by CB McKenzie
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This novel was not assembled by committee or built by workshop; but I do really appreciate the following:
Readers-of-Drafts: Mathew Madan (thanks for everything, Brother), Karen “KP” Peirce, Simone “Si” Gers, Seth Stroupe, Gene Jerskey, Theresa Jarnigan “T” Enos, Claudia (Fort Starlight) Zuluaga, Andrea “AG” Graham, Ben and Ann McKenzie.
Editing: Peter Joseph, Executive Editor, Thomas Dunne Books, with Melanie Fried and the Thomas Dunne/Minotaur/St. Martin’s Crew—thanks for respecting my voice and my “rust.”
The Tony Hillerman Prize and the Tony Hillerman Writers’ Conference: Jean Schaumberg and Anne Hillerman—thanks for making us a part of this great family.
Research Assistance: Erin Lee Mock, Ph.D., James J. Helmer, M.D.
Promotion: Corinne Cooper and Michael Longstaff—Professional Presence: Communication Consulting, Tucson.
Poetry: Alexander Long (Still Life; Light Here, Light There) wrote the “Samuel” poems—thanks Bud, since you are better accidentally than I am on purpose.
General Support Crew: Marta Helmer, Ventura, CA; JB McKenzie Stroupe and her boyz—Sam, “Little” McKenzie, Seth, Ernie, assorted canines and All Related People—Aunt Juanita and Jarvie in Texas; Betty Brown in Topsham, and Anna, Eve, Robin on RoundTop, Rick Lathrop and Crew at LongWind, in Vermont; the Woodsides and “Brick” in New Hampshire; Professional and Staff Congress-City University of New York; Richard (late, but not forgotten) yoga guru, Tuxson (and beyond).
Locations: Lee Public Library, Gladewater Round-Up Rodeo Association Arena, Gladewater Books, Guadalupe’s, The Fork and Gym 101, Gladewater, Texas; Chuy’s Restaurant, Van Horn, Texas; Las Tortugas, Costa Rica; Lazy-8 Motel and Arizona Motel, The River-park Inn, Che’s Lounge, BoonDocks, The Buffet, Pima Community College-Desert Vista and PCC-Downtown, Bookmans, Arizona State Musuem (“Paths of Life”), Tohono O’odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Reservation, San Xavier Mission School and THE University of Arizona, Tuxson; The Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza, Hotel St. Francis, Collected Works Bookstore, Santa Fe; Claudio’s Barber Shop and Applebee’s in East Harlem, Harlem Social and Riverside State Park in West Harlem, Molly’s on Third, The Green Door in Hell’s Kitchen, and all New York Public Libraries, NYC.
Every artist wants a respected peer who will “help the boy”: my “Peer Guide” is Maximilian Werner (Crooked Creek, Black River Dreams, Gravity Hill, Evolved)—thanks Maxo, I owe you mucho.
I also thank the hundreds of student writers I have worked with—at the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Pima Community College, Flowing Wells High School, Fairleigh Dickenson University-Metro and the City University of New York—who, by their patience with me and enthusiasm for what I love, have made me a better writer.
Most thanks to Kimberly Adilia Helmer, who not only endured me in the house while this book was being written and rewritten, but who also loves me the whole sky.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native Texan, CB MCKENZIE has through-hiked the Appalachian Trail and worked as a housepainter, haute couture model, farm hand, and professor in a wide variety of locales around the world including New York and Vermont, Miami and Milan, Tokyo and Tucson. He earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Though he currently lives in California, he still keeps his pickups in Tucson and Texas.
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.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
BAD COUNTRY. Copyright © 2014 by CB McKenzie. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.thomasdunnebooks.com
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover photographs: truck © Curtis G. Perry; desert © welcomia/Shutterstock.com
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
McKenzie, C. B.
Bad country : a novel / CB McKenzie.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-250-05354-1 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-5600-4 (e-book)
1. Private investigators—Fiction. 2. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. 3. Indians of North America—Crimes against—Fiction. 4. Arizona—Fiction. 5. Mystery fiction. I. Title.
PS3613.C55566B33 2014
813'.6—dc23
2014027776
e-ISBN 9781466856004
First Edition: November 2014