Mr. Mercedes
Page 42
September 14, 2013
AUTHOR'S NOTE
While there is indeed such a thing as "stealing the peek" (as in PKE), it would be impossible to do so with any of the cars identified in the book, including the Mercedes-Benz SL500s made during the passive keyless entry age. SL500s, like all Benzes, are high-performance cars with high-performance security features.
Thanks are due to Russ Dorr and Dave Higgins, who provided research assistance. Also to my wife, Tabitha, who knows more about cell phones than I do, and to my son, the novelist Joe Hill, who helped me solve the problems Tabby pointed out. If I got it right, thank my support crew. If I got it wrong, chalk it up to my failure to understand.
Nan Graham of Scribner did her usual sterling editorial job, and my son Owen followed up with a valuable second pass. My agent, Chuck Verrill, is a Yankees fan, but I love him anyway.
(c) SHANE LEONARD
STEPHEN KING is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller as well as the Best Hardcover Novel award from the International Thriller Writers. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013046172
ISBN 978-1-4767-5445-1
ISBN 978-1-4767-5446-8 (ebook)
Lyrics from "Kisses on the Midway" (written by Stephen King and Shooter Jennings) used by permission of Bad Nineteen Music, copyright 2012.
Contents
* * *
Dedication
Gray Mercedes
Det.-Ret.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Poison Bait
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Call For the Dead
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Kisses on the Midway
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
The Proclamation
Blue Mercedes
1
2
Author's Note
Table of Contents
Cover
Dedication
Gray Mercedes
Det.-Ret.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Poison Bait
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Call For the Dead
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Kisses on the Midway
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
The Proclamation
Blue Mercedes
1
2
Author's Note
About Stephen King
Copyright