Merciless (44 page)

Then she patted my shoulder. “I missed you, too, Mercy. Now sit.”

I sat. Sophie brought us both a cup of coffee and took the chair across from mine.
If she noticed the ruffled place mats were gone, she didn’t mention it.

“How’s the Sheriff?”

“Really good. He’s working half days through this week. If his arm is more responsive
to the physical therapy on Friday, he’ll go to full shifts next week.” The only lingering
effect from the coma was Dawson’s limited mobility on his left side. It frustrated
him not being 100 percent. A feeling I was familiar with.

“He’s lucky. I prayed to
Wakan Tanka
when I heard about his accident.”

“Thank you. Every day I realized how blessed we are.”

“I prayed for you, too, Mercy. I prayed you’d find peace. I prayed you’d discover
the power in forgiveness.”

Not likely. Especially since I knew she was talking about forgiving John-John. I lifted
my cup to drink.

Of course, Sophie’s sharp gaze focused on the diamond engagement ring on my left hand.
“I’m assuming you finally said yes to the Sheriff?”

“He was being a pain in the ass about it, so I agreed to marry him just to shut him
up.” I set down my cup. “So you coming back to work for me or what?”

Sophie harrumphed. “Yes, you need a caretaker. I saw that you hadn’t cleaned the laundry
room at all while I was gone. I’m gonna need a bigger vacuum, hey, to get them dust
rhinos under the couch cleaned up.”

“So noted.”

“I ain’t gonna work full time. Mebbe just two days a week here. Hope and Jake don’t
need me meddling at their place. Jake said you took time off. Are you back to work
at the FBI now?”

“No, I’m on personal leave until I know Dawson’s recovery is complete.” After that?
Who knew? I wasn’t sure if I expected Director Shenker and Agent Turnbull to beg me
to stay, or if I’d feel relief if they let me go. Either way, I would have to make
a decision soon.

Every day I read the paper and listened to the news, expecting to hear
a breaking story about a bullet-riddled body found in the woods on the rez. But after
two-plus weeks . . . nothing. The tribal police hadn’t made a statement about what
they’d discovered at Sheldon War Bonnet’s house, either. Rollie’s warning—
All the sick stuff most people, even the cops, on the rez turn a blind eye to
—had proven true. It was easier sweeping evil under the tipi. Or denying its existence
altogether.

“You could always go back to work at Clementine’s,” Sophie suggested, pulling me out
of my thoughts.

“I doubt that’s an option, since John-John and I aren’t speaking.”

“He’s sorry, Mercy. You have no idea how sorry he is.”

“That is true. I have no idea how sorry he is, because I haven’t heard from him or
seen him at all,” I retorted.

“He’s grieving.”

“I know. So are you. Just . . . don’t make excuses for him, okay?”

Sophie lifted her stubborn chin. “My grandson
is
going to apologize. Mebbe the question should be: Will you let him?”

I shrugged. I’d believe it when I saw the whites of John-John’s eyes. He’d have to
come up with something pretty spectacular in the making-up department. Because after
Geneva and I had our big fight? She’d brought me a bucket of kittens.

What could possibly top that?

A towel cracked next to my elbow, and I jumped.

Sophie cackled. “Go on, now. Get your man and your boy up to the table for breakfast.
I ain’t got all day. It’s time things got back to normal around here.”

My man and my boy.
How I loved the sound of that.

Had I really complained only a few short weeks ago that my life had become mundane?
After what I’d gone through in the past few weeks, I’d never complain again. I’d embrace
waking up a cranky kid every morning. I’d send Dawson off to work with an affirmation
of my feelings for him every day, even when it seemed silly and redundant. I’d let
Sophie nag me about anything, just as long as she did it in person.

I’d take this new normalcy in my life for as long as I could get it.

My editor, Megan Reid, is a rock star, and so instrumental in getting Mercy where
she needed to be. I am so thankful for everything she’s done.

The agents in the local FBI office have gone above and beyond in answering my questions,
steering me in the right direction when I’ve veered off the path. My gratitude especially
goes to RP and DD for all their help.

A huge debt of thanks to Hon. Robert Mandel, Seventh Circuit Court Judge, for his
invaluable tutorial on tribal law and his insight on the grand jury process. Any legal
or procedural discrepancies are strictly my own.

Thanks to my husband, Erin, aka Gun Guy, who tackles my firearms questions with humor
and patience, and uses my need for “firsthand knowledge” of specific firearms as an
excuse to buy more guns.

Thank you to my family for understanding and living through deadline hell with me.

Thanks to the readers who contacted me, asking about the release date of the next
Mercy book, since there’s been a two-year lag . . . it’s good to know Mercy was missed.

Merciless: A Mystery

In
Merciless
, newly minted FBI agent Mercy Gunderson is investigating her first murder case, working
in conjunction with the tribal police on the Eagle River Reservation, where the victim
is the teenage niece of the recently elected tribal president. When another gruesome
killing occurs during the early stages of the investigation, Mercy finds herself torn
between her duty to the FBI and her obligations to those she loves, including her
fiancé, Eagle River County sheriff Mason Dawson.

When hidden political agendas and old family vendettas turn ugly, masking motives
and causing a rift between the tribal police, the tribal council, and the FBI, Mercy
discovers that the deranged killer has his sights set on her as his next victim. In
order to save herself and protect her family, Mercy must unleash the cold, dark, efficient
killer inside her to become the predator rather than the prey.

1. Describe Special Agent Mercy Gunderson’s relationship with her FBI colleague, Special
Agent Shay Turnbull. How does it change throughout the course of the novel?

