Richard Montanari: Four Novels of Suspense (149 page)
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Authors: Richard Montanari
Tags: #Fiction, #Suspense, #Thrillers, #Police Procedural, #Mystery & Detective
“Mom?”
“What, sweetie?”
Sophie rummaged under the quilt. She pulled out a book by Hans Christian Andersen, one of the tomes Jessica had checked out of the library.
“Read me a story?” Sophie asked.
Jessica took the book from her daughter, opened it, glanced at the illustration on the title page. It was a woodcut illustration of the moon.
Jessica closed the book, flipped off the light.
“Not tonight, honey.”
TWO AM.
Jessica sat on the edge of the bed. She had felt the stirrings inside her for a few days. Not the certainty, but the possibility of the possibility, a feeling once removed from hope, twice from disappointment.
She turned to look at Vincent. Dead to the world. God only knew what galaxies he conquered in his dreams.
Jessica glanced out the window, at the full moon high in the night sky.
Just moments later she heard the egg timer ding in the bathroom. Poetic, she thought.
Egg timer.
She got up, scuffed her way across the bedroom.
She flipped on the light, looked at the two ounces of white plastic sitting on the vanity. She was scared of the
yes.
Scared of the
no.
Babies.
Detective Jessica Balzano—a woman who strapped on a weapon and faced danger every day of her life—trembled slightly as she stepped into the bathroom, and closed the door.
EPILOGUE
There was music. A piano song. Bright yellow daffodils smiled from the window boxes. The common room was nearly empty. It would soon fill up.
The decorations on the walls were bunnies and ducks and Easter eggs.
At five thirty they brought dinner. Tonight it was Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes. There was also a cup of applesauce.
Charles looked out the window, at the long shadows growing in the forest. It was springtime, the air was fresh. The world smelled like green apples. Soon it would be April. April meant danger.
Charles knew there was still peril in the forest, a darkness that swallowed the light. He knew that girls should not venture into the woods. His twin sister Charlotte had ventured into the woods.
He took his mother’s hand.
It was up to him, now that Roland was gone. There was so much evil out there. Ever since he had come to live at Devonshire Acres he had watched the shadows take human form. And at night he heard their whispers. He heard the rustling of leaves, the swirling of the wind.
He put his arm around his mother. She smiled. They would be safe now. As long as they stayed together, they would be safe from the bad things in the forest. Safe from those who would do them harm.
Safe,
Charles Waite thought.
Ever after.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are no fables without magic. My deepest thanks to Meg Ruley, Jane Berkey, Peggy Gordijn, Don Cleary, and all at the Jane Rotrosen Agency; thanks as always to my fabulous editor, Linda Marrow, as well as Dana Isaacson, Gina Centrello, Libby McGuire, Kim Hovey, Rachel Kind, Dan Mallory, and the great team at Ballantine Books; thanks again to Nikola Scott, Kate Elton, Cassie Chadderton, Louisa Gibbs, Emma Rose, and the brilliant group at Random House UK.
A cheer (yo) for the Philly crew: Mike Driscoll and the gang at Finnigan’s Wake (and Ashburner Inn), as well as Patrick Ghegan, Jan Klincewicz, Karen Mauch, Joe Drabyak, Joe Brennan, Halley Spencer (Mr. Wonderful), and Vita DeBellis.
For their expertise, thanks to the Honorable Seamus McCaffery, Detective Michele Kelly, Sgt. Gregory Masi, Sgt. Joanne Beres, Detective Edward Rocks, Detective Timothy Bass, and the men and women of the Philadelphia Police Department; thanks to J. Harry Isaacson, MD; thanks to Crystal Seitz, Linda Wrobel, and the gracious folks at the Reading & Berks County Visitors Bureau for the coffee and maps; thanks to DJC and DRM for the wine and patience.
Once again, I’d like to thank the city and people of Philadelphia for indulging my imagination.
Merciless
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2007 by Richard Montanari
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
B
ALLANTINE
and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Montanari, Richard.
Merciless: a novel of suspense / Richard Montanari.
p. cm.
1. Police—Pennsylvania—Philadelphia—Fiction. 2. Serial murders—Fiction. 3. Philadelphia (Pa).—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3563.05384M47 2007
813'.54—dc22 2007013644
eISBN: 978-0-345-50015-1
v3.0
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven