Keller's Therapy

"Answers to Soldier" marked Keller's first appearance—and I never expected to write more about the wistful hit man. But time passed, and I got to thinking about him. I figured he was just the sort of Urban Lonely Guy to find himself on a psychotherapist's couch. And if the shrink has an ex-wife, and the ex-wife has a dog, well, you can see how one thing might lead to another …

"Keller's Therapy" appeared first in Playboy, and won an Edgar Allan Poe award as the best short story of the year. And it launched Keller on a continuing career as a series character …