Repo Madness
Page 34
I am lucky enough to know some very talented writers on a first-name basis. Remember how Marlene Dietrich said, “It’s the friends you can call at four A.M. that matter?” Well, it’s talented and caring writers like Claire LaZebnik, Jenna (not Jenny!) McCarthy, Samantha Dunn, Jillian Lauren, and Andrew Gross that I can call on when I need help (sometimes desperately) who really matter. Busy with their own successful careers, they’ve all taken time, occasionally with little notice, to step in and assist me when I was considering dropping this whole author thing and going back to what I was always good at, which was stealing cars. I will be forever grateful.
The astoundingly talented Nelson DeMille and Lee Child were early supporters of this franchise—thank you so much; what an honor to have your names associated with mine.
You know who else has been supportive? My publisher, Forge. You’d think they would have turned up their collective noses that the “dog book guy” wanted to write a sort-of detective series based on a washed-up football star turned repo man who happens to have a voice in his head, but they’ve all gotten behind Ruddy McCann and supported my novels every step of the way. It’s a huge team, but I want to specifically thank Tom, Karen, Kathleen, Patty, and Linda for everything they’ve done to promote my work and my career. And thanks, of course, to Kristin Sevick for being my editor and friend through the rewrite process.
Thank you, Carolina and Annie, my goddaughters, who still pretend I have relevance in their lives despite the fact that they’re cool college kids now.
Lauren Potter has just joined the team of working dogs at the Cameron World Wide Headquarters. Hopefully by the time this novel comes out she’ll still be there. Thank you, Lauren, for making my in-box look so gloriously empty.
There are very few people I can write and say, “Quick, I need a disease!” I may not be the only person with this particular problem. My sister Julie Cameron, my “doctor sister,” has very patiently stepped into that role and guided me back to reality whenever I started to make up illnesses that don’t actually exist. Meanwhile my “teacher sister,” Amy Cameron, has written study guides for my novels and offers advice on what teenagers are like today. (No less horrifying than they were when I wrote 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter.)
My mother does more to promote my books than any other human on earth. I don’t think she does anything else. Thank you, Monsie Cameron, for meeting your self-imposed sales quota every quarter.
There are other family members who pitch in and help, to the point where I am not sure I can list them all, but surely Georgia, Chelsea, Chase, James, Chris, Evie, Ted, Maria, Jakob, Maya, Ethan, Gracie, Amanda, Vicki, Kitty, Nancy, Dean, John, Charles, Jane, Ted, Bill, Michelle, Marta, John, Patsy, Jim, Cam, Sara, and Emily all deserve both mention and gratitude. Gordon and Eloise, you haven’t even read my books! Come on, you’re both only a few years away from kindergarten, get with the program!
Thank you, Jody and Andy Sherwood, for picking us up at the airport; hosting us in your home; driving us all over the place; buying us all of our meals; enabling, assisting with, and attending the Phoenix premiere of Muffin Top, pouring us delicious and necessary wines, driving us back to the airport, and then saying, “Thanks for coming to visit.”
Thanks to Life Is Better Rescue (www.lifeisbetterrescue.org.) in Denver for saving so many death row animals.
And last but certainly not least (in fact, certainly most), thank you, my readers, for supporting this and all my other books. Without you I’m nothing. I mean that—with thousands of books being published every day, your decision to read my works means the world to me. And a special thank-you to the “secret group” on Facebook, who care about the world of dogs, of my novels, of the movies my wife directs—each and every one of you is wonderful.
If you like my stuff and would like to chat with others who hold the same views, come join us on Facebook and ask to be let into the secret group. There’s a handshake and everything.
Now, here’s a good question: Will Ruddy, Alan, and the rest of the gang be back? It’s too soon to tell, but I’m inclined to say yes. There’s just so much more to cover. Like, who killed Milt? (I know, but I’m not telling.) Will Rogan return? Is Ruddy crazy, or is Alan really some sort of ghost? (This last question is an interesting one. Would it amuse you to know that my wife and I hold opposing opinions on this issue? That’s right, even though I write the books, I don’t hold the answer to anything nebulous or subjective. You, the reader—your answer is as good as mine.)
Anyway, we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I promise you, I’ve got more stories on the way.
—W. Bruce Cameron
Frisco, Colorado, December 7, 2015
BY W. BRUCE CAMERON
The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man
The Dog Master
The Dogs of Christmas
A Dog’s Purpose
A Dog’s Journey
Emory’s Gift
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
How to Remodel a Man
8 Simple Rules for Marrying My Daughter
FOR YOUNGER READERS
Ellie’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Novel
Bailey’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Novel
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
W. Bruce Cameron is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Journey, The Dog Master, and The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man. He lives in California. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue
1. Nothing Like You in the Literature
2. Why Would Anyone Do That?
3. Not from a Him
4. Aloha Means Everything
5. Why Would You Believe Something Like That?
6. I Know You’re There
7. The Deal with Uncle Milt
8. A Job Up Your Alley
9. The One-in-Five Drop
10. This Is Not Necessarily What It Looks Like
11. Ask Her How She Knows
12. Back in Jail
13. Someone Knows Something
14. We Don’t Know She Was Murdered
15. You’re Going to Be Mad
16. Then You Die
17. Who Is Rachel Rodriguez?
18. Looks Good on Paper
19. It Isn’t Her
20. The Perfect Job for a Murderer
21. Lisa Marie’s Autopsy
22. This Is Huge
23. Wrong About Everything
24. Why Would Anybody Lie About That?
25. Time to Kill Alice Blanchard
26. Something of Value
27. Here for the Money
28. Not Good
29. I Do My Best Work at Midnight
30. We Have Less Time Than We Thought
31. The Mayor of Shantytown
32. If I Don’t Keep Moving I Will Die
33. You Don’t Have Much Time
34. I’m Supposed to Be Here
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
By W. Bruce Cameron
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
REPO MADNESS
Copyright © 2016 by W. Bruce Cameron
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Jeff Miller
Cover art by Shutterstock
A Forge Book
Pub
lished by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Forge® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-7750-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-5591-5 (e-book)
ISBN 9781466855915
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First Edition: August 2016