An Empty Hell Read online

  Donne shrugged. “And?”

  “He’s in there.” Herrick pointed at the door Donne had entered though. “He’s been in there a long time. It’s how I ended up in the military. My dad got arrested and my mom…Well, I had no other options.”

  “What did he do?” Donne asked.

  Herrick shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is you tell him you know me, and he’ll help you out. Make sure stuff like that sling doesn’t happen anymore.”

  “You’re giving me a buddy.”

  “A mentor.”

  Donne grinned. “How come you came to see me and not him?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Uh-huh.” Donne shifted in his chair.

  “He’s not a bad man. He reminds me of you. He made a mistake and now he’s paying for it.”

  There was a banging at the door. The guard called out three minutes. The words echoed across the empty room.

  Donne crumpled up the paper and put it back on the table. It rolled to the left a little bit.

  “I didn’t make a mistake,” Donne said. “I’m here for a reason.”

  “He’ll help you get by.”

  Donne stood up. The door opened and the guard stepped through. His hand tapped on his hip in rhythm as he waited.

  “Thank you,” Donne said. “I’ll look for him.”

  He turned and walked toward the guard. Thirty seconds later the door slammed shut and Herrick was alone again. He picked up the paper and uncrumpled it. He looked at his dad’s name—Kenneth. He sighed and put the paper back in his pocket.

  He hoped Donne would actually take Herrick up on the offer. It would help.

  Matt Herrick made his way out of the prison and into the bright summer sunlight.

  Though the season had been gone for months, for Herrick it finally felt like winter had broken.

  Read other books by Dave White

  When I was a kid, and just getting into reading mysteries, my dad, Martin, broke out this manuscript he had stored away in the attic. It was a private investigator novel he’d written years earlier. It featured a detective out of New Jersey named Matt Herrick. I always loved the character’s name, so when it was time to introduce a new character into the Jackson Donne universe, I blatantly stole it. Thanks, Dad.

  Big thanks to my mom, Carol, as well. Ever since I first started to write, she was there to read first drafts, proofread and offer pointed suggestions. In one draft of an early novel I wrote, she pointed out where the book really took off, and she may not know it, but that one comment got me thinking a lot about pacing. So, if this book moved at the speed I wanted it to, it’s her fault.

  In fourth grade, I wrote a Sherlock Holmes story and when I was finished I showed it to my teacher, Julie Schmidt. She held on to it for a few days, and when I asked her if she lied it, she smiled at me. “I liked it so much, I passed it on to be published in the school literary magazine.” It was my first experience with publishing, and I’ve had the writing itch ever since. Thank you so much, Mrs. Schmidt.

  Jason Pinter saved Jackson Donne off the scrap heap. This book is dedicated to him. Thanks, man. I hope you know how much I appreciate you and all of Polis Books.

  To Bryan Hackett, a good friend who regaled me with some great Superstorm Sandy stories. And to a great Rutgers fan, and lawyer, Robyn Veasey, who helped with some of the legal scenes in this book. Anything I got wrong is my fault, not hers.

  Thanks to Bryon Quertermous, Sarah Weinman, and Alex Segura for their copious notes and thoughts on the world of Jackson Donne and other pieces of writing.

  Thank you to the rest of my family—Tom, Jessica, Eleanore, Thomas, Kristin, Fred, Daniel, and Brandon. They are so supportive, and I really appreciate it—even if I sometimes spell their names wrong.

  And, of course, to Erin and Ben. You’re my heart and soul. Both of you inspire me each and every single day. You mean everything to me and I love both of you so much.

  Dave White is the Derringer Award–winning author of five novels: When One Man Dies, The Evil That Men Do, Not Even Past and An Empty Hell in his Jackson Donne series, and the acclaimed thriller Witness to Death. His short story “Closure,” won the Derringer Award for Best Short Mystery Story. Publishers Weekly gave the first two novels in his Jackson Donne series starred reviews, calling When One Man Dies an “engrossing, evocative debut novel” and writing that The Evil That Men Do “fulfills the promise of his debut.” He received praise from crime fiction luminaries such as bestselling, Edgar Award–winning Laura Lippman and the legendary James Crumley. His standalone thriller, Witness to Death, was an ebook bestseller upon release and named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He lives in Nutley, NJ. Visit him online at www.DaveWhiteBooks.com or @dave_white.

  The following is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in an entirely fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Dave White

  Cover and jacket design by Adrijus Guscia

  Interior designed and formatted by:

  www.emtippettsbookdesigns.com

  ISBN 978-1-940610-88-7

  First trade paperback edition February 2016 by Polis Books, LLC

  1201 Hudson Street, #211S

  Hoboken, NJ 07030