our yard, our house, she thought to herself. Sam should be here with me.

  But he wasn’t. Samuel Barrington had left her for a girl of twenty-two, a girl who made mooning cow’s eyes at the silly man. Before Cow Eyes-Marietta Hinchley-came into the picture, Leila had known exactly how things were going to be. She knew that after four years of being engaged, she and Sam would finally marry; knew that they would move out of the apartment they had shared and into a lovely house; knew that she would keep getting promotions at the investment firm she worked for; knew that Sam would continue to be able to pursue his doctorate in mathematics, because she, Leila would support them, just as she always had. And most certainly, back in those golden days, Leila had known what was expected of her. Her ability to predict and her own predictability. That was Leila’s life.

  But Sam had surprised her. She hadn’t ever been fond of surprises, and this one did nothing to endear them to her. “You’re so reasonable, Leila,” Sam had said that day. “I know you’ll understand.” Leila would always be his friend, Sam had told her, but in Marietta, he had found passion.

  Passion! Didn’t he know she, Leila, was capable of passion? Of course she had always been controlled around him. She had eschewed the sentimental, been the “reasonable” woman he had come to rely on. As logical as his beloved mathematics. The habit of it was ingrained in her so deeply, that even as he was telling her of his unfaithfulness, she had reacted just as she had known Sam would want her to react, exactly in the way he had come to depend on her to react: reasoned, calm, controlled. But that was on the outside. Inside, she raged. Raged passionately.

  So used to pleasing Sam, though, she was determined not to let him know how wounded her pride was. She reasoned that at that particular moment, the only psychological weapon she had to defend herself with was her dignity, and she used it like a knife.

  She had met Marietta the next day. Sam, oblivious to the tension between the two women, had begun his ‘let’s all be friends’ campaign without delay. A beautiful, slim, athletic, young woman, Marietta had tried hard to upset Leila’s equanimity. She made allusions to Leila’s age, which was not more than eight years above her own; she hinted that Leila was out of shape, which was untrue. Leila was not the athlete that Marietta was, but she was no slouch. Sam had seemed a little displeased with Marietta ’s lack of grace. And Leila knew that while Sam had been relieved and grateful that she had not fallen apart, Marietta had been hoping for a tantrum, a scene. Marietta, Leila had seen in a moment, was a bitch. Leila had smiled, certain that Sam would more than do his penance.

  He would do his penance, but at that moment he was too smitten with Marietta to realize what he had let himself in for. He saw Marietta as a lonely child, dependent on him for guidance. He later tried to apologize to Leila for Marietta ’s bad behavior, saying that Marietta was alone in the world, without family to guide her. Sam thought himself capable of teaching her manners. Leila th
ought it was the biggest joke Sam had ever played on himself, but said nothing.

  Hoping that living well was indeed the best revenge, she went on with her life. She had chosen this house on her own and bought it. The house had been built in 1920’s, and she loved its polished wooden floors and arched windows and tall ceilings. The day after her furniture was moved in, she went to work on the garden with all of the passion she had leftover from the end of her relationship with Sam. She dug up old, neglected flower beds and planted them with bright, beautiful blossoms: impatiens and fushia and pansies and geraniums; a wild, unpredictable mix of anything that would give her eye a moment’s pleasure. She planted pink jasmine and roses along the high stone fence that surrounded the big yard. She was glad of the privacy that fence gave her yard, her little oasis of color and fragrance.

  She had saved this corner for last. A week ago, while pruning back the poorly tended honeysuckle that had overgrown this corner, she discovered something that had made her cry. Beneath the vines she had found something made of stone, broken in two parts. When she had realized it was a loveseat, it had suddenly come to symbolize her broken romance with Sam, and for the first time since the day he had told her of Marietta, she had cried. Four months of bottled pain and humiliation burst from her like champagne from an uncorked bottle, and cold, predictable, passionless Leila wept in her garden.

  The relief of it had been great. Later she called her old friend, Arnie, who was a landscape contractor. Arnie, who had benefitted more than once from Leila’s ability to chose investments, was happy to make arrangements to have the broken loveseat hauled off. The day after it was gone, Leila went back to work in the garden.

  On this warm June day, she had dug up about two feet of soil in the area of the corner, preparing to plant a last trio of rosebushes, when the shovel had rung out. She knelt down on all fours, picking up a small hand spade, and tried to clear away the soil that covered the metal object that was thwarting her progress. Thinking of Sam and Marietta, she dug with furious movements, showering dirt everywhere, some of it landing in her hair and on her clothes. Before long, the spade struck the object as well. She scraped aside enough of the soil to reveal a dark, rusty piece of metal. Curious, she continued to dig at the soil surrounding it. It was flat and smooth. She reached a curving edge and burrowed with her hands to grasp the edge of object. She tugged and pulled, and suddenly it came free, causing her to fall back on her rump. Dirt flew everywhere, and she laughed as she looked at the heavy object on her lap. A frying pan.