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No Mercy--A Mystery

Page 30

by Joanna Schaffhausen


  “Cool. Did they find you any famous relatives?”

  “I didn’t get that far. Let me check.” He switched to the browser again and poked around until he found the “genetic connections” tab. Maybe I’m secretly royalty, he thought as he opened it. Only this link didn’t call up long-dead ancestors. Instead, it listed people within the database who had similar genetic profiles: Kimberly, Lynette, and Suzanne. Confused, Reed clicked “more information.” Maybe they had tagged him as a relative, he thought. That’s why the system had linked all of them together.

  The screen showed a silhouette of a person next to Kimberly’s name. Predicted relationship, it said, half-sibling. Possible range: aunt. Confidence: 98%.

  The results came up the same for Lynette and Suzanne. Three tests couldn’t be wrong, could they? He had to be related to them, genetically related. The phone started to slip out of his hand, which was now coated in sweat. Dimly, he heard Ellery’s voice come through, tinny and far away: “Reed? Are you there?”

  He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He felt hot and dizzy, like he might throw up.

  “Reed? Is that still you?”

  Reed couldn’t reply. He was no longer sure of the answer.

  Author’s Note

  Reed Markham’s mother, Camilla, was Latina and native to Puerto Rico. Some readers may be curious why Reed’s genetic analysis does not mention anything about “Latino” DNA or refer to any Latin American countries in the results. The reason is that “Latino” is a racial construct, like “white,” or “black,” and so one would not see “Latino” DNA listed as part of the analysis.

  Reed’s analysis identifies his ancestry as European, Asian, African, and Native American. Due to human migration patterns, essentially everyone currently living in the Americas is some variety of European, Asian, African, and/or Native American ancestry. Reed’s mixture of all of these is what one might expect for someone who identifies as biracial with one parent of Latina heritage and one parent of Caucasian heritage.

  Also by Joanna Schaffhausen

  The Vanishing Season

  About the Author

  Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, a skill developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain—how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked for ABC News, writing for such programs as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and daughter. She is also the author of The Vanishing Season. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Author’s Note

  Also by Joanna Schaffhausen

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  NO MERCY. Copyright © 2019 by Joanna Schaffhausen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein

  Cover photographs: woman © Mark Owen / PlainPicture; window © Rebecca Nelson / Arcangel; city © Kristy Campbell / Arcangel

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-1-250-29736-5 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-250-29737-2 (ebook)

  eISBN 9781250297372

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: January 2019

 

 

 


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