Gone Again: A Jack Swyteck Novel

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by James Grippando


  “Yup.”

  “Speaking of . . . what’s the word on Mr. Wall Street?”

  Gavin had never actually worked on Wall Street, but since he was clearly going to prison, Theo figured that he had earned the title.

  “He’s cooked. Aquinnah cut a deal and will testify against him.”

  “What’ll happen to her?”

  “Throwing sleeping pills at someone from across the room isn’t a Dr. Kevorkian assisted-suicide situation. I don’t know the details of her deal with Carmichael. My guess: no jail time. But she won’t be voting in any future elections. At least not in Florida.”

  “And Debra?”

  “Don’t know if she’ll ever speak to Aquinnah again. But she’s got Alexander. The Department of Children and Family Services backed off its investigation. Debra wasn’t paranoid: Gavin was pumping those social workers with lies to get full custody of Alexander.”

  “So he could rehome him, too?”

  “More likely control him—remind him on a daily basis that if he ever opens his mouth, he’s going back to Russia.”

  “Gavin’ll be the one openin’ his mouth—on a daily basis.”

  “Is that your crude attempt at irony?”

  “If irony means payback’s a bitch, then yeah.” Theo wiped down the bartop and took Jack’s empty glass. “Refill?”

  “No, one is my limit. Gotta keep alert. I’m on Riley watch. We’re at thirty weeks now.”

  “That’s still early, right?”

  “Yeah, but it’s pretty safe territory. The doctor has Andie checking her blood pressure every two hours. If it goes up and stays there, it’s time to check into the hospital and make it happen.”

  Jack’s phone rang. He checked the number and looked at Theo.

  “You kiddin’ me?” asked Theo.

  It was Andie. Jack answered. “Hey, honey. We were just talking about you. Your ear must be buzzing.”

  “That’s definitely not my ear buzzing, Jack.”

  Jack gripped his cell. “Holy crap.”

  “I know, right? Dr. Starkey said to meet her at the hospital at seven.”

  Jack drew a breath. He could almost feel her smile coming through the phone, but there had been a hint of something else in her voice.

  “So this is it?”

  “Uh-huh,” said Andie. “This is really it.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Gone Again is my thirteenth Jack Swyteck novel. Jack came to life as a young lawyer defending death row inmates at the Freedom Institute in The Pardon (1994). It’s been quite a journey back to his roots in Gone Again, but I can’t say that coming full circle was part of a grand artistic plan. When I wrote The Pardon, I had no idea that it would become a series. I was equally surprised when I started typing more than two decades later, only to find that Jack was suddenly back where it all began, standing on the familiar steps of that historic house along the Miami River. (The house is real, by the way, owned by friends of mine.)

  I don’t know where Jack will go from here, but I’m grateful to the dynamic duo that has brought him this far: my editor of twenty years, Carolyn Marino, and my agent of almost twenty-five, Richard Pine. My beta readers, Janis Koch and Gloria Villa, have left their mark on more than a dozen Grippando novels. The mistakes are mine, but Janis and Gloria have saved me from even more serious embarrassment.

  Finally, I’m grateful to my wife, Tiffany. Books and the book industry have changed so much since the first Swyteck novel. Your love and support have never wavered.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  JAMES GRIPPANDO is a New York Times bestselling author of suspense. Gone Again is his twenty-fourth novel. He was a trial lawyer for twelve years before the publication of his first novel, The Pardon, in 1994, and now serves as counsel to Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP. He lives in south Florida with his wife, three children, two cats, and a golden retriever named Max who has no idea he’s a dog.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  ALSO BY JAMES GRIPPANDO

  Cash Landing

  Cane and Abe

  Black Horizon*

  Blood Money*

  Need You Now

  Afraid of the Dark*

  Money to Burn

  Intent to Kill

  Born to Run*

  Last Call*

  Lying with Strangers

  When Darkness Falls*

  Got the Look*

  Hear No Evil*

  Last to Die*

  Beyond Suspicion*

  A King’s Ransom

  Under Cover of Darkness

  Found Money

  The Abduction

  The Informant

  The Pardon*

  AND FOR YOUNG ADULTS

  Leapholes

  *A JACK SWYTECK NOVEL

  CREDITS

  COVER DESIGN BY ERVIN SERRANO

  COPYRIGHT

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other names, characters, and places and all dialogue and incidents portrayed in this book are the product of the author’s imagination.

  GONE AGAIN. Copyright © 2016 by James Grippando, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  FIRST EDITION

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

  ISBN: 978-0-06-236870-6

  EPub Edition March 2016 ISBN 9780062368720

  16 17 18 19 20 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

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  United States

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  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34<
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  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by James Grippando

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

 

 

 


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