Girl, Erased, page 1
G I R L,
E R A S E D
(An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller —Book Six)
B L A K E P I E R C E
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes seventeen books. Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising fourteen books; of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising six books; of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising seven books; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising twenty four books; of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising three books; of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising six books; of the ADELE SHARP mystery series, comprising fifteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising four books; of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising nine books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising eleven books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the VALERIE LAW mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the PAIGE KING mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
Copyright © 2022 by Blake Pierce. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Pascal Constantineau used under license from Shutterstock.com.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
PAIGE KING MYSTERY SERIES
THE GIRL HE PINED (Book #1)
THE GIRL HE CHOSE (Book #2)
THE GIRL HE TOOK (Book #3)
VALERIE LAW MYSTERY SERIES
NO MERCY (Book #1)
NO PITY (Book #2)
NO FEAR (Book #3
RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES
HER LAST WISH (Book #1)
HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)
HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)
HER LAST FEAR (Book #4)
HER LAST CHOICE (Book #5)
HER LAST BREATH (Book #6)
AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES
CITY OF PREY (Book #1)
CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)
CITY OF BONES (Book #3)
CITY OF GHOSTS (Book #4)
CITY OF DEATH (Book #5)
CITY OF VICE (Book #6)
A YEAR IN EUROPE
A MURDER IN PARIS (Book #1)
DEATH IN FLORENCE (Book #2)
VENGEANCE IN VIENNA (Book #3)
A FATALITY IN SPAIN (Book #4)
ELLA DARK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
GIRL, ALONE (Book #1)
GIRL, TAKEN (Book #2)
GIRL, HUNTED (Book #3)
GIRL, SILENCED (Book #4)
GIRL, VANISHED (Book 5)
GIRL ERASED (Book #6)
GIRL, FORSAKEN (Book #7)
GIRL, TRAPPED (Book #8)
GIRL, EXPENDABLE (Book #9)
GIRL, ESCAPED (Book #10)
GIRL, HIS (Book #11)
LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
ALREADY GONE (Book #1)
ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)
ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)
ALREADY MISSING (Book #4)
ALREADY DEAD (Book #5)
ALREADY TAKEN (Book #6)
ALREADY CHOSEN (Book #7)
ALREADY LOST (Book #8)
ALREADY HIS (Book #9)
EUROPEAN VOYAGE COZY MYSTERY SERIES
MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (Book #1)
DEATH (AND APPLE STRUDEL) (Book #2)
CRIME (AND LAGER) (Book #3)
MISFORTUNE (AND GOUDA) (Book #4)
CALAMITY (AND A DANISH) (Book #5)
MAYHEM (AND HERRING) (Book #6)
ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES
LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)
LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)
LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)
LEFT TO KILL (Book #4)
LEFT TO MURDER (Book #5)
LEFT TO ENVY (Book #6)
LEFT TO LAPSE (Book #7)
LEFT TO VANISH (Book #8)
LEFT TO HUNT (Book #9)
LEFT TO FEAR (Book #10)
LEFT TO PREY (Book #11)
LEFT TO LURE (Book #12)
LEFT TO CRAVE (Book #13)
LEFT TO LOATHE (Book #14)
LEFT TO HARM (Book #15)
THE AU PAIR SERIES
ALMOST GONE (Book#1)
ALMOST LOST (Book #2)
ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)
ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES
FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)
FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)
FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)
FACE OF MADNESS (Book #4)
FACE OF FURY (Book #5)
FACE OF DARKNESS (Book #6)
A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)
THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)
THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)
THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)
THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)
THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)
THE PERFECT AFFAIR (Book #7)
THE PERFECT ALIBI (Book #8)
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR (Book #9)
THE PERFECT DISGUISE (Book #10)
THE PERFECT SECRET (Book #11)
