DESPERATE CREED: (Book 5 Ryder Creed K-9 Mystery Series)

by Kava, Alex

  The big, pewter-colored dog paddled as Brodie steered him toward the steps. Creed walked—trying hard not to run—to meet them. But Brodie was already helping Knight as he stutter-stepped up the pool steps. She came up with him, her arm wrapped firmly around him. Her arms were longer than he realized. Longer and stronger.

  She grinned at Creed, proud of herself.

  “Did you see how brave he is?” she asked.

  He smiled and nodded.

  The last two days Creed had witnessed so much death and devastation. There were so many victims picking up the scraps of their lives. But he and Grace had discovered a miracle in Baby Garner. Hannah said it was a miracle that Maggie and Frankie had crawled out from under the ruins. They had been threatened and battered by the storms, and they had survived.

  Now, as he watched Brodie toweling off Knight and making sure the dog was okay, Creed realized Jason was right. Despite fighting her own storm, Brodie was stronger than any of them believed. Strong and brave.

  Of course, she was. She was a survivor, too.

  Author’s Note

  Growing up in Nebraska, has given me a healthy respect for the weather. When you live in Tornado Alley the threat of tornadoes is a constant reality. I know what it feels like to take shelter from a storm; I’ve seen the aftermath firsthand; and once, I even out ran a tornado. I don’t mind admitting, that just like Hannah Washington, tornadoes scare the bejesus out of me.

  We have amazing advanced technology. With a tap of a button we can send a text message across the world. Drones can give us a birds-eye view of places unreachable. DNA testing is answering questions we never thought possible. But we still can’t predict exactly when and where a tornado will form.

  Does that surprise you? It surprised me. I didn’t realize that radar doesn’t actually detect tornadoes. It only detects the “conditions” known to be present. Radar can’t even confirm a tornado. Meteorologists depend on what they call “ground truth,” which is exactly what it sounds like. A tornado is confirmed when a storm chaser or storm spotter has actually seen it, observed it and provided real time critical information. In fact, meteorologists admit that supercells that produce tornadoes look almost exactly like supercells that do not.

  So why write about something that scares me? Tornadoes have been observed on every continent, in every American state, at every hour of the day and every month of the year. I’m guessing that means I’m far from alone in my fear. I imagine that many of you have experienced this weather phenomenon or you know someone who has. Perhaps some of you are like me and are simply fascinated as much as in total awe.

  Readers often ask how I come up with my ideas. With every new book, I try to cover something different: human trafficking, the bird flu, contamination of our foods, or the everyday struggles of our veterans. I’m not interested in following the latest genre trend or duplicating current bestsellers. Most of all, I want my readers to be entertained, to connect to the characters, and come along for an adventure. And for the Ryder Creed series, I’m always looking for new ways to show off the numerous talents of scent detection dogs.

  Dogs can sense storms, not only the changes in barometric pressure, but they can smell the ozone in the air from lightening and the other scents associated with approaching storms. There’s even some speculation that dogs can detect earthquakes before they occur.

  But for Desperate Creed, I wanted to concentrate on how amazing scent detection dogs are in finding victims after natural disasters when every minute counts. Some of the stories are truly miracles. I can’t tell you how many true accounts I read about babies and toddlers being found after tornadoes, not just in the wreckage, but sometimes hundreds of feet from their homes—in one case almost a mile away.

  If there’s anything in the book that you think sounds too crazy or too unbelievable, let me assure you, all the stranger-than-fiction tornado incidents came directly from real life accounts. This was one of those times when my research exceeded what I needed. I watched videos of tornadoes and listened to victims’ stories. I read several books and dozens of articles. Usually I fill two notebooks. This time I ended up with four.

  So why isn’t this book set in Nebraska? Two reasons. First, I needed Ryder to stay close to home for Brodie. During my research I discovered Dixie Alley and learned that Alabama was one of the top five states with the most fatalities and injuries from tornadoes. Just the sight of a tornado is frightening, so I can’t imagine one wrapped in rain and hidden behind forests until the very last minute.

  The second reason I didn’t choose Nebraska is a bit selfish. Things I write about tend to come true. Yes, that might sound a bit silly, but while I was finishing the book an outbreak of tornadoes hit the exact location in Alabama that I had chosen, and on the exact date. Twenty-three people were killed. It unnerved me so much that I changed my setting from Lee County to Butler County. I also moved my timeline from the first weekend in March to the second. And I changed my tornado to hit the interstate instead of the small town I’d originally chosen.