2. “I was only a quarter Minneconjou Sioux, which was just enough to slightly darken
my skin tone and lighten my hair color to light brown.” How much does Mercy’s Native
American heritage help or hinder her in her official and unofficial interactions on
the Eagle River Reservation? Consider her interactions with Fergie, Tribal President
Latimer Elk Thunder, Rollie Rondeaux, and Saro.

3. “For most traditional Indian families, an autopsy is considered a desecration of
the body and the spirit. Especially in children.” In what other ways do Special Agents
Mercy Gunderson and Shay Turnbull accommodate native traditions and beliefs in their
federal investigation into the murders? How does Shay interpret the tribal police’s
efforts to find the serial killer on the reservation? To what extent do his views
differ from Mercy’s feelings about the tribal police?

4. How does the nondisclosure rule, which prevents Dawson and Mercy from discussing
criminal cases of mutual interest to the agencies where they work, impact their relationship
throughout the novel? Do you think it contributes to Mercy’s final decision to go
after the killer, and do you think this rule has merit for couples? Why or why not?

5. Describe Mercy and Dawson’s first hunt together. To what extent is this outing
typical of their domestic interactions?

6. How do Mercy’s abilities and interests set her apart as a unique sort of heroine
in
Merciless
?

7. How does Mason’s rodeo accident transform Mercy’s relationships with Mason’s son,
Lex, and with her FBI colleague, Shay Turnbull?

8. Mercy chooses to pursue the killer independently without first disclosing their
identity to Shay Turnbull or anyone else at the FBI or tribal police. How does the
successful outcome of her pursuit call into question her ethical judgment? Did this
decision impact your opinion of her as a character?

9. How did you feel when you discovered the killer’s identity? Given the many suspects
put forth by Mercy and Shay, which seemed most plausible to you and why?

10. “I’d take this new normalcy in my life for as long as I could get it.” Though
the book closes on a positive note, Armstrong gives readers the opportunity to use
their imaginations in thinking about what might be next for Mercy. Describe Mercy’s
“new normal” at the end of
Merciless
, and predict how her future relationships might be affected by the events of this
book. Consider Dawson, John-John, Lex, and Shay, especially.

Mercy’s appreciation for weaponry definitely falls into the category of near obsession.
Can you describe your own experience with and knowledge of guns?

My experience with guns is limited to working in the family gun business in the accounting
department for a decade. However, my husband still makes his living in the firearms
business, so I’m lucky enough to be able to pick his brain when I need to. He handles
lots of cool firearms on a daily basis, which I remind myself would be Mercy’s dream
job.

An unlikely character turns out to be a serial killer and predator in
Merciless,
but the murderer’s identity remains a mystery until quite late in the novel. Tell
us a bit more about how you plan your books. At what point in your plotting the novel
did you know who the killer would be?

That’s the one thing I do know when I start a book—who the villain is. The rest of
it . . . comes while I’m writing. I usually know the eight to ten black moments, or
turning points, in the story before I start it. And I’m constantly surprised by how
much ends up in the book that I didn’t plan for. Characters show up on the page, or
I kill off a character I hadn’t intended to. So to some extent it’s as much a discovery
process for me as a writer as it is for the reader. I figure if I’m surprised then
readers will be too.

Mercy Gunderson is an extremely open protagonist—unapologetic about her drinking,
honest about her isolationist tendencies, straightforward about her physical needs.
What is your favorite part about writing her?

I love when Mercy shows me a glimpse of humor. The darkness and
lone-wolf attitude are an innate part of her and are expected, given her background.
But it’s those moments when we see her sense of humor, or when she tosses off a one-liner
that amuse me, because it isn’t something I plan. It just happens.

Does Mercy still surprise you as a character? What was the biggest “surprise” she
shocked you with in
Merciless
?

Yes, Mercy still makes me scratch my head on occasion. The fact that Mercy showed
a domestic side and that she liked it was a surprise to me. She has nurturing tendencies,
but she’s not had a lot of opportunites to act on them, so her relationship with Lex
was a lot easier than I’d thought it would be. Easier, not to write, but easier to
believe because we’ve only seen the barest glimpses of her around children. She’s
not afraid of kids, but she’s afraid of getting too close and losing that connection
again like she did with Levi. So I was happy she bucked up to the challenge of Lex
living with them, right from the start.

As an author, how difficult was it for you to inhabit some of the “darkness” Mercy
has to grapple with in this book? Did it feel like a natural progression from the
first two books in this series?

I feel Mercy has adjusted more to civilian life in this book, so she naturally has
fewer dark edges—that she lets show—because she isn’t dealing with horrific death
up close in her face every day like she was during her military service. It’s important
for me to show that Mercy isn’t the clichéd army vet who drinks too much and constantly
shoves away everyone who cares about her. The fact that she is in a long-term relationship
with Dawson, and she accepts Lex will be in their lives, and she’s changed the dynamics
of her relationship with both her sister Hope and Jake, proving she wants to be a
part of something again.

You’ve written before about how the racial and cultural diversity of western South
Dakota is very much a part of everyday life, both for you as a resident and for your
characters. Still, how intensive was your research into Sioux culture and customs?

Not too much for this book, since it deals more heavily with Mercy’s new job with
the FBI. That entailed much more research, since jurisdictional issues on Indian reservations
and the local, state, and federal law enforcement problems arising from those restrictions
play such a key role in the book. The one advantage I have in writing Mercy is that
she doesn’t know how to be Indian any more than I do, so it’s an ongoing learning
process for both of us.