Cheated (19 page)

The
Flint Journal
has learned that two of the teens arrested for the murder of a homeless man in Swartz Creek will be arraigned today as adults on charges of second-degree murder. The third teenager in the case will plead to a lesser charge in return for his testimony against the other two. No other details have been released
.

Thanks to Amy Alessio and Patricia Taylor, who read and made suggestions on early versions of
Cheated
. Also thanks to Laura Gajdostik, Kim Powers, and their students from Hudson (WI) High School for their continued support and input into my works in progress. Shout-out to Nick Campbell in Texas for all his inspiration. As always, thanks to Erica Klein for giving me the time and confidence to write fiction. Finally, a long overdue thank you slash acknowledgment to Emily Easton at Walker Books for Young Readers. I met Emily while serving on a committee selecting the best books for reluctant readers. Over a decade later, she helped me rewrite my first novel, which found a place on the very same list. While Things Change, Emily's support and guidance have remained constant.

Also by Patrick Jones

Things Change
Nailed
Chasing Tail Lights

Copyright © 2008 by Patrick Jones
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used
fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination, and
any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First published in the United States of America in April 2008
by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
E-book edition published in April 2011
www.bloomsburyteens.com

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Jones, Patrick.
Cheated / Patrick Jones.
p. cm.
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Mick recalls a series of betrayals and other life-changing events in his broken
home, during the break-up with his girlfriend, and at school, that led to his arrest for murder.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8027-9699-8 • ISBN-10: 0-8027-9699-0 (hardcover)
[1. Murder—Fiction. 2. Betrayal—Fiction. 3. Family problems—Fiction. 4. Interpersonal relations—
Fiction. 5. High schools—Fiction. 6. Schools—Fiction. 7. Michigan—Fiction.]
I. Title.

PZ7.J7242Che 2008           [Fic]—dc22           2007018901

ISBN 978-0-8027-2385-7 (e-book)