The Anonymous Source Read online

  The player looked at the card and tucked it into the pocket of his warm-up pants. “Who are these folks?”

  “Alex and James—work with them at the new venture. Camila Gray, she teaches at NYU. And that’s Malina and Tyree Downton. They’re Demarcus’s kin. Everyone, this is Ben Davis, but we call him Chicken Legs. Came up in Brooklyn six or seven years behind Demarcus.”

  “He used to school me in the park,” Ben said to Malina. “One time—I’ll never forget it, I was ten years old—he jumped over my head for a lob dunk. In a game. Never seen anything like it.”

  Ben walked over to Tyree, who was still jumping toward the ceiling. He grabbed him out of the air. “You wanna play here someday?” Ben asked him.

  “I don’t know. Can you touch the scoreboard?”

  Ben held Tyree in his left arm and reached up with his right arm, leaning forward onto the tips of his toes. “Not quite,” he said.

  “Can anybody jump that high?” Tyree asked.

  “Your granddad could. He could have jumped up and grabbed on.” Ben put him back down and jogged onto the court.

  Alex smiled at Tyree, then looked down at his phone and froze. He had one missed call. The caller ID read 000-0000. His voice mail beeped and he dialed. He shot a look across the court at Daniel Sharp, who was chatting with players.

  As Alex listened to the message, his mouth opened slowly.

  “You have made Bice pay for some of what he has done.” The voice was weak and slow but still tinny and distorted. “He has done more. Terrible things. And he deserves to be punished. You were supposed to catch him, you were supposed to punish him.”

  An announcer’s voice boomed through the PA system: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Madison Square Garden and a new season of New York Knicks Basketball!”

  The crowd applauded as Lance sat next to Alex and patted him on the shoulder. “Get off the phone, man.”

  Alex pressed the phone to his ear, his head spinning. “Remember that he who hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. And he who loveth his life shall lose it. Have you figured out what it means, Mr. Vane?”

  The message ended.

  Alex sat up and Camila took his hand. “Who was that?” she asked. He turned to her but said nothing. Confusion spread across his face, then fear. “What’s wrong, Alex? Who was that?”

  “The source.”

  “Who?”

  He met her eyes. “I have no idea.”

  Watch for the sequel to The Anonymous Source:

  THE INVERTED PYRAMID

  Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

  SUMMER 2016

  DEDICATIONS

  To my dad: for modeling the curiosity, persistence, and joy it takes to write a novel.

  And to my wife, Amanda: my first editor, my greatest supporter, and the love of my life.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Before beginning The Anonymous Source, I’d heard that writing a book was, to some extent, a collaborative process. And as I read through the final draft, I recalled with fondness and gratitude the support, encouragement, and advice I received from the following people and organizations over the two and a half years it took to complete this book.

  For offering a wonderful place to teach for the last four years: the students, staff, and faculty of Northwest Indian College and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Suquamish tribes.

  For providing support to a diverse community of writers, including me: the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

  For providing a quiet, clean, lovely place to work: the staff at the Kitsap Regional Library.

  For providing support to me and so many other writers: Booktrope.

  For their lessons and encouragement, three English teachers who were especially important to me: Sonya Brooks, Judith Stickney, and Naomi Schwartz.

  For their support over the years: Willa, Jeanne, Marie, and Hameed.

  For their brilliance and mentorship: the professors of the NYU School of Journalism. (The dead professor in this book is not based on any of you). And special thanks to Professor Michael Norman for teaching me how books work.

  For being the book’s first reader and first fan: Teri Fink.

  For their feedback and encouragement early in the process: Susan Simmons, Josie Foster, Lisa Lenz, Susi Korda, Cliff McCrath, Michael Lassoff, Cherie Martin, and Cody Raccoon.

  For providing necessary feedback at a critical time: my early editor, Aviva Layton.

  For valuable feedback toward the end of the process: Denise Anderson Foreman, Melanie Hart Buehler, and Pam and Stan Birch.

  For connecting me with my publisher, offering excellent feedback in the final hours, and being a friend through it all: Ina Zajac.

  For her tireless work guiding this book across the threshold: my amazing editor, Julie Molinari.

  For her quick and excellent work: my proofreader, Maggie Dallen.

  For capturing the book in a way I couldn’t have imagined: my cover designer, Greg Simanson.

  For providing great advice about marketing and social media: Sophie Weeks and Kathy Marks.

  For her talent, energy, and spirit: my early book manager, Jamie Green.

  For believing in this book and working tirelessly to bring it into the world, Stephanie Konat and Jennifer Karchmer.

  For all their support, encouragement, and babysitting: my extended family of Fullers, Allens, Cosbys, and Andersons. Special thanks to Fred and Diana Allen.

  For providing mentorship, advice, and good books: Robert Dugoni.

  For their support and advice down the home stretch: the members of my Launch Team.

  For inspiring and teaching me something new every week: the authors, agents, journalists, and publishing professionals who have appeared on the WRITER 2.0 Podcast.

  For letting me go to sleep early so I could get up and write: my daughter, Arden, and son, Charles. I couldn’t have done it without you!

  Finally, to the readers for whom I wrote this: My hope is that you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Contents

  Prologue

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

/>   Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Medilogue One

  Part Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Medilogue Two

  Part Three

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Medilogue Three

  Part Four

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Chapter Seventy

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  Chapter Seventy-Six

  Chapter Seventy-Seven

  Chapter Seventy-Eight

  Chapter Seventy-Nine

  Chapter Eighty

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Chapter Eighty-Two

  Chapter Eighty-Three

  Chapter Eighty-Four

  Chapter Eighty-Five

  Dedications

  Acknowledgments

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