Thriller (73 page)

the beam over in a panic, thinking it was the attacker, crouch-
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ing and ready to spring. He stopped, frozen by horror at what

the flashlight revealed.

The beam illuminated a very white foot, severed at the ankle.

Perotta stumbled back with a retching sound. The beam

jumped from that to another thing lying on the pine needles:

an arm. And farther on, two-thirds of a head, cleaved at an

angle, with one halfway forced-out eye, white showing all

around.

The other piece of the head lay some feet away, with the second staring, surprised-looking eye.

“Oh,
Jesus!
No, no!”

A voice came from behind him, and he swung around with an

inarticulate gargle. But there was nobody there; the voice seemed

disembodied, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, as if

the demonic forest itself were speaking. In the extremity of his horror Perotta turned around and around, unable to get a fix on it.

“That’s what they do to them, you know,” the voice was saying, soft and hoarse. “Take a good look—that’s what they do to

them. And now, that’s what
I’m
going to do to
you
.”

Lieutenant Vincent D’Agosta, NYPD, watched the M.E. place

the last piece of victim number two in a wet evidence container.

It had taken them quite a while to sort through which piece belonged to who. The hot summer sun barely filtered through the

branches of the tall hemlocks, creating a green, humid atmosphere that reeked of death. The flies had arrived in force and a

steady drone filled the cathedral-like woods, like a low undertone to the hiss of radios and the murmur of the forensics team

as they did the final walk-through before closing down the scene.

D’Agosta heard the soft press of footsteps and turned to see

the local cops coming back up the hill.

“They were staying in the McCone cabin,” one of them said.

“We got their wallets, IDs, car, the works. Two employees of the

Natural History Museum.”

“Yeah?”

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“Looks like we’re almost done here. Thanks for coming up so

quickly, Lieutenant.”

“Appreciated the call,” said D’Agosta.

“We heard on the radio about that heist at the museum,” the

other cop said. “When we found that artifact in the tank, we put

two and two together and figured you’d be interested.”

“Yeah.” D’Agosta looked down. “Interested.”

“Is that golden knife really worth millions?” the first officer

asked, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

D’Agosta nodded.

“Looks like they double-crossed the wrong person.”

“Maybe,” D’Agosta said.
But this took work
, he thought to

himself.
A whole lot of work. You could send a message with a lot

less effort. And why was the artifact still in the toilet tank? That was

the first place anyone would look.

The M.E. began carting the body bags and evidence lockers

back out toward the road. It had been a long day.

“Let’s get back to the station,” the first officer said. “Finish up

the paperwork. Once that’s been processed and the evidence

boys are done, we’ll release the knife to you, Lieutenant.”

D’Agosta stood for a moment, staring at the sticky, torn-up

killing ground. It was as if the earth itself had been cut, violated.

He fetched a sigh and turned to follow the others. His part was

over. The Tumi knife was found. As for the double homicide, it

wasn’t his jurisdiction.

On the way out, D’Agosta paused by the first officer. Almost

against his will, he said, “This is just the first. There’ll be more.”

The officer looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”

D’Agosta nodded back toward the woods. “What happened

back there had nothing to do with the museum theft.”

A hesitation, a firming of the mouth. “Thank you, Lieutenant,

for your opinion.”

D’Agosta could read the skepticism and annoyance in the officer’s eyes. With a sudden feeling of weariness, he turned and

walked toward the car and driver that would take him back to

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the local airfield, where his NYPD chopper was standing by. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to get back to New York City: to the heatpacking crackheads, ATM-camera flashers, Hummer-driving

pimps, two-dollar murderers, turnstyle jumpers, grandmother

decapitators, three-card-monte scammers, nightclub arsonists,

hit-and-run stockbrokers, dog rapists and all the other freaks he

knew so well and loved. Anything was better than these woods—

and this killer.

The Fisherman sat behind the wheel of his VW bus, waiting

in the muddy turnout at the side of the road. The police cars had

come and gone, and now the road from Waldo Falls was silent.

It was twilight and a layer of mist had formed, drifting through

the trees, beading up on his windshield.

He adjusted his wig, pulling it down tighter, grasping the long

locks of polyester hair and giving them a tug. Then he lit up a

Marlboro and waited.

It was a while before a pair of yellow headlights appeared,

heading out of town. He stubbed out his cigarette and watched

the car materialize in his rearview mirror. It was a foreign car, a

Toyota, which was good. They would buy Jap over American.

As the car passed it honked.

The man waited until the taillights had disappeared around

the gentle curve. Then he put the VW into gear, started up the

windshield wipers and eased it onto the road. He allowed himself a slow, crooked smile, and a prayer of thanks to the Lord for

once more presenting the opportunity to serve Him.

The Fisherman had just hooked another killer of the unborn.

Author Biographies

Ted Bell
is a native Floridian. He began his career in advertising as a copywriter at Doyle Dane Bernbach in New York. He has

also worked in Chicago, where he was president of the Leo Burnett Company, and later served as vice chairman and worldwide

creative director of Young & Rubicam in both London and New

York. Ted is the
New York Times
bestselling author of three actionadventure thrillers:
Hawke, Assassin
and
Pirate
. The series features the dashing British intelligence agent Alex Hawke. Ted lives

in Florida where he writes thrillers, reads and messes about in

boats. Visit Ted at his Web site, www.tedbellbooks.com.

