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 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 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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