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MR MERCEDES
available from
Hodder & Stoughton
from 3rd June 2014

Im going to kill you.You wont see me coming.

Im going to kill you.You wont see me coming.
Im going to kill you. You wont see me coming.
A riveting cat-and-mouse suspense thriller about a retired
cop and a couple of unlikely allies who race against time
to stop a lone killer intent on blowing up thousands.

Retired homicide detective Bill Hodges is haunted by the few cases he

left open, and by one in particular: in the pre-dawn hours, hundreds
of desperate unemployed people were lined up for a spot at a job fair
in the distressed Midwestern city where he worked. Without warning,
a lone driver ploughed through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes. Eight
people were killed, fifteen wounded. The killer escaped.
Months later, on the other side of the city, Bill Hodges gets
atauntingletter in the mail, from a man claiming to be the
perpetrator.Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant
retirement, hell-bent onhunting him down.
Brady Hartsfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he
was born. And he ispreparing to kill again.
Hodges, with a couple of misfit friends, must apprehend the killer
inahigh-stakes race against time. Because Bradys next mission, if it
succeeds, will kill or maim hundreds, even thousands.

a novel
The following is an extract from
MR MERCEDES by Stephen King.
This extract is not for sale, quotation or copying.
Used by permission of Hodder.
Not for further distribution.

Lyrics from Kisses on the Midway

(written by Stephen King and Shooter Jennings)
used by permission of Bad Nineteen Music, copyright 2012.

Copyright 2014 by Stephen King

First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Hodder & Stoughton
An Hachette UK company
The right of Stephen King to be identified as the Author of the
Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
1
First Hodder hardcover edition June 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be
otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons,
living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 444 78862 4
Typeset in Bembo 12/15 pt by Palimpsest Book Production Ltd, Falkirk, Stirlingshire
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GRAY MERCEDES

MR MERCEDES

April 910, 2009

Augie Odenkirk had a 1997 Datsun that still ran well in spite of high
mileage, but gas was expensive, especially for a man with no job, and
City Center was on the far side of town, so he decided to take the last
bus of the night. He got off at twenty past eleven with his pack on
his back and his rolled-up sleeping bag under one arm. He thought
he would be glad of the down-filled bag by three a.m.The night was
misty and chill.
Good luck, man, the driver said as he stepped down. You ought
to get something for just being the first one there.
Only he wasnt. When Augie reached the top of the wide, steep
drive leading to the big auditorium, he saw a cluster of at least two
dozen people already waiting outside the rank of doors, some standing,
most sitting. Posts strung with yellow DO NOT CROSS tape had
been set up, creating a complicated passage that doubled back on
itself, mazelike. Augie was familiar with these from movie theaters
and the bank where he was currently overdrawn, and understood the
purpose: to cram as many people as possible into as small a space as
possible.
As he approached the end of what would soon be a conga-line
of job applicants, Augie was both amazed and dismayed to see that
the woman at the end of the line had a sleeping baby in a Papoose
carrier. The babys cheeks were flushed with the cold; each exhale
came with a faint rattle.
The woman heard Augies slightly out-of-breath approach, and
turned. She was young and pretty enough, even with the dark circles

STEPHEN KING

under her eyes. At her feet was a small quilted carry-case. Augie
supposed it was a baby support system.
Hi, she said. Welcome to the Early Birds Club.
Hopefully well catch a worm. He debated, thought what the
hell, and stuck out his hand. August Odenkirk. Augie. I was recently
downsized.Thats the twenty-first-century way of saying I got canned.
She shook with him. She had a good grip, firm and not a bit
timid. Im Janice Cray, and my little bundle of joy is Patti. I guess I
got downsized, too. I was a housekeeper for a nice family in Sugar
Heights. He, um, owns a car dealership.
Augie winced.
Janice nodded. I know. He said he was sorry to let me go, but they
had to tighten their belts.
A lot of that going around, Augie said, thinking: You could find no
one to babysit? No one at all?
I had to bring her. He supposed Janice Cray didnt have to be
much of a mind reader to know what he was thinking. Theres no
one else. Literally no one. The girl down the street couldnt stay all
night even if I could pay her, and I just cant. If I dont get a job, I
dont know what well do.
Your parents couldnt take her? Augie asked.
They live in Vermont. If I had half a brain, Id take Patti and go
there. Its pretty. Only theyve got their own problems. Dad says their
house is underwater. Not literally, theyre not in the river or anything,
its something financial.
Augie nodded. There was a lot of that going around, too.
A few cars were coming up the steep rise from Marlborough
Street, where Augie had gotten off the bus. They turned left, into
the vast empty plain of parking lot that would no doubt be full by
daylight tomorrow ... still hours before the First Annual City Job
Fair opened its doors. None of the cars looked new. Their drivers
parked, and from most of them three or four job-seekers emerged,
heading toward the doors of the auditorium. Augie was no longer at
the end of the line. It had almost reached the first switchback.
If I can get a job, I can get a sitter, she said. But for tonight, me
and Patti just gotta suck it up.

