by Blake Pierce
She was just pulling out her phone to warn Ryan when she heard the sound of something shattering just inside the house. She put the phone back in her pocket, certain that the noise meant events were underway inside that would prevent him from checking texts.
She started toward the front door, and then stopped. If the Night Hunter was just inside, he’d hear the bolts unlocking and have the edge against her. Instead, she dashed over to the garage.
This alternative plan would take longer but she had no choice. The front door entry would make her a sitting duck, which wouldn’t help anyone. At least this route gave her a chance.
As she entered the code on the panel on the wall adjoining the garage, she reassured herself that the people she loved were smart and resourceful and that choosing this course of action didn’t mean she’d consigned them to certain death. She had to believe they were still alive in there.
After the code was accepted, another panel opened and she placed her palm on it. It took an interminable three seconds for her handprint to be approved. The garage door opened and she moved to the interior door that connected to the house.
Once that was open and she was inside the house, she pushed a different code on the panel just inside the door. That gave her ten seconds until the countermeasures activated. While she waited, crouched low to the ground, a gunshot rang out. It took everything in her not to run down the hall right then. But she waited.
All the lights shut off just as an ear-splitting alarm began to sound. She rushed forward right as a red, flashing light began pulsing throughout the house. She moved quickly down the hall and poked her head into the kitchen. It was empty. She shimmied along the wall, past the sink and the dishwasher, then glanced into the living room. A shattered lamp lay in dozens of pieces on the floor. Just beyond that, in front of the bookcase in the hallway that doubled as the panic room door, was the lifeless body of Grant the poodle.
There was no one in sight. As she approached the bookcase, she heard a hissing sound. Then she noticed that just below it was a white canister that seemed to be jammed into the drywall. She bent down and saw words on the side that read: hydrogen cyanide (2000 ppm).The Night Hunter was poisoning her family.
She sensed movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up. An elderly man scurried from the laundry room at the end of the hall out the back door, disappearing from sight before she could fire. She stood up, using the bookcase as a shield in case he shot at her.
“Tough choice, Jessie,” the man called out, barely audible over the echoing siren. “You can come after me and put me down, but if you do, that won’t leave time to save your sister and your boyfriend. With the concentration of that gas, I’d say they have less than thirty seconds left. What’ll it be, Jessie—love or vengeance?”
She knew this could be a trick to get her to expose herself so he could shoot her. And yet, she was still overwhelmed with rage. Everything inside her screamed that she should leap out and fire a barrage of bullets in the spot where she suspected he was hiding. She wanted to put him down. She wanted to make him pay.
But not at the price of her loved ones’ lives. She wanted to believe that Ryan remembered the gas masks in the filing cabinet and that he had the key to it on him. But she couldn’t take the risk. Fighting the urge to act rashly, she stayed put.
“What do you recommend?” she shouted back. But after five seconds of silence, she realized he’d only given her the ultimatum to stall her so he could escape. He knew what choice she’d make even before he asked her. Besides, she was certain that he didn’t want their conflict to end with something as mundane as a gunshot.
She bent back down near the canister, trying to stay focused and ignore the ticking clock in her head. Her first instinct was to simply rip it out of the wall, but that would only expose her to the gas.
Leaning closer, she saw that there was a small knob on the back of the canister. After glancing down the hallway one more time, she put her gun on the floor and turned the knob to the right. The hissing stopped.
In the distance, she could hear the voices of officers shouting as they entered the house from the garage.
“We’re in the main hallway,” she called out before turning her attention to the people behind the bookshelf. “Ryan, Hannah—it’s Jessie. The hallway is clear. You can come out.”
There was no answer. She tried again, even louder this time.
“Are you okay?” she shouted, praying that Ryan had remembered about the gas masks in the small cabinet. Still there was no response. Her heart began to sink.
Then, quickly and silently, the bookshelf door opened.
EPILOGUE
They were both okay.
Only when they emerged unharmed and wearing gas masks did Jessie started breathing again.
It was actually Hannah who pulled her away from the door as Ryan closed it, reminding her that she was more at risk now than them without a mask of her own. They all rushed to the backyard, which had already been secured by several of the nearly dozen officers who had swarmed the house.
Once outside, Jessie saw that two panels of their backyard wooden fencing had been smashed, creating a section big enough to wriggle through. On the ground next to the broken wood was a shovel. Beside that was what looked to be the wig that the man had used to impersonate Delia. But as she looked closer and saw the blood, Jessie realized that it wasn’t a wig at all.
Cops were now jumping over the fence to search the surrounding area. One looked like he was about to go through the hole that the Night Hunter had used to escape.
“No!” she shouted. “Seal that section of fence off. There’s always the chance that he scraped himself on the way out, leaving DNA.”
“The shovel too?’ the officer asked.
“Sure,” she told him, though she was less optimistic about that. She flashed back to the gloves that “Delia” had worn and knew she knew there wouldn’t be any fingerprints. Then she turned Ryan and Hannah, who were removing their masks.
“Are you two okay?” she asked.