THE PERFECT FAÇADE (Book #12)
THE PERFECT IMPRESSION (Book #13)
THE PERFECT DECEIT (Book #14)
THE PERFECT MISTRESS (Book #15)
THE PERFECT IMAGE (Book #16)
THE PERFECT VEIL (Book #17)
THE PERFECT INDISCRETION (Book #18)
THE PERFECT RUMOR (Book #19)
THE PERFECT COUPLE (Book #20)
THE PERFECT MURDER (Book #21)
THE PERFECT HUSBAND (Book #22)
THE PERFECT SCANDAL (Book #23)
THE PERFECT MASK (Book #24)
CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
NEXT DOOR (Book #1)
A NEIGHBOR’S LIE (Book #2)
CUL DE SAC (Book #3)
SILENT NEIGHBOR (Book #4)
HOMECOMING (Book #5)
TINTED WINDOWS (Book #6)
KATE WISE MYSTERY SERIES
IF SHE KNEW (Book #1)
IF SHE SAW (Book #2)
IF SHE RAN (Book #3)
IF SHE HID (Book #4)
IF SHE FLED (Book #5)
IF SHE FEARED (Book #6)
IF SHE HEARD (Book #7)
THE MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE SERIES
WATCHING (Book #1)
WAITING (Book #2)
LURING (Book #3)
TAKING (Book #4)
STALKING (Book #5)
KILLING (Book #6)
RILEY PAIGE MYSTERY SERIES
ONCE GONE (Book #1)
ONCE TAKEN (Book #2)
ONCE CRAVED (Book #3)
ONCE LURED (Book #4)
ONCE HUNTED (Book #5)
ONCE PINED (Book #6)
ONCE FORSAKEN (Book #7)
ONCE COLD (Book #8)
ONCE STALKED (Book #9)
ONCE LOST (Book #10)
ONCE BURIED (Book #11)
ONCE BOUND (Book #12)
ONCE TRAPPED (Book #13)
ONCE DORMANT (Book #14)
ONCE SHUNNED (Book #15)
ONCE MISSED (Book #16)
ONCE CHOSEN (Book #17)
MACKENZIE WHITE MYSTERY SERIES
BEFORE HE KILLS (Book #1)
BEFORE HE SEES (Book #2)
BEFORE HE COVETS (Book #3)
BEFORE HE TAKES (Book #4)
BEFORE HE NEEDS (Book #5)
BEFORE HE FEELS (Book #6)
BEFORE HE SINS (Book #7)
BEFORE HE HUNTS (Book #8)
BEFORE HE PREYS (Book #9)
BEFORE HE LONGS (Book #10)
BEFORE HE LAPSES (Book #11)
BEFORE HE ENVIES (Book #12)
BEFORE HE STALKS (Book #13)
BEFORE HE HARMS (Book #14)
AVERY BLACK MYSTERY SERIES
CAUSE TO KILL (Book #1)
CAUSE TO RUN (Book #2)
CAUSE TO HIDE (Book #3)
CAUSE TO FEAR (Book #4)
CAUSE TO SAVE (Book #5)
CAUSE TO DREAD (Book #6)
KERI LOCKE MYSTERY SERIES
A TRACE OF DEATH (Book #1)
A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2)
A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)
A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)
/> A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)
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
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
James Floyd waved goodbye to the receptionist and slipped out into the staff parking lot before any late-stayers could collar him. It was a mild night, a welcome change. The heating in his office had broken a few weeks ago, so he’d resorted to using a portable radiator that could barely heat a tent. Not ideal for the bitter night shifts, especially after the week he was having.
He remembered back to his first day on the job, 22 years ago by his napkin math. The head doctor had told him that the most essential part of the medical specialist’s repertoire was cold detachment. Some people had it naturally; some people learned over time. And those that didn’t acquire the skill had short and traumatic careers.
James quickly learned just how true this statement had been. He had peers who could deliver bad news like a weather report and not think twice about it. He envied them greatly, because with every piece of bad news he delivered, the guilt chipped away at his being a little bit more. This week brought more heavy burden than usual: a cancer diagnosis to a young dad, early signs of muscular dystrophy to a boy of 10, onset of dementia in a recently retired veteran.
And of course, Gladys, a new patient he’d become unprofessionally close to since last Monday. She’d come in complaining of back ache and ended up under the knife the next day. Gladys had been suffering from extreme kyphosis for well over a decade, but never got herself checked out because she didn’t want to cause a fuss. Tough as old boots, but such attitudes didn’t translate well to healthy lives, particularly for the elderly. James found himself wishing for the woman’s recovery, maybe because she reminded him of his mother so much.
James pushed the button to unlock his car and the headlights flashed. His sedan was one of three in the parking lot. He checked his watch. Just after midnight. He didn’t realize he’d stayed so late.
His foot caught something, invisible in the darkness. He stepped back and noticed a wooden board strewn on the floor. As he surveyed the lot, he noticed more of the same. Then he realized it was the debris left behind by the protesters from earlier in the day.
