Blue Belle (34 page)

176

THEY LEFT me alone with her then.

I couldn't hold it in me—screaming curses at the night. The dogs went quiet.

I lay down next to her, wrapping her in my arms. Tears on blood.

177

THE SKY was getting light when they came back. The Mole. Terry. The Prof, riding a wheelchair.

I stood next to the little man, my hand on his shoulder. Felt his hand on mine.

"Pull it together, brother. The way she'd want it. She's with the Lord now. And He's one lucky son of a bitch."

The Mole covered her with a prayer rug.

I gripped my brother's hand, and said goodbye to my Blue Belle.

ACCLAIM FOR
ANDREW VACHSS

"
Blue Belle
runs through Manhattan's underbelly like Con Edison conduits… Hero Burke is the toughest talking first–person narrator since Mike Hammer….Vachss
can
write!"

—Los Angeles Times

"Hard to put away for the night and hard to put out of your mind by the end. Vachss has become a cult favorite, and for good reason. He's
bad
."

—Cosmopolitan

"Breathtaking, nightmarish and seductive. Vachss's writing is like a dark rollercoaster ride of love and hate….A compelling book."

—New Orleans Times–Picayune

"Compelling…unique…examines the darkest side of life."

—People

"Undeniable raw power keeps the reader turning the pages."

—Washington Post

"Soul–rattling…a gritty, white–knuckle thriller…strong, powerful prose."

—Mystery Scene

"Oozes with primal emotions….There is absolutely nobody like Burke—not even close."

—Minneapolis Star–Tribune

Andrew Vachss

Andrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for youthful offenders. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and a wide variety of other material including song lyrics, poetry, graphic novels, and a "children's book for adults." His books have been translated into twenty different languages and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, The New York Times, and numerous other forums. He lives and works in New York City and the Pacific Northwest.

The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is
www.vachss.com

BOOKS BY

ANDREW VACHSS

Flood
Strega
Blue Belle
Hard Candy
Blossom
Sacrifice
Shella
Down in the Zero
Born Bad
Footsteps of the Hawk
False Allegations
Safe House
Choice of Evil
Everybody Pays
Dead and Gone
Pain Management

Copyright © 1988 by Andrew Vachss

All rights reserved under International and Pan–American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York Originally published in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, in 1988, and in trade paperback by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 1996.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reuse previously published material:

Columbia Pictures Publications and International Music Publications
: Excerpt from "I Put a Spell on You" by Jay Hawkins. Copyright ©1956 (renewed 1984) by UNART Music Corp. Rights assigned to SBK Catalogue Partnership. All rights controlled and administered by SBK UNART Catalog, Inc. International copyright secured. Made in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Stazybo Music
: Excerpts from "Heartlessly," "Body and Fender Man," and "A World I Never Made" by Jerome Doc Pomus. Reused by permission of Jerome Doe Pomus for
Stazybo Music
.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Knopf edition as follows:

   Vachss, Andrew H.

   Blue Belle.

     I. Title.

   P53572.A33B57 1988 813'.54 88–45269

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

eISBN: 978-0-375-71903-5

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