Phoenix Noir (33 page)
On the anniversary of Nanda’s disappearance, Father Leo called Big Boy into his office.
“Stop moping around about that girl,” he said nonchalantly. “I know you’re trying to figure out where she is. If I were you, I’d drop it. Clean heart, remember? I think you need another confession, you’re way overdue. Confession on Saturday, at 2 p.m. Be there.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Oh, by the way, Franco says you’re almost ready to be released from probation, and I told him you were totally repented—no more shoplifting at Woolworth’s. Right, Big Boy?”
“Right.”
“You don’t want to follow in the footsteps of Chano—you know, the guy who visits Nanda’s family sometimes.”
Big Boy looked up at Father Leo, surprised that he knew anything about Chano. Maybe he had visited him in prison, or heard his confession. Then he saw Father Leo smile broadly, as if he had just caught Big Boy sneaking a sip of wine from the chalice. He pulled open the drawer on his desk and reached in, taking out a silver chain with a small cross. He watched Big Boy closely, saw the fear in his eyes as the boy glimpsed the chain he had given Nanda in Father Leo’s hand.
“I want you to give this to Ernestina,” Father Leo said quietly, leaning close to Big Boy. “You understand, don’t you?” He waited, dangling the chain in midair between them.
Then he sat back as Big Boy took the silver chain from his hand and dropped it in his pocket.
“Confession on Saturday, don’t forget,” Father Leo said.
M
EGAN
A
BBOTT
is the Edgar Award–winning author of
Queenpin
,
The Song Is You
, and
Die a Little,
as well as the non-fiction study,
The Street Was Mine: White Masculinity in Hard-boiled Fiction and Film Noir.
She is the editor of the collection
A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir
. Her fourth novel,
Bury Me Deep,
is loosely based on the Winnie Ruth Judd “Trunk Murderess” case from 1930s Phoenix.
R
OBERT
A
NGLEN
is an investigative reporter for the
Arizona Republic
who has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize; in 2005, the Arizona Press Club named him journalist of the year. Born in Los Angeles, he has worked as a skip tracer, bill collector, cab driver, and process server. His stories have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and several anthologies, including
Night Terrors
and
Diablo
. He and his wife are parents of triplets.
L
EE
C
HILD
, the author of twelve best-selling novels, has been a television director, union organizer, theater technician, and law student. He was born in England but now lives in New York City, and leaves the island of Manhattan only when required to by forces beyond his control.
D
AVID
C
ORBETT
is the author of three critically acclaimed novels:
ThThThe Devil’s Redhead
,
Done for a Dime
(a
New York Times
Notable Book), and
Blood of Paradise—
which was nominated for numerous awards. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, including
San Francisco Noir
and
Las Vegas Noir,
and he contributed a chapter to the world’s first serial audio thriller,
The Chopin Manuscript
. Corbett lives in Vallejo, California.
S
TELLA
P
OPE
D
UARTE
has won two creative writing fellowships from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, for
Fragile Night
and
Let Their Spirits Dance
, her highly acclaimed debut novel. Duarte has won honors and awards nationwide, and her most recent novel,
If I Die in Juárez
, is the story of the over 400 young women brutally murdered in Ciudad Juárez. Currently, she teaches creative writing for an assortment of college, university, and community-based programs. She lives in Phoenix.
D
IANA
G
ABALDON
is the author of the award-winning,
New York Times
best-selling
Outlander
novels and the Lord John Grey novels. Gabaldon holds several advanced degrees in science and spent a dozen years as a university professor with an expertise in scientific computation before beginning to write fiction. A third-generation Arizonan, Gabaldon lives with her husband in Scottsdale.
D
OGO
B
ARRY
G
RAHAM
is a novelist, poet, screenwriter, social activist, and Zen Buddhist monk whose works include
The Book of Man
,
Before,
and
Kill Your Self
. His nonfifiction has appeared in such national magazines as
Harper’s
and
Flaunt
.
Originally from Scotland, he has traveled widely and has made his home in the U.S. since 1995. He lives in Phoenix, where he is the abbot of the Sitting Frog Zen Sangha. His blog, The Urban Monk, can be found at the-urban-
monk.livejournal.com
.
C
HARLES
K
ELLY
, as a reporter for the
Arizona Republic
, found missing heirs, investigated the 1976 bomb murder of
Republic
reporter Don Bolles, and helped a falsely convicted American tugboat captain get out of a Mexican prison. He is the author of the novel
Pay Here
and is currently working on a new novel as well as a biography of the hardboiled writer Dan J. Marlowe. Kelly lives in Scottsdale.