Steve Berry
, a
New York Times
bestselling writer, lives on the

Georgia coast. He’s a lawyer who has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and Russia. Steve’s thrillers include
The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy
,
The Third Secret

and
The Templar Legacy
. His novels have been feature selections

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for major book clubs, chosen as BookSense picks, and have

been sold in thirty-two countries. Visit his Web site at

www.steveberry.org.

Grant Blackwood
caught the writing bug while reading Clive

Cussler’s
The Mediterranean Caper
. He’s a U.S. Navy veteran, having spent three years on active duty aboard a guided-missile frigate

as an operations specialist and pilot rescue swimmer. He’s been

writing for nineteen years and lives in Minnesota, where he’s working on a new thriller series.

Previously a television director, trade union organizer, theaterlighting designer, stage manager and law student,
Lee Child
has

been an author for nine years and has published ten Jack Reacher

novels. He was born in England but now lives in New York City

and the south of France. Currently his books are sold in forty-one

countries and have all been international bestsellers.

David Dun
, a native of Washington State transplanted to California, where he manages a law practice, acts as general counsel

to a large, privately held corporation, and writes. He is the national

bestselling author of five action-adventure novels,
Necessary Evil,

At The Edge, Overfall, Unacceptable Risk
and
The Black Silent
,

which are currently published in eight languages. When he’s not

parked at a desk, he enjoys cruising the waters of Washington

State and British Columbia.

New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author
Heather

Graham
majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida.

After a stint of several years in dinner theater, backup vocals and

bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and

began to write, working on short horror stories and romances.

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Since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas. Her books are currently published in twenty languages. Graham loves to travel and enjoys anything that has to do with the

water, including being a certified scuba diver.

After twelve years as a Miami trial lawyer,
James Grippando
is

now the national bestselling author of ten suspenseful thrillers.
Got

The Look
is his fifth book featuring Miami criminal defense lawyer

Jack Swyteck, a series that critics have applauded as “John Grisham

meets Robert Ludlum.” He’s also the author of a thriller for young

readers,
Leapholes,
the first novel for children ever to be published

by the American Bar Association. James was the 2005 recipient

of the Distinguished Author Award from Scranton University,

and his novels are enjoyed worldwide in over twenty languages.

He lives and writes in south Florida.

Denise Hamilton
is a Fulbright scholar and
Los Angeles Times

reporter who turned to crime and thriller writing after her two

children were born. Her bestselling Eve Diamond series has been

short-listed for the Edgar, Anthony, Willa Cather and Britain’s prestigious Dagger awards. Her book
Last Lullaby
was a
Los Angeles Times

Best Book of 2004. Visit her at www.denisehamilton.com.

Raelynn Hillhouse
has run Cuban rum between East and

West Berlin, smuggled jewels from the Soviet Union and forged

Eastern bloc visas. A native of the Missouri Ozarks, Raelynn has

lived for over six years in Europe, has traveled in over forty

countries and is fluent in several languages. She earned her

Ph.D. in political science at the University of Michigan and is

a former professor and Fulbright fellow. She has not only faced

the barrels of Kalashnikovs, but has also been caught in the

crossfire of border guards’ snowball fights. Raelynn lives in

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Hawaii on the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano. Her debut thriller,

Rift Zone
, received widespread national acclaim.

Gregg Hurwitz
is the bestselling author of
The Tower
,
Minutes

to Burn
,
Do No Harm
,
The Kill Clause
,
The Program,
and most recently
, Troubleshooter
. His novels have been feature selections for

all four major literary book clubs, chosen as BookSense picks and

translated into seven languages. Gregg adapted
Rogue Warrior
for

Jerry Bruckheimer Films and
The Kill Clause
for Paramount Pictures. He holds a B.A. from Harvard in English and psychology,

and a master’s degree in Shakespearean tragedy from Trinity College, Oxford. He’s published numerous short stories, articles, reviews, and academic articles, and lectured at Harvard, UCLA and

USC. Visit his Web site at www.gregghurwitz.net.

Alex Kava
is the author of the international bestselling series

featuring FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell and the critically acclaimed

thriller,
One False Move
. Her novels have sold almost two million

copies and have been published in twenty countries. They have

appeared on the
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestseller lists,

as well as making bestseller lists across the globe. Alex divides her

time between Omaha, Nebraska, and Pensacola, Florida.

J. A. Konrath
is the author of the Lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack”

Daniels thrillers. His short stories have appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies, and he currently teaches fiction writing

and marketing at the College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

He lives in Chicago with his wife, a few kids and dogs. Visit him

at www.JAKonrath.com.

John Lescroart
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of sixteen novels, including thirteen in the Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky

series of books set in San Francisco. He lives with his wife and their

children in northern California.

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Robert Liparulo
is an award-winning author of over a thousand

published articles and short stories for such publications as
New

Man, Reader’s Digest
, and even
Modern Bride
. He has written (and

sold) screenplays, celebrity profiles and investigative exposés, but

he always returns to his first love, fiction. As testament to his vivid

and fast-paced style, his debut novel,
Comes a Horseman,
ignited

a bidding war in Hollywood for the movie rights—months before

its publication. Liparulo lives in Colorado with his wife, Jodi, and