MR MERCEDES

The baby gave a croupy cough Augie didnt care for, stirred in the
Papoose, and then settled again. At least the kid was bundled up; there
were even tiny mittens on her hands.
Kids survive worse, Augie told himself uneasily. He thought of the
Dust Bowl, and the Great Depression.Well, this one was great enough
for him. Two years ago, everything had been fine. He hadnt exactly
been living large in the hood, but he had been making ends meet,
with a little left over at the end of most months. Now everything had
turned to shit. They had done something to the money. He didnt
understand it; hed been an office drone in the shipping department
of Great Lakes Transport, and what he knew about was invoices and
using a computer to route stuff by ship, train, and air.
People will see me with a baby and think Im irresponsible, Janice
Cray fretted.I know it, I see it on their faces already, I saw it on yours.
But what else could I do? Even if the girl down the street could stay
all night, it would have cost eighty-four dollars. Eighty-four! Ive got
next months rent put aside, and after that, Im skint. She smiled, and
in the light of the parking lots high arc-sodiums, Augie saw tears
beading her eyelashes. Im babbling.
No need to apologize, if thats what youre doing. The line had
turned the first corner now, and had arrived back at where Augie was
standing. And the girl was right. He saw lots of people staring at the
sleeping kid in the Papoose.
Oh, thats it, all right. Im a single unmarried mother with no
job. I want to apologize to everyone, for everything. She turned
and looked at the banner posted above the rank of doors. 1000 JOBS
GUARENTEED! it read. And below that: We Stand With the People of
Our City! MAYOR RALPH KINSLER.
Sometimes I want to apologize for Columbine, and 9/11, and
Barry Bonds taking steroids. She uttered a semi-hysterical giggle.
Sometimes I even want to apologize for the space shuttle exploding,
and when that happened I was still learning to walk.
Dont worry, Augie told her. Youll be okay. It was just one of
those things that you said.
I wish it wasnt so damp, thats all. Ive got her bundled up in case
it was really cold, but this damp ... She shook her head. Well make

STEPHEN KING

it, though, wont we, Patti? She gave Augie a hopeless little smile.
It just better not rain.
It didnt, but the dampness increased until they could see fine
droplets suspended in the light thrown by the arc-sodiums. At some
point Augie realized that Janice Cray was asleep on her feet. She was
hipshot and slump-shouldered, with her hair hanging in dank wings
around her face and her chin nearly on her breastbone. He looked at
his watch and saw it was quarter to three.
Ten minutes later, Patti Cray awoke and started to cry. Her mother
(her baby mama, Augie thought) gave a jerk, voiced a horselike snort,
raised her head, and tried to pull the infant out of the Papoose. At
first the kid wouldnt come; her legs were stuck. Augie pitched in,
holding the sides of the sling. As Patti emerged, now wailing, he
could see drops of water sparkling all over her tiny pink jacket and
matching hat.
Shes hungry, Janice said. I can give her the breast, but shes also
wet. I can feel it right through her pants. God, I cant change her in
this look how foggy its gotten!
Augie wondered what comical deity had arranged for him to be
the one in line behind her. He also wondered how in hell this woman
was going to get through the rest of her life all of it, not just the
next eighteen years or so when she would be responsible for the kid.
To come out on a night like this, with nothing but a bag of diapers!
To be that goddam desperate!
He had put his sleeping bag down next to Pattis diaper bag. Now
he squatted, pulled the ties, unrolled it, and unzipped it.
Slide in there. Get warm and get her warm. Then Ill hand in
whatever doodads you need.
She gazed at him, holding the squirming, crying baby. Are you
married, Augie?
Divorced.
Children?
He shook his head.
Why are you being so kind to us?
Because were here, he said, and shrugged.

