Charles Wells
Silas McPherson
To my mother and father, who gave me so much.
Foree Hunsicker
June 30, 1932–March 11, 2015
Harry Hunsicker Sr.
April 27, 1930–September 22, 2015
Acknowledgments
Creating a work of fiction is a group experience. The raw material may have been mine, but the end result is a communal effort, thanks to a dedicated group of professionals who are as much responsible for what you hold in your hand as the author. To that end, I would like to thank everybody at Thomas & Mercer: Jacque Ben-Zekry, Dennelle Catlett, David Downing, Gracie Doyle, and Sarah Shaw. Also, many thanks to Richard Abate for helping to make this book possible at the outset.
For their help with the manuscript, I would like to offer my gratitude to Jan Blankenship, Victoria Calder, Paul Coggins, Peggy Fleming, Alison Hunsicker, Fanchon Henneberger, Brooke Malouf, Clif Nixon, David Norman, Glenna Whitley, and Max Wright.
About the Author
Photo © 2013 Nick McWhirter
Harry Hunsicker is the former executive vice president of the Mystery Writers of America. His work has been short-listed for both the Shamus and Thriller Awards. He lives in Dallas. The Devil’s Country is his seventh novel.
Credits
Videography and photography by RUN Studios, except where noted.
PHOTO AND VIDEO CREDITS
Chapter 3
“Dark Storm Clouds Roll In,” Ryan McGinnis/ Moment Select/ Getty Images
Chapter 4
“Fallen Leaves and Branches on Asphalt,” Keith Getter/ Moment Open/ Getty Images
Chapter 5
“Elderly Couple in Diner,” Catherine Ledner/ Photonica/ Getty Images
Chapter 12
“Reporter’s Notebook,” subjug/ iStock/ Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images
Chapter 14
“Carnegie Library” by Joe Mabel is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Chapter 15
“Computer Mouse with Keyboard,” Comstock/ Stockbyte/ Getty Images
Chapter 21
“Tiny Shack,” Larry Lee/ Corbis Documentary/ Getty Images
Chapter 25/ Chapter 30/ Chapter 37
“Hardwood Floor,” Gregor Schuster/ Photographer’s Choice/ Getty Images
Chapter 27
“Rain on Asphalt,” Discovery FootageSource/ Discovery FootageSource/ Getty Images
Chapter 28
“Hallway of Abandoned School,” Emily Keegin/ Brand X Pictures/ Getty Images
Chapter 35
“Moonlight into Empty Room,” allanswart/ iStock/ Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images
Chapter 38
“Blood Drops in Swimming Pool,” Witthaya/ Creatas Video/ Getty Images
Chapter 39
“Dallas Cityscape,” CGIBackgrounds.com/ CGIBackgrounds/ Getty Images
Chapter 42
“Chair against Wood Paneled Wall,” Stan Kaady/ Corbis/ Getty Images
Chapter 44
“Prison Guard Lookout Tower,” lillisphotography/ E+/ Getty Images
Chapter 46
“Cell Block,” Daniel Cummins/ Moment/ Getty Images
Chapter 50
“Dirty Concrete Floor,” s-cphoto/ iStock/ Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images
Chapter 51
“Trees along a Creek,” jennifer m. ramos/ Moment/ Getty Images
Chapter 54
“Dry Creek Bed,” Gary Kavanagh/ iStock/ Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Text copyright © 2017 by Harry Hunsicker
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781503941908
ISBN-10: 1503941906
Cover design by Christian Fuenfhausen
The Devil's Country [Kindle in Motion] Page 26