The Perfect Look, page 21
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I should have told you the truth that day on the porch.”
Hannah, who was lying on a stretcher with a thermal blanket wrapped around her, nodded.
“It’s okay. I wish you had. But the truth is, I only pretended to be so pissed to trick Bolton. I needed him to trust me so I could get close enough to…do what I did.”
“You were very convincing,” Jessie said, trying to hide just how unsettled she was by Hannah’s performance.
“Yeah, well, my life depended on it. Both of ours did, I guess.”
“I guess so,” Jessie agreed. “You know, this is the second time I wouldn’t have made it if you weren’t around.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Hannah replied. “Another way is that you never would have been in danger either time if it wasn’t for me.”
Jessie smiled.
“I guess this means we should stick together,” she said, “so we can have each other’s back.”
Hannah smiled back as she settled onto the stretcher.
“I’d like that,” she said, sighing deeply.
Before Jessie could respond, the girl had fallen asleep.
She was too amped to do the same, so she simply scooted over closer to her half-sister and rested her hand on the younger girl’s. She left it there the whole ride.
*
Two hours later, Jessie stepped out of Ryan’s hospital room to take the phone call from Garland Moses.
The detective had woken up briefly, long enough to ask what had happened, and look relieved at the outcome. Then he’d sunk back into a drug-aided slumber. He sounded like himself but the doctor said he’d been hit in the back of the head with something heavy and, though there didn’t seem to be any internal bleeding, they wanted to keep him under observation for several days to make sure he really was okay. They said he might be in and out of it for at least the next twelve hours.
Hannah was asleep one floor up. The medical staff had sedated her and treated the shackle wounds on her wrists and ankles while she slept. They expected she’d wake up around early afternoon. Considering that it was approaching 5 a.m., that didn’t seem nearly long enough.
The nurse had offered to give Jessie something to help her sleep as well. But she declined, wanting to stay awake and clear-headed in case either Ryan or Hannah stirred. She did accept pain medication for the shoulder and rib she’d bruised while attacking Crutchfield in the basement. And they’d numbed up her thigh nicely so they could stitch it up where the glass cut her open when she climbed through the basement window. It was only eleven stitches, which seemed like nothing to her anymore.
When the call from Garland came, she was reviewing the Redlands detectives’ preliminary report and riding the residual wave of pain meds. From their search of Robert Rylance’s home laptop, it looked like Crutchfield’s pedophilia claims about him had proven true. With great reluctance, she got up and walked into the hall.
“Hi, Garland,” she said, forcing some semblance of peppiness into her tone. “How’s it going?”
“How are you?” he asked, sounding slightly less gruff than usual.
“Oh, you know how it goes. Shoot a serial killer, find your missing half-sister, watch your…colleague almost die. Busy evening, I’d say.”
“I heard you were injured,” he said, not reacting to her gallows humor.
“Nothing major,” she answered, dropping the act. “A few stitches and some bruises. I’m used to far worse. They actually officially released me but I’m sticking around to keep an eye on Hannah and Detective Hernandez.”
“How are they?”
“Ryan got a bad bonk on the head. They’re going to keep him here until they’re sure he’s good. Hannah’s okay physically. But I’m not sure about psychologically. She’s been through so much, including serving as a human experiment for a serial killer. I’m going to see if she can stay with me so I can keep an eye on her.”
“That’s not a bad idea. You should also get her in to see someone ASAP,” Garland suggested.
“I actually already had someone in mind. My therapist, Janice Lemmon, knows the whole back story. She could hit the ground running in the first session.”
“Ah, yes,” Garland said warmly. “I know Janice well. She’s an excellent choice.”
Something in his tone made Jessie wonder just how well he knew Dr. Janice Lemmon.
“I feel like maybe I suddenly know more about you than I’m comfortable with,” Jessie said teasingly.
“I contain multitudes, Hunt,” he said cryptically.
“Apparently so,” she agreed, then added, “Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?”
“For the lead on Rylance, which led me to Hannah and Crutchfield. I realize you took a risk passing that along to me, even if it was in coded form.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Hunt,” he said, borderline convincingly.
“Of course you don’t,” she replied, smiling to herself. “Does that mean you won’t be sharing how you made the connection between Rylance and Crutchfield?”
“Well, I’ll let you go, Hunt,” he said, ignoring her question. “I just wanted to check in with you and see how you were doing now that it’s finally over.”
“I’m good, thanks,” she assured him. “Thanks for checking in. I’ll see you soon.”
She hung up and returned to Ryan’s room, where she settled back in the uncomfortable chair that had been her home base for the last hour. She wanted to go back to reviewing the detectives’ report but something Garland had said was eating at her, something about checking in now that it was over.
She turned it over in her head for a minute before she realized that it wasn’t Garland Moses’s comment that was bouncing around in her head. It was something Hannah had said, something that didn’t fully register in the moment she’d said it. But now it did.
It’s never over.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
THE PERFECT AFFAIR
(A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book Seven)
“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
THE PERFECT AFFAIR is book #7 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has over 1,000 five-star reviews.
A porn star is found dead, and the LAPD doesn’t think much of it. But FBI agent Jessie Hunt, 29, senses something much more sinister at play, something that may just reach into the upper echelons of power and society.
A fast-paced psychological suspense thriller with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding suspense, THE PERFECT AFFAIR is book #7 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Book #8 in the Jessie Hunt series will be available soon.
THE PERFECT AFFAIR
(A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book Seven)
Did you know that I've written multiple novels in the mystery genre? If you haven't read all my series, click the image below to download a series starter!
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is author of the bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes sixteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); 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 five books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising six books ; of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising six books; and of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising seven 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.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
ADELE SHARP MYSTERY SERIES
LEFT TO DIE (Book #1)
LEFT TO RUN (Book #2)
LEFT TO HIDE (Book #3)
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)
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)
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)
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 MUDER (Book #2)
A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3)
A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4)
A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5)
Blake Pierce, The Perfect Look
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