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Authors: Owen Laukkanen

The Professionals (47 page)

BOOK: The Professionals
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Stevens paid the driver and stepped out into the street, the snow crunching beneath his feet. Someone had shoveled the walk in his absence, and he idly wondered who as he made his way up to the front porch. He fit his key in the lock and opened the door and stepped into the dark hallway, smelling the familiar smell of home.

He stood in the silence of the front hall for a few minutes, wondering why he was hesitating, seeing Arthur Pender and Marie McAllister in the shadows. Then he put his bag down and walked through the house, descending into the basement and settling down in his favorite chair. He turned the television on to
SportsCenter
and put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back to watch the basketball highlights.

After a few minutes, he heard a creak on the floorboards above and Nancy Stevens’s fuzzy pink pajama bottoms appeared on the stairs. “Are you a burglar?” she called.

“Relax,” he told her. “I’m a cop, ma’am.”

She came down the stairs, and Stevens watched her come into view, tired and mussed-up and beautiful. “Figured you’d have to be a pretty stupid burglar to want to come around down here,” she said. “Nothing in this room dates from later than 1980.”

She stood on the landing and watched him, and after a moment he stood and walked over to her. He took her in his arms and kissed her, tasting the mint of her toothpaste and smelling her skin cream. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone,” he said.

“Are you back now?” she asked him.

He nodded. “I’m here. For good this time.”

“Good.” She stepped back and stared into his eyes. “Then come on up to bed. We’ve all missed you.”

acknowledgments

I’ve been very fortunate to count among my allies my wonderful agent, Stacia Decker at the Donald Maass Literary Agency, and my editor, Neil Nyren, at Putnam—truly a publishing dream team. Without their insight and enthusiasm, this project would never have come to fruition.

This novel owes much to the efforts of the people who worked behind the scenes on its behalf. Thanks to everyone at Putnam who played a part in the publishing process.

Thanks to my teachers, who played their own part in the publishing process. In particular, thanks to Michael James, Thomas King, and the Creative Writing faculty at the University of British Columbia, especially Steven Galloway, Bryan Wade, Maureen Medved, Peggy Thompson, Meah Martin, and the indomitable Pat Rose.

Many friends and family members offered encouragement and support. I could fill a book listing their kindnesses; suffice it to say, I am humbled by their generosity, and grateful to them all.

Ariane Thompson-Campbell remains my best friend, my voice of
reason, and, above all, my inspiration. I’m a better man to have known her, and a better writer, too.

Thanks, finally and especially, to my family: to my brothers, Terrence and Andrew Laukkanen, and to my parents, Ethan Laukkanen and Ruth Sellers, whose faith in me has never wavered, and whose support has made all the difference.

BOOK: The Professionals
4.07Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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