Pulse (26 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to Charles Delmonico, the man with heart, and to all the other heroes: Sandra Gerity, R.N., coordinator of the Heart and Lung Transplant Program at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital; Lynn Cravero, assistant director, and Linda McBeath, aftercare coordinator, of the University of Miami Organ Procurement Agency; and to the incomparable Dr. Joseph H. Davis. My thanks, respect and admiration go to Darlene and Harry Kelton of the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station for all their noble deeds. Miami Beach Fire Fighter John Carlisle, Hungarian Honorary Consul Alexander S. Tar, Robert Feldman, Mike Sahr, Paul Steinberg and private investigator William Venturi all generously shared their expertise, as did Joel Hirschhorn, Steve Waldman, photojournalist Bill Cook and Miami Police Lt. Gerald Green—again. The usual suspects: Renee Turolla, Arnold Markowitz, Cynnie Cagney, Marilyn Lane, Ed Gadinsky, Peggy Thornburgh, David M. Thornburgh, and the Rev. Garth Thompson kept me on course, along with Michael Congdon, my agent, co-conspirator and chief accomplice.

Thanks to all of the above from the bottom of my heart.

About the Author

EDNA BUCHANAN

A Pulitzer Prize-winning Florida crime reporter with more than twenty years of experience,
EDNA BUCHANAN
has seen the dark side of paradise firsthand. She is the author of two highly acclaimed nonfiction books—
The Corpse Had a Familar Face and Never Let Them See You Cry
—and the popular suspense novels featuring reporter Britt Montero, including Contents Under Pressure and
Miami, It’s Murder.
Ms. Buchanan lives in Miami, Florida.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Other Books by
Edna Buchanan

CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE
MIAMI, IT’S MURDER

Resounding praise for EDNA BUCHANAN and
PULSE

“THE QUEEN OF CRIME”

Los Angeles Daily News

“BUCHANAN TELLS GREAT STORIES—
hot, horrible, homicidal stories.”
The New York Times Book Review

“ONE OF THIS SPRING’S BEST NEW CRIME
NOVELS … Buchanan has no trouble sustaining the
drama or inventing enough credible plot twists.”
Chicago Tribune

“A GREASED-LIGHTNING THRILLER FROM THE
PULITZER-WINNING CRIME REPORTER …
Buchanan rides her irresistible
premise hell-for-leather.”
Kirkus Reviews

“FRAUGHT WITH SUSPENSE AND DANGER …
Buchanan hooks you with the first line.”
Jacksonville Florida Times-Union

“IF YOU LIKE CRIME, YOU’LL LOVE BUCHANAN.”
Tampa Tribune

“A NICE, TIGHT YARN … The plot really clips along …
Edna Buchanan knows how to write a crime story.
There’s not an unnecessary page in this book,
not an irrelevant anecdote.”
Madison State Journal

“BY THE END, YOUR HEART WILL BE RACING …
I never met an Edna Buchanan murder mystery
I didn’t like … Her characters are interesting
and her plots consistently creative
and well-executed.”
Austin American-Statesman

“AN IRREPRESSIBLY GOOD WRITER
WITH A DROLL WIT AND SENSE OF SATIRE …
An author who has a unique place in an increasingly crowded genre.”
Portland Oregonian

“IT DEFTLY DELIVERS ON SUSPENSE
AND EMOTION … Buchanan again proves
that she is the mistress of Miami crime.”
Publishers Weekly.

“EDNA BUCHANAN IS OUTRAGEOUS AND UNRIVALED.”
Patricia Cornwell

“EXCITING … A GRIPPING, SUSPENSEFUL STORY,
complete with action, mystery, love and all the other ingredients that go to make up a successful mystery/crime novel.”
Ft. Lauderdale Digest

“BUCHANAN KNOWS CRIME, CRIMINALS
AND THEIR VICTIMS VERY WELL.
In addition, what she is exhibiting here is a deep
understanding of human motivation …
[Douglas’s attempt] to understand himself
[is] a difficult internal journey, and it takes a writer
with Buchanan’s skill to portray it
accurately and empathetically.”
Booklist

“PULSE
REVEALS A RARE FEARLESSNESS …
Edna has heart. She doesn’t need a better one.”
Akron Beacon Journal

“BUCHANAN FANS WILL ENJOY
PULSE.”
Denver Post

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

Copyright © 1998 by Edna Buchanan

Inside cover author photo by Jim Virga

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97-32292

ISBN: 0-380-72833-8

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-061-95771-0

First Avon Books Paperback Printing: April 1999

First Avon Books Hardcover Printing: May 1998

AVON TRADEMARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES. MARCA REGISTRADA, HECHO EN U.S.A.

WCD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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