It was a new trend, maybe some Internet thing, James thought. Since the new laws came in, it was happening at hospitals up and down the country. Condensed down, it was basically activists campaigning against modern medicine. James had no time for such foolishness, especially as these people usually held extreme religious values too. They blindly believed in an invisible, all-knowing deity, but believing in a drug that killed bacteria was too much for them. It was silliness, misplaced delusion.
What usually happened was that these protesters kicked up a fuss, got their faces on the news, then disappeared once they’d had their fifteen minutes. It was nothing to worry too much about. James picked up the sign at his feet, folded it down, and took it to the trash can. Besides, judging by this person’s grammar, these protesters weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.
AGAINST GODS WILL.
No apostrophe. Slanted writing. Yellow text on a brown background. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of aptitude.
“You,” someone shouted. “Don’t go anywhere.”
The sudden voice startled him. At this hour, the parking lot was always deserted. He spun around, looking for the source of the sound. A slovenly man waded out of the shadows. Overgrown beard. Bad skin. Small glasses on a round face. James didn’t recognize him.
“Hello?” James said.
“Work here?” the man asked.
James edged towards his vehicle. “Yes. Do you?”
The stranger flapped his finger at the doctor. “It’s not right, what you’re doing.”
“Excuse me?” A straggling protestor, James sighed to himself. Why was this man still here after midnight?
“You know what I mean. Don’t play dumb.”
James had no time for this. He didn’t even have the energy to feel angry at him. All he felt was pity.
“Please, go home. You shouldn’t be in this area of the hospital if you’re not a staff member.”
The stranger dropped back into the shadows but kept his glare on the doctor. James gripped his car’s door handle while he waited for the man to disappear. James decided to notify security once he’d driven round the front of the building.
He pulled open the car door and stepped one foot inside, then froze before he could move any further.
A loud noise, maybe glass smashing? Then the stranger’s voice again. James flirted with the idea of just driving off and leaving this for someone else to sort out, but what if this maniac had cornered another member of the staff? Maybe one of the admin girls? Or anyone who wasn’t six-foot-two and 200 pounds like him?
He shut the car door and went to inspect. He moved across the barren parking lot, treading lightly. He parted some bushes and peered through to the other side, seeing the designated route for ambulances and nothing else. No straggling protestors, no midnight smokers. The stranger must have taken off in a hurry, maybe because he knew he was trespassing, and that wasn’t a good look for his cause.
James stood still and heard the sounds of the night, broken by the thud of his beating heart. He heard the hum of distant traffic. A few chirping critters in the sparse woodland on the hospital’s perimeter. He’d had plenty of altercations with patients and drifters over the years, but something about this guy sent a chill from head to toe; perhaps it was the late hour combined with the man’s unexpected presence. He returned to the parking lot and headed towards his vehicle, keeping his wits about him. He didn’t trust the man not to return and try something foolish.
James decided enough was enough for one week. Right now the prospect of a long bath with a good book was better than confronting deluded activists with their flavor-of-the-month objections.
Then his feet left the ground.
James flew back into the bushes, thorns piercing his skin. He scrambled for leverage but found nothing but brittle twigs. Before he could process what was happening, there was a foot buried in his chest. James gasped for air, kicking his feet at his invisible attacker. He tried calling for help but couldn’t find his voice.
Then the attacker made himself known. A figure in black, camouflaged against the night. James’s vision blurred to a fog. The man’s outline twisted and melted against the dark, obscuring his face from James’s view. There was something alarmingly familiar about him, but the oncoming shock clouded any chance of rational thought.
James coughed and spluttered up phlegm, then felt his body go into shock. With a hand around James’s neck, this faceless man plunged a knife deep into his abdomen.
Blood erupted like a fountain, dyeing the green bushes crimson red.
James felt all determination fading. He couldn’t move, only witness his own demise in a state of paralysis. He rolled onto his front and saw the hospital, maybe for the last time. Through the bushes, only fifty feet away, paramedics loaded themselves into a waiting ambulance.
James tried to call out, reach out. He was voiceless. Help was visible but beyond his grasp.
This midnight attacker rolled the doctor onto his back then pulled something from his jacket.
The doctor recognized it. He’d seen it many times over his long career, but it never looked so ominous as it did now.
Suddenly, he found his voice, but his screams were drowned out by the blaring ambulance siren behind them.
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