The 8th Confession (27 page)
She'd ducked under his arm, run past "the witch" and down the hallway to the master-bedroom suite. And there, where they slept together, she'd slipped the krait under the covers of the bed where it was dark and snug, just what that snake would love. And she thought she was leaving the krait so that his
wife
would die—but she knew that her daddy slept in that bed, too.
He found her in the master bathroom. He banged on the door.
"Hurry up!" he'd shouted.
It was the last thing he'd said to her. She came out of the bathroom and ran out of the house and sat for hours on the curb.
She'd cried when he died.
And everything changed after that. But she wasn't sorry. She'd stood up for herself, and now life was good again. All of her needs were being met. And she was the baddest, most important citizen in this place. She was respected here. She was respected.
"You okay in there, Norma?" the guard asked, coming to let Norma and Bernie out for their hour in the yard, keys clanging, making that comforting sound.
"I'm just fine," said Norma Johnson, giving the guard a rare smile. "Never better."
O
UR GREAT THANKS to these top professionals who shared with us their valuable time and expertise during the writing of this book: Captain Richard Conklin, Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Chuck Hanni, Mickey Sherman, Philip R. Hoffman, Dr. Michelle Koo, Dr. Maria Paige, Tim Hettrich, and Rebecca DiLiberto.
Our special thanks to Maryellen Dankenbrink for her bus rap, to Chris Cooper, to Narayan Radhakrishnan, and to two first-class team players, Lynn Colomello and Mary Jordan.
J
AMES PATTERSON is one of the bestselling writers of all time, with more than 160 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club. He has won an Edgar Award—the mystery world's highest honor—and his novels
Kiss the Girls
and
Along Came a Spider
were made into feature films. His lifelong work to promote books and reading is reflected in his new Web site, ReadKiddoRead.com, which helps parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians find the very best children's books for their kids. He lives in Florida.
M
AXINE PAETRO is a novelist and journalist. She lives with her husband in New York.
FEATURING ALEX CROSS
Cross Country
Double Cross
Cross
Mary, Mary
London Bridges
The Big Bad Wolf
Four Blind Mice
Violets Are Blue
Roses Are Red
Pop Goes the Weasel
Cat & Mouse
Jack & Jill
Kiss the Girls
Along Came a Spider
THE WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB
The 8th Confession
(with Maxine Paetro)
7th Heaven
(with Maxine Paetro)
The 6th Target
(with Maxine Paetro)
The 5th Horseman
(with Maxine Paetro)
4th of July
(with Maxine Paetro)
3rd Degree
(with Andrew Gross)
2nd Chance
(with Andrew Gross)
1st to Die
FEATURING MICHAEL BENNETT
Run for Your Life
(with Michael Ledwidge)
Step on a Crack
(with Michael Ledwidge)
THE JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS
MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
(with Michael Ledwidge)
The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel
Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
Maximum Ride: School's Out—Forever
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment
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Against Medical Advice: One Family's Struggle with an Agonizing Medical Mystery
(with Hal Friedman)
Sail
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Sundays at Tiffany's
(with Gabrielle Charbonnet)
You've Been Warned
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The Quickie
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Judge & Jury
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Lifeguard
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SantaKid
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The Beach House
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Miracle on the 17th Green
(with Peter de Jonge)
Hide & Seek
The Midnight Club
Black Friday
(originally published as
Black Market
)
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(originally published as
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)
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The Thomas Berryman Number
