Dial Em for Murder (33 page)

Too bad, I didn't believe a word of my own lies.

“Toughen up, Emmy!” I snarled into the silence of Ben's bedroom. “You don't want people to push you around? Then you need to
fight back
.”

The Slate clutched in my hand began to ring and my heart seized with a strangling panic.

Time to find out if those warnings applied to my own father.

This book wouldn't exist without the tireless help and support of my agent, Shannon Hassan. You pushed me creatively, and I am so grateful that you did. Thank you. You are amazing. I also want to extend an enormous thank-you to my fabulous editor Jacquelyn Mitchard and her wonderful team at Merit for bringing this book to life! It means the world to me.

I'm incredibly lucky to have patient family members and friends. A special thanks to my mom for listening to every possible plot twist. My writing sprint partner, Alicia Thompson, for forcing me to face the blank page. Diana Wiener for a thousand and one supportive words and coffee-shop visits! Marina Adair for some truly incredible advice. Laura Fraley for laughing with me when I can't sleep because I'm too afraid of my own imaginary villains. I need to thank Tracy Wolff, Erica Cameron, MK Meredith, Cecily White, Hannah Jayne, Abigail Dock, Katrina Galka, Lisa Lin, Paula Stokes, Anja Johnson, Jen Maneja, Angela Bailey, and oh man, a few hundred other amazing people who have given me hugs/coffee/laughter/endless encouragement. You know how much I love ya!

Lastly, I want to thank my fans. You make me feel like the luckiest writer in the whole freaking world. Thank you for believing in me. Each of you is infinitely precious to me!

All my love,

Marni