Jonathan Maberry
Rot Ruin
The first book in the Benny Imura series, 2010
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to some real-world people who were willing to enter the world of Benny and Tom Imura. I believe that if the world ends, you’ll still be there. My agents, Sara Crowe and Harvey Klinger; David Gale and Navah Wolfe at Simon & Schuster; Nancy Keim-Comley, Tiffany Schmidt, Greg Schauer, Rob and Andrea Sacchetto, Randy and Fran Kirsch, Jason Miller, Sam West-Mensch, Keith Strunk, Charlie and Gina Miller, Arthur Mensch; and the Philly Liars Club: Gregory Frost, Don Lafferty, L. A. Banks, Jon McGoran, Solomon Jones, Ed Pettit, Merry Jones, Maria Lambra, Sara Shepherd, Kelly Simmons, Keith Strunk, and Dennis Tafoya.
Excerpt from The Onion Girl by Charles De Lint used by permission of the author.
Richard Pryor’s comment used by permission of Jennifer Lee Pryor.
For the young writers in my Experimental Writing for Teens class: Rachel Tafoya, Clint Johnston, Brandon Strauss, Brianna Whiteman, Jessica Price, Tara Tosten, Jennifer Carr, Kellie Hollingsworth, Nathanial Gage, Maggie Brennan, Kris Dugas, Evan Stahl, and Jackson Toone. You always amaze and inspire me.
And, as always, for Sara Jo.
Part One. Family Business
1
BENNY IMURA COULDN’T HOLD A JOB, SO HE TOOK TO KILLING.
It was the family business. He barely liked his family-and by family he meant his older brother, Tom-and he definitely didn’t like the idea of “business.” Or work. The only part of the deal that sounded like it might be fun was the actual killing.