Read Online The Devlin Deception: Book One of The Devlin Quatrology by Jake Devlin, (with Bonnie Springs) - Free Book Online Page A

uncertainty."
    "Impossible."
    "Probably. But remember, this is fiction. Anyhow, I got
thinking, what about a complete do-over, a blank slate?"
    "Tabula rasa."
    Jake looked a little more closely at Pam. "Exactly, but I
wasn't even thinking about writing anything yet. But I realized that
a do-over might call for a dictator of some sort, who didn't have to
pander to the voters to stay in office. So I started talking about
that idea with people, asking the ones who bitched the most about the
government what they would do if they were in total charge and could
make whatever policies they wanted to. And not one of them actually
had any real policy ideas; they just kept bashing the government in
general and the party they opposed in particular and with lots of
passion. But the idea of a benevolent dictator kept running around
in my tired old brain. So the next question would be how to get from
here to there.”
    "Like a violent overthrow of the government?"
    "Thought about that, but that's such a cliche."
    "And treasonous."
    "But even worse, not practical. Look at what's been going on
with the Arab Spring. Nope. But I thought back to Pelosi's comment
and figured somebody could sneak something into a must-pass bill that
declares someone the boss and get in that way, all nice and legal.
Bingo. Basic setup done. Then it's just a matter of deciding what
he's going to do and who or what is going to be the antagonist or
antagonists, and there's the story. But not as simple as it sounds."
    "Hmm; I'd guess not."
    "So I added that to my list of things to talk about with people
here in Bonita. We've got lots of retirees and many of them have run
businesses, some have worked in union jobs, a whole spectrum of
folks, and lots more in tourist season than are here now. And when I
started asking the right questions, they gave me lots of ideas from
their experiences, and round about January, I think, I wrote a first
draft of Donne's speech and put it online, started getting some
feedback and new ideas, including yours."
    "But not the minimum tax."
    "Nope; I don't remember who that came from, but it's a pretty
cool idea, especially trying to figure out the 'what ifs' that would
spin out from that.
    “Anyhow, it all sorta morphed into the idea of doing a novel.
    "But then there was one guy on the beach, kind of a sarcastic,
arrogant --"
    A shrill female voice broke through their conversation, "Billy
Lee, Stevie Bruce, kit thowin' sand!" Jake and Pam looked
toward the water and saw two young boys, maybe six and four, doing
exactly that, with each other as the target.
    Pam stifled a laugh and mouthed the words, "Stevie Bruce?
Thowing?"
    Jake shrugged and laughed quietly.
    "Billy Lee, Stevie Bruce, I said KIT IT!!!! You wanna
whuppin'?"
    Jake smiled. "From Lehigh; lotsa rednecks out there. Her
name's Ginny May."
    Pam giggled again, "Ginny May what?"
    "No, just Ginny May; Ginny for Virginia, and May is her last
name. Her hubby is Frank May; everybody calls him Frannie."
    "Really?"
    "Really. Met 'em about a year ago. And see those heavy ladies
with her? That's her sis-in-law, Sally, and her mom, Lurlene."
    "Lurlene? No way."
    "Way. She's a great cook, I've heard."
    "Wow, Frannie May, Ginny May, Sally, Lurlene and ... Stevie
Bruce." Pam started to giggle, then a full-out laugh. "Stevie
Bruce."
    Jake put on his own deep Southern accent and drawled, "Who'da
thunk it?" And he started to laugh, too.
    Then he paused, got his laughing under control, scratched his head,
and said, "I forgot. Where was I?"
    Pam, still chuckling, scrunched up her face, paused a moment and then
said, "Something about a sarcastic guy?"
    "Oh, right. There was this one guy named Alan, who sometimes
fishes here from the beach, kind of a sarcastic, arrogant asshole ...
oh, pardon my French ..."
    Pam waved it off and smiled. "No problem; that's one of my
favorite words."
    "Really? Cool. Anyhow, way back, probably in early February,
this clown said something like 'If you write something