  Many of you who have been reading my books for years, know that I like to use real places and oftentimes, real businesses. But if you happen to be in Montgomery, Alabama, you won’t find a meat-and-three named Southern Blessings even if it might seem very familiar. The restaurant is a figment of my imagination. I didn’t have the heart to destroy a real café.

  As for glyphosate showing up in our foods? I wish this wasn’t true.

  First, let me say that our farmers work hard to bring us the best and safest food supply in the world. Some of the processes and products were originally put in place to protect us as well as make production easier and faster. The EPA insists the levels of glyphosate in our foods are safe, but at the same time, they don’t deny that test samples have found the herbicide on sixty-three percent of corn samples and sixty-seven percent of soybean samples. Wheat and oats also use glyphosate as a pre-harvest drying agent, but the EPA hasn’t released any of those test results. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has done some of its own testing and has found glyphosate in a number of products from granola to pasta to cereal and breakfast bars. If you’re interested in finding out more or seeing their list, you can go to this USA Today article: https://usat.ly/2BdHArq.

  Glyphosate is the herbicide recently linked to cancer by the World Health Organization and also named in the lawsuits involving Monsanto’s Round-Up.

  Lastly, to all the readers who sent me messages worried that Lost Creed might be the end of this series with the rescue of Brodie, I hope this book assures you that there are many more stories to come. And I’m already hard at work researching Hidden Creed.

  If you enjoyed Desperate Creed, please tell a reader friend. That’s actually the biggest compliment you can pay an author.

  And as always, I thank you for continuing to read my books.

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank all my friends who put up with my long absences and help keep me grounded. Thanks to Sharon Car, Marlene Haney, Sharon Kator, Amee Rief, Maricela and Jose Barajas, Martin and Patti Bremmer, Leigh Ann Retelsdorf, Pat Heng, Doug and Linda Buck, Dan Macke, Erica Spindler, Dr. Elvira Rios, Luann Causey, and Christy Cotton.

  Special Thanks to:

  Deb Carlin and Prairie Wind Publishing for making the publication and distribution of this novel possible.

  Dr. Enita Larson, for answering all my dog questions even in the middle of “girls night out.” Also, I want to thank Dr. Larson, again, for allowing me to use her children’s names for my veterinarian, Dr. Avelyn Parker.

  Again, to James Rollins for an awesome quote.

  Sandy Rockwood for lending her name to Brodie’s therapist. I know you will gracefully accept the Ph.D. I just bestowed you.

  All the booksellers, librarians, book clubs and book bloggers for mentioning and recommending my novels.

  And a huge thank you to all of my readers, VIR Club members, and Facebook friends. With so many wonderful novels available, I’m honored t
hat you continue to choose mine. Many of you have been with me on this journey from the very beginning. Without you, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to share my twisted tales.

  Last, but never least, a huge thank you to my pack: Deb, Duncan, Boomer, Maggie and Huck. You guys are truly my heart and my soul.

  A HUGE THANK YOU!

  First off I'd like to thank you for choosing to read DESPERATE CREED. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave me a four or five star review; I would be hugely grateful. A few words makes a difference in readers finding a new author that they might not have read before. Here is your link: Click to review DESPERATE CREED on Amazon.

  I would love to connect with you. Please find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you are not yet a member of my V.I.R. Club (Very Important Reader), I encourage you to take the time to visit my website and join for exclusive news, receive special offers, bonus content and when my next book HIDDEN CREED is available. You'll be the FIRST to see the new cover of future books. Your thoughts and feedback are very valuable to me. Email works best: Click Here To Email Me

  Coming soon is HIDDEN CREED (Ryder Creed Book 6) that continues exploring the Creed family dynamics while Ryder and Grace chase a killer that takes them out of their comfort zone.

  Sincerely,

  Connect With Me!

  Website: AlexKava.com

  Facebook: AlexKava.books

  Twitter: @AlexKava_Author

  Instagram: /Author_AlexKava

  ALSO AVAILABLE ON KINDLE BY ALEX KAVA

  RYDER CREED SERIES

  Breaking Creed

  Silent Creed

  Reckless Creed

  Lost Creed

  MAGGIE O’DELL SERIES

  A Perfect Evil

  Split Second

  The Soul Catcher

  At The Stroke of Madness

  A Necessary Evil

  Exposed

  Black Friday

  Damaged

  Hotwire

  Fireproof

  Stranded

  Before Evil

  THE STAND-ALONE NOVELS

  Whitewash

  One False Move

  THE NOVELLA ORIGINALS WITH

  ERICA SPINDLER AND J.T. ELLISON

  Slices of Night

  Storm Season

  SHORT STORY COLLECTION (Maggie O'Dell)

  Off the Grid