The home was top-notch New Jersey suburban. The living room
was Martha Stewart. The basement was Legos-- and blood. For sports
agent Myron Bolitar, the disappearance of a man he''d once competed
against was bringing back memories-- of the sport he and Greg
Downing had both played and the woman they both loved. Now, among
the stars, the wanna-bes, the gamblers and groupies, Myron is
unraveling the strange, violent life of a sports hero gone wrong,
and coming face-to-face with a past he can''t relive, and a present
he may not survive. In novels that crackle with wit and suspense,
Edgar Award winner Harlan Coben has created one of the most
fascinating and complex heroes in suspense fiction-- Myron
Bolitar-- a hotheaded, tenderhearted sports agent who grows more
and more engaging and unpredictable with each page-turning
appearance.
關於作者：
Harlan Coben is the winner of the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony
awards. His critically acclaimed novels have been published in
thirty-three languages around the world and have been number one
bestsellers in more than half a dozen countries. In addition to the
Myron Bolitar series Deal Breaker, Drop Shot, Fade Away, Back
Spin, One False Move, The Final Detail, Darkest Fear, and the
upcoming Promise Me, he is also the author of Tell No
One, Gone for Good, The Innocent, The Woods, and Hold
Tight.
內容試閱：
Chapter One
Just behave.”
“Me?” Myron said. “I’m always a delight.”
Myron Bolitar was being led through the corridor of the darkened
Meadowlands Arena by Calvin Johnson, the New Jersey Dragons new
general manager. Their dress shoes clacked sharply against the tile
and echoed through empty Harry M. Stevens food stands, Carvel Ice
Cream carts, pretzel vendors, souvenir booths. The smell of
sporting-event hot dogs—that sort of rubbery, chemically, yet
nostalgically delicious aroma—wafted from the walls. The stillness
of the place consumed them; there is nothing more hollow and
lifeless than an empty sports arena.
Calvin Johnson stopped in front of a door leading to a luxury
box. “This may all seem a bit strange,” he said. “Just go with the
flow, okay?”
“Okay.”
Calvin reached for the knob and took a deep breath. “Clip
Arnstein, the owner of the Dragons, is in there waiting for
us.”
“And yet I’m not trembling,” Myron said.
Calvin Johnson shook his head. “Just don’t be an ass.”
Myron pointed to his chest. “I wore a tie and ?everything.”
Calvin Johnson opened the door. The luxury box faced midcourt.
Several workers were putting down the basketball floor over the
hockey ice. The Devils had played the night before. Tonight was the
Dragons’ turn. The box was cozy. Twenty-four cushioned seats. Two
tele?vision monitors. To the right was a wood-paneled counter for
the food—usually fried chicken, hot dogs, po?tato knishes, sausage
and pepper sandwiches, that sort of stuff. To the left was a brass
cart with a nicely stocked bar and minifridge. The box also had its
own bathroom—this so the corporate high rollers would not have to
urinate with the great unwashed.
Clip Arnstein faced them, standing. He wore a dark blue suit with
a red tie. He was bald with patches of gray over both ears. He was
burly, his chest still a barrel after seventy-some-odd years. His
large hands had brown spots and fat blue veins like garden hoses.
No one spoke. No one moved. Clip glared hard at Myron for several
seconds, examining him from head to toe.
“Like the tie?” Myron asked.
Calvin Johnson shot him a warning glance.
The old man made no movement toward them. “How old are you now,
Myron?”
Interesting opening question. “Thirty-two.”
“You playing any ball?”
“Some,” Myron said.
“You keep in good shape?”
“Want me to flex?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
No one offered Myron a seat and no one took one. Of course the
only chairs in here were the spectator seats, but it still felt
weird to stand in a business setting where you’re supposed to sit.
Standing suddenly became difficult. Myron felt antsy. He didn’t
know what to do with his hands. He took out a pen and held it, but
that didn’t feel right. Too Bob Dole. He stuck his hands in his
pockets and stood at a weird angle, like the casual guy in the
Sears circular.
“Myron, we have an interesting proposition for you,” Clip
Arnstein said.
“Proposition?” Always the probing interrogatory.
“Yes. I was the one who drafted you, you know.”
“I know.”
“Ten, eleven years ago. When I was with the Celtics.”
“I know.”
“First round.”
“I know all this, Mr. Arnstein.”
“You were a hell of a prospect, Myron. You were smart. You had an
unbelievable touch. You were loaded with talent.” “I coulda been a
contenda,” Myron said.
Arnstein scowled. It was a famous scowl, developed over some
fifty-plus years in professional basketball. The scowl had made its
first appearance when Clip played for the now-defunct Rochester
Royals in the forties. It grew more famous when he coached the
Boston Celtics to numerous championships. It became a legendary
trade?mark when he made all the famous trades “clipping” the
competition, ergo the nickname as team president. Three years ago
Clip had become majority owner of the New Jer?sey Dragons and the
scowl now resided in East Ruther?ford, right off Exit 16 of the New
Jersey Turnpike. His voice was gruff. “Was that supposed to be
Brando?”
