Bad Call Read online

The macerating corpse in the tub

  The midnight embalming and the padunk, padunk of the suction trocar

  The inexhaustible resourcefulness of the suicides

  The camp counselor whose horse got hit on the Interboro and the cop who wanted to shoot it like they do in the movies

  The shit, blood, and vomit on my hands

  The nursing-home slumlords

  The bedsores with the dry, white, bare bones poking right through

  The children with the cigarette burns

  The endless tears of the families

  The lost friends

  The lost sleep

  The lost imagination

  The lost hope

  Do you promise I’ll forget about working at St. John’s, Pete.

  Okay, Pete. As long as you promise.

  Acknowledgments

  To Barbara: My infinite thanks and love. So glad we met.

  To Emily, Sally, and Charlotte: For the gift of being there to let me take my mind off myself. Thanks, kids.

  To James Patterson: I once read that artists are selfish. Not you. You Funny that way.

  To Jessie Burnett Tidwell: Thanks for all those stories, Grandma. You sure could tell a tale.

  About the Author

  Mike Scardino is a native of Elmhurst, Queens. In order to pay for college, he worked on a New York City ambulance as a teenager, which led to his decision not to pursue medicine as a career. Mike eventually found his way into advertising, where his ambulance experience proved to be an unexpectedly useful fit. He is married to the woman he met on his third day at college. They have three daughters. He lives in South Carolina.

  Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.

  To receive special offers, bonus content, and news about our latest ebooks and apps, sign up for our newsletters.

  Sign Up

  Or visit us at hachettebookgroup.com/newsletters