MR MERCEDES

She looked at him a moment longer, deciding, then handed him

the baby. Augie held her out at arms length, fascinated by the red,
furious face, the bead of snot on the tiny upturned nose, the bicycling
legs in the flannel onesie. Janice squirmed into the sleeping bag, then
lifted her hands. Give her to me, please.
Augie did, and the woman burrowed deeper into the bag. Beside
them, where the line had doubled back on itself for the first time,
two young men were staring.
Mind your business, guys, Augie said, and they looked away.
Would you give me a diaper? Janice said. I should change her
before I feed her.
He dropped one knee to the wet pavement and unzipped the
quilted bag. He was momentarily surprised to find cloth diapers
instead of Pampers, then understood. The cloth ones could be used
over and over. Maybe the woman wasnt entirely hopeless.
I see a bottle of Baby Magic, too. Do you want that?
From inside the sleeping bag, where now only a tuft of her
brownish hair showed: Yes, please.
He passed in the diaper and the lotion. The sleeping bag began to
wiggle and bounce. At first the crying intensified. From one of the
switchbacks farther down, lost in the thickening fog, someone said:
Cant you shut that kid up? Another voice added: Someone ought
to call Social Services.
Augie waited, watching the sleeping bag. At last it stopped moving
around and a hand emerged, holding a diaper. Would you put it in
the bag? Theres a plastic sack for the dirty ones. She looked out at
him like a mole from its hole. Dont worry, its not pooey, just wet.
Augie took the diaper, put it in the plastic bag (COSTCO printed
on the side), then zipped the diaper bag closed.The crying from inside
the sleeping bag (so many bags, he thought) continued for another
minute or so, then abruptly cut out as Patti began to nurse in the
City Center parking lot. From above the ranked doors that wouldnt
open for another six hours, the banner gave a single lackadaisical flap.
1000 JOBS GUARENTEED!
Sure, Augie thought. Also, you cant catch AIDS if you load up on
vitamin C.

10

STEPHEN KING

Twenty minutes passed. More cars came up the hill from

Marlborough Street. More people joined the line. Augie estimated
there already had to be four hundred people waiting. At that rate,
there would be two thousand by the time the doors opened at nine,
and that was a conservative estimate.
If someone offers me fry-cook at McDonalds, will I take it?
Probably.
What about a greeter at Walmart?
Oh, mos def. Big smile and howre you today? Augie thought he
could wallop a greeter job right out of the park.
Im a people person, he thought. And laughed.
From the bag: Whats funny?
Nothing, he said. Cuddle that kid.
I am. A smile in her voice.
At three-thirty he knelt, lifted the flap of the sleeping bag, and peered
inside. Janice Cray was curled up, fast asleep, with the baby at her
breast. This made him think of The Grapes of Wrath. What was the
name of the girl that had been in it? The one who ended up nursing
the man? A flower name, he thought. Lily? No. Pansy? Absolutely
not. He thought of cupping his hands around his mouth, raising
his voice, and asking the crowd, WHO HERE HAS READ THE
GRAPES OF WRATH?
As he was standing up again (and smiling at this absurdity), the
name came to him. Rose. That had been the name of the Grapes of
Wrath girl. But not just Rose; Rose of Sharon. It sounded biblical,
but he couldnt say so with any certainty; he had never been a Bible
reader.
He looked down at the sleeping bag, in which he had expected to
spend the small hours of the night, and thought of Janice Cray saying
she wanted to apologize for Columbine, and 9/11, and Barry Bonds.
Probably she would cop to global warming as well. Maybe when this
was over and they had secured jobs or not; not was probably just as
likely he would treat her to breakfast. Not a date, nothing like that,
just some scrambled eggs and bacon. After that they would never see
each other again.

MR MERCEDES

11

More people came.They reached the end of the posted switchbacks

with the self-important DO NOT CROSS tape. Once that was used
up, the line began to stretch into the parking lot. What surprised
Augie and made him uneasy was how silent they were. As if they
all knew this mission was a failure, and they were only waiting to get
the official word.
The banner gave another lackadaisical flap.
The fog continued to thicken.
Shortly before five a.m., Augie roused from his own half-doze,
stamped his feet to wake them up, and realized an unpleasant iron
light had crept into the air. It was the furthest thing in the world from
the rosy-fingered dawn of poetry and old Technicolor movies; this
was an anti-dawn, damp and as pale as the cheek of a day-old corpse.
He could see the City Center auditorium slowly revealing itself
in all its nineteen-seventies tacky architectural glory. He could see
the two dozen switchbacks of patiently waiting people and then the
tailback of the line disappearing into the fog. Now there was a little
conversation, and when a janitor clad in gray fatigues passed through
the lobby on the other side of the doors, a small satiric cheer went up.
Life is discovered on other planets! shouted one of the young
men who had been staring at Janice Cray this was Keith Frias,
whose left arm would shortly be torn from his body.
There was mild laughter at this sally, and people began to talk.The
night was over.The seeping light wasnt particularly encouraging, but
it was marginally better than the long small hours just past.
Augie knelt beside his sleeping bag again and cocked an ear. The
small, regular snores he heard made him smile. Maybe his worry about
her had been for nothing. He guessed there were people who went
through life surviving perhaps even thriving on the kindness of
strangers. The young woman currently snoozing in his sleeping bag
with her baby might be one of them.
It came to him that he and Janice Cray could present themselves at
the various application tables as a couple. If they did that, the babys
presence might not seem an indicator of irresponsibility but rather
of joint dedication. He couldnt say for sure, much of human nature