“Eerie, isn’t it? Like Marlon’s actually in the room.”
Clip Arnstein’s face suddenly softened. He nodded slowly, giving
Myron the doelike, father-figure eyes. “You make jokes to cover the
pain,” he said gravely. “I understand that.”
Dr. Joyce Brothers.
“Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Arnstein?”
“You never played in a single professional game, did you,
Myron?”
“You know very well I didn’t.”
Clip nodded. “Your first preseason game. Third quarter. You
already had eighteen points that game. Not bad for a rookie in his
first scrimmage. That was when fate took over.”
Fate took the form of big Burt Wesson of the Washington Bullets.
There had been a collision, a searing pain, and then nothing.
“Awful thing,” Clip said.
“Uh huh.”
“I always felt bad about what happened to you. Such a
waste.”
Myron glanced at Calvin Johnson. Calvin was looking off, arms
crossed, his smooth black features a placid pool. “Uh huh,” Myron
said again.
“That’s why I’d like to give you another chance.”
Myron was sure he’d heard wrong. “Pardon?”
“We have a slot open on the team. I’d like to sign you.”
Myron waited. He looked at Clip. Then he looked at Calvin
Johnson. Neither one was laughing. “Where is it?” Myron
asked.
“What?”
“The camera. This is one of those hidden camera shows, right? Is
this the one with Ed McMahon? I’m a big fan of his work.”
“It’s not a joke, Myron.”
“It must be, Mr. Arnstein. I haven’t played competitive ball in
ten years. I shattered my knee, remember?”
“All too well. But as you said, it was ten years ago. I know you
went through rehabilitation to rebuild it.”
“And you also know I tried a comeback. Seven years ago. The knee
wouldn’t hold up.”
“It was still too early,” Clip said. “You just told me you’re
playing again.”
“Pickup games on weekends. It’s a tad different than the
NBA.”
Clip dismissed the argument with a wave of his hand. “You’re in
shape. You even volunteered to flex.”
Myron’s eyes narrowed, swerving from Clip to Calvin Johnson, back
to Clip. Their expressions were neutral. “Why do I have the
feeling,” Myron asked, “that I’m missing something here?”
Clip finally smiled. He looked over to Calvin Johnson. Calvin
Johnson forced up a return smile.
“Perhaps I should be less”—Clip paused, searched for the
word—“opaque.”
“That might be helpful.”
“I want you on the team. I don’t much care if you play or
not.”
Myron waited again. When no one continued, he said, “It’s still a
bit opaque.”
Clip let loose a long breath. He walked over to the bar, opened a
small hotel-style fridge, and removed a can of Yoo-Hoo. Stocking
Yoo-Hoos. Hmm. Clip had been prepared. “You still drink this
sludge?”
“Yes,” Myron said.
He tossed Myron the can and poured something from a decanter into
two glasses. He handed one to Calvin Johnson. He signaled to the
seats by the glass window. Exactly midcourt. Very nice. Nice leg
room too. Even Calvin, who was six-eight, was able to stretch a
bit. The three men sat next to one another, all facing the same
way, which again felt weird in a business setting. You were
supposed to sit across from one another, preferably at a table or
desk. Instead they sat shoulder to shoulder, watching the work crew
pound the floor into place.
“Cheers,” Clip said.
He sipped his whiskey. Calvin Johnson just held his. Myron,
obeying the instructions on the can, shook his Yoo-Hoo.
“If I’m not mistaken,” Clip continued, “you’re a lawyer
now.”
“I’m a member of the bar,” Myron said. “I don’t practice much
law.”
“You’re a sports agent.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t trust agents,” Clip said.
“Neither do I.”
“For the most part, they’re bloodsucking leeches.”
“We prefer the term ‘parasitic entities,’?” Myron said. “It’s
more PC.”
Clip Arnstein leaned forward, his eyes zeroing in on Myron’s.
“How do I know I can trust you?”
Myron pointed at himself. “My face,” he said. “It screams
trustworthiness.”
Clip did not smile. He leaned a little closer. “What I’m about to
tell you must remain confidential.”
“Okay.”
“Do you give me your word it won’t go any farther than this
room?”
“Yes.” Clip hesitated, glanced at Calvin Johnson, shifted in his
seat. “You know, of course, Greg Downing.”
Of course. Myron had grown up with Greg Downing. From the time
they had first competed as sixth graders in a town league less than
twenty miles from where Myron now sat, they were instant rivals.
When they reached high school, Greg’s family moved to the
neighboring town of Essex Fells because Greg’s father did...
購物車/收銀台(0) | 在線留言板
| 付款方式
| 聯絡我們
| 運費計算
| 幫助中心 |
加入書簽
HOME
新書上架
