Jeffery Deaver - More Twisted: Collected Stories, Vol. II

A Dish Served Cold previously appeared online in Amazon Shorts, May 2006.

Born Bad previously appeared in Dangerous Women, edited by Otto Penzler (Mysterious Press, 2005).

Chapter and Verse previously appeared in Greatest Hits, edited by Robert J. Randisi (Carroll and Graf, 2005).

The Commuter previously appeared in Alfred Hitchcocks Mystery Magazine, April 1998.

Copycat previously appeared in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, June 2003, and A New Omnibus of Crime, edited by Tony Hillerman and Rosemary Herbert (Oxford University Press, 2005).

Double Jeopardy previously appeared in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, September/October 1997.

Interrogation previously appeared in Alfred Hitchcocks Mystery Magazine, April 1996, and Law and Order, edited by Cynthia Manson (Berkley Prime Crime, 1997).

A Nice Place to Visit previously appeared in Manhattan Noir, edited by Lawrence Block (Akashic Books, 2006).

Ninety-eight Point Six previously appeared in Hot and Sultry Night for Crime, edited by the author (Berkley Prime Crime, 2003).

The Poker Lesson previously appeared in Men from Boys, edited by John Harvey (Heinemann, London, 2003).

Surveillance appeared in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, August 2002, and The Worlds Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, 4th Edition, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg (Forge, 2003).

Tunnel Girl appeared in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, December 2005.

The Westphalian Ring appeared in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, September/October 2004, and The Adventure of the Missing Detective, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg (Carroll and Graf, 2005).

From time to time I do something even more terrifying than write sick and twisted novels and stories; I grab a microphone and get up in front of a roomful of people.

No, Im not talking American Idol; Im referring to teaching writing.

One of the most often asked questions when Im playing professor is this: Should I start writing short stories and then work my way up to novels? My answer is no. Its not like starting to ride a tricycle and then graduating to a bike. Forgive my clumsy mixing of metaphors, but short stories and novels arent even apples and oranges; theyre apples and potatoes.

Novels seek to emotionally engage readers on all levels, and, to achieve that goal, authors must develop characters in depth, create realistic settings, do extensive research and come up with a structured pacing that alternates between the thoughtful and the rip-roaring.

A short storys different. As I said in the introduction to my first collection of stories,

The payoff in the case of short stories isnt a roller coaster of plot reversals involving characters theyve spent lots of time learning about and loving or hating, set in places with atmosphere carefully described. Short stories are like a snipers bullet. Fast and shocking. In a story, I can make good bad and bad badder and, the most fun of all, really bad seem good.

The title of my anthologies (Twisted was the first) is no coincidence. To me, that big oh-my-God surprise is what short stories are all about. A few years ago I wrote a book about a psychotic illusionist and I realized that the novel was, in some ways, about me (as a writer, let me add quickly, not as a psycho or a magician). In researching the book I learned a lot about sleight of hand, misdirection, diversion and illusion, and I understood that those tricks are exactly what Ive been doing for years to lull my readers into complacency and then, bang, zing em when they least expect it.

While theyre watching my left hand, my right is getting ready to strike.

Since that first collection was published in 2003, Ive kept up my guilty pleasure of taking off a day or two here and there and writing more stories, all of which adhere to the philosophy I mention above: throw morality and sentiment out the window, and go for the gut-wrenching twist.

In this collection, like my previous one, youll find a wide variety of stories, which incorporate my favorite themes: revenge, lust, psychosis, betrayal and greed, along with a healthy (so to speak) dose of family dysfunction. Theres one story set in Italy and one in Victorian England. One features a slick lawyer in a small town and another finds gullible tourists in a big one. Youll see Peeping Toms, remorseless murderers, my own take on The Da Vinci Code and even a story about whodve thought? an author who writes suspense.

And for those whod like an insight into tricks of the trade, Ive included in an afterword a short piece about one of the stories here (Afraid), which I wrote as an illustration of how I incorporate the concept of fear into my fiction. Ive placed it at the end, so as not to give away any susprises.

Finally, a word of thanks to those whove encouraged me to write these stories, particularly Janet Hutchins and her inestimable Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, Marty Greenberg, Otto Penzler, Deborah Schneider, David Rosenthal, Marysue Rucci and, as always, Madelyn Warcholik.

So, sit back and enjoy and see if you can outguess me. Keep your eye on my right hand.

Or do I mean left?

J.W.D.

Reverend... can I call you Reverend?

The round, middle-aged man in the clerical collar smiled. That works for me.

Im Detective Mike Silverman with the County Sheriffs Department.

Reverend Stanley Lansing nodded and examined the ID and badge that the nervously slim, salt-and-pepper haired detective offered.

Is something wrong?

Nothing involving you, sir. Not directly, I mean. Just hoping you might be able to help us with a situation we have.

Situation. Hmm. Well, come on inside, please, Officer...

The men walked into the office connected to the First Presbyterian Church of Bedford, a quaint, white house of worship that Silverman had passed a thousand times on his route between office and home and never really thought about.

That is, not until the murder this morning.

Reverend Lansings office was musty and a gauze of dust covered most of the furniture. He seemed embarrassed. Have to apologize. My wife and Ive been away on vacation for the past week. Shes still up at the lake. I came back to write my sermon and to deliver it to my flock this Sunday, of course. He gave a wry laugh. If theres anybody in the pews. Funny how religious commitment seems to go up around Christmas and then dip around vacation time. Then the man of the cloth looked around the office with a frown. And Im afraid I dont have anything to offer you. The church secretarys off too. Although between you and me, youre better off not sampling her coffee.

No, Im fine, Silverman said.

So, what can I do for you, Officer?

I wont keep you long. I need some religious expertise on a case were running. I wouldve gone to my fathers rabbi but my questions got to do with the New Testament. Thats your bailiwick, right? More than ours.

Well, the friendly, gray-haired reverend said, wiping his glasses on his jacket lapel and replacing them, Im just a small-town pastor, hardly an expert. But I probably know Matthew, Mark, Luke and John better than your average rabbi, I suspect. Now, tell me how I can help.

Youve heard about the witness protection program, right?

Like Goodfellas, that sort of thing? The Sopranos.

More or less, yep. The U.S. Marshals run the federal program but we have our own state witness protection system.

Really? I didnt know that. But I guess it makes sense.