SIGNUP for Jack Patterson's newsletter to get the first book free in the Cal Murphy Thriller series along with other insider information: Click here to sign up What Others Are Saying About Jack Patterson “Jack’s storytelling feels as natural as James Patterson’s, and the short-chapter setup is the literary answer to Lay’s potato chips: you just want one more and before you know it, you’ve gone through the whole thing. -David Bashore,The Times-News, Twin Falls, ID “Jack Patterson does a fantastic job at keeping you engaged and interested. I look forward to more from this talented author.” -Aaron Patterson, bestselling author of SWEET DREAMS “Patterson has a mean streak about a mile wide and puts his two main characters through quite a horrible ride, which makes for good reading.” -Richard D., reader “Like a John Grisham novel, from the very start I was pulled right into the story and couldn’t put the book down. It was as if I personally knew and cared about what happened to each of the main characters. Every chapter ended with so much excitement and suspense I had to continue to read until I learned how it ended, even though it kept me up until 3:00 A.M. -Ray F., reader DEAD SHOT “Small town life in southern Idaho might seem quaint and idyllic to some. But when local newspaper reporter Cal Murphy begins to uncover a series of strange deaths that are linked to a sticky spider web of deception, the lid on the peaceful town is blown wide open. Told with all the energy and bravado of an old pro, first-timer Jack Patterson hits one out of the park his first time at bat with Dead Shot. It’s that good.” -Vincent Zandri, bestselling author ofTHE REMAINS “You can tell Jack knows what it’s like to live in the newspaper world, but withDead Shot, he’s proven that he also can write one heck of a murder mystery. With a clever plot and characters you badly want to succeed, he is on his way to becoming a new era James Patterson.” -Josh Katzowitz, NFL writer for CBSSports.com & author ofSid Gillman: Father of the Passing Game DEAD LINE “This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn’t really want to put it down. Jack Patterson has hooked me. I’ll be back for more.” -Bob Behler 3-time Idaho broadcaster of the year and play-by-play voice for Boise State football DEAD IN THE WATER “In Dead in the Water, Jack Patterson accurately captures the action-packed saga of a what could be a real-life college football scandal. The sordid details will leave readers flipping through the pages as fast as a hurry-up offense.” -Mark Schlabach, ESPN college sports columnist and co-author ofCalled to Coach Heisman: The Man Behind the Trophy Other titles by Jack Patterson Cal Murphy Thriller series Dead Shot Dead Line Better off Dead Dead in the Water Dead Man's Curve Dead and Gone Dead Wrong Dead Man's Land Dead Drop James Flynn Thriller series The Warren Omissions Imminent Threat The Cooper Affair Brady Hawk series First Strike Deep Cover Point of Impact For Klaus Berwald, the coach who instilled in me a passion for the beautiful game DEAD DROP A Cal Murphy Thriller JACK PATTERSON CHAPTER 1 SID WESTIN ALWAYS CAREFULLY weighed his options—until now. The moment he formulated his ambitious plan to become the world’s greatest soccer player, he knew he would never accomplish it through a series of haphazard events strung together by sheer luck. Such levels of greatness required a calculated effort to stick with a master plan, no matter how painful or how dire his future seemed. A smidgeon of good luck wouldn’t hurt either. But Sid had failed—due to no fault of his own. And he didn’t just know that because he was lying on the cold marbled floor at Puget Sound Bank with a gunman lurking above him. Just a few hours before running this mundane errand for his wife, Sid was playing soccer in the front yard with his eight-year-old son. “Dad!” yelled Mason. He was wearing his favorite shirt with a stingray on it, one they’d picked up after a recent trip to the Oregon Aquarium. “Dad! Look! Do you think I’ve got it now?” Sid watched his son, who was working on a spin move with the soccer ball, and smiled and clapped. “Yes, Son, that’s it. You’ve got it. If you perfect that move, you’re going to be unstoppable.” Sid knew what it was like to be unstoppable. As a nineteen-year-old, he made the roster for England’s Under-20 team and scored five goals during the Under-20 World Cup held in Santiago. He was about to score his sixth and give England the lead in the Finals when an Argentine defender took him out on a reckless challenge. Three surgeries and eighteen months later, Sid still hadn’t regained his promising form. For more than a decade, he bounced around between lower-tier leagues in England, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Even though the doctors said he was fine, he knew he wasn’t. He’d lost a step or two, vital in a game where a split second could make all the difference between scoring a goal and watching a shot get blocked by an oncoming defender. And for someone who was once labeled as “Norwich’s Next Superstar,” he was a disappointment to the fans of East Anglia. However, when he moved to Seattle three years ago with his wife Rebecca, he discovered a newfound passion for soccer, rejuvenating his career—a career he thought might be over. With the United States’ professional soccer league still in its relative infancy compared to the rest of the world, he took the opportunity offered to him to come play out his final days of competitive sport while serving as a mentor to the younger stars on the team. In the process, Sid exceeded expectations. Instead of being little more than a mentor to the young players, he became a star in his own right. He scored on a header in the final minute to knock Portland out of the playoffs in his first season and became
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