12

STEPHEN KING

was a mystery to him, but he thought it was possible. He decided

hed try the idea out on Janice when she woke up. See what she
thought.They couldnt claim marriage; she wasnt wearing a wedding
ring and hed taken his off for good three years before, but they could
claim to be ... what was it people said now? Partners.
Cars continued to come up the steep incline from Marlborough
Street at steady tick-tock intervals. There would soon be pedestrians
as well, fresh off the first bus of the morning. Augie was pretty sure
they started running at six. Because of the thick fog, the arriving cars
were just headlights with vague shadow-shapes lurking behind the
windshields. A few of the drivers saw the huge crowd already waiting
and turned around, discouraged, but most kept on, heading for the
few remaining parking spaces, their taillights dwindling.
Then Augie noticed a car-shape that neither turned around nor
continued on toward the far reaches of the parking lot. Its unusually
bright headlights were flanked by yellow fog-lamps.
HD headers, Augie thought. Thats a Mercedes-Benz. Whats a Benz
doing at a job fair?
He supposed it might be Mayor Kinsler, here to make a speech to
the Early Birds Club. To congratulate them on their gumption, their
good old American git-up-and-git. If so, Augie thought, arriving in
his Mercedes even if it was an old one was in bad taste.
An elderly fellow in line ahead of Augie (Wayne Welland, now
in the last moments of his earthly existence) said: Is that a Benz? It
looks like a Benz.
Augie started to say of course it was, you couldnt mistake a
Mercedess HD headlamps, and then the driver of the car directly
behind the vague shape laid on his horn a long, impatient blast.The
HD lights flashed brighter than ever, cutting brilliant white cones
through the suspended droplets of the fog, and the car leaped forward
as if the impatient horn had goosed it.
Hey! Wayne Welland said, surprised. It was his final word.
The car accelerated directly at the place where the crowd of jobseekers was most tightly packed, and hemmed in by the DO NOT
CROSS tapes. Some of them tried to run, but only the ones at the
rear of the crowd were able to break free. Those closer to the doors

MR MERCEDES

13

the true Early Birds had no chance. They struck the posts and
knocked them over, they got tangled in the tapes, they rebounded
off each other. The crowd swayed back and forth in a series of
agitated waves. Those who were older and smaller fell down and
were trampled underfoot.
Augie was shoved hard to the left, stumbled, recovered, and was
pushed forward. A flying elbow struck his cheekbone just below his
right eye and that side of his vision filled with bright Fourth of July
sparkles. From the other eye he could see the Mercedes not just
emerging from the fog but seeming to create itself from it. A big gray
sedan, maybe an SL500, the kind with twelve cylinders, and right
now all twelve were screaming.
Augie was driven to his knees beside the sleeping bag, and kicked
repeatedly as he struggled to get back up: in the arm, in the shoulder,
in the neck. People were screaming. He heard a woman cry, Look out,
look out, hes not stopping!
He saw Janice Cray pop her head out of the sleeping bag, eyes
blinking in bewilderment. Once more he was reminded of a shy
mole peering from its hole. A lady mole with a bad case of bed head.
He scrambled forward on his hands and knees and lay down on
the bag and the woman and baby inside, as if by doing this he could
successfully shield them from a two-ton piece of German engineering.
He heard people yelling, the sound of them almost lost beneath the
approaching roar of the big sedans motor. Someone fetched him a
terrific wallop on the back of his head, but he barely felt it.
There was time to think: I was going to buy Rose of Sharon breakfast.
There was time to think: Maybe hell veer off.
That seemed to be their best chance, probably their only chance.
He started to raise his head to see if it was happening, and a huge
black tire ate up his vision. He felt the womans hand grip his forearm.
He had time to hope the baby was still sleeping. Then time ran out.

MR MERCEDES

14

Who is going to be the

fish in this relationship,
and who is going to be
the fisherman?
Bill Hodges: retired cop. Brady Hartsfield: the
criminal whose case Hodges never solved.
Now each is closing in on the other once more in
a mega-stakes, high suspense, race against time from
worldwide bestselling writer Stephen King.