Hannah nodded silently. Ryan, who was still catching his breath, gave her thumbs up, though he looked less certain. She pulled them both into a hug, which lasted forever but not long enough. When they separated, Ryan offered a wry smile.
“Glad you chose love over vengeance,” he said mildly.
“Yeah,” Hannah agreed. “We were on pins and needles.”
Jessie shook her head.
“I’m not ready for jokes just yet,” she chastised.
An officer jogged over to them.
“There’s no sign of any old man nearby,” he said, “Any suggestions?”
Jessie closed her eyes, trying to get herself back into the right headspace. Her family was safe for the moment. She had to focus on her prey now. When she opened her eyes again, she called for several other officers to draw close. Once she had the attention of four of them, she launched in.
“With all the squad cars, sirens and alarms, there has to be a crowd gathering on the street,” she said, talking as fast as her brain would allow. “He might be trying to hide among them. Look for anyone older, at least seventy, about 5’7 to 5’10, between 150 to 170 pounds, man or woman. He likes disguises.”
Several of the officers had pulled out notebooks to take notes. She continued, not waiting for them to catch up.
“Have someone check the home of Delia Morris,” she said, refusing to linger on the fate of the old woman. There would be time for guilt over that later. “She lives down the block. You’ll find her body there. There’s an outside chance he might be hiding in the house as well. More likely, he’s using her car to escape the area. Have it flagged. He’ll know we’re looking for it. so he won’t use it for long, just to get to whatever other vehicle he has stashed nearby. Once you have the make, model, and license on Morris’s car, reach out to Jamil Winslow at Central Station. He’s probably headed home but he’ll want to go back to start searching the city camera database. Got all that?�
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She watched the men furiously scribbling and hoped they had.
“Got it,” one of them said and within seconds, they dispersed, leaving her alone with Hannah and Ryan, who both looked spent.
Suddenly, and all at once, the weight of everything hit her. She sat down on the steps of the back porch, silently watching an army of LAPD officers bustling about. Ryan sat down on one side of her and Hannah on the other. None of them spoke.
Jessie ran over it all in her mind. Her sister had almost died tonight, along with the man she loved. And had it happened, it would have been her fault. She had invited the wolf into their house, oblivious to his sheep’s clothing.
The worst part was that if could he do it once, she was certain he could do it again. And she had no doubt that he’d try. There would be no escape from this nightmare until the Night Hunter was either in prison or dead. The realization was terrifying, but in a weird way, also clarifying.
This was no longer about hunkering down and defending what she had. The days of trying to turn their home into a fortress and hoping for the best were over. Until now, she had stood by as Ryan, Jamil, and the Central Station crew pursued this monster.
No longer. She was taking point. She was bringing the fight to him. He might be the Night Hunter but now Jessie was the one hunting him.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
THE PERFECT MISTRESS
(A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book Fifteen)
“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 MISTRESS is book #15 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, which begins with The Perfect Wife, a #1 bestseller (and free download) with over 600 five-star reviews.
When wealthy suburban women are found murdered in their small town without rhyme or reason, Jessie soon realizes she is up against no ordinary killer. He is an unpredictable psychopath, beyond anyone she’s ever been up against—and she will have to enter the dark canals of his twisted mind if she has any chance of saving the next woman on his list.
A fast-paced psychological suspense thriller with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding suspense, THE JESSIE HUNT series is a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Book #16 (THE PERFECT IMAGE) will be available soon.
THE PERFECT MISTRESS
(A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book Fifteen)
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 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 nineteen 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 thirteen books, of the EUROPEAN VOYAGE cozy mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the new LAURA FROST FBI suspense thriller, comprising three books (and counting); of the new ELLA DARK FBI suspense thriller, comprising six books (and counting); of the A YEAR IN EUROPE cozy mystery series, comprising nine books, of the AVA GOLD mystery series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RACHEL GIFT mystery series, comprising three books (and counting).
ONCE GONE (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1), BEFORE HE KILLS (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 1), CAUSE TO KILL (An Avery Black Mystery—Book 1), A TRACE OF DEATH (A Keri Locke Mystery—Book 1), WATCHING (The Making of Riley Paige—Book 1), NEXT DOOR (A Chloe Fine Psychological Suspense Mystery—Book 1), THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book One), IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1), and MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1) are each available as a free download on Amazon!
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
RACHEL GIFT MYSTERY SERIES
HER LAST WISH (Book #1)
HER LAST CHANCE (Book #2)
HER LAST HOPE (Book #3)
AVA GOLD MYSTERY SERIES
CITY OF PREY (Book #1)
CITY OF FEAR (Book #2)
CITY OF BONES (Book #3)
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)
SCANDAL IN LONDON (Book #5)
AN IMPOSTOR IN DUBLIN (Book #6)
SEDUCTION IN BORDEAUX (Book #7)
JEALOUSY IN SWITZERLAND (Book #8)
A DEBACLE IN PRAGUE (Book #9)
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)
LAURA FROST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
ALREADY GONE (Book #1)
ALREADY SEEN (Book #2)
ALREADY TRAPPED (Book #3)
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)
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)
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)